Old Flames

Old Flames: Chapter 27

Old Flames: Chapter 27

Monday -- 5:52 A.M.

Aaron: Wide awake and staring at his dark, bedroom ceiling...Just three more hours...

Lainie: In the shower, scrubbing, shaving, washing her hair before she must get the kids up...Oh, God!  Only three more hours!...

*****

6:30 A.M.

Aaron:  Wide awake and staring nervously at his dark ceiling...I wonder if Lainie had trouble sleeping, too...

Lainie:  In the kitchen, whipping up a batch of pancakes with her hair in rollers, hoping to tame her fly-away tendrils and camouflage her newest highlight disaster...I knew I should have gone to the salon!...

*****

6:47 A.M.

Aaron: Laying in bed, lazily petting Bowser while staring up at his ceiling, counting the flutters in his stomach and praying he didn’t make himself sick with the anticipation...

Lainie: “Chris! Chloe!  Time to get up!”

Chris:  “Awwwrrrmmmnnnn,” and rolls over...

Chloe:  Snore...

*****

7: 12  A.M.

Aaron: Arching his head side to side in front of his bathroom mirror, deciding he might want to shave today...Lainie wouldn’t appreciate a beard burn while I’m kissing her...okay, okay, don’t think about it yet...

Lainie:  “Come on, Chris, Chloe!  Get up!” as she’s tossing blankets off the beds and patting bottoms, her hair starting to come loose from the rollers and her face still devoid of make-up...Should I wear that turquoise jersey dress...or just my bathrobe?...Oh, who am I kidding?  I’ve gotta take the kids to school...definitely wearing clothes for that...

*****

7:34 A.M.

Aaron: Standing at his front window, sipping from his coffee cup and staring across the street at Lainie’s house...and checking his watch every fifteen seconds...What time did the kids leave for preschool?

Lainie:  “Eat, eat, eat!” she’s telling the kids as she tries to brush out her overly-curled hair...I should have never put those stupid rollers in!...Now, I look like Bozo...Crap!  This is not the day to have a bad-hair day!....”Eat!”

Chris:  Mouth full of pancakes, “I’umph eat-fin!”

Chloe:  Fork poised at her mouth, but eyes glued to her mother’s wildly flaying hair...”Mama, your hair looks funny.”

Lainie:  Dashing to the bathroom to survey the damage, fighting back tears of frustration...No, no, noooo!  I’m so stupid!!!!

*****

8:03 A.M.

Aaron:  Glancing at watch again...Shouldn’t they be leaving already?...

Lainie:  “Where are your backpacks?!”

Chris:  Shrugging...

Chloe:  Still staring at her mama’s hair, which was now clipped back from her face, but nevertheless outrageously curly...

*****

8:06 A.M.

Aaron:  Now on his second cup...Gotta stop after this one...too much caffeine wouldn’t be good...

Lainie:  “Where are my keys?!”

Chris: Shrugging, holding his backpack and standing by the front door...

Chloe:  “Mama?”

Lainie:  Rushing out of the living room to look on her dresser again...I’ve got to calm down!

*****

“Mama!”

Lainie ran back to Chloe.  “What, baby?”

Chloe pointed at Lainie’s hand.  “You’re holding them, Mama.”  Lainie looked down at the car keys fisted in her left hand.

“Oh...”

Okay, it was officially time to stop and take a deep breath.  This wasn’t her first rodeo.  She’d had sex before.  She’d had sex with Gary as recently as a few months ago before he died, just down the hall from the twins, many times...and this time, they wouldn’t even be here.  So, why was she such a wreck today?

Probably because this was Aaron she was getting so frazzled about.  Aaron!  Oh, God!  The last time they’d been intimate with each other, they’d been kids themselves!  A lot had changed since high school and raging hormones took control of their bodies and minds...

Well, maybe the raging hormone part was the same.  Just thinking about what was going to happen later gave Lainie a tingle in places she’d not felt a tingle in for years.  

“Mama?”

Lainie looked over at her kiddos.  Was she doing the right thing here?  If she did this with Aaron, there would be no turning back.  She’d either have to commit to having Aaron in her life forever, or brace herself for another heart ache if he decided he couldn’t handle life with twins and a wife.

Wife?!  Let’s not put the cart before the horse here...

