Since there was nothing that I could do to fix how I was feeling about it all, I decided that when we got home, I was going to finally thank Hal properly. We’d had some fun here or there at the hospital, but we still hadn’t been together all the way and I think both of us were ready. The drive home was so quiet, and I knew it was that way because there was nothing that could be said. We both knew what was going to happen next. I just had to figure out a way to make it all work. I didn’t know how I was going to get that to happen. It didn’t feel like this was ever going to be normal. The baby was sleeping in the backseat, finally ready to come home and there was a thick tension between us.
When we got home, neither one of us said a word as we got Amelia out and got inside without disturbing her. I think both of us had something else on our minds, and I wondered how it was all going to work out. I knew what I wanted, but Hal wasn’t meeting my eyes. He was looking down, around, anywhere but at me, so that we could have a conversation.
“I think I am going to go take a shower,” I started. I was hoping that he would jump in and say what it was that he wanted to do too. I knew that he wanted to come with me, he had that look on his face. He did say that he wanted it to be on the bed, but I was thinking that having him inside of me as he jammed me up against a wall wasn’t too bad of a thought either. It was a pleasant memory in my mind that I didn’t want to get out of there. I was sure that Hal would see through it all if he just paid attention for a moment. I needed him and by the look of things, he needed me as well.
When he didn’t offer to come in there with me, I felt like I was losing another battle. I looked to where Amelia was in her crib sound asleep, and I started to shed my clothes as I went toward the bathroom. He could act all he wanted, but I didn’t have to look behind me to know that he was following me. I bet he would be hard too, if I was able to check.
Hal’s blue eyes were now the stormy color that I liked so much. He was slacked jaw and had the hottest curve to his lips. I didn’t have to say a word to him, I knew what was on his mind. It was good to have a man that was always ready for more. He just couldn’t seem to get enough of it, and he was likely ready for his turn of pleasure.
When I got into the bathroom, I didn’t have any clothes on, leaving a trail of clothes behind that seemed to be forgotten in moments. Hal was starting to jerk his clothes off when I turned around to start the shower. I bent over so that I could start the water, and his hands were on my waist, and he was pulling me into him. This was our place, our best hidden world in the shower. I turned around in his arms and he kissed me. It was hot, his lips insistent, and his body was pushed against mine. Every part of him was on fire and hard. I felt myself getting breathless, and I knew that it was because I was too worked up to do anything else.
I wanted to slow him down, tell him that we had all this time and didn’t have to rush. That wasn’t true though. Amelia would wake up at any time and our fun would be over. The quick pace that the set was one of need and even though I was shaking because of it, I knew that there was nothing else that I wanted to do more than that.
Hal must have felt the desire that rose up in me. He seemed to know what I was feeling, even when I didn’t know it myself. It was annoying to say the least, but I did the best I could to make sure that I wasn’t too affected by it. He wanted to make me crazy. That had to be what it was and honestly, he was doing a damn good job of it. I was feeling pretty damn crazy in the moment.
Once I was in his arms, my grip around his neck secure, I melted back against his body and that was probably the best feeling that I could have had. I wanted to say something to him, encourage him, anything, but I was lost in the moment. I closed my eyes as he lined me up and slowly pierced his way in. I was sure that Hal was going to be quick, but he was tantalizingly slow, not stopping until he was so deep inside. I called out when he was so deep, rooting in harder like he was going to get more from it. I was amazed by the guy; Hal was something else.
“You can’t know how long I’ve been waiting to be inside of you, Marilyn. I thought for a while there that it might not happen again.”
I knew that it would have happened, no matter what we did. That’s how fate worked. “I can’t deny my feelings for you, Hal, I never have been able to. If there was ever a chance, I would always choose us.” I admitted that, just because I wanted him to know that with great power came great responsibility. I didn’t want to be broken by him, so I wanted him to tread lightly.
He nodded his head like he understood, and I was just happy that he seemed to be taking it seriously. I knew that I couldn’t stand to be dumped or left by him for the third time. My heart would not be able to take it.
When Hal got fully inside of me, my head fell back to the cool tile wall, and I was in heaven. It had been a long time since we’d been together in all ways, and it was just as good as I remembered. That was saying something, because I remembered it being beyond perfect. It still was.
