Chapter 4

"Mm, mm, mm," Charlotte hummed a song quietly, stopping when her mom chuckled, "What?"

Jessica smiled, "You just always do that, it's cute."

Charlotte shrugged, "I don't like the silence," she said logically.

Jessica stifled a yawn.

Charlotte tilted her head, "You look tired, mommy," she observed quietly, "Aren't you sleeping very well?" she looked around before moving closer to her mom on the couch and taking her hand.

Jessica smiled, "I'll be fine. I'm just glad you and Ali are getting along."

Charlotte nodded, "It'll just take some time, mom," she said, "She'll come around."

"I'm fine," Jessica reiterated, "I deserve it anyway."

Charlotte opened her mouth to argue but Jessica just shook her head, kissing her daughters cheek.

"it's okay, honey," she said, "I can wait."

Charlotte offered a small smile, "Well, something I can't wait for…" she giggled.

Jessica laughed, "Cheeky," she rolled her eyes, "I suppose Ali is staying at Emily's tonight," she bit her lip, "We have the place to ourselves for a while."

Charlotte grinned, "Yes, but I have a surprise first!"

"A surprise?" Jessica looked at her suspiciously, "For me?"

Charlotte nodded, "Yep! So you just watch tv or something, okay?"

"Oh, because I love tv," Jessica drawled sarcastically.

"Well, then read a book!" Charlotte crossed her arms, "Just don't move, okay?"

"Bossy, bossy," Jessica chuckled, "Fine, I'll stay right here."

Charlotte smiled and bounced away.

Jessica smiled as she listened to Charlotte rattled around in the kitchen. She supposed it was hard to hide a surprise when you were cooking in the same house. Still, it was sweet. She loved looking after Charlotte, she always had, but it was nice to know that Charlotte wanted to look after her too.

"Ready!" Charlotte announced, looking a little flustered.

Jessica rose and followed Charlotte to the dining room, "It smells delicious," she commented, "Oh, my favourite!"

Charlotte grinned, "I know. You always cook for me, so I wanted to do it for you for once. Oh, and," she ran out of the room and returned quickly with a bunch of flowers, "These are for you."

Jessica's heart melted and she smelt the flowers, "Beautiful," she murmured, "Thank you."

Charlotte sat down, "I'm glad you like them," she bit her lip, "I hope the food is okay."

Jessica took her first mouthful, "Perfect!"

"Don't speak with your mouth so full!" Charlotte shook her head.

Jessica laughed, "Hey, who's the mom here?"

Charlotte shrugged, "Who's the messy eater?" she shot back.

"Not my fault you cook such yummy food," Jessica laughed.

Charlotte beamed, "Cooking is kind of boring but it's worth it to see you eat all cutely and smile like that."

Jessica licked her lips, "You're a sweetheart."

When they finished their food, Jessica picked up the flowers and put them in a vase and began walking away.

"Where are you going?" Charlotte followed her.

"I'm going to put them in my room, so I see them every morning when I wake up," Jessica stated happily.

Charlotte grinned, "How adorable."

Jessica rolled her eyes as she placed the flowers on a dresser. She felt Charlotte's hands snake around her waist from behind. She felt soft lips on her neck and turned around.

"Thank you for my surprise," she murmured.

Charlotte nodded, "Any time. I wish I could take you on a real date. Like out. To a fancy restaurant or something. Then to an expensive hotel room…"

Jessica put a hand on her cheek, "Money isn't everything, honey. Is that your idea of a perfect date?"

Charlotte thought for a moment, her eyes squinting slightly, "It would be nice, I guess… but no, I think a perfect date would just be spending time with you," she smiled, "Maybe like… a nice walk somewhere where we could hold hands and then go for ice cream or something yummy and then go home and watch a movie snuggled up in bed. I like falling asleep with you."

Jessica kissed Charlotte's lips gently, "That sounds perfect," she whispered, "It will happen, I promise."

"But how?" Charlotte looked sad, "We can't – "

"Not here," Jessica agreed, "But we can travel somewhere else and do all those things."

Charlotte smiled, "I'd like that. Mom, what's your idea of a perfect date?" she tilted her head, watching her mom curiously.

