CHAPTER 23
(EVA)
One week later…
"Eva, I'm home!"
My heart lurches as I hear the key in the lock and then the flat door opens, I am on my feet and running towards it as Gideon calls out to me, my face breaks into a spontaneous grin at the sound of his voice and when I see him I greet him in a rush and Maisie is at my side jumping up and down and chanting his name as I fling myself at him.
"Wow that's some welcome home" he mutters as he drops his coat and bag and catches me in his arms.
I search for his mouth and kiss him desperately, "I've missed you" I say into his mouth and I am rewarded with another scorching kiss.
"I missed you too" he says as he holds me tightly.
It is true I have missed him this week, we have stayed in contact through the day by text and we have talked every evening but it's not the same as having him here with me.
"Gideon, Gideon" Maisie chants desperate for his attention.
I pull away and watch as Gideon crouches and pulls Maisie into his arms.
"Hello sweetheart, did you miss me too?" he asks.
Maisie nods and clings to him, like me she is happy Gideon has now come home.
"That's nice, because I missed you too" he says to her and I watch as she grins even wider.
It's been a long week, but from what he has told me when we have had chance to talk, it has been a productive one. He has spent the week in Burnley and totally reorganised everything, so now hopefully they will be as productive and efficient as we have become here in Stoke.
"Is everything sorted out now?" I ask warily.
Gideon nods, "It is, although it has taken some doing and the fact they all know that their productivity stats are being sent to me daily and they have all been warned that I don't tolerate laziness means that hopefully there will now no longer be the slacking off and general laziness there was before. Plus the new leadership there should make a massive difference as I now have someone in charge who will actually notice what is happening and take an interest in what is going on, also they all know that I am a fair man and that they will be listened to if they have genuine concerns so that helps too I think".
I nod in agreement, "Perhaps if we set up a whistle blowing thing where if there is anything people don't feel they can take to the management they can call or something? I mean when people realised they could tell on Norm here they did so, and at Burnley once I got them talking and realising they could speak freely they did so" I say and Gideon looks thoughtful and nods in agreement.
"I'll look into setting something up, perhaps a direct line to head office and then a team up there can sort through the complaints and I can set something up so that anything really serious gets sent straight to me" he says.
I kiss him again, "I'm so proud of you" I say sincerely and Gideon smiles shyly.
"It means a lot to me when you say things like that" he says as he runs restless hands over me.
I squeeze him tightly, "I mean every word, I sometimes forget you are only 24, the way you have stepped up and taken charge of Cross Industries, it's really impressive" I say.
"Keep saying things like that, you are boosting my ego" he jokes and I feel him nuzzle my neck.
"God I've missed you" I say as I respond and try and get even closer to him.
He moans and his hands move to my bum and he presses me against him and I feel him harden.
I wrap my arms tightly around his neck and nuzzle against him as I do so I whisper in his ear, "Later" I say.
Gideon nods and turns his head to find my mouth once more. Eventually he pulls away and I am left feeling very hot and bothered, I watch as he discreetly adjusts himself before speaking.
"We have Bristol and Luton site visits next, but I'm going to leave those till after Christmas" he says neatly moving on and returning to a neutral topic.
I nod, I am relieved to hear that, I didn't really want to go travelling to the other depots with Gideon this side of Christmas.
"I'll be ready by then, and hopefully there won't be too much to do there" I say the relief evident in my tone of voice.
Gideon shakes his head, "No, Luton is pretty efficient I have been pulling the stats on both depots and I can't fault Luton so it will probably just be giving the place a general once over, make sure there are no Norm's or Len's lurking around, and to be fair Bristol looks pretty good too, which is why I have decided to leave them till the new year as there don't seem to be any glaring red flags with either of them" he says.
Maisie demands Gideon's attention once more as she waves her reading book at him and tells him about the good work sticker she got today. I watch as he willingly gives her his full attention. Every night this week, Gideon has made a point of talking to Maisie while he was in Burnley when he video called me and he listened and asked questions while she told him all about her day and I even heard her reading to him over the video chat a couple of times.