“You cannot imagine how good you feel,” Hal whispered in my ear as he pulled out slow and back in fast. It would make me breathless and pull me towards the edge. Every time I was close to finishing, he would stay in and rotate his hips around. He prolonged my pleasure for a long time. I was hanging on with just my nails.
He made love to me slowly, moving me in different positions and finally finishing off as he bit my neck from behind. Every moment was perfect, and I just couldn’t help how good it felt with him. He was amazing and I was practically limp when he carried me to the bedroom. I was asleep without even getting dressed.
Later, I got up and I saw Hal come in with Amelia. She was hungry and fussing, but it was music to my ears. Hal said he tried to let me sleep more, but Amelia was insistent. “She may look like me, but she has your temper if she doesn’t get her way.”
I frowned at his answer, I couldn’t believe he said that. It was a shame that he was right. I knew that she had a temper. I had seen her turn red faced when she wasn’t fed quick enough in the hospital. I didn’t like to admit to my moods, but he was right. Hal knew me better than probably anyone else did. Knowing Hal was like knowing myself.
I got a kiss before I took the baby and held her. She was fussy, but once I had her in my hands, she settled down, knowing that all she wanted was coming. It was the same relief that I felt, knowing she was finally home with us. “I can’t believe that we are finally back home. I didn’t think we were ever going to leave the hospital.”
Hal agreed, saying that he was happy to be back home with his family. I liked the way he said it and it made me smile to hear his words. This was what we were, family, and I was convinced that it was too perfect. When Hal casually looked over and said something offhanded about marriage, I ignored him because I was sure that he was just saying those things. It wasn’t hard at all to think about it, but I wasn’t sure that he was serious. When I realized he was, my heart was thumping in my chest.
“You want to marry me?”
He sighed. “I have wanted to marry you for a long time, Marilyn.”
I had something wrong with that statement, but now wasn’t the time. It was serious, he wanted to marry me, and so help me, I wanted to marry him. It was clear to me that no matter what happened next, I was going to say yes. There was no way that I could deny Hal. I loved him and I would say yes to anything that he said. I also liked the idea that once we were married, he couldn’t run off for my “best interest” anymore. Then again, I looked at our daughter and realized that he wouldn’t. He was in it now with us, no matter if he liked it or not.
I gave him his answer and he gave me the deepest kiss that I’d ever received. I would have melted against him if I wasn’t already lying down. I was never going to get sick of the feeling he gave me when we were together. It was just pure butterflies.
Amelia fussed when she wasn’t in my arms right away and I took her from him. I thought that I might cry from happiness, but our daughter wasn’t going to let that happen. She was so joyful that I couldn’t help melting slightly. I held her to my chest and told him that I was so happy that we were all home together. No matter what happened next, we were altogether and that was all that mattered.
The three of us spent the day together and about naptime, I was already exhausted. It was a lot different than being in the hospital all that time that we were. Hal acted like everything was going to be perfect between us. It felt like it was. Once Amelia was down for a nap in the living room, I went to the bedroom to lay down. I called Hal when I knew that he was close by. He came into the room with a smile on his face and his eyes darkened as soon as he saw me.
“What are you doing? I thought we were going to paint.”
I nodded my head that we would paint, but I wanted to have some fun first. Didn’t he? It was clear that he wanted to do something, because he was quickly getting naked like I was. His eyes were glowing with desire and so help me, it was one of the hottest things I’d seen in a long time.
Hal was all muscles and scars. He had the few on his face, but his chest was covered. I had hated to see it in the beginning, knowing how much it had hurt, but I was used to it now. It was just a part of him that made him different than all the rest. Hal had gone off to war and changed, but I still loved him just as much as the perfect man that had left. He was still the same guy, and it was who I loved. I hoped that Hal would someday see how much he meant to me.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Hal asked. He was self-conscious for a moment, but I told him that he looked really good. It was even better when he climbed on top of me. I loved the weight of his body settling over me, even the tiny bit that he let touch me. “Proper bedtime?” I asked with hope.
He shook his head and kissed me like I was ridiculous. Likely I was, but it was all I needed as an answer. My legs opened up to him as he covered me and with little notice, Hal was sliding in with a jerk. I called out and he shushed me, reminding me that we didn’t want to wake anyone up. I didn’t want to think about it that way, but he was right. I tried to keep it in, but damn if it didn’t feel so good.