Page 113 of In The Game

“I’ve got it,” I say as I exit the bedroom, pulling a shirt over my head.

Caffeine first. After digging around the kitchen for a minute or two, I find the coffee, flip on the machine, and set out a couple of travel mugs.

When I enter Arthur’s bedroom, I sit on his bed, but delay waking him for a moment, he’s so peaceful. He sleeps like Raleigh does, splayed out on his tummy, and the comparison makes me laugh. With my hand on his back, I rub small circles until his little limbs stretch like a lazy cat.

“Is it time to go on the airplane?” he asks, his voice scratchy with sleep. His eyes aren’t even open yet.

“Not quite yet, we have to get ready and eat some breakfast. Your mom has your clothes already picked out, can you handle getting dressed on your own while I get you a bowl of cereal?”

He sits up and scratches his arm, nodding. “Uh-huh.”

“Atta boy. I’ll be back to check on you in a few minutes.”

He stumbles across the hall to the bathroom.

I don’t even have to ask what cereal. It’s always Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I even know how much milk to add, not too much and not too little. The sound of coffee percolating echoes down the hall as I make my way back to Raleigh’s room. For once, I don’t have to go to the airport in a suit—I could get used to this. I throw on some joggers, a T-shirt, and a baseball cap, hoping it will provide us with a little anonymity during our travel.

While brushing my teeth, Raleigh enters the bathroom and turns on the shower. I shut the door and lock it. She strips, and my toothbrush hangs out of my mouth while I enjoy the show.I will never get sick of this view.

I grab her and set her up on the counter, spreading her naked thighs.

“Bear!” she squeaks, laughing.

“What?” I ask. As if she thought I could keep my hands to myself.

She flips my ball cap backward, then snatches the frothy toothbrush from my mouth and kisses me—then puts my toothbrush in her mouth.

“That’s gross,” I say, chuckling. I palm her ass and pull her into me.Damn, this body.

She takes it out and holds it out for me to see. “This is my toothbrush. Mine’s blue. Yours is green.” Her gaze falls to the other toothbrush on the counter.

Shit, she’s right. “Well, atmyhouse, mine’s blue…This his-and-hers situation is getting old, babe.”

Her finger wags, and she narrows her eyes at me. “Don’t joke about that.”

I smile. “Who says I’m joking?”

She hops off the counter and spits in the sink, then steps into the shower without saying another word.

“We’ll continue this conversation another time. But, while you’re in there, why don’t you think of what color we should paint Arthur’s bedroom at our other house.” I walk out before she can protest, but she cusses at me on the other side of the door. We already share a child, we might as well share real estate.

If I play my cards right, it won’t be long before she’s making herself at home there. I’ve finally got a woman who can fill up that other walk-in closet with her clothes. The first garage stall will need to get cleared out so she’s got a place to park, while I’m at it, might be time to hang up some hooks for bikes and scooters for Arthur. It’s all figured out in my little cartoon bubble.

After everyone is ready to go and the car service arrives, we pile in and make our way to the airport. I didn’t get time to get Raleigh set up with PreCheck clearance, but luckily the lines are short and it’s not too busy. Boarding the plane is easy, and we settle into our seats with no issues.

“I’ve never flown first class.”

“Never?”

She shakes her head and looks out the window and points at the different provisioning trucks to Arthur. I love that I can give them some of their firsts. Especially Arthur’s first time flying. Fuck, I’m over the moon about that one. I remember my first time on a plane as a kid, it was a big deal.

When the flight attendant stops by to get a drink order, she looks to Arthur and comments on his cute, cuddly koala tucked under his arm.

He looks up at her with innocent eyes and a big smile and says, “Did you know that half the koalas in Queensland are infected with chlamydia?”

Raleigh and I freeze in horror. Arthur keeps his big smile, unaware of any social awkwardness. I think it might be time to limit his exposure to nature documentaries.

There’s no coming back from that, so I simply turn to the flight attendant and ask if it would be okay to bring him up to the cockpit, with the promise of not sharing any more koala “fun” facts. She blinks at us, and I try not to laugh knowing Arthur likely ruined koala bears for this poor woman. She slowly nods, staring, but eventually peels her gaze away from us to assist other passengers. I make a mental note to discuss with him what bits of trivia are okay to share with strangers and which aren’t—like marsupial STD statistics.

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