Enjoying the Chase (39 page)

Somehow, I held onto my self-control though
and didn
’
t take it any further
than that. I pulled out of the kiss and put my forehead to hers, just looking
at her, loving the fine sheen of sweat that covered her forehead because of the
feelings I had just forced upon her.

Running my hands down her body, I gripped
the side of her skirt, pulling it back down into place as if nothing had
happened. As if watching her climax whilst breathing my name, didn
’
t just rock my world. It was incredible for me
too, even though I hadn
’
t once let
her touch me. I wanted to prove that I could go without sex. Of course, that
didn
’
t mean I wouldn
’
t be replaying this whole scene in my head
later when I was alone.

She smiled tiredly. “That was…” she shook
her head, looking at me in awe, her face still flushed. She looked so grateful,
so content, that I felt the pride swell up in my chest. My feelings for her
grew a little more because of that look.

“I know.”

I didn
’
t need her to tell me, I saw it, I knew how much she enjoyed it. I
rolled off her and pulled her to my side, wrapping my arms around her tightly.
“So, shall we take a picnic to the park tomorrow, or what?” I asked, changing
the subject.

She grinned and snuggled closer to me, setting
her head on my chest. We didn
’
t
need to talk about what just happened, or why. I was just ecstatic that she was
letting me closer to her.

All I needed to do now was make her fall in
love with me.

Chapter
Twenty-One

In the morning Rosie called me to say
that Josh had let them down again and wouldn’t be picking up DJ at all for the
rest of the weekend. Apparently, Rosie had already put in a call to Anna who
had offered to have DJ for the night at their place, so at least we would still
be able to go out tonight. For the day time though, we were going to the park
for a picnic with DJ.

I headed over to her place just after ten.
As soon as she opened the door I could see how upset she was. She was trying
not to show me, but her whole posture was different. She was the picture of
disappointment, and I could hear the reason why. DJ was crying his heart out in
the other room.

I groaned and cupped her cheek. It just
wasn
’
t fair for someone as special
as her to be disappointed over and over, and it wasn
’
t fair for a great kid like DJ to have his dad flake out on him all
the time.

“You alright?” I asked, already knowing the
answer was no.

She put on a fake smile and nodded. “Sure.
Come on in.” She waved me into her apartment and closed the door behind me, her
voice was sad, but she was trying to hide it. I hated that she felt she needed
to put on an act for me.

“He sounds upset,” I muttered, stating the
obvious.

Her jaw clenched; I could see the anger in
her eyes, but it was overtaken by the sadness that was there. She looked like
she wasn
’
t sure if she wanted to
burst into tears, or hunt Josh down and cut his balls off.

“He
’
ll be fine in a little while. He
’
s just disappointed. He was really looking forward to going to the
zoo.” She shrugged, dropping her gaze to the floor.

Closing my hand over hers, I pulled her
into the lounge. DJ was lying on the sofa hugging his Woody doll, his face
buried into a pillow as his body hitched with sobs. I frowned; it actually hurt
to see him so upset. I
’
d not seen
him cry, he was always such a happy kid and the sight made me really angry; he
really didn
’
t deserve to be let
down.

“Hey, Kid. Want to go play some ball at the
park? Maybe we could take some bread and feed the ducks too?” I suggested
weakly.

He sniffed, lifting his face away from the
cushion. His eyes were red from all the crying, his forehead and cheeks were
blotchy. “
I don’
t want to,” he
croaked, shaking his head.

Rosie sighed and pulled me away before I
could answer and try to convince him or bribe him with the biggest ice cream I
could find in the café down the road. She led me into the kitchen and wrapped her
arms around my waist, pressing her face into my chest.

“I
’
m so sorry that I have to cancel our plans again. I understand if
you
’
re angry at me. We haven
’
t been together that long and already I
’
m flaking out of plans that we
’
ve made, you have a right to be annoyed.”

I smiled, not really understanding how this
girl
’
s brain worked. None of this
was her fault. I brushed her bangs from her face and tucked them behind her
ear, smiling at how they just fell straight back out again because they weren
’
t quite long enough to stay there.

“Why would I be angry at you, that
’
s just silly,” I whispered, kissing her
softly.

She kissed me back and then pulled away, shaking
her head a little. “
Nate, I don’
t
understand what you
’
re doing with
me. You know this is going to happen again and again. I
’
m probably always going to have to cancel plans at the last minute.
DJ
’
s always going to be my first
priority. You should find someone who can make
you
her first priority,
and who won
’
t cancel all the
time.” Her chin trembled as she spoke.

I smiled reassuringly. “Stripes, just stop
that thought right now. I want to be with you, and I understand that you have a
son. I went into this relationship with my eyes open. I know there will always
be times when things need to change because of DJ. It
’
s fine,
” I promised, kissing her forehead
lightly.

She sighed and shook her head at me. “You
really are too-” but I cut her off so she couldn
’
t finish the sentence.

“Sweet, I know,” I interjected, rolling my
eyes.

She smiled and closed her eyes, pressing
against me tightly. “Exactly,” she whispered, pressing her face into the side
of my neck, making my skin break out in goosebumps.

Then I had a great idea. The kid wanted to
go to the zoo, so why didn
’
t we
just take him there instead? Sure, it would probably piss off Josh, me stepping
in and doing something with his son that he wanted to do with him, but he was
the one who let the kid down which, from what I understood, he did a lot. We
had the whole day free, so instead of going to the park, we could go to the
zoo. 

“Why don
’
t we just go to the zoo instead?” I suggested, shrugging easily.

Rosie pulled her face out of the crook of
my neck and frowned. “No, we can
’
t.
I…” she trailed off, looking really uncomfortable.

