Chapter 46
Malcolm
I groaned as I swung my legs over the edge of the bed. Running my hands down my face, I tried to get the blood flowing. Casting a glance over my shoulder, I looked back at the empty bed, and a smile tugged at my lips.
Pushing off the bed, I headed to the bathroom to take a leak and brush my teeth. When I was finished, I picked up my boxers and slipped them on before heading downstairs.
The sound of their voices drifted toward me as I strolled into the main room. Ginger and Shawn sat at the kitchen table having breakfast. Her hair was slightly askew, but she looked absolutely radiant sitting at the table in one of my white T-shirts, one side hanging off her shoulder. Not a care in the world, smiling at her son over eggs and Cheerios.
“Da-da.”
Ginger turned at Shawn’s acknowledgement. She hid her smile behind her hand, turning away for a moment before facing me again. “Mornin’.”
I walked over, smoothing her fly-away hair as I leaned down to kiss the top of her head. “Good morning.” I ruffled the top of Shawn’s head on the way into the kitchen to make coffee. “You sleep okay?”
She looked back at me, grinning from ear to ear. “I slept amazingly well.”
I winked. “You’re welcome.”
Shaking her head, she turned away. I reached up into the cabinet to grab two mugs. The welcoming scent of coffee filled the air. As a housewarming gift, Macy had upgraded my single sized coffee machine to the same model she and Mitch owned, explaining she was thinking ahead for when Ginger moved in.
I filled both mugs, and sat one down in front of her, then headed back to grab the sugar container and the creamers from the fridge. I heard her gasp.
I looked back at her. “You okay?”
She gave a quick nod and looked away. I leaned my head to the side, then shrugged. I put the creamers and sugar in front of her.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Wasn’t sure what flavors you liked, but I remembered you didn’t take it black.”
Ginger turned her attention back to Shawn, who was fighting to get out of his seat. She attempted to hold him, but he bucked back, determined to get out of her arms. I was always amazed at that move and how effective kids could be with getting out of their parent’s grip.
I drank my coffee, watching as the struggled with him. “Just let him go.”
Caving to defeat, she sat him on the floor. He headed over to me, with his arms in the air. He stayed for as long as it took to give me a quick hug before he was off to cause destruction. Luckily, this time it wasn’t my CDs he dumped onto the floor, but his bag of Legos instead. She got up to clear their plates from the table. My gaze followed her ass. It was barely covered by my shirt. I turned away to resist the temptation of lifting it to see what she wore underneath.
I needed pants. “I’ll be right back.”
When I got back downstairs, Ginger sat curled up on the couch with her cup of coffee, watching Shawn play. She gave me a smile when she saw me. I grabbed my mug and joined her on the couch. Shawn picked up his juice cup, and the remote then climbed up onto the couch between us. He made himself comfortable on his mother’s lap. She turned the TV on and flipped through until she settled on Nick Jr.
I stretched my arm out behind her, letting my fingers caress the back of her neck.
She looked over and gave me a smile. “Do you have any plans we’d be interrupting today?”
I took a sip of my coffee and shook my head. “Macy invited me to dinner, but that’s about it.”
“Ah, yeah she invited me too, but had to decline. My folks want to do a family dinner thing.” She leaned back into my touch. “What are you doing to me?”
“Loving you.”
“Ma-Ma, juice,” Shawn interrupted, holding his cup up, nearly hitting her in the face.
“No more juice.”
He reared back, arching so that he slid off her lap onto the floor, crying for more juice.
Ginger shook her head as she watched her son throw a full-fledged tantrum. “I think he’s getting an early start on the terrible twos.”
I laughed and sat my cup on the table before scooping him up. I held him above my head, looking up at him. “Hey, hey, hey. Stop with all that noise.” I added extra bass to my voice when I spoke. His fussing stopped and his bright blue eyes widened. I flew him around a few times and he erupted into giggles.
“Can you watch him while I shower?”
I nodded and sat Shawn down. He went right to his empty cup, attempted to take a drink, then threw it and went back to his toys. Ginger massaged her temples before getting up to retrieve the cup. I found myself leaning to the side to sneak a peek under her shirt.
After grabbing her mug off the table, she carried both cups into the kitchen. I followed. I set my own cup down on the counter as I stepped up behind her.
“What are you doing?”
I placed a kiss on her exposed shoulder. “Assisting.” I ran my hands over the curve of her hips and around to cup her ass. My earlier curiosity satisfied when I lifted the shirt to see the bottom of her white panties.
She pushed back against me. “How are you assisting with your hands on my butt? Shouldn’t you dry the cups or something?”
Leaning down, I placed a kiss on the side of her neck. “I’m making sure you don’t fall.”
Her entire body shook when she laughed. “Because washing out dishes is a dangerous activity?”
“It could be.”
She turned to face me. “Or it could be you’re nothing more than a horny teenager.”
I looked over her head to check on Shawn, who danced in front of the TV. Returning my attention to Ginger, I pulled at the collar of the shirt and looked down. Her breasts hung free; nipples hardened. My dick followed suit. I let the shirt go and wrapped my arms around her waist. Reaching down to grab her ass, I gave it a good squeeze.
“Guilty as charged. Hard not to be when you walk around half dressed.”
Her arms circled around my neck. She cast a quick glance behind her to check on Shawn then turned back and stretched up on her toes to kiss me.
