“I do love you,” I whisper. This is not what I thought would happen between us.
“So all the rest can be worked out.”
“All the rest can be worked out,” I repeat as his arms wrap around me and he pulls me into his chest.
“Now, is it time for make-up sex?” he asks with a grin, making me tilt my head back and laugh at the hopeful look on his face.
When I get control of my laughter, I search his face. The look in his eyes makes me pause. He’s still smiling, but he looks vulnerable. He’s not used to the things he’s feeling, and I know that, if we’re going to do this right, we need to take it slow for both of us.
“How do you feel about watching a movie and making out with me?” I ask with a smile.
“We can do that,” he says softly, helping me off the counter and grabbing our beers before leading me into the living room.
We are just getting comfortable when my phone rings from my bag in the kitchen. I know from the tone that it Brandon. I get up off the couch and go to my bag, pulling out my phone.
“Hey, honey,” I answer, putting the phone to my ear.
“Where are you?”
“Excuse me?” I ask, hearing the anger in his voice.
“I heard you were with Mike.”
“I am with Mike.”
“Mom, what the fuck?”
“Brandon, you’re the child. I’m the parent,” I remind him. Since we have been on our own without his dad, he has been stepping over his boundaries more and more.
“Whatever,” he says before hanging up on me.
I pull the phone away from my ear and look at the screen.
“Everything okay?” Mike asks, making me jump.
I sigh and turn to look at him. As much as I want to hang out, I need to go home and talk to my son.
“I need to go home,” I tell him, shaking my head.
“Brandon okay?” he asks, looking concerned.
“Yeah. I just need to go home and have a talk with him.”
“I’ll drive you.”
“Thank you,” I whisper, getting my bag and following him out to his truck.
Chapter 4
KAT
I answer my phone, my voice cracki
ng. “Hello.”
“What’s wrong, baby?” Mike asks, his voice softening as my body collapses back onto the bed.
“I’m sick,” I tell him, pulling the covers over me.
“Where’s Brandon?”
“He’s staying the night at a friend’s house tonight,” I mumble, cuddling deeper into my pillow. I woke up with a headache, and throughout the day, I have slowly gotten worse. My nose started running, and then I started getting chills. “I took some medicine,” I say absently.
“I’ll be over in an hour.” His concern comes to me though the phone like a soothing caress.
“You don’t need to come,” I say immediately, not wanting him to get sick. Working from home, I’m able to make my own schedule, but I know he doesn’t have the option of being sick. His club is very important to him and his brother.
“Do you like chicken noodle soup?” he asks, ignoring me and my protest.
“I don’t want you to get sick.”
“I’ll be fine. Now answer my question.”
I smile at his bossiness and nod into my pillow as I tell him, “Yes.”
“I’ll see you soon, baby,” he says, softly making my heart swell. Since we got back together, he has been all in and our relationship couldn’t be any better.
“’Kay,” I whisper, falling asleep.
“Kat, wake up, baby,” I hear then feel a cool rag on my forehead.
I open my eyes slowly. They feel so heavy.
“Hey,” Mike says, running a finger down the underside of my jaw. “I need you to sit up and take some medicine for me.”
I blink and slowly sit up with his help. “Thanks,” I tell him, taking the pills from his hand and putting them in my mouth before taking the cup from him and swallowing them down.
“You got a thermometer?”
“In the bathroom,” I whisper.
He gets up and leaves, coming back a few seconds later with it in his hand. “Open up, babe,” he says, sitting on the side of the bed near my hip.
I open my mouth before closing my lips around it. When I hear it go off, I open my eyes, not even having realized they were closed.
He removes it from my mouth and shakes his head. “One-oh-two,” he says, looking at me worriedly.
“I’ll be okay.” I lean my head against the headboard and pull the covers up to my waist.
His hand comes up, his fingers running along my hairline. “I’d feel better if you didn’t have a temp.”
I smile. “You can’t control everything.”
“I don’t like you sick. How about you take a shower while I make you some soup?”
“Okay,” I sigh. I can tell by the look on his face that he’s not going to give up until my temperature is down. I sit up completely, and he helps me into the bathroom, starting the shower for me before helping me remove my clothes. There is nothing sexual about it, and I can tell by the concentration on his face that he is just focused on taking care of me and helping me get better.
“You gonna be okay or do you want me to stay in here?” he asks, helping me into the shower.
“I’ll be okay.” I nod, tilting my head back under the water.
The feel of the warm water running over me makes me sigh in relief. I open my eyes when I don’t hear him say anything else. His hands are above his head, holding on to the shower rod, the muscles of his harms flexing. The look on his face has me swallowing hard.