Page 194 of Small Town Firsts

She looks at me like I’m spouting off complex math equations in Mandarin. “Remembered what?”

“That night. Us. Together.”

“I’m sorry. But, what?” She shakes her head. “Alden, I’m not following.”

Oh, Jesus. I’m going to really have to spell this out for her. “I…ahem. I was taking care of business, and there’s always been this one fantasy I would play in my head.”Kill me now, I just admitted to jerking off to her foryears.“But tonight…tonight was different. Tonight, I realized it was a memory.”

Realization dawns. “Are…are you sure?” she whispers, her voice hoarse.

“About ninety percent. I was hoping you could clear it up for me.”

She nods, unshed tears glistening in her eyes.

I go through my fantasy with her, as painful as it is, and by the time I’m finished, she’s all-out sobbing. “Nat, are you okay?”

She flings off the blanket and crawls to me, wrapping herself around me. Her tears are cool on my overheated skin. “You re-remember.” The words are soft and broken sounding. Right here, in this moment, the weight of her relief is palpable.

“I do,” I murmur, kissing away her tears.

We sit just like that, with her quietly weeping while I rock her and whisper sweet nothings into her ear. Finally, she calms andpulls back, and I wipe the moisture from beneath my own eyes…what the hell? When did I start crying?

I’m scared she’s going to vacate my lap, but she snuggles into me deeper and asks, “What now?”

We both do our best to ignore the way my untimely erection is pressing into her, begging for the release he’s twice been denied today. “This might sound crazy, but I want to give us a chance. I don’t care how it complicates things. I want you, and I think you want me too.”

“Wh-what?”

“Me. You. Together.”

It’s kind of cute the way her brain isn’t processing what I’m saying. “Like together? For real?”

“Yeah, Small Fry, for real. I think we’d be doing us—and Tatum—a disservice not to see where things go. I’ve always been attracted to you, long before it was socially or morally acceptable. I want to try and see if things will be as good between us in real life as they are in my head.”

“I…Yes,” she breathes out the word on a shaky exhale. I lean in for a kiss, but she pulls away. “But, we need to tread carefully. Because as amazing as thiscouldbe, there’s also the potential for it to end horribly—and we’ll still have to co-parent, even if things go south. We don’t need to get Tatum’s hopes up until we know for sure.”

Here she is, once again, showing me what an amazing mother she is to our girl. Even now—especially now—she’s putting her first. “Agreed. We play it casual when Tatum’s around. But, Nat, I’m not holding back.”

“Okay.” Her voice is soft and breathless—a direct line to below my belt.

“We’re gonna do this right. I know we’re all kinds of out-of-order, but I want to date you. To woo you.”

“Th-that sounds good.” She sounds overwhelmed, in the best possible way and I love it.

“But, there’s something I gotta do first.”

“Wha—” I swallow her words with a kiss, molding my lips to hers, my tongue demanding entry, which she immediately allows. I taste and savor her, drinking down the soft noises she makes like a sweet nectar. Her hips begin to shift restlessly, signaling to me that it’s time for me to pull away.

Which I do, much to her and my dick’s dismay. The little wanton moan she gives as she chases my lips makes me feel like I’m on top of the fucking world. “Dream of me, Small Fry,” I say, brushing my mouth against hers once more before retreating back to my bedroom.

CHAPTER 35

NATALIE

You knowwhen something seems too good to be true, and you have to pinch yourself to make sure you’re not dreaming? This is totally one of those moments. Using the nails of my thumb and index finger, I squeeze at the skin of my thigh. “Ouch!” Definitely not dreaming then, and yet all of my dreams are coming true.

I quickly set an alarm on my phone to make sure I’m up before Tatum. The last thing I want is for her to wake up scared. I grab my spare charger from my bag and plug my phone in.

I toss and turn for a few minutes, unable to find sleep. Restless and overly excited, I slide out of my bed and creep down the hall to check on my sweet girl. I’m relieved to find her curled up in a ball and snoring like an old man.

---