Chapter Eighteen
Dinner was nice. As usual, Gran was chatting, making sure everyone was included. It was heartwarming to see that she accepted Alyssa so easily. Usually when I introduced someone I had an interest in to my grandmother, she'd grill the girl and if she doesn't like her, embarrass her so much she'd want nothing to do with me.
I know she did all that out of love but it cost me some beautiful girls. I just hope she doesn't do the same to Alyssa.
After the meal, we all went to the living room. As per our agreement, Alyssa sat next to me, my arm around her shoulder and her head resting on my chest. Gran awed at us, gushing at how cute we looked while grandad agreed with her.
He knew about the contract but chose not to tell Gran. He knew that if he told her she would be terribly hostile to Alyssa, something none of us want to deal with. Her ignorance was our bliss.
“So, Alyssa, what did you do before you married Nathan?” Gran asked.
“I worked in my uncle's company after college.” She answered.
“What about your parents, dear?”
Her shoulders dropped and she forced a smile. “They passed away.”
“Oh, no. I'm so sorry, I should've been more careful.” Gran said remorsefully.
“It's alright.” Alyssa dismissed it but it could see her mood had dampened.
It was obvious her parent's death hit her hard. Well, I would be devastated if my mum died when I was so young. I doubt I'd even be able to talk about her. I wanted to comfort her but I didn't know how. I just started rubbing my thumb on her arm, hoping that it would do something to help her somehow.
She looked up at me with a stiff smile and turned back to Gran. She made sure to stay away from the topic of Alyssa's parents and focused me on me and my embarrassing childhood stories. By the end of the night, I was thoroughly embarrassed and Alyssa and Oliver had laughed their hearts out.
It was late by the time Gran was tired and the jet lag was getting to me. Alyssa was tired as well and Oliver was practically asleep so we decided to call it a night. I picked Oliver up and took him to his room, leaving Alyssa to get ready to sleep.
Today would be the first time she and I would share a bed. The night in the living room was, well, in the living room. Today we were going to be in a bedroom alone. I knew Alyssa wasn't ready to have sex with me yet but it was so hard to control myself. There would be times that I'd find myself staring at her arse while she walked or my eyes just fixed on her ample breasts.
It was torture.
I can't count the number of cold showers that I've taken, since I met her.
I made sure Oliver was properly tucked in before I returned to my room. When I opened the door, Alyssa was in just a towel. She quickly grabbed whatever piece of clothing that was on the bed and used it to cover her chest.
I, however, did not cover my eyes. Her long legs were exposed which was a rare sight. The towel hugged her body more than anything I'd ever seen her in, making the curve of her hips more prominent. Her full lips were slightly open, tempting me. I felt my cock throb. She looked so beautiful.
“Nathan?” She called.
I blinked, willing to make myself concentrate on what she was saying and not her voluptuous body. “Hm?”
“You're staring.” She told me.
Could she blame me? “Sorry, I didn't realize.” I lied, averting my eyes.
From the corner of my eye I could see her slip something on over the towel. “I'm gonna take the couch, you can have the bed.”
That got my attention quickly. “What do you mean by that?” I demanded, my eyebrows furrowing in annoyance.
Where the bloody hell did she get that idea from?
“I'm gonna sleep on the couch.”
“No, you're not.” I stated plainly.
“Nathan, look, it's been a long day and I'm tired...” She started but I cut her off.
“Which is why we're going to sleep on the bed.” She was about to argue but I wasn't going to allow it. “Alyssa, we are both adults. I'm sure we can sleep in the same bed without anything happening.”
“Nathan, your grandmother is not watching us right now. I doubt I she'll watch us while we sleep, there is no need to pretend right now.” She pointed out.
I admit she had a pretty good argument but I wasn't going to let her know that. “I know she isn't watch us but I'm not going to have you sleep on that uncomfortable couch.”
“You are not having me do anything. I want to sleep there Nathan.”
“I'm not going to let you.”
“Why do you even care?”
