Speak Now

Chapter 11: Innocent

"You are so beautiful," I said as Kelly and I kissed in the shower.

She kissed me before responding. "And you're so sexy." She gently took my hair in fistfuls, and kissed me again, this time harder. Then, she brushed her lips against my ear. "Make love to me again, Matthew."

There was no way I could say no to her. Why would I want to?

I kissed her more passionately, and gently leaned her against the wall that was directly in front of the shower head. I then picked her up, my arms mainly supporting her as she wrapped her legs around my waist, but the wall helping to support her as well.

She moaned, and threw her head back as I made love to her again.

I licked a trail up her neck, then kissed and nipped my way back down it.

Her fingers dug into my back as I took her more firm. "Just like that," she murmured in my ear.

I continued giving her everything I knew she needed.

We didn't speak. We didn't even whisper I love yous to each other. We didn't have to. That was one thing about Kelly and I—we just knew. There was no need for words. Whenever we told each other we loved the other, we knew we didn't have to. We just wanted to anyway, because we truly did love each other.

When it was over, it was too soon for my taste. But I had hope that this meant that we would have plenty more opportunities to make love again.

"Don't tell Marcus," she whispered in my ear. I still had her in my arms.

I looked at her in surprise. "What do you mean? You choose me, don't you?" I gently set her back down.

She nodded. "I just don't want to hurt Marcus when he's been so good to me. You know?"

"You can't have us both." I hadn't meant for it to come out so harsh, but it did.

She sighed. "I know, and I want you. I do. I just want to make sure I tell him in the gentlest way possible. And, until I figure out how to do that, I don't want you blabbing to him that you won and he lost."

I nodded. "I understand. I won't breathe a word to him. It's not my place."

Kelly smiled, and gently stroked my hair. "Thank you." She kissed me.

I hungrily kissed her back. "Not that I'm complaining a single bit, but... What made you pick me? I thought for sure you wouldn't sleep with me until at least after all three of our dates." I winked at her.

She raised an eyebrow at me and grinned. "Are you insinuating that I'm a slut?" she teased.

I grinned. "No, but if you were, I wouldn't be complaining one bit as long as I'm the only guy you act like a slut with." I wriggled my eyebrows up and down suggestively.

She laughed. "You're something else." I knew from her tone she meant it lovingly. She sighed. "Honestly? I thought it would be a while before I slept with you too. Deep down, I guess I knew I was going to pick you. I just wanted to make a hundred percent sure before sleeping with you. I was going to wait until after my trip with Marcus so that I could be absolutely sure. But then I saw the way you were with that kid. You were so good to him, and kept your cool even when his mother was being a witch. The way you threw yourself down that hill just to even things out was just adorable. It made me realize that only you would do something like that. Sure Marcus has his fun moments where he can act wild and crazy like the rest of us, but..." She sighed again, then grinned at me. "I don't think he would have rolled down the snow just to make things better."

I laughed at the thought. "And ruin his fancy smancy suit? I think not!"

She laughed too, and gently pushed me. "Shut up! Be nice." She was grinning brightly. "It was at that moment that I was reminded of all the fun you and I have. There is no one like you. I don't feel the way I feel with you with anyone else. When you and I are together, I just laugh and laugh. You make me laugh, and I know you understand me on a level that Marcus will probably never understand me. You and I have a history that Marcus and I will just never have. I know it in my heart." She placed her hand over her heart for emphasis.

"I feel it too," I told her, taking her hand and placing it over my own heart.

She smiled at me, and we kissed some more.

After that, we washed up, washing each other's backs when we got to them.

Eventually, as much as I didn't want to, we got out of the shower, and I turned the water off.

I helped dry her, simply because I enjoyed looking at her naked body. She really was even more beautiful than I ever imagined she would be. "You're body is perfect," I said once I finished drying her off.

She blushed. "It is not. There are a lot of things I'd like to change."

I raised an eyebrow. "Like that?"

"Well, I'd like my chest to be just a smidgen bigger. I'd also like my stomach to be a little flatter."

"Don't give any of that a second though!" I said, walking over to her. I gently caressed her breasts with my hands, then moved my hands down to her stomach, and caressed that as well. "You're a goddess, and you always will be even when you're old and grey."

