Free to Love

Chapter 53

Joanna

I woke up with Shawn's arms around me. The first thing I was aware of was his smell. It was intoxicating. He smelled faintly of his cologne, with a hint of what must be sweat, but it was not offensive like most perspiration. It was manly. He also smelled like sex. I probably did, too.

We were at the house in the woods. Alone. Manny and Karen offered to take the kids for the weekend. They went Ottawa to look at Christmas decorations, since they were supposed to be beautiful there. Aaliyah and Alec moved there recently, so they are staying in their new townhouse. Shawn's parents knew that we rarely got to spend the night together, so I was pretty sure the trip was designed to give us time alone.

We'd arrived Friday night, stopping for dinner on the way. Today we were going to hit the store so that we could cook dinner together tonight. Our other big plan for the weekend was to get the Christmas decorations up. With December 25 only a month away, it made sense to do it now.

Shawn convinced me to spend Christmas at the house with him and his whole family. I was a little anxious about spending the holiday away from my family, but my own mother was pushing me to do it. She was crazy about my boyfriend. We'd had dinner with my family a couple times since Thanksgiving, and it was good to see Shawn and the kids forming bonds with my mom and dad and siblings.

I snuggled closer and sniffed deeper. I kind of wanted Shawn to wake up. We had all this time alone and should be putting it to good use. I ran my hand down his torso, my nails lightly grazing his skin. I stopped at the intended destination, eliciting a groan from my man. His eyes were still shut and I was fairly certain he was still asleep. He shifted slightly as I touched him some more.

"Mallory..." he moaned.

I let go and slid away from him. I was frozen for a second, willing him not to wake up, because I no longer wanted to fool around.

I slipped out of bed and threw on a hoodie and some sweats. Exiting through the door as quietly as I could, I went downstairs to make some coffee.

As I sat at the counter, I told myself not to let his utterance bother me. He was asleep. It wasn't intentional. It's not like he called me his wife's name in the heat of passion. It was a subconscious mistake. I needed to let it go.

Shawn joined me as I fixed my second cup, wearing only a pair of boxer briefs. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head.

"G'morning," he said sleepily. "I didn't expect to wake up to an empty bed."

I leaned back against his warm body. "Sorry. I was wide awake and needed coffee."

"Hmmm," he said kissing my neck. "But you could have woken me up."

I considered telling him I'd tried and that he'd said Mallory's name in response to his arousal, but what was the point? He'd feel terrible, and our weekend would have that hanging over it. Instead, I set my coffee mug down and led him up the staircase and back into bed. Thankfully, my name was the only one he called out.

                              ~~~~~~

Brooke texted me one day the next week saying she wanted to get a drink and maybe dinner with me after work so that we could talk. We hadn't spoken since I'd told her about Shawn, so I was happy she was reaching out.

I called Shawn on my lunch break and told him my news. We spent almost every evening together. After work I'd go straight to his condo where we'd make dinner together. The four of us would then eat at the dining room table, and Grace and Nolan would talk about their day at school. After dinner we usually played a game or watched a movie until the kiddos went to bed. Shawn and I then had time alone before I'd go back to my apartment to sleep.