23. Simon
Icould stay in this bed all day. The blackout curtains in Charlie’s apartment are doing their job. The bed is warm, and the woman who is currently serving as my big spoon is soft and perfect.
Don’t get me wrong, I love being the big spoon. But if a man is telling you he doesn’t like being little spoon he’s a fucking liar.
This is the life. I don’t know what time it is, and I frankly don’t care. I’ve found heaven, and you don’t want to leave heaven after you realized you’ve been in hell for years.
Because that’s what life before Bug was. Hell.
Yesterday, and last night, were…I can’t describe it. Which is happening more and more these days. Beautiful. Perfect. Amazing. Those are all true, but they somehow don’t really grasp the totality of the night.
Watching Charlie become more confident in herself and her sexuality. Watching her come apart. Feeling her all over me. It’s what I want for the rest of my life.
Because she’s it for me. Always was, has been, and will be.
“Mmmm.”
Charlie’s hand falls off me, but I’ll forgive her because that moan was downright erotic. I roll over to face her, and be a creep and watch her sleep, when I’m greeted by the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
Boob. Popped out of her tank top. A crease of the morning light that got past the curtains is shining right on it. Like a beam from the heavens sent by angels.
It’s glorious.
And because my Bug has the most spectacular tits I’ve ever seen, and I’m just a man, I give into the temptation of her perfect, round, pink nipple. I begin to lick and suckle as she starts gently moving.
“What are you doing?”
The sound of Charlie’s raspy morning voice, combined with her breast in my mouth, makes me hard in two seconds flat. Then again, I think anything Charlie does, or will do, will have that effect on me.
“Snacking.”
Her laughter fills the room as I continue to enjoy the start to my morning. I know Charlie has to get up soon, it’s a busy day at the restaurant with the opening in a few days, but I also want her to relax as long as she can. It’s been a hectic week, and I know she is running herself ragged. The least I can do is maybe start her day with an orgasm.
Actually, I think it’s my job as the baby daddy and her partner to make sure she does.
I don’t know at what point last night she got up and put on shorts and a tank top, but they are getting in the way of me having open access to my beautiful girl. I keep my mouth latched on as my fingers travel down, underneath her shorts and panties, to her waiting pussy. I tease it a little before inserting a finger, knowing she must be sore from last night. Not that I’m patting myself on the back—though I am—but we went until we both passed out. I actually think when we did tap out it was with my dick inside her.
Again, glorious.
“Simon, your phone’s buzzing,” Charlie mumbles as her body starts responding to my mouth and fingers.
“Don’t care,” I say as I let go of her breast so I can go down and eat what I really want. “Still snacking.”
I didn’t hear my phone vibrating before, but I do now. Thankfully, it stops just as I pull Charlie’s shorts and panties down. Good. I don’t need any distractions right now.
Except just as I’m about to slowly lick her from bottom to top, tasting her sweetness, it starts buzzing again. Only this time it’s not stopping.
“I swear, someone better be dying.” I jump up from the end of the bed and reach for my phone on Charlie’s nightstand. “What the fuck do you want?”
“Simon Alan Banks, is that any way to talk to your mother?”
I fall to the bed, my dick instantly limp at the sound of Demetria Banks’s voice on the other end of the call. “Sorry, Mom. Didn’t see it was you. What do I owe the pleasure?”
Charlie does all she can to hold in her laughter, but fails as a few snickers sneak out. She rolls out of bed, and I have to sit in suffering silence as my mom yells at me about my profane language. I have no idea what she’s saying because I’m distracted by the view of Charlie stripping as she walks to the en suite bathroom.
Oh, that vixen knows what she’s doing…and I never want her to stop.
“…so, Simon, are you going to tell me who you got pregnant?”
Well, that got my attention.
“Huh?’
“Jesus, I’m going to need you to take all the wheels right now.” Mom lets out a sigh, which gives me time to recoup. Because how in the hell does my mom know Charlie’s pregnant? “Simon, please explain why Loretta Perkins was walking her cat yesterday, minding her business, when she looked over to the obstetrician’s office to see you walking out, hand in hand, with a woman she didn’t know?”
“Why is Loretta walking her cat? I think we need to be talking about that.”
“Dammit, Simon. Focus.” And I would, but now I’m thinking about her hairless cat on a leash. “Why did Loretta see that and tell me last night at bingo? Why am I the last to know?”
