West Coast Winter

Lucky For Us

Charlie

"Charlie!", Nina's eyes light up and she beams brightly at me. I really missed this little angel as well as her mom.

I scoop her up into my arms for a bear hug. "Hello, princess! I missed you! How are you, Nina?"

"I'm ok. I missed you too, Charlie! Are you back for good?", Nina asks as she pulls away to look earnestly into my eyes.

It breaks my heart to say, "I'm just here for a couple days, sweetheart. I have to go back to work in New York. I'm spending some time with Henry and I wanted to be here for your mom's birthday."

Nina pouts a little. "I wish you could stay here forever, Charlie."

I tilt her chin up, "Hey. No sad faces when I'm here. Where's your mom?"

"She's in her room writing." Nina goes back to the couch and returns to her home work.

I can hear music coming from her room down the hall. I open the door softly. Sure enough, she's sitting at her desk typing away while music fills the room. She's wearing a distressed gray t shirt and leggings. Her hair is tied up. Her back is to me. I take a minute to just lean against the wall and watch her. She pauses every now and then, stretches, and takes a drink of her peach Bang. She hums to the music and continues to type.

I place my hands on her shoulders and she jumps. "Aaaagh!"

Jaclyn turns to face me as I laugh uncontrollably. "Charlie?! Oh my God!" She wraps her arms around me and hugs me tight before pulling away to look at my face as if to make sure she's not dreaming and that it's really me. She buries her face into my chest and inhales deeply.

I bend to meet her lips, "Hello."

"Hello." Jaclyn's hands cup my face as she kisses me slowly and we savor the feel of each other's lips. I pick her up and she wraps her legs around me as I deepen our kiss. I carry her to the bed and climb on top of her. I kiss her all over her face and all along her body.

"God! I missed you. I missed your body." Charlie murmurs against my chest.

"I missed your lips. Get back up here", Jaclyn says as she gabs my collar. I wrap my arms around her and focus on her lips while my hands roam that perfect ass. Her leg is hitched over my hip.

There's a knock on the door. "Um... mom?"

Jaclyn pushes me off of her and answers, "Yes, Nina?"

"Can you help me with a math problem?"

"Yes, honey. I'm coming." Jaclyn scrambles off the bed and goes into the hall. I follow her out.

I watch her sit at the dining room table with Nina and she gives her undivided attention.

"I gotta go pick up Henry. Is it ok if we come back here for dinner?", I ask Jaclyn.

"Yes! I've missed Henry. I don't see him as much when you're not here, Charlie", Nina answers.

Jaclyn giggles and says as she stands, "You're my boyfriend, Charlie. You're always welcome here. You never have to ask if it's ok to be here. Now hurry up and go, so you can hurry up and get back."

She kisses me and when we part, I notice Nina is smiling dreamily at us. I smile at Nina and say, "Work on that math, Nina. When I get back, we're gonna have family movie night. Love you both. See you in a bit."

We settled in to watch Howl's Moving Castle. The kids were so fascinated with the movie that they moved to the floor. Jaclyn curled up and nestled into my side under a quilt. Tina sat on the adjacent couch. The feeling of comfort in this moment prompted me to whisper to Jaclyn, "Move in with me."