I’ve been ignoring Bri’s phone calls all damn day, and I feel guilty as hell about it. Haven’t decided what to say to her. I know she’s worried over nothing and I could ease her mind, but I also know if I tell her Alyssa is okay and everything is fine, she’ll definitely tell Theo if she hasn’t already.
I don’t know why I’m so reluctant for him to find out Alyssa’s still alive. I know it’s inevitable, but I don’t like it. All I can picture is him coming back around now that Alyssa’s “family” and he has a cover, and there’s just no way that ends well for any of us.
I tell myself it’s my instincts responsible for making me want to put off that asshole finding out Alyssa is alive and well, but it might just be insecurity. For all that Alyssa swears she’s into me now and over him, she crossed that line with him once. How confident am I, really, that she never would again?
Goddammit, I hate even letting thoughts like that float through my head.
I hate letting the rest of the world in on our relationship, and now that’s inevitable.
I took tomorrow off so I can take Alyssa out. I need to buy her a ring and meet her family. I texted a little bit ago to let her know so she could set something up, but I haven’t heard back.
Makes me wonder if she’s dragging her feet about introducing me to her family. I’d understand it, but I can’t say I’d like it.
Even with a few important things up in the air, I feel good about coming home tonight. It’s knowing Alyssa’s here that makes all the difference.
Given how late it is, I’m not even sure she’ll be awake, but when I get closer to the house, I see lights are on upstairs. Scout doesn’t bother to greet me at the door like he usually does when he’s home alone, so I figure he must be upstairs with her.
Sure enough, when I step into my well-lit bedroom, I see him curled up asleep on his dog bed in the corner. Alyssa’s lying on the bed in a pair of black lacey panties and a white tank top with no bra, so much of her bare body on display that my cock starts to harden immediately. She’s scrolling mindlessly on her phone when I walk in, but her attention jumps to me and she smiles.
“Hey, handsome. How was your day?”
I cock an eyebrow and take an extra few seconds to look over her long, shapely legs, completely bare on top of neatly tucked bedding. “You sure know how to greet a man after a long day of work,” I tell her.
“I’m practicing my wife game,” she says lightly. “Glad to hear you approve. I’d have even made you dinner if you got home at a normal hour.”
Yeah, now that I’ve got a woman and a baby on the way, I’m gonna have to do something about my hours. Working all the time kept me busy when it was just me, but it’s not the right kind of schedule for having a family at home.
Easing the door shut behind me, I walk over and set my cell phone on the bedside table. I scowl at the bed, unaccustomed to it being made, then start to pull it all back so I can climb underneath. I get it halfway off, but I give up since I’m not undressed for bed anyway and sit on top.
Alyssa looks up from her phone just as I climb on top of her. Then she puts it down and grins up at me. “Do I get a kiss?”
“You get as many as you want,” I tell her, tilting my head to claim her lips.
Alyssa wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me back for a few minutes before I pull away.
“I need a shower,” I tell her.
“Want some company?”
“If I ever turn that down, shoot me.”
Alyssa grins. “I could never shoot you.”
“It’d be a mercy. Just put me out of my misery.”
She shakes her head and kisses me again, then pushes me off her so she can move off the bed.
“Did you talk to your family about dinner tomorrow?” I ask as I climb off as well and follow her to the bathroom.
Immediately, she becomes more evasive. “Um, yeah. I’m not sure tomorrow will work for dinner, but we could stop over at some point. My mom probably won’t be there, but you could meet Amber and the kids, and of course Pappy would be there.”
“Kinda defeats the purpose if your mom’s not there, doesn’t it? I imagine you’d want to tell her first.”
“She can find out after. It doesn’t really matter,” Alyssa tells me as she tugs her tank top off and drops it in the laundry basket.