Lethe Vita

Chapter 12

He had never been particularly adept at withholding his affection from Brenda Walsh.

Never had that been truer than after Brenda's guard had gone all the way back up.

Or, nearly all the way back up.

He found himself almost looking forward to the nights, when Brenda's fatigue would kick in whilst he read to her and she would drift off in his arms before permitting him to carry her to their room.

On most nights, as Paganini began to play, Brenda would gesture for his hand.

But Dylan had a craving for Brenda's touch that far exceeded any of his addictions, a craving now rarely satisfied.

A craving that intensified with each new curve of Brenda's.

It wasn't that pregnancy turned him on in general. Unlike Steve, he wasn't likely to drool over some expectant stranger in the park.

Brenda turned him on. A pregnant Brenda carrying his child beneath her ever-expanding chest skyrocketed his lust.

That led to lengthy warm showers, and that led to questions Dylan didn't answer that inquired what had taken him so long in the shower.

Mostly initiated by Valerie, who he knew already knew exactly what had taken him so long in the shower.

Because Val took plenty of suspiciously long showers herself.

Mornings, more difficult, tended to vary. Sometimes, Dylan could get in a swift caress before Brenda became alert enough to withdraw. Other times, his affection was expressly denied.

The one place it was never denied was Brenda's continuously growing belly and so, Dylan unabashedly took blatant advantage of that permission when his hand immediately found their child every time Brenda came into the room.

His lips, too; on the only place he could kiss Brenda.

Being apart from his girl for the majority of the day certainly didn't help.

Dylan resolved that in order to regain Brenda's faith, he would need to show Brenda why she had fallen in love with him.

The issue was, for all his projected confidence and at times air of superiority, Dylan was a deeply insecure man. He had never understood, and to this day didn't understand, why Brenda had fallen in love with him.

Therefore, he relied heavily on their mutual passion for the arts.

He purchased a subscription service to local and international cable that ensured he could have a different art medium playing every time Brenda stepped through the door.

That, at least, caused a rapturous Brenda to join him on the sofa, even if she did do so with no less than three inches of space between them.

Dylan knew without a shred of doubt that had it not been for the tiniest member of their shared family, both of his twins would have permanently expunged him from their lives.

If the conversation didn't focus on Brenda, or on the pregnancy, Brandon didn't converse. They did spend time together one-on-one in the cooking classes, but Brandon had largely shut Dylan out.

He couldn't blame Brandon.

Brenda, as promised, did not freeze Dylan out. He was fairly convinced Brenda only spoke to him because of Dylan's ability to help fill in her gaps.

That was especially true when Brenda asked about London, as Dylan was the only one who knew the specifics of her life there.

She had begun asking about London when Brandon had inquired of Brenda whether she would be interested in a visit from the remaining members of her London crew.