Jacob shakes his head, glaring at Braydon. “Your birthday isn’t today. This is my truck cake!”
We all laugh and I put Jacob on the ground so he can take a seat in the chair that has so many Mylar balloons tied to it, I’m half expecting it to take flight any moment. With Jacob satisfied, I turn my attention to Xavier. “Hey, babe,” I say as he circles my waist. His mouth lowers to mine, his firm lips taste like the slightest hint of Scotch. “How are you holding up?”
Xavier doesn’t like to talk much about Alyssa, so I’ve been picking and choosing when to bring her up. Today, it’s understandable, expected really, for him to be thinking about her since it’s Jacob’s first birthday without her. I only knew her for a few months and I’ve caught myself thinking about her quite a bit. I can’t imagine what Xavier is dealing with in his mind.
“As well as can be expected,” he says with a shrug. “But better now that you’re here. Thank you for taking care of all of this.”
“You don’t need to thank me, Xavier.” He pulls out the chair next to Jacob and I sit. “I’m glad I was able to give him a bit of normalcy today. Any more problems?”
Xavier shakes his head as he walks around to the other side of the table. I have a feeling there’s a lot to be said in that simple movement, but this isn’t the time or the place for that discussion. We focus on Jacob through dinner, only bringing up things that will make him happy. Fortunately, the mac and cheese was a hit, so much so that he’s already requesting that I make this every week. I swear, the kid could eat the stuff three meals a day if he was allowed.
Braydon lights five candles on the birthday cake and turns out the lights. When the cake is in front of Jacob, we all watch as he closes his eyes tightly before blowing out the candles.
“What did you wish for, buddy?” Xavier asks as Jacob starts pulling the toy trucks off the cake. I cringe as I watch him drag the frosting covered wheels across the table. Oh well, it’s his birthday, might as well let him have fun.
“I can’t tell you, silly,” Jacob giggles. “If I do, my wish won’t come true.”
“Good plan,” Xavier responds.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Mel asks me as we clean up from dinner. “You know this is the last chance you have to back out before he opens his presents. I can tell him we’ll take him shopping after preschool tomorrow.”
“No, I think it’s the perfect gift.” She’s standing at the kitchen sink, rinsing all of the dishes before loading the dishwasher. No matter how many times I tell her that she doesn’t need to pre-wash them, she does it every time. I move behind her, pressing my chest against her back. “I love you, Mel.”
She turns around, brushing her hip against my dick, which has almost gotten used to the constant state of blue balls. I curse myself for vowing to wait to take our relationship to that level. Not only do I want to make sure that our first time together after so long isn’t a quickie where we have to worry about Jacob knocking on the door, I also need to know that what we have is going to last. I feel like a complete puss every time I remind myself of that fact, but it’s the truth. I know what it was like to get over Melanie once, I don’t want to do it again.
“You know, you almost never call me Melanie anymore,” she points out, looking up at me with those dark brown eyes that melt my heart. “Why?”
I hadn’t realized it, but now that she’s brought it up, she’s right. “Because I was the only person who called you that. That’s what I called you before, and when you showed up last year, it was the best way to keep some distance between us. Your friends call you Mel, and that was when I was trying to not be your friend.”
“Gee, thanks,” she laughs, pushing me away. I grab her wrists in my hands, pulling her with me. She sucks in a sharp breath when I pin both of her hands behind her back. While we’ll never have that type of relationship again, it’s fun to watch her react when I take control. Of course, it also sends the blood racing straight to my cock, which I know she can feel pressing against her stomach.
“You know what I mean.” I lean down and kiss her quickly before we make our way into the living room, where I can already hear Jacob tearing the paper on one of his gifts.
Given the fact that there are three adults and ten gifts, it’s pretty apparent that Jacob is one spoiled little boy. We watch as he opens each package, declaring it the best gift ever before moving on to the next best gift ever. Mel curls into my side on the couch and, for the first time today, the world feels right to me. I still miss Alyssa, but with all of the effort Mel put into making Jacob’s birthday special, I have no doubt that Alyssa is here with us in spirit.