How’d I end up in the middle? How the hell was I supposed to sleep like this? Suddenly, the floor seemed like a much smarter solution. If I lay on my back, I took up too much room. If I lay on a side, then I was spooning either my daughter, which was wrong; or Beatrice, which was…uncomfortable, but the lesser of the evils.

So, I rolled toward Beatrice and prayed I didn’t get too close so my body didn’t give me away. The past week had been particularly challenging. I’d been noticing little things, like the way her eyes lit up while we spoke, or the way her gentle laughter awakened feelings inside me I’d thought dormant. I could watch her caring for Thea all day long. The way they interacted reminded me of Megyn somehow. This seemed so natural, liking a beautiful young woman who seemed to love my daughter.

I spent some time remembering every minute of my life since Mo left and Beatrice moved in. Somehow, after what seemed like forever, I managed to fall asleep. I only knew this because hours later, I woke up to find I had my arms around Beatrice and my erection wedged against her buttocks. Make that her perfectly formed bottom. I groaned in shame and a good bit of need. If Thea wasn’t behind me, if she wasn’t my nanny, if I didn’t feel like I was betraying Megyn, things might have gone differently. Instead, I released her and slid out of bed, careful not to wake either of them. Holding my head in my hands and hoping my erection would go down, I struggled with the realization I had four more nights of this. How was I going to survive four more nights of this? And how much was I going to miss it when we returned home?

Taking a few long strides, I managed to reach the bathroom. Once inside with the door closed and locked, I turned on the shower, stripped down and stepped in. The water was brisk, just as I intended. This was my punishment…for everything. I forced myself into the stream and struggled not to cry out when the cool water hit me in the chest and ran down the length of me. By the time I finished washing up, my balls had sucked themselves into my body. My cock had become flaccid. And I was painfully wide awake after all of five hours asleep. This was going to be a long day.

I dried off the best I could with the tiny white scratchy towel. Naturally, I’d forgotten my clothes, so I listened for nearly a minute. When I heard nothing but silence from the bedroom, I tightened the towel around my waist, wishing it was at least six inches wider and longer, before I snuck out of the bedroom. I made it as far as the dresser, where Beatrice had set our bag of clothes, when I heard a gasp. Whipping around, I saw her sitting up in bed, eyes bulging, a hand clapped over her mouth. I’d felt the breeze. I knew my ass was half exposed when I bent over.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered loudly, hoping at least Thea would sleep through this. The last thing I wanted to do was scar her for life. Then I grabbed the clothes and straightened abruptly, which made the towel loosen around my waist. I felt it give, but I was so distracted, I didn’t catch it in time. For a few seconds, I stood before Beatrice bare-assed, blushing, and blathering both apologies and explanations while covering myself with my handful of clothes. “I didn’t mean for that to happen,” I grumbled. My face burned as I added, “I took a cold shower. It’s shrinkage, dammit.” Beatrice giggled and nodded while I bolted to the bathroom.

An hour later, we were in the car, traveling down the highway on the way to California. I hadn’t spoken since, hoping I could pull off that I had suddenly become the strong, silent type when in reality, I’d never felt so weak.

Beatrice leaned over the console and spoke in a low hushed tone after checking to see that Thea was distracted. “It’s no big deal.”

“Is that a pun? I told you about the shower,” I murmured as my eyes darted back and forth while examining her face for a hint at her true feelings. Beatrice wasn’t the type to hide them. I’d picked up on that trait immediately.

She sighed. “No. This has nothing to do with size. That doesn’t matter. I mean…”

I chuckled. “Did you just try to appease me with the whole ‘size doesn’t matter’ bit?” I rolled my eyes before looking away and trying to focus on the drive.

Beatrice groaned. “No. I was trying to let you know that I know the whole towel drop wasn’t intentional. Obviously, it was an accident. If you were going to do it, you’d exhibit far more finesse, I’m sure.” She grinned. “I imagine you’d be swinging the towel over your head and wiggling your hips.” Her cheeks grew pink and it was my turn to smile and enjoy her discomfort. She cleared her throat nervously. “Not that I picture you naked…dancing with a towel.” She covered her face and sank down in her seat more, then recovered enough to turn the tables once again. “Anyway, the point I’m trying to make is…why would you drop your towel in front of me given the circumstances?” She gestured toward my crotch.

“Because of the shrinkage part? You think I’m really that...small?” I could barely hide the incredulity in my voice.

“Of course not.” She reached out and patted my arm.

I could feel the tips of my ears burning. Part of me wanted to pull over to the side of the road and whip it out right here. After all, I had a reputation to protect. When I was younger, I’d been quite the stud. Rumors had circulated about my size. I could’ve gotten laid every night of the week, if I wanted. Only, I’d found Megyn and refused to jeopardize the possibility of our future for random hook-ups. Never once did I regret it. Although, at the moment, it might’ve been nice to have at least one person who could attest to my…endowment.

The other part of me knew this was ridiculously improper and could cost me my nanny. Nannies were rather hard to come by. And after the wedding, I was officially out of sisters-in-law. So, I swallowed my pride. I ran my tongue over my teeth while carefully choosing my words. “Thank you for your understanding. Tonight, I’ll take the floor.”