“See,” he said. “If she woulda heard something the other night, she wouldn’t have been so cool about you stayin’ over.”
“Jesus,” I muttered. “You had to bring it up again, didn’t you?”
Mack laughed. “You were so freaked.”
“Uh, yeah,” I said, pulling away from him so I could see his face. “I don’t want her hearing us having crazy monkey sex!”
“She’s cool,” he replied.
I looked at him incredulously.
“I mean, she’s cool—she isn’t gonna hear anything,” he said with a shake of his head. “Shit, I don’t want her to fuckin’ hear us, either.”
“I’ve never had to worry before,” I said, leaning back against him.
“You never dated a guy with kids?” he asked.
“Not that I knew of,” I replied.
“That gonna be a problem?” That’s when I noticed that he’d gone completely still.
“Of course not,” I replied quickly.
“If it is—”
“Mack,” I said, cutting him off sharply. Grabbing his chin, I turned his face toward mine. “I knew you were a dad long before we started this. It’s not like it was a surprise.”
“Still,” he said, watching me closely. “Different when you’re in it.”
“It’s not any different for me,” I argued. “I like that you’re a dad.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Don’t make it weird,” I said, lightly slapping his chest. “I like you, okay? Being a dad is part of who you are.”
“You like me?” he said, lips twitching. “You askin’ me to go steady?”
I sat up straighter. “You should be so lucky,” I replied, narrowing my eyes.
“You’re so full of shit,” he said with a laugh. “You’ve got it bad for me.”
“Whatever.” I threw myself against the back of the couch.
“You can’t get enough of me,” he continued, yanking me down until I was flat on the couch. He leaned over me, grinning. “You’re fuckin’ crazy about me.”
I stared at him, refusing to reply.
“It’s all good, baby,” he said in a whisper, closing the distance between us until our noses were practically touching. “’Cause I’m fuckin’ gone for you.”
“Yeah?” I said, searching his eyes. A lump got caught in my throat as I tried to swallow.
“All tangled up,” he confirmed.
We didn’t talk anymore, but at some point, we made our way to the bedroom. And later, the words between us were spoken in whispers because they were too filthy for anyone else to hear.
* * *
Things between Mack and I heated up quickly, no matter how hard I tried to keep myself from becoming too attached. I knew how these things went, and I knew how easily they could go sideways. It was easy to fall in headfirst, riding the high of a new relationship, until you slammed back to earth with a heavy dose of reality. I’d made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t let myself fall into that trap again. That I’d take my time and keep what little distance I could so that when it ended, I wouldn’t fall apart like I had the last time.
I knew within the first two weeks that all of my plans and promises meant nothing. How could they, when Mack looked at me like I was the most beautiful woman in the world? How was I supposed to keep my distance when he stopped by my work just to give me a kiss, or when he picked me up in the middle of the day to take me out to lunch, even though I knew he’d be working late to make up the time? I couldn’t stop the butterflies in my stomach when he smiled any more than I could stop the sun from rising. Our relationship wasn’t like anything I’d ever had before—it was effortless, and I was falling hard and fast. I should have known that nothing so good lasts forever, but I couldn’t see any scenario where I wouldn’t want to wake up to Mack’s bleary eyes and morning breath.
I was in my bathroom getting ready for work when my phone rang.
“Hey,” I said, putting the phone on speaker as I worked on taming my crazy eyebrows.
“Kara started her period,” Mack replied, forgoing any pleasantries. “And I’ve got no idea what I’m supposed to get her.”
“Get her?” I asked, drawing a blank.
“You know, pads or whatever,” he shot back, the panic evident in his voice. “There’s like five hundred fucking choices.”
“Oh,” I said, leaning back from the mirror and picking up my phone so I could pay closer attention to our conversation.
“I’ve bought this shit before,” he said, his voice kind of high. “But usually, you get sent to the store with specifics, and I’m flying fuckin’ blind here.”
I ignored the pang I got at the idea of Mack buying period products for another woman. “Okay, it’s not rocket science. We’ll figure it out.”
“What brand, though?” he asked. “And I’m not buying her tampons.” His voice got even higher. “She’s fuckin’ twelve. Isn’t this too early? I thought I had more time before we dealt with this shit. Should I take her to the doctor? What if something is wrong?”