25. Darby
Darby
Selene is quiet.
I can see the wheels turning in her head, the hesitation in her eyes.
I brace myself for her answer, already preparing for the worst. She’s going to say no.
She’s going to tell me that Leo is better off not knowing or she needs time.
Maybe she would even tell me that she’s not sure if I deserve to be in his life yet.
But then, she takes a slow breath.
“We’ll tell him together.”
I stare at her. For a second, I think I heard her wrong. She meets my gaze, her expression raw and vulnerable. Then she gives me a reassuring smile and scoots closer to me. She doesn’t seem to be shy about how she looks anymore. “I don’t want to do this alone anymore. I want to do it with you.”
Relief crashes into me so hard I almost feel lightheaded. I exhale, rubbing a hand over my face. “God, Selene.”
She lets out a shaky laugh. “I still can’t believe you came back. And I can’t fathom why.”
I reach for her, my fingers brushing her jaw. “I told you yesterday. We already wasted too much time apart,” I say softly. “I don’t want to waste more time being angry.”
Her lips tremble. I tilt my head back against the pillow, staring at the ceiling. “The truth is… I don’t know if I would’ve accepted the pregnancy back then.”
I let out a slow breath. “I had so much ambition back then. I was selfish. Everything was about my next move, my next goal.” I shake my head. “I don’t know if I would have been the man who deserved to be a father.”
“Darby…”
I look at her, then run my thumb across her cheek, wiping away the tear that escapes. She swallows. “This feels unreal.”
I give a small, lopsided smile. “Well, you have a lot to tell me. Because I need to know every single detail about Leo’s childhood.”
“Every detail?” She laughs.
“Every. Single. One,” I reply, stressing each word. “I mean it, Selene,” I say, voice rough. “I missed so much. I need to know everything.”
Her eyes glisten again, but she doesn’t cry. She just nods, and I can’t help myself. I pull her in and kiss her. Then I murmur against her lips. “How about a shower?”
“Together?”
“Together,”
We just hold each other as we wait for the water to heat the shower.
She slides her hair to the side, and I apply soap to her back, scrubbing it lightly with my fingernails.
When she is rinsed, she begins washing me, moving the soap across my torso and around my neck.
I turn so she can get my back, and as her fingers drift down to my waist, she reaches around and starts stroking my cock.
I lean against her, feeling the need grow with each motion of her hand.
I reach back and start stroking her clit with my middle finger, moving around it in a circular motion. She is already wet—so wet that the shower can’t wash away her desire.
“Make love to me again,” she murmurs and presses her pussy against my finger.
I turn to face her, and our lips connect beneath the water, twisting against each other with the passion of insatiable lust. I lift her leg and place it on the bench in the shower, dipping my knees so I can press the head of my cock against her pussy.
I’ll never get tired of this. Never get tired of making love to her and connecting with her in the most intimate way possible. I lift her and hold her against the wall of the shower, so I have the right angle for quick, powerful thrusts.
“When did you get so strong?” she laughs.
“I’ve always been strong,” I say, earning myself an eye roll. She opens her mouth to say something but ends up gasping as I move inside her.
It doesn’t take long for her head to fall against my shoulder as she feels the fury of my desire. The water runs down our bodies, creating steam in the shower, magnified by the heat between us.
“I’m never letting you go again,” I say in a tense growl against her ear.
“I know. Neither am I,” she whispers back, and then a long moan of satisfaction escapes her lips.
I’m not sure she truly understands what I mean by the statement, but it needs to be said. I’m thinking about forever, and I mean it with every cell in my body. The words seem to bring a new sense of passion to her as she starts kissing my neck, moaning in my ear.
My red-haired goddess is getting close to an orgasm, but I’m still hungry for a whole lot more.
I hold her close and pick up the pace, pounding her pussy with my desire.
She reacts as I expect, clenching my cock as her pussy starts to spasm with an orgasm.
I focus on quick thrusts, hitting her G-spot each time I drive myself in.
She digs her fingernails into my neck and back as her body surges with pleasure.
The additional lubrication combined with her orgasmic contractions makes my cock throb even harder.
I adjust my angle slightly and suddenly feel another surge from within her. A loud series of moans rips from her throat in gasps as she starts to orgasm. Her pussy spasms as she is sent into another moment of ecstasy
Another one? Damn.
