I’ve got an urge to yank her shorts down and plow inside her while she’s pressed against a brick wall, cover her mouth with my palm so nobody hears her when she screams my name.
But it’s Friday morning in downtown Vancouver. Patios overflow with people enjoying their breakfast beneath the early July sun, tourists on bikes here to see everything the city has to offer. A horny couple fucking in an alley is likely not the sightseeing they’re after.
“It was your idea,” I remind Jennie. “Let’s go for one last run in our neighborhood,” I mimic, then squeal when she lands a punch on my shoulder. “Hey! Aggressive hands get tied up.”
“I’m well aware, Garrett.” She twists my way and pouts, and I know what’s coming. “One last iced coffee at our local Starbucks?”
She’s been doing this for the last two weeks as an excuse to get whatever she wants. One last ice cream cone, one last trip to Udupi Palace, one last stroll through Stanley Park. She gives me that pouty face, bottom lip sticking way out, fists curled under her chin, and five minutes later we’re riding the elevator down so we can go wherever she wants.
I slow to a walk and tug Jennie into me so I can steal her breath right from her mouth. “You know we’re only moving twenty minutes away to North Vancouver, not leaving the country, right?”
Her tongue slides against mine, a slow lap as she sinks into me, hands buried in the hair at my nape. “One last caramel Frappuccino,” she whispers against my lips.
I clap my palm to her ass, not at all caring that we’re out in public, that I’ve heard my name whispered at least three times in the last five minutes, and Jennie’s too. Everyone lost their minds the first time I walked up to Jennie after exiting the change room and kissed her in front of a horde of reporters, and her brother.
To be fair, we’d just won the first round of the play-offs. I deserved to kiss her. It was the same when we lost in the third round, when all I wanted to do was lay my head on her shoulder and hold her.
To be honest, though, I was happy to start my summer with Jennie. Carter was happy to be home with his wife and daughter.
Jennie and I stroll down the street with our frozen drinks, fingers tangled together, and I smile as she hums happily around her straw. I’m so fucking happy her box of dildos exploded in my face. If it weren’t for all the sexual tension it brought, my nickname for her might still be nothing but ironic, instead of so utterly genuine.
If Jennie were a color, she’d be the most vibrant shade of yellow. She’s literal sunshine in human form. I don’t care if I’ve said it a thousand times; I’m going to say it for the rest of my life.
I tug on her hand when she tries to head right, pulling her straight instead. “This way.”
“But the condo—”
“I wanna show you something.” I press my lips to hers the second she opens her mouth to argue with me, to tell me that we need to be at our new place with the moving truck in an hour and a half. “We’ll be quick.” At the disbelieving expression she wears, the one that reminds me I’m never, ever quick, I laugh. “C’mon, Jennie. Humor me.”
With a wary sigh, she tucks her hand back into mine.
Her suspicious gaze coasts my way twelve times over the remaining four minutes of our walk, and when we stop in front of a small storefront space with sprawling windows, her nose scrunches in confusion.
“What is this place?” she asks as I unlock the glass door. “And why do you have a key?”
I usher her inside, past the front desk and into the open space behind it, watching as she twirls around the room.
“It used to be a yoga studio,” I tell her.
I move behind her as she stops in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirrors. Her eyes meet mine in the reflection, tongue gliding slowly across her lower lip before she swallows, as if she already knows the answer to the question she’s about to ask.
“And now?”
“Now it’s a dance studio.”
“Garrett,” she gasps. “You didn’t.”
“I did.” My chin hits her shoulder as I hug her to me. “I love you, Jennie. You’ve worked your ass off your entire life, and now you’re doing your business classes. You’re determined to make your dream a reality. You deserve this, and I’d be honored to be a part of this next step in your life.”
Her nose wrinkles as she fights off the tears I knew would come. I love her soft, vulnerable bits just as much as her bold and sassy ones. “You did this for me?”
“I’d do anything for you, sunshine.”
A lone tear escapes, tracking a path down her cheek, and I press my lips to it.
“Thank you for making my second most important dream come true.”
“What was your first?”
She turns and takes my face in her hands, eyes gleaming with tenderness. She sweeps a soft kiss across my lips.
“You.”
“Mine’s bigger.”
“No it’s not.”
“Yeah it is.”
“No it’s not.”
“Yeah it is.”
“Holy fuck.” Adam pushes between me and Carter, a large box in his arms. “Are we comparing houses or dicks? Nobody gives a fuck. They’re both mini-mansions.”
Carter gasps. “Mini? My house?” He sweeps his arms out, gesturing around mine and Jennie’s new house. “I mean, this. This is mini. Mine is huge. Huge like my—”
“Ego,” I finish for him.
Olivia steps inside, fist bumping me. “It’s beautiful. Even Carter said so last week after doing the final walk-through with you guys.” She unstraps the carrier she’s wearing and hoists Ireland off her chest. “Want your Uncle Garrett snuggles?”
“Yes, she does,” I coo, scooping the most beautiful little lady into my arms. Her wide green eyes peer up at me as she giggles, then promptly stuffs her entire fist into her mouth, drool dribbling down her chin. I kiss her fluffy, dark curls. “How’s my princess?”
She’s got a pink barrette in her hair, a sparkling sunshine set on the end of it, and her onesie says I’m cute, Mom’s hot, Dad’s lucky. I know for a fact Carter bought this. Ninety-nine percent of her outfits have some form of the word dad on them. And he’s been essentially rotating between his DILF shirt and another that says Girl Dad.
“Is your daddy driving you nuts?” I twist out of Carter’s reach as we bounce around my kitchen. “Do you wanna have a sleepover with Auntie Jennie and Uncle Gare to get away from him?”
Carter scoffs. “Please. She’s obsessed with me.” He reaches toward us, making grabby hands. “Lemme take her.”
“No. She likes me.” My sweet girl grabs a fistful of hair at the nape of my neck, before laying her cheek on my shoulder, still munching away on her fingers. I smile triumphantly. “See? She doesn’t want you.”
Carter frowns. “But I’m her daddy.”
“Are you? How do I know for sure? You’re not wearing any of your dad shirts.”
Jennie snickers, walking by with a box labeled kitchen. She sets it down and plants a smooch on Ireland’s cheek and my lips.