Fool Me Once

Keegan

“Is this really necessary?” Blakely asks with a pout splayed across her gorgeous lips.

“Yep,” I say, stifling my laughter. I know she’s not really upset, but she’s still adorably sexy when she pouts, and it’s taking everything in me not to pull my truck over, drag her into my lap, and kiss the hell out of her.

She crosses her arms over her chest and falls back into the seat with a huff. “Can I at least get a hint?”

“Nope.” I silently laugh.

“I know you’re laughing,” she says, and I can imagine her giving me the side-eye from under the tie I borrowed from Kolton to use as a makeshift blindfold.

“No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are.”

“Zane said you love surprises,” I point out.

She snorts. “Yeah, ones that include macaroni glued to a piece of paper.”

“I’m not sure if I can top glued macaroni, but I think you will like this surprise.”

I entwine our fingers and bring our hands up to my lips, kissing the top of her hand. Does she really need a blindfold? No. But I thought it would be fun anyway. I’ve learned quickly that having a child means limited adult time, so when Sierra offered to watch Zane for the night, having the weekend off, I wanted to go all out for Blakely. She deserves to be spoiled. Plus, who knows when we’ll get this alone time again. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. I love hanging out with Zane and Blakely. We spent the entire day yesterday at the park. Zane rode around on his skateboard, I pushed him in the swing, and Blakely brought a packed lunch. It was a perfect day.

So, yeah, our time as a family isn’t lacking. But what is lacking is my alone time with Blakely. Because I’ve had to work the last several evenings, I haven’t gotten to spend any one-on-one time with her. I feel guilty lying to Blakely, so I’ve kept it vague, saying I have work to do. She assumes it’s schoolwork, which isn’t a complete lie, but it’s also not the complete truth. It will be nice for us to be able to have an adult conversation over dinner. I booked us a room at the same resort we met at and made it clear to everyone who might need to get ahold of me that I won’t be available for the next twenty-four hours.

We pull up to the resort, and I remove the blindfold. Blakely blinks a few times, then grins. “You brought me to a hotel?”

“Not just any hotel. The hotel we met at. I booked us a couple’s massage, made a reservation for dinner, and confirmed they’re playing a chick flick.” I shoot her a playful wink, and she beams at me. Fucking beams.

After we check in, we head to our room. I had Sierra pack Blakely an overnight bag, so I know there’s a bathing suit in there. Since it’s still early, and our couple’s massage isn’t for a few hours, I figure we can hit the heated pool and hot tub. Since it’s approaching February in Central Florida, it’s a tad too cold for the beach, at least to go swimming in—we could probably go for a walk, though.

Blakely opens her luggage and finds everything she needs. “Wow, you thought of everything.”

“With the help of your sister.”

“This is awesome. Thank you.” She wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me down to her for a kiss that, if I don’t stop, will prevent us from ever leaving this room.

“C’mon,” I say, pulling back. “Let’s hit the water.”

With our suits on and towels in our hands, we find two open lounge chairs. After laying our towels down, we go straight into the heated pool. The hotel is slow because of it still being winter, and we’re the only ones in here right now.

Blakely dips her head under the water, and when she comes back up, she pushes the wet strands of hair from her face. I take a moment to admire her. She’s grown up since the last time we were here. Her brown hair is longer now and has blond along the bottom. Her body… Jesus, her body has filled out in all the right places. She’s all woman. And her eyes: they’re no longer shy and nervous. Instead they’re filled with confidence and determination. Even with her having to raise a baby at nineteen, she managed to follow her dreams and go to college. I just hate that she wasn’t able to go to South Carolina like she planned. Had I not lost her number, I would’ve known about her being pregnant, and I’d like to think I would’ve done whatever was needed to get her there.

“What’re you thinking about?” Blakely snakes her arms around my neck and wraps her legs around my hips. Her center rubs against my stomach and then downward, waking my dick up.