Wrecked (Clayton Falls) (18 page)

“That sounds appealing, very appealing, but I’m going to take a shower first.”

“I’d ask to join you, but I’m going to be responsible and say I’ll listen for Noah so you can actually enjoy your shower stress free.”

“And you’ll be rewarded for your thoughtfulness.” She brushed her lips against mine before heading into my room.

She may not have actually agreed yet, but I knew she was going to say yes. Emily’s maybes could mean either, but you could always tell. She wanted to say yes, but was too scared. I’d just have to give her some encouragement. I hadn’t actually planned on asking them to move in, but once the idea got planted in my head I needed it. Things were moving fast, but I didn’t see any reason to slow them down. I’d never been surer of anything in my life.

I heard the water turn off and listened at Noah’s door before turning out the lights and heading into my room. I left the door open a tiny bit so we could still hear Noah, but I had a feeling we’d need the privacy. I pulled off my t-shirt and slipped out of my jeans. I lounged on my bed waiting for her. We’d spent tons of nights together, but I was ridiculously excited to have her in my bed again.

She came out of the bathroom a few minutes later wearing one of my Clayton Falls Mustangs t-shirts from high school. It was worn out and faded, but damn it looked so good on her. “I like the pajamas.”

“I didn’t remember to pack any. I’m going to borrow a pair of your shorts too for the morning.”

“Oh, are you? You’re not even asking anymore?”

“Nope. You like me wearing your clothes.” She grinned.

“That I do. But you know what I like even better?”

“What?”

“You naked.”

“So original.”

“It’s true. You look good in everything, but you look best wearing nothing at all.”

She glanced at the door.

“He’s sleeping.”

“Good.” She pulled off the t-shirt.

“Yeah, see that’s what I mean. How can any clothing compare to that?”

“You don’t look so bad naked yourself.”

“No?”

“No.” She came over and tugged off my boxers.

“Now you’re overdressed.” I pulled off her panties.

Before I could reach out and touch her, she was slipping under the covers. “I forgot how comfortable this bed was.”

“You know—”

“You don’t have to say it.”

“If you moved in you could—”

She cut me off with a kiss. It wasn’t a gentle kiss either. She pushed into my mouth, and I welcomed her. I loved the way her mouth tasted, minty from the toothpaste, yet sweet at the same time. I let a hand slip down to cup one of her breasts and she moaned. Before I could do anything else, she climbed on top of me. “It’s my turn.”

“I’m all yours.”

“Good.”

She pulled out her hair tie and leaned her head back as she shifted on top of me. There couldn’t have been anything hotter.

I couldn’t give him an answer. I knew what I wanted to say, but that didn’t mean it was the right decision. I wanted to move in with him—I wanted to get Noah out of our cramped apartment. I wanted to spend every night in Jake’s arms. But what happened if Jake changed his mind about us? Where would that leave us? My lease wasn’t up until the end of December, so I had time, but Jake wouldn’t want to wait that long for an answer.

I was still worrying about it when Mel came over a few nights later.

“Jake asked us to move in with him.” I didn’t beat around the bush. I barely gave Mel enough time to sit down before throwing it out there.

“Wow, what did you say back?” She ate a few pieces of popcorn. She’d come over after Noah’s bedtime so we could catch up and watch some of our shows.

“I told him I didn’t know.”

“You want to say yes though.”

“Yeah, I do.”

“But you’re scared.” She set aside the bowl of popcorn.

“Terrified.”

“I honestly don’t know the right answer. I see the way Jake looks at you. He worships you, and I really think you can trust him, but you’ve also only been with him a few months. He’s obviously got a history of being reckless…” She looked away as she trailed off.

“I know. I want to trust him, but it’s not just me at stake.”

“The way I see it is you have a few more months. Give yourself some more time. If you still feel the same away about him when the time comes to sign the lease, then take the plunge.”

“Take the plunge? That’s a very good description for it.”

Mel curled her legs up under her. “It’s just crazy how you went from not dating to thinking about moving in with a guy.”

“I know. And that’s the problem. Maybe it’s unhealthy.”

“Unhealthy for who? You or Noah?”

“Maybe both?”

