Sorry, I Love You.

3.11

"Wahh... You're so smart," Zoe said in awe as she looked over her shoulder at Teddy's close profile.

A smile tugged at the corner of Teddy's lips and he tried to hide it by resting his chin on Zoe's shoulder. She looked back down at the homework sat on the coffee table in front of them and watched as Teddy solved math question after math question. He really was good at it, solving them within minutes of reading the prompt. Zoe read the prompt and knew that it would take her four times as long to solve it as Teddy. His brain worked really quickly.

It was even surprisingly when Teddy actually got something wrong and had to erase his work. Zoe lightly gasped and brushed the eraser shavings away. "You got it wrong?"

"No," Teddy stubbornly grumbled. "Technically, I didn't get an answer so the problem wasn't finished yet. I just had to go back a few steps."

"Because you were doing it wrong," Zoe poked, feeling undeniably smug at her own teasing.

"I got distracted!"

"By what?"

"By you!"

"Then I'll leave." Zoe quickly moved to crawl out of Teddy's lap.

Teddy dropped his pencil and grabbed Zoe's waist, hauling her back into his lap before she got far. Zoe laughed at him but didn't protest. She knew he wouldn't have let her go. Teddy was too possessive to be without physical contact for more than ten minutes. Zoe hadn't expected that from him, but ever since they had returned home together, he took every opportunity to be with her and touching her in some way. It was a pleasant surprise to Zoe.

There was also something unexpected that had spawned a new surge of guilt within Zoe, now that her and Teddy were home and an official couple. Teddy used to always have Bailey on his heels, begging for his attention at all hours of the day. But now, Teddy was on Zoe's heels and begging for her attention. Bailey didn't get as much time with her uncle now that Zoe was the one hogging all of his affection.

Zoe hadn't considered it being a problem until Bailey cried at the realization that Zoe got to go to bed with Teddy and she couldn't.

"Auntie!" Bailey yelled from up the stairs. "Come here!"

"What is it, Pumpkin?" Zoe yelled back. She would have complied without question but she knew Teddy wasn't going to get her go so easily.

"Come look at my dolls! In my room!"

"Can you bring them down, please?"

There was a moment of silence as Zoe watched Teddy work and Bailey gathered a few dolls. Bailey took careful steps down the stairs with her dolls in her arms. When she got to the bottom, she raced into the living room and laid the dolls down beside Teddy and Zoe. She picked one up and showed it off, bragging about her most favorite dolls and the the clothes she picked out for the other ones. Zoe oohed and ahhed at the dolls, entertaining Bailey without leaving Teddy's lap.

"Come look at my other ones, Auntie," Bailey insisted as she clumsily gathered her dolls in her arms again.

Zoe didn't want to reject Bailey a second time so she moved to stand up. "Ah!" Teddy tightened his arm around Zoe's waist and held her place, not bothering to take his eyes off his work as he said, "give Zoe ten minutes, Pumpkin, and then she can come see you. I'm almost done."

"I don't need you to come. Only Auntie Zoe," Bailey argued, her round face scrunched in a frown.

"I know, but I need Auntie Zoe too," Teddy calmly argues back.

"She's not even doing anything! Let me have her!" Bailey complained.

Zoe sighed and shook her head. Last night, Bailey got an attitude because Zoe got to sleep with Teddy and she didn't. Now, it was because Teddy got to hog Zoe's when Bailey wanted her to see her toys. Part of Zoe was relieved that Bailey wasn't going to resent her for stealing her uncle away but now there was a whole new problem. Teddy and Zoe were both Bailey's favorites while Teddy and Zoe were each other's, which created a problem for the little one.