Page 109 of Teaching Tanner

“What if it makes him uncomfortable?”

“I’m sure it won’t, but I’ll talk to him when he goes to bed, if it makes you feel better.”

I nod my head, and Tanner kisses my cheek, letting me pull away, because I think he can sense that, even if Nash isn’t uncomfortable, I am.

We all sit on the couch, with Nash between Tanner and me, although that’s not intentionally done. He’s not trying to keep us apart. We’ve just ended up this way, and it feels good. Tanner seems to think so, too. He keeps smiling at me over Nash’s head… and I have to smile back.

Nash seems fairly tired and curls up, leaning against his dad. Maybe our news has had a bigger effect than we thought, or perhaps it’s just been a long week for him. Whatever the reason, after about thirty minutes, and without any prompting from his father, he looks up and announces he wants to go to bed, getting to his feet, and turning to me.

“Goodnight, Zara.”

“Goodnight. Sleep well.”

He smiles and waits for Tanner to get up, the two of them going into Nash’s room.

They leave the door ajar, and although I can hear voices, I can’t tell what they’re saying, and I feel guilty for trying. Instead, I focus on the movie we’ve been watching, although it holds little interest for me, and I wait with bated breath until Tanner comes back out, closing the door behind him.

“You can stop worrying,” he says, flopping down on the couch beside me.

“I can?”

“Yeah. I just asked Nash if he’s okay with me hugging you in front of him, and he says he’s fine with it.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.” He pulls me into his arms, then twists us around so we’re lying side by side, along the length of the couch, facing each other. “I think it goes back to what Dawson was saying about needing to show Nash how happy we are together. He’s gotten used to men coming and going in his mom’s life. It probably makes him feel safe to know we’re gonna stay together.”

“We certainly are,” I whisper, caressing his cheek, and he captures my chin with his hand, kissing me deeply. I squirm against him, feeling his arousal pressing in to me, my body heating in an instant.

“Do you wanna take this upstairs?” he asks.

“Yes, please.”

He smiles, getting to his feet, and switching off the TV while I stand, and let him lead me up the stairs. It’s warm up here, and he throws open the windows, coming back to me and unfastening my blouse, his eyes fixed on mine.

“Oh…” I grab his hand and he stops, frowning.

“What’s wrong?”

“I just realized, we can’t do this.”

“Can’t do what?”

“We can’t make love.”

“Why on earth not?”

“Because you said we couldn’t.”

“When?” he says, tilting his head in confusion.

“Yesterday morning. You told me we had to make the most of last night because Nash would be here tonight, and we wouldn’t be able to have sex.”

“I didn’t say sex, I said loud sex. We’ll just have to be quiet.”

I smile, leaning against him. “Is that possible?”

“For most people. We’ve yet to see if it works for you, but I’m willing to try if you are.” He’s grinning down at me, and I nod my head, watching as he continues to unbutton my blouse. “Did you honestly think we wouldn’t be able to make love at all?” he says, shaking his head and still smiling.

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