Page 29 of Tempting Tessa

I laugh at that. “I don’t think so, where would he sleep?” I ask him as I laugh at the thought of Jake in here on Ty’s twin bed or the floor.

“Um…” he giggles, “the floor?”

“Probably not. He would sleep in my bed with me. You would still be able to come cuddle in the mornings, but we would just have some new rules. Does that sound ok to you?”

“What kind of rules?”

“Well, just like at Grams and Gramps’ house or Luke and Caroline’s house, you have to knock and wait to be told you can go into someone’s room when the door is closed. It would be the same thing here. Since it wouldn’t just be me in my room, we have to give Jake some privacy if he needs it, just like we give you privacy when you need it.”

“Is that all?”

“That would be the biggest change, yes. Just like with any adult, you would need to listen to him if he asks you to do something or asks you not to do something which you already do.” I pause letting all this sink in. “I just need to know that you’re not uncomfortable with him around and that you know that no one will replace you as being the most important person in my life. No one will take that spot from you, Ty. I love you so much.” I kiss the top of his head, hoping that he never feels like he isn’t the most important person in my life.

“I love you too, Mommy and I love Jake. He can have sleepovers.”

I kiss Ty on the forehead like always, tuck him in and leave him to fall asleep. I go change into some lounging clothes before going to find Jake downstairs watching TV.

“Hey, babe, Ty ok?” he asks me as he reaches his hand out to me, pulling me into his side.

“Yep, we just had a little longer talk than normal at bedtime. I was just checking in with him to make sure he’s ok with all the changes lately.”

“And, how is he?” He places a kiss to my temple.

“Good, he has taken everything so well. I lucked out with a great kid. He told me he loves you and when I asked him if he would have an issue with you having sleepovers, he wanted to know if you could sleep in his room,” I tell him on a laugh.

“You want me to have sleepovers?” he asks with a bit of a shocked look. I know I’m springing this on him, but I am ready to take our relationship to the next level. We’ve made it past the declarations of love, we know we are good together physically and my biggest hang-up was how Ty would deal with it all.

“Yes, I hate not waking up in your arms during the week,” I tell him as he pulls me onto his lap and starts to kiss my neck.

“I hate it too. I was all ready to convince you to let me stay tonight once you came downstairs, but I guess I don’t have to do that anymore.”

“Nope,” I reply on a sigh. This man drives me crazy! He knows just where to touch me and how to use that to his advantage to turn me on in seconds.

“Do you want to watch a movie?” I ask him, trying to redirect his attention.

“If that’s what you want to do.” He chuckles as he kisses my ear and slaps my ass.

“Mmm…and let me guess, you want to get naked.” I chuckle at him.

“You are an observant woman,” he says, still laughing at me.

“I do my best and patience, Jake, patience. There is time for nakedness once we go to bed for the night. However, with Ty home, I would ask that once we are ready to fall asleep you sleep with at least boxers on. I told him he can still come and cuddle with me in the mornings, but that he will need to knock on the door first and wait for us to tell him he can come in. But I would still prefer us to have some clothes on if he forgets and comes in without knocking.”

“I understand, and agree with you, babe,” he tells me.

We settle in together on the couch with his arms wrapped around me while we watch a movie. I don’t really pay attention to it as I start just thinking about our future together and how fast our relationship has progressed. The movie ends and Jake nudges me to roll over and face him.

“What’s going on in that beautiful head of yours? You have been off in your own head for practically the entire movie.”

“Nothing serious. Just thinking about us and how fast our relationship has been moving and where it’s going,” I tell him as I place a kiss on his chin.

“Are you still ok with how fast we’re moving and where things are going?” He wraps me tighter in his arms.

“Yes, I’m just trying to wrap my head around it all. I’m just so used to being on my own that I have to remember that I can lean on you, and let you lean on me. It isn’t just my schedule I have to take into account anymore. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy having someone to lean on other than my family, Luke and Caroline. They have all helped me so much the past 5 years and I can never repay them for all they have done for me. But it will also be nice to maybe not depend on them so much.”

“All I ask is that you talk to me, don’t shut me out. If something doesn’t feel right or if you feel like things are moving too fast or making you uncomfortable, please tell me. I need for you to tell me, so I can fix it. I don’t want to inadvertently do something that upsets you, Tessa. I love you and Ty and will do anything to prove that to you.”

“I love you too and know that you will. I think I’m just a little overwhelmed with everything from today and how big of a shock it was to find out the way we did.”

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