Lowell

I’m glad to see Kimberly talking with Jacob’s kids. I know she doesn’t necessarily like to interact with other kids, so I’m not sure what changed her mind tonight. Maybe it was the food or their toys. Charlotte has a playroom for her toys and games, but I doubt it’s as crazy as theirs.

When the night starts to die down, and the other guys leave, we help Jacob clean up outside and whatnot. I don’t get time alone with him until we are brushing down the top of the grill.

“So…”

I sigh because I knew he would try to say something.

“What?” I laugh to myself, turning to him to watch him grin. The light from outside on the patio makes his smile bright, his russet skin deeper.

“Nothing. I’m surprised. I didn’t think Charlotte would come. I thought y’all were keeping things on the down-low still. And the game.”

I finish covering the grill and think of a good response but decide not to lie.

“Yeah, but I promised Kimberly she could come to the game. And we already agreed we would be like a family, even if Kimberly doesn’t know we’re together. If we are, I barely even know.” I laugh awkwardly under my breath because the whole thing still feels like that to me.

“You should probably figure it out then.”

As we finish up, we move on to lighter conversations and then head back inside to meet everyone else. His girls are watching the television in the kitchen, and Kimberly is with her mom at the counter. It takes a bit to say our goodbyes, but we finally get out of the lingering phase and leave.

“I’ll drive. I have one more stop.” I take the keys from Charlotte, my fingers brushing her palm. It’s the most contact we’ve had all day, and my eyes meet hers as if she was thinking the same thing.

“Okay.” She nods.

“Where are we going?” Kimberly asks as I strap her in the car seat.

“It’s a surprise.” I ruffle her hair. She makes a face at me, and I grin.

I know the way from Jacob’s house because I found it a while ago, or probably after I started spending more time with Charlotte. The Dairy Queen is old-fashioned like the one back in college with a drive-in and open window to order, but only has outside seating. We pull in, and I glance over to see Charlotte smirk a bit, her back goes straighter in the seat.

“Where did you find this place?” she asks, her voice a little more than a whisper over the music.

“I don’t know, by accident.” I shrug. It’s a weekend and game day, so we park almost a quarter mile from the actual place.

Kimberly doesn’t seem to mind the walk and skips halfway through. I think she is excited about getting ice cream. She is in front of us by a few steps, so I think it safe to brush against Charlotte and hold her hand by her fingers.

“She’s had so many sweets already today,” Charlotte gripes.

I almost roll my eyes at her. “We’ll get her a small size then.” I lean into her, still walking, but her face stills briefly before I continue, my lips brushing hers for not long enough before I lean away again. Kimberly is safely ahead of us and in line before we get there.

“Can I have a sundae?” She bounces on her toes and looks up at her mom.

“That’s too much ice cream for you,” Charlotte tells her. Kimberly swiftly turns to me with her eyes all big, but Charlotte at the same time practically glares me down.

“Uh, listen to your mom, Keeks. How about a regular ice cream instead?” I suggest. She shrugs, huffs her little breath, and then turns around.

I smile down at her, then at Charlotte tucked into my side. The line is super long, so I tell them to wait while I bring the ice cream to them. I wait in line for almost fifteen minutes. When a few people recognize me, everyone seems to right after, and if they didn’t, they hop on the bandwagon. I take photos and sign sports hats, and it takes me almost thirty minutes to get back.

“What took so long, they had to milk the cow?” Charlotte jokes.

I feign a scowl. “No, but I did sign a few autographs.” I sigh. “Once one person knows who you are, everyone does.” I hand her the plastic bowl of key lime ice cream, her favorite. She’s sitting in the passenger seat facing out with Kimberly in her lap. She shifts her between her legs, and then I give Kimberly her strawberry double scoop. Charlotte eyes it, and I shrug at her. The kid should live a little.

I lean on the open door and start on my plain vanilla. I shouldn’t be eating ice cream at all. I’m constantly watched by my trainers, and Donnie can’t say anything to me either. I haven’t been on the same terms with him for a while, and I don’t plan to be either.

“Should you be on social media soon? What if there’s like a swarm of people?” Charlotte asks, and the way she does it makes it so I can’t tell if she is serious or not.

“I don’t know. Always a possibility. But I don’t think I’m that important, Char.”

“I’m shocked.”

I can tell she is joking then.

“Are you famous, Daddy?” Kimberly has ice cream on her cheek, so I wipe it away.

“Not really.”

“I liked watching you play. It was fun.” She swings her legs and grins.