Good question. With other girls, I would be glad to let them sleep on a couch, but not Alyssa. She isn't just any other girl to me. I care about her. I don't want her to wake up with a backache tomorrow or have any problems sleeping.
I heard her sigh. “If we share the bed, there has to be something like a divider or something between us.”
Why would she want that?
Does she not trust me enough to know that I wouldn't touch her without her consent?
I was hurt but I agreed nonetheless. If it meant her not sleeping on that tiny couch then I was okay with it. She went into the bathroom to put her pyjamas while I changed into mine. She came out a few minutes later in one of her new pyjama sets and started arranging what I presumed was going to be the wall between tonight.
“Left or right?” she asked.
I shrugged in reply. I can sleep on any side of the bed, maybe she had a particular side she favoured. She chose the left side, leaving me with the right. I got in, glancing at her as she turned away from me.
I wasn't happy with sleeping like this. I wanted to hold her, to feel her body pressed up against me, just like the night we slept in the living room. I just wanted to feel her warmth even without anything happening.
Which was why when I was sure she had fallen asleep, I broke through the flimsy barrier, wrapping my arm around her waist. She stirred, muttering something unintelligible and relaxed with her head in the crook of my neck. Our legs tangled together as her arm went around me. It wasn't long til I was sleeping soundly.
*******
I woke up alone in bed, which is a first for me. Usually when I sleep with a woman, she was the one waking up alone in bed. So where was my woman?
I managed to drag myself out of bed, brush my teeth and leave the room to look for Alyssa. I wasn't long til I found her. She was in the kitchen helping Gran with breakfast. Grandad was sitting in the living room reading the morning paper and Oliver was nowhere to be found.
He was probably still asleep.
“Morning, Gran.” I kisses her cheek and moved on to Alyssa. “Morning, Love.”
I just hope she remembers what we talked about yesterday.
I placed my hands on her hips, drawing her closer to me. She tensed, obviously not use to me touching like this. Sensing she was about to pull away, I leaned closer and whispered for her to play along.
She smiled as if I said something romantic, turning to face me. My arms went around her instinctively and her hands cupped the back of my neck.
“Morning.” She said lowly.
It was just a simple word but in our position and with that voice, it sounded like she was seducing me. She planted a kiss on my cheek with a flirty smile, staring straight into my eyes.
Her eyes always mesmerised me. They were green with a bit of brown around her pupil, hazel when she was excited or happy. Right now, they showed how uncomfortable she was with this although everything else said otherwise.
I felt guilty. She was enduring this discomfort for me, so I wouldn't disappoint my grandmother. She didn't like being touched. Each time I held her and she noticed, she would tense up just like she did before she forced herself to relax. Her muscles were still a bit tense but not enough for it to be noticable when you were just looking at her.
I didn't understand it though. Why was she so guarded? Could a man have done this to her? Could she have had a boyfriend that mistreated her and made her overly conscious about her looks and body? Was that why she was so nervous around me?
The thought of someone hurting Alyssa got me pissed. Who would want to hurt a person as perfect as she was? I know that it's wrong but I have to tell Jacob to look further into her life. Who were her friends and exes? Surely from getting that I could get at the very least a clue into why she was so uneasy all the time.
“Aww, you too look so cute together.” Gran gushed.
I could see Alyssa's cheeks flush as she pulled away, going back to what she was doing. I loved it when she blushed. She always looked so shy and innocent, it honestly tugged at my heartstrings.
Before any of us could say anything, Oliver charged into the room, a panicked look on his face.
“What's wrong Olly?” Alyssa was the first to ask what we were all thinking.
“I can't find my teethbrush!” He exclaimed. “I think I forgot it!”
“You mean you forgot your toothbrush?” Alyssa tried.
Gran and I didn't try to correct him. We knew that it wasn't going to work. Oliver was strongwilled and stubborn, never giving up without a fight. I wonder where he got that from.
“It's teethbrush.” Oliver insisted.
“No, Olly, it isn't.”
Oliver had that look on his face, the look that said ‘I'm about to disprove everything you believe in’. Basically he's going to use some of his indisputable logic on Alyssa.