"You're just saying that," she said, barely meeting my eyes.

I shook my head. "No. I mean every word. I wouldn't say it if it weren't true. You're the most beautiful thing I ever laid eyes on. And, trust me, I've seen a lot of things in my life."

She looked me deep in the eyes, then she wrapped her arms around me, and kissed me hard and passionate.

I picked her up and carried her to the bedroom, then lay her down on the bed. Needless to say, it was another hour before she even thought about leaving.

~You're still an Innocent~

Eventually, Kelly had to go. The nanny was waiting for her return, as were her kids. They didn't like to go to bed without her tucking them in, and it was already well past their bedtime.

"I promise I'll tell Marcus soon," she said before giving me a long and passionate goodnight kiss.

"Just don't change your mind," I told her, secretly a little worried that she would. She had told me she was going to call off the trip. She just wanted to be gentle about it.

"I won't." She kissed me again. "I promise." She gently stroked my hair.

I kissed her yet again. "Goodnight," I said.

"Goodnight," she said, giving me one last kiss before leaving.

I slept well that night, but I still wished it could have been with her in my arms.

~You're still an Innocent~

The next evening arrived soon enough. We didn't have to work that day, and she had some errands to run around town, so I hadn't seen her during the day. We just exchanged quick texts to confirm that we were still on.

I picked Aven up at four-thirty, and then we got in a cab, and headed over to the Jekyll and Hyde Club restaurant, which was near the park. It is a scary themed restaurant, which is very mild when it comes to the scary. I had never taken Aven there before, and Kelly said she had taken Hermés there once, but Helena had never been there before. Kelly and I, having both been there in the past, knew that it wasn't too scary to bring them.

Anyway, we didn't have to wait at all, for Kelly, Hermés, and Helena were all waiting for us already when we got there.

"Sorry to make you wait. Were you waiting long?" I asked once I had paid and tipped the cab driver, and met up with Kelly and the kids.

"No, actually it was perfect timing! We got here no more than a minute before you guys," Kelly said with a smile. She looked at Aven, "Well, hello, Beautiful girl!"

Aven smiled at her. "Hello, Kelly!"

Kelly looked at Helena, whom she was holding. "Look, Helena! Aven's here!" She set Helena down, and Helena ran over to Aven and kissed her cheeks.

Aven did the same to Helena, being in the monkey see, monkey do phase that she was.

Kelly and I both laughed. "I think she's been observing us too much!" Kelly said, then kissing my cheeks as she usually did when we couldn't kiss the way we wanted to.

I kissed her cheeks in return. "And my little girl is in her monkey see, monkey do phase."

"We have two little monkeys on our hands!" Kelly said with a smile.

I smiled too. "That we do!" I then turned to Hermés, who was watching us with a big smile on his face. "And how are you today, Mister?" I winked at him, the smile still on my face.

"I'm good, Matthew, thank you!" Hermés said. He hugged me. "It's good to see you!"

"It's good to see you too!" I said to him. "He's so mature!" I said to Kelly.

She grinned like the proud mother that she was. "I teach him and his sister their manners. It's a number one rule in my house—you must use your manners!"

I nodded. "It's a good rule to have! Shall we head in?" I gestured to the host, who was now taking the next group.

Kelly nodded. "I guess we better!" She picked up Helena again, and Hermés followed behind her.

I picked up Aven, and we headed in.

"Remember, this part's all pretend," I said to Aven.

"Yes, the walls aren't really closing in on us, and the ceiling is not really gonna cave in on us," Kelly said to her children.

"Only babies believe that that would happen, Mom," Hermés said smartly.

Kelly smirked. "It wasn't that long ago that you got scared at things like this."

"Iv'e grown up since then," Hermés said simply.

Kelly laughed. "It was only a year ago I took him hear, and he clung tightly to me, thinking he was going to be crushed," she said quietly to me.

I chuckled. "They grow up too fast!"

We watched the brief animated ghost tell us about the "club," which was just some spill about the restaurant that I wasn't paying much attention to. Then we were told the walls and ceiling were going to close in on us, and he was going to see if we could handle the fear. The walls closed in, and I couldn't really tell if the ceiling was getting lower or not. It was so dark in there. I did hear Helena whimper a bit, and Aven clung to me, hiding her face in my side, but it was over almost as soon as it had begun. Soon, the doors to inside the restaurant opened, and we were ushered inside.

