Eliahn
“So you are going to stay with Grandma and Grandpa tonight,” I tell Aiden as the flutters start in my stomach thinking about tonight.
I had an appointment with the wax girl yesterday to clean everything up, and as soon as I drop Aiden off, I’m off to a little lingerie shop to pick up some things for tonight.
“Do you want me to drop Aiden off on the way to the gym?” Luca asks, getting up from the table with his empty plate and coffee cup. He is wearing just shorts that are hanging really low on the hips and I, for one, can’t wait to get him naked. This past week has been the longest week of my life. Every single time I thought it would happen, something—mostly Aiden—would pop up and ruin the moment. There have been some steamy make-out sessions. The one attempt to get into the shower together was cut short when Aiden came in right when I was going to pull down his pants, thinking it was a party for everyone.
“No, that’s okay.” I smile at him as he walks to me and kisses my neck. My robe’s open to show my bra underneath. “I have errands to run.”
“Okay,” he says, walking over to Aiden. “Give me a hug. I’m leaving, and I won’t see you until tomorrow.”
Aiden gets up and stands on the chair while Luca takes him in his arms. “You be good,” he says to him and kisses his neck and then puts him down. He comes to me again. “See you later.”
“What should I wear?” I ask him. He hasn’t told me anything about the date. Not one clue, not one mention, nothing. I think both of us are more focused on getting each other naked.
He comes closer to whisper in my ear, “I want you to wear nothing.” His breath is hot on my ear, and he comes out and nips it, making me shudder with goose bumps. “See you later.”
I nod and then see him walk out the back door and go to the side gate that now connects our yard. “Go upstairs and clean up. I’m going to come up and pack a bag,” I tell Aiden, and he runs upstairs.
“I want to be Iron Man today,” he says, and I close my eyes. I clean up the kitchen from breakfast and walk upstairs to pack him a bag, and when I leave, I see a white van pull up, and I wonder what he’s doing. When I get to my parents’, I walk in with Aiden shouting that he’s there.
My father is sitting at the table reading the paper, and he spots Aiden and puts down the paper right before Aiden jumps in his lap. “Grandpa,” he says, cuddling into him. My father kisses his head. “I met my nonno yesterday,” he tells him, his eyes all wide. “That means grandfather in Italian.”
“Does it?” My father acts surprised.
“And my nonna,” he says of Luca’s mom, and he leans in and whispers, “She made me cookies.”
“Did you bring me any?” my father whispers back.
“I did,” he says, getting off his lap and rushing over to me to grab the bag of cookies we brought. He walks back and gets into the chair right next to my father. My mother is now walking into the room.
“Good morning,” she says to me, hugging me, and then walking over to the table and kissing Aiden. “What is all this?”
“My nonna made it for me,” Aiden says, opening the containers. “This is my favorite,” he says of the chocolate chip. My mother grabs a piece and groans.
“Where did she buy this from?” she asks me, opening the other containers and taking out the oatmeal raisin ones. “They melt in your mouth.”
“Wait until you try the lemon drop ones,” I tell her of the traditionally Italian cookies with lemon icing on it. She breaks it off, popping a piece in her mouth, and her eyes go wide. “That is what I said.”
“I need the name of this bakery,” my mother says, and I shake my head.
“She made them all from scratch,” I tell her, and my mother sits down. “I have about four more dozen at home.”
“So how was yesterday?” my mother asks me, and I walk over to the fridge, grabbing a water bottle.
“It was amazing. The food was amazing, and they were friendly and made sure that we were comfortable,” I tell them. “They would like for you guys to go over there on Friday when we have a big family dinner.”
“Is she going to be baking?” my mother asks.
“She made fresh pasta,” I tell my mother. “Fresh noodles, they melted in your mouth.”
“We are free,” my mother says, looking at my father who shrugs. Aiden gets up and walks over to his bag, grabbing his iPad. “Are you going to watch television?” my mother asks Aiden when he walks out of the room. I am about to get up and go turn on the television when my mother gets up before me.
“So,” my father says, waiting until my mother is out of the room, “I got your email yesterday.” I nod at him. “I think it’s a great idea.”
“Is that you approving of Luca?” I ask him, and he smiles.
“I am going to be honest. When you told me you were pregnant and didn’t know who the father was, I was angry and sad, knowing how much you would have to give up because of this.”
“Dad,” I start to say, and he raises his hand.
“Let me finish,” he continues, “but having my grandson is something I am never, ever going to regret or hold a grudge over. Also, I will have you know that Luca paid me for the house, and he has set up a trust for Aiden.” I look at him, shocked. “He has also asked me to give him a figure to pay you back for six years.”
I get angry. “I’m going to kill him.”
“He is stepping up to his responsibilities, and I am going to say I would be doing the same.” He shrugs. “You’ve taken care of Aiden all by yourself, and now you have Luca, so let him.”
“I don’t want his money,” I tell him. “You are my lawyer. You tell him I want nothing.”
“Well,” my father starts, “I did, and he just shrugged and put it in Aiden’s trust.” He looks down. “Honey, let him.”
