“I hope so… Would be even better for the kids.”
Cindy and Natalie had a fantastic day together. I just loved the fact they seemed to be bonding so well. It actually caused me a moment of panic more than once, just in case… things went wrong. We had lunch in the food court of the mall, nothing more than something deep fried and fattening. Then it was off to the cinemas. They were ever so excited to be going to see the film. I received more than one sympathetic glance from other men being dragged along, though to be honest, I’d do anything for my daughter. A ninety-minute princess film was something I could endure if it made her happy.
After a post-film ice cream, I drove us home where Natalie wanted to watch another movie. We were happy to let her watch that as I sat back, enjoying a beer, Cindy a glass of wine as we cuddled on the couch. Natalie would look back every so often and giggle before returning her attention to the screen. I’d done my best not to be miserable in front of her after the separation, but kids are more attuned than people realised. She knew her father wasn’t happy for a long time.
Cindy cooked dinner, though Natalie and I helped out where we could, little surprise that Natalie had tuckered herself out so she fell asleep rather early on the couch. I easily carried her to her room, waking up just enough to ask for cuddles from us too. “I love you, Cindy,” she whispered before she hugged me, “Love you too, Daddy.”
I found Cindy in the hallway, almost on her knees, hugging her tightly as she sobbed. Stroking the back of her head, I whispered, “Well, she’s not the only Pritchard to love you, Miss Williams.”
“I love her already too. She’s just too adorable. Going to break a million hearts when she’s older.”
“Let her know tomorrow when we drop her off. Hug her, tell her. Children need all the love they can get. If you love her, let her know.”
She met my eyes. “Maybe one day, in the future, I could be her… step-mother?”
“Thinking that far in the future, are you?”
“You’re not?”
“Got me. I do far too much thinking as it is.”
“About me? About us?”
“This has all happened so fast, it does scare me sometimes. But it’s also felt right, from that moment we talked in the cafe and made the first tentative steps. I knew then you were someone I wanted to know more and more…”
“I’m scared sometimes too, but the overriding feeling is that I just want more and more of this feeling. Of being with you.”
Apart from a lot of making out later in bed, we spent the rest of the time cuddling. Sure, we were both hard but neither of us felt the urge to make love or fuck. I just pulled her as close to me as possible and caressed her body, fingers running from the back of her neck down her back, over her arse, her thigh, then back up. Her eyes gazed into mine the entire time. There was an intensity that made me gulp more than once. Fairly sure I looked back at her the same way though.
Returning Natalie home mid-afternoon the next day, Cindy stopped Natalie on the path leading to the front door. Getting down to a knee, she took my daughter in her arms and whispered something into her ear. Natalie cried. Cindy cried. I looked away, needing to wipe my cheeks. Megan opened the door and seemed to see what was going. Walking towards her, she smiled, resting her hand on my forearm. “Stay for coffee?” she wondered.
“Yeah. That’ll be good. Greg home?” She nodded. Turning back, Cindy was leading Natalie towards the house, following Megan and I into the kitchen. Taking a seat at the dining table, Natalie immediately started to fill in her mother with what we’d been up to. Hearing his sister, Greg appeared from his room, taking a seat next to his mother once she returned with drinks for all of us.
Taking Cindy’s hand in mine, we told Greg what we’d already told his mother and sister. He was surprised, which we expected. But he made me grin when he just shrugged. “You’re happy, Dad. I don’t care who you date. We’re taught all this stuff anyway. Probably know more than you about all this sexuality and gender stuff.”
I glanced at Cindy. “He’s probably not wrong there,” I admitted, chuckling to myself.
“What do you think, Mum?” Greg wondered. I gave him a look as he was clearly looking for an argument. To my relief, Megan smiled at him.
“Your father is happy. We both made mistakes, Greg. I made the worst one by doing what I did. What matters most is that your father and I love you two, and our focus is on ensuring you turn into good little human beings, those we can be proud. Cindy is now part of your father’s life, will be part of yours, will even be part of mine in a way. I just want an end to the awkwardness.”
Cindy leaned across the table and took her hand. Megan’s grin broadened. “That’s all we want too. I’m not a replacement, just an addition.”
Megan looked at me. “You’ve got yourself one hell of a woman here, Mark.”
“Trust me, I know.”
She looked between us for a moment. “Would you like to stay for dinner?”
Cindy and I shared one single glance before I replied, “We’d love to.”
