A stormy night #2
“Not when you’re with me,” she replied and snuggled up to his warm, solid chest. He smelt so good – a mix of tangy shower gel, fresh sweat and sex.
If it were up to her, she would be ready to get right back to it.
There was so much to discover with him, so much to try out and feel.
She enjoyed sex and had never had any trouble letting go.
That’s why the experience was almost always good for her, even with partners she barely knew.
But the feeling of not getting enough of one person, always wanting more, was new to her.
It was a first she was experiencing with Kendrick.
She wanted to taste and feel and explore every square inch of his body.
Though delicious ice cream with even more delicious conversation wasn’t a bad idea either, now she came to think of it.
Determined, she removed the lid from the ice cream and licked it clean.
“I’m getting hard again just watching you,” he moaned in mock agony, and she smiled happily.
“Is that a problem ...?” She turned and kissed him. But only for a moment, because she was starting to enjoy the anticipation building as they delayed the next round a little longer. So she dipped her spoon into the velvety ice cream and popped it into her mouth. The next spoonful went to Kendrick.
“You’re driving me crazy,” he exclaimed, but he sounded more amused than excited.
“The ice cream was your idea,” she protested.
“My idea was completely innocent, but I should have known better: there’s nothing innocent about you!”
“Would you prefer more innocence?” she asked, giving him a shy look.
“No. I like you exactly the way you are.”
They sat in silence for a while, eating ice cream, each lost in their own thoughts.
“Are you planning to have a family?” Shona suddenly asked to her own surprise.
Or no, she wasn’t really surprised. The house was clearly meant to be a family home, and Kendrick’s caring nature did the rest. She was just surprised that she could ask the question and not freak out.
As for herself, she hadn’t given having kids and all much thought before, used to being the baby sister as she was.
That made it hard for her to imagine herself as a mother.
She had loved growing up in a large family, with lots of siblings, a doting da and plenty of aunts, uncles and cousins nearby.
So it probably wasn’t too unusual that she would want something similar in the future.
The more unusual fact was that she could suddenly imagine herself having the family!
“I am,” he replied simply. “There’s never been any doubt for me. I’ve always known I want to have children one day. Probably because I don’t know life any other way.” He smiled a little wistfully. “How about you?”
What kind of conversation was that after having sex for the first time?
Second time. Never mind, anything she experienced with Kendrick was outside of her scope of experience, so she might as well be honest. “I never thought about it until recently. But in a way, I’m the same.
I suppose I always assumed I would have my own family – one day, when I was mature enough. ”
“So, are you?”
“How would I know? Technically I am an adult, but I didn’t much feel like one until two days ago.
” She shook her head. Had it really only been yesterday that Kristy had given her a piece of her mind?
“So, if you always wanted to have children, why are you struggling so much with your sister and ex-girlfriend’s wish to father their child?
” She looked closely at him, and when she saw him tense, she added: “I can totally understand that you’re hurt and feel betrayed.
But suppose Glenna wasn’t your ex, just some other woman, and she and your sister asked you the same thing. Would you still be so reluctant?”
Kendrick had to think about this scenario for a bit, and Shona asked herself how she would respond to a similar request. Would she be willing to donate an egg to her sister or sister-in-law? She didn’t need a second to know. “I would do it,” she exclaimed.
“What exactly would you do?”
“Give Isla an egg if she needed one. It’s important to a lot of people to have children who share their genes and all that. If Isla or Colleen struggled to conceive and I could give them this gift, why wouldn’t I?”
“But would you be okay with knowing that this child, who would grow up as your niece or nephew, is biologically yours?” he asked incredulously.
“I think I would. Being a parent goes far beyond sharing DNA. And I love being an aunt! Aidan is great, and I can’t wait to meet Colleen and Alex’s new baby. As an aunt, you can spoil them and not have all the responsibility. And I guess you could tell the child at some point too.”
“Sure, but what if I don’t want to be an uncle, but a real father?”
“I don’t see why you couldn’t. In the end, all those involved should decide together what’s best to make everyone happy. You know what they say: it takes a village to raise a child. So why shouldn’t a child have three parents?”
