Playing House

I knew I needed to go talk to Ben, so I went to his room and knocked lightly on the door.

A moment or so later Ben answered the door. He was obviously in the middle of changing, because all he had on were a pair of basketball shorts.

“Can I help you with something?” He asked, snapping my gaze off of his muscular chest.

I hated how his muscles all flexed and tightened with every move he made.

I hated how warm and inviting his expansive chest looked.

I hated how the muscles on his back always rippled.

I hated how the way he was standing made his arms bulge.

I hated how his shorts were slung so low on his hips that you could almost-

“Amalia?”

“Oh, er…yeah,” I stammered. “Listen, about Beau and Maddie…”

“Look, Mal, you said you wanted to be professional, so let’s be professional. But that means no crossing any lines. How many employers take care of their worker’s children? Let’s get serious here,” he stated.

“Well, fine, but they’ve already gotten attached to you and I can’t make them go through this disappointment again,” I said.

“What disappointment?” He asked.

I shot him a look.

“Amalia, you say you want to be professional but all your reasons are personal, so I don’t know what you want me to do,” he snapped, sounding angry.

When I didn’t answer him, he started closing the door.

“I want them to have a father,” I said softly, causing him to halt in his actions. He reopened the door and looked at me. “That’s why I can’t get too mad at my ex, because I keep hoping that one day he’ll wake up and want to be a part of their lives. Every guy I’ve dated since then has either been horrible to Maddie and Beau or he gets them attached and then leaves. It breaks their hearts, every time, and I can’t put them through that again.”

“Why doesn’t Madeline talk?”

I shut my eyes and took a deep breath before looking back up at him, knowing I couldn't avoid the topic.

“I dated this one guy briefly,” I started. “He was…abusive. I never let him touch the kids, and I never let them see what he did to me. But one day, Maddie did something, broke something, I dunno. In any case, he snapped.” I felt tears come to my eyes, and I knew it’d be useless to try and wipe them away. “He went after her and shook her up a little. I got her away from him, but he just focused on me then. Maddie was just standing there, I couldn’t…”

I broke down then, sobbing. Ben pulled me into his arms and kissed my temple.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked,” he murmured. He rubbed my back and I wrapped my arms around him. Somewhere in the middle of my bawling I remembered he was half naked, and I blushed against his skin. “Nothing else happened to her though, right?” He asked, sounding protective. I pulled away and shook my head.

“No, Beau woke up and came out, and when he saw how the guy was holding me he pulled Maddie into their bedroom,” I choked. Ben ran his thumbs over my cheeks, brushing the tears away.

“He’s a smart kid,” he chuckled. “So, this was pretty recent then?”

“Few months ago,” I nodded. “I don’t know why I stayed with him so long, I was stupid.”

“You were just trying to provide a father for your children,” he reasoned. He had his hands on my hips and he was looking down at me.

“Yeah,” I sighed, still upset with myself.

“You know I could never actually ignore your kids right?” He joked, trying to lighten the mood. I chuckled a little.

“Yeah, because you’re their bitch,” I remarked, remembering what he said before. He laughed at that and then pulled me in for another hug. He pulled back and looked directly into my eyes, leaning in slightly.

“You know I could never really ignore you either, right?” His breath was hot on my cheek, and he was still slowly leaning in. He would move closer, pause, and then start moving again.

He was teasing me, and it was driving me nuts.

“We can still keep our relationship professional, right?” He smirked, brushing his lips with mine slightly before pulling away completely.

“Yeah, professional. Definitely,” I nodded, pushing myself closer to him. He tensed up but then tightened his grip on my hips. He kicked his door closed with his foot but before I could react to the loud slam his lips crashed on to mine.

He picked me up and placed me on the bed, and his body followed. His lips traveled from my lips to my jaw, and then finally to my neck. I ran my fingertips over his chest and I felt him tighten up. I let my fingers travel lower, towards his shorts. Since he teased me I decided to return the favor, so I just ran my fingers along the waistband.

He ground his hips into mine, causing us both to gasp. He groaned right after, almost pleadingly. His lips met mine again, and there was no denying the desire. His hand found the hem of my shirt and he slipped it under, running it up and down my curves.

This was way better than any dream.

Way better.

I had finally had enough and I tugged on his shorts, causing him to stop kissing me and just look at me with a hazy expression.

A light knock on the door startled both of us, and Ben flew off of me.

You’d think we were teenagers making out in the parent’s bedroom or something. Ben went half way to the door before he paused and opted for the bathroom instead. I got off the bed and answered the door, seeing my kids.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, kneeling down.

“Can we sleep in here?” Beau asked.

I didn’t want them to make a habit of bothering Ben whenever they couldn’t sleep, but I also wanted them to know Ben wasn’t angry at them. Plus, this was only their mid-day nap, so it’s not like it was going to be for a long period of time anyway.

I heard the shower turn on, so I ushered them inside.

“You’ll have to ask Ben, okay?” They nodded and waited patiently for him. Eventually he emerged and saw them both sitting on either side of me.

“Hey kiddos,” he greeted, patting them on the head. He sent me a lingering stare, and it sent shivers down my spine.

“Can we sleep in here?” Beau asked again. Ben glanced at me and I smiled.

“Of course, little man. I’m always up for a nap,” Ben chuckled. “Get comfy.”

They scrambled into the bed, and I kissed them both on the forehead before heading toward the door. Ben grabbed my hand and spun me around to face him.

“You can stay too,” he whispered huskily. It sounded more like a request than a statement, so I nodded. “Here,” he said, tossing me a big jersey. “So you’re comfy.” I quickly changed in the bathroom, and when I came out I could tell the kids were already asleep.

Ben turned to look at me, and I saw him survey me up and down. His gaze lingered on my legs, which weren’t covered since the jersey only went to my mid-thigh. “You look good in my jersey. You know what? I say we ditch these two and re-convene in your room.”

I just smirked at him and got in the other side of the bed. The twins were between us, with Maddie on my side and Beau by him.

“So…is that a no?” He inquired.

I just laughed and he sighed dramatically.

“I’m gonna need another cold shower, then,” he said, getting up jokingly.

“Ben!” I giggled. He turned around quickly, thinking I had changed my mind. I motioned for him to get back in bed, so he did with another dramatic sigh.

“You owe me,” he stated. I laughed again, and soon enough we were all sleeping soundly.

When I woke up, Ben had his arms around me and I was snuggled into his chest. I turned my head to look for my children, but they were gone.

I needed to have a talk with them about that.

Ben stirred and woke up, and then he grinned when he saw our position.

‘Hey,” he greeted, stretching.

“Hey,” I replied.

“What happened to the kids?” He asked.

“I dunno, I was just about to ask you the same-”

Loud screams and barking interrupted my statement, and we both shot up and out of the room.

I knew those damn dog-beasts were going to eat my children.

We flew down the stairs to the source of the noise, and I smacked right into Ben when he stopped suddenly. I peeked around him to see what he was looking at, and was actually surprised at what I saw.

Beau and Maddie were actually playing with the dogs, and the dogs were playing with them.

The screams of terror Ben and I heard? Yeah, those were apparently shrieks of excitement.

I breathed a sigh of relief and Ben turned around and put his hands on my hips.

“I told you they were good with kids,” he pointed out.

“Oh, so that’s why you flew down here faster than the speed of light then?” I teased.

“Well, earlier…uh…you know,” he shrugged sheepishly. “Anyways," he said, changing the subject. "While they’re preoccupied…” He leaned down to place a kiss on my neck before pulling back and wriggling his eyebrows suggestively.

“Wish I could,” I answered, standing on my tip-toes and placing a kiss on his jaw. “But I’m on the clock.” I smirked and walked away, making sure to add a little extra sway to my hips.

Because I knew that’s where he’d be looking.