Alex
Twenty-three
I hear a car outside the front windows just as Eloise drags the last carrot across her plate on Saturday evening.
I glance toward the driveway while stacking dishes in the sink, already knowing it’s Josie.
We’re taking the next step toward integrating our lives this evening, and the plan is for her to stay over.
Eloise notices my attention and twists around in her chair. Zara just smiles.
The knock comes a second later, soft but certain. I wipe my hands on a towel and cross the kitchen, aware of the flutter in my chest as I open the door. Josie stands on the porch with a small duffel over her shoulder.
“Hey,” she says, stepping in as I move aside.
I take her bag automatically and nod toward the kitchen. “Come in. We’re just finishing dinner.”
Josie follows me down the short hallway, and Eloise swivels around immediately as we enter, curiosity bright in her eyes. Zara remains seated at the end of the table with a glass of water and her clean plate in front of her.
“Eloise,” I say, taking Zara’s plate to the sink. “You remember Josie.”
Eloise nods, a carrot still clutched in her hand.
Josie approaches her side of the table. “Hi there. Your dad told me you like games.” She pulls a box of Uno cards out of her pocket. “I thought you might like this one. It’s one of my favorites.”
Eloise eyes light up. “Thank you.”
The tension in my shoulders loosens. “This is our amazing nanny and my right hand, Zara Slinger,” I tell Josie, nodding toward the table as I rinse the last dish.
Zara lifts her hand in greeting as Josie stands again.
“So nice to meet you,” Josie says.
I dry my hands and direct Josie toward the living room. “Bedtime soon,” I say to Eloise. She groans softly but slides out of her chair, shuffling toward the hallway while Zara follows.
“Why don’t we give Uno a quick go before you get ready for bed?” Zara suggests. “We’ll do that in your room so your dad and Josie can talk.”
Eloise nods but detours to collect her stuffed Hello Kitty from the corner of the couch.
Once she’s back beside Zara, moving down the hallway toward the stairs, the commentary begins.
“We saw lots of green grapes at Josie’s vineyard,” she notes.
“Do cats eat grapes? Because if they do, I bet the green ones are their favorite.”
“Hmmm…” Zara says as she and Eloise disappear upstairs to her room.
“That woman is amazing,” Josie whispers.
“She really is. She’s perfect for Eloise and so flexible with my crazy schedule.”
I reach for the baby monitor on the side table and glance at the small screen, which has come to life now that there’s motion in Eloise’s room. “Would you like a glass of something?” I ask, already moving toward the cabinet.
Josie smiles and nods. “That sounds nice.”
“Wine or a cocktail?”
“Wine’s fine. But not a Black Bear Valley wine, if you have something other than that.”
I light up. “I have a great cab from Napa. It’s a Raymond.”
She nods. “I haven’t tried the Raymond. Sounds perfect.”
I open the bottle and pour two glasses while I tell her about my visit to the vineyard. “It’s in St. Helena, and they have this beautiful tasting room. It’s one of my favorite California wines.” I pause to look at her. “You must hate going wine tasting for fun.”
“Actually, I love it,” she counters. “Sera and I have done the ice wine tours on the east coast, and we’ve taken several trips through France and Italy as well.
The tours are always interesting because every region approaches wine a little differently, and I like coming home afterward to experiment with what I’ve seen. ”
When I sit beside her, the cushion dips under our combined weight, narrowing the space between us. The silence that follows as we sip isn’t awkward. It feels comfortable. We’ve stopped needing to fill every space with words.
A little while later, Eloise and Zara appear at the bottom of the stairs. Eloise is dressed in her Frozen nightgown and a tiara it seems she’ll wear to bed.
“Say goodnight,” Zara whispers to Eloise.
Her eyes look heavy. “I’m not tired.”
“You’ll see Josie tomorrow,” I assure her.
“’Night,” Josie says.
“Goodnight,” Zara adds.
I pat Josie’s leg. “I’ll be right back.”
