TORI: More like ever. Oh my god, Willow. Is this a fling? Am I having a fling with a hot firefighter?
WILLOW: I think so you dirty girl.
WILLOW: Don’t overthink it, T. You deserve this. Let that man take care of you.
TORI: I’m the president of the overthinkers anonymous club Wills. I don’t know how to turn it off.
WILLOW: I bet orgasms will turn that part of your brain off.
WILLOW: Have fun this weekend. Be safe, but have fun. I gotta run, talk soon babes.
I put my phone down just as Cooper comes racing back into the room. “Found it, Mom.”
He holds up the box triumphantly, and of course, it’s the one game that he loves and I absolutely hate. Groaning inwardly, I school my expression. “Let’s play.”
I sit down on the couch and watch Cooper set up the game. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for this kid, including play Monopoly. “You do realize, we might not be able to finish the game today, buddy, and you leave tomorrow with your grandparents.” Crossing my fingers in my mind, I hope and pray he’ll decide to play something else. But my darling child just blinks up at me and smiles.
“That’s okay, Mom. It can just stay here until I get back. I trust you not to steal from the bank.”
I can’t hide my chuckle. “Yeah, you can trust me. Okay, but I get to be the dog.”
Coop just rolls his eyes. “You say that like it’s a surprise. You’re always the dog and I’m always the car. Geez, Mom.”
Well, he’s got me there.
An hour later, I stand up from the couch, despite Cooper’s protests. “Nope, it’s time to pause, kid. Especially if you want to eat dinner tonight.”
Flopping down on the floor dramatically, Cooper crosses his arms over his chest. “Depends. Are you gonna make me eat a vegetable?”
Leaning over, I wiggle my fingers and slowly move toward him. “Maybe.”
He squirms away giggling, but I pounce anyway, tickling his sides until he says, “Mom, stop!”
Lifting my hands immediately, I back off, already anticipating his next move. Sure enough, Cooper launches himself in the air, making me stumble back with anoofas I catch him. “Dude, you’re getting too big for this!”
Burrowing his head in my shoulder the way he used to when he was a baby, his words are muffled. “Nope, I’m not. Never too big for hugs, that’s what you always say.”
My arms squeeze him even tighter as my heart threatens to burst. “That’s right. Never too big, even if you are a giant.”
He wriggles to be let down and grins up at me. “I’m never gonna be a giant, Mom. You’re too short.”
That makes me laugh. “That’s true. Okay, I’m gonna go cook, and you are going to hop in the shower. Deal?”
Coop huffs, but nods. “Fine.”
I watch my son head down the hallway and let out a long sigh. “I’m not screwing him up,” I whisper to myself, making my way into the kitchen. “Even if I have dirty sex with a firefighter, I’m not screwing up my kid.”
With that thought firmly in mind, I quickly whip up a rice and chicken casserole, empty Cooper’s lunch bag, and load the dishwasher.
Once dinner’s done, Cooper and I pack his bag for the weekend before he suckers me into reading three chapters. Finally, his eyelids are drooping, and I steal one last goodnight kiss before sneaking out of his room and down the hall to my office.
For all my big talk with Sawyer about drinking and cursing Tim this weekend, I also planned on writing. A lot. Something tells me Sawyer has other plans for me. And if I have to choose between a weekend of writing about hot sex or a weekend of actuallyhavinghot sex…well. There’s only one right answer.
Firing up my computer, I open my manuscript, resigning myself to a long night. But instead of immersing myself in the story, I find my thoughts wandering back to earlier today.
My list.
Sure, I’ve got one in my head. A list of romantic and intimate scenes I wish I could experience in real life but have resigned myself to only ever reading and writing about. But I’ve never, not once, put these ideas down on paper and actually considered they could happen to me. Until now. Until Sawyer made it clear he wants to, what did he say?Check some things off my list.
