Page 68 of Never Give Up

After the movie, Jake vanishes into thin air, and I help clear the plates and mess. “Look, let’s take this back to my place. It’s either me here, or you there. I don’t want you alone.”

“And you don’t want the boys here without you.”

I sigh. “I just think there’s more room at my place, but… if he’s watching, then—”

“Maybe he’ll make the mistake of thinking I’ve got a boyfriend.” Heat colors her cheeks as she says that.

That’s not a bad idea, honestly. But that’s just my ego I’m thinking about. “I can sleep on your floor,” I tell her.

For a long second, we stare at each other. Neither willing to admit the truth, but still unwilling to perpetuate the game. Finally, she sighs and shakes her head slightly. “Okay.”

But we both know it’s a lie. Maya doesn’t want me to sleep on the floor any more than I want to be there. The only place I’m gonna be is in her bed, with her body wrapped around mine.

We wash the dishes and turn to the living room for another movie and I have to admit that I understand why Maya wants to stay. She wants to reclaim her space. That doesn’t mean I have to let her do it alone.

And I’m not going to.

After the movie, we’re both met with curious stares from the boys.

“Are we all staying the night?” Jonathan looks between the two of us expectantly, waiting for the answer, and I know it’s not just about if we’re staying the night. They want to know that I’ve let Maya in. That I’m not going to fuck it up any worse than I already have.

“Yeah,” I whisper more than anything. “If that’s okay with you two.”

“More than okay. We’re gonna build that fort.” Jonathan rolls over to look at me. “Can we make some popcorn though?” He bats his eyelashes. “We’re hungry.”

“Of course you can, sweetie. There’s some microwave popcorn in the pantry.” Maya gets to her feet. “I think I’m going to head up to bed. It’s been a long day.”

I follow her up. And a beat passes between us as we stand in the hall. I want to reach out, to touch her, but I keep my hands to myself, no matter how much I want to kiss her again, taste those lips, lose myself in the heat of her.

I don’t move.

“I figured I’d set up my bed now so I don’t wake you.”

“Okay.” The color in her cheeks darkens. “Or you can share the bed. Not—not like that, I mean—”

“I know what you mean.” Because it’s all I can think about. All I want. Even if she doesn’t mean it in any particular way, there’s no doubt that we’re thinking it.

We both get ready for bed. I picked up stuff for us all, just in case I couldn’t get her to change location.

I wait for her to climb into bed before I slide in next to her and she sighs and wiggles back, letting me know I can hold her.

It might be torture but I get it. She needs something, a human touch and there I am, and right then I’ll be anything she needs to feel good.

She hesitates, then speaks. “I don’t want to sleep here.” A deep sigh fills the air. “It’s not that I don’t feel safe. With you here, I do. I just… I don’twantto.”

“Good.” I laugh and throw back the blankets. “Because my bed is ten times more comfortable than yours. And if we’re at my house, the boys have games and stuff to keep themselves occupied in the morning.”

That’s how I loaded all of us up and somehow convinced Maya to bring a few days’ worth of clothes with her. Just enough to last until her roommate got home from her trip.

Although, if I have my way, she’ll be moving in permanently with me and the boys.

Ten minutes, and two sleeping boys later, we’re home.

Maya carries James, and I take Jonathan, and we’re inside and getting ready for bed again in no time.

“Perfect.” I sigh dramatically as we climb into my bed, an exaggeration for sure. But I’m playing it up for her, and the smile on her face is more than enough to make up for the ridiculousness of it. “Now, get over here.”

She curls into my body, and I don’t bother hiding the hard length of my dick that she’s pressed up against.

---