Page 98 of Ugly Duckling
Awesome.
“We had a little Beanie Weenie arrive while we were sleeping.” I paused. “I need to borrow one of your shirts.”
His eyes trailed over my bare arms before he said, “I’ll get one.”
He got up and stretched his arms high over his head, the muscles in his back, arms, and thighs rippling as he did.
“Daddy has no pants!”
I giggled. “Daddy, you better put some pants on.”
He had on underwear, but apparently that wasn’t enough clothing for Lottie.
He reached down to the end of the bed and snatched up a pair of gray sweatpants.
He slipped them on and turned enough that I could see his obliques.
Oh, yum.
“Let me run to the bathroom, and then I’ll take her. You can get dressed then.”
It took him a few minutes, and while he was getting ready, I asked Lottie how her trip was.
There were lots of fish, dogs, and rocks involved.
“I got you rocks!”
“You did?” I gasped. “What kind?”
She took off, and I used her time away to slip into the t-shirt at the end of the bed.
A black t-shirt with Angel Security on the left breast pocket engulfed me, but I didn’t care. Especially not since the t-shirt smelled like Gunner.
He came out of the bathroom at the same time that Lottie came in carrying a freakin’ boulder with her.
“Hereeee!”
Gunner stopped just in time to narrowly miss that same boulder hitting his toes.
As it was, it dug a huge divot into the wood floors a foot from his feet.
“Wow,” Gunner drawled. “That’s a big rock.”
“It’s so pwetty!”
It was actually one of the ugliest rocks that I’d laid eyes on, but it was beautiful because Lottie had picked it out for us.
“I can see that.” He dropped down onto his haunches. “Give me a hug, Beanie Weenie.”
She gave the best hugs.
I was actually slightly jealous, so I crawled out of bed and hobbled toward them before throwing my arms into the mix.
Gunner lifted one arm from around Lottie and threw it around me, pulling us both just a little bit closer.
“Love you,” he whispered.
And since I didn’t know if he had said it to me or Lottie, I didn’t say it back.