I looked at her, waiting for her to carry
on and explain why we couldn
’
t
just take him instead. “What? It doesn
’
t make a difference to me what we do.”

She shook her head again, stepping away
from me, avoiding my eyes. “We
’
ll
just go to the park like we said. He
’
ll be fine in a few minutes once he gets on the slide.” Her voice
sounded gruff and
had an edge all of a sudden
.

I gripped her elbow and pulled gently,
guiding her to turn back to face me. Slipping one finger under her chin, I
tilted her head so she had to look at me. “What is this really about?” I asked
softly.

“It
’
s really expensive and I-I can
’
t,” she muttered. “We
’
ll
just go to the park,” she whispered.

Wait, she
’
s worried about money? That
’
s what this is about?
I knew she didn
’
t have loads of money; she was a single parent
for goodness
’
sake. “Stripes, let
’
s just go to the zoo. He wants to go there,” I
suggested, rolling my eyes at how silly this all was.

“Nate, I can
’t! I just
don’
t… it
’
s
not possible.” She scowled down at the floor, obviously annoyed about the fact
that she couldn
’
t afford to take
her child out for the day.

I sighed and stepped back, letting her go
as I turned towards the kitchen doorway. “DJ, get your shoes on, Kid, your
momma and I are taking you to the zoo!” I called.

Rosie
grabbed my arm,
clearly horrified.
“
No! You can
’
t just say things like that. It
’
s different for you, I
’
m sure you have spare cash floating around all over the place, but I
don
’
t! You can
’
t just make promises to him like that, it
’
s not fair!” she snapped, shaking her head, her jaw tight and angry.

DJ was whooping excitedly in the lounge. I
heard him run into his bedroom and the door crash against the wall where he
threw it open in a bid to get his shoes quicker. I rolled my eyes and enveloped
her in my arms, pulling her flush against me.

“Rose, I
’
m taking my girlfriend and her son to the zoo. You don
’
t need to pay for anything. Stop stressing
about everything. Today
’
s going to
be fun,” I stated, kissing the tip of her nose.

Understanding
crossed
her face as she realised what I meant, but then she shook her head adamantly.
“Nate, seriously, these places cost a fortune. I
’
m not letting you pay. No way,” she refused, pushing me off her, but
at the same time looking at me like I was the sweetest guy in the world. I
smiled. I loved it when she looked at me like that.

“Oh, just hush, you
’
re giving me a headache,” I lied, waving my hand dismissively as I
turned my head to the doorway again. “How you getting on with those shoes, Kid?
The penguins are waiting for you!”

Rosie groaned and buried her face into my
chest. “
Nate, I just don’
t
understand you at all! What are you getting out of this?” she asked, her voice
muffled against my T-shirt. She pulled back, her eyes filled with tears. “
I don’
t deserve you, I really don
’
t,” she whispered. 

I wanted to explain that what I got out of
it was to see her and her son happy, but I didn
’
t have the words without making myself sound like a sappy romantic,
so I didn
’
t say anything. The soft
and tender way she was looking at me made my heart ache. Russell was right, the
way to a mother
’
s heart was
absolutely through her kids.

I pressed my lips to hers, kissing her
softly. She kissed me back just as tenderly, her hands gripping my T-shirt
tightly. I broke the kiss and pressed my forehead to hers, just looking into
her eyes, wondering what it was that I had in my life before I met this girl.
How had I ever thought myself happy and content with what I had? I obviously
hadn
’
t realised what I was missing
out on until I met her.

“You gonna make us that picnic?” I asked,
sliding my hands up her back, pulling her closer to me.

She sighed, her breath blowing across my
lips, making me shiver with desire. “I
’
ll pay you back, I promise.”

“You can pay me back in kind. I take
kisses, cuddles and, my personal favourite, sexual favours.”

She rolled her eyes and grinned at me,
pressing her lips to mine again but pulling away quickly as DJ came hurtling
into the kitchen, swinging his shoes around his head like a lasso. I grinned
and grabbed him, sitting him on the counter, taking his shoes out of his hands,
and putting them on for him. I couldn
’
t stop the grin that was stretched across my face, just because of
how happy he looked. The redness to his eyes and the tracks of his tears were
still there, but they were overpowered by the big toothy grin he was sporting.

“My legs are hay-king!” DJ whined.

“Your legs are aching? Well maybe we should
go then, huh?” Rosie teased, ruffling his hair playfully.

DJ gasped and shook his head. “I want to
see the rhinos but they
’
re so far
aways! My legs are shorter than yours so I
’
m walking further than yous two!” he moaned, pouting at us both. We
’
d been here for hours now, walking a long way
between animals, the kid was doing really well for a four-year-old.

I smiled and held out my hands to him.
“Here, I
’
ll carry you to the
rhinos, how about that?” I offered.

He whooped and raised his arms at me in
acceptance, a smug grin on his face because he didn
’
t have to walk. I laughed and turned him around, then hooked my
hands under his armpits and hoisted him onto my shoulders. It felt weird,
especially when he put his arms around my forehead and rested his chin on the
top of my head, but it was a nice weird.

“So, where are these rhinos then? You see
them from up there, Kid?” I joked, before turning to look at Rosie. But she
’
d stopped walking, and was just looking at me
with a bewildered expression on her face. “You okay?” I asked, a little worried
as to why she was looking at me like I
’
d grown another head. 

She
shook
her head
slightly as if to clear, and then walked to my side. “Yeah, yeah, I
’
m good. Rhinos are this way according to the
sign.”

I nodded, and we started walking in the
direction she pointed. I couldn
’
t
help but smile when I felt her hand touch the small of my back before pushing
down into the back pocket of my jeans, squeezing my ass lightly.