Charlie comes back into her room, wrapped in a towel from her quick rinse. Shit. Because of fucking Loretta and her fucking cat, I not only I have to tell my mother about Charlie, but I also missed out on shower sex.
“Does it make you feel better that you’re the first to know?”
“I don’t need your sass right now, Simon Banks.”
My choice of words gets Charlie’s attention as she comes to sit next to me on the bed. We have a quick, yet silent conversation, ending with both of us slowly nodding.
“Well, Mom…” I put the phone on speaker so Charlie can be part of this. “The reason Loretta saw me at the doctor’s is because yes, I’m going to be a dad.”
Silence. That’s it. A pin drop would set off a noise indicator.
Charlie and I join hands, waiting for any reaction from my mom.
“You’re going to be a daddy?”
I snicker as Charlie rolls her eyes. “Yes. I’m going to be a daddy.”
“Who is she?”
Her voice is worried, and I get it. My mom knows my track record. She knows I’ve never had a serious relationship. If she didn’t ask this question I would’ve been worried.
“You know the woman who is moving into Mona’s?”
“Charlie? Oh, we’ve heard all about her. Mona hasn’t shut up about how great she is.”
Charlie and I share a smile. “Yeah. I think she’s pretty great, too.”
“Oh my goodness, Simon. This is so exciting!”
“I think so, too.” I don’t know if my mom heard that over her cheers and squeals.
“When can we meet her?”
“Oh, well, I’m not sure about that.”
“And why not?”
“Mom, her restaurant is opening in two days. Things are crazy. Plus, we weren’t ready to tell people yet. Give us until next week when things calm down.”
“How about dinner tonight?”
Did she not listen to a thing I just said? I check out Charlie’s reaction, and judging by the fact that she hasn’t blinked in a few seconds, she doesn’t know what to say either.
“Tonight? Mom, I’m sorry, but it’s too hard. Charlie has a busy day ahead, and I’m here helping her. Can’t this wait? We promise we’ll come over as soon as we can.”
“Are you two planning on eating dinner tonight? You can’t be working all day.”
I know Demetria Banks doesn’t take no for an answer. I just have never been on the receiving end of it.
“Well, yeah. At some point we’ll probably grab something to eat.”
“Then you can grab it over here. Is there anything that’s making her sick right now?”
Charlie and I share a knowing look, realizing arguing with my mother is a lost cause at this point.
“Fish,” I say confidently. The reassuring smile Charlie sends my way fills me with pride. “And nothing too heavy on dairy.”
“Pork chops it is. See you at seven.”
“Mom. It really would—” I don’t get a chance to finish that sentence. “I guess you’re meeting my parents tonight.”
“Is there any way we can get out of this?”
I shake my head. “Nope. Hurricane Demetria is at a category four. There’s no stopping it at this point.”
Want to know something you never have to do when you only do casual relationships? Bring a woman home to meet your parents. The last girl Mom and Dad met was my senior prom date, and that was only because everyone came to our house for pictures before the dance.
“Are you okay?” Charlie asks as we pull onto the street of my childhood home. “Because you aren’t allowed to be nervous when I’m terrified.”
I look over to Charlie, and yup, nothing but fear in her eyes.
“We can’t both be afraid,” I say.
“Agree. So I win.”
“Wait—how does that work?”
“I’m meeting your family for the first time. I’m the Jezebel that seduced their precious baby boy and wound up pregnant.”
“You’ll see very shortly that they have never called me their precious baby boy.”
“That’s not the point. I’m the outsider. The new person. And I’m meeting them for the first time with heartburn and after puking three times today.”
She’s right. She wins.
“What can I say to ease your mind?”
“Nothing,” she groans. “I just want to make a good first impression. But here I am, a swollen face, my hair a mess because I didn’t have time to do it after we left the restaurant, and, did I put on deodorant today?”
“Yes, you did. And I think you look beautiful.” I reach across the console and rest my hand on her thigh. I have to remember to keep my eyes on the road because all I want to do right now is stare at her. Light makeup. Rosy cheeks. The red lipstick she only wears when it’s a special occasion. And then there’s the dress she’s wearing. It’s modest, but somehow, also fucking sexy. “You’re going to make a great first impression just by being yourself. Charm them the way you charmed me.”