Kendrick stared at her wide-eyed and bewildered; her words had obviously expanded his horizon by one or two dimensions.
“You’re incredible,” he finally said. “And to answer your initial question: if Davina’s partner were someone else and they both desperately wanted a child and asked me, I don’t think I’d hesitate either. ”
“Well, there’s your answer then. Your issue is not that you object to the situation or want to be a true father but your bruised ego.
Which is a shame. The whole bloody mess isn’t anybody’s fault, so why would you want to punish them and yourself for it?
To be honest, you’ve got more than enough room for a child here. ”
“Would it bother you?”
“You mean, would I mind if you were the biological father of your ex’s child? A child she raises in a two-mum family with your sister while you take on the role of father?” He nodded and she shrugged. “Why would I? Children are fun, and I’m sure yours would be especially delightful.”
“But I don’t want to enter a promising new partnership with such a heavy burden,” he said with a furrowed brow.
“Well, I wouldn’t call children a burden, full stop. And I haven’t heard anything about a promising new partnership yet.” She grinned mischievously. “You may recall a conversation yesterday where we agreed that neither of us is ready for this kind of commitment.”
“I think that’s going really well,” he replied laconically.
“Do you now? You realise I’m just interested in your body,” she lied shamelessly and snuggled up to him just to make sure he knew how interested she really was.
“I don’t believe a word you’re saying,” he countered, and she sighed.
“Okay, okay. You’re right. I don’t know where we stand and what this can become.
A lot, I hope. But I don’t have the first idea how relationships work.
I might not be able to do it or totally mess up.
So let’s take it slow and explore what we can be to each other and how.
But whatever we figure out for us, I wouldn’t have a problem with a child.
And let’s say we decide to have some of our own down the road, we would already have some parenting experience, and our child would have an older sibling.
” Shona straddled his lap, took his face in both hands and looked at him emphatically.
“Kendrick, my most heartfelt wish right now is for something I hadn’t even considered until yesterday: I want to have a partner, ideally for life.
And I hope that you will be that person.
But no matter what happens between us, and no matter what I want and feel, it shouldn’t affect your decision about Glenna and Davina.
Oh, and if I could ask one more thing of you? ”
“Anything,” he croaked, and his eyes shimmered suspiciously. With emotion? Or tears? Shona couldn’t tell with the dim light inside and the constant flashes of lightning outside.
“I think we should stop talking and get to know each other better another way.” She leant over to him, caressed his lips with hers and hoped that her kiss and her body would say everything she was unable to put into words.
The storm had picked up another notch, and hail was coming down heavily now, so words would be lost anyway.
The hail pattered on the roof like gunshots, the wind howled and the thunder roared, but Shona hardly noticed any of it.
Her senses were entirely focused on her inner world – and on Kendrick, who made love to her with such fierce passion that the wild storm could have taken a lesson out of his book.
What felt like an eternity later, the thunderstorm outside eased and so did the waves of pleasure in her body.
Shona lay propped up against Kendrick, one cheek on his sweat-dampened chest, listening to his strong heartbeat.
She desperately wanted to say something meaningful, something that would do some justice to what she had just felt, but the words wouldn’t come.
“I ...” she began and broke off again. There simply weren’t the right words to express her feelings.
“I know. I feel the same way,” Kendrick whispered in her ear. His voice sounded exactly like she felt: sated, satisfied, sleepy – and grateful.
Maybe there was no need for her to say anything? Maybe she could just enjoy being close to him? Kendrick picked up the duvet and spread it over them both. She snuggled even closer to him and let her eyes close.
She was just drifting off to sleep when a shrill noise startled her fully awake again. Kendrick cursed, gently nudged her aside and jumped out of bed.
“What’s going on?” she asked, confused and struggling to find her bearings.
“That’s my phone,” he replied curtly and fumbled for his trousers. “Probably an emergency.”
Shona pulled herself up and turned on the bedside lamp, but Kendrick had already found his phone.
“Rupert?” he called as he took the call. “What’s happened?”