Chapter 26

Christopher

That one word was like music to my ears. I pulled Jessi close to me, cradling her in my arms. I watched her fall asleep before my eyes finally shut, her body pulled closely against my chest. It had been years since I’d held her this close. Years since I’d held any woman this close. There had been no woman before Jessi who felt this way and I couldn’t bring myself to try any other woman after I’d left.

Jessi was the epitome of everything good and genuine about a woman.

The two of us fell asleep together, our bodies drenched in sweat and sex. I slept hard. Peacefully, for the first time in months. Every time she moved, she moved closer to me. Slinging her leg around my body or moving her cheek to my chest. My hands tangled in her hair. Commanding her body even in my sleep.

I didn’t want it to end.

But I knew it eventually had to.

Caleb began crying in his room and it startled me from my slumber. My arms were tightly woven around Jessi and I watched as she began to stir. I looked over at the clock and it was well past three in the afternoon.

Holy hell, we’d been asleep for over two hours.

“Hold on Caleb,” Jessi said sleepily. “I’m coming.”

She slid from my arms and I knew I couldn’t keep her from him. Though everything inside of me wanted to pull her back. I wanted to lay in bed with her. Slide into her again and listen to her chant my name. The last orgasm she had transported her to another dimension. I could tell by the look on her face. The way my name had effortlessly dripped from her lips. Like a ritualistic chant she’d been burying for far too long.

I could hear it bouncing around in my head as a pair of feet padded back into the room.

“Want some coffee?” Jessi asked.

I looked over and saw her beautiful form, clad in nothing but a robe with Caleb in her arms. She smiled at me with her sleepy little smile and her mussed up hair. She looked more beautiful than I had ever seen her before.

It made me ache to have her back with me in bed.

“I’d love some,” I said.

“I’ll go put a pot on. Feel free to use the shower or anything you might need. Though you’ll smell like cinnamon and apples once you’re done.”

“Never complained about that scent before,” I said with a grin.

I took her up on her offer and decided to take a quick shower. If I was going to go back into work, the last thing I needed was to carry the scent of pussy with me. I washed myself down and ran some water through my hair. I could hear Caleb giggling off in the distance and it pulled a smile across my face.

Motherhood looked good on Jessi.

Really good.

I dried myself off and got dressed in the clothes I came in. I shuffled down the hallway, following the smell of coffee. I leaned against the doorway and watched her move around the kitchen, her robe swaying at her knees as Caleb sat up in his high chair. He was pounding in something. Splattering it all over the floor and having a grand time. He kept giggling and sucking at his fingers and a happy little giggle kept falling from Jessi’s lips.

I enjoyed this.

I enjoyed watching her like this.

“I can feel you standing there,” she said.

“Just admiring the view.”

“Would you like to admire with a cup of coffee in your hand?” she asked. “You still take it black, right?”

She handed me a mug with a sly little grin on her cheeks. My eyes raked down her form one last time before I took a seat at the kitchen table. I turned my eyes to Caleb, who was covered in something green.

“What’s he eating?” I asked.

“We’re trying avocados! Aren’t we buddy?”

“Looks like he’s enjoying it,” I said.

“He likes the fact that it’s green. He’s maybe eaten a fourth of what he’s put all over his face,” Jessi said.

“Well, he’s gotta learn somehow. What else does he eat?”

“He loves applesauce. And a mushed up banana. He’s not a fan of the peas, but softened sweet carrots are a go, as well. Once we get past the avocado, I’m going to try Asian pears, I think. You can peel those things, pop them in a blender, and it’s like having a smoothie.”

“You can put anything in a blender and make it like a smoothie,” I said.

“This may be why Caleb isn’t a fan of meat yet.”

I grimaced at the notion as I sipped my coffee. I enjoyed this. I loved it, in fact. This familial dynamic. I’d never had it as a child. But was this something we could really do? Even if Jessi never admitted to me who Caleb’s father was, would she let me back in to have something like this? I knew she was lying about a lot. Keeping things from me for one reason or another. Justin’s anger didn’t make sense for the pieces I had. I expected him to be mad about us screwing around when we were younger, but his bombastic behavior made me think there was something else he knew.

