29. King
I was up all night, tossing and turning. We are taking the kids to the county fair today, much to my discomfort. I don’t feel right about it; there are too many unknowns being out in the open like that. But when Sparrow said that the kids had never been to a fair or carnival, there was no way that I would deny them this.
I can’t deny them anything, I’m trying to think of a way to sneak another dog into the house.
Every kid should know what an elephant ear and a lemon shake up tastes like. They should also learn early on in life that the games are rigged, but their dad will waste an ungodly amount of money to win them stuffed animals.
I’ve been in our gym for the past hour running every scenario of today through my head. Ace, River, and Dad are coming with us, along with Cam and Skye. I plan on keeping Sparrow and the kids surrounded the whole time, but there is a situation I haven’t figured out, when Sparrow and Loch need to go to the bathroom. There will be port-a-potties but the fairgrounds also have actual restrooms, so as long as I can convince my girls to go in the port-a-potties, we should be fine.
The door to the gym slides open, and Lilith runs in, Ace slowly following behind his dog. Growing up, Ace was the one that always asked for a dog. And was always disappointed when our mom told us no. Now, he can be found with his sidekick, Lilith. “What are you doing up already?” Ace asks through a yawn.
I’ve been staying in bed until Sparrow gets up, for reasons I don’t need to spell out. What can I say? Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. “Couldn’t sleep. Today is stressing me out.”
“I’m surprised you agreed to it.” Ace adds weight to the bench press machine.
“I couldn’t say no, man. The kids have never been to a fair.”
“You carrying today?” All of us have our conceal and carry licenses, if we were going to have guns, we were going to do it legally, courtesy of our dad.
With a nod of my head, I give Lilith a scratch behind her ears and make my way to the door. Looking over my shoulder, I say, “If anything happens to me, take care of my family.” Ace stares at me before slowly nodding his head. I know that didn’t need to be said; my family will take care of Sparrow and the kids without hesitation.
Walking into my room, I spot Sparrow still bundled under the covers. Crawling into bed, I slowly pull the blankets off of her.
“Morning, Bird,” I whisper before nipping at her ear.
“Uggh, not yet. I’m so comfy.” Laughing when she searches for the blankets to pull them back over her. This woman can sleep.
Sparrow slowly opens her eyes, lifts her head, and looks at the clock. “Shit. I need to get in the shower. I’m surprised the kids aren’t up yet, begging to leave.” Groaning, Sparrow lets me help her out of bed, and into the bathroom.
Once the water is warm, we both step under the spray. We didn’t spare any expense on our house, and I really went all in on my bathroom: heated floor, a massive steam shower, a soaker tub that Sparrow loves.
Reaching over for Sparrow’s shampoo, she wets her raven hair while I pour shampoo into my hand. Massaging the shampoo in, she leans her head back on my chest.
“Today will be okay, King.”
Don’t ask me how she knows I’ve been up for hours worried about today, but she does. Before I can respond, there is a loud knock on the bedroom door. Once Sparrow gave me the green light, I’ve been locking the door when we are in here.
Poking my head out of the shower, I hear Telle shout, “Mom! Dad! It’s fair day, come on!”
Turning back around, I find Sparrow smiling, rinsing her shampoo out. Stepping closer to her, I drop to my knees. “King…what are you doing? We don’t…” She lets out a small moan when I gently nudge her legs further apart and take a swipe at her clit.
I know how to get things done quickly, so alternating between circling her clit with my tongue, and inserting two fingers and curving them, I have her coming in record time.
“Shit…King,” Sparrow says as I stand up.
Sparrow goes to reach for me, but I shake my head. I know she wants to reciprocate, but we are on a time limit, and I didn’t do what I just did for some sort of repayment. I did it because I have to every day. Does it happen every day? Not all, but pretty close.
“Trust me, Bird, that was for both of us.” I quickly get washed up before stepping out. I’m surprised Telle hasn’t figured out how to pick the lock yet.
