Until Nico

Chapter 9
Sophie
“Hi.” I smile at David as he walks into the library. He’s a pleasant-enough guy; he asked me out a couple of times, but I just couldn’t go out with him. It’s not that he isn’t good-looking—he is—but he seems like he has to try too hard to be nice. It’s odd.
“Hey, Sophie. How are you?” He leans on the counter in front of me.
“Good, and you?” I ask, typing in the call number for another book a teacher asked me to check out for their classroom.
“I’m good. I was wondering if you’d want to go out and get a bite to eat after work?”
“No, sorry. I can’t.” I don’t even look up from what I’m doing when I respond.
“It must be hard for you moving to a new state all by yourself, living alone, and not having anyone around.”
“Pardon?” I ask, finally looking up at him.
His eyes appear darker, and something about him just seems…off. A shiver slides down my spine, and I sit back in the chair. Something is telling me to get away from him.
“Oh shit, I’m sorry. You look scared.” He laughs. “I didn’t mean anything, Sophie. Just that, if you need me, I’m here for you.”
“Thanks,” I wheeze out, finding it hard to breathe.
“See you around,” he says, smiling. He taps the top of the desk before leaving the library, and as soon as he’s out of sight, I grab my keys and bag, turn out the library lights, and lock the door before rushing down the hall and out to my car.
My hands are shaking as I open my door, and once inside, I engage the locks. I start my car and lift my head when I feel eyes on me, my eyes landing on David’s car a few spaces over. I can just barely make out David sitting in his car as he waves. I lift my hand quickly, put my car in drive, and speed out of the parking lot. By the time I reach Nico’s, the strange encounter with David is just that—a strange encounter. David’s always been nice. He knows I moved to Tennessee alone and was probably just worried about me being on my own all the time, and since he doesn’t know about Nico, that would be understandable, I convince myself.
I turn the key in the door and open it to complete silence; this catches me off guard. Daisy always greets me when I get home. I walk into the kitchen to set my bag on the counter. I lift my foot behind me, ready to take off my shoes before searching for Daisy.
“Leave them on,” is growled, and I look over my shoulder at Nico, who is shirtless, wearing a pair of jeans and nothing else. Seeing him makes me forget about everything. My heart kicks up when I see his face; his eyes are dark and hungry. “Been home all day, worked out three times, and still couldn’t get the image of what you’re wearing out of my head.” He takes a step towards me.
I look down, confused. I wore a high-waisted pencil skirt with a white blouse, sheer stockings, and black suede stiletto pumps to work today. This is my normal attire when going out of the house to work. He has seen me in these kinds of outfits a million times.
“What?” I ask, my head tilting to the side, studying his expression.
His hands come up to pull the pins out of my hair, tossing them onto the island in the kitchen. Then they go to my top, unbuttoning it and pulling it to the side before undoing the front clasp on my bra, releasing it so my breasts are free. “You have this whole naughty-librarian thing going on.” His hands lift my breasts as his head dips so he can lick each nipple before biting and sucking them, making me grab his hair. “Every time you leave the house in one of these getups, all I can think about is you on your knees in front of me, your skirt up around your waist while I watch you suck me off,” he says as his hands begin to pull my skirt up my thighs and his teeth bite down on my earlobe.
“Oh,” I breathe, feeling his fingers pull my panties to the side and then two fingers fill me.
“Look at how wet you are,” he groans, pulling his two fingers up between us. He’s not wrong; I can feel the wetness between my legs, and my * is now throbbing. He puts his fingers in his mouth, his eyes on me the whole time. “So sweet.” His hands go to my waist. Then I hear material tearing, and I realize that he is ripping off my panties. “I’ve had this fantasy since the first moment I met you. You were on your knees in front of me, your tits out,” he says, rubbing his thumb over one nipple and then the other, “and your skirt up around your waist.” He looks down, and I feel a hand on my bare ass. “The stockings… Those are a bonus,” he growls, trailing his hand around before one finger slides over my *. “Do you want to make my fantasy reality?”