Gideon smiles again, "Let me get changed and I'll listen to you read ok?" he says and Maisie nods, then he returns his attention back to me, "What's for tea?" he asks.
"We've been invited to Gran's for tea tonight, I said we'd go" I say carefully watching his reaction.
He nods enthusiastically, "That's fine, plus chatting with Tez will help me unwind from the stress of this week, we can also tell them about the house, I've got a completion date now, so now we have that you can go to the council and relinquish the tenancy on this place" he says.
I nod in agreement, "When is it?" I ask.
"Bonfire night - 5th November" he says.
My mouth drops open, "But that's…" I begin.
"Next week, yes I know, I have a feeling my dad pulled some strings to hurry things along for us" he says.
I just stare open mouthed as I try and get my head around the logistics of everything I now have to do and the panic is starting to rise considerably at the very thought.
"Gideon I have to give the council 4 weeks written notice, so I will still have to pay rent on this place until about the end of November" I say.
Gideon considers this and nods, "Ok, well that can't be helped but you do still want to move in with me don't you?" he asks warily.
I nod, "Of course I do" I say, but my mind is now running riot at what a huge undertaking this is going to be.
Gideon notices and pulls me close, "Breathe Eva and calm down. It's fine, everything is in hand I've already started making arrangements for removal and I've spoken to Martin at the depot and he's booked you a couple of days holiday and I will be there to help you as well and I might ask your family when we see them tonight if they can help" he says.
"They'll probably be at work but depending on their shift patterns they might be able to help at some point" I say as I think about it.
"I'll get my stuff out of storage and get it moved there and we'll arrange some sort of removal facility to move your belongings, neither of us has that much so it shouldn't be a massive operation" he says.
As I go to move away from him he pulls me back, "I also thought after we move in we could perhaps go shopping? Buy some things, you know furniture and things for our house, something we both like, make it ours?" he says.
I swallow hard, I look around at my well-worn furniture, I got all these from the second hand store in town and I scrimped and saved to pay for them. I quickly take a hold of myself though, I didn't choose any of these, I had what was there. This is my chance to have something I like and choose rather than making do.
"I think I'd like that. I don't really like any of my furniture" I mutter, "but" I add then stop and put my head down, the negative thoughts starting to go through my mind once more.
Gideon pulls me even closer, "But what? Angel please talk to me, I want you to be happy" he says.
"I don't want to take advantage" I say carefully.
Gideon smiles at me, "Eva you could never possibly take advantage. I want you to have nice things, remember what we talked about. I want you to have your dream, we will keep anything you want to keep, I'm not about to toss out all your belongings, it is our home and as such it will have things in it we both want there" he says.
I nod, "There isn't much I would want to keep if I'm honest, maybe my bookshelf and the small stuff but…" I trail off as I glance around once more.
"We'll take everything and sort it out together, what we want and what can go once we are in, and we can go shopping and buy some stuff to furnish our home which will be us. Plus don't forget we have work ahead of us modernising the place and decorating so we don't want to get too much new stuff while we have work being done. Once all the big improvements are done then we can look at buying nice things for it" he says.
"I'd like that" I say, but I worry about how much all this is going to cost.
"Will…" I begin and then stop.
"Will, what?" Gideon asks.
"Will we have enough money to do everything we want to do?" I ask.
Gideon smiles, "I have enough in the budget for a new kitchen, new bathroom, new windows and doors and also new flooring throughout, it's not a rush though Eva, we can take our time we have the rest of our lives to get the house as we want it and we are not going to be extravagant or ostentatious" he says.
"Ok" I say, I feel much happier now.
"So, this time next week we will be in our new home" Gideon says.
I shake my head in disbelief at that comment, "It's mad, I can't believe it's Bonfire Night next week – it will soon be Christmas – Christmas in our new home" I say almost to myself.