I take Eloise’s hand, the soft creak of the staircase following us as we climb. On the way up she tells me all about her new card game and how Zara beat her the first time but she won the second.
I urge Eloise into her bed, pulling the blanket over her while she murmurs something half-formed about her Hello Kitty.
“I want a story,” she says.
“Babysitter’s Club?”
She nods with her eyes closed.
I open the book and begin reading the first page. Within minutes, Eloise’s breathing has evened out. I watch her for a moment before switching off the light and leaving the door cracked behind me.
Downstairs, Josie sits on the couch beside Zara, their conversation pausing when I step into the room. This situation reminds me that tonight is different from any night that has come before.
“How did she do?” Zara asks as she stands.
“Just fine. Thank you. I didn’t even get through the first page.”
Zara smiles. “I’ll be downstairs if you need me. It was great to meet you, Josie.”
“Same,” Josie says with a wide smile. “Feel free to stop by the vineyard any time.”
Once Zara is off to the basement, I hold out my hand to Josie. She sets her glass aside and takes it, the warmth of her fingers sliding easily into mine.
“Come upstairs,” I say quietly.
She rises beside me, and the soft brush of her shoulder against my arm warms me as we move toward the staircase. When we reach my bedroom, Josie pauses just inside the door. It closes softly behind us.
Her gaze moves around the room before settling back on me. The quiet between us shifts, as though the closed door has drawn a line between the scene downstairs and the one unfolding here. I reach for her slowly, allowing her to step closer if she chooses.
She does, the distance between us disappearing as her hands slide up my chest. I feel the warmth of her palms through my shirt as my fingers brush over the zipper of her dress. The fabric slips easily under my hands as we begin undressing each other.
My shirt lands somewhere near the chair beside the bed and her clothes follow a moment later. We move together toward the mattress without speaking, and when I ease her back onto the bed, the soft creak of the frame reminds me how close the rest of the house still is.
Her fingers move through my hair while I lean down to kiss her, the warmth of her mouth pulling me deeper into the moment. My hand slides along her side, the quiet rhythm between us building as naturally as breathing.
The house goes silent around us, every small sound amplified by the stillness. The brush of skin, the shift of the mattress, the soft pull of breath all blend into a rhythm that feels both careful and inevitable.
When I move over her, Josie’s hands slide up my shoulders and down my back, urging me closer until there’s no space left between us. Her legs open beneath me, her body warm and willing as I fit myself to the curve of her hips.
“I need you,” she whispers in my ear.
I reach for a condom in my bedside table.
“May I?” she asks. When I nod, she takes the condom and rips the foil package open with her teeth. She strokes me as she puts the condom in place.
I lean her back against the pillow and I run my fingers over her slit. “Are you ready?”
“Desperately…” She groans.
I push in slowly, giving her time to adjust. With each press forward, my thumb circles her clit. Her breathing becomes ragged. I nuzzle her neck and take her earlobe between my teeth and tug. “Come for me.”
She gasps. “You’re so deep.”
It’s deep, tight, and absolutely perfect. I could stay like this forever. I suckle her breast and strum her clit. Her internal muscles pulse against my cock.
“That’s it.” I pull out slowly and push back in.
She bites her bottom lip as she savors the ride. Then she grabs my wrist and pulls a pillow over her mouth to muffle her groan.
Her chest heaves, and after a moment she reappears. “How is it so good with you?”
I smile. “Are you ready?”
I pull nearly out and push back in. Her breath catches against my neck and my hands tighten at her waist as she shifts beneath me, guiding the rhythm with her hips.
Every movement deepens the sensation, the closeness sharpening until it’s impossible to think about anything except the way she fits around me.
Her fingers trace down my back before gripping again. “Don’t stop,” she whispers. “I think I’m going to come again.”
Josie arches beneath me, her fingers curling into my shoulders as she pulls me closer.
With each thrust, we move together. Her hand slides along my jaw, turning my face until our foreheads brush.
