“I just feel like a shitty human being. I mean, the worst part is he knew. He joked about this happening when I asked for the time off.”
“I’m sorry. As much as I hate the guy, I know you really care for him.”
“I do. He’s a really great person, and he was so good to Axl and me, but he just isn’tmyperson.”
Gabe cups my cheeks and tilts my face up to his, then he presses a kiss to my forehead, my nose, and finally my lips. His tongue licks the seam of my mouth and pushes inside. Desire floods my body, and I wrap my arms behind his neck and tug him closer by the hair. It’s so hard not to get carried away, especially when his hand trails over my neck and down myshoulder to cup my breast. I moan, but something clatters to the ground behind us, and Gabe and I pull away from one another because I know this must be confusing for Axl.
“Are you ever gonna stop kissin’?”
I give Gabe a sheepish grin and then shake my head. “Nope.”
“Kissin’s gross.”
“Not when you do it with the right person, buddy,” Gabe says. “You’ll see. It’ll change your whole damn world.”
“Kissing is far from gross ... especially when you’re a kissy monster like me. Come here, you little monkey.”
I lunge for Axl and sweep him up in my arms peppering his sweet little face with kisses. Gabe joins in and Axl’s delighted little squeals fill the living room of Gabe’s apartment. We all collapse into a pile of tickles and laughter on the carpet, and I meet Gabe’s gaze and mouth, “I love you.”
He grabs my hand and brings my knuckles to his lips. “Love you too, Freckles.”
“Hey, baby?” I comb my fingers through my son’s unruly curls.Just like his dad. “What would you say to Daddy moving in with us?”
“In our house?”
“Yeah.” I glance at Gabe with a hopeful expression as I bite my lip. “Do you think he should come live with us?”
“Yeah! Live with us, Daddy.” Axl climbs into Gabe’s lap and begins chanting, “One of us, one of us.”
“One of us,” I sing too, and then smile at my husband. “I guess it’s settled.”
“Lo, maybe we should—”
“It’s time for us to start being a family again, Gabe. And husbands don’t live down the street from their wives.”
“They do if it’s a polygamy situation. Hey, maybe we should see about getting you a sister wife.”
I shove his shoulder. “Don’t push your luck, Dash.”
“Well, I always have been insanely lucky.” He leans in and kisses me, and I kiss him back, slowly, as if we have all the time in the world, because I guess we have the rest of our lives. Axl giggles as he watches us and then makes kissy faces.
I gasp in feigned horror and hold my hands up before him like claws, getting ready to get my tickle on. “Come here, you. The kissy monster isn’t done with you yet.”
“Hey, Axman?” Gabe says as I tickle my son’s ribs. “Whadd’ya say we get Mommy?”
He chokes out around peals of giggles. “Yeah!”
“Oh no!” I shriek, but I’m too slow getting away and they lunge for me, taking me down in a heap of tickles and kisses, and it’s my favorite moment ever, because we’re finally a family again.
EPILOGUE
Gabe
Ten years later
Iset the empty platter in the kitchen sink and kiss my wife’s cheek. “Hey, wifey.”
“Hi, husband.” She smiles and tilts her head to the side to allow me better access as I trail kisses down her neck, but she’s busy removing the saran wrap from yet another platter. Our courtyard is full of all of the people we love, all here to celebrate our vow renewal—which is a really long fucking time coming considering Axl is almost an adult now. “You’re distracting me.”