"Oh, these are delightful," an elderly woman gasped as she took a sample bite of a cookie.
Tommy had come up with the idea of breaking off a few pieces of the cookies and brownies for potential customers to try. They were more likely to buy more than one if they liked the sample, and seeing as how it was Kimberly that baked them and not him, they were already a guaranteed hit.
"You've mentioned that," Tommy chuckled at the older woman as he watched her take another free sample.
They had a group of people gathered around their table, each trying to steal a taste of the cookies and brownies that had the whole market talking. Unfortunately for Tommy and Kylie, they weren't the only bake sale on Rainer Street. Kylie's classmate, Cassie Pemberton, and her stuck up mother, Olivia, were across the street at the rivaling market. Was it possible to not like a five-year-old? Cassie was the worst. It obviously came down to shitty parenting, but still. Cassie had the audacity to tell Kylie she wasn't allowed to go to the Mother-Daughter tea party hosted at the Pemberton house because Kylie didn't have a mother. That just enraged him. He was all she had. What was the difference besides what was between his legs? It was moments like these that made him have some resentment towards Natalie. Even then, there were plenty of people that made up for the loss in Kylie's life. Kimberly, for one.
She was always there when Kylie needed help. Hell, Kimberly made the long drive back to Reefside just so Kylie could have something to sell. It was Kimberly's heart that drew him to her. Of course she was beautiful, but she was so much more than her physical appearance… although that was a bonus.
Don't think about her right now.
Naked Grandma's. Naked Grandma's. Naked Grandma's.
He repeated it in his head like a fucking mantra.
Off in the distance, he could see Olivia's botox filled face stealing a peek at the commotion around his table. Olivia hated Tommy because he rejected her advances. What was he supposed to do? She was married to the head of the Oncology department at Reefside Memorial and the man was twice her age. He wasn't about to just sleep with a married woman for the fun of it. She said she was lonely and looking for a good time, but he was not that desperate.
'Come over tonight and I'll suck you dry,' she had whispered in his ear one day as they waited for the kids to get out of school.
He didn't know how to respond to that. What the fuck, lady? He gave her a firm no and she wasn't too happy about his answer.
After that disaster, Olivia made sure to make his and Kylie's life as unpleasant as possible. Everything that he did, she did better. Kylie's Birthday party last year? Olivia held one for Cassie the exact same day even though Cassie's birthday wasn't for a few months later. School Play? Olivia would pout and stomp and threaten to withhold donations until Cassie was made the lead. Girl scouts? Well, fucking Olivia always had to get the biggest sales.
Olivia could afford to hire people to make all the damn pastries. Were they good? Sure. But not as good as Kimberly's.
"I think I'll take six of the cookies and five of the brownies. I'm having my grandchildren over for dinner and I think this will be just the treat," The older woman said as she handed a few shaky bills to Kylie.
Tommy smiled before sneaking a quick peek off in the distance. Olivia's mouth was hanging open, her sunglasses raised to steal a better look at Tommy and Kylie.
His cheeks ached with the need to laugh.
Suck on that, Olivia!
They hadn't even been selling for more than thirty minutes and they were already getting close to running out of all of the cookies and brownies Kimberly and Kylie had baked the day before. People were buying by the dozens and he didn't blame a single soul. Kimberly had a talent and it was a shame it took her this long to be comfortable to share it.
I would have eaten her cookies back then. Whoa, keep that mind out of the gutter.
"Thank you," Kylie returned, clapping her hands with a little too much energy.
If it had been any day of the week, Tommy would have found Kylie's clapping like a jackhammer in his ear, but since he'd slept the night before, nothing could bring him down.
Maybe he didn't get as many hours as he would have liked, but any amount was more than he'd had in the last few days combined.
He felt the tug of his lip as the memory of Kimberly crept back up.
