“Well, I try,” I said with shrug.
“You’re really good at that. I want to do it all the time.”
“
Deal,” I said with a laugh. I knew I was good in bed but I didn’t think I was as amazing as she made it sound. But then I remembered she hadn’t had sex in three years. That was a long time not to get laid. It wasn’t surprising that it was wonderful to her. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
“Enjoyed it?” she said incredulously. “My god
, you’re hot, Jared. Damn hot.”
“You’re just making m
e blush now.”
“You
r cock is so big.”
“Well, yeah.” I wondered if I was bigger than her husband. I must be if she said that. I tried not to think about it. I didn’t want to be compared.
She leaned down and kissed my chest everywhere. “You taste good too.”
“That was the best sex I’ve ever had.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
“I’ve never made love to someone that I was in love with. It was amazing to me too.”
“You’re so sweet, Jared.”
“For you I am.”
“I’m glad.”
“Now you’re mine,” I said as I stared her down, daring her to challenge me.
“I know.”
“You’re all mine, every inch of you.”
“I want to be yours.”
“Good.”
She lay on top of my chest and closed her eyes. “You’re so warm.”
“It’s my job to keep you warm.”
“You’re doing a great job.”
“Sleep with me tonight.”
“And go home in the morning?”
“Yeah.
I want you to sleep with me every night.”
“But what about the kids?”
“I’ll take you home before they wake up.”
“But we can’t sleep together every
night.”
“I can sleep over there.”
She was quiet for a moment. “I suppose.”
“I want the kids to get used to seeing me every morning. We sleep together and we’r
e together. I love their mommy. They’ll understand it eventually.”
She said nothing.
“Is that okay, Ellie?”
“Yes.”
“I realize it’s a big commitment, but I want to do it.”
“I do too.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s what I was hoping for.”
She cuddled next to me and closed her eyes.
I leaned over and set the alarm then held her to my chest, protecting her in my arms. When her breathing grew light, I knew she was asleep. I ran my fingers through her hair for a long time before I finally fell into darkness.
8
When I took Elisa home in the morning, I gave her a long kiss before I left. “I’ll see you when I get off work.”
“Ethan and I have some errands to run tonight.”
“I’ll take you.”
“You will?”
“Don’t ask Ethan anymore. I’ll take you—I want to take you.”
She smiled.
“What do you need to get?”
“Groceries and some other things.”
“I’ll head over as soon as I’m off.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll see you later.” I turned away
and let her close the door. After I heard her lock it, I waved down a cab and headed to work. It was a pretty uneventful day. I sat in my office and responded to all the emails I had. Then I got to work on all the big stuff.
Around lunchtime, Ethan came into my office. “Hey.”
“Hey,” I said.
“So, where were you guys last night?”
I looked at him. “At my apartment.”
“All night?”
I rose from my chair then shut the door. When I returned to my seat, I glared at him. “I respect the fact that you protect your sister and look after her, but when you gave me permission to date her, you also gave me your trust. I will take care of her. Don’t worry about it.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“Yes, she and I were at my apartment all night. I dropped her off before I went to work.”
“So this is serious now?”
“It’s been serious.”
“You’re not messing with her?”
“You’re starting to piss me off. I love your sister, I want to marry your sister, and I want to adopt her kids. If all I wanted was sleep with her, I wouldn’t have stuck around so long. She and I are happy together. And to be frank, I’m sick of this older brother act. Knock it off. I mean it.”
He stared at me but said nothing.
“If I ever hurt your sister, then you can hunt me down. But don’t accuse me of anything until that actually happens.”
“My job is to prevent it from happening.”
I sighed. “I don’t know what more I can say. I told you the truth. I love her and I want to be with her.”
“You’re not getting cold feet?
”
“My feet are on fire.”
He stared at me.
“I’m sick of this bullshit. If th
at’s all you have to say to me, then don’t speak to me at all.”
He sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I—I’m just not handling this well.”
I leaned back in my chair and looked at him. “What do you mean?”
“I’m assuming that you slept together s
ince she stayed there all night?”
I said nothing.