I bite my lip, nodding my head. Without thinking, I sink to my knees in front of him. I look up, running my hands up his thighs before unbuttoning his jeans and pulling down his zipper. I hear a low rumble and my eyes lift to his, and then I watch as his nostrils flare. The second his jeans are unzipped, he springs free, bouncing against his stomach. Commando—so hot.
One of my hands goes to the back of his thigh, the other to the base of his cock, pulling it down towards me. Seeing his piercing makes my mouth water. Knowing the way it feels when he’s inside me causes a whole new surge of wetness to spread between my thighs. I lick the head before closing my mouth over it. I can’t get much of him into my mouth. He’s too thick and long, so I use my hand, moving it along his shaft along with my mouth.
“Give me your eyes, Sophie.”
I lift my eyes to his; watching his expression as I work him makes me want to please him that much more. I stroke him fast, and then his hands are in my hair at the sides of my head.
“This is better than any fantasy I’ve ever had,” he groans, his head falling back and his hips pumping himself in and out of my mouth. “Shit, baby,” he says, and before I know what’s happening, he pulls out of my mouth, turns me around, and sinks into me from behind.
My hands go to the hardwood in front of me, my head bowing forward. Nico’s hands go to my hips, lifting me higher, forcing himself deeper. He plows into me hard and fast. His hand slides around my waist, his fingers zeroing in on my *. He circles it as his other hand goes to my breast, pinching my nipple. I cry out as I feel the first wave of my orgasm wash over me.
“F*ck,” he groans, planting himself balls-deep and grinding his hips as he spills into me. “You okay?” he asks after catching his breath, sitting me up on my knees.
“I think so,” I whimper as he pulls out of me.
His hands remove my shoes before wrapping an arm around my waist to help me up. “Shit, baby,” he says, looking down.
I look at him then follow his eyes to my knees, which are red from the hardwood floors. “I’m okay.” I smile, feeling my cheeks heat up. I’m still so dazed by that orgasm that I wouldn’t notice any pain.
“Let’s shower.” He picks me up, carries me to the bathroom, and then helps me get undressed and into the shower before stripping his jeans off, following me in. “I have another fantasy,” he whispers in my ear as his hands massage my breasts from behind.
“Oh yeah?” I ask, tilting my head to the side.
“Oh yeah,” he says, nipping my neck before showing me a few other fantasies he’s had. All of them are awesome, but my favorite has me with my thighs wrapped around his head.
“Tomorrow we’re going to dinner at my parents so you can meet everyone.”
I try to lift my head to look at him, but I’m just too exhausted. “Was this your plan? Wear me out so I don’t argue?”
“No, but it sounds smart.” I hear the smile in his voice and can’t help but to smile back.
“I’m nervous about meeting them, but I also can’t wait,” I confess quietly.
“Really?” he asks, making me feel like a jerk.
I hate that he thinks I don’t want to meet them. It’s never been about not wanting to meet them. It’s always been about being afraid of what would happen if I had a panic attack or something. I don’t want them to think that their son should find someone else who’s normal.
“Don’t sound so surprised.” I run my hand along his abs. “I want to see where you come from and meet the people who raised you. Plus, you’ve talked about your brothers and their families so much that I feel like I already know them.”
“Thank you for doing this. I know it’s not easy for you, but my family’s cool. They’re gonna love you.”
“I hope so,” I tell him, my eyes feeling heavy. I don’t care who else loves me. I just want him to.
“Sleep, sweet Sophie,” he whispers, his lips on my forehead.
“’Night,” I mumble.
I feel his laughter against my cheek, making me smile before I drift off to sleep, completely forgetting to tell him about my strange reaction to David.
*~*~*
“You’re here!” a woman yells, running outside and down the front steps to where I’m exiting Nico’s car. I stumble back as she embraces me in a tight hug. “Welcome,” she says breathlessly before her hands go to my face, her eyes soft as she looks at me.
“Hi.” I can’t help but smile as she pulls me back in for another hug. She doesn’t seem so scary anymore. I almost laugh at my own fear.
“Hey,” Nico says, walking towards us. The smile he’s wearing is one I haven’t seen before, but I have to say—it’s probably one of my favorites.