"Don't forget your birthday is coming up too mid December so we have Bonfire Night, your birthday and then Christmas in our home, so we will have to buy some Christmas decorations" Gideon says his eyes shining.
Then he seems to remember something, "Oh by the way, talking of bonfire night I got tickets for us all to go to the big display at Trentham Gardens, but that is on the 6th which is Saturday evening" he says.
Maisie who has returned, cheers and bounces up and down and I smile.
"Is that ok?" he asks watching my reaction closely.
I nod, "That's more than fine, Maisie loves fireworks and we normally just watch everyone else's from the bedroom and sometimes granddad will get a few and sets them off in their garden, but thank you" I say.
I watch as Gideon bites his lip, "what?" I ask.
"I also got tickets for your brothers to go too and your mum and Vic… and your grandparents" he says almost sheepishly.
I stare at him slightly overwhelmed by his generosity. "Have I done the wrong thing?" he asks after a moment.
I shake my head, "No Gideon, you haven't" I say and press another kiss to his lips.
oooOOOooo
"Wow, thank you so much" my mum is smiling widely and everyone is overjoyed at the prospect of going to Trentham Gardens to see the firework display.
"Yeah thanks, that was really kind of you" my grandfather says as he hands Gideon a bottle of beer.
Gideon shakes his head, "I just wanted to do something nice for you all, you have taken me into your family and accepted me so readily…" he stops speaking and takes a long gulp of his beer.
I step forward and wrap my arm around Gideon's waist as I decide to make our other announcement.
"You might think we are just buttering you up though, after you hear what else we have to say" I say.
I look and see I have everyone's undivided attention, and they are all waiting to hear what I have to say.
"We have a completion date for the house Gideon is buying; we get the keys for our new house on the 5th… so I was wondering if anyone was available to help us with the move?" I ask as I look around.
Vic immediately agrees, "I'll give you a hand" he says holding his bottle up. I smile and offer him a word of thanks.
I look towards my grandparents and they both nod, "I'm off Friday and Saturday next week so I can definitely give you a hand too" granddad says, then he looks towards my gran questioningly.
"When I've finished up at the school I'll come and give you a hand with the move" she says immediately.
My mum shakes her head sadly, "I'll be at work but when I'm done I'll come and help, even if it's only to help you get straight and provide you all with some food. I can bring something from work at the end of my shift" she says.
"That's fine that would be a big help mum" I say gratefully and I look around at the people I know I can always count on.
"Thank you all" Gideon says, I think he is a little overwhelmed at the fact everyone has pitched in without a second's hesitation.
"What about your tenancy?" Vic asks me after a moment.
I shrug, "I have to give them 4 weeks written notice, so I will have to pay rent till the end of the month but it is what it is. I wasn't expecting everything to be finalised so quickly" I say.
After tea I have noticed that Gideon is nowhere around, and I wander out to look for him. I find my gran and mum in the kitchen and they look around at me and stop talking as I enter and I have the distinct feeling that they were talking about me.
"What's up?" my gran asks as I look at them suspiciously.
"Erm… nothing, just looking for Gideon, he seems to have vanished" I say.
My mum nods her head towards the back door, "He's outside talking with Vic and Tez," she says.
"Oh, ok thanks" I say as I move towards the door, as I step outside I see the three men huddled outside in deep conversation, it all looks very serious and then I see both my grandfather and Vic nodding as if they are agreeing to something and then saying something to Gideon. Vic shakes Gideon's hand and pulls him into a hug and then my grandfather does the same, as he releases Gideon he looks up and sees me watching.
"Here she is!" granddad says loudly and Gideon turns and looks at me with such love it almost overwhelms me.
"What are you all doing out here?" I ask.
Both Granddad and Vic hold up their cigarettes and give me a look, and I laugh. When the whole family is here Gran doesn't let granddad smoke inside and makes him come out to the garden to have a fag.
Gideon wraps his arm around me as I reach him and he presses a kiss to my temple, "Hello Angel" he whispers.
"What are you doing out here?" I ask him, I can't help but think something is going on.
