Page 39 of One Last Chance

“Yeah. Though, probably much harder on Hope.”

Still so selfless. So quick to blame himself for something he can’t control. Pity isn’t exactly the best mood for pillow talk, so I pull close for a kiss. “Well, I’m me, and I wholly enjoyed it. You can— Huh?” I twist around to see where the wetness on my thigh is coming from. “Oh, shit. The condoms I had might have…not been entirely made with knotting in mind,” I note once I realize it’s Rowland’s grand prize running out of me.

He sits up to check, and the condom is, in fact, split.

“Damn.” He gets a little white in the face.

“It’s alright. I’ll go and pick up a Morning-After Pill from the pharmacy first thing tomorrow morning,” I say with a wave of a hand. Wouldn’t be the first time this happened.

“Let me pay for it.”

I chuckle. “I can afford it, Mr. Hall. I was the one who egged you on to do it, anyway.”

Rowland gives me an expression of a disappointed parent, but it quickly shifts into a content smile. “If you insist.”

With a sigh, I rest back against his chest. Rowland’s arms wrap around my shoulders, and as we lay there together, everything feels…still. Serene.

“You still want to give us another shot, right?”

“Mmmm…nah. I think I got all I wanted from you, thanks,” I joke. Rowland snorts and playfully squeezes me. “Yeah. Yeah, of course. I want to.”

He kisses the top of my head. “Good. We will do things right. We’ll go slow with Mina. Try to…keep her to the sidelines, at least until there is some progress made in therapy, hopefully. I’ll introduce you to Mac properly. He’s going to adore you. And if something goes wrong…we talk it through.”

My eyes feel heavy as I rest against his chest. I could die happy right now. “Sounds like a good plan to me. You…you can stay the night, right?” I ask, feeling a sense of dread at the mere thought of him getting up and leaving right now.

“Of course.”

“You had such faith in the positive outcome of this visit, huh?”

He laughs, charming as ever. “What can I say? I’m a hopeless romantic.”

Chapter 13

Dayton

Who would’ve seen that in just a couple of months, I'd become a family man?

Feels like it, anyway. And it almost scares me how much I enjoy it. The after work dates with Rowland have become something I look forward to every week.

On the weekends, which I would usually spend just chilling at home, we go for a little trips with Mac. The little kid has grown on me. He calls meDaydonand has the most infectious laughter.

Mina…well, Rowland tries to have her warm up to me. That mission isn’t exactly bearing any fruits just yet, but I’m nothing but patient. Families aren’t perfect, and it is almost scary how quickly Rowland’s starts to feel like my own.

Today worried me—parents can be temperamental, and Mom especially can be a little hard to handle for some people—but it turns out I had no reason to stress.

Rowland holds my hand while we sit next to each other at the table, warm afternoon sun shining on us. Ma and Mom sit across from us, while Rowland’s mother is at the helm of the table with Mac on her lap. For the last ten minutes, he’s been struggling with the little puzzle toy Mom brought him as a gift. I think he might lose it if he doesn’t unhook the two parts of the mechanism soon.

The last chair is empty. I glance behind us, where Mina sits under the tree with some of her school friends that happened to be hanging out in the park. Better for her to be with them instead of being forced to sit here and ignore us, I think.

Rowland and I share a knowing glance when he notices where I’m looking.

“I really wish we brought Momo. We should, next time,” Mom says.

Mac perks up. “Yes, yes! Bring the doggie. Ugh, I wish Dad would let me get a dog,” he says, pouting while trying to tug the two metal pieces apart.

I think this puzzle is way beyond his skill level, Mom. But it’s the thought that counts.

“Maybe when you’re a little older, alright?” Rowland says with a chuckle.

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