“Hey, honey.” She lets me go and walks to where he’s standing, her hands going to his face this time. I hear her whisper something to him, but I can’t make out what it is. His face goes soft, looking a lot like his mom as he nods before kissing her cheek. “So, I hope you two are hungry.” She smiles, linking her arm with mine as we make our way into the house.
“Where’s Dad?” Nico asks.
She turns to look over her shoulder to answer him. “He’ll be here soon. He called to tell me he would be late,” she says as we make our way inside.
The house is a beautiful two-story farmhouse. The outside is painted a pale yellow with white trim, and a large front porch sporting two rocking chairs completes the picture. As we walk inside, all I can think is how welcoming their home feels. The warm wood floors and country-style decor make me feel like I should be drinking a glass of lemonade while putting my feet up.
“I love your house,” I tell Susan as we make our way into the kitchen.
“Thank you, honey. Nico’s grandparents bought this house when they moved into the area. When they told James they were going to sell it, he bought the house from them.”
“I would love to live in an area like this. The drive out here was beautiful. When I moved to Tennessee, I wanted to buy a house in the country on a couple acres, but I just couldn’t afford it,” I explain with a smile.
“I thought you liked living in a neighborhood close to the city?” Nico states as a question, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind.
“I don’t mind it.” I turn my head and look back at him. “But when I was little, I read all of the Little House on the Prairie books and dreamed of living in a house in the middle of nowhere with my husband and filling it up with tons of kids.”
“We can definitely have tons of kids,” he says, his eyes going dark.
He is on a baby-making mission. Since he got back from Vegas—unless I’m working—we’ve been in bed, and he’s been doing everything in his power to put a baby in me. Not that I have been putting up much of a fight about it. After opening up to him about everything, I know that he is everything I want and need. I know that, deep down, even the night I ran away, I would have gone back to him; I wouldn’t have been able to stay away.
“Nico, you wanna come help me out?” a guy yells into the house, my heart rate automatically kicking up.
We talked about this. This morning, he told me that everyone was meeting at his parents’ for dinner. Like it told him last night, I am excited but still nervous. I know that I put this off for as long as I could. And honestly, it wasn’t fair to Nico to keep pushing him away even if it was unintentional. When I told Maggie what was going on, I could hear her clapping and jumping up and down while we were on the phone. She loves that Nico is forcing me to step outside of my bubble. She is happy for me and excited to meet Nico.
“Yeah!” he yells back before kissing my neck and whispering into my ear, “You’ll be okay. I’m here with you.”
“Okay,” I agree nervously. I just don’t want to have some kind of breakdown in front of his family. Once, in Job Corps, I passed out when I was with a group of people at lunch. After that, I tried to just stick to myself.
“So, Nico said you work as a librarian?” Susan asks, smiling at me.
“Yes. Well, I do that part time. My real job is as a private insurance specialist.” I watch as she goes to the stove and pulls out a giant ham, the kind you would have at Thanksgiving, with the pineapple and cherries on top of it.
“Wow, that sounds fun,” she says sarcastically and giggles, making me laugh.
“Yeah, it’s no fun, but it pays the bills.” I shrug.
“That’s always important.”
“Well, really, the thing is—my shoe addiction isn’t going to pay for itself,” I say with a smile.
“You too, huh? I had to take a job working for my boys when their dad told me he wasn’t going to give me any more money for shoes unless I got rid of some first. I told him fine, I didn’t need his money, and bribed my boys with cookies and started working for them. Needless to say, James had to build me a bigger closet.” She laughs and shakes her head, and I burst out laughing too. I can’t help it; she’s so sweet and totally puts me at ease. “Can you help me out with the rolls and put them in the oven?” she asks.
“Sure,” I say, going to the counter and putting a pan of Hawaiian rolls into the oven.
“Thanks, honey.”
“You’re welcome.” I smile, feeling warm inside. I wonder if my mom would have been like her if she were alive. All of the memories of my mom are happy; she was always laughing and smiling.
“What’s wrong?” Nico’s arms wrap around me. I hug him back, breathing him in before bringing my hands to my face, wiping my eyes. “Talk to me,” he says against my ear before kissing it.
“Nothing. Just thinking about my mom and wondering if she would be like yours,” I tell him.