It was the first time Megan and I were capable of staying in the same room for longer than thirty minutes without it dissolving into bitter arguments about everything that happened. Natalie was delighted. Greg didn’t retreat to his bedroom, remaining with us until Cindy and I had to go. Greg wanted a hug from his father. Natalie hugged us both for a long time before heading to bed. As I walked out, Megan took Cindy by the hand, asking for a quiet word.
Leaning back against my car, I noticed the two have a short conversation, surprised it ended with the pair sharing a hug. Watching Cindy walk towards me, Megan waved goodbye before shutting the door. Standing before me, Cindy stood on her tiptoes and kissed me. “I’m getting a glimpse of why you did love her, Mark.”
“Really?”
“She just told me something. That I’m to look after you for her. She fucked up. Her words. She knows she hurt you, and now she can see how happy you are again. So she warned you not to fuck it up too.”
“I’m glad you’re getting along.”
“We all make mistakes in life, Mark. The only thing she asks that, one day in the future, that you find in your heart to forgive her?”
I felt my brow furrow. “That’s… difficult, Cindy. I know I wasn’t a perfect husband…”
“You don’t feel hate in your heart any longer?”
“No. I was bitter, not hateful. I felt like I lost everything. In a way, I did. My wife. My kids. My home. I ended up in a small apartment with nothing.”
She caressed my cheek. “You have me now, Mark. And I’m not letting you go.”
I smiled, leaning down to kiss her softly on the lips. “Let’s go home.”
I spent all week at her place, stopping at home to pack a bag so I didn’t need to return to my apartment at all. She loved having my presence around the apartment. I was home before her the first three nights of the week, getting a start on preparing dinner, greeting her with a long hug and kiss, feeling her just melt into me each time. We made love every night, switching around who would make love to who. I loved going down on her. She really loved going down on me. I enjoyed having her fuck me. But while she did enjoy fucking me, there was no doubt she preferred me making love to her. We showered together every morning and evening, sometimes unable to resist the idea of fooling around.
Each night, we chatted with Natalie together, while Cindy said she was swapping the occasional message with Megan. I’m sure many would have found that a little weird, but frankly, if my ex-wife and current girlfriend could build some sort of relationship, that would only make things easier going forward.
At work on Friday, Mike knocked on my office door, Chris following in his footsteps. Shutting the door, they took a seat opposite me, leaving me wondering what they wanted. “Doing anything tomorrow night?”
“No. Cindy and I are going to see her mother and sister on Sunday though.”
“Want to join us on a night out tomorrow night?”
“Long as it doesn’t end with us getting in at 5am. Let me call her.”
She answered rather quickly. “Hey baby, I was just thinking of you. I’ve got an erection at my desk that is in desperate need of attention.”
I cleared my throat as Mike and Chris chuckled. “Um, sweetheart, I’ve got you on speaker. Mike and Chris are here.”
“Okay. I still have an erection I’d love to feel your lips around, baby. Maybe you’d like to give me a blowjob when I get home? I know how much you love swallowing my cum.”
Mike and Chris had shit-eating grins on their faces. “That’s a nice thought, sweetheart, though I’m going to fuck you afterwards.”
“You know I love your cock buried in my arse, baby. God, I might have to go jerk off in the bathroom now. Anyway, was there something you needed, or do I need to send you a selfie of my thick cock, aching for your mouth?”
“Send the selfie, but Mike has asked if we’d like to join him out tomorrow night? Warned them about seeing your family on Sunday, but it would be nice to go out for a few drinks.”
“I’m assuming it’ll be the same sort of places where we met?”
Mike nodded at my glance. “That’s right, sweetheart. Mike and Chris will no doubt be out on the pull like usual.”
“He knows us well, Chris,” Mike muttered.
“Our weekends are usually the same,” Chris retorted.
“Sounds like fun, baby. Just let me know the details when I get home. Now, I’m going to head to the bathroom to jerk off. Want a video, baby?”
“God yes. Actually, these two can fuck off. Video call me while you’re doing it, gorgeous.”
Mike and Chris left. I locked the door, placed my phone on the desk, and had a free show as Cindy jerked herself off for me. She undid her blouse and came all over her chest, scooping it all up and putting it in her mouth, continuing to stroke her cock for me until she simply had to get back to work. Turning so I could see her face, she blew me a kiss. “I love you so much, baby.”
“Love you too, sweetheart. I’ll see you at home.”