Lainie had been married.  She wasn’t too sure she wanted to go through that again right now.  But, she would have to make some kind of commitment to Aaron by the time he showed up here later.  She crouched down in front of Chris and Chloe.  “Can I ask you guys something?”

“Okay,” they said almost at the same time.

“Do you really, really, really like Mr. Aaron?”

Chloe grinned.  “Yes!  He’s really, really, really nice!”  And Chris nodded with agreement.

Lainie swallowed a lump of prospect for the morning’s scheduled activities.  “How would you feel if I started seeing Mr. Aaron in an extra friendly way?”

Chris and Chloe scrunched up their foreheads, shared a confused look, and Chris asked, “Extra friends?”

“I meant like...well, like dating, like...”

“Like a boyfriend?” Chloe piped up with a hopeful grin.  Lainie tried hard not to blanche.  “Yes,” she agreed, “like a boyfriend.”

Chloe grinned at her brother, and Chris grinned at his sister, and both grinned at Lainie.  “Does that mean Mr. Aaron will be our new daddy?”

Lainie blinked at them.  Shouldn’t they be a little upset about replacing Gary?  Or did Aaron just work his magic on them like he’d done on her?  Making it nearly impossible to not love him.  She smiled.  “It’s always a possibility,” she said to them, and ushered them out the door, to the car and off to preschool.

*****

Aaron watched Lainie’s car pull out of her driveway and take off down the street.  He checked his watch again.  8:17.  Would it look too forward if he went over to her house and waited on her?

Probably.

He sighed, let Bowser out into the backyard and resumed his post by the front window.  A cloudy sky settled over the city, and he knew that it would be raining before the end of the day.  Not exactly the kind of settling he hoped for today, but what could he do about it?  As the minutes ticked by, he wondered what was taking her so long.  The preschool wasn’t far, but he figured getting the kids there, settled into their classes, and driving back might take longer than he expected.  

A watched pot never boils, he thought and sat down in his recliner.  That lasted only a few seconds.  He popped up, peered out at Lainie’s still empty driveway and sat back down.  A car drove down the street.  Aaron rushed to the window.  Nope, not her.  He sank into his chair.  He checked his watch.  He breathed into his hand and sniffed.  Ugh, coffee breath.  Getting up to wash with some Scope, he glanced outside again.

Dang it!  I’m going to work myself up to a heart attack before I even get over there.  

He rinsed his mouth, opted for a second brushing, added some cologne and deodorant, and headed back to his window.  Where the devil was she?  Two minutes until nine.

And she said not to be late.

*****

Lainie dropped the twins off at their classroom and prayed that she wasn’t waylaid.  A traffic light had been out at one of the intersections getting over here, and it had taken her twice as long.  She kissed Chris and Chloe at the door, waved to their teacher, and skipped to get out of the building as fast as she could.

“Lainie!”

Lainie groaned and turned with a smile pasted on her face.  The preschool’s director rushed down the hallway toward her.  “I’m so glad I caught you,” Mrs. Wayens called as she approached, scanning Lainie from head to toe.  “You look...nice today.  Do you have a minute?”

“Um...well...” Lainie prevaricated, switching her car keys from hand to hand.  She looked like hell, and Mrs. Wayen knew it, but Mrs. Wayen gently took her elbow and ushered her back toward the classrooms.

“Since you signed up to head the Christmas program this year, I wanted to familiarize you with the space we’ll be using and get you acquainted with our music teacher,” Mrs. Wayen chatted, directing Lainie away from her car and her escape to the best morning of her life.  Lainie blinked at the woman.  She now had a new appreication for the befuddled gazes that some mothers wore around here.  Mrs. Wayen could coax an egg out of a chicken’s butt.  

Lainie sighed and resigned herself to the director’s immediate attention, and hopefully, she can sneak away when her back was turned.  Why, oh why, do I sign up for these things?  Oh, right.  For the kids.

Right now, Lainie wanted it to be all about her...  She had plans today, dang it!  Lainie smiled tightly and endured a few minutes of delay.

*****

Maybe she changed her mind, Aaron groused silently to himself.  Well, if that’s what she wants, then she could do that...

Lainie’s car whipped into her driveway so fast, it clipped the edge of some bushes and slid to a dead stop just inches from her closed garage door.  Aaron cocked his head to the side as he watched her jump out of the driver’s side and sprint inside, blue dress flashing up around her thighs, showing just how perfect those legs of hers were.

