Page 59 of In The Game

She may not think she’s the same Raleigh, but she’s in there, and I’ll help her see it. Sliding the towel over each fork, I glimpse her body. She’s the whole package, and I want her more than ever before. I’ve been pining for her for years, she’s a craving, and now that I’m next to her again—close enough to smell her perfume—it’s torture to not pull her into my arms. My attraction to her has only intensified.

Absence makes the heart grow obsessive, or whatever.

She finishes the last dish and wipes down the countertop. She’s very tidy, but the house still looks lived in. It’s comfortable and reminds me of the home I grew up in.

“Well…thanks for coming to dinner.” She’s kicking me out. “Arthur, it’s time to say goodbye to Barrett. We need to get you ready for bed.”

“Can Barrett read me my story?”

She looks at him with soft eyes. “I think Barrett needs to be getting home.”

“If it’s okay with your mom, I’d be happy to,” I petition. I need this. “Can I?”

She looks between the two of us but lands on him. “Okay—butonestory. None of that sneaky stuff because he’s new, Arthur. You know the rules.”

She cuts her eyes to me. “He’s a trickster, watch yourself.”

Arthur hops off the couch and runs down the hallway, and I follow Raleigh behind him.

“Can I see your bedtime routine?” I’m hoping someday I can be a part of it, so I want to observe.

She eyes me up and down. “Sure.”

“Okay, Arthur, let’s show him how we get ready for bed.”

He darts into the hallway. “First, we brush our teeth!”

Raleigh stands next to him in what seems to be the one and only bathroom. They stand side by side and brush their teeth together. It’s precious.

He calls out each part he’s brushing as he goes. “Sides… back… front… top… bottom… tongue… spit.”

She spits her frothy toothpaste out right after he does. “Clean chompers?”

“Clean chompers!” He bites his teeth together in a huge smile.

“Now what?” I ask.

“Bathroom, privacy please,” he says, herding us out of the room.

We stand out in the hall while he hums a song as he goes to the bathroom. After a flush, the sink turns on and he continues the off-tune melody that sounds made up.

He swings the door open and holds up finger guns. “Time for pajama-rama-ding-dongs!”

Holy shit, this is even more entertaining than I thought it’d be.With his chin held high, his little feet march off toward one of the bedrooms.

He opens a drawer and pulls out a matching shirt and shorts covered in fire trucks and dalmatians.

“Does he need any help?”

“Nope, he’s able to dress himself.”

He swaps the play clothes for pajamas and then leaps into bed, burrowing under the covers with his koala.

“Hey, Barrett, why are koalas so sleepy?”

Shit, I studied this. I’ve been brushing up on my koala knowledge in case he quizzed me.

“Wait, I know this… um, something about all the eucalyptus they eat. Am I right?”

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