Henry.
I was nervous, in a good way, of course. Jeremy was getting out of the car, his mouth agape as he looked at my apartment.
“Are we staying here, Mom?” Jeremy asked, taking his mother’s hand but not taking his eyes off the place.
“Yes, Jeremy.”
“For how long?” he asked, looking at both of us. Anna looked at me hesitantly and then composed herself. When she opened her mouth to respond, I decided to interrupt with a promise I was determined to keep with this kid.
“Not too long,” I began. Anna’s face contorted with a furrowed brow.
“We’ll be here until I buy a house. Then we’ll live there.”
“Why will you live with us? What about Dave?” The confusion in Jeremy’s voice made me realize that we needed to tell him who I am. Who his mother and I are.
Anna wants to wait and see how things work out, and I know they will work out just fine. But she has doubts in her head, and that’s okay; I understand. Even though she may assume that everything will go wrong, Jeremy will know that I’m his father. The sooner, the better.
Her words from this morning still stung. Damn, it hurt to know that she’s so afraid I’ll leave again. I caused that fear. Can someone explain to me why I’m such a damn jerk? Well, it’s because I was. I hope I don’t make any more mistakes with her. I’m trying my best to treat her as she deserves, even though sometimes my stupid side comes out, and I can’t control my words. But I really do try, because she just drives me so… crazy.
Another thing driving me crazy? Her saying that I can’t touch her all week. That’s getting under my skin, and another very sad thing…
Anna and Jeremy, they’re right in front of you. Focus.
I crouched down to Jeremy’s eye level, and he moved a little closer to me.
“Because I’m your mom’s friend, and I’m your friend too. I’ll be with you all the way. And Dave…” I glanced at Anna for a moment, and she shook her head, signaling me not to tell the kid that that bastard won’t be in their lives anymore. “We’ll talk about that later, champ.”
I picked him up and placed him on my shoulder before he could ask any more questions. He sure likes to ask a lot of questions, just like his mother… a lot.
He started laughing, and that laughter almost made me want to cry. How could I have missed out on this for five years? How could I have missed out on five years of him?
Anna.
I don’t ignore. I avoid.
Henry has been trying to get close to me all day. What do I do? Avoid him all day. Not because I don’t want him to whisper sweet things in my ear or touch me, because God, that’s what I need most right now. But I’m not ready to tell Jeremy who we are and who he is. What if he hates me for keeping it a secret all this time? He’s just a child, but he’s not foolish, and yes, my thinking is selfish, but Jeremy is the only thing I had for five years, and he’s what kept me afloat.
“Mommy, where will I sleep?” my child asked, flopping onto me when I sat for a few seconds on the kitchen chair. I smiled at him and almost lifted him into my arms, making him sit on the counter. I then considered the idea, knowing very well that I was on it last night, and let’s just say neither of us cleaned up after that. All we did was pick up things from the floor. I’ll clean it tonight.
“It’s only seven o’clock. Do you really want to go to sleep already?” I asked playfully.
“No… but there’s only one bedroom, and… well… the bed is nice… I just wanted to know if I could sleep there…” he replied, his cheeks turning pink. I could almost eat him up with kisses.
“You can sleep there,” Henry said, answering before me. He approached us and affectionately ruffled Jeremy’s hair, and I couldn’t miss my little one’s smile. He likes the attention.
Jeremy nodded repeatedly and jumped off my lap.
“I’m going to try out the bed,” he said, looking mischievously at both of us, and then ran down the hallway. I don’t quite understand…
“Why are you avoiding me?” Henry gently placed his palm on my cheek, stroking it, and I closed my eyes to enjoy his warmth.
“I don’t want Jeremy to get suspicious,” I replied simply and rested my head on his chest.
“Well, okay, but I think turning around every time I see you is a bit much, don’t you think? You won’t let me touch you and I’m more or less keeping still, but you not even letting me have the small pleasure of looking at you is like…. Do you want to kill me?”
“Now you’re the one who’s exaggerating. You’re not going to die for not looking at me,”
“You think so? I went ten minutes without looking at you and I could feel a nervous breakdown approaching my body ” I laughed and kissed his cheek. His frown made me want to give him kisses on the cheek all week, but we know well that we won’t last without our mouths intertwined in one of our electrifying kisses.
I put my hand on the back of his neck and pulled his face close to mine, we were so close, tempting each other with brushes of our lips, agonizing for just one kiss…. He put his hands on my waist and pulled me up from the chair I was in, wrapped his arms around my waist and we pressed our bodies so close that the air in my lungs got stuck there.
Is it always going to be this intense between us? Is our passion, desire and desire going to go away at some point in our lives? I just hope that ten more years go by and that he continues to provoke these same sensations and effects in me. Henry, whispered something that I couldn’t understand, it was something like “Damn…” And then what he said was totally unknown to me why his lips stuck so fiercely to mine that I didn’t stop to think what thing came out of the lips that now set my legs like jelly and my brain blank.
“Jeremy can come, that’s the only thing I dare to think, but right now, I’m trying to focus on Henry’s hand, which is sliding up my shirt, running his cold fingers over my waist until they reach my bra. He’s making me feel warm in places I shouldn’t right now, but it feels so good… so good.
Footsteps echoed down the hallway, and I separated from Henry in two seconds. I pushed myself backward and stumbled over the chair behind me. The fall was both beautiful and painful.
“Mom!” Jeremy was by my side in seconds, clearly concerned. “What happened? Why did you fall?”
Henry was trying to contain his laughter, and he extended his hand to help me up. I slapped it away and got up on my own. I glared at Henry, and his urge to laugh grew.
“I’m fine, honey. Mom is a little clumsy,” I replied, smiling at Jeremy.
“Why do you have red lipstick and bigger lips?”
That was the moment when Henry burst into laughter, and it was also the moment I approached the kitchen, grabbed a glass, filled it with water, and threw it in his face. He stopped laughing instantly, but I burst into laughter at the top of my lungs.
“What’s wrong? Laugh with me, come on!” I said to his drenched face. He smiled, wiped his face with his hands, bit his lip, and shook his head. He looked at me, and his smile hinted at his next move, so I started running.”
“Come on, Ann! Don’t run! You wanted to laugh, didn’t you?” he called from behind me. I circled the couch, and he ended up on one side, while I was on the other. The only thing that separated us was this.
He raised an eyebrow and smiled. He jumped on the couch, and within two seconds, he was in front of me, lifting me over his shoulder. I started screaming and kicking him, and as he was about to take a step to carry me to who knows where, we were drenched with water.
We looked at the little guy who was on the back of the couch with two empty flower vases. He shrugged and smiled.
“So you wouldn’t scream so much,” Jeremy said simply, and the knowing glances exchanged between Henry and me were all we needed.
He put me down and picked up Jeremy instead. We took him to the bathroom, turned on the shower, and washed him off with warm water, of course. I wouldn’t allow him to catch a cold under any circumstances.
Without waiting, Henry wrapped his arm around my back and tossed me into the shower with him.
They got me…”