"See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" Kelly asked Helena, who had her head resting against Kelly's chest.

Helena shook her head, but didn't say anything.

"We're not crushed!" Aven said happily.

I laughed, and gently mussed up her hair. "See? I told you we wouldn't be!"

"It was all pretend," she said.

I nodded. "Yes. All pretend."

We got seated then. We were seated in The Grand Salon, which was kind of nice because, whenever the creatures in the place got animated, that's where they were.

The kids enjoyed the shows whenever the creatures would come out and talk. We all had a nice meal together, and we really felt like a family. I felt I could definitely get used to the five of us being a family. In fact, I already was.

After we ate, we looked around the other floors, for we knew the kids would be interested in seeing everything.

"Daddy, will you read me one of these?" Aven asked, taking a book out of one of the shelves of the library floor.

"I don't think we're supposed to take those out, Honey," I said, taking the book from her, and putting it back on the shelf.

"Daddy, you're supposed to read books that come from a library!" Aven insisted.

I laughed at her cleverness. "But this is only a pretend library."

"But the books are real!" she insisted.

Kelly knelt down in front of her. "Do you like playing games, Aven?"

Aven nodded.

"Well, look over there! There's lots of games you can play." Kelly reached into her pocket, and pulled out a couple quarters. "Why don't you go play some games with Helena and Hermés?" She nodded over to the games section, which was right outside the gate that led into the library. Hermés and Helena were already over there. Hermés was at the claw machine, Helena by his side, as he tried to win her a stuffed animal. "Hermés is really good at that game. Why don't you ask him to try to win you one too?" she asked.

Aven smiled. "Thank you!"

Kelly grinned. "You're very welcome!"

Aven then ran off to ask Hermés to win her a prize.

"See? I teach my kid manners too," I said proudly.

Kelly stood back up, and smiled. "I see that!" she said with a wink. "She's so cute!"

"So are your kids. Thanks for helping me out. I didn't know how to explain to her that I couldn't read her one of those books! Well, I suppose I could have, but it would be kind of awkward if I got caught. Not to mention, we'd be here all day. Look at the size of the one she picked out!" I nodded toward it. It of course, was back where it was supposed to be on its shelf, were I had put it.

She laughed. "Kids will be kids. I'm used to it. After you have a couple, you start picking up on things."

We both looked over at the kids. Helena was now holding a pink, stuffed pig in her arms, and Hermés was now working on a purple cat, more than likely for Aven, who was standing on her tiptoes, her little hands on the glass as she looked into the machine.

"Shall we go over and see how they're doing?" I asked, nodding over toward them.

Kelly took my hand, and smiled at me. "Let's!" she agreed.

So, we walked over to our children, and watched Hermés try to win Aven a purple cat. We cheered him on, and soon, he won it for her.

Aven's eyes were big, and she gasped as he took the cat out of the cubby hole, and handed it to her. "Here you go, Aven!"

Aven took the purple stuffed cat, then hugged Hermés tightly. "Thank you, Hermés! I love her!"

Hermés smiled at her, and gently stroked her hair. "You're very welcome, Aven!"

I wrapped my arm around Kelly, and smiled at our children, so proud of them both.

Kelly wrapped her arm around me too, and rested her head on my shoulder. "We're so lucky to have such great children," she said.

I nodded I know," I agreed.

We smiled at each other.

I sighed. If only they were all our children, and not mothered or fathered by someone else. Maybe one day, we'd have our own. Who knew? "All right, let's all head up to the laboratory and the attic, and then we can go somewhere else, okay?" I asked,

"Okay!" the kids all agreed.

So, We all headed up to the next floor. I didn't know where we'd be going after we were done looking at the laboratory and attic. I figured I'd let the kids decide where they wanted to go. It didn't matter where we went anyway. As long as I was with Kelly and the kids, we could go to a garbage dump, and I knew I'd still have the time of my life.

~You're still an Innocent~

After we went to the last two floors, which of course were the laboratory and the attic, Kelly and I asked the kids where they wanted to go next. Aven mentioned the American Girl doll store, and of course Helena heard about it and got just as excited as Aven was to go there. Hermés asked politely if we could go to FAO Schwarz. Of course Kelly and I agreed to go to both places. We went to FAO Schwarz first since it less than a minute away.

