Their Bright Future (Her Dark Shadow #2)

James

WARNING:
Temporary explicit content.

The truth is, I want to settle down. I want to become a dad. I want to...to push my kid on the swing, to take long walks with my daughter who likes to cartwheel along the path, to attend soccer tournaments and dance recitals. When you're in your mid thirties, finding a partner is hard.
Ezrynn's not that bad, she's really not, but...all the other ones are taken.
Everyone my age already has settled down. People my age already have kids of their own.
The only partners you find in your mid thirties are the ones who have been divorced. I don't want to be a stepdad.
So I found Ezrynn. I was at a kid's inspirational talk at the library one day--I wasn't there for the talk, I just found it interesting as I looked for books--and I heard Ezrynn say she was still looking for her "someone."
I wanted to be her someone. Well...I wanted to be someone's someone. I wanted to be someone's first.
So I pretended to bump in to her after the seminar.
~
"Oh, I'm so sorry! I'm such a klutz..." And then I pretended to have a moment as I looked in to her eyes. I paused for dramatic effect. "Here..." I said distractedly, "Uh, here, let me help you with that," and I bent down to help her with her papers.
"Oh! Uh...that's fine, that's...fine. Uh...I have to go. I've got this...thing. Yeah. Bye," and she turned around to leave. "Hey, actually..." She turned back to face me, "I can't help but be blunt about this. Are you...are you single?"
~
And that's how I got Ezrynn to be my girlfriend. I guess she was more desperate than I thought. Or maybe I'm still good at wooing the ladies.
Regardless. I've convinced her to marry me. We're telling her family. That's why we moved back to her childhood city. We'll get married here. Then she'll finally let me in her pants.
Not that I want in her pants...but I sure do want kids.

I was behind Ezrynn on the way to her brother's house. I was tempted to rent a hotel and let her hang out with them, but she had already insisted that I meet them.
Once I got there I told her to stay as long as she'd like. I had plans. I mean, I didn't tell her I had plans, but plans I had. She told me to go on ahead, that she'd catch me later.
I rented a hotel as far from her brother's house as the big city permitted. This was necessary. If the hotel was far away, Ezrynn might plan on just staying at her brother's. And if she didn't, I had plenty of time to hurry things up.

The checkout lady was very...enthusiastic when she saw me. "You're...James...James James? James James James! I've missed you so much!"
"Layla!" I greeted her, stroking her side. "Do you have plans later?"
"Are you inviting me to..." she raised her eyebrows.
"That I am," I looked at her from under my lashes.
"I'm free in...three minutes. Go. Get ready," and then she giggled.

I heard a knock on my door five minutes later. "You're late," I pointed to my watch.
She threw herself at me.
"James," she huffed as she stuck her tongue into my mouth, "I haven't seen you in..." she pulled my hair and started unbuttoning my shirt, "Years..." My shirt was off and her cold fingers were running up and down my back frantically.
"Yeah, did we..." I got distracted as she unzipped my pants. I pulled away just long enough for me to rip her shirt over her head, "Did we even...did we..." She shoved me toward her waist and I started undoing her bra.
"No," she laughed. "We didn't...see each other...after high school..." She managed to get my pants down to my knees without breaking the kiss and I kicked them the rest of the way off.

I woke up a few hours later to the sound of my phone ringing.
"Hello?"
"Hey, James," it was Ezrynn.
"Oh hey, babe," I sat up in bed.
"I'm staying at Corbin's tonight. Is that okay with you?"
"Yeah! That's totally fine. It would be rude of me to expect you back. You haven't seen him in ages,"
"Oh, I knew you'd understand! Thank you. I promise I'll be back early tomorrow."
"Oh no, Hun, no! You stay there. I'll come and visit tomorrow. You soak up all the time you need. You and me will be together soon enough."
"Yeah," she sighed. "Are you sure you don't want to come crash at Corbin's?"
"No no, I've already checked in to the hotel. I'll be fine...goodbye, Ezrynn."
"Goodbye, James."
I hung up.
Layla put her hand on my stomach. She inched her way down...
"James."
"Ye...ye-yes?" I huffed.
"Is she coming back?" Layla said seductively.
"No..."
So she jumped on me again.