A Matter of Trust (16 page)

“
Great. How’d you know we
like that?” Trevor smiled up at him.

“
I guess because I liked
it when I was your age, too.”

“
Most grownups who don’t
have kids make dumb stuff to eat like steak or roast, and they
always have lots of vegetables. You’re pretty smart.”

“
Well, thanks, Trevor.
Come on, let’s go into the living room, and I’ll show you the
movies you have to choose from. Coming, Mom?” Jake looked over his
shoulder at Trish.

“
Right behind you.” Trish
walked into the living room and was surprised to see a tent set up
there. Lexie peeked outside the front flap and smiled up at
her.

“
Look Mommy. Zake has a
tent in here. We should get one, too.”

Trish looked up, her heart warmed at
the extent Jake had gone to in order for the kids to have a fun
time. He smiled smugly at her. “My dad used to do that for Josh and
Callie and I when we were little. I thought they might like it,
too.”

“
I’d say you hit a home
run.” Trish smiled at him again.

“
Come on and help me with
their plates. I’ve got a couple of steaks for us, unless you want a
hot dog, too.”

“
Not that I don’t enjoy a
good hot dog every once in awhile, but steak sounds great. What can
I do to help?” Trish followed Jake into the kitchen.

“
Everything’s ready. You
just have to dish it out. I’m rusty on portion size for
kids.”

Trish fixed the kids’ plates while
Jake fixed theirs. She intended to call the kids to the table,
until Jake explained to her that half the fun of ‘camping out’ was
eating in the tent. She relented after he agreed to let her put
some towels down first.

The kids drew cards for
who got to pick the first movie, and Lexie won. She picked
Madagascar
, and both
kids crawled inside the tent and watched the movie while they ate
their dinner. When it finished, Trish thought they should go home,
but there were so many groans and complaints from the peanut
gallery that she agreed to stay for one more movie, but only after
they’d cleaned up and the kids changed into their pj’s. Trevor
picked
Toy Story
,
an oldie but goodie in his mind.

About thirty minutes into the movie,
Trish started yawning. She hadn’t had much sleep the night before.
Actually, she hadn’t had much sleep in the last few weeks, and she
started losing ground steadily. She sat next to Jake on the couch,
and the kids still watched from inside the tent. She’d seen the
movie so many times, she thought she could probably say all the
lines herself. When the yawns moved into her actually nodding off,
Jake leaned back at an angle and pulled her head down to his chest
and wrapped his arms around her. She was out in sixty seconds flat.
Lexie fell next, followed by Trevor, both still in the tent, and
finally, Jake joined the crowd after pulling a blanket from the
back of the couch and spreading it over them. Somehow, Trish and
Jake ended up horizontal, Trish’s back to his chest, her arms
holding his arms which were wrapped around her.

Just after seven the next morning
Lexie shook her mother awake. Trish woke up all at once and
disoriented, and Jake woke up with her.

“
Good morning, Momma. Good
morning, Zake.” She gave them both the sweetest smile.

“
Good morning, baby. I
guess we all fell asleep, huh?” Trish rubbed at her eyes trying to
wake up.

“
Yep. Trevor’s still
sleeping.”

“
No, I’m not. I’m awake.”
He crawled out of the tent and focused owlish blue eyes the same
color as his mother’s, hair sticking up all over, on his mother
laying in Jakes arms on the couch.

Trish sat up slowly and faced her
kids. “I guess we were all more tired than we thought last night,
huh? Did you two sleep okay?”

“
Let’s get a tent for our
house, Momma.” Lexie jumped up and down excitedly.

“
We’ll see, Lex. Trevor,
did you sleep okay?” Trish watched her son closely.

He shrugged his shoulders and turned
around and headed for the bathroom. Trish felt Jake’s hand squeeze
her neck in support as she got up to follow him. Lexie crawled up
on his lap and kissed his cheek.

“
What kind of ceweal do
you got, Zake?”

“
Let’s go see,
princess.”

****

Trevor walked out of the bathroom and
found his mother waiting for him outside the door.

“
Hey, buddy.”

“
Hey, Mom.”

“
How about my morning
kiss? Don’t worry, no one’s looking.”

“
I don’t care if people
see me kiss you. You’re my mom.”

“
Always will be, son. Are
you upset that we fell asleep here last night? I promise I didn’t
mean to.”

“
That’s okay, mom. I
didn’t mean to either. Are you gonna have a baby now?”

“
What?! What in the world
made you ask me that, son?”

“
A boy in my class at
school said that when grownups sleep together, the mom’s have more
babies. If you have one, can it please be a brother this
time?”

“
Come with me, Trevor.”
She walked him into Jake’s bedroom – nice, peaceful décor done in
greens and browns – and sat down on the bed with her
boy.

“
Trevor, it takes more
than sleeping with someone to make a baby, and no, I’m not going to
have a baby any time soon. Maybe never, I don’t know. What would
you think about that if I did?”

“
Brother or
sister?”

“
Moms don’t get to choose,
sweetie, so it’s the luck of the draw, I’m afraid. No
guarantees.”

“
I don’t know, Mom, I
guess it would be okay, especially if I got a brother. Lexie’s
okay, but it would be more funner to play with a brother. But you
know what I’d rather get?”

“
What, son?”

“
I’d rather get a dad. Is
that bad?”

“
Of course not, honey.
That’s normal. Why would it be bad?”

He shrugged his little boy shoulders
again. “Mom, would you be mad if I told you a secret?”

“
No, son. I would rather
there not be any secrets between us. Will you tell me?”

“
It’s just that I can’t
remember daddy very much anymore. I kind of remember a man being at
our house in Dallas, but I don’t remember what he looked like or
anything else. Grandma Mary says I can’t ever forget my dad, but I
think I did. Mostly.” He’d been looking down the whole time he’d
been talking, and Trish’s heart broke for him.

