Reed's Reckoning (22 page)

“Well, um, I talked to Grandma and Sophie tonight, and they helped me see some things clearly.”

“How clearly?”

“Crystal clearly. I’m still scared, but I am willing to give this thing between us all I’ve got. There’s a part of me that has been thinking this was a wonderful reunion, but we would never work in the long run. But I want it to work. And I was protecting myself because of the obstacles we face.”

“Angel, the largest obstacles in the world wouldn’t deter me from what I have planned. I told you, you’re mine. We have some decisions to make, but nothing right now. Right now, we enjoy reuniting and raising our son. Day by day, we’ll get to the place where we decide our future.”

“I need to know you hear me when I talk. I want to have a voice in our relationship.”

“I’m not sure what you’re saying. I listen to you. As a matter of fact your voice is my undoing.”

“An example is today. You took me by surprise with Trey and didn’t discuss it with me beforehand. I would have objected to your plan, but you didn’t even give me a chance. You made the decision without me.”

“You’re right and I’ll admit I went about things with Trey the wrong way. From now on, I’ll try to include you in—”

“Don’t try, do!” she interrupts me.

“Arianna, do you remember me telling you that in some things you are on a need to know basis?”

“Is this about your silly ‘Operation’?”

“Dear woman, there is nothing silly about Operation Matthews. And I promise you in the end you will love it.” I nip lightly on her ear and she melts into me. I move to lift her shirt but she stops me.

“I’m serious, Reed, include me.”

“You got it, babe, right now though I want to be inside you.”

“Nuh uh. I want to hear about your night and then we’ll go to bed.”

Deflated, I lean back and take her with me. She lays her head on my chest as I tell her about the afternoon. I took Davis to the grocery and he helped me get everything I needed for my house this weekend. After we unloaded the groceries, I let him run around on the beach for a while. I leave out the part about the three ladies that blatantly hit on me. Then I brought him home, cooked us dinner, bathed him, and put him to bed.

“Do you want to take him out of school on Friday to spend the day with you and your mom? I wasn’t sure if you wanted alone time with her or not so I didn’t mention it to his teacher.”

“I’d love to have him. Do you think you could skate out at half a day and join us on the beach?”

“Yeah, probably.”

“Perfect, now can we get back to the good stuff? The part that includes us in bed?”

Her dimples pop when she smiles and my dick grows hard against the fabric of my shorts. I carry her to her room, hoping to God Davis sleeps soundly tonight because I need to hear Ari moaning my name.

“You were right. She’s perfect for you.” My mom says next to me.

“I told you. She’s it. Having Davis is an added bonus. He may be the reason she gave me another chance, but if the situation was different and there wasn’t a child involved, I would still want her.”

“She really is a charming young woman.”

“Charming doesn’t even scratch the surface to explain her.” I watch Ari jumping in the waves with Davis and listen to him squeal each time one hits him. Luckily, since it’s Friday afternoon, there’s not a lot of people around. I say this because each time Ari hops, her tits bounce up and down, which is exactly where my eyes zero in.

Last night could not have gone more perfectly. My mom got here earlier in the day and I took her out to lunch and showed her around the downtown area. Then it took me five trips to unload her car with all the toys she brought for Davis. She explained she had years of holidays and birthdays to make up for.

Ari and Davis arrived at six and as soon as the women saw each other, there were tears and hugs. I could tell it freaked Davis out because he sidled up to me and slipped his arm around my leg. When my mom saw him, I got a lump in my throat. The look on her face was full of love. Since he calls Katy, Grandma Katy, Mom decided she wanted to be Grandma Amy. He warmed up to her easily when she broke out all the gifts. Ari gave me a worried look, but I shook my head and explained my mom’s logic.

Dinner was great and Davis controlled the conversation. Apparently, a beach day gave him all sorts of ideas on sandcastles. He agreed to let my mom get him ready for bed and Ari helped me clean the kitchen. Her days at work were going so much better since the misunderstanding with her clients. The biggest thing that has happened to her was she was once again the object of office gossip after I kissed her in the parking lot on Wednesday. A few of her co-workers spread the news of seeing us. Her assistant and boss came into her office together and asked her point blank if it was true she was dating Reed Matthews. When she confirmed, her boss immediately started talking about my rehab and upcoming season.

Laughing, I tried to imagine Ari listening to the stats he mentioned. One thing is for sure, she may have always been proud of me, but she still didn’t understand much about football.

Once Davis was in bed, the three of us sat on my patio having a drink and talking. Ari was very delicate when she brought up my sister. Mom seems to think she is better. She ended up talking to the guy she was dating and he was very sympathetic. She hasn’t spoken about the miscarriage very much. I called her yesterday, but had to leave a voicemail.

When it was time for bed last night, Ari acted a bit nervous when she headed into my room. I shut down the house and made sure Davis was okay then went to bed with my woman. She refused to have sex with me, but I wasn’t taking no for an answer tonight.

“Reed?” my mom breaks through my thoughts and brings me back to watching Davis hop.

“Hmm? Sorry, got lost in thought.”

“I miss that.”

“What do you miss?” I look over at her and her eyes have tears in them. “What the hell, mom, you okay?”

“Yes, I just watched you zone out. You were looking at her like your dad used to look at me. I’d catch him staring and warmth spread through my body. He once told me he would look at me and thank God.”

