Fire meet gasoline (Skeet Ulrich)

27.

"I'm very sorry, Vicki," Naiia sighed sadly, "I shouldn't go there. It's my fault that he's pissed. I'm sorry."

"No, stop," I smiled at her faintly, while fixing my hair, "it's not your fault. It's mine. I'm gonna talk to him, but I'm gonna give him a time to cool off a little, for now. I think I know what this is about and it's between me and your dad. Don't worry, it'll be okay."

"But I'm ... oh, I hate when we argue. But it just wasn't fair. Jake can always go, but not me. It's like he wants me to stay here in this house forever or something."

"You're his little girl, Nai. And however old you'll be, you'll always be his little girl, his princess. He just wants to protect you from everything bad and ... He sees how grown you are, that you're smart, beautiful and so well-behaved, but he probably still hasn't admitted to himself that you're adult now. It's hard for every loving dad and you know how much he loves you and Jake. He just needs to cool off and you two will talk. Tell him everything you need to tell him, I'm sure he'll understand."

"I'm so happy my dad has you, Vicki. I've never been this close with anyone from his partners. It's so good to talk to you, when my mom is not around ... that you see it from the other side. Me and Jake really do love you," she hugged me and I almost started crying. 

"Aw, you just made me so happy! I love both of you so much and I know I've said it before, but I really do appreciate that you accepted me as your dad's partner, it means the world to me. I just want you to know that you two will forever stay your dad's priority and if anything happens, we both are here for you. Whether it is something like this, or it's a bigger problem, okay? My bubs, I love you so much," I hugged her back, very tightly. Even though it was only six year age gap between us, I thought about her like she was partly my friend, partly my child. 

"Are you two having something like a hugging session, or?" Jake smiled from the doors and then came in. 

"We're talking. Come in," I smiled at him and he joined us. 

"And? What are you talking about?"

"Dad is pissed at me, because I went to that party and also at Vicki, because she let me," Naiia explained. 

"I can explain that to him," Jake said immediately, ready to protect his darling sister," it wasn't like a big party, just some of Megan's friends. And her parents were at home, but in their garden house, so ..."

"I'm sure he'll understand that. And, by the way, how was it? Did you have fun?" I asked. 

"Very good, really ... Plenty of fun and little bit of alcohol, but just a little bit," Jake raised hands and we laughed, "champagne and wine, that's soft alcohol, right?"

"Alcohol is alcohol. But if it was just a little bit," I mimicked Jake and he grinned, "it's okay, I won't tell. Okay, my loves," I stood up, "I'm going to find your dad and then we could do something together, hm? Watch a movie, or play some games," I suggested and they nodded. 

My stomach was in knot when I ran down the stairs, opened door and walked to his workroom. I knew he'd be there. I heard noises, he was doing something with hammer and buzzsaw. I leaned my body, dressed only in shorts and his T-shirt, against the wall and watched him. He was so focused and I realized for the thousandth time how handsome he is. Tall, dark hair, dark eyes, stubble, killer smile and that body ... I didn't need him to have six pack or constantly flexed muscles. I adored it the way it was. Strong and protective. I couldn't help but smile, my heart was about to burst with love and affection. 

I came from behind, hugging him around his waist, resting my head on his back. He froze a little, but then his body relaxed. 

"I'm sorry," I said quietly and he turned to me. 

"I'm genuinely sorry, Skeet. It wasn't my intention to undermine your authority or your upbringing. I should not did it, but in that moment I thought it was okay. I felt sorry for Nai, she was so sad she couldn't go, so ... Don't be angry with her, it was my fault, my love. I'm sorry," I bent my head down. 

Big palm with hot skin caressed my cheek and lifted my chin. 

"I know you are. I ... You know, princess, two years ago I had stalker. She was ... obsessed with me, my family. She was here couple of times, following me and even my kids. I spent thousands of dollars on lawyers and after year they got rid of her. She was crazy, it was bad time for all of us. That's why I am so nervous when kids go out ... Jake is boy, that's different, but I can't imagine that something could happen to Naiia ... She's so tiny, she's ... God, it scares me everytime I think about it. I know what you meant ... I know I can't protect her from everything, of course. But it's so hard for me, I'm very fixed when it comes to my kids. I know it wasn't fair, I'll talk to her. And also, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I've said to you. I know I hurt you and I'm sorry," he said penitently and I melted in his arms. 

                                                                                        ....

"We should get dressed and go down and be with kids. I promised them," I said lazily, laying in the bed, our sweaty bodies glued together. I was enjoying it, loving every touch of Skeet's hands on my naked body. 

"Mhm ... Just few more minutes, okay?" he said with the same tone I had. 

"I hate when we argue, but I love what we do after we argue," I giggled, placing kiss on his neck. 

"I love you so much, my babygirl," he said smiling, his eyes were full of love. 

"I love you," I leaned to kiss him and we both kept smiling at each other like idiots. 

"I was thinking ... Do you want to have kids someday?" he asked quietly, my eyes widened. 

"I'd love to," I said truthfully. I was an only child and since I was little I wanted to have a big family someday. 

"Because ... I want to have kids with you. In the future. I want to give you the opportunity to be a mom and I want you to be the mother of my children, my love," he said lovingly. 

"What?" I uttered a sound, tears fell out of my eyes. 

"I know I'm old, but I ..." he started, but I attacked his lips with mine. 

"No, no, don't say a word," I was murmuring through kisses, "I love you, I love you so much..."

We were passionately kissing, both absolutely lost in each other's arms, both filled with love we couldn't describe. 

                                                                                            ...

Skeet had an audition and I was cooking dinner in the kitchen. It was beautiful Friday afternoon, Jake, his girlfriend and Naiia were in pool, I was quietly humming to Edith Piaf's songs. I had shrimps and chicken on cooker, vegetables on grill, and crème brûlée in the oven. 

Skeet talked with kids that day, they set new rules and since that day our lives were filled with harmony. I've never been that happy in my life. My phone started ringing, I noticed Corin's name. I gulped, we hadn't talked since I moved out. My hands were shaking when I put it to my ear. 

"Hello?" 

"Vics," she cried on the other side. My stomach dropped. 

"Corin? What's ..."

"John is dead," she sobbed loudly, "he was killed."