He tilts my head back with a finger under my chin. “You gonna be okay being here? If not, we can go,” he says quietly, searching my face. Hearing him say that only makes me love him that much more. I know how much his family means to him. I know how much he wants me to get to know them, so his asking if I need to leave says more than words ever could.
“You love me,” I whisper. It isn’t a question; I know he does because I can see it in his eyes. I don’t know how I missed it before.
“I do.” He smiles, his mouth touching mine. “I love you, Sophie,” he says softly for only me to hear.
“I love you too,” I whisper, closing my eyes. I feel him smile against my lips before he kisses me again.
“Well, shit.” He lifts his mouth from mine and I turn my head. “It is true. F*ck me—I thought Mom was kidding,” a guy says, looking between Nico and me.
“Trevor, this is Sophie. Sophie, this is my brother, Trevor.”
“Nice to meet you,” I tell him, pressing closer to Nico.
Trevor is big, and we were in a kitchen, so I can’t help but feel some fear as the thought of my attack in my childhood home’s kitchen drifts into my mind. I try to fight it, remembering what my counselor said about not letting it control me, and I take a deep breath and put my hand out to Trevor, who immediately takes it. I scream when he suddenly pulls me to him, and it takes a second to realize that he’s hugging me. My heart is pounding in my chest, but my breaths, which were coming in rough pants, slow, and I return his hug for a second before being pulled back by Nico’s strong, tattooed arms.
“Aw, now you get it.” Trevor smirks, shaking his head.
“I get it, and you got your own woman, so keep your hands off mine,” Nico says, tucking me back under his arm.
Then a very pretty woman with long blond hair comes into the kitchen holding a little girl—well, trying to; it appears more like the girl is being detained, and the woman looks like if she moves wrong, her very pregnant stomach would explode.
“What did I tell you about picking her up, babe?” Trevor scolds her, taking the little girl from her and whispering something into her ear, making her laugh and yell out, “Daddy!”
“It was either pick her up or have your mom’s house destroyed. She’s just like you. She never wants to listen when I tell her no,” she snaps at Trevor.
“You don’t like telling me no,” Trevor tells her with a smirk before gently pulling her forward by the back of the neck and kissing her. When his mouth leaves hers, she smiles then looks at Nico and me.
“Um,” she mumbles, and I can’t help but giggle. I totally get it; Nico has the same effect on me.
“Sophie, this is my wife, Liz, and my daughter, Hanna.”
“Hi,” I greet softly, lifting my hand in a small wave.
Nico pulls me fully against him until Hanna reaches out from Trevor’s hold, latching on to Nico. I love seeing him with the little girl, who seems so fascinated by him.
“Oh my God, they were telling the truth,” Liz says quietly.
My eyes go to hers, and she starts to laugh, making her whole belly bounce. I’m starting to wonder if she should even be out of bed with how large she is.
“Should you be doing that?” I ask her, watching her belly, afraid the baby is going to somehow become dislodged and come flying out.
“Do what? Laugh?” she asks, my eyes returning to hers as she smiles and shakes her head, laughing even harder. “I still have a ways to go, but this guy here is apparently going to be the biggest baby in the history of babies.” She starts rubbing her belly, and I really want to rub it too to see what it feels like. “He’s kicking. Do you wanna feel?” she asks, reading my face.
I take two small steps towards her, gently placing my hand on her belly. “Does it hurt?”
“No. It feels strange and uncomfortable, but never really painful, except childbirth. Now that is horrible, and anyone who says differently is a liar.” She grabs my hand, pulling it around to her side and holding it there. That’s when I feel a small kick, and then another, this one much harder.
“Wow,” I breathe.
“Yeah. He’s going to be a soccer player.”
“He’s going to be a football player,” Trevor says, narrowing his eyes on his wife.
“Sure, honey.” She smiles then rolls her eyes. “How long have you been seeing Nico?”
“Um…” Shit. What should I say? I look at Nico; he’s so caught up trying to control the little girl in his arms and talking to Trevor that he’s basically no help at all.
“You are seeing him, right? I mean, he’s not just joking, is he?” she asks, confused.
“No, no, it’s not a joke.” I shake my head, my eyebrows coming together in concentration as I try to figure out what to say.