“Don’t worry yourself about it. Take the time to figure out what you want. The rest will fall into place naturally.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“I am. Now let’s watch some TV.”

***

I still couldn’t believe that Noah and Jake had the same birthday. Obviously lots of people were born on November 16
^th
, but the chances that both of the boys in my life shared it had to be pretty unlikely. I’d finally figured out the gifts I was getting for both of them. Noah was getting a tricycle and Jake’s gift wasn’t something that you could wrap. I’d picked up something physical to give him though. It was one of those picture frames with spots for a bunch of different photos. He complained that he didn’t have any real pictures of us, so I printed some out and filled the frame with them. My favorite photo was one of him holding Noah on his shoulders so he could throw a basketball through the hoop. They both had the biggest grins on their faces. I’d actually gotten the picture from Mary. She’d taken it when we were over for dinner one night and emailed it to me.

The 16
^th
fell on a Saturday, and Mary wanted to throw a joint party for both of them. I was fine with it, but I also wanted to have a quiet party at home. We came to a good solution—we’d do both.

Noah woke up at six thirty on his birthday, which was actually later than usual. I used the extra time to make sure I had breakfast ready for him. I decided to treat him to his favorite—chocolate chip pancakes.

I’d just set him up in his chair when I heard a knock on my door.

I opened the door to a smiling Jake.

I hugged him. “Happy Birthday!”

“Thanks. Where’s the other birthday man?”

I pointed to Noah, who was spiking up his hair with melted chocolate chips.

“Nice. Very nice, kid.” Jake took away the waded pancake in Noah’s hand and sat down. “Happy Birthday.”

“What are you doing here? Aren’t we supposed to meet at your parents’?”

“I couldn’t wait. Molly drove me.”

“That was nice of her.”

“Yeah, I know. She says she did it for you. She thinks if she can help keep you happy, you’ll stick around.”

I laughed. “I like her too. She’s going to be a great mom.”

“I agree, like you.” He kissed my forehead. “So, are there any extra pancakes?”

“Yes. I made some extras just in case.”

“In case? You were hoping I’d show up, weren’t you?” He tickled me.

I laughed. “Yes.”

“Why didn’t you tell me to come up last night then?”

“It’s your birthday too. I thought you might want to sleep in. Besides, you had a game.”

“As you can see, I didn’t sleep in.”

“I guess not.”

“More.” Noah reached toward the counter.

“Why don’t you finish that one first?” I pointed to the quarter of a pancake still on his plate.

Jake leaned in close to Noah. “Don’t worry, bud. It’s your birthday, you get anything you want.”

I shook my head. “Remember that if he gets sick later.”

“But it’s my birthday which means I’m not on clean up duty.”

“Does that mean I get off for my birthday too?”

“Yes, and any other time you need a break.” He kissed me before getting up to make himself a plate.

***

I’d never seen such an elaborate birthday cake. Two tiers surrounded by a road with chocolate cars. I’m pretty sure Noah was in heaven.

“Oh my gosh. How’d you make that?” I asked Mary.

She laughed. “It wasn’t me. Gail over at Marney’s Café takes special occasion orders.”

“Wow, I’ll have to remember that.” Based on the peach pie I’d eaten there, I was pretty sure the cake would taste as good as it looked.

Noah reached out for one of the cars. I was about to stop him when Jake handed it to him. “I agree, forget the cake, just give me the candy.”

I nudged Jake. “Sometimes I can’t tell who’s the kid here.”

“And that’s what makes it fun.” He put his arm around me.

“I need more pictures.” Mary picked up her camera and started snapping more. “I still can’t believe we have two birthdays to celebrate today.”

Jake helped Noah unwrap another chocolate car. “I know. This is awesome. Suddenly my birthday is a big deal again.”

Ben laughed. “Yeah, but we all know who Mom really got that cake for.”

Molly put a hand on her hip and turned to her husband. “Hey, don’t talk. You’re the one who still wants your mom to make you French toast because mine tastes different.”

“It’s true. Yours is good, but it’s not the same.”

Mary leaned over to talk to Molly and I in an exaggerated whisper. “It’s because I put powdered sugar on it. Try that, and they’ll never complain again.”