I continue my thrusts against the wall, attacking her neck with my mouth as both of our desires become one. I know I’m close, but I’m enjoying her pussy so damn much I don’t want it to end.
“I want to feel you explode inside me,” she leans forward and whispers into my ear. “Please.”
She craves my release as much as I do, and her words excite me even more. I’m trapped at the point where I can’t stop myself from ejaculating, but I can prolong it with the right motion. I keep myself there as long as I can, in that moment of perpetual perfection, but it can’t last forever.
“You feel so good.” Steam rises from my lips as a grunt echoes from my throat.
I press against her and drive my cock deep, feeling the first tightening as it prepares to unleash every drop of my cum. I pull back and drive in again as the first explosion erupts from the tip of my cock. I know it won’t be the last because I can already feel another one building inside.
She makes me cum more than anyone ever has.
It only takes a couple of thrusts for the second eruption to unload inside her. A few quicker ones follow, and I am spent. My balls tingle, and my cock is immediately exhausted from the encounter. I hold her in an embrace, lightly kissing her neck and cheek before finally withdrawing.
She lets out a groan as I pull out.
We stay in the shower a little longer, cleaning up the results of our lust, and then I reach over and turn off the water.
“I’ve always loved shower sex with you,” she grins as she stands in front of me, dripping water onto the ceramic below us.
“Me too,” I say, reaching for a towel and beginning to dry her gorgeous body.
We manage to keep our hands off each other as we get dressed and head downstairs. Within a few minutes, the smell of coffee and eggs fills the air, and my stomach grumbles.
She’s wearing one of the shirts she stole from me years ago, and it hangs loose on her frame, barely covering the top of her thighs. I can’t believe she still has it.
I shake my head. “This isn’t fair.”
She glances over her shoulder. “What isn’t fair?”
I gesture at her. “You. Wearing my shirt. Distracting me while I’m trying to be a responsible adult.”
She rolls her eyes. “Since when did you start worrying about being a responsible adult?”
I groan. “Fair point.” She shakes her head, laughing softly, then turns back to the stove. I pop a grape into my mouth and lean against the counter. “So, tell me about Leo.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Everything.”
She presses her lips together, thinking. “Well… when he was a baby, he refused to sleep in his crib.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Seriously?”
She nods. “I would put him down, and he’d start screaming like I just abandoned him. The second I picked him up, he’d stop.”
I grin. “Smart kid.”
She tells me about his favorite food, his favorite movies, and the things that make him laugh. She tells me about the time he got stuck in a tree because he wanted to “see if birds would talk to him.”
I laugh, shaking my head. “That sounds like something I would’ve done as a kid.”
Selene smiles, but it fades slightly. “He’s so much like you, Darby.” She looks down at her hands. “Sometimes, I didn’t know if that made it easier or harder.”
The pain, mixed with the warmth that fills my chest, is intense. It’s like I told her. The anger is still there, but it helps to be with her. She serves the eggs and sets the plate on the table. I grab the coffee pot.
As we sit, she tells me more.
About the time Leo tried to hide a stray cat in their apartment.
About the time, he dressed up as a pirate for an entire month and refused to answer to anything but ‘Captain Leo.’ About the time he got caught sneaking an extra cookie and told her, with absolute confidence, that ‘the cookie needed him.’
I laugh so hard I nearly choke on my coffee. I set my cup down and reach across the table, taking her hand in mine.
“Thank you,” I say quietly.
Her brows furrow. “For what?”
“For raising him.” I squeeze her fingers. “For being the kind of mother he deserves.”
Her eyes shine, and she looks down, swallowing hard. I bring her hand to my lips, kissing her knuckles. Then, I take a deep breath. I still can’t believe this is real. I’m here with the only woman I ever loved, and I have a son.
She looks at her phone on the table. “Do you think we should rehearse a speech or something? We need to go and pick Leo up soon, and I think we shouldn’t waste any more time telling him.”
I nod even though my palms become sweaty. “I’m all for not wasting any more time. But let’s not rehearse any speech. Let’s go with the flow and accept whatever he says.”
We agree and finish up our breakfast.
