"You've put up with a lot from us this month," I said. "You didn't ask for all of this but you've taken us in and looked after us like he's family."
"Because you are family," she said simply. "You and Percy, you're family. You're always welcome here. Even if things change for us, nothing will change that."
I leaned back against the sink, my hands curled around the cool stone. "I know we're pretending that Percy and I aren't leaving in a few days for the custody hearing but it's going to happen whether we look it in the eye or not."
She nodded. "Yeah. I know."
"You didn't go looking for any of this," I said. "Me, my kid, my never-ending custody story. In fact, you were very clear about helping me with one specific matter and then permanently excusing yourself from my life."
"That was true. At one point."
"It's not true anymore?"
"I think we can agree that a lot of things have changed along the way."
"Tell me what's changed," I said.
She rounded the kitchen island and stopped right in front of me. With her hands on her hips, she said, "You already know everything has changed. There's no need to make a list. We just need to decide where we go next."
"Where do we go next?" I asked. "I'm not sure how to answer that, Audrey. Should I tell you that I've spent the past few weeks debating whether to quietly sell my place and hope you never notice that we've moved in? Or that every time I think aboutthe future, you're the only thing I can see? Or that watching you take care of my son tonight made me realize I've been holding my breath for fuckingyears? But since coming here with Percy, I can actually breathe again? Or that you give my son something I can't and it makes me feel like I'm finally doing this right? Should I tell you all of that? Or should I just say you'll have to bar the doors and hire a private army to keep me from coming back to you because I can't imagine us anywhere else?"
She stared at me for a long moment, long enough that I started to think I'd made a major misstep, but then she said, "Yeah. I thought so." Before my brain could catch up, she went on. "I talked to my principal. Percy can enroll in my school, even if he won't be five until the end of September."
"Wait—what?"
"Our kindergarten teacher knows ASL. Her name's Aurora and she grew up with ASL. She has a lot of experience with students who have communication differences too. He'll be able to have small group lessons with other kids at his reading level, which will be a lot less frustrating than his preschool experiences, and he'll be right down the hall from me the whole time."
"You've thought about this," I said, though it was obvious.
"Of course I have," she said. "I want you here, even if it's hard and we don't know what we're doing. Even if the custody situation makes it more complicated. I want to figure all of it out with you."
I pushed off the sink and reached for her, my hands settling on her waist. "Really?"
She ducked her head, laughing. "I'm not going to bar the door."
"I am in love with you. Do you know that? I fucking love you and every time I think I've found the perimeter of that love, you do something new and it spills out of my hands. It makes agoddamn mess of me, Audrey. I need you to know that. I need you to understand that I don't exist without you."
She reached out, grabbed my shirt, and yanked me to her chest, sealing her lips over mine. A stunned second passed before I could remember how to kiss her back. "Audrey," I whispered against her lips. I closed my arms around her torso, held her tight to me. "Say something."
"I love you too." I felt her smile. "And also, what do you think about taking this conversation into Percy's room?"
"To hear him if he wakes up or so I can fuck you in a bed?"
"The answer is yes," she replied.
"Good. I like that answer. Especially since I'm too old to keep doing this standing up."
We tiptoed down the hall, pausing outside her room to watch Percy as he slept. I held up a finger to her and gathered a bunch of his stuffed animals from his bed. He'd reach for them and get confused if they weren't there.
When he was surrounded by his buddies, I pulled the door halfway shut and led Audrey into the other bedroom. I wagged a finger at her clothes, saying, "Off," as I pulled my shirt over my head.
The bed was inarguably tiny but we didn't care.
"I love you," I said, running a hand down her outer thigh while I wrapped my other arm around her shoulders. "I didn't get to say it to you for so long and now that I've said it, I don't think I'm going to be able to stop."
She hummed in agreement as she reached between us, taking my cock in hand. I loved the confidence in her touch, as if she had no doubt about what I wanted and how to give it to me. "Then don't stop," she said. "I won't make you."
I was tired and frayed but also relieved—so fucking relieved—and I didn't think I could wait much longer. Not while her nipples rubbed against my chest and she stroked me like that. Ishifted to my knees and nudged her beneath me, prying her legs apart as I went. "Show me," I said, a hand splayed on her inner thigh. With my free hand, I grabbed her wrist and guided it to her breast. "Show me where you want me."
