Page 9 of Merrick
I join in with her laughter, but I notice that she doesn’t say that she’s opposed to the idea.
Jemma opens up about her life as a single mom and how she worries about Mattie.
“I feel like I’ve failed him because he doesn’t have a dad to be there for him. Because I chose the wrong guy, he has to be punished for it.”
She's able to hold back the tears, but I can hear the emotion in her voice. I reach across the table and take her hand in mine.
“You have the best kid,” I tell her. “And that’s a testament to the fact that you are an amazing mother. Two parents don’t guarantee anything for a kid. I had two parents, and they could barely bother to do the bare minimum. You think he's missing out because his life is different from how you grew up with two parents. He's only known you, andthat’sthe norm for him. Plus, he’s got Aaron to step in when he needs a male role model.”
I want to add me too, but I’m not presumptuous enough to think that she’s ready for that just yet.
"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. I know that if Mattie were here, he'd agree with me."
She smiles at his name. “He looks up to you too. You should hear him talk about you at home. ‘Merrick said this, and Merrick said that.’”
I feel a warm feeling grow in my chest. I think that Mattie is a great kid, and if I even played the tiniest part in helping form who he's become, that's the best thing she could have said to me.
“Are you both finished?” The waiter asks.
We both look down at our empty plates. I don't even remember ordering or eating. It's hard to focus on anything else when I'm with Jemma. She takes up all the space in the room for me, and I don’t see anyone or anything else.
I pay for the meal, ignoring Jemma’s attempt to try and grab the bill. I’m not an old-fashioned guy, but there a certain old-fashioned norms that I won’t give up. We walk out to the truck, and I open the door for her.
I’m not afraid to take her hand in mine as I pull out and head back towards Knight’s Ridge. Jemma has other ideas and scoots over across my old truck's bench seat and tucks herself into my side. I loop my arm over her shoulder.
“I’m not sure if it’s the wine I had or the scent of her your aftershave but—”
I look down at her to check why she stopped talking when I feel her hand smooth over my jean covered thigh. My body instantly reacts, and my foot hits the accelerator.
“You are playing a dangerous game doing that to me right now,” I say.
“Really?” Her hand moves up my inner thigh and over the hard bulge of my cock straining against my jeans.
“Oh fuck,” I groan, and the truck swerves a bit, but I steady it quickly. “You need to sit on your side and buckle your seat belt,” I bark.
She bites her finger seductively but does what I told her to do.
Once I hear the click of her seatbelt, I push my foot down on the accelerator. I can’t get us back up the mountain fast enough.
