Page 337 of S is for SEX

“I need to pee, babe,” I whispered in his ear.

He raised his chest from mine and kissed me on the lips lightly. I smiled, rolled off of the bed, and waddled to the bathroom. On my way out of the bathroom, I looked in the mirror. Covered in candle wax, my hair a tangled mess of shit, and my face flush, I looked like beautiful shit. After a short consideration of cleaning myself up, I shook my head, flipped off the light, and walked to the bedroom. I wanted to lie with him on the bed more than anything.

As I walked into the room I smiled a genuine smile of pleasure. Ripp was lying on the bed on his back with Candy on his upper abdomen, stroking her stomach. She was stretched out with her front legs extended as far as they could stretch. Her rear legs flopped to her side; she was as relaxed a she could ever be. Quietly and softly, I got onto the bed and snuggled up beside him.

“She really likes you,” I said as I laid my head on his upper chest and raised my leg onto the top of his thigh.

“I like her too,” he whispered.

“I remember when you didn’t,” I said softly.

He smiled and raised his index finger to his lips, “Shhhh. I don’t want her to hear you.”

I smiled.

Change.

We all go through them at some point in time. My work days had become far less important since we met. Being my own boss allowed me to make my own schedule. I realized after I met Michael just how much of a workaholic I had become. Since the realization, I had scheduled far less work for myself, giving me much more free time. Ripp hadn’t really gone through any changes, or changed the way he was - short of Candy. I didn’t want him to change. I liked him just the way he was. To me, he was a dream. I nestled against him on top of the comforter and relaxed as his body warmed the surface of my skin.

“So,” he whispered.

I rotated my head across his chest to face him and looked into his eyes.

“With ROT this weekend, my parents decided to have family dinner tomorrow. I know it’s the middle of the week and all, but I was thinking,” he paused.

From what Michael said, his parents had never officially met a girl he was seeing. He came from a very traditional Texas family, and he believed bringing a girl around his parents was basically making her part of his family through the introduction. He and Shane attended the dinners, but to Michael, Shane was family. His family was all Shane had.

I blinked my eyes and smiled.

“I was uhhm. I was thinking. I want you to come. Come and meet the family,” he smiled.

Holy shit.

In a sense, I work with the worst assholes on the planet. My clients are drug dealers and murderers. Alone, I stand in front of a court of law and fight for a living. No one who truly knows me would consider me to be a weak woman. I am strong.

It was all I could do to fight back tears. To him, this step was beyond huge. This was the biggest commitment he could make.

“It’s not necessary, Michael,” I said softly, appreciating the gesture.

Oh shit, I just said it out loud.

“Did you just call me Michael?” he asked.

I nodded.

Candy jumped onto floor.

He smiled.

“So. You ready. To meet the family?” he whispered.

“It’s really not necessary,” I sighed softly as I fought back tears.

“Who’s in charge of this fucking relationship, Vivian?” he whispered.

“You are,” I responded.

“Listen carefully,” he said as he rolled onto his side.

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