"Just having a chat" he says dismissively and I watch as he takes a gulp from the bottle of beer he is holding.
The evening comes to an end and Gideon and I walk back across the estate towards my flat, it dawns on me that after next week I won't be taking this familiar route any longer.
"Are you ok?" Gideon asks me.
I nod, "Yeah, just thinking, after next week we won't be walking this route anymore".
Before he can reply a figure steps out of the shadows in front of us, I look up to see Gaz Price standing in front of me. I feel my hands ball into fists and I take a menacing step towards him. He immediately holds up his hands and takes a step back.
"I don't want no trouble Evie" he begins, he glances at Gideon and then at Maisie who is a few steps in front and thankfully hasn't noticed the fact he is here.
"So, what do you want then?" I ask sharply.
Gaz lowers his voice to a whisper and quickly gabbles out what he wants to say, "I'm tipping you off Evie. Nathan isn't happy, Me and Kelv went to see him and he told him about you and lover boy here. He is jealous as hell Evie and he said he is going to write to you, I thought you should know plus I just wanted you to know it wasn't me who told him after what happened before, that's all" he says and with that he turns and disappears into the night.
I sigh, "Well, that's just brilliant" I mutter.
Gideon pulls me close and we carry on walking, "I thought Kelvin had told you that he and their mother had disowned him?" he asks quietly after a moment.
I snort, "Yeah he did, but that wouldn't stop him telling him. He'd think he was doing us a favour letting him know there was no hope for him when he eventually came out" I say.
"No you misunderstand, if he has disowned him, why was he going to visit him?" he asks.
I shake my head, "Who knows? Unless he went to tell him that after that last stunt he was now on his own, actually that sounds like something Kelv would do. He would go just to tear him off a strip for what he did. Tell him face to face that he was disowning him and then he'd tell him about us just to let him know that there really was no hope for him" I say.
"What do you think Nathan will do now?" Gideon asks lowering his voice even more, he is watching Maisie walking in front of us and is conscious not to let her hear any of this.
I shrug again, "Gaz said he was going to write to me, so I'll probably get an 'I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it, give me another chance' letter along with a visiting order which just so you know… I'm telling you this right now, I will use and I'll go just so I can go in there and tell him he is out of mine and Maisie's lives," I say.
Gideon nods, "Alright" he says simply. "You could also tell him I am planning to adopt Maisie" he adds after a moment.
"You still want to do that?" I ask.
Gideon nods, "I do, I want to marry you Eva. I want to marry you and adopt Maisie; I want us to be a family. She deserves to have a father who loves her as much as her mother does," he says adamantly.
"I need to talk to Maisie about that before we decide anything" I say.
"Of course you do" Gideon agrees, he pauses and stops walking and turns me to look at him, "But I will just say this, we need to do it fairly soon as I will soon be asking you a question Eva. A question which I hope you will answer correctly" he says.
I realise what he is getting at, he is going to ask me to marry him.
"You mean you're going to ask me to marry you?" I ask, inwardly cringing at the panic in my voice.
Gideon nods, "I am, I have spoken to your parents and grandparents tonight and asked them for their blessing. I know that is a little old fashioned and not really done nowadays but I wanted them to be ok with it considering that in reality we have only known each other a short amount of time".
"Did you get it?" I ask, realising that is what was going on earlier.
He smiles widely, "I did, your gran was particularly happy" he says with more than a hint of amusement.
"When... when are you going to ask me?" I ask nervously.
Gideon smiles and taps the side of his nose, "Aah that is for me to know and you to find out" he says.
I nod and go to carry on walking but he touches my arm to stop me, I turn and look up at him and even though it is dark and we are only lit by the street lights I see the vulnerability clearly in his eyes.
"The only reason I have told you is because I didn't want you to freak out when I do ask you. I know you like to sort things out in your mind and I really want you to give me the correct answer when I do ask you" he says.