Pulling my jeans on, I can’t take my eyes from Sparrow. She just pulled on a pair of jean shorts, that I swear were made just for her. It’s hard not to notice the weight she has started gaining; it was necessary and makes her beautiful curves pop.
Sparrow saunters up to me, buttoning my forgotten jeans. Before I can kiss her, there is pounding on the door, the kids' voices ringing out from the other side. Sparrow’s head falls to my chest, her arms wrapping around my waist.
“Time to go, King. I love you.”
“Until my soul is no longer on this earth. Even then, I will love you, Bird.” Not many would believe that when I first met Sparrow at fifteen, I knew that she was end game. Sure, I messed up when I left her, but there was never a day she wasn't on my mind.
Parking in the gravel lot, I quickly scan the area. Sparrow quickly squeezes my hand before unbuckling her seat belt. Ace, River, and Dad park to the left of us, followed by Cam. Skye is acting like today is a national holiday, but Cam quickly shut me up when I made fun of her.
“Shut your fucking mouth,” Cam growls.
“What?! She acts like she has never gone to the fair, we went last year,” I respond, truly confused why Cam is jumping down my throat.
“You are such an asshole, I forgot for a little bit. I don’t know how you forgot, but Skye was a foster care kid. She didn’t get to do this shit.”
Fuck. Cam did tell us that when she was moving up here. There’s no excuse for forgetting; I wasn’t drinking as much, but I barely paid attention to anyone else.
“Shit. I didn’t mean to make fun of her, I’ll stop.”
“Daddy, can we get out?” Snapping out of the memory, I quickly get out of the truck, rounding and opening Sparrow’s door. She opens the back door, the kids quickly jumping out. River bends down and Loch quickly climbs on his back for a piggyback ride. They have been best friends since the moment they met.
As a group we walk towards the entrance, buying tickets to get us through the gate. The kids are so excited, Telle is asking to go left, while Loch is very firmly asking to go to the right. Making an executive decision, I lead us to the left so we can play games, then ride some rides, and before we leave, get hopped up on fair food.
“King.” Looking down, I find Sparrow looking at me with a smile on her face. “You don’t have to squeeze so tight; I’m not going anywhere.” My eyes go to our joined hands, loosening my grip when I realize how tightly I’m holding on to her.
“Sorry, Bird,” I mumble.
Telle and Ace lead the group to the first game, and I just know I’m about to drop some money when both kids start jumping up and down. My dad pays the teenager before he hands them the darts they now have to throw at a wall of balloons. Telle situates his sister before picking his spot and launching the first dart.
The adults have formed a wall around the kids, but I still feel like they are too exposed. I shuffle Sparrow further into the middle of our group, while Ace pays for the second round of darts.
“When can we get out of here?” River whispers into my ear. If I wasn’t so tense, I would laugh. My youngest brother hates big groups, so a fair or a concert is his worst nightmare.
“You okay, Riv?” Sparrow asks from in front of me. Sparrow has always had a soft spot for River, always including him and checking in on his mental health.
“Perfect, Spare. Don’t worry about me,” River tells her as he goes back up and helps Loch win a stuffed animal. Loch squeezes the stuffed dog she wins, as Telle turns around to look at me. My son nods his head at the stuffed dog, and I know what he is trying to tell me.
“What was that about?” Sparrow asks as she loops her finger through my belt loop.
“It may have to do with our son wanting a dog for his sister.”
“King, they have a dog.” Sparrow says with laughter in her voice.
Maybe I can convince River he needs a dog, and then technically we wouldn’t have two dogs.
“And don’t convince Riv he needs a dog.” I jerk my head back because how the hell did she know what I was thinking? “Oh yeah, I can see right through you.”
Once the kids are done playing games, Dad runs all their prizes back to his truck so we can start on the rides. Since Skye is pregnant, she and Cam are sitting the rides out, but I don’t think she minds. Cam just got her a lemon shake-up that she looks very happy with.
Maybe I was worried for no reason. We haven’t had any issues today, the kids haven’t stopped smiling since we got here, and I have my woman by my side. What more could I ask for?