Chapter 22
Pitfalls of Parenting
Noah
I pulled up the shared drive at my place and glanced over at Jules once I’d parked. She was out cold. Her laptop was open on her lap and tilted to the side where it met the door. Her black leggings let me check out her curves easily, and her baggy top wouldn’t be listed on my favorite things except it dropped off one shoulder, highlighting her sports bra or tank below, I wasn’t sure, but I’d be happy to find out.
I fought brushing a tendril of her hair behind her ear because she was zonked out and I didn’t want to startle her. I wouldn’t mention it to her, but her mouth had dropped open while she slept and her head was back against the headrest. You’d think she was the one who’d stayed up late last night instead of me, though I didn’t think her sleep was the most restful, she’d tossed and turned a lot. I fucking loved that I knew that, which both frightened and excited me.
I leaned over and squeezed her arm. “Wake up, Sleeping Beauty.”
She blinked slowly a few times, then rolled her head to the side and looked at me. “Was I sleeping with my mouth open?” she whispered.
Well, she asked, and I was not one to lie. I nodded, which only served to make her drop her head back and groan as she covered her face.
“Oh no, that’s so unattractive.” Then she sat up straight and looked at me with more than a little horror on her face. “Was I… snoring?” she whispered the last word.
I fought back a laugh. She was so damn adorable. “Umm, can I plead the fifth?”
“Oh. My. Goddess. That’s mortifying.” Her head went back again, and her hands covered her face once more. Her muffled voice was just audible when I heard her horrified “Jesus, did I drool?” followed by a quick patting of her mouth and lower face before letting out a quietphewwhen she found it dry.
I leaned over and attempted to pull her hands down before she could continue her spiral. “Hey, Jules.”
She started shaking her head and speaking to the ceiling. “No, no. I’m not looking at you. You’re not going to try to convince me that I look fine when everyone knows how ridiculous people look with their mouth wide open as they sleep. Get out of here with those magical blue eyes. I’m just crawling home and will never be seen again.” She made a shooing motion, eyes still firmly locked on the ceiling. “You can go in your house now. I’ll disappear through the backyard after you’re gone.”
Did I want to laugh at her ridiculousness? Yes. But did I think she believed what she was saying? Also yes. The notion that Jules thought I found her unattractive even for the hottest of minutes was ludicrous.
I ran a finger up her thigh as I began. “Jules, you are absolutely the sexiest person I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching sleep.”
She peeked at me with an impressive side-eye. “That sounds a bit creepy.”
I laughed. She was loosening up again. Time to hit her with some more honesty. “Be that as it may, it also happens to be the truth. Sleeping or not. Mouth wide open or not. Snoring or not. You are gorgeous, and I’d love nothing more than to take you up to my bedroom right now and show you how attracted I am to you.”
She sat all the way up and looked at me with a wide smile, all embarrassment melted away. “I volunteer as tribute.” She raised three fingers in salute.
“Okay, Katniss.” I leaned forward and brushed my mouth against hers. “Let’s head in.”
She gave me a promising grin full of sass as she proceeded to give me shit. “So I get to see more of your place than the front room. Tell me, is it a true single-dad version of a bachelor pad?” She arched a brow. “Or, fess up, is your television the size of a small vehicle? Do you have more than condiments in your fridge?”
“Does your writing brain always seek out this much detail when there is an easy way to find your answers?” I turned to get out of the car, choosing not to answer this woman, whom I was growing more attracted to by the minute. Her mind fascinated me. “I guess you’ll have to find out.”
Jules laughed. “Yeah, I guess my mind is constantly spinning a narrative. I think surroundings tell their own story… Well, and…”
I glanced over to see a flush across her cheeks. “And…”
She wrinkled her adorable nose, which was dotted with a few freckles here and there. “And I’m a bit nosy?” She shrugged as I pulled our bags from the back, then we headed to the back door.
“Would you be Lou’s niece if you weren’t?” I pointed out.
“Truth. And my mom’s no slouch.”
Hmm. Jules and I had only touched on her relationships with her parents. I wondered about them. I knew Lou was her mom’solder sister, but what was her relationship like with her mom and dad? All I had really been told was that she hadn’t shared she was a writer with them yet, they were flighty, her mom was dramatic, and they lived in an RV. Did they get along and she’d just neglected to share more in fear it would make me feel worse about my relationship with my own? I felt like whatever we had blossoming between us had been a lot about me because of the circumstances, but I wanted to be there for Jules too. I just needed to figure out how to do that because I sure as fuck wasn’t a relationship expert.
Jules was behind me as I unlocked the door. I ushered her in and pulled the door shut, wondering if it was a bit too much just to have sex right inside the front door. I thought I had enough willpower to get us to the bedroom, but in all honesty, I might not. We’d only had sex once, and I felt like we had lots of time to make up for.
I had just begun to set our bags down while telling myself to be patient and at least let her see the rooms on the first floor before attacking her, but then the familiar sound of small footsteps coming from the direction of the kitchen caught my attention. Looking up, I saw Addie in all her rainbow-colored-clothes glory headed my way at a trot, her pink tutu billowing out as she moved.
“Surprise, Daddy!” My daughter hit me with a leap. Luckily, I was able to quickly get my brain around what was happening and dropped our bags to catch her on the fly.