“Alex,” she says, the sound carrying both heat and something steadier beneath it.
“Alex…” she whispers, the sound breaking softly against my shoulder.
Her fingers tighten in my hair, the small motion urging the last of my restraint out of the rhythm between us.
Everything breaks loose after that, slow control disappearing as we chase the same rising edge together. My hands slide beneath her, and the movement between us grows sharper, faster, until the tension snaps all at once.
Josie’s arms wrap tightly around my shoulders as she comes apart beneath me, her body tightening and then shuddering with the force of it. The sensation drags me with her a moment later, the last wave of pleasure breaking through both of us before the room falls back into quiet.
Her breath leaves her on a soft laugh. “Okay,” she murmurs. “That was worth sneaking upstairs for.”
For a few seconds I stay where I am while we catch our breath. Her hands remain on my back, fingers tracing across my skin, the night pressing gently against the edges of the moment. I shift closer and lie beside her on the mattress, pulling her against me.
Josie props herself up on one elbow, brushing her hair back from her face while her gaze drifts toward the monitor on the nightstand. The faint glow reflects softly across the ceiling.
I stare up for a few seconds before the thought I’ve been circling finally comes out.
“You should probably know something,” I say, turning my head toward her.
The words feel harder to say than I expected, though the truth behind them is simple.
“This is the first time I’ve brought a woman into this house to stay overnight since my wife left. ”
Josie’s expression softens. She doesn’t rush to respond, and the pause gives the admission space to land between us.
When she finally speaks, her voice carries a calm understanding that steadies something in my heart.
“That’s a big step,” she says. “Thank you for trusting me.” She slides her hand across the sheet until her fingers rest against my arm.
“I’ve introduced Eloise to people before,” I add, glancing toward the hallway without intending to. “Friends. Women I was seeing. But they always went home afterward.”
Josie nods, her gaze steady. “Tonight’s different.”
“Yeah,” I agree.
After a minute I shift to face her more fully.
The conversation has loosened something within me, and another thought pushes forward before I can talk myself out of it.
“You’ve had a lot thrown at you lately,” I tell her, watching the way her eyes follow my face.
“The vineyard. Your grandmother. Everyone needing something from you.”
Josie exhales, and she doesn’t argue with the summary. The quiet acceptance in her expression tells me I’m not wrong.
“We should get away for a few days,” I continue. “Somewhere you can breathe without the whole town watching.”
She studies me, curiosity mixing with the faintest hint of surprise. “It’s nearly summer. I’m not sure I have the time before everything becomes crazy.”
“We don’t have to be gone long,” I assure her. “Just a getaway. It’s only a two-hour flight from Vancouver to Napa. You could call it a part-fun, part-work trip.”
The idea hangs for a second before she smiles, the suggestion clearly unexpected. I rest my head against the pillow again, watching the shift in her expression as the thought takes root.
“Wine country seems appropriate,” she finally says. “I’d have to check with Sera because she’d be holding down the fort while I’m gone. But a couple of days away from everything would be fun.” She thinks for a moment. “What about Eloise?”
The question carries no resistance, only careful consideration of the life that exists beyond this bed.
“She comes with us,” I say.
“And Zara?” she asks.
“She’ll travel with us too,” I explain, the logistics already clear in my head. “We’ll book a suite with an adjoining room. Zara can stay with Eloise next door while we take the main room.”
“That actually sounds…” She pauses. “Pretty perfect.”
The corner of my mouth lifts slightly. The trip feels simple when laid out like this, though I know leaving town with Josie won’t feel easy when the time comes.
“Zara’s traveled with us before,” I add, probably reminding myself. “It’s not complicated.”
Josie nods, and the sheet rustles softly as she adjusts, her shoulder brushing mine again. “So we’d just…go?”
“For a few days,” I say. “Nothing dramatic.”
Her gaze lingers on my face for another second before the hesitation disappears entirely. “Okay,” she says quietly. “Let’s do it.”