We walked there since it was practically right next door. It wasn't next door exactly, but close enough that it might as well have been!

Anyway, when we got there, the kids wanted to get a picture with the toy soldier. There was always a guy dressed as toy soldier outside the front door, who was ready to greet the store's customers. So, Kelly and I got out our cameras, and took a picture of them all with the toy soldier.

"Now get one of you guys!" Hermés said to us.

Kelly and I looked at each other.

"I don't know. I think we're too old for that!" Kelly said.

"Aw, you're never too old to be a kid at heart!" the soldier said. He turned to his coworker that was also outside. "Come take a picture for us."

So, Kelly and I had no choice. We got in the picture, me on the toy soldier's left, and Kelly on his right. We smiled as the soldier's coworker took a picture of us. He took one with my camera, and then with Kelly's camera.

"Thank you," Kelly said with a giggle. "I guess that was kind of fun."

"Just make sure Santa remembers us when Christmas rolls around again," I joked with the soldier.

The solider laughed, then saluted. "Will do, Sir! Enjoy your visit." He winked.

Kelly and I thanked him, and then his coworker as we collected our cameras from him. Then, the five of us all headed into the store.

"I want to look upstairs at the doll houses!" Aven said right away. I had taken her there many times before, and she knew the store by heart.

"Yeah! I want to go play with the dolls!" Helena said.

"I want to look at the Lego stuff!" Hermés said. "Dolls are boring. We're going to be seeing enough of those at the American Doll place."

I laughed. I still couldn't get over how mature he was for his age. He said such mature sounding things. It was scary how time flew. It seems like just the other day, he was not even two yet. "Well, if your mom wants to take the girls upstairs to look at the doll houses, I'll take you to see the Legos!" I told him.

Hermés turned to his mother. "Can I?"

Kelly smiled. "Go ahead! I don't mind."

Hermés turned to me and grinned. "Let's go!" He took my hand, and tried to pull me away.

"Just a second," I said with a laugh. I turned to Kelly. "Are you sure you don't mind?"

She shook her head. "Not at all! Just meet us by the dollhouses when you're done."

"Okay," I said. I finally let Hermés drag me off to the Legos then, a smile on my face. It would be nice to spend a little time just Hermés and I. I always wondered what it would be like to have a son, and I couldn't think of a better one to have than Hermés.

~You're still an Innocent~

"This is pretty cool!" I said when I saw the police station and firehouse they had on display that were entirely made of Legos.

"I wonder how long it would take to build one of these things," Hermés said, carefully running his fingers over the plastic blocks.

"For you, it would probably take a day. For me, it would probably take a year." I joked.

Hermés laughed. "We should build one together!"

I smiled. "I'd like that! You know what? You were so nice to get your sister and my daughter stuffed animals, but you didn't get one yourself!"

"I don't need one. They're for little kids," he said.

I smiled. It was kind of sad how quickly he was growing up. He was only five, yet, so mature. "Well, how about I buy you a lego thing for us to build?" I asked him.

"You don't have to do that," he said to me.

"I want to!" I told him. "What do you want—the police station or the firehouse? Or, if there's something else you'd rather have, you can have that. Anything you want!" I offered him.

"Well, I do like the fire station," he said.

I grinned. "Excellent! You know what? They aren't that much money. I'll get you the police station too." I picked up one of each, and headed to the register to pay for them.

"Thank you!" Hermés said once I had paid for them, and handed him the bag.

I smiled, and gently stroked his hair. "You're welcome, Buddy!"

We looked around a bit more, then met back up with Kelly and the girls.

"Daddy, look at this house!" Aven said, taking my hand, and leading me over to a big pink plastic doll house. It had a whole bunch of cute dolls and accessories in it.

"That place is decorated better than ours!" I joked to Aven.

Kelly laughed.

"Can I get it, Daddy?" Aven asked.

"Do you want this or an American Doll?" I asked her. "You can't have both."

Aven pouted. "The doll," she said.

"Your birthday is coming up in a couple of months. Maybe you'll end up getting the doll house too. You'll just have to wait and see," I told her with a wink.