“Hey, I was just curious. You don’t have to tell me anything,” she says gently.
“I…I just feel bad. We’ve been seeing each other for a few months, but I just couldn’t meet you guys yet. I was trying to work through some stuff first,” I tell her quietly.
“I understand that. I had to work through some stuff for a while as well, so I know how you feel. Nico’s a good guy though, so he’ll help you.”
“Yeah, he’s kind of relentless,” I reply, scrunching up my nose.
She smiles genuinely, transforming her whole face from pretty to stunning. “Well then I guess I should say welcome to the family.” She shocks me, pulling me in for a hug.
“What?”
“Girl, now you’re stuck. There’s no way out of this. Even if you tried, he would hunt you down.” She laughs.
“Yikes,” I say with a fake grimace.
“Yep.” She nods, and then I hear the front door bang open.
I jump and look at Nico. Then loud voices fill the front of the house.
“Ma?!” is bellowed. I look at Susan, who smiles and rolls her eyes.
“My oldest has no manners. Don’t mind him,” Susan says, walking around us and out of the kitchen.
“You called?” she asks with a laugh, and then there’s a chorus of ‘Grandma!’ being yelled with happy squeals from what sounds like a troop of little girls.
“Come meet everyone,” Nico says, walking me out into the living room with one hand against my lower back, the other full of a very excited little girl.
Once we make it around the corner, I stop dead in my tracks when I see two more beautiful men, a pretty red-haired woman, a beautiful woman with long brown hair, four little girls, and one little boy all gathering around Susan and yelling for her attention. The other two couples in the room are standing off to the side, watching and laughing while Susan’s mauled by the group of kids.
“Uncle Nico!” a little girl wearing a tutu screams, running towards us at full speed. All the other kids in the room follow her lead and surround us.
“Who are you?”
I look down to see the only boy in the bunch looking up at me curiously. “Sophie. Who are you?”
“Jax,” he says, tilting his head to the side and studying me. “I neber met you before.”
“Nope, you haven’t.”
He looks at where Nico’s hand is wrapped around my waist, and his little eyes narrow slightly. “You said girls are weird and that you didn’t want one,” Jax says, looking at Nico accusingly.
“I did, little dude, but that was before I met Sophie,” Nico explains, and I want to laugh, but Jax looks very serious about this topic.
“But she’s a girl,” he argues, looking around at all the girls then back at Nico. “We already hab too many girls.”
“He’s right, you know. You are the one who’s always said girls are gross,” a guy in a baseball cap says, walking across the room and holding a woman’s hand, both of them wearing wide smiles on their faces.
“Hi, Sophie, it’s nice to meet you. This is my wife, Lilly. I’m Cash. This little guy here is Jax, and he is ours, along with Ashlyn,” he says, pointing out one of the little girls.
“Nice to meet you too,” I say as all the little girls it the room start running around us, yelling in their high-pitched singsong voices, “Uncle Nico’s in love!” I can help but laugh.
“Welcome to the insanity,” Lilly says, smiling, and that’s when I recognize her from school.
“You used to work at the middle school, right?” Her hair is different, but I’m pretty sure it’s her.
“That’s why I recognize you!” She smiles excitedly. “Are you still working in the library?”
“Yes. I wondered what happened to you,” I say quietly.
“It’s a long story. One day when you have time, we’ll meet for coffee so I can tell you all about it,” she replies just as quietly.
I’m taken aback by her offer; even when she worked at the school, we never socialized. Well, I never socialize with anyone.
“I would like that,” I say sincerely, liking the idea of having some friends here.
“It really is a small world.” She shakes her head, looks at Cash, and smiles as he leans forward, kissing her forehead.
Then the other guy who arrived comes over, scooping up one little girl along the way. “Sophie, it’s nice to finally meet you. I’m Asher, this is November, and those three girls are ours—July, June, and May,” he says, pointing to each daughter as he says their name. If Nico hadn’t prepared me for their names, I may have laughed, but thankfully, he warned me.
“Nice to meet you guys.” I smile at both of them before taking a second to look around. Nico’s whole family’s beautiful…like, really beautiful.