Okay.  She’s home.  Now what?  Just run on over?

Aaron put his hand on the doorknob, but he couldn’t turn it.  His heartbeat started skyrocketing, and his legs were frozen to the spot.  Get a grip, man.  Get your butt over there.  She’s waiting on you.

He squeezed his eyes closed and inhaled a few deep, deep, deep breaths.

The flowers!

Letting go of the door, he whirled back to his refrigerator and pulled out the bundle of wildflowers from inside.  He’d gone to the store yesterday for *cough* supplies, and saw them sitting by the register.  Roses would have been more romantic, but these didn’t scream that he was trying too hard.  The cellophane crinkled in his grip, and he slowly approached the door again.  Just get out on the porch, and then the rest was easy.

Outside the door frame, he stopped again.  If he trotted across the street holding flowers, then the whole neighborhood would know what was up with the two of them.  Two doors down from Lainie, Missy Bowlie was out in her front garden, clearing it away for the coming winter, and Mr. Brown from the corner was out walking his pet goose on a leash -- yes, goose!  Aaron stepped back into the dark interior of his house.  He had a shoe box in the closet.  He could carry the flowers over in that.

Jeez!  I’m a grown man.  If I want to take flowers to a pretty lady, then they can all stuff it!

Squaring his shoulders, he marched across the road and knocked on her door.  “Just a minute!” Lainie called from inside.  Some scuffling sounded and then the door jerked open.  

Aaron felt his jaw drop.  There stood the woman he loved, only she didn’t look like the Lainie he knew.  She wore the blue dress he glimpsed earlier and some very high heels, and she looked beautiful wrapped up in all that tight forming material, but her hair was a mass of wild curls coming loose from clip and she wore so much make-up, the bright red lipstick had migrated to a coating on her teeth.

Okay...so, she dressed up for him.  That was sweet, but completely unnecessary.  As she smiled at him, he realized he should say something.  Clearing his throat, he said, “Wow!  You look...nice.”

Immediately tears sprang to her eyes and her face fell.  “Oh!” she wailed, stumbling back so precariously, he was afraid those shoes would break under the stress.  “I look awful!”  She fled back into her house and around the corner.  Aaron mentally punched himself and closed the front door behind him.

He found her in the bathroom, standing at the mirror with a brush in one hand and a wash cloth in the other, trying to fix the damage.  A flush of embarrassment and horror filled her cheeks.  “I’m so sorry,” she muttered through the wet cloth.  “I thought...I don’t know what I thought...”

Aaron set the flowers on the sink and took the brush and washcloth away from her.  Then he led her to sit on the side of the tub.  She blinked back hot tears as he bent down to remove those horrible heels before she broke her neck in them.  “I’m so sorry,” she kept repeating, but Aaron ignored her for the moment.  

Man, if he thought he was nervous, then he had nothing on this lady.  Stretching up to his full height, he quietly drew her to her feet in front of him and kissed her soundly.  “You’re beautiful, just the way you are,” he said against her lips, and she smiled thankfully.

“I guess I was just a little bit nervous,” she offered, averting her gaze to the buttons on his shirt.  “I feel like I’ve never done this before.”  She laughed.  “Isn’t that silly?”

“It’s not silly,” he assured her, carressing her face.  “We haven’t done this before.”

She raised her eyes and frowned a little.  “Yes, we have...don’t you remember?”

Aaron smiled.  “I remember two kids fumbling around, not really sure what they were doing.”

“Yes, but...”

“No,” he stopped her, putting a finger on her lips.  “It has never been like this...ever.  Not then, not since then.  For all intensive purposes, this is the first time, for both of us, because this is about love...not about a bunch of hormones taking charge and not two people just trying to stay warm and keep the loneliness away.”

Lainie sighed and dropped her head to his shoulder.  “Aaron, I was married, and I did love Gary at some point, but this feels different.”

Now was not the time to bring in a third wheel, especially Gary.  Aaron cleared his throat.  “Lainie, if you’re having second thoughts...”  Where to go with that?  “Um...what I mean to say is that...hell, I don’t know.  All I know is that I’m in love with you, and I’m here now, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make this as easy-peasy for you as I can.”