Needless to say, her pout quickly turned into a smile.

"What is this?" Kelly asked, looking into the bag Hermés was now holding up for her.

"Look what Matthew got me!" he said excitedly.

Kelly took a closer look in the bag, then looked back up at me. "Those are expensive! You didn't have to do that! Let me pay you back."

I shook my head, and held up my hands. "No way! It's my gift to him. They came to just over two hundred dollars total. It's not bad at all. He was nice enough to get my daughter a stuffed cat. I thought it was only fair to get him something in return."

"But a stuffed cat cost him all but seventy-five cents all together—seventy-five cents which I gave him. Those were way too expensive!" she protested.

"I don't mind, Kel. Honestly. I was happy to do it," I assured her.

"Well, at least let me pay for one of them," she said.

I shook my head. "Not a chance!"

She sighed, and picked up Helena. "Well, I hope he at least thanked you."

"He did!" I said just as Hermés said, "I did!"

I picked up Aven, and then we all looked around the place a bit more.

We came across the toy keyboard that you can step on, and it plays music. It was in the movie Big with Tom Hanks, and now on display there at the store.

My eyes lit up, and I set Aven down. "Let's all play!" I said.

She grinned up at me, and then she and I danced around on the keyboard making horrible music that would never sound like the music Tom Hanks played, but it was still beautiful to me because I was playing with my daughter.

"Let me try!" Hermés said, joining us then.

Helena laughed, and clapped her hands together, then ran onto it with us.

"Come on over! Join us!" I said to Kelly, motioning her over with my hand.

She smiled, and shook her head. "It looks pretty crowded already. I'll just watch."

"Aw, come on! There's room for one more!" I turned to the kids. "Right, guys?"

"Yeah!" the kids all echoed.

I took Kelly's hand, and pulled over to the keyboard.

She sighed. "You don't take no for an answer, do you?" she asked with a grin.

I grinned too. "Nope! It doesn't get me what I want." I winked at her.

She shook her head, but smiled nonetheless, and joined us.

For a moment, we all jumped around on the keyboard, laughing and having a good time. Then, the kids ventured off, and Kelly and I stayed on, barely noticing they had left. Of course they were still right by us, watching us. They just preferred to watch with amusement instead of play on it now.

"You're doing it wrong! You have to step twice on this one, and once on this one!" Kelly said to me as we tried to figure out how to play "Heart and Soul" on the keyboard.

We tried, but kept screwing up. We were both laughing, and having fun, and didn't realize that the kids were getting restless.

"Can we go now?" Hermés asked. "We've been standing here for five minutes!"

Kelly and I both looked at him and the girls who were all standing there, watching us, and waiting for us to stop messing around.

Kelly blushed. "Sorry!"

I grinned. "We can go now."

So, we left the store, and headed for Central Park. We thought it would be nice to go for a walk, and walk off our dinner.

I smiled, content as we headed there, for, with every moment that I spent with Kelly and the kids, the more we all felt like a family, and the more I was determined to make sure I never had to give them up.

~You're still an Innocent~

We had a nice walk, but soon, the kids wanted to make a snowman. Hermés suggested it, and Aven was all for it. Helena wanted to make one too once she heard that her brother and friend were going to make one.

So, we all looked around for twigs and rocks to make the snowman. Once we found some, Kelly and I helped the kids roll the snow. There wasn't too much snow to work with, but we had enough to make a medium-sized snowman since there was a lot of space to get the snow from. We all had fun making, it. However, when it came time to decorate the snowman, Hermés surprised us all.

We let Hermés go to work at his decorating since he apparently had a vision. However, when he stepped back to let us admire his masterpiece, Kelly and I were both in shock. On the very last section of the snowman, he had put two big rocks side by side, with a twig sticking out below the two rocks. Needless to say, it was far too risqué of a snowman for a five-year old to have made.

Kelly looked at me, a hand over her mouth.

I laughed. "You handle this one—he's your son!" I then took out my camera, and took a picture of it. "Well done!" I said.

Kelly blushed. "Don't encourage him," she said to me before turning back to her son. "Honey, don't you think it would be better to put those rocks where his eyes are, and use the twig for one of his arms?"