Something else I still didn’t know.

The issue? I wasn’t sure how to get any of that information out of Jessi. Her guard was down right now, but if I started poking around with questions she might never let me back in. And I didn’t want to risk that. I didn’t want to risk her pushing me away again. I knew that was why she hadn’t returned my calls all last week. Something happened that spooked her and she thought that by not answering I’d simply—go away.

But I cared more than that.

I also deserved answers.

“Jessi?”

“Do you want some eggs? I’m sort of feeling like having some eggs,” she said.

“No, I’m okay. This coffee’s fine. Listen, could we talk?”

I watched her back tense as she stood at the stove.

“We just haven’t addressed anything since the fight we had in your kitchen. I want to clear the air and talk about things. Civilly. Like adults,” I said.

I watched her nod her head, but she didn’t offer up anything.

“Are you free anytime soon?” I asked. “Maybe we could put Caleb in his playpen and talk after he’s done eating?”

“Enough has been done in front of Caleb,” Jessi said flatly. “Anyone that wants to talk can wait until I can put him with Marcia.”

“Understandable. That’s completely fine with me. But you agree that we need to talk?”

“I think there are some things we should discuss, yes.”

“Jessi, don’t do this. Don’t throw up those walls. I’m not upset with you. I’m not Justin here,” I said.

“I have to protect myself, Chris. All of this has spiraled so far out of control and I have a son this is going to affect,” she said.

“And I respect that. I do. When do you think you could get Marcia to take him?”

“I don’t have to work until Tuesday, so she’s off until then. I could call her and see if she can watch Caleb tomorrow. How does that sound?”

“That sounds perfect. I’ll go into the office today to get some work knocked out, then I’ll be free tomorrow to get together whenever you want.”

“You don’t have to do that, Chris. Lunch is fine. Seems to be our time anyway.”

Our time.

I enjoyed the way that sounded coming from her.

“Lunch time tomorrow it is. I’ll come by around noon?” I asked.

“Are you sure you don’t want any eggs?” Jessi asked.

“I’m sure.”

“And noon sounds fine. Help yourself to another cup of coffee if you want one.”

I took her up on the offer before I hugged her and left. I didn’t want to show any other outward signs of affection while Caleb was there because I wasn’t sure how Jessi would feel about that. I wanted to respect her boundaries as a mother, even though I didn’t agree with all of them. But I was hoping our conversation tomorrow would clear the air on a lot of things.

And possibly get me the answers I needed.

I headed into the office to try and knock out a little more work. I chiseled away at choreography for the show’s first taping in two weeks, but I still didn’t get far with it. I returned Mrs. Cane’s incessant phone calls and had a hard conversation with her about constantly calling me. It wasn’t the conversation I wanted to have after such a lovely time with Jessi, but it went better than I expected. Mrs. Cane and I set up daily times to get in touch and have a long phone conversation about where we were and what needed to happen, and I hoped that would negate the constant ringing of my phone.

But I still couldn’t focus.

The only thing on my mind now was talking with Jessi tomorrow. How would she take my questions? How would I get her to answer them? Things were rough with her and Justin and the last thing I needed was her lumping me in with the likes of him. But there was something about his anger that rubbed me the wrong way. Justin never got upset without a good reason, and right now he didn’t have one.

And I couldn’t shake the fact that he must and I was stuck in the dark about something.

Something important.

I had theories that made sense. Things I kept tumbling around in my head. But the more I thought about it, the less focused I was at work. I muddled through paperwork and danced through choppy choreography, and after two hours of struggling I gave up and went home. I wasn’t being productive and the only thing I was doing was stressing myself out.

I needed to go home, decompress, and get myself ready for tomorrow.

Because once I sat down with Jessi, it was game on.