The drive to the community center is quiet. We both seem lost in thought and nervous about breaking the news to Leo. Selene is playing with the hem of her top, and I’m gripping the wheel like a lifeline.
I don’t know how to act, nor do I know how to be a father. I don’t know how I’ll act if he doesn’t accept me or needs more time. This will break me in many ways, but it won’t stop me from trying.
I know I want to try.
When we pull into the lot, kids run around, dragging their bags and hugging their parents. The air is filled with laughter and excited chatter, while my heart is running a marathon in my chest.
I spot Leo immediately. He is standing near the bus with his backpack slung over one shoulder. His face lights up the second he sees us. But what makes my breath catch—what nearly knocks the wind out of me—is that his eyes go straight to me.
And without hesitation, he runs.
Not to Selene.
To me.
I barely have time to react before he crashes into my arms, his small body pressing against mine. My eyes sting with tears again, and I don’t know why. I don’t care. I grip him tightly, my hands spanning his back, my chin resting on his head.
“Hey, kid,” I murmur in a rough voice.
Leo pulls back, grinning. “I knew you’d come.”
I look down at him, my chest feeling too tight. “Yeah?”
He nods, completely confident. I am afraid to ask him why he’s so confident about it. Selene walks up beside us, ruffling Leo’s hair. He hugs her tightly, and she laughs out loud.
“I expected you to be tired, but it seems your source of energy is endless. Come on. Let’s go get some food in your belly.”
“Yay!” Leo says and skips all the way to the car.
When we get to the restaurant, we find a booth near the window. The smell of burgers and fries fills the air. Leo sits between us, talking about his camping trip with so much excitement that I wish I had gone, too.
“We made s’mores, but Jason dropped his in the fire, and it exploded,” he says between bites. “And then we tried to build a raft, but it sank because Kevin is terrible at tying knots.”
I chuckle, shaking my head. “I did know s’mores could explode.”
Leo nods, stuffing another fry into his mouth. “It did,” he says. “And my other friends were scared to sleep alone because of bears and lions, but I showed them my adventurer's kit, and they weren’t scared anymore.”
“Good job,” Selene says, and I look up to meet her eyes. She meets my gaze, then gives a slight nod.
It’s time.
I take a deep breath and set my drink down. My hands feel clammy. My heart pounds harder than it should.
“Leo,” I say gently. He stops chewing and looks up. I clear my throat. “There’s something I want to tell you.” His hazel-green eyes study me, waiting. I grip the edge of the table. “I—” I hesitate, my voice almost failing me. “I’m your dad.”
Leo blinks.
His gaze shifts to Selene. She bites her lip, nodding once.
For a second, I worry. I worry he’ll cry. I worry he’ll be confused. I think of all the things he can say at this moment.
He looks at Selene again and then looks at me. Then, with a shrug, he says, “I know.”
I stare at him.
Selene sucks in a breath, and her eyes widen. “What?”
Leo takes another bite of his burger. He chews, swallows, then looks at me like this is the most obvious thing in the world. “I know.”
I shake my head slightly. “Leo… what do you mean, you know?”
He sets his burger down and wipes his hands on his napkin.
“I’ve seen your picture before,” he says matter-of-factly. “Mom has a photo of you in her purse. And I saw you in a magazine that she hid under her pillow last year.” Then, he raises one small finger. “Also, you look like me.”
Selene covers her mouth, and her eyes widen even further. I feel like the ground has been pulled out from under me. But in a good way.
Leo shrugs again. “And then when you saved me at the play, I just… felt like you were my dad.” He looks up at me. “And now you’re here. So, I was right.”
I stare at him, completely at a loss for words.
This kid-this incredible kid—had already figured it out. I press my hand over my mouth and let out a shaky breath. “Leo…”
He frowns. “Are you mad?”
I shake my head quickly. “No. Not at all.”
He tilts his head. “Are you happy?”
My throat tightens. I glance at Selene, and her eyes are filled with unshed tears. I turn back to him, reaching out and ruffling his hair.
“I’m very happy, Leo.”
He grins. “Good. Because I always wanted a dad.”
Selene stands up. “I umm, I’m going to the bathroom,” she says and walks away.
Leo watches her with a small frown, then turns to look at me. “Is she okay?”
I’m barely holding back tears, but I nod. “She’s fine, Leo. She’s…perfect.”