“Dad, I don’t want him to think I am taking advantage of him,” I say quietly.
“Have you asked him for child support?” I shake my head. “Have you asked him to pay for schooling?” I shake my head. “Have you asked him for back child support?”
“Of course not!” I now shout.
“Then you aren’t taking advantage of him. He wants to take care of you. Let him, not for you but for Aiden.”
“How are you okay with this?” I ask him.
“I would do the same, and I have to be honest. I didn’t think he would go toe-to-toe with me. But he did.” He smiles. “Now I’m going to eat five cookies because, oh my God, they are the best thing I’ve ever tasted, and then I’m going to go and watch a movie with my grandkid. I’m going to take him bowling and then to eat at a diner that sings and dances.” He gets up and kisses my head and walks out of the room. I grab my bottle of water and get up. Walking to the living room, I see my mom cuddled up on the couch with Aiden under her arm watching The Lion King.
“I’m going to go,” I say, leaning down and kissing Aiden. “Be good.” I look over at my mother, who is now tucked under my father’s arm. “Call me if you need anything.”
“I won’t need anything.” She winks at me. “Have fun.” I shake my head and walk out of the house and go to the little lingerie store that Troy told me about. I walk in and see that everything is hanging by color. All the bras are delicate and look as if it will tear if pushed. My fingers roam over the delicate items. I finally spot a bra and panty set that I love and get home to see that Luca’s car is in the driveway. I go about getting ready, making sure that I’m smooth everywhere. I slip into the black and gray sheer embroidered bra with a little bow right over my nipple that can be opened. I then grab the matching crotchless panties, and once it’s on, I look at myself in the mirror. It doesn’t even show it’s crotchless. I grab my long black wraparound silk dress. It’s almost like a silk robe and falls just to the floor. I grab my gold strappy high heels. I stand and look at myself. Holding my hand to my stomach, I try to steady the flutter and the way my heart is beating erratically. I sit back down on the bed, and I don’t move. Not even when I hear him walk through the door.
“Eliahn!” he yells my name, and I look down at my hands in my lap, shaking nervously. I blink away the stinging of my tears itching to get out. I hear him come up the stairs and then walk down to my room. He stops at the doorway and rushes to me, squatting down in front of me. “What’s the matter?”
“I’m nervous,” I tell him softly. “It’s been seven years, and well, my body has changed.” I look down and see the biggest change, which is my boobs.
“Baby,” he says softly. “You are way sexier now than you were back then.” I tilt my head. “I mean, you were hot back then, but now you’re like way hotter.” He holds up his hands to the sides. “I want to show you a surprise,” he says and grabs my hand. I stand, and he takes a look at me and his breath hitches. “You look beautiful,” he says, taking one finger and running it down the vee in the dress. I finally see him, and he looks like he almost did back on the cruise. He is wearing slacks and a white button-down shirt. He kisses me on the lips and then turns to walk out of the room and then stops in his tracks. “Shit, what if you think the surprise is corny?”
I smile at the thought of him being nervous. “I’m not going to think anything like that.” I walk with him to the back of the house, and he pulls open the door. I follow him down the stairs and then walk over to the fence. I’m not sure what to expect, but when I finally step into his backyard. “Oh my God,” I say, looking around.
“I wanted to recreate the lido deck from the cruise,” he says, and I look around at what looks like the lido deck from the cruise. Wood floor covers the grass, and there looks like boat railings all around, and then there are the chairs from the cruise. He walks over to the chairs and sits down on one, then pulling me down with him. “Honest, is this romantic or creepy as fuck?” he asks, and I throw my head back and laugh. “Nick and Tom said creepy. Jason and Mona both clapped like little girls.”
“It’s not creepy, and I can’t believe that you went to all this trouble,” I tell him, looking around and seeing that the railings even have lights on them.
“Well, this is one part of the surprise,” he tells me, and then moves, making me get up. He grabs my hand and makes his way up the stairs, but instead of going to his bedroom, he turns to the other side and walks over to the spare bedroom. He looks at me with a smile, and I smile back at him, and then he opens the door and pulls me in, and I gasp out in shock.
“Holy shit,” I say, looking around the room that has been transformed and looks exactly like the room we had on the ship. A tan sofa is against one side of the room with a table of fruit. On the other side of the room has the vanity, and if I think back to the actual room, we had sex against it maybe twice. But what draws me is the bed; it’s exactly the one from the cruise, and there is a towel monkey on the bed.
“I know I promised you a date,” he starts to say, and I look over at him.
I stand here in the middle of his spare bedroom and look around. My hand goes to the tie around my waist. “I think this has to be the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done.” I slip the long sash out, and it falls to my side. “And I know that you probably had dinner plans or at least wanted to take me out.”
“Actually,” he tells me, “I was going to order in.”
“I like that idea,” I tell him and open the wrap dress, slipping it off my shoulders and letting it pool to the floor around my feet. “I like the idea of us also seeing if this bed is as comfy as the one from the boat.” He looks me up and down, his tongue coming out to wet his lips. “Remember that time we did it so hard that the bed moved, and we fell in the middle?” I see his eye glimmer as he remembers that day.