I lead him away from Allison’s room and peek into Matthew’s. I guess I was right. There in his queen bed rests the first man to ever have my heart unconditionally, his science book tossed on the floor beside his bed, soft snoring coming out of him.
“Just like I thought. It was a long day, plus he was at the rink all day.”
His hands go around my waist, walking away from the bedroom toward the front door. Well, that answers my question. Guess he’s leaving. He opens the door, and when I’m thinking he will walk down the steps, he walks around to the hammock.
“Lie with me?” he asks.
“Have you seen yourself? You can’t fit in that hammock. You’re huge.”
He goes to lie down, keeping one foot on the ground, lying in the hammock.
“I guess you can fit like that.”
I lie down next to him, or more like half on top of him.
“Babe, we are not getting hot and heavy with the kids inside. I just want to lie down with my woman, chilling.”
“Define hot and heavy.” I’m not even going to try to deny that I want him anymore. I want him any way I can get him.
He puts his finger under my chin, lifting my lips to his, slowly inching his tongue inside of my mouth. It feels like home. It feels that, no matter what happens during the day, if I come home to this, everything is going to be worth it.
That’s what we do in the hammock, we kiss, we feel, we relax, and in all that relaxing I finally fall asleep with my man in my hammock.
Chapter Ten
Sunday morning cuddles is what I live for. Well, every other Sunday. After falling asleep in the hammock with Cooper, he woke me up some hours later with soft butterfly kisses. Which led to some heavy making out with me ending up moaning out his name. So now I’m waking up to different kisses, kisses from my blond-headed baby girl whispering about her love for pancakes.
Standing up at the counter making Mickey Mouse pancakes, there is a knock at the door, making me look at Matthew like he was expecting someone.
“Matthew, can you go see who is at the door, please?”
“Sure.”
A couple of minutes later, I see Matthew walking into the kitchen, and just before I ask him who it was I see a familiar baseball cap following him.
“Good morning, everyone. I thought I would bring some doughnuts and coffee,” he says, holding the box of dozen doughnuts while he hands me a coffee.
“We can’t habe doughnuts now. Mom is making Mickey Mouse pancakes. His smile is made from chocolate chips. We habe to eat this. Plus, it’s Sunbay. Eberybody knows it’s pancake day.” Allison looks straight at Cooper, showing him her beautiful smile after her instructions.
“I’m sorry, Allison, I didn’t know about Sunday pancakes. Do you think I can have one?”
“Momma, can Cooper habe pancakes? He didn’t know about Sunbay.”
“Umm, I think I have enough for one more,” I say, looking up at him while he bends to kiss my cheek. I look over at Matthew, who is very quiet in the corner.
“Hey, Matthew, how about you set the table for four outside?”
“Yeah, sure thing. Aly, do you want to come help me?”
“No, I habe to help Momma. Cooper can help you. It can be boys with boys and girls with girls.”
“That sounds like a good idea. Matthew, what can I carry for you?”
“You can grab the orange juice from the fridge, the syrup, and the napkins. I got the rest.”
“Okay, so boys will do boy things, girls will do girls. See you outside, ladies.”
When the last pancake is flipped, I lead the way with Allison following closely behind, carrying the box of doughnuts.
“Cooper, Momma said we habe to bring this outside to be bolite, in case you get more hubgry.” Allison is very matter-of-fact.
“Okay, princess, sit down in your chair, and I’ll hand you the pancakes.”
The meal is running smoothly. It’s also the first time I’ve had anyone but James at my table with the kids. I’m mid chew when Matthew shocks the shit out of me.
“So, Cooper, you and my mom…are you guys dating?”
Forget mid chew, I’m now choking on my pancake. I’m not even ready to admit to myself what the heck we are, let alone to my kids. I go to clear my throat when Cooper takes over for me.
“Yeah, bud, we are. I like your mom. Actually I like her a lot, and I hope she likes me, too. I plan on hanging around more and more. I hope that is okay with you and Allison.”
“Do you want to kiss my momma?” Allison asks, and in that moment, I want the earth to eat me up.
“Well, I really like to kiss her, but I also like to hold her hand and hug her. But most of all I like to make her smile. I want to make her as happy as she is when she is with you.”