Lennox
Three Years Later
I never saw my life going this way. If someone had asked me years ago if I would ever have children of my own, I would have said hell to the no. I didn’t even want to get married.
But here I was, not only the stepfather of the awesome eleven-year-old Daniel, but also the father of six-month-old twin girls, Blaire and Blake. They were going to give us a run for our money. I could see us sitting on the front porch with our metaphorical shot guns, just daring whoever showed up for a date to hurt our girls.
I’d become a glorified house husband and baby-daddy after leaving the NFL last season and I loved it.
After tearing my ACL the season after we got married, and a concussion that knocked me out for six weeks, it was time to throw in the towel. Dane sat me down and told me in no uncertain terms that he would tie my ass to the bed if he had to unless I gave it up. Of course, I told him to prove it, and damn, that was hot.
Being home left me more time to coach Jack into a Division I starting quarterback position. He was going to be a top NFL prospect before we knew it.
It also allowed me to be a stay-at-home dad to Daniel. I picked him up every day after school, and we hit the park or headed over to The Youth Center to hang out before coming home to make dinner. I was teaching him how to cook, and when Camile was in the friendly skies, Daniel was at home with us. I’d gotten my way and designed a kickass room for him. I gave him all the attention I wanted when I was growing up. Maybe too much. But oh, well.
When Dane brought up extending our family, I snarkily told him he could try to get me pregnant, but it probably wasn’t going to work. He just sighed and shook his head.
“I’m talking about IVF. Elle is coming back from France for the summer and offered us her eggs. You could be the biological father.”
“Who would carry it? Camile?” I joked.
He smiled. “Yes. After we got married, she offered to carry a baby for us. She said she’d thought about it a lot and wanted to do that if it was something we wanted.”
I was shocked. “Why would she want to do that? It would mess up her career.”
He shrugged. “It would give Daniel a sibling.”
So I jumped on it. A chance to have a child with him became my dream, and we made it happen.
Here we were a year later with two beautiful girls that belonged to all of us.
When Dane got home from the base, he walked into our new normal. I had both girls strapped into a baby sling made for twins as I danced around with them. They were happily drooling all over me as I entertained them.
“Look at that,” he teased, heading to the sink to wash his hands. “The little husband is at it again.”
For anyone else, that might bother them, but that was our love language.
After drying his hands, he hung up the towel, then came to kiss our girls on the head. He leaned in and I puckered up. But he stopped short of my lips.
“What’s wrong? You don’t find the scent of baby spit up a turn-on?”
Dane leaned in closer to study my face. “You’ve got something green in your beard. I hope it’s green peas and not poop. They strangely look the same.”
He was a liar. It was peas, and he knew it.
“Kiss me or else.”
He grinned and wrapped us in his arms from behind. “Or else what?”
I couldn’t think when he held me close and ran his hands over their little heads. This was everything I never knew I wanted. And taking sex off the table only punished me.
“I don’t know. I can’t think.”
He trailed kisses along my neck as we swayed with the girls. “Let’s bathe them and get them down for the night. Then I’ll make dinner and take care of you.”
That was music to my ears, and I’d never say no to him.