Her lips on his shoulder, her nails on his back, his hands on her perfect breasts…
Tommy lived the life of the average twenty-year-old before Natalie came along. Drinking on the weekends, college parties, drunk college girls… he was no saint. Everything changed when Kylie came into the world. That life no longer interested him. He became focused on finishing his education more than ever because he now had two people that depended on him, Kylie and Natalie. His relationship with Natalie obviously went downhill as soon as Kylie was born, but his interest in female companionship didn't entirely go out the window. He didn't have time for a girlfriend, but who said that you had to date to sleep with someone? So that became the rule. Nothing went further than the occasional fuck with some stranger. After all, he was good at that. No strings attached. No one to get to know and no one to walk out on him again. That didn't mean he did it often. It had been a while. Life had just gotten that much more hectic in recent years.
'You need to meet a nice girl that you can take on a date,' His mother would say while he would suppress an eye roll.
What she really meant was, 'You need to find someone so you can give me more grandkids.'
When could he have taken someone on a date? Would it have been between the diaper changes or the bottle feedings? Or maybe on those sleepless nights when Tommy couldn't figure out why Kylie wouldn't stop crying?
That was then, this was now. Things were different. He meant what he told Kimberly last night. He wasn't sure how he would find the time, but he would try to make things work.
She was worth it.
He hadn't felt this way about anyone since the last time he had dated Kimberly. Maybe it was the fact that she had held that special place in his heart for the last ten years. He only discovered how deep his feelings ran when he went without her for the last couple of days. He didn't want to go that long again.
His mind hadn't changed, he still didn't want to get married or have any more children. He knew it was unfair to want to have Kimberly at his side and also deny them a future that went beyond dating, but what else could he offer? The thought of marriage was stupid. A piece of paper didn't make you any more devoted. People would have affairs all the time; Case in point, Olivia! She didn't give a damn if she was married or not.
Tommy could be faithful and just as devoted as any husband, but he didn't need the added pressure or stress. And kids? Whew, he couldn't do that again. He'd always wanted kids, but he wasn't expecting to become a father so early in life. It was rough in the beginning. He was alone, trying to finish his degree, and working to support Kylie. There were days when he wished he had his old life back, but that was quickly pushed away and replaced with an aching guilt. She was his entire world now and he couldn't imagine his life without her.
That's why he made the decision to get a vasectomy. He didn't see himself settling down with anyone and he definitely didn't want more children. Kylie was more than enough. There was a fear that an unplanned pregnancy could happen again. It wasn't that he slept with women often, but he'd already had a one night stand turn into something more. Maybe it had been a while since he'd gotten that far with a woman, but the fear was always there.
He liked things the way they were. It had just been him and Kylie and most days, that was enough. Now that he'd spent more time with Kimberly, he wanted to expand on that. Not with a family, but with her company.
Speaking of company, there she was.
He noticed her in the parking lot walking his way, her wavy caramel hair swaying in the wind as she got closer to them.
She waved from the distance and Kylie's face immediately lit up.
"Aunt Kim!" Kylie jumped from her seat, her large eyes growing wider in anticipation. Her fingers curled under her seat to keep herself in place and not run through the parking lot to wrap her arms around her favorite aunt.
Tommy was right there with her except the palms in his hands were beginning to build up moisture. That rhythmic drumming from his heart had picked up again and the surge of blood was being directed to his pants.
He hadn't seen Kimberly in a few hours and that was already too long.
When Kimberly reached them, she immediately crouched down and pulled Kylie into a warm hug, "Hey, kiddo."
Tommy felt his smile return. It was taking everything in him to act as perfectly normal as possible. He couldn't have Kylie suspect anything.
When Kimberly made her way to greet him, he panicked. How did he normally greet her? He'd forgotten already. Did he normally hug her? Did he kiss her on the cheek? Why was he forgetting? He knew how he wanted to greet her, but it wouldn't exactly be appropriate in a public setting. Although it would give Olivia something to gossip about at the next PTA meeting.
Thankfully for him, Kimberly took the lead (He loved it when she took the lead) and wrapped an arm around his neck, bringing him down a few inches.
She smelled like honey without even trying and his mouth was watering just at her proximity. God, this was painful. He wanted to get her alone again.
He was disappointed when she pulled back, but what else was she supposed to do? They weren't in the right setting for a proper hello. Although he promised himself he'd do just that when he got her alone again.
