The Adventures of Sir and Babygirl (5 page)

“Why are you blushing?”

“You’re staring at me. It makes me a little
nervous. Actually all of this makes me nervous. I’m not sure what
to say or how to act. And then there’s a pretty girl behind the
counter who knows me by name AND order, and doesn’t that make me
pathetic?” Katie rambled without taking a breath.

“Ok, ok. Slow down. I’m staring because
you’re beautiful. And I’m nervous too.” Johnathan kept his voice
low and even. Clearly Katie was skittish. If he came on too strong,
she’d bolt.

“You are?” Katie looked at him with wide
eyes, her voice filled with disbelief.

“Yeah, I am. This is new for me, too, ya
know.” His smile was bright. “I do have a question, though. What
pretty girl?”

Katie’s jaw dropped. He had to be kidding
her. Didn’t he see the blonde bombshell who’d just taken his
money?

“Uh, the blonde? She took your money? Thank
you for that, by the way. I was going to pay for my own tea. You
didn’t have to…” Johnathan quieted Katie with a finger over her
mouth.

“No, I didn’t have to. I wanted to.” His
voice became firmer. “And the blonde’s ok, but she’s not my
type.”

“Thank you,” whispered Katie, looking down at
her hands. This wasn’t going the way she’d thought. She’d hoped to
be bright and bubbly. Instead, she was nervous and babbling.

“Hey. Look at me.” Johnathan’s voice was
kind. Katie looked into his eyes. “Everything’s fine. Why don’t we
just catch up? Pretend we’re on the phone instead of here. How was
your day?”

Katie eyed him warily, unsure of how to
respond. Finally, she began talking about her day at work. Before
long, Katie became more animated, waving her hands and rolling her
eyes as she described the characters in her office and the people
she dealt with during the day. Johnathan smiled, enchanted and
enthralled with her.

After several minutes, Katie wound down a
little and asked Johnathan about his day. Katie leaned forward as
he began to speak. Her eyes watched his every move as she took in
his every word. Any casual observer could see she was equally
enthralled with Johnathan.

The two talked for hours. No topic was off
limits – children, politics, the economy. When Katie didn’t feel
informed about a topic, she said so. Even when they disagreed, the
conversation remained pleasant. Johnathan cracked corny jokes, and
Katie laughed as if they were the funniest things she’d ever heard.
He decided he loved her laugh, and he loved watching her laugh.
Every dumb joke elicited the same response. Katie threw her head
back, closed her eyes and clapped her hands, laughing long and
loud.

Deep in a conversation about the current
political climate, they didn’t notice the pretty blonde approach
their table.

“Um, excuse me?” The two looked up in
surprise at her. “I am so sorry, but we’re about to close for the
evening.”

Shocked, they looked at one another and then
at their watches. They had spent the past four hours talking.
Apologizing profusely, Katie and Johnathan gathered up their
belongings. With sheepish grins at one another, they walked outside
without noticing the smiles of the coffee shop employees.

Johnathan walked Katie to her car. He didn’t
want the night to end, but they both needed to get home. Katie
opened the door and threw her stuff inside. Reluctantly, she looked
down at the seat. She wasn’t ready to leave.

Johnathan grabbed her hand and held it
lightly. “I’ll call you tomorrow. Okay?” Katie nodded.

He cleared his throat before continuing.
“Next time, can I take you to dinner?”

Katie hesitated for a second before
answering. “I’d like that very much, Johnathan. Very much.”

She blushed and quickly sat down. Johnathan
closed her car door in a daze. Smiling like a fool, he waved as
Katie drove away. He would text her in the morning, call her
tomorrow evening, and spend tonight dreaming about beautiful
Katie.

Sitting on the bench next to Johnathan, Katie
wondered if she made a mistake. Allowing Johnathan and Olivia to
meet felt right, but she worried. On the phone earlier that
morning, she gave him every opportunity to cancel.

“Are you sure you’re up for this? She’s a
rambunctious four-year old, Johnathan.” Katie’s voice held a
mixture of concern and fear.

“I’ve got kids of my own, you know. I
remember what rambunctious feels like.” She could hear the smile in
his voice.

“I know, I know. But I won’t blame you if
you’d rather not do this.”

Johnathan sighed into the phone. “We’ve been
over this before, Katie. I want to meet Olivia when you’re ready
for me to meet her. I’m not going anywhere, and I won’t be scared
off by a little girl. Especially since I’ve survived twin boys – so
far.”

