Chapter 20
Was something burning? In his haste to get to the stovetop, Teddy knocked his chair backwards and almost rolled his ankle stepping around Blue.
“Uh-oh,” Sam said. “That smells bad.”
So much for showing Jessica that he could step up and be the guy she needed tonight.
Teddy poked at the gluggy penne pasta that had fused into one big lump in the bottom of the pot.
He should’ve set a timer. But he’d been having too much fun with Sam, racing cars along the hallway and then playing ‘let’s sneak up silently to retrieve them’ so they didn’t disturb Jessica, who was sleeping in her room.
“New plan,” Teddy said, pulling his phone out of his back pocket. “How do you feel about fish and chips?”
“I love chips!” Sam screeched.
“Shh,” Teddy reminded the little boy.
“Chips, chips, chips!” Sam whispered and added some very festive ‘superhero punches’.
He’d spent fifteen minutes earlier teaching Teddy how to do them in the backyard.
Then they’d practiced ‘superhero landings’, created a dinosaur paradise in Sam’s sand-filled clam and played hide-and-seek until Sam’s stomach had rumbled loudly.
Once he’d finished ordering their replacement dinner, Teddy turned to Sam. “What else could we do to help your mum when she’s not feeling well?”
Sam tapped his chin with his pointer finger. “The rubbish!”
Teddy looked around the kitchen and dining area. There was a small bag of food scraps hanging off one of the kitchen cupboard doors, but what else was there? Like usual, Jessica’s house was neat and tidy.
Sam leant forward and beckoned Teddy to join him. “Mum and I hid it all before you came over. Come with me.”
Sam grabbed Teddy’s hand and tugged him into the laundry where there were a lot of boxes. Most were open, but a few weren’t, and Teddy recognised some of the brand names printed on the sides.
“Got your muscles ready to help me with these?” Teddy lifted the bigger boxes off the top of the washing machine and put them on the floor so Sam could push them back into the kitchen. “I’m going to cut the tape, and you can flatten them.”
“I’m not allowed to use the big scissors.” Sam’s tongue poked out as he focused on getting each box as flat as possible.
“Your mum works hard, hey?” Teddy reached for the last two parcels. One wasn’t open, so he left it where it was, not wanting to pry or break any laws.
“She works and works and works and works. Sometimes I work with her too. She pays me in ice cream.”
“That’s a good deal.” Teddy’s hand froze around something … No. It couldn’t be.
“What’s in there?” Sam wanted to know.
“Um.” Teddy tried to disguise his nervous laugh with a cough. He didn’t succeed. He stood and held the box too high for Sam—or Blue, who was curled up on Teddy’s discarded jumper—to see.
Because he was pretty sure he knew what was in the mystery parcel.
It was long.
Kind of cylindrical.
Felt anatomically correct and like it was made from silicone.
Was it another product to test? Or had Jessica bought this for her personal use?
There was no point pretending he didn’t want to know those answers, but Teddy wasn’t going to pry. And it was unlikely this would ever naturally come up in conversation.
He’d put it back on top of the fridge where it was out of reach and figure out how to hide the fact that he’d found it later.
“What are you doing?” Jessica asked from the doorway. Her curls were flat on the side she’d slept on, and her face was more pink than grey, which was a vast improvement on earlier.
Her gaze dropped to the box in Teddy’s hand.
“Sam, can you go get my slipper socks, please?”
Teddy had always prided himself on his hand-eye coordination. People had commented on how good it was ever since he’d started playing sports. His reflexes were better than quick. People weren’t supposed to admit these things about themselves, but that didn’t make it any less true.
But none of that helped when Jessica snatched for the box, her eyes so wide he was sure she could see what was happening behind her, possibly even back in time, her face a mix of horror and embarrassment.
Because as she tugged the cardboard towards herself, Teddy’s hands let go.
Of the box.
But not the—what he could now see was a very large—silicone dildo.
“Got them!” Sam announced, and Teddy shoved the dildo behind his back. “Mum! We’re having fish and chips for dinner!” Sam said.