“You okay, babe?” Nico whispers next to my ear, sending a small shiver down my spine. I nod and lean into him.
“All right, everyone. I need your help getting dinner on the table. Who wants to help Grandma?” Susan asks, and all the kids start yelling about who gets to help set the table, who gets to butter the rolls, and all sorts of other tasks they clearly do often.
“We call it controlled chaos,” November says, watching as all the kids follow after Susan.
“I just call it insanity,” Trevor says, walking into the living room with Liz, who he helps sit down before putting her feet up on a pillow.
“Honey, I told you I’m fine,” she grumbles, but seeing the size of her ankles has me wincing and thankful she’s off her feet.
“Well, be fine sitting your pretty little ass in here with your feet up,” he replies, kissing her hard before going back into the kitchen.
“He’s so bossy,” Liz says, but I can tell she really doesn’t mind that he’s bossy with her.
“So, you sure you’re ready to be a part of this craziness?” Asher asks me, wrapping an arm around November’s waist.
I look at Trevor, who comes in to give Liz a glass of water, and then Cash, who is whispering something into Lilly’s ear making her smile. I glance at November, who is looking at Asher like he holds the secrets of the universe, and as I feel Nico’s hand on my side, his fingers running along the skin between my shirt and jeans, in his touch alone, I feel love.
“It may take some getting used to, but yes, I’m ready,” I tell Asher, and Nico’s fingers give me a squeeze.
“I’m still trying to get used to it, but as long as you have a backbone and don’t let these guys boss you around too much, you’ll be fine,” November says, smiling.
“Hey, I don’t boss you around,” Asher says, glaring at November.
“I know you don’t.” She pats his chest then rolls her eyes, making me giggle.
“Dad’s home,” Nico says as we hear a loud diesel engine pulling up outside, and before I have a second to gather my thoughts, “Grandpa’s here!” is yelled and a swarm of children run into the living room then out the front door.
My heart swells as we walk out onto the front porch. There’s obviously a rule in place and the kids must do this often, because they all stay on the porch until the truck is shut off. The second the engine dies, the kids all run full speed down the steps. An older man—who is still very handsome and looks a lot like his sons—hops out of the truck. Then chaos ensues, and the kids are on him, jumping up and down, and all of them talking to him a million miles a minute at the same time. He takes his time, greeting each one, picking one up, and giving them a second of his time before kissing them on their head and putting them down until every single one of them has had their turn.
I fall in love with Nico’s family right then and there—his mom, brothers, sisters-in-law, and now his dad—and I can tell without a doubt that they all genuinely love each other. They are the definition of family and exactly what I never knew I wanted for myself.
After all the kids have their time with their grandfather, he makes his way up the porch steps with a wide smile on his face holding Jax.
“So I hear Nico’s in love. That right?” he asks, looking at Nico and then at me.
I bite my lip to keep from smiling at Jax, who looks utterly annoyed with his uncle. “Um…” I don’t know how to respond.
“He is, Grandpa. He was wookin’ at her all funny and everything,” Jax says, crossing his arms over his chest with a huff.
“Well then, I’m James, but you can call me Dad. Welcome to the family.” I’m about to put out my hand and introduce myself, but I’m suddenly pulled into a bear hug that forces Jax between us.
“I’m Sophie,” I tell him, hugging him back.
“Nice to meet you, Sophie,” he says, pulling away to set down a wiggling Jax.
“You too.” I smile up at him, seeing that his eyes look exactly like Nico’s.
“All right, you guys. Come inside. Dinner’s ready,” Susan says as she comes outside, wiping her hands on a dishcloth.
James pulls her to him with an arm around her waist and kisses her once before patting her butt and sending her inside in front of him. Now I know where the Mayson boys get it from, I think, looking up at Nico with a smile as we follow his parents into the house.
“So how’s work been, son?” James asks Nico.
We’re all sitting around the table and eating, and the conversation has mostly been about my history. I’ve tried to steer things away from what happened after my mom died and before I went to Job Corps. I feel a little like I’m lying, but there are some things I just can’t bring myself to talk about. I look at Nico curiously when he avoids the question his dad just asked him and completely changes the subject.
