I hurried into the bathroom and did the necessaries, stepping into some slippers on the way out of my room. Downstairs, Maddie was obediently seated at the kitchen bar, a big smile on her face and a coloring book in front of her.
“I brushed my teeth,” she said, flashing me her pearly whites.
“You know, you can be downright angelic when there are pancakes on the line.”
She smiled one more time before going back to her coloring. I ran my hand through my hair, then started gathering the ingredients, taking the eggs, milk, and butter out of the fridge, then grabbing the batter and syrup.
“Want to go to the store today, kiddo? Pantry’s looking a little bare.”
“Can we get fish sticks for tonight?”
“How about this—we’ll get fish sticks but do them tomorrow. We had pizza last night, remember? How about we have a home-cooked meal tonight?”
“OK,” she acquiesced and went back once more to her coloring. “Can you make one big one?” she asked. “How I like?”
“Like you’d even need to ask.”
I went to work, clicking on the little flatscreen TV in the kitchen and turning the channel to the cute children’s showDaniel Tiger. Maddie got right into it as she always did, smiling happily along with the program and singing the little songs. I made some banana pancakes for her, asking her what she wanted to do during the day ahead.
I knew the right answer was to continue to unpack. After a day of moving, however, along with the bed assemblies that took place after, going through more boxes was the last thing I wanted to do. I thought about Valentino’s words, and how he said he had his place unpacked and set up by the time the weekend was over. How he’d done that, I had no idea—his house was easily twice as big as mine.
“Here you go, kiddo, one gigantic pancake.” I placed the plate in front of her, dripping on some butter and syrup.
Her eyes lit up as she picked up her personalized knife and fork set and eagerly went to work. I felt better after getting a full-night’s sleep, but as I sipped my coffee, I realized how freaking gross I felt, like I was caked in a layer of dirt and grime. It made sense that I felt that way—I’d spent the day carrying boxes across the house and by the time I’d tucked Maddie in, I’d been too tired to do anything but crash.
I needed a shower like nothing else.
“Hey, Mads? Mom’s going to go up and take a quick shower, OK?”
“OK.”
“You know what that means, right? Stay in the house, and don’t go outside.”
“Can we go to the dog park today?”
I couldn’t help but laugh at Maddie’s one-track mind. “Here’s the deal—we can go to the dog park if you behave while I’m in the shower and don’t make a fuss about getting ready for the day, OK?”
Her mouth full of pancake, she gave me a thumbs-up.
I took one more look around the kitchen to make sure it was safe-proofed for a four-year-old, then headed upstairs. The true extent of how grimy and gross I felt hit me as soon as I entered my ensuite bathroom, and I made a mental note to change the sheets on my bed before the end of the day.
I stripped off my clothes, turned on the shower and stuck my hand under the water. A big, stupid smile spread across my face at how fast the water turned hot and the strength of the water pressure. I hadn’t been in the house a full weekend yet, and I was already wondering how the hell I’d managed to stay so long in the tiny, cramped apartment I’d moved from.
I stepped under the water, a sigh of pleasure escaping from me as the heat and pressure did its thing. The dirt and sweat and grime melted away, my muscles crying out in relief as the water cascaded over me.
It feltsogood. So good, in fact, that I found my thoughts drifting, turning to the handsome man who lived next door. It was all so crazy. He’d reminded me what I’d written in that note I’d left him, all those years ago, how I’d said that we’d meet again if the universe brought us back together.
Well, what the hell was going on if not that? I’d bought a new house, ready to start a new life, and low and behold who ends up being my new neighbor other than the father of my daughter? The universe hadn’t just brought us back together, it’d put a big, flashing neon sign over top of us that said, “now’s the time, idiots!”
The issue was far more complicated, however. Instead of lingering on that, I decided to focus on other, morevivid memories of that day we’d spent together. I found myself thinking of the way his big, rough hands felt on my body, the way his muscles flexed and tensed as he thrust into me over and over. I remembered the way he shuddered as he released inside of me, the powerful grunt that blasted from his lungs as his cock pulsed deep within my pussy.
My hand drifted down, over my belly. I closed my eyes and licked my lips, wanting desperately to pleasure myself to the memory of his touch.
Inside of the walls, one of the pipes lurched, the sound brief but enough to jolt me back into the moment. I looked around, listening a few seconds longer. I didn’t hear Maddie or any other sounds, so I was fairly certain she hadn’t been scared by the noise, if she even heard it. Maddie was good about not wandering off or getting into trouble when I was in the bathroom, but all the same it felt terribly irresponsible to leave her alone while I took care of things.
More than that, it wasn’t uncommon for her to wander into the bathroom while I was in there. Didn’t happen every time, of course, but often enough that I noticed when it didn’t.
I sighed as I turned off the shower and stepped out, wrapping a towel around my body. I didn’t want to spend the full amount of time it would take to do my hair, so I gave it a quick towel dry before running a comb through it.
