Coney Island

Chapter 13

I was standing at the kitchen counter when I felt a body come up behind me, causing me to smile softly. 'What time did you sneak out of bed?' asked Karlie, her voice still laden with sleep. 

I turned in her arms, placing a soft kiss on her cheek before I answered. 'About an hour ago. We fell asleep so early last night.' I said as a slight smirk graced my lips. 

'You wore me out,' She chuckled back, 'after a highly overwhelming day and multiple rounds of mind-blowing sex, a girl has to sleep.' She captured my lips in a kiss as she pinned me to the kitchen counter with her body, tangling her fingers in my hair and causing me to moan into her mouth. 

We only broke the kiss when we heard a soft throat clearing coming from the kitchen doorway. 'Good morning people whose house I still live in, even though I have no good reason for not moving out yet, especially since I have plenty of money and actually own an apartment on the other side of town,' greeted Joe as he walked over to the coffee machine to switch it on. 

'There's no rush,' I told him with a smile. I kissed Karlie's cheek one last time before returning to the stove to continue with breakfast. 

The toaster popped, and Karlie automatically moved to take out the bread. 'Tay's right. You don't need to do anything you're not ready for. It's a big change, and it came out of nowhere. Plus, Hugo loves having you here,' She said as she began to butter the freshly toasted bread. 

'I love being here,' He replied as he took a jug of orange juice out of the fridge, 'But it's not really conventional, is it? Living with my ex and her girlfriend. I think, for Hugo's sake, I need to move out sooner rather than later. The longer I stay, the more attached he'll get to me living here, and it'll be so much harder for him when I do eventually move out.' He took the orange Juice into the dining room, returning a few seconds later to collect the plates I had already made while Karlie got the cutlery and glasses. 

'We'll sit him down on New Year's Day and tell him I'm moving out the week after. I'll spend that full week with him, and then when I do move out, I'll make sure I see him as much as my schedule allows. I don't want him to think I'm just going to disappear and never come back,' He informed us of his plan. 'If that's okay with you, of course,' He added towards Karlie. 

Karlie put down the things in her hands before she moved over to Joe and took the plates, placing them down as well before she pulled him into a hug. 'Thank you,' I heard her tell him, 'Thank you for showing my son that not all men are cruel, neglectful assholes.' She pulled back and smiled a tearful smile. 'You can spend as much time with him as you want. You've essentially been his third parent over the past few weeks. He loves his uncle Joe, and you're the best role model for him… along with Austin, of course.' 

Joe blushed at her praise, though it was clear he was trying to hold back his own tears. 'Thank you for bringing him into my life. He's made me realise that I do want to be a dad. I was okay not having children when I was with Taylor because she didn't want them, but after spending most of my time with Hugo, and as you said, taking on a kind of parenting role in a way I never have with my brother's kids. I've realised that I really want to raise a child of my own, whether that be with someone else or alone. It's definitely something I want to do, and I can only pray they're just as incredible as Hugo is,' he said, and he sounded very determined. 

I moved in front of him before I wrapped my arms around him. 'I'm going to miss you so much when you leave,' I told him, feeling sad at the thought of not seeing him every day but understanding that he couldn't live with us forever, especially if he wanted a family of his own. 'I know you'll make the best father to a very lucky child one day, and I hope when the time comes that we're still as close as we are now.'