“You’re laughing at me over there!” Katie
laughed. “Ok, ok, we’ll see how this goes.”

Katie still questioned herself. Was she being
selfish? What would this do to Olivia? What if it didn’t work out
between her and Johnathan?

For several weeks, Katie managed to see
Johnathan whenever her ex-husband took Olivia on a random night.
Her ex had always been unreliable, even when they were married, and
before long, he found reason after reason not to spend time with
Olivia. Fearful of confusing her daughter and being asked
uncomfortable questions, Katie wouldn’t see Johnathan as long as
Olivia was with her.

Johnathan understood Katie’s concern. Her
first priority had to be raising her daughter, especially with her
dumbass ex-husband only vaguely in the picture. After a month of
speaking on the phone and little else, Johnathan missed Katie and
decided to take matters into his own hands.

“Let’s take Olivia to the park and then to
lunch,” suggested Johnathan. “She’ll be distracted by having
something fun to do, and there will be less pressure on
everyone.”

Katie wanted to find a reason why that idea
wouldn’t work. She knew he was right, and his tone suggested he
wasn’t going to let her say no.

Here they were, at the park, watching Olivia
play. When introduced to Johnathan, Olivia became shy and hid
behind Katie’s legs. Johnathan picked a wild flower from the grass
and twirled the stem between his fingers.

“I’d love to give this to a beautiful girl
named Olivia. I wonder where I can find someone like that.”
Johnathan looked everywhere but at Olivia, pretending not to see
her.

Olivia stared at the yellow flower with
longing. Her face was serious as she considered what to do.
Finally, she yelled, “I’m Olivia! I’m Olivia!! Can I have the
flower?”

Johnathan turned to her, smiling and “seeing”
her. He reached down and presented Olivia with the wildflower. “Of
course you can, Olivia. It’s very nice to meet you.”

“Nith to meet you, too!” exclaimed Olivia in
her baby lisp. With that, she ran off to play.

Katie stared at Johnathan in disbelief. She’d
never seen anyone charm Olivia that easily or quickly. Katie had a
feeling that by the end of the day, Olivia would be wrapped around
his finger. She wouldn’t admit this to anyone, but Katie already
knew she was besotted with Johnathan herself.

“Well, that worked better than I
anticipated,” chuckled Johnathan. “What will it take to get the
same reaction from you, Katie-girl?”

Katie looked away, blushing. She felt
Johnathan’s finger stroke her cheek. “I do love making you
blush.”

“Um, let’s go sit somewhere and watch
Olivia,” croaked Katie. How did he always manage to do that to
her?

Johnathan grabbed Katie’s hand and led her
over to a bench near the slides. Olivia looked around the
playground and waved when she saw them. Katie and Johnathan waved
back. Watching Olivia play always had a calming effect on Katie.
Usually, simply being in Johnathan’s presence relaxed her, too.
Maybe the time they’d spent apart had more of an affect than Katie
realized because she fidgeted and squirmed on the bench, wishing
they were somewhere private.

Watching Katie fidget made Johnathan smile.
She was on edge, and he liked seeing her squirm. He was long past
ready to allow his Dominance to show with her, but he knew he
needed to wait until the right time. On the spot, he decided the
time was now.

Johnathan reached up and yanked Katie’s
ponytail. The casual observer would think he was being playful.
Katie knew better. She hissed between her teeth and struggled to
keep her expression neutral. The sharp pain in her scalp was
delicious, and she felt sparks shoot directly to her center. Katie
squirmed in her seat now for a different reason.

“Have I got your attention, Katie-girl?”
Johnathan practically snarled under his breath.

“Y-yes, you do, Johnathan,” whimpered Katie,
desperately trying to keep maintain her composure. Johnathan
smiled.

“I know you’re questioning your decisions.
I’m sensitive to your concerns as a mother. As far as Olivia is
concerned, I will just be a friend of Mommy’s – until you want her
to think differently,” stated Johnathan. “But don’t shut me out of
your life. Please Katie.” Johnathan’s voice deepened with sadness
and longing.

Katie turned to look at him, surprised at the
change in his tone. “I’m sorry, Johnathan. I just didn’t think
you’d want to hang out with a four year old. I missed you, though.
I promise.”