“
Son, it’s okay if you
can’t remember your dad. You were really, really little, like just
a little older than Lexie when he died. The important thing to
remember is that he loved you very much. Just remember that, and
you’ll be fine. Now, can I ask you a question?”

“
Sure, Mom.”

“
Did it bother you this
morning when you woke up and saw me and Jake on the couch
together?”

Trevor thought about it for a minute.
“I’m not sure, Mom. Can I think about it for awhile?”

“
Absolutely. The only
thing I ask is that you let me know how you feel when you figure it
out. There’s no right or wrong or good or bad answer. Fair enough?”
At his nod, she added, “Can I have my morning kiss now?”

“
Absolutely, Mom.” He
threw himself into his mother’s arms and hugged her
tight.

They joined Lexie and Jake in the
kitchen where they were eating Lucky Charms. Jake looked up at her,
concern clearly written on his face, but she smiled at him, and he
relaxed.

“
How about some cereal,
Buddy?”

“
Sure, Jake. Lexie, stop
picking out all the sugar pieces.”

“
I can if I want to, as
long as I eat the other kind after.”

“
When you’re finished with
your cereal, we need to go home, kids. I promised Gram I’d bring
you over for a visit today, because she misses you.”

Trish met Jake’s eyes over the kids’
heads. He gave her that sexy smile she’d come to appreciate so
much, knowing what they’d be doing while the kids went to see their
grandparents. She smiled right back.

After gathering all their stuff and
cleaning up the breakfast dishes, the kids thanked Jake, and off
they went, still in pajamas. When they got home, Trish moved as
quickly as she could to get the kids and herself dressed and ready
to go out. Anticipation of meeting Jake later made her nearly
frantic. She put on some new sheer, black panties she’d bought the
other day for just such an event. And an event described what Trish
had in mind just fine. She couldn’t remember ever feeling this
level of excitement in her life, and it all centered on the man
awaiting her return.

Trish dropped the kids off at her
parents’ house and told them she had to run some errands and would
be back later. She had to remind herself constantly not to floor
the car on her drive back over to Jake’s place. She pulled into the
driveway, shifting into park before the car had stopped all the
way, and raced to the door. Before she could reach for the
doorknob, the door opened, and Jake reached for her. They wrapped
themselves around each other’s bodies as their mouths fused
together. They started pulling off each other’s clothes before the
door closed, touching, kissing, rubbing, grabbing, and it wasn’t
nearly enough. They couldn’t get enough of each other’s taste or
touch.

They stumbled into the living room as
they continued to undress each other, and they knew right away they
wouldn’t make it any further. Trish tried to kick off her shoes as
Jake pulled down her jeans. As they passed her hips, she tried to
step out of them too soon and would’ve fallen if Jake hadn’t caught
her on her way down. Kicking off his own jeans, he joined her on
the floor and unhooked her bra and tore it off of her, so he could
reacquaint his mouth with her breasts. He went back and forth
between the two of them, apparently unable to decide which one he
wanted more. He had to call it a tie.

Trish reached for his briefs and
started working them down his hips. He groaned when she wrapped her
hand around him and suddenly couldn’t get her panties off fast
enough. He reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out
a black packet and nearly tore right through it when he put it
on.

“
Now, Jake. I want you
inside me now.”

“
That’s exactly where I
want to be, honey. Open for me.”

Trish welcomed his hips between her
own, and he slammed himself home in one quick thrust that sent her
right over the edge to oblivion. He felt her spasm around him and
groaned as he moved faster and harder, never letting up. She could
feel herself building toward another climax immediately. “God,
Jake, don’t stop. Come with me this time, baby. Now!”

In answer to her demand, Jake slammed
inside her two more times and let himself go as she called his name
again. He buried his sweat soaked face into her neck as she wrapped
her arms and legs around him. He didn’t even have the energy to
roll off of her for several moments. Finally, afraid he’d suffocate
her, he rolled to his back, carrying her with him.

“
My God, woman, you’re
going to kill me one of these days. I needed that. You
okay?”

“
Better than okay. That
was great. I thought I’d never get here. Next time, I’m just going
to wear a trench coat or something, and if we’re meeting here
again, I think you should already be naked when you answer the
door.”

Jake chuckled. “We still aren’t likely
to make it to the bedroom. The first time, anyway. Damn, sex is
great with you.”

“
Ummm. Same goes. I’ve
never been this way before. I mean, I like sex as much as the next
person, but jeez, I’ve never been so … frantic for anyone in my
life.”

Jake looked down at her. “It’s the
combo, sweetheart. It’s not just me or just you. It’s us together
that’s so … intense, so … combustible. I’ve never been like this
either. I’ve had my fair share of sex over the years, but Christ, I
feel like a damn teenager around you. I can’t get it enough with
you.”

“
How much do you feel like
a teenager?” Trish lifted up her head and smiled. He grabbed her
hand and pulled it down to his revived erection. “Nice.
Bedroom?”

“
If we can make it this
time.”

It took them a third time to hit the
bed, and they both had rug burns by the time they
finished.

When they finally felt too exhausted
and wrung out – in a good way – to go another round, they lay
entwined in each other’s arms, stroking, holding, kissing each
other. The silence felt peaceful and complete on both sides.
Finally, Jake broke the silence.

“
So, what happened with
Trevor this morning? Is he upset?”

“
He’s not sure. He’s going
to think about it for awhile and get back to me. I think he’ll be
okay. He asked me if I was going to have a baby since we slept
together last night. I didn’t get into particulars, but I assured
him that wasn’t part of the plan at this time.”