Hermés shook his head. "He doesn't have any clothes to wear, so that's what his bottom half looks like!"

"He's not very well endowed," I joked.

Kelly elbowed me. "Not helping!" she said. Still, there was a hint of amusement in her tone. She walked over to the snowman, and took out the rocks and twig.

"That's gotta hurt! You just castrated the poor guy!" I said.

Kelly laughed, and turned around to face me. "Stop it! This is so bad!" She turned back to her son. "Snowmen aren't like humans and animals. They don't have those parts. I think these will look better for his eyes."

Hermés sighed, but nodded. "Okay."

Kelly picked up Helena. "Here. Put his right eye in!" she said with a smile as she handed one of the rocks to Helena.

Helena smiled, and took the rock. Then, she pressed it into the top section of the snowman.

I picked up Aven, and took the other rock from Kelly. "Wanna put his left eye in?" I asked Aven.

Aven nodded, and took the rock from me. Then, she pressed the other rock in, making an impressibly parallel left eye.

"I'll put the stick in," Hermés said, taking the stick from Kelly. He shoved it into the right side of the middle section. "Now he needs a left arm."

I set Aven down, and looked around until I around another twig. "His left arm will be slightly shorter than his right arm, but it will do. It's better than only having one arm!" I joked.

Kelly smirked.

I stuffed the other twig into the left side of the snowman, making it as parallel as I could with the right twig arm.

"Now you have to add something, Mommy!" Hermés said to Kelly.

"I'll make the mouth!" Kelly said. She set Helena down, then picked up four of the stones we had found. Then, she made them into a smile right where the snowman's mouth should be.

"And this!" I added, taking one more stone and pressing it between the eyes and mouth. "Now he has a nose."

"Too bad we don't have a carrot," Hermés said.

"Who wants a big, long, orange nose anyway?" I asked.

Hermés and the girls giggled, and Kelly smiled.

"Here," Hermés said, taking his hat, and placing it on top of the snowman's head. "Now he has a hat! It's not like Frosty's, but, it will do."

"Go pose by him, and I'll take a picture!" Kelly said to the kids.

They all posed by the snowman then, and she and I both took a picture with our cameras.

"I can take one of you guys! I know how to take pictures," Hermés sad to us then.

So, Kelly and I agreed. Kelly went to the snowman's right, and I went to the snowman's left. We posed. First, when Hermés took one with Kelly's camera, Kelly posed by kissing the snowman's cheek, and I placed my arm around the snowman. Then, when Hermés took one with my camera, Kelly and I both hugged the snowman with both arms, making a snowman sandwich. We smiled at the camera. We planned on sharing each other's photo with the other.

"All right, let's head to the American Girl store now, and then head back home. It's getting a little late," Kelly said to her kids.

So, Hermés grabbed his hat back from the snowman, and put it back on. "Sorry, Mr. Snowman, but I need it back," he said to him.

"Is Mr. Snowman his name?" I asked Hermés with an amused smile.

Hermés tapped his lips with his right index finger, and thought about if for moment before simply resounding, "Yes."

I chuckled. "Good name!"

We headed over to catch a cab then, for it was too cold to walk to the store.

I was having such a fun time, I didn't want it to end. Who knew? Maybe someday soon, it would never have to.

~You're still an Innocent~

The doll place had bored poor Hermés to tears—figuratively speaking of course. The girls both wanted dolls made to look just like them, so Kelly and I helped them pick out just the right selections so that their dolls looked similar enough to them that they'd be happy. Then of course they wanted to pick out matching outfits for themselves and their dolls. At the end, they insisted on getting their picture taken with their dolls at the station that made up fake magazine covers. So, they both got a "magazine cover" with a picture of them and their doll on it.

We were just about out the door when Aven saw the hair salon. I knew that it would be hopeless by then to try to tell her no. So, to the dolly hair salon it was so that their dolls could get their hair done.

Finally, we were able to leave the store with the girls being satisfied. Hermés was satisfied too because we were finally leaving.

"Does it really have to end now? Not to be rude and invite myself over, but how about we all go to your place, the kids get into their pajamas, and then we can all have popcorn, and watch a kid-friendly movie on OnDemand?" I suggested.

Kelly looked at her watch. "Well, it is only eight-thirty. I suppose we could. Sounds like fun!" she agreed with a smile.