“Don’t answer that. If that’s what happened, that means she’s really moving on. You’re going to be staying at the house, taking care of the kids, and then she isn’t going to need me anymore. She’ll have you.”
I was quiet for a moment. “Isn’t that a good thing?”
“Yes, of course. But—I don’t know. It’s just hard for me to accept. I’m used to being the man in her life, the guardian to her kids.”
Now I understood his meaning. “That isn’t going to change, Ethan.”
“Yes, it is.”
“Elisa still wants you to be around all the time. And frankly, I do too. It’s nice having a stand by babysitter.”
He laughed. “I guess.”
“I’m not trying to replace you.”
“I know.”
“Your sister is in good hands.”
He nodded. “I know that too.”
“And you don’t need to jump ahead so quickly. I’m not going to move in right away and kick you out. We’ll take it slow. I want the kids to be comfortable with me before we make huge changes.”
“Thanks.”
“Yeah.”
“So you guys are going to move in together?”
“Uh—I don’t know. We haven’t talked about it. I’m not sure how she would feel about that since we aren’t married.”
“I don’t know either.”
“I would like to get married but I don’t think she’s ready for that yet.”
“And you are?”
I was quiet for a moment. “Yeah
, I think so.”
Ethan rubbed his palms together. “Well, don’t rush into anything unless you are sure.”
“Yeah.”
“
You make her happy. Keep it up.
“Really?”
“Yeah. I know she really likes you. I haven’t seen her this happy in a long time. She started to sing again.”
“She sings?”
“Like an angel.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“Well, now you do.”
“I’m glad that I make her so happy.”
“I am too.”
“So, we’re cool?”
He smiled. “Yeah. Sorry I was being a jackass before.”
“You mean a crazy asshole?”
“So you heard me and Sadie argue?”
“It’s a
n appropriate nickname.”
He laughed.
“Yeah. It’s perfect,” he said sarcastically. “I forgot to mention something. Elisa’s birthday is this week. I wasn’t sure if you knew that.”
“No,” I said quickly. “Thanks for telling me.”
“Yeah. She’s pretty quiet about it. I figured she didn’t tell you.”
“When is it?”
“Thursday.”
“Thanks.”
“I guess I’ll see you later.”
“Oh. Elisa said she needed to go to the store today. I offered to take her.”
He nodded. “That’s cool.”
I knew he felt like I was stepping on his toes so I added, “You can still come. I just wanted to try and save you from the ordeal.”
He laughed. “No. I need to get some things anyway.”
“Cool.”
“I’ll see you later.” He left the office, leaving the door open.
When the day
was finally over, Ethan and I took a cab back to the townhouse on the other side of town. Now that we had our talk, it didn’t feel so awkward anymore. He was marrying my sister and I accepted that. I knew he would take care of her. Initially, I was worried that he was still the dog he used to be, but he clearly wasn’t. And he seemed to accept my love for Elisa. Obviously, there were feelings below the surface in that respect.
When we walked inside, Elisa rose to her feet and greeted me with a big kiss. I melted in her arms and felt my heart accelerate. I wanted her to greet me th
at way every day. I imagined coming home to her, my wife, and seeing my kids while she cooked dinner in the kitchen. This was exactly what I wanted.
“How was your day?” she asked.
“Good,” I said. “Glad it’s over.”
“Me too,” she said.
“So are you ready to go shopping?”
“Yes,” she said.
Sadie came down the hall and smiled at me. “Where are you going?”
“We need to get groceries,” I answered.
“Well, I’ll watch the kids while you’re gone.”
“Thanks,” I said.
“Ready to go, Ellie?”
“Yeah,” she said as she grabbed her purse.
The three of us walked out the door then headed to the market up the street. I kept my arm around Elisa the entire way and held her close to me. A few shady people walked by and she moved even closer to me. I hated seeing her scared of everyone and everything. I knew that’s why she never went anywhere alone and locked the door so many times.
When we entered the grocery store, Elisa grabbed a cart and started walking down the aisles. Ethan and I trailed behind her until we saw the new video game console on display in front of the story. Elisa continued her grocery shopping while we acted like teenage boys.
“Dude, we should get it,” Ethan said.
