Chapter 24 #2
Bailey grabs my arm to pull me into the kitchen, where Isaiah is keeping an eye on a bag of popcorn heating in the microwave.
Her eyes start to water, her chin quivering when she says, “I need to apologize again for the part I played at the deli. It was wrong, and I feel just awful about making fun of you. You didn’t deserve that. ”
“No worries. Autumn made it up to me,” I say with a grin that Isaiah reads exceptionally well, the corners of his lips ticking up.
Remembering Autumn’s office apology makes my cock twitch, which in turn has me hissing, my eyes crossing with the pain.
I’d planned on making love to her all night long, but, physically, I don’t know if I’m capable of going another round without my dick falling off and my jaw coming unhinged.
A trip to the ER wouldn’t be a pleasant end to one of the best days of my life.
Wearing a matching set of Bailey’s orange pajamas, Isaiah passes the steaming bag of popcorn to his wife. “Not sure you’re going to make it home anytime soon,” he says with a chuckle and a clap on my back, tipping his head toward the living room.
With Josephine sitting on the floor, leaning against the couch, Autumn’s eyelids slowly droop while her fingers grow clumsier as she strokes Josephine’s hair. “You’re welcome to stay to finish the movie.”
As we move closer, I ask Isaiah, “Do you mind if we stay the night? Autumn will give me hell in the morning if she wakes up without the kids around.” I don’t mind the thought of sleeping here one bit either, since I have the same reservations.
Yes, I needed the kids out of the house for this final step of the plan, but I wouldn’t say it’s been easy knowing they would be out of my sight for a whole night.
Maybe with time that will come easier, though just the thought of Josephine leaving for college in eight short years makes me want to weep.
“We don’t mind. We could certainly use a little help with them all in the morning,” Bailey says quickly. Volunteering her husband, she says, “Isaiah can run to your house to grab extra pillows and blankets.” She gives her husband a pouty, pleading face, which makes him chuckle softly once more.
“Be right back,” Isaiah says, kissing his wife long enough that it becomes awkward to witness, and I leave them to their privacy.
When they’re done, I toss my backup keys to Isaiah, which miss his outstretched hand by a mile.
“We’re going to have to take you out to the park to play disc golf so we can work on some of that hand-eye coordination once Sherman is cleared to exercise. ”
“Yeah, I’d like that,” I say, keen to be a part of more family activities. I fold my legs, settling on the carpet behind Josephine, my own eyes growing heavier as the animated action movie plays on.
“Quit hogging all the blankets,” Grayson says to Lainey, where most of the kids have been lying in front of the TV. He grabs the fleece blanket they’re fighting over after she yanks it off him and throws it over her and Ivy to share.
“You quit it, fart-face,” Lainey growls, wrestling back control of the blanket.
“You already have two!”
“So?! We’re cold!”
“Frickin’ Devilainey,” Grayson snaps, tugging harder to get her to release her death grip, nearly pulling her up off the floor. “Why are you always so mean to me?”
“I’m not mean, you’re mean! You always call me Devilainey when you know I hate it!” Lainey yells.
“Because you’re so mean!”
“Ugh, fine!”
It happens so fast that neither Bailey nor I have time to intercept when Lainey suddenly lets go of the blanket. Grayson flies backward, hitting his shoulder on the corner of the coffee table with a pained grunt.
Bailey and I move toward him at once, but Lainey, whose face has blanched, manages to jerk him upward and into her arms, despite him being so much bigger than her.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” As if she can feel his pain, her face twists as tears well in her eyes.
She lightly rubs Grayson’s shoulder as he ducks his head and sniffles.
“I really, really didn’t mean to do that, I promise! ”
“I’ll get some ice,” I tell Bailey, so she can sit and rest her back on the couch.
“Thanks,” Bailey says with an exhausted sigh.
None of the other kids pays the pair any attention. My guess is they’re as used to Grayson and Lainey’s fights as Clara is to all the noise.
“I’ll stop being mean and give you all my blankets!
And pillows!” Lainey yells, panicking, hugging Grayson tighter as she rocks back and forth.
When I make it back with a baggie of ice wrapped in a paper towel, Lainey snatches it from my hand and slams it against Grayson’s back.
Ouch. “And I’ll do your chores for a whole month! ”
Grayson’s sniffles abruptly end, and he pushes away from her. “Cool. Thanks.” He lies back down, pulling the fleece over himself, none the worse for wear.
“Stupid Grayson,” Lainey grumbles, then hurls the bag of ice at him like a fastball. Her hand-eye coordination is much better than mine, since it nails him directly in the face. “You were just faking it!”
“You’re the one who fell for it. Who’s stupid now, Devilainey?” he asks, cackling when he grabs the end of her hair, and gives it a rough tug before she can slap his hand away.
“Autumn and I were just like them at their age,” Bailey tells me when I drop back down on the carpet.
“Doubt it,” I say quietly when I glance at Lainey, whose entire focus is on Grayson instead of the movie, as it had been for the last twenty minutes before she stole his blanket, even after he settles back and leaves her alone.
“What do you mean?” Bailey asks as she looks at the pair, then shrugs as if she doesn’t see anything abnormal.
“Nothing,” I say quickly. “Must have misread things.”
“Misread what?” Bailey asks.
I skip answering the question since I’m embarrassed I’d thought there was anything…odd…about the way the two of them are always watching and intentionally antagonizing each other for attention, even if they’re not aware of it.
Thankfully, Bailey leaves me be, yawning widely around each bite of her popcorn.
With the peace restored, Josephine leaves me to lie down next to her friends, who will soon be her cousins.
I stretch out on the floor with my head propped on my arm, fully sated and high on the future Autumn and I will have together, and I fall asleep before Isaiah makes it back.