Little Bit Yours 💜

Eighteen

"Where is Simon?"

Braeden notices his absence right away when Andy brings him home on Sunday afternoon as Audrey kneels to help him with his shoes. She glances up at Andy before looking back at Braeden. "He's not staying here anymore. But once he's settled in his new house, we can go and visit him. Okay?"

He looks disappointed but nods. "Okay."

"Why don't you go get cleaned up and we'll get you a bath before bed." She stands and looks at Andy after Braeden disappears. "Did you have a good time? How was he?"

Andy shrugs, offering her a small smile. "He was fine. He's really smart for his age. And so sweet... Simon isn't here anymore?"

She shakes her head, biting her lip. "No. He's staying at a hotel until he closes on his house. Anything else?"

She crosses her arms over her chest, a defense mechanism. He knows he hurt her yesterday, walking away the way he did. He always seemed to be fucking up. He wanted to apologize but he didn't think she was in a place to hear it at the moment, so he lies. "No. I'll see you tomorrow at the office." She only nods before he turns to leave her house. He rests his head on the steering wheel when he enters the car. It shouldn't be this hard to be with someone. Not when they both claimed to love one another. He doesn't understand why it's so hard to just move on, for the both of them.

***

The next morning, Andy hears a knock on the door. "Come in." He groans when Simon enters the office. "Audrey is in court all morning. I can tell her you stopped by though." He tries to wave Simon away, but instead he plops into the chair opposite of his desk.

"Don't be stupid, I'm here to see you."

"Not really getting off to the best start," Andy retorts as Simon chuckles and places a small notebook on Andy's desk. "What is this?" He flips through it to find different things about Audrey.

"First I need to apologize for how I overreacted yesterday. I didn't think about how you felt, not knowing she was allergic to lilies. I know you were just trying to do something nice."

Andy nods, pointing to the notebook. "I appreciate that. But it's fine. I took a step back. What is this notebook."

Simon sighs, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "Well, she asked me to step back, that means that she wants you, not me. So don't be stupid and give up on her. Not now. So.." He leans towards the desk, pointing to the notebook. "You know she's allergic to lilies and strawberries. When she was pregnant, she couldn't stand the smell of meat. Her favorite ice cream is cookies and cream. But when she's sad, she likes regular chocolate ice cream. Her favorite flowers are roses. Not red ones though, she thinks that's too cliché. She likes yellow and pink. She says her favorite movie is Breakfast at Tiffany's, and it may very well be. But her comfort movie is The Goonies."

Andy chuckles, leaning back in his chair as he flips through the notebook. "Why are you doing this? This sort of feels like cheating."

He shrugs with a smirk. "It might be. But I love her. But she's in love with you. And you guys deserve a chance, not just for yourselves, but for Braeden. So, if I can help with that, I'm happy to."

"Thank you, Simon. I was feeling super insecure the other day, realizing how little I knew about her. I love her so much. How can I love her and not know that she's fucking allergic to lilies? I felt like an idiot." He tosses the notebook on the desk. "You didn't have to do this for me. If I were you, I would want you to fail so I can swoop in behind you."

Simon laughs. "I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it for Audrey, but mostly for Braeden. And you love her because of who she is. You don't need to know her favorite color or flower to love her. I can see how much she and Braeden both mean to you. I just hope you know how much they mean to me too. And that I'm not going anywhere. I'll back off and won't pursue her romantically because she asked me to. But I'm still going to be involved. She's my best friend and I love Braeden more than anything, so you can't expect me to just walk out of here and disappear."

Andy stands up from his desk as Simon does the same. "I know that. And I'm happy that both of them have you, I really am. Thank you Simon."

"You're welcome, Andy. Don't fuck it up."

Andy laughs and shakes his hand. "I won't. I promise. In fact, I may ask for your help?"

Simon nods with a grin. "Of course. I just want Audrey to be happy, even if it isn't with me."

Andy sighs and sits back at his desk after Simon leaves and flips through the notebook a little longer before shoving it in his desk.

***

Andy paces on the tiny porch at Audrey's place while he waits for her to answer. She answers the door in shorts and a tank top from being in bed. "Sorry. I wanted to come when Braeden was asleep. Can we talk?"

She nods and moves to let him inside. "As long as you're quiet and you're not here to yell at me."

"No yelling. I promise." He chuckles, closing the front door quietly behind him.

She sighs and crosses her arms. "Okay. Do you want something to drink?"

"No. I don't plan on being here long." He put his hand up before she can say anything. "Just wait. Let me talk." He grabs her arms, making her relax them down to her sides. "I'm sorry Audrey. For being a jerk the other day. I shouldn't have stormed out. I was feeling insecure because I didn't know as much about you as Simon or even Adam. When we were together before, we were wrapped in our own little bubble, and you never got properly courted. I was lazy and took advantage of you being available to me and I used you. I didn't even take the time to learn your favorite flower or color. Because I'm an idiot Audrey. And I'm so sorry. I love you so much and it seems like a lie? How can I love you when I don't know any of these things? So... I freaked out the other day. I freaked out instead of doing what I should have done which was ask you to let me take you on a proper date. Just the two of us. We went about everything the wrong way. We have a son. And he's so amazing and I know that a lot to do with you, and even Simon. But I wasn't there. And I wasn't able to court you and take you out. We threw ourselves at each other and we know we are compatible in the bedroom. But we never really worried about the foundations most couples build their relationships on because we didn't have to. And because of that, I don't know things that I should and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Audrey."

"I..." She shakes her head, and he can see her eyes red with tears. "I don't know what to say Andy. But I love you. I didn't need any of that because I was happy to just be with you. And... it's purple and roses."

He can't help but laugh, much to her chagrin as she furrows her brows. "That's because I made you believe that's all we needed. And it was all I could offer. I can offer you so much more now, princess. And I want to. I meant it when I said I wanted to offer you everything. And I will. Starting at the beginning if we have to. You deserve not to be a secret. You deserve more than quickies in the office or the car or hotel. God, I treated you so awful. It's a miracle you're standing here willing to give me a real chance. At least, I'm hoping that you are. Will you give me a chance? Will you let me take you out?"

She's smiling now, that's a good sign as she wraps her arms around him. "Of course, I want to give you a chance. I want to give us a chance, Andy."

He sighs, relieved, like a weight has been lifted. "Good. Friday night. You and me. Don't worry about Braeden, I've taken care of him already."

She bites her lip and his cock twitches, but he swallows hard and wills it to behave. "Friday then. And I kicked Simon out. I told him to step back. Because I want you, Andy."

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say those words." He leans down to press his mouth to hers and her small moan causes him to deepen the kiss as she moves a hand up to his hair. He groans, bringing his hand up to her cheek as he moves to full attention in his pants and suddenly, he's regretting wearing sweatpants when she presses her body firmly against his. He pulls away abruptly as she whimpers, and he shakes his head. "I can't. Go to sleep. I'll see you at work tomorrow." He kisses her on the forehead quickly before leaving her standing in her living room as her heart races. He knew he had to keep his promise to Simon and not fuck this up. Everything depended on him now, including the stability of his new family.