She hugged him tightly.  “I know.  And I love you, too.  I want this.  I want you.  I’m not trying to make this difficult.  Really, I’m not.”  She raised her head, and Aaron got lost somewhere in the depths of her hazel eyes.  He hoped -- prayed, battled, and would gladly sell his soul -- to never rise up out of the scorching desire blazing in there.  And she felt it, too.  He watched as her eyes darkened, and felt her fingers tickling the back of his neck.

“If it helps,” she whispered hoarsely, “I’m not wearing any underwear.”

And that was all it took.  Aaron dived down to her mouth, letting her know through a heated kiss just how helpful that was.  With arms still locked around each other, he led her to her bedroom, closed the door behind them, and...

*****

Lainie sighed contently as she rested her head on Aaron’s chest.  Wow...

“My sentiments exactly,” he chuckled, playing with her hair, which spread out across her bare shoulders.  She hadn’t realized she spoke that one word, but it summed it all up.  Wow...  The man had some serious stamina.  Lainie was exhausted.  The sheets dipped down past her back to cover only her bottom, and Aaron lightly ran a finger up and down her spine.  She shivered.  

“Cold?” he asked.

“Not at all,” she said, tucking an arm around his waist.  She could literally stay like this all day, but their lovemaking session had lasted several hours, and she knew she had to pick up the kids in a bit.  

But every muscle in her body had turned to jelly, and she couldn’t drive down the block, much less two miles to the preschool.

“I brought you flowers,” he said to the top of her head.  Lainie arched up to look at his face.  He reclined on her pillows with an arm stretched under his head, and he smiled lazily down at her, his clear green eyes swallowing her whole.

“You did?”

“I’m pretty sure,” he said.  “I must have dropped them somewhere.”

“Well...it’s the thought that counts, I guess,” she teased him.  After that initial kiss in her bathroom, she had little of her own thoughts to go on.  A month spent in his presence had culminated into a tearing of clothes and roving hands, and she never been more eager to have a naked man’s body on top of hers as she’d been that morning...

She couldn’t wait to do it again.

“So...” he drew out, and Lainie sensed a small change in his demeanor.  Yeah, she thought and finished for him, “So, what now?”

“Do you want to talk about it now?” he asked seriously, but Lainie would rather get one more toe-curling episode out of the way before they talked.  However, some things couldn’t be put off any longer.

She sighed and rolled over to occupy the other side of the bed, turning on her hip to face him.  “I guess now is as good a time as any.”

He propped his head on an elbow and rested the other hand lightly on her hip.  “I love you,” he said.  “I want to be with you forever, but I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen.  I can sense you’re hesitant about disturbing the kids’ life again, so I can be patient in that regard.”

“But not in others?”

He grinned.  “No, I can be patient all around, but if I got a say so in the matter, then I say...don’t look for another house.  Move in with me, or we can move together into a bigger house.”

“That’s a big sacrifice for you,” she said, searching his face for any wary emotion.

“I’ll do anything for you,” he replied earnestly, and she believed him.  At this point, she’d believe him if he told her the world would come to an end if they didn’t hook up.  

How did she get so lucky as to be here with him again?  Ten years ago, she’d never have assumed that she would eventually become widowed with two kids to look after and a loving, sweet, caring man to take hold and claim her heart and everything it encompassed.  It was times like this one that she understood the saying, There’s a reason for everything.  Who would have thought that her mother’s infidelity would lead her to this day?  This man?  Again, after so many years?

And who have thought that the nervous, bumbling teenage boy who couldn’t get her bra strap undone would have become such a masterful lover?  He didn’t bumble once all morning.  He took charge from kiss one, and Lainie melted in his palms.

So...he’d do anything at all, hmm?

Lainie smiled wickedly, scooted closer to press a kiss to his wonderfully honed chest and said, “Oh?  Anything?”

Aaron laughed, threw her backward and hovered over her, settling between her legs.  “Yeah, anything.  You want to test me on that?”

“I’ve got a few things I’d like to see you do,” she purred, lacing her fingers behind his neck.

He lowered his lips to taste hers, nibbling away like a starved man.  “Just point me in the right direction,” he muttered, and she did.  Pushing on his shoulders, she pointed alright...straight south.

“You realize this means I’ll get to test you, too,” he called as his head disappeared under the covers.

“Test away,” she sighed, closing her eyes, and knowing that everything would be alright again.  If this was the prelude to their life together, then...yeah, moving in with him would be just peachy with her.

And the twins wouldn’t mind a bit.

They could be a family, and that sounded perfect.