Chapter 31 - Dawson
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Dawson
I clutched the adoption papers on the lounger, sun warming my shoulders, eyes sweeping over the pool.
Henry shrieked with glee as Boone tossed him through the water again.
For a long moment I just sat there, stunned by how lucky I’d gotten, how easy it all felt when the people who mattered most were right here, alive, and laughing around me.
Carissa appeared at the edge of the pool, freshly showered, hair damp and gleaming, skin glowing in the sunlight. She looked at me like she could read every thought I’d been trying to bury. “Come on,” she said, her voice soft but firm, teasing. “Pizza’s ready. Celebration pizza.”
Henry’s head popped out of the water, eyes wide, and he called up at me with the kind of unfiltered joy only a kid could pull off. “Dad! Pizza!”
He scrambled out of the pool, water dripping from his hair, Boone and Gage on his heels, all of them laughing and chasing each other toward the house. That one word—Dad—hit me in the chest and refused to let go.
Carissa didn’t hesitate. She settled onto the lounger, straddling my hips lightly, her hands cupping my face. One thumb brushed beneath my eye, then the other, and she kissed me first over one eye, then the other. Her mouth found mine next, and everything else fell away.
Her lips were warm, soft, and insistent, but it wasn’t just the physicality, it was the way she knew me, all the pieces I’d tried to hide from everyone.
All the parts I thought were broken. I let my hands settle on her hips, feeling the press of her body against mine, the steady weight that grounded me in the middle of this chaotic, beautiful life we’d built.
I kissed her back with everything I hadn’t dared to give before.
My lips moved over hers, slower at first, savoring the sensation of her breath mingling with mine, the quiet, electric tug of familiarity and trust. I could feel the heat radiating off her, the steady rhythm of her heartbeat pressed against my chest. I plunged my tongue into her mouth, not urgently, but with a sort of reverence.
She pressed closer, arms sliding around my neck.
This was one of my favorite parts. When it was just us.
Her reminding me how hard I’d fought to dismantle my carefully constructed defenses, and what that meant for us.
Her fingers threaded through my hair, holding me like she wouldn’t let go.
Except for a pizza party. Henry’s voice filtered through to us, and I knew our time was growing short.
I pulled back just slightly to look at her, tracing the curve of her jaw with my thumb, the tiny smile playing on her lips.
“Carissa,” I breathed, voice rough with everything I hadn’t said before. “I… I wouldn’t have any of this. None of it. If it weren’t for you.”
She sighed, her body melting against mine. “You’re welcome.”
We laughed like a couple of love-drunk teenagers, sneaking a rare moment alone. And to be honest, that’s what it felt like with her.
I kissed her again, slower this time, letting the words sink in, letting the sensation of being held by her, of having Henry in our lives.
Officially our son. This wasn’t just a kiss.
This was recognition. Gratitude. Love that had survived every doubt I’d ever had about myself and the future I could have.
All the years I’d spent pushing people away had lifted the second I was able to admit to myself that this was mine.
And in its place I got something steady, fierce, and unshakable.
When she pulled back, her lips ghosting over mine, she asked, “Ready for some pizza… Dad?”
“Stop, or you’re going to get me going again,” I said, secretly reveling in the lightness that had become my life.
Carissa pushed up from the lounger and held out her hand to me.
I didn’t hesitate. My fingers slid into hers, and she tugged me upright, pulling me with her as naturally as if we’d been walking side by side our whole lives.
My heart kept time with hers, quickened by her grip, the warm sunlight, and the laughter echoing from the house.
She squeezed my hand, letting me know she was here, and that we were here, together. My chest tightened with the fullness of finally having all the pieces fall into place. I walked with her like that, feeling a thousand feet tall as she led me into the house.
Into our home.