Page 45 of Syrup Syndrome

“He’s thirteen,” I reply, sliding my knuckles down Daphne’s face, “think he knows.”

“He’s still my baby,” she says then points me in the chest with her finger, “and you should have hid them in a better spot.”

“Yeah maybe I should have...” I drag her face toward mine, “can I get that kiss now?”

I don’t wait for a yes but slant my mouth over hers and kiss her until she’s breathless and looking up at me with doe eyes.

“You’re messing up my lipstick,” she whispers and I frown.

“Why are you wearing it anyway?”

She scowls. “Dylan’s coming over for dinner, remember?”

I’d forgotten about that. He comes over to our house a lot and he’s not in trouble with the law anymore ever since Daphne managed to straighten him out. She managed to straighten him out in six months while I couldn’t do it in years.

She’s a little miracle worker that one. And we meet up with the rest of the group as often as we can, even though I can’t give them as much attention as I used to now that I have my own family. But most of them have their own families too and whenever they all come to visit, our giant house suddenly tends to feel crowded.

“Right,” I say, “now I do. When did you tell him to come over?”

Daphne throws a look on her phone. “He should be here in fifteen minutes.”

“Fine by me,” I growl, lifting her up on the sink, “then there’s still time for a quickie.”

Shaking her head, Daphne snickers, “The kids are right outside...”

I do a backward kick and the door shuts. “Pretend they’re not there. Close your eyes, open your mouth and relax. “I pull her thong to the side. “Now it’s just you and me.”

She laughs in disapproval but ends up happily obliging anyway. And it’s me and her. Like it was at the beginning. And like it will be at the end.

TheEnd

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