“How do you guys feel about the fact that Cash and Lilly ran off and got hitched?” he asks with a smirk, and everyone at the table stops looking at him and turns to stare between Cash and Lilly. I look at Nico funny, knowing he’s avoiding talking about his job. I’m happy to know I’m not the only one he keeps his work-life separated from, but I really hope he talks to someone about it. I can’t imagine doing what he does and not having someone to vent to.
The rest of dinner is spent talking about Cash and Lilly, their time in Alaska, and their quickie Vegas ceremony. I also spend most of dinner with different kids in my lap, each asking me questions of their own. First, it is July asking me about my nail color and if she could borrow my polish. The next is June, who has a hundred questions about me and Nico, and then May wants to know why she’s never met me before and asks me every question under the sun, from my favorite food to if I had any pets. By the time Hanna comes to sit on my lap, I am thankful for the little girl because she only wants to talk about books. Ashlyn is the last to sit with me. I tell her all about Daisy, who she has only met a couple of times but has fallen in love with her. Jax is quiet during most of dinner. He sits on the other side of Nico, who I guess from their talks is his idol—well, until I came along. Apparently Nico broke his trust when he got a girlfriend.
After we’ve finished our dinner and each had a piece of homemade lemon meringue pie, it is almost nine and time for us to go home.
“Are you sure you can’t hab a sleepober wif me?” May asks, bending her little head backwards so she can look up at my face.
“I’m sorry, honey, but your uncle Nico would be sad if I didn’t have a sleepover with him,” I tell her. Leaning forward, I can’t help but kiss her head. “I promise you we will have a pajama party soon though. We can watch movies, paint our nails, and do all kinds of fun things.”
“Mommy! I get to have a sleepober wif Aunt Sophie!” May yells, jumping down off my lap, and then all the kids run into the dining room and swarm me, asking if they can have a sleepover too.
“Yes, you can all come and have a sleepover.” I laugh as they all run off to their parents, yelling about a sleepover at ‘Uncle Nico and Aunt Sophie’s house.’
“When you have this sleepover, I’m gonna make sure I gotta work,” Nico says, making me narrow my eyes.
“No, I figure this will be good practice for you, Mr. I-wanna-get-you-knocked-up.”
“Touché.” He smiles, kissing my nose. He wraps his arms around my waist, and I lean into him. “You ready to go home?”
“Yeah, if you are,” I tell him before getting up on my tiptoes to kiss him. Today has been awesome. I now know that I have nothing to worry about. His family is sweet. I’m happy to know them and glad Nico has them at his back, and I can’t wait to spend time with them again soon. “I love your family,” I tell him as I kiss the underside of his jaw.
“They love you too baby.”
“I love you,” I tell him with a smile.
He leans forward and kisses my forehead before leaning back his eyes meeting mine. “Love you too, sweet Sophie.” I smile and shake my head. “All right. Let’s get out of here. I need to be inside you,” Nico says, making me tingle.
I nod and make quick work of saying goodbye to everyone, including all the kids, who make me promise again that we will have a sleepover soon.
*~*~*
“What do you mean Jax and Ashlyn are missing?” I ask, watching as Nico pulls on a pair of jeans and boots, and I immediately hop out of bed and start to get dressed.
Not long after I met everyone, Lilly was arrested, and Nico worked hard to get her released. This morning, he found evidence proving that Lilly had been wrongfully accused. I hate that they are being forced to deal with more drama, and I feel nauseated just thinking about something happening to the kids.
“Cash couldn’t say much, just that he and Lilly had been home with her parents and the kids. Lilly noticed that the kids were quiet and went out to check on them. He said they’ve searched everywhere and still came up with nothing.”
“Okay, so we can help them look,” I tell him, pulling on a hoodie along with my Chucks.
“Sorry, baby. No way.”
“No way, what?” My eyebrows draw together.
“You’re not going with. I won’t be able to focus if you’re there.”
“I wanna help,” I tell him firmly. There is no way I’m going to be sitting here worried out of my mind while he is searching for the kids.
“No. No way.” He shakes his head.
“I wasn’t asking you for permission.” My hands go to my hips.
“I don’t have time to argue with you, Sophie,” he growls, pulling a shirt on.
