“Hey,baby.”Andi’svoice is softer towards me than it has been since we reconnected. It reminds me of how she used to speak to me before I ruined everything.
My eyes are still closed, and I’m having trouble opening them. We were up late last night, relearning each other’s bodies. You’d think my dick would have had enough, yet I feel it getting hard when she speaks.
“How was your Friday, with daddy?”
Now I realize she wasn’t greeting me when she spoke earlier. I roll from my stomach onto my side to face her and force open my eyes.
She is sitting upright against the headboard with her knees tucked to her chest. Her brown hair is pulled back in a messy ponytail. Strands of hair fall around her face, and she’s still wearing her shirt from last night. She hasn’t taken it off once, not even when I tried to get her to.
She tucks her phone against her ear, and she turns to me, pressing her finger to her lips, telling me not to speak. “I can’t wait to see you either. I miss you so much… Yes, Uncle Mac and Uncle Beau are both going to be here tomorrow, and a surprise person... no, I won’t tell you.” Andi laughs and then tells her daughter that she loves her, then asks to speak to her father.
I feel like I am violating her privacy, but she doesn’t kick me out of bed. “Hey. You’ll be here in time for brunch tomorrow?” she asks. “Okay, Haley is here, and it will be really nice for Charlotte to see her. I really appreciate it, Matt.”
She pauses, and I can hear his voice through the phone. “I need to talk to you about someone I’m seeing.”
Andi tenses and inhales loudly, trying to compose herself. “Sure. We can do it tomorrow.”
“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow, Andrea.”
She drops the phone on her nightstand, and after a few seconds, turns away from me. When she turns back a few seconds later, she smiles. “Good morning,” she chirps happily, as if she hasn’t been told some shitty news.
“Hey,” I smile back, and sit up. “Sleep well?”
“No,” she laughs, and climbs out of bed. “I need a shower and some coffee. I’ve got a busy day ahead of me.”
I climb out of bed, also, and grab my clothes from the floor. I toss on my shirt and boxers, then round the bed to greet her properly with a kiss.
When I get to her, she steps away from me. “So, if you want, you can shower,” she says. “I’ll use Charlotte’s.”
“Or we can save water and shower together?” I offer.
She tenses again. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“Last night...” She sighs, and her voice drifts off. “We shouldn’t have done that.”
“Oh. Okay.” I whisper. “I’m sorry. I knew we wouldn’t be on grand terms, I just thought...”
“No. You thought, right. I misled you. We can talk about it another day, okay? Right now, I’m spending the day with Haley. And tomorrow with my daughter. I’ll… I’ll call you when I have a free moment.”
The forced smile makes me feel like she is lying, but I nod anyway. “Sure. Okay. I’ll see myself out.”
I have to remind myself that this has to go at her pace. If she wants me to leave after what we did last night, then I will. If she backtracks because she regrets last night, I will let her. Everything is at her pace right now. She has to feel like she is in control.
She nods her head and smiles again, and this time it isn’t forced or polite. It’s just her beautiful smile. “Thank you for understanding, Dom.”
I finish dressing. “Of course. I’ll see you around.”
Andi turns and heads for her master bathroom, leaving me alone in the bedroom. I show myself out, and as I walk down the hall, I glance at the pictures decorating the walls. Pictures of her, her brothers, Haley, and her daughter cover them. I like the glimpse of her life without me. She managed.
Andi went from a bartender, working double shifts to pay for college, to a successful lawyer and mother. She’d gotten married, even if it ended in divorce. Now she makes sure Charlotte comes first, even if that means uncomfortable Sunday breakfasts.
I make my way down the steps and realize that I’ve come down the front steps and I find I am at the front door instead of the kitchen. I didn’t even realize there were two staircases in the house. My shoes are in the kitchen, so I tour the downstairs until I find myself back in her kitchen.
Haley is brewing a pot of coffee when I enter, and shoots me a dirty look. “You still look as douchey as you did a decade ago, yet they say men age better than women.”
“Is douchey a word?” I approach the island. My shoes are right there, so I sit on the stool to put them on.