Clawen • What comes next

|| CHAPTER 88 ||

Dinner time came and Owen started preparing the pizzas. Maisie had brought Charlie down, a couple hours prior, claiming that the toddler had gotten bored. But Claire being Claire had found that hard to believe. Owen had once again chuckled at her worrying looks and noises, but decided against trying to say something. Later, he had managed to put her mind at ease by going up to the girls and asking what they wanted on the pizzas. He found them still on the bed, but also fully clothed and not acting any different that usual. He got a smile from Claire when he told her that a minute later.

Not that there was anything wrong with them being together, or doing anything. Sex was normal, god knows Claire herself has done it more times than anyone can count. But ever since they took Maisie in, Claire had been so protective of the little girl. As if she was her own. Seeing her grow older and become more independent had brought many smiles to Claire's face. But taking the step to start becoming more intimate with another person, freaked Claire out. Gay or not, it was a big step and deep down, the only fear Claire had, was that Maisie wasn't ready and it would end up damaging her mentally.

Plus, Claire wasn't exactly an expert in that area of intimacy.

When the pizza was about to come out of the oven, Claire went up to get the girls. She knocked on the door and opened,

to find the two girls, still on the bed but frantically pulling apart and scooting backwards when they saw Claire. All three were shocked but Claire was quick to look away and apologize, before mentioning that dinner was ready. She quickly closed the door and went downstairs to Owen.

On the other side of the door, the girls were looking in the direction of where Claire had just disappeared from. Maisie put her mouth askew and bit down on her bottom lip, before turning to look at Alex. Both of them started smiling shyly at each other, before Maisie scooted closer and leaned in for a kiss. After pulling away, she stood up and reached a hand out for Alex to take. "Let's go get some food, shall we?" Maisie asked, earning herself a smile from Alex who gladly took her hand.

On the way to the kitchen, Maisie thought about letting go of Alex' hand before they reached it. But decided against it, wanting her parents to get used to not only Alex, but them being together. And after Claire walked in on them kissing, why not just carry on from there.

As they reached the opening into the kitchen, Claire was looking at them but quickly turned her head to look straight ahead. Not wanting to make the girls uncomfortable, but most likely doing exactly that by the way she was acting. Claire took a deep breath and put on a smile, before asking the girls if they could find some plates.

After dinner, the girls went upstairs. After half an hour of watching tv and a lot of teasing. Claire quickly put Charlie to sleep, luckily, she went down quickly.

Claire decided to go say goodnight to the girls, even though they probably weren't going to sleep for hours. But for her own sake as much as their own, she wanted to get do it now so they had their privacy. She walked to the door of Maisie's bedroom and knocked, this time waiting to enter, having learned from earlier. "It's clear mom" She heard Maisie say from the other side and found her daughter giggling when she opened the door. "Thank you" Claire said, half as a joke. "I just wanted to say goodnight, giving you guys privacy for the rest of the night" Claire then said with a smile. Both girls said goodnight and Maisie shot her mom a warm smile, reassuring her that she was doing fine.

Claire walked back down to Owen, slumping down in his lap. Finding that his warmth mixed with the sense of safety his massive body provided, was exactly what she needed. "God what's wrong with me?" She asked. Owen squeezed her slightly with his arms that he had wrapped around her the second she landed on him. "Where to start" He said, flinching when she slapped his bicep. Although he saw it coming, actually he expected it. "Nothing is wrong with you" He said and bend down to kiss her hair. "You know that" He then said and turned his head slightly to lean against hers.