"Hmm," Jessica thought, "I think that sounds pretty perfect but I must admit I do like the small things, like flowers and candles. So maybe a candle lit dinner before ice cream… oh and I've always loved picnics."

"Cute," Charlotte took her mom's hand, playing with her fingers, "You took off your wedding ring," she noticed.

"Well, my marriage is over," Jessica said matter-of-factly.

Charlotte hummed absently before speaking, "Marriage is strange," she paused before continuing, "I mean, I get it but really, it's just some paper, right? Though I suppose it can have some legal benefits... but well, what I mean, mom, is I'm glad you got out. Not just so that…we, us, this could happen, but because you just weren't happy with him. Maybe you loved him once but I think just because you love someone once doesn't mean you have to stay with them forever. Because it doesn't mean you'll love them forever," she finished.

Jessica smiled, "You're very wise," she said quietly, "But there is an exception."

Charlotte frowned.

"A mother always loves her daughter," Jessica said firmly.

Charlotte lips curved upwards, "Yeah," she mumbled, "Well, true for the lucky daughters at least."

"And the lucky mother's," Jessica added, stroking Charlotte's cheek, "Now, why don't we snuggle up in your room and put a movie on?"

Charlotte grinned, "Sure! You know, you should really get a tv in your room!"

Jessica sighed, "I suppose I should now that you're here."

"We don't have to watch tv if you don't want to!" Charlotte exclaimed.

Jessica pulled on her hand, leading her across the hall into Charlotte's room, "It's fine, honey. I don't mind if it's spending time with you. Plus if it's boring, I always have something nice beside me to look at."

Charlotte laughed, "Whoa, very smooth!"

Jessica tickled her daughters' waist as they climbed into the bed, "Shush you, just pick a movie on your Netflix thing."

Charlotte giggled, picking up the remote and settling her head on her mom's chest, feeling a comforting hand in her hair.

Charlotte had been watching the movie on the screen intensely until she felt a gentle nibble on her neck and a gentle hand on her stomach. The hand slipped under her shirt and Jessica's fingers grazed over her smooth skin. Charlotte couldn't keep her eyes on the screen any longer.

"Mommm," she whined.

"I'm sorry," Jessica smiled cheekily, "Am I distracting you from your beloved movie, honey?"

Charlotte licked her lips, "You're way more enticing than a silly movie," she murmured.

"Mm, enticing. I like that word," Jessica continued her work on her daughters' neck.

"My neck must be tasty," Charlotte giggled.

Jessica pulled away with a laugh, pressing her lips to Charlotte's. Charlotte placed a hand on Jessica's cheek and continued to kiss her passionately until she ran out of breath.

"I love you," Charlotte murmured.

"Mm, I love you too, pretty girl," Jessica kissed her lips quickly. She licked her own lips as she pushed Charlotte's shirt over her head, "Your skin is so… what was that word you used… enticing?"

Charlotte laughed softly, closing her eyes as Jessica's lips touched her skin, "Mm," she moaned.

"Nice?" Jessica asked.

"Very nice," Charlotte mumbled, "Your lips are…"

"Uh-huh?" Jessica prompted, continuing to trail her lips down Charlotte's body.

"Angelic," Charlotte decided.

"Mm, well what I'm thinking certainly isn't… angelic," Jessica smirked as her hands reached the waist of Charlotte's leggings.

"Oh yeah?" Charlotte grinned, nodding when her mom's eyes connected with her own, "Whatever are you thinking?"

Jessica pulled Charlotte's leggings off, struggling to pull them over her feet, making the younger woman laugh at her efforts.

"Let me show you," Jessica whispered in her ear, one hand on Charlotte's crotch, covered now only by her underwear.

Charlotte moaned as Jessica's mouth quickly wrapped around her underwear and pulled them down.

Alison stood still, frozen in shock outside the bedroom door. Her head was spinning. She didn't need to see what happened to figure it out. The words… the sounds were enough. She had one hand on the wall to steady herself. This was so… wrong. She didn't want to listen but her feet took too long to move. Eventually, she half stumbled away from the door. She couldn't be here. Not now.