I join Alec at Jack’s level. “How are you feeling, buddy?”
His eyes go wide, and he crosses his hands behind his back. “Better now.”
“Mmhmm.” I smile at him, slowly shaking my head.
Jack turns his attention back to Alec. “Wanna see my room?”
Alec bites his lip when his eyes lock with mine. “Would that be okay, Laura?”
Jack interrupts, “Mom, pleeeease?”
Standing back up, I straighten my dress out. “Okay, okay. I’m going to go change. You’ve got five minutes.”
Jack thrusts his hand in the air. “Yes! Come on, Alec!”
Alec stands up next to me, his eyes finding mine. “Thank you.” His gaze drops ever so slightly to my lips, making these damn butterflies flutter again.
“It’s no problem. I’ll be back in a minute.” I point to my bedroom door. “I’ll be right in there if you need me.”
He turns into Jack’s room, whispering under his breath, “I’ll always need you.”
I’m frozen for a second, debating between letting him know that I heard him and letting him have his moment. Going with the latter, I turn toward my room, completely unable to keep the smile off of my face.
When I get into my bathroom, I reach for my makeup wipes, itching to feel the relief of a bare face. I pull the pins out of my hair, letting the loose curls fall around my face.
I stroll to my closet, almost giddy to get into some sweatpants and a T-shirt. Slipping into my favorite pair of gray sweats, I take my bra off and shove my arms into a rugged, oversize Duluth High Greyhounds hockey T-shirt. As of late, this has been the shirt my hands gravitate toward.
Kicking my feet into my little slippers, I head back to Jack’s room. When I open the door to his room, my heart finally bursts. My eyes well up at the perfect sight before me.
Alec is sitting in Jack’s tiny car bed, looking like a Doberman in a Chihuahua’s dog bed. Jack is curled into his side with his head on Alec’s shoulder, fast asleep.
Alec’s hand is calmly rubbing up and down his back, so softly that it looks like he’s barely touching him.
I remember being like that with Jack at first. Being so scared to harm a hair on his head that every move you make is made with the utmost delicacy.
If you had told me a month ago that I would walk into Jack’s bedroom and see Alec holding him, I would have slapped the craziness out of you.
But nothing in the world can compare to the feeling of rightness and the feeling of being whole that this brings.
I whisper to him while making my way to the side of the bed, “Hey.”
His eyes playfully scan my body, making me suddenly nervous if I went a little too comfy with my appearance.
He runs his tongue over his bottom lip before biting it. “You look great. Nice T-shirt, by the way.” Winking at me, he slides Jack off of his shoulder, tucking him underneath the blanket.
Alec remains there for a moment, just looking at Jack. He stretches his hand out and strokes his thumb across Jack’s cheek with the most heartwarming smile on his lips. “Good night, Jack.”
He kicks his legs off the bed and rises to take a step. But when he puts his foot down, he finds a Lego and stumbles forward toward me. His other foot slams into the ground as he falls. I reach my hands out to try to catch him. But he’s a billion times bigger and stronger than me. When his hands find mine, he continues to crash into me, pushing me back.
My fingers are still locked in his when we fall into the wall, our hands pinned above my head, his lips hovering over mine. It takes all but a second for him to recover from our crash.
His warm breath is teasing me, begging me to make a move. I’m breathing heavily, somehow exhausted. More like panting because his face is an inch from mine and he has my hands secured above my head. His forehead slowly rolls onto mine, his breath matching my pace.
“Laura.” His voice is breathy, husky.
Slightly raising my head up, I take a deep breath and step out around him, immediately feeling the loss of his warmth.
I turn back to him with the biggest smirk on my face and whisper, “Come on.”
