Page 108 of Enough
“I want to take you right here on the kitchen counter,” he whispers again as I stare at the kids and my eyes roll back in desire.
“I want to take you in my mouth and taste you,” I hush back.
“Oh fuck, baby. I want to lick every inch of your delicious body and make you come with my tongue.”
I push back forcibly to nudge him away. “Kids!” I half shout, half whisper. He immediately backs away and grabs a dish to dry with a towel. They burst through the door and don’t seem to notice anything different about us as they beg Nick to come back outside with them.
“Only if your mom comes too,” he says with a small wink, and my insides clench at the hidden meaning in his eyes.
I drop my towel and we kick the ball between us until it’s so dark, we can no longer see. We scatter into the house and I bring out the cookies I made for dessert. Marlow gazes between us intently, and I have a gnawing feeling she’s about to say something. I’m right.
“Are you going to marry my mom?” she questions.
Kale’s mouth falls to the floor almost as quickly as mine does. Nick shifts his posture and his eyes lift to mine for some clue as to how he should respond.
Kale notices the exchange and speaks before Nick or I can form a coherent thought. “Are you guys together?” he asks with distress.
“Hey… let’s sit down at the table. Can we do that?” Nick asks.
Kale nods and Marlow is the first to take a seat closest to Nick. Although I practiced what I would say and how I might tell them, the shock of Marlow’s words and Kale’s reaction leaves me speechless and distraught.
“Do either of you know what I do for a living?” he asks.
“Do you play soccer?” Kale asks.
“I used to play in college, but I hurt my knee and had to quit at the end of senior year.”
Another thing I don’t know about him, I think to myself.
“I play soccer for fun now. My real job is being an attorney. Do you know what an attorney does?”
“Is an attorney the same as a lawyer?” Kale asks.
“Yes it is,” Nick says with a smile. Kale seems to appreciate being right.
“What’s an attorney do?” Marlow asks.
“Good question…” Nick intertwines his fingers and sits up a little straighter in his seat. “Attorneys handle legal matters for people. There are all different types of lawyers. Some put bad guys away…”
“And some get them out,” Kale adds. “Is that what you do?”
“No, my job is contract negotiations. I travel to different businesses and help them put legal contracts together for their companies.”
“Sounds boring…” Marlow says as she leans on her hand.
“Marlow…” I admonish.
Nick laughs. “It can be. But most of the time I sit and listen. I listen to what my clients want and I listen to what their associates don’t want.”
“What’s that have to do with us?” Kale asks.
“Well, I was hoping we could talk about this like I might if I were negotiating a contract. I want to hear what you have to say and then I hope you’ll hear what your mom and I have to say. Sound fair?”
Kale and Marlow glance between them and Marlow yawns. “Okay. I don’t like it,” Kale begins.
“What don’t you like?” I ask him.
“I don’t like the idea of you marrying Nick.”
