“Fine.” He groaned again and let me go. Before he could change his mind, I hurried out of his room and tiptoed down the hallway.
I held my breath the entire way to my room, and when I slipped inside, I closed the door with relief. The last thing we needed was for Tommy or Sarah to catch wind of the fact that I was sleeping with their dad. Sean and I didn’t yet know what our relationship was, and until we did, we couldn’t share it with the kids.
I jumped into the shower and quickly washed up, tying my hair up in a wet bun when I was finished. I got dressed in the first thing I could find and hurried back downstairs. To my surprise, no one was up yet so I decided to go outside and call Janie. She wasn’t going to believe what happened.
Quietly, I stepped out onto the back patio and pulled my cellphone from my pocket. I dialed Janie’s number and waited while it rang.
“Hello?” she asked, her voice groggy.
“Are you still sleeping?” I asked, surprised.
“It’s my day off,” she said with a yawn. “What’s up?”
“Oh, not much. Seems like it’s going to be a nice day. I was thinking about maybe doing some shopping later. Maybe make some spaghetti for dinner, have sex with Sean again. I don’t know. What’s up with you?”
Janie was quiet for a moment. “Wait, what did you just say?”
“What?” I teased. “I’m thinking about going shopping?”
“You know damn well what I meant!” she said, her voice rising.
I laughed “Oh, that.”
“Yes, that! When the hell did that even become a possibility?” she asked.
I sighed into the phone. “I don’t know. We’ve been skirting around the issue for a couple weeks. I think it’s actually why he fired me the first time: he was attracted to me and thought it wasn’t cool. Also, he saw Tanner whispering in my ear that night, and he thought he was my boyfriend. Can you imagine?”
“Ewwwwww!” Janie said and I laughed.
“Yeah,” I said, still laughing. I couldn’t seem to get my giddy joy under control. “It’s been great. It was kind of awkward at first, a lot of tension. But then Sean’s best friend came down for a visit. He’s here now. He basically told Sean to stop being an idiot and go for it. So, we did. We went for it.”
“Are you happy?” Janie asked, her voice serious. “You feel okay about it all?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I feel amazing.”
“Yup, that’s what good sex does to you,” Janie said.
We spent the next few minutes talking about the details of my night. Janie insisted upon knowing everything.
“I really have to go,” I said after five minutes of her nonstop questions. “The kids will be up any minute.”
“Ugh!” she said. “Just a few more minutes. This is just as big a deal for me as it is for you, you know.”
“I doubt that,” I said. “I’m sorry, but I really do have to go. They’ll want breakfast. Plus, I really want to get back in there and see Sean again.”
“You miss him already?” Janie asked.
“I do,” I admitted softly.
“Girl, you’re in trouble.” She laughed and we said goodbye.
I hung up the phone and shook my head, still in disbelief that something so amazing had really happened to me. As I made my way back inside, Sean came out of his room. We both made it to the kitchen at the same time.
“Are the kids up?” he asked, glancing around.
“No.” I shook my head. “Not yet.”
“Come here.” He growled and grabbed me roughly around the waist. Pushing me against the counter, he kissed me passionately and gripped my ass in his hands. I laughed, but it quickly turned into a moan as our kiss deepened.
“Emily!” Sarah yelled from the top of the stairs.
Sean sighed and stepped away from me, running his fingers through his hair. I could still smell the shampoo he’d used, and it made me want to kiss him again, but instead, I turned toward the stairs.
“Down here, sweetie!” I called.
Sarah ran downstairs and immediately plopped herself down at the kitchen table. I hugged her good morning and got her a bowl of cereal. I planned to make a big breakfast, but after my conversation with Janie, I didn’t have time. The kids would both be too hungry to wait around for an hour. Sure enough, when Tommy joined us at the table, he announced that he was “starving!”
I laughed and got him a bowl as well.
The four of us sat together and ate slowly. Tommy and Sarah relayed their dreams from last night to Sean and me. They were silly, and we all laughed until Philip finally made it down to join us.
“Hungry?” I asked. “We’re just having cereal today.”
“Slacking already?” he teased.
“Ha. Ha.” I nudged him as I walked by to get him some coffee.
After our talk, I felt closer to Philip. We became friends in that moment, and I was glad. He obviously meant so much to Sean and the kids that I wanted to be a part of his life too. Sean and I had only spent one night together, but already, I wanted something more from him. I wasn’t sure what exactly that was yet, but I knew I wanted something real.
“What should we do today?” I asked, looking from Tommy to Sarah and back again. “Any idea?”
“Water park!” Tommy said.
“The closest waterpark is two hours away,” I said sadly. “That probably won’t work today.”
“Okay,” Tommy said. “Then can we go to the bookstore? You said you wanted us to read more!”
“I was thinking something a bit more exciting,” I said, my voice leading.
Sean frowned at me, but I just grinned. I already had a plan forming that I knew everyone would love. Tommy frowned, too, trying to puzzle out what I meant.
“What do you guys think of the zoo?” I asked.
“Really?!” Tommy screamed. “We’re going to the zoo?”
“If you want,” I said. “What do you think, Sarah?”
“I love the zoo,” Sarah said with a mouthful of fruity pebbles. “But isn’t it far away?”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“The zoo is all the way back in California, isn’t it?” she asked. “Where we used to live.”
I laughed. “There’s another one here,” I said. “Just a few minutes away.”
“There is?” Her eyes lit up.
“Yup.” I smiled. “It’s not as big as the one in San Diego, but they do have elephants.”
Sarah’s mouth fell open, and she bounced up and down in her chair. I knew she loved elephants. That one word was enough to push her into overdrive. She didn’t bother finishing her cereal. Instead, she jumped out of her chair and ran around the table.
“Elephants! Elephants!” she chanted. “Elephants!”
“Go get dressed,” I said, laughing. “I’ll be up in a minute to help you. Tommy, you too.”
They ran upstairs together and each disappeared into their rooms. I shook my head, still laughing to myself, and cleared their bowls.
“That was a good idea,” Sean said. “They’ll love it.”
“I thought so,” I said with a grin.
“Well, I should go get dressed too,” Philip said. He finished his coffee in one gulp and laid his mug in the sink. Once he followed the kids upstairs, I walked over to sit in Sean’s lap.
He grinned and pulled me down, wrapping his arms around my waist and holding me close to him.
“I’m sorry I didn’t ask you first,” I said softly. “About the zoo. The idea just came to me, and I sort of ran with it.”
“It’s fine,” he said. “They’ll have fun. We’ll all have fun.”
“I think so.” I smiled. “It’s not as fancy as San Diego’s.”
“Eh.” Sean shrugged. “San Diego’s is overrated.”
“Really?” I laughed. “Isn’t it supposed to be like the best zoo in the country?”
“No,” Sean said, shaking his head. “I’m sure this zoo is way better.”