She gave me a seductive smile as she slowly rubbed her body against me. “Not my fault you have no self-control.”
“Da-Da, play.” Shawn walked toward us with my game controllers in hand.
I stepped back and put my hands on the counter. My head rested on Ginger’s shoulder. “Yeah, buddy, I’ll play.”
Ginger stood with her hand on her mouth in a failed attempt to hide her laughter.
I took one of the controllers. “Go pick a game.” I walked over to the fridge, opened the freezer door and leaned in.
She walked up behind me, still laughing. “If it makes you feel any better, my shower will be cold.” She kissed my back. “And I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“Your back.” With a quick glance at Shawn she walked off. I tried to look over my shoulder to see what she meant, but had no luck.
Fifteen minutes into our game, Shawn sat beside me looking like a little drunk man. His head kept dropping to the side, his sippy cup had rolled free of his hand, and a line of drool oozed out of his mouth. I chuckled at the sight before reaching over him to lay down one of the throw pillows, and then carefully moved him into a more comfortable position.
Turning off the game, I flipped the channel to ESPN and stretched out on the other end of the couch. Ginger came back down a few minutes later.
“How long has he been out?”
“Just a few minutes. Conked out before we even got going really. I will tell you, he’ll be murder on your insurance with his driving skills.”
She picked up the case off the table. “GTA? Really?”
“He picked it.”
She put the case down and settled back against me. Her damp hair was cold against my bare skin, causing me to shiver.
She tried to pull away, running her hands through the wet strands. “Sorry. You don’t have a blow dryer, and I didn’t pack mine.”
I pulled her back to me. “It’s fine. I’ll be sure to buy one to keep here for you.”
I’d happily buy whatever she needed to make her feel more at home here.
“Care to explain about my back?”
She bit her lip, and gave me a coy smile. “Uh…it may sting in the shower. So…sorry,” she said with a half shrug.
I gave a slow nod of my head as things clicked. I lifted her chin and leaned down to give her a chaste kiss. “Just means I did something right,” I whispered against her lips.
“Always.” She pressed her mouth to mine harder, using my dreads to pull me forward. My hand slipped under her shirt, my thumb ran across the hard pebble poking through her bra. I pulled back and shook my head.
“At least a cold shower won’t sting.”
Her teeth sank into her bottom lip and she lowered her eyes. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be.” I leaned forward to pick up the remote, and handed it to her.
When I stepped out of the bathroom, I was caught by surprise to see Ginger sitting on the bed. “Where’s Lil’ Man?”
“I put him down in his room.”
Hearing her refer to it as “his room” brought a smile to my lips. I placed my hand on the top of the towel around my waist. “Should I even bother getting dressed?”
She shook her head, laughing. “Do you think of anything other than sex?”
“Yeah, I have to eat.”
I winked and strolled over to the dresser. I dropped the towel then looked back over my shoulder to see her watching me. “Enjoying the view?”
“Maybe.”
After I pulled on a pair of boxer briefs, her arms wrapped around my waist. She laid her head against my back, and I covered her hands with mine.
Her grip tightened as she peppered kisses against my skin.
“You all right?”
I felt her nod. I turned to face her, and circled my arms around her waist. She put her hands on my chest, her fingers played with the hairs there. She wouldn’t look at me.
“Baby, what’s going on?”
She shrugged. “It...it’s hard to explain. Just sometimes I get this feeling of dread, you know like waiting for the bottom to drop out. Especially…” She paused and looked up at me. “Especially when things are looking up. I get nervous.”
“Nervous?”
She nodded. “Yeah. Um, I can’t just live in the moment because I start wondering when the bad will hit.”
I reached up to hold her face. “What do you think will go wrong?”
“I don’t know. That’s what makes the rock in the pit of my stomach so much worse. The unknown. I’ve been adrift for so long, lost on any real direction. You’ve become my anchor. I feel grounded again, and it scares me.”
“Why? Wouldn’t being grounded be a good thing?”
“I don’t want to depend on anyone else for my happiness. Because if I lose them…lose you…I’d be lost all over again. And I don’t want to be only a taker in this. I know what it’s like to be in that sort of relationship and depending on you like that, putting all my crap on your shoulders…”
She pulled away and took a seat on the bench. I leaned back against the dresser, watching as she concentrated on twirling the ring around her finger.
I went over and knelt in front of her. “You’re not a taker, but even if you were, I wouldn’t mind. You’ve earned that right. If you’re worried that I’m somehow feeling jipped in this, I’m not. Baby, I’ve told you I love you and the only thing I’ve wanted from you is you. You’re giving me that. You’ve stopped pushing me away. You’re opening up to me. I’m getting a hell of a lot out of this.”
She smiled and slid forward to wrap her arms around my neck. I returned the hug, circling my arms around her waist.
“You know how to make me feel better.”
“I’m your person.”
She pulled back and her brows pulled together. “What?”
“Something Macy said when she invited herself over last week. She opened up about when she was taken and how Mitch was the person she needed most during her recovery. He was who she felt most comfortable talking to. She said I was that for you. I didn’t believe her, but this is one time I don’t mind her being right. Put it on me, baby. I’m your person, anchor, whatever you need me to be. I’m happy to have the job.”
She leaned forward to kiss me. “It has crap pay.”
I smiled against her lips. “But excellent benefits,” I replied before kissing her again.