“That’s not the same thing. We had her during the day and picked her up the very next morning. Now we would be leaving her for over twenty-four hours. She’s never been without the both of us for that long.” She takes on this defensive voice.
I’m so confused, what’s going on?How did we go from almost saying ‘I love you’ to arguing over something that shouldn’t be such a big issue?
“Well, what do you want me to do, Em?! Do you want me to cancel our reservation, and we’ll just stay home?” My voice rises as irritation spreads through me.AllI fucking wanted was some time alone with my girlfriend, and now she’s making me feel guilty for wanting that.
“No, that’s not what I want!” Now she’s getting mad too, her body visibly going stiff.
“Then what the hell do you want?! I’m so fucking confused right now, Emma. I don’t get why you’re mad? I just wantedus to spend the night together and do something special for your birthday. But now I feel like a shitty father for leaving my daughter for a day and a half. So thank you for that.” My heart pounds in my chest as I breathe heavily. I’m aggravated and annoyed. I just want to go to bed and have this conversation done with.
Her features soften as her eyes take on a little gloss, hurt manifesting through them.Shit. I really have a way with words.“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel that way. It’s just that one night was already hard, a whole day is gonna drive me crazy. But I’m just being a mother hen. I’ll be fine, everything will be fine. I want us to do this.”
I pull her to my chest, one hand behind her head, the other around her waist. “I’m sorry, too. I didn’t mean to get angry with you,” I whisper against her hair before kissing it and letting out a sigh when I feel her body melting against mine. “Would it make you feel better if I told Morgan to send you pictures and videos every hour? And made her video call us before Gracie’s bedtime so that we can wish her goodnight?”
Her arms circle my torso as she squeezes hard. “Oh, yes! That would be perfect! See? I knew you were the bestest boyfriend.”
“Woman, you have the strangest mood swings,” I say in a strangled voice. For a skinny woman, she has one hell of a death grip. “And here I thought Cecilia was scary pregnant; you’d take it to a whole new level,” I chuckle.
She pulls back instantly, holding me at arm’s length as she stares into my eyes. “Why are you thinking about me pregnant, Greyson?”
Holy shit… why did I just think of her pregnant?I blink a few times, unsure how to answer this particular question. Bunny and I are nowhere close to thinking about kids. Hell, we already have one in the picture. No need for more.At least not yet.
“Umm… I… I’m… not?”Why am I saying it in the form of a question!?
“You better not! Don’t pull a Silas on me; we aren’t talking babies.” She narrows her eyes and points at me.Oh, thank God. We’re on the same page. That’s good. You can start beating again, heart.
“So, what do you say? Are we doing this? Me, you, a mini roadtrip and a night alone where we can perform all those crazy fantasies of yours?” I lean in and bite her bottom lip.
“Mmm, I like the sound of that,” she whispers against my lips before sealing ours together. “Yes. Yes, we’re doing it,” she says through kisses.
I retighten my hold on her and give us a push, forcing her to fall on her back against the couch beneath me. I smile against her giggling lips as my hands find the zipper of her dress and slowly pull it down her body.
It doesn’t take long for all our clothes to end up on the floor and our bodies to connect as one. We make love until the sun comes up, or in our case, a little girl demands our attention.This is going to be a long day.
I may not have spoken the words I wanted to Emma, but I made sure she felt them throughout the night.I’ll just have to try again the next time the opportunity presents itself.
~ Two Days Later ~
Our morning started later than I had planned. Instead of taking twenty minutes to say goodbye to Gracie and get on the road, it took me one hour to get Emma out of the house. Morgan literally had to walk to the car with Gracie in her arms so that Emma could give her one last kiss and wave through the window as we pulled away.
Which means we were behind schedule all day. Fitting twenty-eight stops in one business day was already hard to begin with, but with forty minutes less, it nearly made it impossible. Luckily, I came up with the perfect solution to make us hurry yet keep it fun.
I put Bunny on a timer.
We pretended to be on a scavenger hunt, speeding from one destination to the other. Once inside the store, I started the timer, and Em had exactly fifteen minutes to find and choose her mug as well as pass the checkout. You’d think fifteen minutes would be enough to pick up a mug.Apparently not.
The number of times I had to start shouting at Emma to hurry up and begin the countdown only to have my phone ring out as I paid for our purchases would be twenty… twenty out of twenty-eight. And every time we didn’t make it before my phone rang, I walked out of the store with a frown while Bunny giggled behind her new mug.
After the seventh store, I caught on that we would be behind schedule all day, which meant no time to stop for food. So while Emma went into one store, I ran into the grocery store next doorand grabbed us two bags full of snacks and drinks to have on the road.
We made it to the last thrift shop with ten minutes left before it closed its doors for the night. But now that our mission of the day has been concluded, we’re both starving.
We’re currently driving down a main road, in search of somewhere to eat. I’d like to take Emma somewhere nice, but given the time and no reservation, I’m not sure if that will be possible.
“Oh! Let’s stop here,” Bunny says, pointing out the window at what looks like a rundown diner from the 50s.
“You want to eat here?” We’re stopped at a red light, so I take the time to look at the diner once more.Yeah, I don’t know if I’d trust my food coming from there.
“Oh, come on. Don’t give me that look. It’s perfectly fine and looks super cute. Come on, say yes! Please! We’re both starving, so why continue to drive around looking for somewhere when there’s food right here?”
