Secret Weapon – during chapter nine

I wake up as Pete slides out of bed. I am fully awake in seconds, but I don't get up. Pete throws on his clothes, opens the door, and closes it behind him. Avery is crying in the living room. Noah is awake as well. I pull on my pants and peek out the door. Pete is so intent on the boys, and them on him, that they don't see me.

I'll take my time getting dressed, that way they will have a bit more time together. Maybe my sons will convince him to stay even if I can't.

I slept in my contacts. My eyes hurt. My family says I look better without my glasses—my mother seems to see imperfect eyesight as a sign of weakness—so I don't wear them except when I have to. Only I have to right now. My appearance as a red-eyed monster would be more likely to scare Pete away than my glasses. I apply the eye drops liberally.

My clothes are scattered across the floor, mixed with Pete's clothes in the blankets. His shirt smells so good. I have seen him wear it so many times that it seemed like almost a part of him. He's better looking nude though. Nude in my bed calling my name. I'm going to make sure he comes back, make sure he stays.

I don't want to wipe away the evidence that Pete and I were once one, so I leave the bed the way it is.

I peek out again. Pete is reading to the boys. Avery's tears are gone. Pete is such a wonderful man.

Today was supposed to be different. I was going to meet Sophia and after she left, I'd ask Pete out. He wouldn't go with me right away. I'd have to come back the next time he worked and ask again. Eventually, I'd wear him down and he'd go out with me. We'd go for pizza or something and I'd touch his hand or arm or shoulder at every opportunity. And when I dropped him off, I'd kiss him. I'd show how serious I was about him by not inviting him over, into my bed, until the third date. And then only later, once we were a well established couple, would I introduce him to the boys. I didn't want an instant family to scare him.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

That 'different' might have been the smarter route, but judging from how well he's taken to the boys, it wouldn't have been the better one. Not necessarily anyway.

Only now we haven't talked about the important things that we should talk about before he comes back to my bed, those things that we should have talked about before he got in it in the first place. Someone would need a lot more self control than I have to stop and ask those question when temptation was in their arms. But when was he last tested? Has he been with anyone since then? I hate the thought that anyone touched him but me.

Mason says I have my head securely fastened in the nineteenth century. He thinks I would think differently if I'd let myself go in New York, or even here once my divorce was final. But even that night club temptation pales in comparison to kissing a man I am in love with. I wouldn't have wanted to give my first time with a guy away to a stranger. I'm glad it was with Pete, so that even if we don't end up together, I'll have the precious memory.

I open the door, but don't step out.

Pete carries both the boys to the couch and sets them down. He falls to his knees and tells Avery that he is his. He does the same for Noah and Caden. Then he turns towards me and looks at me like he's never seen anything as beautiful in his life.

He's wrong of course because he's the most beautiful person in the world.

He carries Caden over and stands so close to me that our clothing almost brushing. "My Rick."

I lean forward those scant inches and press my lips to his. He responds enthusiastically. Caden hugs me too, so I take him, which distracts me from the kiss. I lean back. Pete looks like I just took his favorite toy. I hope that toy is me. "Can you stay for dinner?"

"Please?" Noah asks.

I'm not the only one who loves him.

Avery holds up his arms to Pete. "Pete Pirate, I want you to stay."

I'm certainly not the only one.

Pete scoops Avery up and cuddles him. But he hasn't answered yet.

Noah asks Caden if he wants Pete to stay and then nods until Caden copies him. He informs Pete that Caden wants him to stay. And that I do.

And I do. I want him to stay for dinner, and the night, and for the rest of his life.

I hold my breath, while trying not to look anxious, until Pete's shoulders relax and he smiles. Noah and Avery grin and Caden wants down. Our battle is won. My children, who I thought would be a liability in winning Pete, seem to be my secret weapon.

I've always known my boys were wonderful, but I might be prouder of them right now than ever before.

--

This extra was because the reviews rolled over passed a 50 or 00. If that should happen to happen again, I'll write another.

In case you didn't see it, I have a new story up. A Balance of Harmonies is my attempt to make a threesome logical. Under what circumstances would starting a threesome make sense? What kind of people would think of one? or even consider it if the idea was proposed? What would the third man bring that the other two need but don't have?

And then how do you carry it off? Who pays for what? Who is on whose health insurance? What about domestic partnerships? Whose name is on the mortgage? Who drives? Who sits in the back seat of the car? Where do you sit at a restaurant? Or do you only go places where each gets their own side of the table? What about holding hands in public? kissing? What if two are more open to public displays of affection, so everyone thinks they are a couple and one is the roommate? How will a guy deal with being called a cheater or being told he are being cheated on by people that don't know there are three of you? What do they tell the neighbors? their coworkers? friends? parents? And how will those peple take it? Who knows how much? Can they keep such a thing a secret? Would they want to?

What about when two agree on something that the other is opposed to? Does majority win? Or do they always compromise? How much time do the three spend together? Is everyone all right with being left out of things, if say two like dancing or foreign films or going to church and the other doesn't? How much time do they spend apart? What about solitary pursuits? Or one's friend that aren't friends of his lovers?

Harmonies won't be as compact as Together (months of story time rather than a week) but the story might be just as long word count wise. It will update on Fridays.