He texted me the address, so I typed it into my GPS and followed the directions across town. The landscape got more beautiful and the houses bigger as I traveled. Soon they started getting farther apart, and there was more of the lush greenery surrounding me. Finally, I turned onto the street that brought me to a long driveway. My heart pounded as the massive house rose up over the horizon and I saw a series of cars parked with a familiar bike at the back. Parking next to Darren’s bike, I called him.
“I’m here,” I told him when he answered.
“Come on back. Just go to the end of the driveway and follow the path to the back of the house. There’s a big gate—go through it and you’ll find us,” he said.
I wanted to ask him to come get me, but I resisted. It didn’t take many steps down the driveway for me to hear the laughter and voices coming from behind the house. It sounded like far more than just the family, and my stomach started twisting around. By the time I got to the back of the house, I felt sick and shaky. I gripped Willa tightly on my hip and kept a smile on my face so she wouldn’t feel afraid.
When I stepped through the gate, my eyes widened. Darren had described the yard for me, but it was even more incredible than I thought it was going to be. It was stunningly beautiful, with a massive multilevel deck coming down from the back of the huge house, an outdoor kitchen, a firepit surrounded by seating, and grass into the distance where it met with woods. I saw all four of the Freeman boys, Gus and Minnie, Greg and his mother, and a couple of others who I assumed were the friends Darren mentioned. He noticed me and smiled widely, setting down his drink and rushing toward me.
Darren settled his hand on my lower back and gave me a soft kiss. He touched another kiss to Willa’s head, and my little girl giggled happily. I was surprised at the gestures. It was so open, no hesitation. He wanted everyone to see us and to know about the little family we were working on having together.
“Can I hold you?” Darren asked Willa.
She giggled again and shyly tucked her face into the curve of my neck, but then reached one chubby little hand toward him. I’d talked to her about Darren, but I wasn’t sure how much of it she understood. He took her into his arms and brought her over to the family. They immediately started gushing all over her, thrilled to meet her and telling her how pretty she was. I slipped into the background, content to just kind of hover there without anyone really noticing me for now.
The rest of the day went by in a state of steady, simmering anxiety. No one was mean to me, and I enjoyed talking with Merry, but Minnie was different. She was polite, but in the distant way she would be to a stranger. I deserved that, but that didn’t mean I didn’t hate it. I enjoyed watching Willa thrive among her new family, playing with the puppies and running around in the grass. Darren did an exceptional job watching after her. He made sure she didn’t get too close to the fire and patiently held her hands while she walked up and down the steps of the deck.
I stayed as long as I thought Willa could handle it, then started to ease us out. Darren wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me close to kiss me on the side of the head.
“Let’s go,” he said.
“Let’s?” I asked.
He nodded.
“I’m coming with you,” he said.
We piled into my Jeep with Darren driving. Willa was already nearly asleep when we got home, and I invited him inside. While he waited in the living room, I gave her a bath and carried her into her room. Darren came in and sat with me as I read to her, watching as she fell asleep, then took me by the hand and brought me into the living room. We sat on the couch in silence, aware of everything we needed to say to each other, but not knowing where to start. Right as I was feeling so lost and uncertain about everything I didn’t know what to do next, Darren leaned in to kiss me.
The kiss was soft and sweet, but there was an unavoidable hunger behind it. It was controlled, but desperate, and I knew he was holding back. But I didn’t want to hold back. Not anymore. I leaned into the kiss and he responded, crushing his mouth against mine, his tongue sliding languidly to play with my own. I stood up and he came with me. He reached for me, pulling me close to him, so tight I could feel his breath getting faster and his cock hardening beneath the zipper of his pants. Heat flushed through my core and up my neck, and I pulled him with me so that my back hit the wall. I didn’t care. The force of the smack of my back against the wall only awoke more senses, and I clawed at his shirt.
His lips moved to my neck, and I closed my eyes to focus on the sensation of his full soft lips and five-o’clock shadow brushing my collarbone as he moved down. He pulled up on my shirt, and quickly his hands were underneath, sliding up my sides until they
