Chapter 12
twelve
Tessa
T he next day is bright and sunny and already there’s some melting of the icicles hanging from the chicken coop eaves. We’ve eaten breakfast and decide to enjoy our cocoa in the living room. Even though I claim I’m too heavy, Ethan insists I sit on his lap. We compromise when I agree to sit in the circle of his legs.
I’m not complaining. His cock is making its presence known against my thigh. Perhaps later we can work in another lesson. I really like having him in my mouth. I really like him.
He hasn’t said anything so I don’t know if he’s realized that we didn’t use a condom last night. I didn’t plan for that to happen, but since it did there’s a part of me that hopes I’m pregnant. If Ethan disappears from my life after our snowed in adventure, he’ll never need to know. I would never use a child to trap a husband. I’m not like his high school girlfriend.
I would, however, have a part of him forever then. I can live with that. And if Ethan wanted to be involved in his child’s life, that’s okay, too. I’ll try not to be too jealous of whoever he ends up with though. As long as she’s a good stepmom.
I take a sip of my cooling cocoa and attempt to bring my thoughts back to reality, not possibilities. Ethan’s rubbing soft designs on my back while he scrolls on his phone. This is a comfortable moment. One I want to hold on to forever.
His phone rings and breaks the spell. I head to the kitchen to add more cocoa to our cups and to give him privacy. Leaning my hip against the counter, I shake my head at myself. I’ve gotten too comfortable with having him around. It’s only been a couple of days. That’s not long enough to fall so deeply in love, is it?
This isn’t a case of insta-love though. Not when we had teenage feelings for each other. Would this be more of a second chance kind of story? Maybe I should stop reading romance novels.
Ethan strolls into the kitchen. “That was the tow truck. He should be here in about an hour.”
“So soon?”
His lips twitch. “So we’d better not start anything that takes too long.”
“Let’s just go back to the other room and just be. Cocoa’s hot again.”
“More marshmallows?” he asks looking like a little boy with a sweet tooth. What would our kids look like?
“In the pantry.” I hand his mug to him as I pass and when he joins me in the living room, he has a mountain of marshmallows threatening to topple from the mug. “You’re cleaning that up if it makes a mess.”
He sucks a few marshmallows from the top of the pile. “Yes, ma’am. Now, come sit with me again.”
There’s little conversation and only the occasional touch or kiss. The weight of knowing our time together here is ending leaves me not knowing what to say. More than just leaving town, he’ll be leaving the Lynx to skate for a team on the east coast. That’s too far away for a relationship, isn’t it? He could move on from there. There’s years of hockey left in him. I won’t tie him down. That wouldn’t be fair to either of us.
At his somber expression, I wonder if his thoughts are as unhappy as mine.
His phone makes a funny noise and he scrambles to unlock the screen. A low, seductive feminine voice oozes from the speaker. “Ethan, babe, where are you?”
“Fuck, fuck, fuck. Shut up,” he mumbles before finally stopping the voice.
“What’s that?” I ask.
He glares at the phone. “A video message.” He glances at me with reluctance and then resignation. He knows I won’t stop asking questions. “From a bunny, uh, a woman I went out with a few months back. She’s never gotten it through her head I wasn’t interested.”
“Oh? One of your past paramours?” I chuckle and rise to my knees, angling to see the phone. “Let me see.”
“Tessa, I?—”
“Oh, stop worrying. I just want to see what my competition looks like.”
“There’s no competition.” He heaves a sigh. “Okay, if you must. At least she’s got clothes on this time.”
I arch my eyebrows then focus on the phone. I am curious what kind of women he’s had in the past. Seeing one won’t change my love for him.
He pulls up the app and after glancing at me to make sure I really want to see, opens the message.
A black-haired woman with obviously enhanced and barely covered boobs leans close to her camera. “Ethan, babe, where are you? I came over to your place when it started to snow.” Her augmented lips form a pout. “I thought it would be fun to be snowed in together. Just you and me. Some champagne. A warm bed. I even brought some new… games… for us to play. I forgot about your roommate. He said you got stuck in some little town. It was snowing pretty hard. And the roads were icy.” Her pout deepened. “Bruiser said I shouldn’t drive home. So I stayed with him. He’s nice. Kept me warm.” She licks her bottom lip and glances to the side, making a kissy face. “He’s bigger than you. In every way.”
The video clicks off.
Ethan groans and rubs his temples. “I’ve got to warn Bruiser about her. She’s making her way through the team like we’re her to do list.”
Laughter bursts from me. “To do list? I like that.”
Taking both my hands, Ethan strokes his thumbs over my skin. “Just so you know, she’ll never get to cross me off her list.”
“Probably a wise move. Any other?—?”
His phone rings and I bite back my words. I don’t need to know about his love life. I’m just really happy he’s ignoring the black-haired bitch.
“Tow truck’s here.” Ethan pockets his phone as he stands.
“Do you need me for anything?”
“That’s a loaded question, my sweet baby girl. Not for getting the truck out. You stay inside and keep warm.”
His jacket is finally dry but I make him wrap my scarf around his neck and put on one of Granddad’s old stocking caps. “Can I go outside and play now, Mom?” he asks before tugging me into his embrace for a demanding kiss.
I pat his butt as he turns toward the door. “Have fun.”
There’s cold air seeping in around the large front window so I throw on a sweater and another pair of fuzzy socks to watch how easily Ethan’s pickup is pulled from the gully. Once on the flat part of the yard, the tow truck driver has Ethan make sure his vehicle will start. Then the two men stand in the cold by the tow truck. I can see their breaths as they speak.
With a wave, Ethan turns toward the house. The door closes and immediately his phone rings again. We were spoiled by a couple of days when no one wanted anything. I wander down the hall, finding odd contentment in the low rumble of Ethan’s voice from another part of the house. My house is beginning to feel not so empty. Like a home again.
Those feelings, that contentment shatter at Ethan’s expression when he finds me sitting on the end of the bed.