“Be mean and snarky to them?”
“Might work on my dad.” This makes her laugh, and I give her leg one more squeeze before taking her hand. “You’re going to be fine. My parents are going to love you. I guarantee you’ll be picking out baby names with my mom by the end of the night.”
Charlie quickly turns to face me, and from the quick glimpse I take, my words have not reassured her. “Simon. What are we going to say when they ask us how this happened? We can’t tell them that we were both drunk and hate-fucked.”
“Hate-fucked is a little drastic. I prefer to say angry-banged.”
“This is not the time for jokes, Simon! This is serious.”
I turn my car into the driveway and put it in park. “We’re going to say the truth. That we knew each other in college. We recently reconnected. The rest is history.”
I lean in and place a soft kiss to her forehead. “Ready to meet the parents?”
She lets out a deep breath. “Can I say no?”
“Nope.” I hurry and exit the car, running to the other side to help her out. She yelled at me yesterday when I did this, saying she could do it on her own just fine. Today nothing.
Damn, she really is nervous.
“This place is huge,” she says, staring slack jawed at my parent’s six-bedroom house on the outskirts of Rolling Hills.
“It’s just a house.” I do my best to calm her nerves, remembering that our difference in tax brackets has always worried her. The only problem with me calming her is that no one is calming me. Especially when I realize that there are extra cars here.
“Fuck…”
“What?”
I squeeze her hand. “I’m so sorry for what’s about to happen.”
As soon as we walk into the front door, I hear voices down the hall in the living room. As we walk closer, my suspicions are confirmed.
The whole damn fam is here.
Chants of “Oh my God!” and “She’s real!” fill the air as three of my four sisters rush over to us.
“Hi. I’m Ainsley.” As this sister does, she wraps Charlie into a hug that she didn’t get a choice about. She’s a hugger. “Oh my gosh, you are absolutely stunning. I’m going to need the shade of that lipstick immediately.”
“Um…it’s red?” Charlie replies as she tries to get her bearings once Ainsley lets her go.
“Sorry, she’s a little overeager.” This comes from the baby of the family, Stella. “But for real, that lipstick is great.”
“Y’all, back off. Give the poor girl some room.”
I look to Charlie and watch every ounce of color drain from her face as she sees Maeve for the first time. Yes, we’ve all grown and changed over the past fifteen years, but Maeve has perfected how to get older yet still look exactly how she did in her twenties. And that’s even with having a kid.
“Hey, Charlie,” Maeve says.
“Hi, Maeve.”
The two stare at each other for a beat before Maeve leans in and whispers something in Charlie’s ear. I can’t hear what it is, but it visibly relaxes Charlie, judging by her loosening the death grip on my hand.
Maeve makes her way to me and brings me in for a hug.
“Did you all drive in from Nashville?” I whisper.
“Of course. Did you think we were going to miss this? Not a chance.”
“Now now, we can all get to know each other over dinner. Which is ready.” Mom comes over and snags Charlie away from me, looping their arms together as she leads her to the dining room. “Girls, go pull everything out of the warmers. Charlie, I’m Demetria, but you can call me Demi. Oh! Maybe the baby can call me DiDi!”
Mom leads Charlie toward the dining room, leaving me standing alone and a little overwhelmed by the last five minutes.
“Dad?” I ask as my pops comes to stand next to me. “What just happened?”
He gives me a firm slap on the back. “Don’t try and understand. Just go with it. That’s what I’ve been doing for forty years.”
So far, so good.
Dinner has come and gone. We’re now sitting in the living room, everyone having their version of a night cap as Charlie is peppered with questions. All have been pretty basic, and mostly about Charlie moving to Rolling Hills, her family, and of course, the diner. Her face lit up when she started talking about all the things she was adding to the menu, while keeping some of the staples that Mona’s was known for. Including french toast.
That was my request.
“So how long have you been seeing each other?”
Shit, we didn’t practice this answer.
“Um…”
I don’t know how to answer Ainsley’s question. Probably because I don’t know the actual answer and when our clock officially began. Was it in college or the wedding or when we drunk fucked or when she told me about the baby?
“Are we finally getting to the good part? I promised I’d FaceTime Quinn.”
“What?” I ask. “Why are you doing that?”
“She has FOMO. It’s not every day our big brother, who claimed he only had fun uncle energy, tells us about how he is now an expectant daddy.”
