“That had to be it,” he breathes, lifting his head to look at me.
“Be what?” I ask in a daze, my orgasm still lingering in my system.
“The time I got my girl.”
I shake my head and start to laugh. We decided a while back that we would start trying for another baby, and since then, Kai has insisted he wants a girl. But unlike the first time we got pregnant, this time has seemed to be a little more work. Yesterday, when I took an ovulation test, Kai sent Maxim away to his parents’ house for a few days when it came up positive in hopes that lots of sex during this time would get us what we wanted.
“It will happen,” I tell him.
He rests his head against my chest again.
Four years later
What we didn’t know then was that Kai was right. That was the moment he got his girl.
I look down near the shore as Kai chases Melanie, our youngest. Her cries of joy and laughter fill the air as her long, curly, blond hair flies around her head.
“No, Daddy!” she screams, making me laugh.
Kai has been chasing her for the last few minutes, trying to get her to put her swim bottoms back on, but every time he gets close to catching her, she runs off again.
I take in the hotness that is my husband when he pauses, crossing his arms over his chest. His shirtless torso is defined by hard muscle covered by smooth, dark skin. His hair is down, and the shorts he has on show of the V of his hips. His eyes come to me and he shakes his head. I know what he’s thinking. She’s cute, but a pain. The moment he held her in his arms—actually, before that—she had him wrapped around her little finger. I guess that’s not surprising since she is his only girl.
Melanie pauses, looks over her shoulder, realizing that her dad isn’t chasing her, and then runs back past him just out of arm’s reach before running towards me, screaming, “Sabe me, Mommy!”
I catch her in my arms, careful of my belly, and pat her cute, bottomless little toosh. “Easy, baby,” I tell her, quietly pulling her close to my chest.
“Sorry,” she says, patting my belly, where her baby brother is growing.
“Got you.” Kai chuckles, plucking her out of my arms and quickly putting her pants on her before she has a chance to wiggle away again.
“You know she’s just going to take them off again.”
“I know,” he mutters, pulling me closer, kissing first my forehead then my lips. “Are you excited to see your mom and brother?” he asks, pulling me closer to his side.
“Yes! I can’t wait to see all the kids together. And I know my mom is excited to be here for the baby shower,” I tell him, leaning deeper into his side.
He kisses my hair again.
“What do you feel like doing for dinner?” I ask him after a moment.
His eyes come to me and go soft. This is what he worked so hard to achieve, and even though it is something so small, I know that these are the moments he is always thankful for.
“Whatever you want.”
“Does that mean I’m cooking?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.
“Fine. I’ll grill,” he mutters, kissing the look off my face.
“Yum.” I smile, and he shakes his head.
“You owe me a cake,” he whispers.
I feel myself squirm at the word cake. Since having the house to ourselves, Kai has a lot of cake, and—lucky me—normally, I’m the plate he prefers.
“Daddy, come play with me!” our son Maxim shouts as he squats down in the sand in front of a castle he’s working on.
“Yeah, Daddy! Come help us!” Melanie shouts, and I notice that she is, once again, naked.
“Go on, Daddy,” I tell him, pressing into his side.
He turns towards me, where I’m sitting on the ground, and gets on his knees. Then he wraps his hand around the back of my head as he lays me back in the sand, taking my mouth in a kiss that steals my breath the same way he stole my heart.
“Love you,” he whispers then jumps up, walking over to the kids before I can reply.
I look at my husband and my babies and thank my mom and dad, wherever they are. I know that it’s because of them I have all of this.
The End
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Distraction
Sven and Maggie’s story
I wake up with my head pounding, the feel of a bare leg over the top of mine, and a hand wrapped around my breast. I open one eye and close it immediately when I see dark, golden hair, a nose, and lips I know too well. Sven I try to recall last night, but my whole memory is blank. My heart starts to beat more rapidly as I notice that I’m completely naked—and so is the man asleep on top of me.
“What have I done?” I whisper as I recognize that the space between my legs is sore and wet.
Tears fill my eyes as I realize that the thing I promised myself I would only give to my husband has been given to a man who has had more partners in and out of his bed than he can even count. And the worst part is that I don’t remember anything.