“Really? I liked having you there, too.” I smile at her and her mother.

“I want to go to all the games.”

“You’d have to ask your mom about that one, Keeks.” I take her empty bowl before it starts dripping.

She looks back at her mother who only shrugs, then turns her neck back to me.

“Is Mommy the boss of you, too?”

That makes me laugh from my gut because she sounded like she meant it.

“No, but she is the boss of you, and I have to listen to her sometimes, too.”

“Sounds like she is,” she mutters. I wonder who she got her quick wit from. Charlotte is more straightforward and doesn’t really care for sly comments.

“We should get going,” Charlotte says. I nod. It has gotten late, and Kimberly is starting to droop a little in the eyes.

I trash everything and come back, ready to take them home. I make the drive last as long as I can, hating when I go home and am alone in my big house again. I hadn’t realized how empty it was until Kimberly and Charlotte filled up my life again.

I carry Kimberly inside once we get back since she fell asleep. Charlotte follows and gets her changed for bed, half waking her up to brush her teeth and use the bathroom, and then she’s in bed and fast asleep again.

“Maybe you can… stay for a cup of coffee?”

“Is that a euphemism for help you clean the dishes?” I say quietly as we creep across the landing to be quiet.

“No. But…”

I grin because it was a euphemism for something else.

I hold her hand and stalk in front of her about ready to run to my destination. I’ve been thinking about touching her all night, kissing her—I’m going out of my mind. Behind the closed door of her bedroom, I press her up against it, my lips on hers in seconds. She is as eager as me, her lips driving against mine as my tongue presses into her mouth to taste her sugary taste with mine.

My cock is so hard already, it burns against my clothes. My hands roam over her tight jeans and the heat of her legs and ass. Her breasts pillow against my chest as I press further into her.

I carry her, her arms linked around my neck until I lay her on the bed. As much as I want to pounce on her, I hold myself at bay. I want to look at her—this sudden feeling overwhelms me, and I want to take my time with her in a way I never have.

When I start peeling off her clothes revealing more of her gorgeous body inch by inch, I don’t hold myself back anymore.

“I love looking at you. So fucking gorgeous.” I lean down to kiss her, then travel down her neck and chest, over her breasts and hard, swelling nipples, her concave navel, and glistening sex. She gets so wet for me. I groan at the sight tasting her sweet and slow until she comes.

I get naked with her on the bed. She rolls to the side and then straddles me, a goddess as she leans back and sinks onto my cock, her full body on display as she drives herself to pleasure.

I kiss her over and over, suckle the sweet skin of her neck, and feel her taste permeate my tongue as my cock seeps in her, and she clenches around me. I whisper more to her about how beautiful she is to me, how good she feels, and how much I want her. It overtakes me when I reach an orgasm suddenly, too sudden. I explode inside her and barely get to enjoy it before I roll her over for more. I hitch her legs up over my shoulders and drive into her.

She quiets all her moans, her body racking with pleasure at every thrust. She falls into these endless orgasms sometimes, thrums of pleasure high and low as we go on before they stop. As she has one now, her skin seems to literally glow, her eyes closed and neck drawn back with pleasure.

I can’t hold myself back anymore, but this time we come together, and it’s as incredible as I imagined it to be every time—her body clenching around me, against me, and my cock emptying inside of her until I collapse with her.

Our heartbeats are thrumming. Our bodies are becoming one.

I lay her over my chest, her lips pressed against my sternum every few seconds as she holds me tightly. When she holds me like this, I wonder why we have so much trouble talking things out. This is easy, we can connect this way. But the hard stuff, to be together and tell Kimberly about it… it’s too scary.

For now, I let those thoughts be on their own in the back of my mind as I relish this one moment with her. I almost nod off soon and then start to move under her, thinking she might even be asleep.

When she leans up and looks at me, her eyes have this glow that I can’t even explain. I get lost in them like I would rather be here with her versus anywhere else—all the time. I cup her face, kiss her softly as she purses her lips to me.

The way her tongue swipes over mine and her lips tighten around mine, I become a puddle of mush that I don’t even want to come back from. I could exist with her like this—our special bond we’ve always had. I wish I had more time with her when she kisses me like this, when we are together like this. We’ve missed so many nights together.

All I want now is her, and I know it. I don’t know how to keep her, and that scares me.

I only kiss her longer, deeper, and hold her so tightly I fear she might break.

We both pull ourselves apart after a moment, and her eyes go back to delving into mine, our gazes lost together.

“Stay.”