She drops her forehead against my chest and groans, then takes a step away from me. “We have responsibilities. I have three weeks left of school. You have to work tomorrow. We can’t just pretend this is how it’s going to be. Some blissful, romantic, whirlwind of a relationship.”
“Who’s pretending?”
She raises an eyebrow like maybe I’m about to freak her out again. I can see her guard going up. I wrap my hand around her wrist and pull her back to me. “You know what?”
“What?”
“I am not your ex.”
“I’m very much aware of that,” she says.
“But just because I haven’t been around for most of your past doesn’t mean I’m not aware of our present. And all the things that might or might not happen in the future. Stop pretending we need to be more responsible than we are just because you’re scared of where this whirlwind takes us.”
“That was deep.”
“I’m trying to be shallow. I don’t want you to think about responsibilities or illnesses or what the rules of relationships should be tonight. I want you to drop your bag, kiss me, and stop worrying so much.” I press my forehead to hers. “Live in the moment, Maggie.”
Her eyes are closed, but I can see the smile spread across her face as she drops her backpack to the floor. “You are so good for me, Jake Griffin. But also kind of bad.” She kisses my chin and then lifts up and kisses me on the mouth. Her arms find the hem of my shirt, and she slips her hands beneath it and slides them up my back.
I help her out of her shirt and then walk her to the bedroom. Counting our one-night stand, this is our fifth time to have sex. I wonder when I’ll stop counting.
We spend the next half hour living in the moment. Me on top, then her, then me again. When the moment is over, I roll onto my back to catch my breath. She lays her head on my chest and moves with my breaths.
God, I could get used to this. I run my fingers through her hair, wondering if we made it official. I don’t think she objected, but she also didn’t agree.
“Maggie?”
She lifts her head and rests her chin on my chest, looking up at me. “Yes?”
“Are we official?”
She nods. “After that round? Very official.”
I smile, but my smile is smacked right off my face when I hear the front door open.
“Dad?”
“Shit!” I roll off the bed and grab my jeans.
Maggie stands up and grabs hers. “What do I do?” she whispers. “Do you want me to hide somewhere?”
I rush to my closet door. “Yeah, hide in here.”
She makes her way to my closet without question. I can’t help but laugh. I grab her wrist right as she reaches the door. “I was kidding, Maggie.” I try to stifle my laughter, but she was really about to hide in the closet. “He already knows about you. Get dressed and come meet him.”
She stares at me a moment, then slaps me in the chest. “Ass.”
I’m still laughing as I grab my shirt from the floor.
“Dad?” Justice calls out.
“Coming!” I say.
When I’m dressed, I give Maggie a quick kiss and then leave her to finish dressing in the bedroom. Justice is standing in the kitchen with his friend Cody.
“What’s up?” I say, as casually as possible.
Justice turns around. “Not much, Dad. What’s up with you?”
I pause. He knows something. He’s smirking.
His friend Cody holds up Maggie’s shirt. “Whose shirt is this?”
They both start laughing. I grab the shirt and walk it back to my bedroom. I open the door and toss Maggie her shirt, then wait for her to put it on. “Thanks,” she says. “I was worried they would see it.”
I fail to tell her they did. She pulls it on and follows me out of the bedroom. When we walk into the kitchen, Cody’s jaw drops when he sees Maggie. He nudges Justice with his elbow.
“Dude,” Cody says to Justice. “Your new stepmom is hot.”
Justice rolls his eyes. “Not awkward at all.”
Maggie just laughs, thank God.
I introduce them. “Maggie, this is my son, Justice.” Justice waves at her. “And his best friend, Cody.”
Maggie smiles at them. “Hi. I’m…not anyone’s stepmom.”
“Even better,” Cody says. I glare at him, and he wipes the smirk off his face.
The microwave dings, and Justice pulls a bag of popcorn out of it. “Mom got called in. She told me to call first and make sure it was okay that I came over.”