Jessica breathed out a “yum.”
“And we got a juice box each. I got apple.”
“Great.” Jessica was turning grey again.
“You okay?” Teddy shuffled sideways, keeping his back to the cupboards.
“I … I …”
“Sit down, Jess. I’ll be right back.”
She sank into a chair, and Teddy pivoted as quickly as he could, his hand wrapped firmly around the dildo.
The obvious place to put it would be in Jessica’s room. But it felt wrong to go in there without her permission. It had been different when he’d carried her in there before.
But there weren’t any other good options. What was Teddy supposed to do? Leave it out somewhere Sam might see it and force Jessica to stammer through an explanation about how it wasn’t something dinosaur related? The Penis Rex? Christ. Teddy needed to get it together.
Teddy pushed open her door and was immediately assaulted by the berry scent that was so uniquely Jessica.
He’d been too focused on Jessica before to take in the space properly.
This time, he noticed she had a row of candles on the windowsill, behind the sheer curtains with tiny embroidered flowers on them.
None of the candles had ever been lit, but they filled the room with their sweet scent.
She had buttery yellow sheets on her bed, and the matching quilt hung over the baseboard. The Tupperware container he’d given her in case she was sick again was tucked between her pillow and the bedside table.
The bedside table. Yes. Perfect.
Teddy crossed the room and pulled open the drawer, his mouth dropping open.
Jessica had quite the collection of sex toys. There were little bullet vibrators, a couple of U-shaped toys for double stimulation and two different wands.
“Oh my God.”
Teddy jumped, totally caught by surprise, and spun around.
Worst of all, though, his coordination failed him.
Again. And they both watched as the dildo flew up into the air, hit the ceiling—at least it didn’t leave a mark.
That was something? Wasn’t it?—and landed with a flop in the middle of Jessica’s bed.
“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to look. It just seemed like the most obvious place to put it and—”
“That’s not what it looks like.”
What else could it look like?
“I’m not … I mean … I’m not like a perv or anything.”
Wait. This wasn’t the opportunity Teddy had been expecting to showcase his newfound maturity, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t valid. Just like Jessica’s right to find her own pleasure was.
“There’s nothing wrong with any of this, Jess.”
She was getting teary again, her chest rising and falling rapidly, and Teddy could tell that she was trying to keep her cool.
“Most of them were free.”
“It wouldn’t matter if they weren’t,” he said slowly.
“They don’t work, anyway. Or maybe it’s user error.”
“Jess—”
“It’s just that sometimes I get lonely. It’s not weird.”
“I don’t think it’s weird.”
Her blush lessened. “You don’t?”
“Not at all.” Teddy ducked his head, chasing her eyes until their gazes met. “It’s pretty hot, actually. Everyone deserves to have fun.”
“Really?” Jessica sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, and Teddy wanted to tug it free, kiss her until she believed what he said.
“You wouldn’t be put off by someone who …”
He waited for her to finish her sentence.
“… wanted to try different things?”
If Teddy wasn’t careful, Jessica was going to see just how okay he’d be with it. He adjusted his stance and told his cock to calm down. She’s not feeling well. This isn’t part of our agreement.
But he couldn’t bring himself to lie. Not when she was being honest and vulnerable.
“I’d never look at a toy as anything other than a teammate, Starshine.”
Her eyes widened, and she pulled at the sleeves of her jumper until her hands had disappeared inside them. “I like that.”
Teddy grinned.
“It’s a good way to think of it.”
He’d have to add it to the list of things he liked about her. The list that kept getting longer and longer.
In fact, this was something he’d like to help her with. Put the skills he’d spent so many years refining, as it were, to good use. “If you ever wanted to have fun, once you were feeling better, of course, I’d be happy to”—Teddy swallowed, his voice catching on the word he wanted to say—“help.”
Jessica’s shoulders straightened, and she blushed again, her cheeks and neck reddening. “Yeah?”
Before Teddy could respond, the doorbell rang.
“Did someone order fish and chips?”