Maya wasn’t loving the idea of Matt being back in her life so much. After all he’d put her through, now here he was again, shaking her life up. She’d started to fall for him, thought they were going to have something real, even lost her virginity to him, only to have him turn around and vanish, taking her heart with him. It had taken her a long time to get over that, and she still held some resentment toward him when she thought about it too much.

Now he was just going to show up, demand to be part of the life she’d build for her and Jason, and come around all the time? Who did he think he was to make these demands on her? All she knew was that if he hurt Jason, she would hunt him down no matter how good he hid, and she’d kill him.

She didn’t see any problem in treating him coldly, like she’d been. He wasn’t exactly welcome, and she’d make sure he knew it. She had no reason to be nice to him. He didn’t deserve that.

When he showed up at her place, she would greet him with sarcasm. “Oh goodie. You’re here. My dream man, the love of my life. Oh, wait. No, you’re just the guy who got me pregnant then left.”

He would smile as he walked in and say, “Hi honey, I’m home. So good to see you.”

Though she noticed the “good to see you” part didn’t come across as sarcastic.

They formed something of a schedule. It was helpful to have Matt take Jason when she worked. It saved her on daycare and babysitting costs. He ended up having Jason after school while she worked, and several evenings a week they would all be together. But usually when Matt was at the house, she tried to avoid him. She’d do dishes while they played in the living room or clean her room while they read a story in Jason’s room. It was better that way.

At first, Maya pushed him away because she had so much anger and resentment toward him. But over time, that faded. He hadn’t missed a day of spending time with Jason, and he did seem like a good father. Jason loved him, and that meant something to her. Besides, how long could she hate someone who so clearly loved the thing she loved most?

Matt had also gone out of his way for her. He was always nice, despite her nastiness. He brought dinner most evenings that they spent together and gave her money and bought Jason things he needed. She had survived on her income for all these years, but she couldn’t deny that it was nice having some help. She even caught him doing dishes sometimes. He slowly broke down her walls, and the more time she spent watching him with Jason, the more her feelings went from hatred to appreciation to attraction.

And now she was in a strange position. She was attracted to him, starting to have real feelings for him, but was still terrified that he might leave again. That he might break her heart again and Jason’s. She didn’t know if she wanted to have a relationship with him. Maybe it was better for everyone if she stayed single or found someone else. Matt could be Jason’s father and that was it. Why complicate things by also making him her boyfriend? The situation was complicated enough without adding another layer of emotions and things to work through.

“I have huge news,” Matt said that evening when he showed up, pizza in hand. “I want to talk to you first before I say anything to Jason, though.”

“Okay.” She took the pizza into the kitchen to put it on plates and he followed her.

“I got tickets for the monster truck show this weekend. I thought Jason would love it.”

“Oh. Yeah, he would. It’s on Saturday?”

“It is. But the thing is. I have three tickets.”

She looked at him suspiciously. Was he going to take another woman?

“I want us to all go together as a family,” he said before she could accuse him.

“As a family?”

“As… whatever we are. Two people who have a child together.”

She nodded slowly. That was much more acceptable than him taking a date along. “Sounds like…” Was fun even the word for it? “Sounds like something Jason would really enjoy.”

Matt beamed. “I’m going to tell him.”

Maya heard Jason’s excited reaction from several rooms away. He came running in to her. “Mommy! Mommy!”

He ran in circles with his toy monster truck in his hand. He kept exclaiming over and over, “Monster trucks! Monster trucks!”

She couldn’t help but laugh.

That weekend, when they went to the event, they did feel like a real family. No one who saw them knew that Maya and Matt weren’t married. They all laughed together, smiled, and had a good time. To anyone watching, they likely seemed like the perfect happy family. It was starting to feel like a happy little family, too. Maybe they could do more things like this together in the future.

That night, Maya and Matt tucked Jason into bed together. He couldn’t stop talking about the event.

“And then when the green truck came and ran over everything—smash!” Jason waived his new green truck in the air, reenacting the scene.

They kissed him goodnight and walked out together. Usually, Matt left at this point unless they had things to discuss between them. He stopped in the living room and turned to her.

“Today was really great,” he said.

“It was.” She gave him a real smile and stood facing him.

“We should do more things like that together, as a family.”

“I was thinking the same thing.”

“You were?” He took a few steps closer. “I wasn’t sure if you would feel uncomfortable or not.”

“How could I? He’s our child, whether we’re together or not. We’re all connected for life.”

“Right. And it’s better for everyone if we make the best of it.” He took another step closer.

Her heart started to race at the way he looked at her. It was that same look he’d given her six years ago when they’d first slept together. That intense gaze of deep desire. She wasn’t ready to go there with him. Not yet. It still wasn’t the best thing for them to be together if he wasn’t going to be around for a long, long time.

“I can think of a few ways we can make the best of it,” he said.

He stepped closer still. He was close enough for her to reach out and touch him.

“Matt…”

“Maya.”

She gave him a half smile. “I don’t want to make things more complicated than they already are.”

“Me either. But this is simple. We spend a lot of time together. There’s no reason we can’t spend time together, just you and me.”

“I don’t want to start something with you.”

He stood just two feet from her now and reached out his hand to take hers. “We started something six years ago when we made a baby together.”

She took a breath, and he put his hand to her cheek.

He leaned in to breathe in her ear, “You’re more gorgeous now than you were then. I want you more and more every time I see you.”

She swallowed hard. She wanted to step back, to say no, to stop this from happening. But everything in her was reacting with desire. She never stopped being attracted to him. It had been so long since she’d had sex. Six years, in fact. She’d never been with anyone after Matt, and she hadn’t been with him since that first time.

When his mouth met hers, she didn’t push him away. She didn’t stop it. She let herself enjoy the kiss. It’d been almost as long since she’d been kissed and it felt so good.

His lips were soft, and she could feel his desire through them. She could also feel his desire through his jeans. She leaned in toward him, letting his heat flow through her.

He put one arm around her back and pulled her close. With their bodies pressed together, there was no denying that he wanted her. And she couldn’t ignore the way she tingled all over at his touch.

He led her to the couch and they sat facing each other. He resumed kissing her and things started to heat up.

He kissed along her neck, sending shivers down her back. His hand ran through her hair. He let his fingers trail along her spine.

When he slid his hand under her top, she felt dizzy with the sensation. She was wet already and hoped he would take things to the next level.

As they continued to make out, he leaned her back so he was lying on top of her. He pressed into her and she raised her hips up to him, grinding into his hardness. He unzipped her jeans and pulled them down.

He rubbed her clit in circles, sending waves of pleasure through her. It felt so good to be touched, and she was glad it was him. He’d been a fantastic lover the first time they were together.

That thought came back to her as he slid her panties down and flicked his tongue over her. They’d been together once and had Jason. Doing this again might lead to another situation they didn’t want to be in. As much as she loved her son, she didn’t want to be pregnant again.

“Wait,” she breathed. “This is a mistake.”

“It doesn’t feel like a mistake.”

He pressed a finger inside her and a moan escaped her lips. “Last time we did this, I got pregnant.”

“You want to make another baby?”

“No.”

“Then I guess we should be more careful this time.”

“I think we should stop.”

He looked up at her with that intense stare again. He sucked on her clit as he moved his finger in and out of her. “You sure?”

She swallowed hard. She wanted him so badly, her head might explode. She did not want him to stop. She wanted to feel him deep inside her like the first time. If they were careful, maybe it would be okay. People managed to have sex all the time and not get pregnant, didn’t they?

He sat up and pulled a condom from his pocket. “I have this.”

“Do you always carry one of those?”

“Only when I’m coming to see you.”

He pulled his shirt off and she ran her hands over his muscular chest. He was even more hot now than he had been. He must work out all the time. He stepped out of his pants and gave her a questioning look.

She looked at his erection and her insides quivered with longing. “As long as we’re careful.”

He pulled his mouth into a half smile and slid the condom onto his cock. When he got into position above her again, he tucked one arm under her leg, pulling her knee up to her chest.

He slid in slowly. It wasn’t as uncomfortable as the first time. There had been some pain then. Now, it just felt tight. But she was so wet that he slipped in without pain. She relaxed as he filled her and took in a slow, shaky breath.

She’d forgotten just how good this felt. He moved in and out of her slowly, letting the tension and pleasure build. He looked deep into her eyes. That gaze held such adoration, it made her throat thick. Could he love her? Could she ever love him after what he did?

He sped up his thrusts and her mind left all thoughts of their future. All she could think about now was how good his dick felt inside her. He pushed in harder and faster, pushing her closer with each thrust.

“You feel so good, I’m close already,” he said.

“Me too.”

He slammed in deep and hard until she cried out and dug her fingers into his back, coming hard. He finished a moment later and kissed all along her neck and jaw to her mouth.

“See,” he said, “we just do this for fun after our son goes to bed. A little Mommy and Daddy fun time.”

She chuckled and rolled her eyes. “So long as we keep it fun and nothing more.”