"Great!" I said.

"We can pick a Disney movie. Those are usually no longer than an hour and a half," she said.

So, we hailed a cab, then went to her place.

When we got there, we all took off our coats and shoes, then Kelly told me where the popcorn bags were so that I could make popcorn while she helped the kids get ready for bed. Aven sat on the couch in the family room, playing with her new doll and her stuffed cat while she waited for us.

Fifteen minutes later, the kids were in their pajamas (except for Aven of course), the popcorn was made and put into a big bowl, the sodas were poured and put into glasses, and we were all ready to watch a movie. The kids were all small, so we managed to all cuddle together under a big blanket on the couch, and eat our snacks while watching The Jungle Book—the animated version. It was a movie all the kids could agree on. We sat (from left to right if you're facing the couch) me, Aven, Helena, Kelly, and Hermés.

The movie was great, and the snacks were good. It was such a fun time, and, not to sound like a broken record, but, with every moment that passed, I was beginning to feel more and more like we were a family. When the movie ended, I was kind of sad, for I knew our night was about to come to a close.

Kelly had the kids go brush their teeth, and she told them she would be right in to tuck them in.

Helena wanted to show Aven her room, so Kelly let Aven join her as long as Helena promised to still brush her teeth, which Helena promised she would.

Once we were alone, I slid over so that I was right beside Kelly. "That's better! We were too far apart for my taste!"

She grinned, and pulled me in for a long and passionate kiss. "Better?" she asked, licking her lips after breaking the kiss.

I nodded, then kissed her again before responding. "Much!"

"I really had fun with you and the kids tonight," she said to me.

"It kind of felt like we were a family, didn't it?" I asked her.

She nodded. "It did."

I stroked the side of her face. "I love you and those kids of yours so much!"

"And I love you and Aven," she told me.

"What's wrong?" I asked, for she looked sad.

"I have to tell you something, and I'm afraid to," she said.

I felt suddenly felt sick. "Please don't tell me you've changed your mind and are going back to Marcus."

She shook her head. "No way! I just... I don't want to ruin the trip he planned for us. He went to all that trouble, and I couldn't forgive myself if I let it all go to waste."

"So, you're going on it anyway? He doesn't even know about you and I yet, does he?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No. I'm going to go on the trip with him and let him have one last happy moment with me. Then, I'm going to tell him on the plane ride home that we're through."

"So you can have a long ride home to feel awkward?" I asked.

She sighed. "Maybe a little. But at least it will give us some time to talk about it, so I can explain to him that I never meant to hurt him."

"What if you go on the trip and end up changing your mind?" I asked. "What if you fall back in love with him, and want to stay with him instead of me?"

She shook her head, and gently stroked my cheek. "I promise you that won't happen. I'm not even in love with him. I thought I might be at one point, but I'm not. Being with you made me realize what being in love really is."

"Promise you won't let him come between us?" I asked.

"I promise," she said.

We kissed a little bit more, then it was time to go. Kelly had to help the kids, and I had to get Aven home. She was staying the night at my place, but I still didn't want her getting to bed too late.

So, I said goodnight to the kids, and Aven said goodnight to them as well.

Kelly walked us to the door. "Goodbye, Aven! I had fun hanging out with you today!" she said, kneeling down to Aven's level.

Aven smiled, and hugged Kelly. "Goodbye, Kelly! I love you."

It just melted my heart, and I could tell from the look on Kelly's face that it had melted her heart too.

Kelly kissed her cheek. "I love you too, Pretty girl! Goodnight!" She stood back up.

"Goodnight," Aven said to her.

"Goodnight. I'll call you about our date tomorrow," I told Kelly then.

Kelly kissed my cheeks. "Goodnight. I'll be waiting for your call." She hugged me close, then murmured in my ear, "Don't worry. Everything will be fine."

I held her tightly. "I hope so. I couldn't stand losing you."

"You're not going to. I promise you," she said to me. "It's just going to be an innocent trip with a friend," she assured me.

I kissed her once more, then she saw us out the door.

I could't help but feel dread as Aven and I stood in the street, and hailed a cab to go home. I knew Marcus, and I knew his intentions, and, let me tell you, I could guarantee they were anything but innocent.