“It's not toothbrush.” Here we go. “Do you use it to brush only one tooth?”
I saw Alyssa's eyebrows furrow. “No, but...”
“What do you use it to do?”
“Brush your teeth.”
“Teethbrush.” Oliver concluded, knowing that he had confused Alyssa so much that he could declare himself the winner.
“How?” Alyssa rubbed her creased forehead, clearly confused while Gran gave a chuckle. “What?”
“Back to my problem.” He recounted. “How am I going to brush my teeth without a teethbrush?”
“I'll help you find your toothbrush, Oliver.” I offered. He merely looked at my with a raised eyebrow. “I mean teethbrush.”
He smiled with a curt nod, letting me lead him to his room so we could look for his toothbrush. While I searched his suitcase, he sat on the bed, probably thinking by his expression.
“Hey, Dad?” He called.
“Mhm?”
“I was thinking, Cereal is actually a soup.” He announced.
“Oh my God.” I groaned, throwing my head back as I tried to not dwell on what he said.
“I just thought of it.”
“Oliver, cereal is not a soup.”
“Why not?” He looked at me expectantly.
I didn't have an answer to that. “Because it isn't, okay?”
“But how can we know for sure? Who said cereal isn't a soup? ” He gasped dramatically. “Maybe it's aliens. They are trying to control all humans through the dictionary. I knew there was a problem with that book, no one know those many words at once.”
“Oh, thank God.” I muttered as I found his Batman toothbrush. “Here, now go brush your teeth.”
Upon seeing the toothbrush, he beamed at me, taking it from my hands. “Thanks, Dad.”
Thankfully he didn't continue what he was saying and ran into the bathroom. I went back to the kitchen where Gran was cooking but Alyssa was just sitting on a bar stool, deep in thought. It looked like she was thinking about something serious.
“Anything wrong?”I questioned, sitting beside her.
“It's toothbrush, right? Not teethbrush.”
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. “Is that what got you so bothered?”
“It's just so confusing. Why would you call it toothbrush when you use it to brush multiple teeth?”
“Don't worry about that, Oliver is always saying crazy things. He just tried to convince me that cereal is a soup.” I told her, trying to reassure her but I think I made things worse.
“Is cereal a soup now? When did that happen?”
“No, it is not a soup.” Damn you, Oliver.
She let out a breath. “I'm just being silly. Oliver is four, he doesn't understand what he's saying.”
“Exactly.”
“I'm surprised you haven't gotten use to Oliver's impeccable logic.” Gran interjected with a private smile.
“No one ever gets use to it, Gran.” I answered for her.
Gran merely hummed and went back to cooking. In about thirty minutes we were all seated at the dining table, having our breakfast. Alyssa had calmed down and was talking to grandad happily while Gran spoke quietly to me.
“She's a good girl, Nathan.” She said, referring to Alyssa. I nodded with a small smile, glancing at her. “I can see why you lover her so much.”
I stiffened, about to deny it then I remembered. “Is it that obvious?”
“I know you, Nathan. You weren't like this with Jodie.” My mood dropped, upon hearing that name. “I know you don't like talking about her. What she did is unforgivable. Does Alyssa know about her?”
“Yeah, I told her.”
“That's good.” She was silent for a while. “So when am I seeing my next great grandchild?”
I choked on the juice was drinking. Everyone's attention was on my as I coughed, trying to recover. My sly grandmother was patting my back, whispering for me to breathe as if she wasn't the one that caused this.
“Are you alright now, Nathan?” Alyssa asked, her beautiful eyes showing concern.
I shook my head ‘yes’, sipping the water Oliver passed to me slowly. “I'm okay everyone, don't worry.”
We all went back to eating and I hoped Gran had forgotten about her question. It was too soon. We haven't been married for up to a week yet and have known each other for barely a month. We are not having babies fo a while. That is if Alyssa even wanted them. She would make an amazing mother though.
Once we were done with breakfast and the table was cleared, I approached Alyssa with a question I wanted to ask for at least twenty minutes.
Author's Note: