Kiss Me Tenderly

“Jacky?” Alex rolled over in bed and looked up at me with wide eyes.
“Yeah, ‘Lex?” I brushed a strand of his dark brown hair that was now streaked with pink out of his face. I grinned, even though the name ‘Jacky’ still kind of stung. I still missed Venetia but it was getting better every day. His pink hair was adorable and contagious. The kids were clamoring to copy him within days so we allowed them all (yes, even Owen) to temporarily dye their hair various colors. Missy sported one blonde streak, Owen got a purple lightning bolt, and Sassy decided to get green running through her hair.
They were my stupid colorful family.
“Let’s go on a date, you and me,” Alex stated, touching his lips to mine, pulling away with a giggle when I tried to deepen the kiss.
“When would we have time to, ‘Lex? We have the kids and we both work..” I trailed off at his pout.
“Please, Jack, we haven’t been on a proper date since we started going out like, two weeks ago,” Alex pleaded with me, lower lip jutting out.
My lip screwed up in the corner as I thought.
Well, I guess we could ask Kris if he wanted to babysit three little bundles of energy for the night...
“Sure, Alex, we can go on a date. But you’re calling Kris.” Alex let out an elated giggle at this. “What do you want to do?”
Alex sat up, crossed his legs and tapped his lip in thought. When he found the answer, he snapped his fingers and happiness spread across his face.
“Dinner and a movie? I’ve really been wanting to see The Great Gatsby,” he offered hopefully, tackling me in a hug when I nodded in approval.
I laced my fingers with his, peering up at his happy face through my floppy bangs. “When do you want to do the date?” I questioned, mentally noting down restaurants that Alex might like near the local cinema.
“Saturday? So if we stay late, the kids won’t die if Kris let’s them stay up all night watching Finding Nemo?”
I nodded again, gripping his hand and pulling him down onto my chest, at eye level with him. Grinning, I kissed his nose affectionately and squeezed him against me.
“Sounds perfect, babe.”
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By the time Saturday rolled around, Alex was bouncing around with excitement, giddy as any fifteen year old girl on her first date. He had banned me from our bedroom, babbling something about bad karma.
I was in the kitchen, feeding the kids their baked chicken and rice, when the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it,” I called to Alex, getting a muffled response I couldn’t quite make out in return. I loped to the door, opening it to find a grinning Kris on the other side.
“Hey Kris!” we quickly hugged before Kris stepped inside and closed the door.
“The kids are in the kitchen,” I told him before making my way to said place, stepping over Kris’s legs as he struggled on the floor with his shoes and their wet laces.
Just as I walked in, Sassy - she’s called that for a reason - pulled the most grotesque face at Owen, quickly stopping when she saw me walk in the room.
“Sass, what did we say about face making at the dinner table?” I scolded, Sassy having the grace to look mildly offended.
“But, Owen said Spongebob was better than the Fairly Oddparents,” she pouted, putting her spoon down on the table and crossing her arms across her chest.
“Nuh uh!” Owen contradicted as I strode across the room to save Sassy’s spoon precariously perched on the table edge. He waved his spoon around, sending a grain or two of rice flying across the room as he attempted to make his point. “I juss said that I like-”
“Hey, hey! Where are my little monsters today?” Kris crowed as he made a noisy, grand entrance.
“Uncle Kris!” All three children yelled back, elated to see their favorite ‘uncle’.
“I’m the good kid today,” Missy told him seriously, swallowing a large spoonful of rice and chicken.
Kris chuckled and ruffled her hair. “I don’t doubt that you are, princess.”
“Jack? Are you ready to go?”
I turned to see Alex standing almost shyly in the doorway. As I continued to stare in awe at him, I seemed to slowly be losing the ability to breathe properly. Alex’s hair was tucked in a beanie, pink peeping out from under the red beanie. He was wearing a pair of dark jeans that hugged in all the right places, a red plaid shirt unbuttoned over a white shirt with a turtle covered in tattoos? on the front. His black coat was in hand and he smiled nervously, pink touching his cheeks. I approached him, tilting his head up to look at me, thumbing his jaw quickly before bending down to kiss him.
“You look fantastic, Alex,” I couldn’t help but smile with utter joy at my luck at having such a perfect man be mine. We just looked into each other’s eyes and probably would have continued to do so if Kris hadn’t tsked and shooed us out the door.
“Have fun you two! Be safe!”
“Bye Daddy!”
“Bye Daddy!”
“Bye Dad!”
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“So have you heard from Nick lately?” I asked Alex, glancing over to the passenger’s seat while we were stopped at a red light.
God, I would never get tired of looking at him.
“No, thank fuck. I swear, I don’t need dick pics on my phone when I’m at work,” Alex sighed with relief, tugging at the fingerless gloves in his lap. His eyebrows were furrowed in irritation at the mention of his ex boyfriend but I pressed forward.
“Do you think he’s gone for good?” I asked cautiously, not wanting a blow out between us.
Alex shook his head.
“No. Nick’s insistent, he’s very stubborn and doesn’t stop til he gets what he wants. Why do you ask?”
I bit my lip and refocused on the road, accelerating the car as the light turned green.
“It’s nothing, I just wanted to know if he’s been bothering you is all.”
Alex sighed, cracking his knuckles as he thought to himself. Silence fell as I drove and he thought. Finally, Alex broke the silence.
“Look, I don’t want to talk about Nick right now. He’s my past, okay? My stupid, irritation, hurtful past. You’re my perfect, wonderful, sweet, much better looking future, okay? So don’t worry.” Alex looked over at me and smiled, holding out his hand, palm up.
I glanced at it, took one hand off the wheel, placed my palm in it and continued to drive with one hand. Alex grinned, locking our fingers together and facing forward again.
His touch was giving me butterflies, electric shocks down to my fingertips, making my lips curl up at the edges involuntarily.
I squeezed my fingers in his, felt him squeeze back.
I love Alex Gaskarth.