(GIDEON)
We arrive back at the flat and I am watching Eva closely, she is very quiet and I know that she is probably freaking out inside over what I have just said, not only that she is also probably thinking about the move and also what Gaz Price dropped on her about Nathan. I start to feel guilty remembering her age once more, but then I stop and think. No, she knows that this was coming, she also now knows her family approves and has given their blessing, admittedly it wasn't the best timing but in another way it was the perfect timing after Gaz told her about Nathan's reaction to finding out about us.
I watch Maisie she is oblivious and I smile, I love that little girl dearly and she has become as big a part of my life as Eva. While I was in Burnley I made sure I called Eva in the evenings for our video chat before the time Maisie went to bed so I could see and talk to her too. I watch as Eva tells Maisie to go and get ready for bed.
"Gideon will you read me a story?" she asks, I look down at her and smile, her words pulling me from my thoughts.
"Of course I will" I say immediately.
Maisie goes to brush her teeth and a few moments later I hear her shout me, telling me she is ready. I walk into her small bedroom and she is in bed waiting with her favourite story in her hand, she offers the book to me and I take it although I now know the Princess and the Pea by heart I have read it so many times to her and I sit down in the seat beside her bed.
I open the book and am about to start when Maisie speaks.
"Gideon?" she asks carefully.
I look up and see her twisting her duvet cover in her hand, and I put down the book and give her my full attention as she clearly has something on her mind.
"What's wrong Maisie?" I ask gently.
"What does adopt mean?" she asks and I realise she must have overheard what Eva and I were talking about earlier.
I think for a moment and realise Eva needs to be here for this so I shout to her to come in, a moment later the bedroom door opens and Eva appears.
"What's up?" she asks.
I smile and reaching over I pat Maisie's bed, "Maisie just asked me a question and I felt you needed to be here when I answered it" I say.
"Ok" she says and she comes and sits down at the end of Maisie's bed and looks at us both questioningly.
I take a deep breath, "Maisie just asked me what adopted means" I say.
Realisation fills Eva's face and she nods and waits for me to continue.
I swallow hard and turn my attention back to Maisie, I hold out my hand and she shuffles closer and places her small hand in mine.
"When a grown up adopts a baby or a little boy or girl, it means they go to court and they officially ask to be that person's mum or dad, and the court decides if they can do that" I say. I have tried to make it sound as simple as possible so she will understand, whilst not patronising her as she is a very clever little girl.
Maisie nods which is encouraging and she looks at Eva and then back at me.
"I heard you say that… you said that… you said you wanted to adopt me, so does that mean that you want to be my dad?" she asks in a small voice.
I nod and smile reassuringly at her, "I would like that very much, you see I have decided that I want to be in your mums life forever because I love her, and I also want to be in your life forever too because I love you too and that is my way of showing you both that I mean it" I say. I look up at Eva as I say that so she knows that that statement was as much for her as it is for Maisie.
I wait as Maisie thinks about it, "But it's not just my decision sweetheart" I add and she looks up at me once more.
I smile at her and squeeze her hand gently, "You and your mum also have to decide if you would like me to be your dad, because even though I would like to be your dad very much, if you don't think you would like that then I won't go to court and ask them if I can and things will just stay as they are" I say.
Maisie looks at Eva now and I wait, holding my breath at what she is going to say.
"Mummy, can Gideon be my daddy please?" she asks and my heart leaps at the question.
Eva smiles at her, "Is that what you would like?" she asks.
Maisie nods emphatically, "I like Gideon a lot, I'm not scared of him and when he wasn't here I felt sad and I like how you are happy now, you are different to before". I watch Eva's reaction and I see her swallow hard at that but Maisie hasn't finished talking.
"When you both went to Manchester and granddad Tez took me to the park to feed the ducks, I made a wish at the fountain and I wished that Gideon could be my daddy and I didn't tell anyone, not even granddad Tez, so does that mean my wish has come true?" she asks hopefully.
My heart swells even more at her innocent words and I blink rapidly to try and prevent the tears that are threatening to fall. I look at Eva and she is smiling and her eyes are also quite glittery in the light from unshed tears.