“Jesus, that’s exactly what I think about her.”

“I need to apologize, Reed. I shouldn’t have said those things to you a few weeks ago. Obviously, I knew nothing about the situation and the feelings involved.”

“Noted. No need to talk about it again. Now you know.”

Ari and Davis walk up and he gets his toys. She gets him situated a few feet from us and then returns back to her beach chair. Mom and her share a look and I feel the hair on the back of my neck stand.

“Reed, Amy and I talked a little over coffee this morning and came to a conclusion. We want you to call Jack and invite him to dinner tonight.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Honey, please. Things may not go back to the way they were, but there’s something you should know.” She looks at my mom and nods her head.

“Jack’s been calling me. It started right after you left Orlando two weeks ago. He feels terrible. I’ve listened to his side of the story and my heart hurts for him. I reamed him a new one for what he did because it kept my grandson from me, but in the end, he thought he was looking out for you. I don’t agree with his actions, but he’s been a friend in your life forever. He even came to Davis’s soccer game last weekend to watch. His voice was laced with pain when he told me about watching you with Davis.” Mom tells me.

I don’t say anything for a few minutes and watch the wave’s crash against the shore. I haven’t thought about him much, but I do feel a void. Ari’s hand covers mine and she pulls it into her lap. The look on her face makes me want to do anything she asks.

“I know he’s tried to contact you. I’ve seen the text messages come through. It’s important to me for you to try and get past this. And besides, Luke will be here tonight along with Sophie and Katy. If anything it will be a statement about family.” Ari’s fingertips stroke the inside of my palm

“You really make it hard to say no.” I twist over so I am straddling her chair and put my forehead against hers. “I’ll do this for you, but don’t expect bro hugs or an overjoyed reunion. He has a ways to go to redeem himself.”

“Okay.”

I lean down and kiss her briefly and then jump back to get my phone. I have two missed calls from Trey but decide to call him back later. Jack doesn’t answer so I leave a message with details about dinner if he wants to join us. Both women smile at me when I hang up.

“Mom, can you watch Davis for a bit?”

“Sure thing, where are you going?” she answers

I don’t answer but slide my arms under Ari’s knees and back, lifting her up. She squirms, trying to get away but I take off running to the ocean and don’t stop until we are waist deep.

“What are you doing? I would have walked out here with you.”

“Not nearly as fun. I want a kiss and the kind I want isn’t kid friendly.”

“No way! What about your mother?”

“Not particularly worried about her. She had two kids and was madly in love with my dad. I’m sure she did her fair share of kissing, among other things. And remember, she knows we’ve had sex.”

She tries to swat me but I capture her mouth with my own and suck her tongue. Her head tilts to the side and I take the opportunity to swing her around so she is wrapped around my waist. With her chest pressed against mine it’s easy to feel her nipples tighten. I curl my hands around her thighs and rub her against my throbbing cock. A few more movements and I could come from the friction. She starts to slow the kiss and pulls back completely when Davis starts yelling.

“Me too, Daddy! Pick me up and carry me in the water! Come get me too!”

I groan out loud when I see my mom standing next to him with a wide grin on her face. She’s shaking her head at me like I’m a teenager again.

“Oh my gosh, what has gotten into us? How can I forget we are in public?”

“Because I make you lose your mind with lust?” I question with a smirk.

“Reed, seriously, please. I’ve never been heavy into PDA. Don’t make me look like a slut in front of your mom.”

“Ari, don’t say that shit, ever. She knows how much I love you. Kissing you is the least of your worries.” I walk us back towards the shore and place her back down once we are in shallow water. Linking our fingers together, we walk to Davis.

Not that story! I try to break in, unsuccessfully, as Grandma Katy tells about my first experience with a white bikini. I was thirteen and didn’t understand the purpose of the nude underlining in bathing suits. I let Sophie talk me into cutting it out and we went to the beach. My mom and Grandma Katy allowed us to sit away from them so we could pretend we were by ourselves, for all the cute guys that walked by. We went for a swim but as soon as we walked out everyone stared at me. My mom came running at me with a towel. The suit was now completely see-through and I had just shown anyone in distance, all of me. I was mortified and Sophie couldn’t stop laughing.

Dinner was an event. Katy and Amy got along great and decided to swap stories of Reed and me growing up. Sophie, Luke, Davis, and I sat with Reed while he grilled and Katy and Amy prepared the salad. I guess their bonding time gave them the idea to embarrass the shit out of us throughout dinner. Jack arrived right before we sat down. His entrance was tense but Amy embraced him warmly, and I made a point to shake his hand and smile sincerely, thanking him for coming. Reed and Luke gave him a chin lift, which was rude, but at least some sort of greeting.

While we sat around telling stories, Jack asked if he could play with Davis. Reed didn’t answer at first but nodded and positioned his chair so he could see everything. I knew this was a big step. There’s no doubt in my mind, if Reed and I were together when I had the baby, Jack and Luke would be Godfathers. That’s how strongly we felt about our best friends.

Katy must really like Amy because she invited her to the Red Hats luncheon tomorrow. Even though Amy isn’t a member, this is a charity event and Katy wants her to meet her friends. This is her way of letting me know that she is thrilled to have another grandmother in Davis’s life.