When the sun hit her face, it was almost like he was seeing her for the first time. There was a fullness to her lips, a sparkle on her skin, a twitch to her perfectly shaped brow. She was barefaced and more beautiful than he last remembered.
She had a dust of freckles on her nose. How had I not noticed before?
"You're here!" Kylie jumped when the table cleared. "I thought you were leaving."
"I didn't want to miss seeing you guys in action. How's the sale going?"
"Great!" Kylie directed Kimberly's attention to the near-empty table, "Our cookies and brownies are almost all gone!"
Kimberly's hand came to her lips to suppress a squeal. She wouldn't have believed it if she didn't see it herself.
"They were a hit," Tommy told her, "I knew they would be."
She bit at her lip and he found himself wanting to take a bite of them himself.
"This is amazing," A sense of pride swelled within her. This wasn't what she was expecting. "Thank you, guys!"
She reached out to Tommy, her hand gripping at his forearm to keep herself in the present.
He gulped immediately, remembering her soft hands touching all of him the night before. He wanted her to touch him more.
"No, thank you. Seriously," He cleared his throat. "I would have had to pocket the entire trip if it weren't for you."
His gaze never left her and Kimberly became very aware of the way he was undressing her with his eyes.
She tried to not pay much attention, although it was incredibly difficult.
"Let me know if you're having any more bake sales, Kylie. I might have to start whipping more things up."
Kylie's eyes grew wide. "Can we? Can we make some today before you leave?"
"Actually," Kimberly started. "I'm going to be staying for a few more days."
"Really?" Kylie hopped in place for a few moments, then turned to her dad. "Daddy, did you hear that? Can she stay with us please, please, pleeeeeeease?"
Her hands came together in front of her, her eyes and words begging for something Tommy wanted just as much.
He'd been thinking about it since last night. She said she would stay for a few more days, but she didn't say where. He would love to have her back in his place, but he wasn't sure if she wanted to. It was nice having Kylie say some of the words he couldn't muster the courage to say. They were pretty in sync when it came to that.
"I have no problem with that but I think we should leave that up to her, don't you think?" Kylie nodded and Tommy took the opportunity face Kimberly head on. "So what do you say? Do you want to stay with Jason and Trini or with us?"
"I don't know," she bit her lip. She did that whenever she was nervous and when it came to Tommy, there was a lot to be nervous about. "What do you think?"
He didn't have to think about it at all. He wanted her with him. In his house. In his bed. Her cries in his ear, her hands on his body, his face in her neck.
"Stay with me— us," He corrected himself quickly.
Her heart twitched, a smile that was both coy and telling creeping up her lips.
What would it feel like to kiss her in public? To hold her hand in front of the world and let them know that she is mine? What do I have to do to take her out to dinner and have people not gossip?
Small-town people sometimes came with small-minded ideologies. The townies, as Tommy called them, had a strong opinion about marriage. Loveless marriage? Too bad. You married once and put up with it until your partner died. Then you'd live the rest of your miserable life alone until you died. There were no second marriages and Tommy was completely fine with that for the last several years.
A young, divorced, single dad was definitely the hot topic in town when Natalie first left. People would gossip and whisper about him wherever he went. It had been a few years since then, but people still talked.
Hello. Yes, my wife left me. Do you want me to tattoo it on my forehead? No, I'm not sad. No, I don't want to date your granddaughter. Yes, I'm sure I'm okay. No, I don't need you to cook for me. Yes, I am capable of taking care of my daughter.
It was question after question and no one left it alone. A guy can't take care of his own daughter? Was this the 1950s? Did he need to have a wife at home to cook, clean, and take care of the kids while he worked from nine to five? People seeing him around town with a woman would be the biggest scandal the town had seen in a while. Yes, scandal because you were expected to be alone. Word would get back to Kylie and he couldn't do that to her. She'd never been anything but the only girl in his life.
She couldn't possibly be ready.
Author note: Hey guys! Hope you enjoy :) I'm having fun. Holidays are coming up soon. Hope you all have a safe holiday if you celebrate. See you next time!