I might be annoyed that they are calling my sister who lives in Arizona, but I can’t hide my smile. “See, Bug, everyone is calling me daddy.”
She shakes her head in disapproval. “Just stop.”
“Oh my God, is that what he calls you?” Ainsley gushes. “That’s so romantic.”
Maeve shoots our third sister a look. “You think a stranger looking at you in a grocery store is romantic.”
“Enough!” Quinn’s voice comes barking through the living room. Which is impressive because she’s only a face in a telephone. I didn’t know she could yell like that. Then again she’s an elementary school teacher, so that makes sense. “Apologies. I hate having to raise my voice like that, but Simon, you’re avoiding the question. How long have you been together, and when am I booking a ticket home to see my niece or nephew?”
“Well,” I stutter again. Shit. I need an answer.
“We reconnected a few months ago,” Charlie chimes in, saving the day. “And the baby is due in May.”
Phew. At least Charlie remembered the “keep it simple, stupid” plan.
I glance over to Maeve, whose eyebrows are raised and questions are written all over her face. Out of all my sisters, Maeve knows me the best. She’s the closest to me in age and the oldest of the girls. If there’s anyone who knows when I’m throwing out a line of bullshit, it’s her.
“Simon?”
“Yeah, Sis?”
“I came in and decorated this lovely woman’s restaurant just a few days ago. And I understand about you not mentioning the baby. However, I find it odd that when you asked me to come decorate a restaurant, you didn’t mention it was for your girlfriend.”
Every set of eyes turns on me and I instinctively swallow the lump in my throat. “Well…she…I…”
“Simon?” This comes from Mom with her patented disapproving tone. “Are you two not dating? I thought you were together?”
“We are, Mom.”
Charlie lets out a small gasp. “We are? When did this happen?”
My jaw drops a little at her reaction. I mean, we didn’t have the talk, but I thought we were on the same page. Especially after last night.
Then I see the small, yet devilish, smirk on her face. Oh…she’s going to pay for this later.
“Simon Banks! Did you not properly ask this woman to be your girlfriend?”
“Mom…it’s not like that.”
“Jesus Christ, son.” My dad’s tone is laced in disapproval, and this whole situation is getting very out of hand.
“Listen!” Raising my voice only makes my sisters and Charlie snicker more. It only deepens the disappointment on my parents’ faces. “We’re together. No I didn’t ask her because I’m not sixteen. But also, this woman knows for a damn fact that I’m nuts about her, and I’m pretty much whipped already and we’ve been officially together for less than a week.”
Charlie takes my hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze. “He’s right. Plus, he’s like a stray cat. I’ve fed him once. I know he’s just going to keep coming back.”
This makes everyone laugh. “Exactly. She’s stuck with me.”
“I am.” Charlie leans into me as I put my arm around her shoulder. “I tried to resist. I really did.”
“We get it,” Maeve says. “The man has wormed his way into everything in his life. Why would this be different?”
“But we also know that he can be a bit much,” Stella says. “So when you need a break, just come up to Nashville. We’ll take you out for the day. Oh! Please come up so we can go baby shopping! I never need an excuse to shop, but I’ll take one when I can.”
“And if it’s a boy, you can have whatever you want that I still have,” Maeve says.
“It’s not a boy,” I say confidently.
“Isn’t it too early to know?”
“It is,” Charlie says with a side-eye my way. “He’s ‘got a feeling.’”
Maeve rolls her eyes. “Of course he does.”
The girls begin talking and start planning a trip to Nashville after the restaurant opens. I sit back and watch as Charlie blends seamlessly with my family.
Just like I knew she would.
I happen to share a look with my dad, who just gives me a nod and his version of a smile. And for the first time in my life, I get it.
I get the meaning of this.
Family.
I take after my dad in a lot of ways. I didn’t go into law like him, but his drive to be the best was ingrained in me from an early age. He retired last year from his firm, where he had been partner for more than twenty years. The man was ruthless in the courtroom. He was the best. And that’s what I wanted to be: the best.
What I never wanted was the family. I didn’t get the appeal. I mean, look at my family. We’re loud, messy, and constantly in each other’s business. There was not one moment of peace growing up. Who in their right minds would want that?
But I get it now. Because I do. I want a flock of kids and the loud and the messy.
And I want them with Charlie.