We both laughed. Molly seemed to have a good relationship with her mother-in-law. For the first time, I wondered what it would be like to have her as mine.

As much as I’d pushed for our own little party, I was glad we had the big one. Noah had such a good time, and it was fun to watch Jake with his whole family around. After lunch and cake, everyone went out back. Noah didn’t last long. He could barely keep his eyes open so I took him inside. Mary came in with us.

“You should be proud of yourself.” She took a seat next to me on the loveseat. Noah had completely fallen asleep in my arms. Everyone else was still throwing a football around outside.

“Proud?”

“Yes. Raising a child is hard to do with a partner, and you’re doing a wonderful job on your own.”

“Oh. Thank you.” I really hadn’t been sure what Jake’s mom thought about me having a child. I knew she cared about Noah, but being less than thrilled that her son was dating a single mom was another thing.

“Jake told us about your husband. That must have been horrible. I can’t imagine.”

“Thank you, but it’s all right. It’s been more than a year…and we weren’t married very long.”

“Was it before or after you found out you were pregnant?” Her eyes were kind, not judging.

“After.”

“That was brave. Deciding to get married—to keep him.”

“Tim proposed, and he made it sound easy.”

“Nothing’s easy.”

“Sometimes I’ve wondered if he would have been better off if I’d given him up, but we’ve managed. I had just graduated so at least I was out of high school.”

“Can we leave Noah for just a second? I want to show you something.”

“Sure.” I laid Noah down on the couch and followed Mary into her bedroom.

She pulled a packet of pictures out from the top of her closet.

She handed them to me. They were all of a little girl—starting as a baby, until she was grown up and holding a baby of her own.

“I got pregnant young too, but I was still a junior in high school.”

“This is your daughter?”

“Yes. We had an open adoption, so I was able to watch her grow up from a distance.”

“Have you met her? I mean since she was born.”

“No. I didn’t think I could handle it. She lives in Florida and has her own family now.” Silent tears flowed down Mary’s face. “Nothing about having children is easy. Don’t doubt yourself.”

Without thinking, I hugged her. I had no doubt where Jake’s compassion and giant heart came from.

“You’ve been so good for Jake.” Her face was full of warmth.

“He’s been good for us.”

“I’m glad.”

Loud voices announced everyone else’s return, and we hurried out to quiet them down before they woke Noah up.

Jake put an arm around my shoulder. “You okay?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“It looks like you’ve been crying.” He touched my cheek and wiped away a tear I didn’t notice I’d shed.

“Oh. It’s fine. I was just talking to your mom about stuff.”

“Good stuff?”

“Life stuff, but it was good.”

He gave me a funny look and kissed my cheek. “Then I’m glad you two talked.”

***

“Are you guys ready to head home, or do you want to come back to my house for a little while?” Jake finished strapping Noah into his car seat and got into the passenger seat.

“We’ll come over.”

“Okay, great.” Jake didn’t complain about spending our weekends in Wilmington, but he loved when Noah and I came over.

I drove the short distance to his house and parked in the driveway. Jake was out of the car unbuckling Noah before I’d even opened my door.

“Hey, I’ll get him. Can you get my stuff from the trunk?”

“What do you have in there?”

“I didn’t give you your gift yet.”

“Okay…” He caught the keys I tossed to him.

I pulled Noah out and set him on the driveway.

“Why do you guys have suitcases? Are you staying? I thought we were doing our little party at your place.”

“We’re not moving in for good until December but I thought—”

Jake picked me up and swung me around.

Noah giggled, and Jake swung him next. “Are you staying the weekend?”

I nodded. “Uh huh. I thought it would be a good trial run.”

“We don’t need a trial period, but I’m glad. I missed you like crazy last night.”

“Me too.”

Jake moved Noah into one arm and picked up one of the suitcases with his other. “I’ll come back for that one.”

“I’ve got it.” I picked it up, trying to hide that it was actually heavy. I figured it would make more of an impression if we actually had clothes to put in the drawers.

Jake had a few more gifts for Noah. I think he’d had a little too much fun in the toy store. Noah didn’t mind at all. I had to pull his attention away from a plastic toy train set so we could give Jake his gifts.