Only One Kiss (Only One 1)

She walks over to me. “I was going to use the bathroom if that’s okay before I feed her.” She holds out her hand for the bottle.

“I can start feeding her, and then you can take over,” she says, tilting her head to lay her cheek on Ari’s head. “I mean, if that’s okay.” She waits for me to answer, and I just stand here watching her and wondering if this is how Cassie would have been. After I hand her the bottle, I turn to walk away before I say something to make her think I’m a fucking creep.

Turning, I walk down the hallway, peeking in doorways until I find a bathroom. I go in and sit down and close my eyes. Fuck, what the hell is going on? I take my hat off and toss it on the bathroom counter, putting my head down. I wait for my heart to slow down before getting up and turning on the cold water. Maybe I’m having a heatstroke. I cup my hands under the water and splash it on my face three times. Grabbing the towel, I dab my face with it and ignore looking at myself in the mirror. I can’t even stand myself right now. The last thing I need is to look at any woman that way or even want anyone. This was not for me. Picking up my hat, I open the door, going straight to the family room where I expect Candace and Ari to be. When I don’t see her on the couch, I look outside where the party is still in full mode. The men are all in the pool supervising the kids as they jump in while the women sit together talking and laughing. Turning, I walk back into the house, trying again not to look around where I shouldn’t when I hear her voice again. I walk back to the office, but she isn’t there, and when I hear her voice again, and I walk to the other room, I’m shocked that it’s a room for a baby. A white crib is pushed against a white wall, and huge pink flowers painted on the right wall look so real. I look around and see that she’s sitting in a rocking chair as she holds the bottle. She watches Ari while she rocks, and then she must feel me looking at her because she looks up. “Hey,” she says softly. “She’s out like a light.”

“Is she still drinking?” I ask, walking into the room and feeling my feet sink into the white plush rug. “This carpet is so soft.”

“I had three layers of padding added,” she says. “In case Zoey decided to climb out of the crib and fall.” I look around the room and see that there are pictures of Zoey everywhere.

“I have a confession to make,” I finally say awkwardly, and she just looks at me as she rocks my child in her arms.

“Okay,” she says softly, her voice probably staying low in order not to startle Ari.

“I know who you are.” The words come out a little bit harsh, and the look on her face is confusion and shock. “I mean, not like I know who you are I’m secretly stalking you,” I say, and when her face still doesn’t change, I know I literally sound like a creep. I take my hat off and laugh as I scratch my head and pull my hair. “Okay, I’m going to start over.”

She chuckles now. “Okay.” She smiles. “Why don’t you go back out and then come back in again, and we can start over?” I don’t know if she’s joking or not, and I already fucked this up more than I should have, so I turn and start to walk out of the room, and she laughs louder now. “Stop. I was kidding.” I turn around as she takes the empty bottle out of Ari’s mouth and holds it in her hands. “So you know who I am?”

“No.” I think of the words to say. “I mean, I’ve heard of you.” She stares at me still. “I seriously am going to stop talking right now. I just want to say I’ve heard of you through a couple of people. All good.”

“Well, thank you,” she says. “I think.”

I look down at them, and my head is just swimming right now. “Do you want me to take her?”

“Nah.” She looks down and rubs her cheek with her finger. “I love this.”

“You’re a natural,” I say, and she looks up.

“I can’t wait until it’s my time,” she says, her whole face lighting up, and it’s at that point I know that I can never ever do anything with her. “I just need to fall in love, and you know, get married and all that jazz.”