“I know. But we’ll just end up playing it the whole time.”
“Too bad the kids aren’t older. We could use them as an excuse.”
I laughed.
“Yeah.”
I looked over my shoulder to check on Elisa and saw her talking to some guy. He was standing very close to her and she kept stepping back, clearly uncomfortable. The sight made my mind snap. I marched over to
them then stepped in front of her, blocking her from view. “Can I help you with something?”
He
glared at me. “No, but you can get out of my way.”
“Back off.”
“I’m just talking to this beautiful lady.”
I stepped closer to him. He was the same heig
ht as me but not nearly as muscular. I saw him flinch as I approached him. “Leave my girlfriend alone.”
He glared at me before he
backed off and walked down the aisle.
When I turned back to Elisa
, she looked relieved.
“Thanks,” she whispered.
I wrapped my arm around her and kissed her forehead. “You never have to be scared when you’re with me.”
She rested her face against my chest. “I know.”
“Do you have pepper spray or a tazer?”
She looked scared. “No.”
“Do you want one?”
“Do you think I need it?” She sounded frightened.
“No, you’ll never need one as long as I’m around, but if it makes you feel better, I’ll get you one.”
She shook her head. “No. I don’t want one.”
I was quiet for a moment. “Okay.”
“Just don’t leave me.”
“I’m so sorry. I forget how beautiful you are. People must bother you all the time.”
She said nothing.
Now I felt like an idiot. I should have figured it out before. What was the point of being so gorgeous when people bothered you all the time? It was a curse, not a blessing. “It won’t happen again.”
“It’s not your fault, Jared.”
“Yes, it is,” I said sadly. “Come on. Let’s finish that list.”
“Okay.” She started to push the cart but I got behind
it and guided it for her. She smiled at me then grabbed her items. I trailed behind her and just watched her shop. A few men stared at her, but when they caught my look they looked away.
When we were done, we went to the checkout counter and met Ethan. He was about to combine his items with hers so he could pay for it, but I stopped him. “I got it.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You’re sure?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Elisa looked at me. “You don’t have to do that, Jared.”
“I take care of you now,” I said. “I don’t mind.”
Elisa fell quiet.
I grabbed her face and kissed her. “I want to take care of you.”
She smiled at me. “You’re so sweet, Jared.”
I paid for the groceries then grabbed the bags. I didn’t let her carry anything. When Ethan was done, we left the store. I noticed he only had one bag. “What did you get?”
He said nothing for a moment. He grabbed the box and showed it to us.
“Tampons?”
I asked with disgust.
He shrugged. “Sadie asked me to get some.”
Elisa smiled. “Tom used to do it for me all the time.”
“Yeah, but that’s different.”
“How?” she asked.
“It just is,” he said.
“Are you sure you want to get married?” I asked.
“I’m having second thoughts,” he said with a laugh.
“It’s not too late,” I said.
“Stop being jerks,” Elisa said
. She looked at me. “You would do it if I asked you to.”
I smiled at her. “Well, that’s different. I would do anything for you.”
She smiled at me and Ethan rolled his eyes.
When we got home, I helped Elisa put all the groceries away while everyone stayed in the living room. When
we were done, I looked at her. “I’m really sorry about today. It won’t happen again.”
“Jared, you didn’t do anything wrong. When you saw
someone bothering me, you took care of it.”
“I
t shouldn’t have happened at all.”
“He didn’t try to hurt me.”
“That’s beside the point.” I grabbed her face and looked at her. “You never have to worry about your safety with me. I want you to know that.”
“I believe you, Jared.”
“I can go to the store for you if you’re more comfortable with that.”
She sighed. “As much as I would love that
, I can’t stay in the house forever.”
I kissed her nose. “Let me know if you change your mind.”
“Okay,” she said. “And Jared?”
“Yeah?”
“I know you can take care of me.”
I smiled. “That means the world to me.”
We moved into the living room and sat on the couch. I played with Tommy for a while then read him a story. Becky crawled into Elisa’s lap and started to color in her coloring book. Ethan and Sadie sat on the couch tangled up together. Ethan drank from his beer while he played with Sadie’s hair.