Luckless Lover

Chapter 16

Zake's pov

He lost. Mr. Greenburg won taking everything. Zake has one week to move out of his office and house. Zake wanted to just go home but he also wanted to go to Steff's and hug her all night. They finished up and were excused. The case was closed. Zake was homeless, jobless, and lifeless while at the same time he felt his home is with his girls, his job is to protect them, and his life is every moment he has with them.

When he got to Steff's it was 9 p.m. the kitchen light was still on. He didn't knock this time, he just went in to see Steff on her couch asleep. She had a pair of fuzzy plaid shorts and a pink tank. As he did the night before, he carried her to her bed. Her eyes fluttered open want she patted the bed next to her.

"One minute." He went back out and got his pajamas on, which were just cotton pants, then went back into her room and she sat up on her bed. "I lost." He whispered. She stood up and opened her arms. He took a step closer and she stood on her tip toes, put her arms around his neck and hugged him. He held her back and let the tears come out.

"It's okay." She said, not letting go of him. 

"No." He cried. "Aly's life is there. For how long I've known you I lived there. Aly's mom and I lived there since we got married. It's my life."

She hugged him tighter. "So let's start over. Let's start here." He kissed her neck.

"You always know what to say." He lifted her up. 

She crossed her ankles behind him. "Zake?" He sat on the bed with her on his lap and they hugged. After a few minutes she whispered. "Let's go to sleep. We can do something tomorrow to get it off your mind."

"Okay." He hiccuped. She got off his lap and went to her side of the bed. she waited for him to lay down then she laid on his chest. "Thank you, Steff."

"Anytime." She kissed his chest. "Goodnight."

"Night."

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Steff's pov

The rest of the week went by fast. Zake moved in with her. They set a room for Aly and Zake just set his stuff in Steff's room. She gave him the dresser by her window that had been empty since she moved in. He set up pictures of Steff, Aly, And himself. He put the pictures of Rian in a drawer. On Monday all three of them went to Aly's school at 10. 

"Hello. You must be Zake." Annie said when they got there. "I'm Aly's teacher. Call me Annie."

"Hello." Zake said shaking her hand. 

"Okay let's get started." She pointed to the table with four chairs. They all sat and Annie pulled out a small file out with Aly's name on it.  "So to start. This is a file of Aly's work. We give it to you at the last meeting, which is in May. this meeting is for us to make a goal of her intended learning outcomes. So I have a paper here that I'll fill out. I'm going to ask you and Aly questions and you answer. Any questions?" She looked at us.

"Can I show them my cat picture?" Aly asked with a big smile. 

"Yeah." Annie took a paper from the file and gave it to Aly. "Here."

"See?" Aly showed them. It was good. 

"Wow." They both said, simultaneously.

"She didn't even trace." Annie said smiling. "Her art teacher wanted to frame it. She said that Aly is the best kindergarten student she's ever had." 

Steff looked at Zake and both of their eyes widened then they looked at Aly. "Really." Steff was in awe." That's amazing.

"She gets that from her mother." Zake said. "Rian was a great artist." He patted Aly's head. "Can we take that one home now?" He asked Annie.

"Oh, sure." She smiled. "Look at her name. She wrote it without help."

Zake turned the page over. "Alyssa Thompson" was written in cursive. it looked like an adult had written it. "Wow." Zake was in awe now.

"Yeah, I showed her how to write her name like a big kid." Steff shrugged. "She asked me to. She said she wanted to write like her teacher so I started with her name."

"Really?" Zake looked at Steff. "When was this?"

"Everyday after school."

They finished the meeting at 11. they made Aly's goal to be able to write the whole alphabet in cursive. Annie got her one of the third grade handwriting books. Aly was so happy. They went to the bakery and Steff went to work instantly. Zake and Aly sat at the counter. Aly wanted to work on her cursive right now. While Steff worked in the back room on cake and cupcakes for a surprise party that is on Wednesday, Aly did the first five pages. 

They went upstairs at 8 after Steff locked the Bakery doors. When they got upstairs Steff got Aly a marker to write her name on the front of her book. she wrote it fast and smooth as if she had practiced for years, looping the letters. It was like an art all on its own. 

"How did you teach her so good?" Zake asked when Aly went to bed. 

"I don't know." Steff shrugged. "She learns fast and listens really good."

"She's amazing." He smiled. 

"She came from you." Steff said then blushed. 

"You're amazing too." 

"Thanks." she kissed him.

"Let's get to bed." He said standing up. "Come on."

She raised her hands. "Carry me?" He laughed. "Please, I'm beat."

"What were you even doing all day? Aly was able to do 10 pages today."

"Just baking." She looked at her lap. "The usual." He picked her up, holding her legs and back. She tried to squirm out of his arms. "I was joking."

"No. It's fine." He held her tight careful not to drop her. "You're really light." She blushed, wrapped her arms around his neck, and hid her face in his chest. "Like a child." He added as he set her on her bed.

"Stop it." She said, hiding her face in her legs now. 

"No." He said, earning a kick in the leg.

"Go," She said pointing to the door. "I  need to change." 

"How about you go in the bath room and I'll get dressed out here?"

"Fine." She stood, got her stuff, and went into the bathroom. When she came back out Zake was laying on the bed with her book in his hand.

"Finally." He acted as if she took hours. "This book is good." He waived it in the air. It was her only one of the series. Called "A Spark Unseen" and she loves it

"Don't loose My spot." She laid by him. 

"Can I read it out loud?" He turned to the first page.

"Yeah." 

He read and she listened. He read with different voices, which was just the way she liked it. They read the first chapter and she began to fall asleep. She felt him put the book on the nightstand and lay back down. When he settled in she snuggled close to him and kissed his chin. "Thank you for reading." She said and closed her eyes. He kissed her head.

"Any time." He whispered. "Goodnight my beautiful girl."

"Goodnight."