“Oh, Katie, I missed you, too!” Katie was
shocked at Johnathan’s willingness to be vulnerable in front of
her. “I want to spend time with you, even if that means making mud
pies or playing Barbies or whatever Olivia likes to do. The more I
learn about you, the more I want to be with you.”

Katie trembled at Johnathan’s words. She was
so afraid of hurting again, but she could not deny she cared a
great deal for the strong man sitting next to her. She struggled to
find the right words, scared of saying the wrong thing. Could she
let go of her fears with this man and just accept whatever time
they had together?

A piercing scream cut short her next thought.
Katie looked over at the monkey bars in time to see Olivia land
hard on the ground. Jumping up, the two ran to Olivia. Katie could
feel the panic rising inside of her, but she knew she could not let
Olivia see anything but a calm concern. Kneeling next to her
daughter, Katie feared the worst. Olivia turned her head towards
Katie and cried, “Mommy! I don’t like those bars!”

Katie smiled at the indignant tone in
Olivia’s voice. Johnathan threw his head back and laughed. Olivia
couldn’t be too hurt if she was capable of such outrage. Katie
looked her over from head to toe, noting the scrape on her knee
beginning to bleed. She and Johnathan shared a look of relief.

Scooping Olivia up in his arms, Johnathan
tickled her ribs and made funny animal noises. Katie was grateful
for the distraction. She knew the moment Olivia saw blood, she
would panic and begin to notice the pain from her bumps and
bruises. Johnathan carried Olivia to his car and sat her on the
hood.

“Ok, Olivia, sit here with your mom. I’m
going to get a couple of things to get you cleaned up!” Johnathan
kept his voice light. He opened his trunk and pulled out a small
first-aid kit.

“I don’t have any Barbie or princess
band-aids, but hopefully this will do!” Johnathan silently showed
Katie a vast array of multi-colored band-aids. Katie smiled as she
pointed to the bright purple bandage. “Hmmm, what’s your favorite
color, Olivia?”

“Purple!” cried Olivia.

“Well, I think I have something you might
like.” Johnathan pulled the purple bandage out of the kit. He
quickly cleaned Olivia’s knee and placed the band-aid on her
knee.

Olivia squealed and clapped her hands. “I
need a kiss to make it better! First Mommy!” Katie leaned down to
kiss her baby’s knee. “Now Mith-ter Johnathan!”

Katie looked at Johnathan in shock. Just as
she was about to tell him that he didn’t have to, Johnathan leaned
down and gently kissed Olivia’s knee. Katie’s heart melted.

“Ok, it’s all better! Can we go now?” Katie
and Johnathan looked at one another and laughed.

****

Later that night, Johnathan sat on Katie’s
couch waiting for her to come downstairs. Olivia’s bedtime routine
took longer than usual as Olivia came up with excuse after excuse
to stay awake and in the thick of things with Johnathan and Katie.
Walking down the stairs, Katie brushed her hair out of her eyes and
sighed.

“I think she’s finally down for the night. At
least I hope so.”

Johnathan could hear the fatigue in Katie’s
voice. He patted the couch. “Sit down, Katie-girl. It’s been a long
day.”

Katie settled onto the couch next to
Johnathan and leaned into his arms. She still couldn’t get over how
much differently the day had gone than she planned. After lunch,
Olivia insisted that Johnathan come play at her house. He jumped at
the chance, happy to spend time with both Olivia and Katie.

Katie told him over and over again that he
didn’t have to play with her rambunctious daughter, but that didn't
dissuade him from having a tea party with Olivia while Katie
cleaned the house or allowing her to ride him around the living
room like a giant horse while Katie wrote a blog. Katie apologized
every time another activity was demanded of him, but he silenced
her with a look, telling her to get done what she needed.

Olivia begged Katie to let Johnathan stay for
dinner. Katie warned him she wasn’t much of a cook, and her menu
was kid-friendly. Johnathan quieted her with another look and told
Olivia he would love to eat dinner with her. All three of them
worked in the kitchen. Olivia stirred the cheese into the macaroni,
and she placed the forks very carefully on the napkins. Johnathan
cleaned up the kitchen behind Katie as she cooked, commenting that
she was a hurricane in the kitchen. She didn’t deny his words. She
used every inch of space and always managed to make a mess. Katie
shooed them both to the table and enjoyed serving Johnathan
dinner.