“Then don’t argue.” I leave the room and head to the kitchen to grab my bag.
“You’re not f*cking coming!” he yells behind me. Once he comes into the kitchen, he grabs his keys and heads for the front door. I quietly follow behind him, thinking maybe he won’t even notice I’m there. “Baby, serious as f*ck, I don’t have time for this shit right now. Please put my mind at ease. Stay here and wait for me,” he says, turning around, his hands going to my face. I can see in his eyes that he is stressed, and I don’t want to add to it. As much as I want to go with him to help look for the kids, I know I can’t add to his worry.
“Okay,” I agree reluctantly.
“That’s my girl.” His mouth drops to mine, and before I can kiss him back, he’s opening the door.
“Call me the minute you find them!” I yell as he’s getting in his car. He gives me a chin lift, so I figure that’s basically an affirmative.
I don’t know how long I pace back and forth between the living room and the kitchen, but it must be a couple of hours. I give in and call Lilly, who’s a wreck and can’t even get a word out without breaking down into tears. I can’t imagine what she’s going through, but I tell her that, if she needs anything at all, I’m here.
After I get off the phone with her and another hour passes, the phone rings and I jump to answer it, thinking it’s Nico with good news. I’m disappointed when it’s November and Liz calling to see if I’ve heard anything. They both know as much as I do, which is nothing at all. Halfway into our conversation, November gets a call from Susan, who says they found Jax and are on their way to get Ashlyn. She doesn’t have a lot of information, but I feel better knowing that they are on the right track. I want to help, and I hate that I’m stuck at home and can’t do anything. By the time Nico calls to tell me they have Ashlyn and that Cash is heading to the hospital with both of the kids in an ambulance, I’m a mess.
“Should I meet you there?” I ask, holding my breath.
“No, baby. I’m just going to take care of a couple more things and then I’ll be home. We can go and see the kids tomorrow, but right now, I think Cash and Lilly just want to be alone with the kids,” he says quietly.
I want to cry; I feel horrible not being there with him. “Are you sure? I can meet you at your parents’. That way, if they need us, we’re close.”
“Baby, I swear if I thought for one second that would be best, I would have you come here, but as of right now, everyone’s going home. Asher wants to go sit with his girls, Trevor told me he needs to be with his, and I want you at home.”
“Okay,” I whisper, hearing the stress in his voice.
“Be home soon,” he says, hanging up.
I sit there for a few minutes, going over everything that happened to Lilly—and now the kids—and also what November told me about her story and what Liz explained about hers while we were on the phone. I look at the picture of Nico and me on the screen of my phone and swear to myself right then that I will do everything in my power to be worthy of Nico. It’s not that I don’t still have fears, but knowing how life can change so drastically in the blink of an eye makes me want to live my life completely. I’m in love with an amazing man who looks at me like I’m his reason for breathing when, in reality, he’s mine. I want to be the strong person he sees me as. He deserves that and more.
*~*~*
“He’s so cute,” I tell Nico, looking from Trevor and Liz’s new son to his smiling eyes.
“He is, babe,” he agrees, his face soft as he looks at his nephew.
“Here. You hold him.” I hand Cobi over to Nico, helping to situate him in his arms before smiling up at him.
His eyes drop to my mouth before he leans forward to kiss my forehead. I feel warmth flow through me. I love Nico’s family. That’s why, when Trevor called to say that Liz had gone into labor, I freaked out and ran around the house in a hurry, wanting to get to the hospital as soon as possible.
By the time we arrived, Liz was already seven centimeters. Two hours after we got there, a smiling Trevor came out to tell us that baby Cobi had arrived and he was nine pounds and six ounces. When he made this announcement, my first thought was, Oh my God, I can’t wait to see him! Then my mind wandered to the bag of flour I had to carry around in junior high during sex education that weighed ten pounds. And then I thought about something that size coming out of my vagina and wanted to stop having sex altogether. The idea of that coming out of something so small made me feel uneasy.
The second I had Cobi cuddled to me, all thoughts of teeny, tiny vaginas and giant babies left my head, and I knew that, no matter what, when you’d hold your child, whatever you went through would be completely worth it.