"It seems like it did" Eva says her voice choked and thick with emotion.
oooOOOooo
Eva and I are lying in bed, she is curled into my side and I have my arms around her. She hasn't said anything about what Maisie said earlier or any of the other things which have been said tonight and I know she is working everything out in her mind, so I am going to let her do just that.
Suddenly, she moves and wraps her arm around me and her hand starts moving lower down my stomach. My dick immediately takes notice of this and starts getting hard. I was ready earlier when I first came home to take Eva there and then, but although the urges were put on the back burner at that point I had assumed that after everything else that has happened tonight that Eva wouldn't want to do anything now, but now she has made a move I am more than willing to participate.
She presses a kiss to my chest and looks up at me, "Gideon" she says and I meet her eyes and I see that they are filled with love.
"Hmmm" I say.
She kisses me again, "Just so you know, when you do ask me the answer will be yes" she says and those words make my heart almost explode with the joy and love I feel for her. I grab her and drag her on to my chest and kiss her soundly. I hadn't realised just how worried I was that she would turn me down, and how much I was second guessing myself for telling her my plans for our future.
I hear her moan, and I feel myself go from semi hard to stone at the sound.
"God I love you" I whisper into her mouth.
"I love you too" she replies and with that she slides off me and runs her hand down to my boxers and pushes it inside under the waistband. The moment I feel her grasp me I let out a moan and my hips instinctively thrust forward pushing myself into her hand.
I'm not sure how it happens but the next thing I realise we are both naked and wrapped around each other. My hands cover every inch of her. Touching, stroking, exploring, this is all still very new to me but the pleasure I get just from touching her and hearing the little noises she makes is amazing. My hands move lower and she parts her legs for me and I stroke the inside of her thighs as this always makes her shiver. I wait for it and… there it is. I smile as my hand moves up her thigh to her warm centre. I run my finger over her now swollen clit and she lets out a little cry and her hips move, I crawl down pressing kisses to her stomach and her legs and then I press a kiss to her clit before gently probing it with my tongue, she is moaning now and this encourages me further and I carry on until I feel her getting more and more excited. I push one finger inside her and I find she is soaking, I push another and then a third inside and while still gently stroking her clit with my tongue I push my fingers inside and curl them to reach a certain spot which I have learnt sends her wild.
She grabs my hair and calls out my name and I feel her come, I remove my fingers and crawl up her body and taking myself in hand I push myself inside her. The pleasure I feel as she draws me in is unspeakable and I gently thrust pushing further in each time until I am fully sheathed inside her, she reaches around and grabs my hips and wraps her legs around me urging me even deeper and I respond with a circle of my hips.
"Oh god Eva you feel so good" I moan as I thrust into her.
We have sex regularly now and we have been experimenting with different positions but for me simple is best, this week has been hell being away from her but that is all forgotten now as I thrust deeply into her. I am chasing my own release now and my thrusts get harder and faster and I know Eva likes it just as much as when I am gentle, but I always try to be mindful not to be too rough.
"Oh god Gideon, I'm going to come again" Eva gasps as I feel her nails digging into me.
That makes me even more aroused, I lift her hips and push her legs wider so I can get even deeper inside her. I live for this feeling of connection between us, that moment when we both let go and let instinct take over. There is nothing like it. As I thrust hard, I feel her tightening around my dick and her breathing becomes more and more laboured. I can't stand it any longer and I thrust hard, the pressure is immense and I am now pounding into her desperate for my own release, she moans loudly and digs her nails in once more and then I feel it, I come and I see stars literally.
"EVA" I call out and I throw my head back and squeeze my eyes shut tight as all my muscles tighten and I erupt inside her. I let out a loud moan and then drag her up off the bed and hold her to me as I continue to empty myself inside her, she is coming with me and we are both a sweaty hot mess, but neither of us seem to care. I search desperately for her mouth and when I find it, I kiss her soundly and carry on thrusting, giving myself to her, giving her every last drop of me.