Page 89 of Her Football Star Ex

A story that every part of me—besides the tiny part of my brain that was still slightly coherent—wanted to help her tell.

She kicked off her heels and maneuvered herself so her knees were straddling my waist, the flowing skirt of her dress cascading over my lap.

This girl was going to be the death of me.

But I really couldn’t think of a better way to die than tangled up with the woman I loved.

Yes,loved.

I had been smitten by this woman from the first time I saw her at one of Derek’s parties, and I would be captivated with her until the day I died.

She was the spot of sunshine in the darkness, and I would always want to be with her.

I was just trying to decide whether I should tell her how I felt when my phone started ringing.

Emerson pulled her lips from mine and glanced at my jacket on the floor where my phone was.

“That’s your mom’s ringtone,” she said, and I couldn’t help but notice how swollen her lips were. “Do you think something’s wrong with Jaxon?”

“Probably not,” I said. My mom was a nurse, and if something was wrong with Jaxon, she’d know what to do better than I would.

He had probably gotten ahold of my mom’s phone again and was just calling to say good night. He’d be okay if I missed his call one time.

But when I tried to pull Emerson’s lips back to mine, she shook her head and climbed off of me. “You know I can’t do anything else until I know he’s okay.”

Yes, I knew that well. Emerson’s parenting instincts were always stronger than mine in times like this.

She fished my phone out of my jacket pocket and tossed it to me. I swiped to answer it before the call went to voicemail.

“Hello?” I said, hoping whoever was on the other line—Jaxon or my mom— wouldn’t be able to tell that I was out of breath because I’d just been making out with my ex-wife.

“Hi, Dad,” Jaxon said, his voice quiet like he was trying to be sneaky. He was probably hiding somewhere so my mom wouldn’t know her grandson was a phone thief.

“What do you need, buddy?” I lifted my gaze to Emerson and saw her shoulders relax at the confirmation that it was our son instead of my mom.

Jaxon breathed heavily into the phone a few times, like he was trying to remember why he’d called. Then he said, “Oh, I just wanted to say good night.”

“Good night, Jaxon. I love you.”

“I love you too, Daddy.”

A smile slipped onto my lips and I locked eyes with Emerson who mouthed, “He’s okay?”

I nodded. That seemed to reassure her enough because she came right back to the couch and got back into the position she’d been in before.

“And Dad…?” Jaxon said.

“Yeah?” My voice came out higher than usual because just at that moment Emerson had decided to start kissing my neck.

“I want five cakes for my birthday.”

This kid.

“You do?” I asked.

“Uh huh,” he said excitedly. “I want a dinosaur cake, and a Big Hero 6 cake, and a…” he trailed off as if trying to remember the list he’d been compiling for the past few days.

Earlier this week he’d only wanted two cakes, now it was five.

---