Surprise! How about a Wednesday update? Don't worry, I'll still update on Friday too!
Thank you for coming back to read. And I love comments and likes/kudos too!
"After weekends like this, I wish I taught elementary instead of high school," Rey says to Rose as they walk out of the teachers lounge.
"When was the last time you saw the girls?"
"Friday morning. They come home until Wednesday, then I have them until next Monday."
"I'm glad you can keep up with it. You've been doing this since Greer was a baby and I don't see how you can keep track of it." Rose grins as she changes the subject. "What happened this weekend?"
Rey stops in the hallway before her English class. "Nothing happened."
"You're lying to me," Rose giggles. "I know something happened. Paige told me that Ben or Dr. Solo bought the house next to her cabin. Did you see Ben?"
Rey rolls her eyes, but she can feel her lips curving into a smile. "I did."
"And—"
"He has the sweetest boys," she gushes, "Have you met them—"
Rose swats her on the arm. "You know that's not why I'm asking! You know, he's always had a crush on you."
"I'm starting to realize that. Why didn't I see it back then?"
"Poe and—" Rose pauses as a gaggle of students come chattering by. "Poe distracted you."
"What were you going to say?"
"Nothing I can't say in this hallway, even though they know more bad words than we do."
"They do," Rey agrees. A rush of students flood the hallway at the same time the first bell rings. "It's time."
"I want to hear everything that happened," Rose gushes before she follows the wave of teenagers to her own English class.
"Ms. Holdo, did you have a big weekend?" Zoe, one of her freshman students, teases as she walks into the classroom.
"Did you finally have a date?" Emma excitedly asks.
"She must have, look at the way she's blushing," Helen adds.
"Girls, go sit down." Rey waits until they are almost to their seats when she mutters under her breath where only she can hear, "It was a wonderful weekend."
"Of course, I'm running late. Mom, can you see if the girls are still there?"
"Rey, it's ok, they're sitting here in my office." Amilyn says.
"Thank goodness," Rey whispers. Amilyn became the principal several years ago of the elementary school the girls attend. While Tobias finished all of his course work in child psychology. He opened his own office on Main Street several years ago.
"I'm turning into the parking lot now."
"See you soon."
"Bye." Rey throws her phone in her purse and parks. She's not exactly running into the elementary school, but she speeds walks to her mom's office. It's been several days since she's seen her mom, besides it being at least three since she's seen the girls.
She'll never get used to this feeling of not seeing her children for days at a time. Not for the first time, she wishes so many things as hugs and kisses then words fill the office.
One last hug, and Amilyn whispers to Rey, "Leia called me Saturday evening."
"She did?" Rey hopes that Mom won't push, especially in front of the girls.
"Why didn't you tell me that you were at the lake with Ben this weekend?"
"Ben?" Juniper asks.
"Who's that?" Greer adds.
"I wasn't there with him. Paige let me use her cabin. I had no idea it was next to the lake house Leia and Han bought years ago. And yes, we hung out." Rey then says to Greer and Juniper, "It's an old friend of Mommy's and he's coming over for supper with his boys which means we gotta go." Rey ignores how Mom gives her that look and rushes the girls out the door instead. Thankfully she knows Mama will give her the ten minutes it takes to drive home before she calls. "I have to go to the grocery store," she grunts as she opens the door to her SUV. She hands Juniper her phone. "Text Meemee. Tell her we have to go to Publix before we go home. I'll call her back this evening."
Unsure what else to fix, Rey gets the ingredients for French bread pizza. She learned a long time ago that if kids think they are helping make their food, they are more likely to eat it. And with both families meeting each other for the first time, she needs something easy. Rey just has a feeling that this needs to go right or the rest of her life will basically suck.
And the past several years has been bad enough.
The doorbell rings and she has to smile at who she knows is behind the door. But when she opens it, it's Poe not Ben.
"Why are you here?" Rey snaps.
"My children live here," he says and she wants to slap him. "And Greer left this at the house." He holds up Greer's favorite toy, a stuffed dog named Casey that she got from Leia for her third birthday.
"Thank you," she replies. "I would have been after that before bedtime."
Poe is looking over her shoulder at the pizza toppings on the kitchen table. "Pizza night on a Monday? What's the special occasion?"
He steps in and she wants nothing better than to shove him back out. But at that exact moment, she sees Ben's Land Rover pull in. "You have to go, Poe."
"Who's that?" He asks, looking at the SUV.
"None of your business. Now go," Rey hisses.
Of course, the girls come running down the steps at that exact moment. They start talking to Poe while she walks out on the porch then over to the SUV. Ben rolls down the window. All three Solo men are quiet as they listen and watch her with their big, sweet, brown eyes.
"It's ok, Greer forgot to pack one of her toys. He was dropping it off."
"So, he's not staying?" Ben asks. After a weekend of them staring at each other for two days, it's weird that he's not looking at her now.
He's glaring at the front door of her house.
"No, he never does. Tonight, won't be any different."
"Is that Solo?" Poe says loudly as he walks up beside her like he has to announce it to the entire neighborhood.
She steps away from him so he doesn't touch her.
"Dameron," Ben acknowledges. Rey doesn't miss the glint in his eyes as he watches Poe.
"I heard that you moved back, welcome home."
Poe's now returning the scowl as they size each other up. Did they do that in high school? I thought they were friends?
"Rey!" Wyatt whispers from the backseat.
She walks over to the passenger side and opens the door. "Hey you two. Are you ready to go make pizza?"
"I'm not hungry," Jack says.
"You're not?" Rey asks. She looks up and meets Ben's eyes in his rear-view mirror. She knows then what she needs to do. "I'll be right back boys." She walks back around to where Poe is still trying to find out why Ben is there. "Poe, let's go."
"What?" He gives her the look that hasn't worked on her in years.
"Just walk over here, please?"
She's surprised that he listens. When they're far enough away, she begins, "Why are you here?"
"I thought it would be nice to have dinner with the girls."
"No. You've had them all weekend, go away, Poe."
"I need to leave so you can get cozy with Solo? If he wasn't here, you'd be begging me to stay."
"What the fuck Poe? For the first time in years you're over here acting like a jealous ex? Guess what? You don't get to do that. Go home Poe." He looks hurt but she's also to the point where she doesn't really care anymore. "Don't look at me like that. You made your bed a long time ago when you couldn't stay out of Zorii's. Go home."
He looks like he wants to say something, but she walks back to Ben's Land Rover. Out of the corner of her eye she can see the girls hug Poe before he goes back to his car.
She gives Ben a weary smile and he gives her a small one while she knows he watches Poe over her shoulder. When Poe's door slams, that's when Ben gets his boys out.
"Come on in guys. I'm hungry." She leads them all into her tiny kitchen.
"Why was Daddy here?" Greer asks as she hugs the returned stuffie.
"He returned your Casey, silly," Rey answers. She decides to do what always works on her children: redirection. "Alright, pay attention." She grabs Juniper's arm and pulls her in front of her. "This is my daughter Juniper. She's eight and likes to be bossy." Juniper huffs like a teenager. Rey tugs Greer in front of everyone. "This is my other daughter, Greer. She likes her stuffie, Casey and chocolate."
"And tacos, Mama."
"And tacos," Rey repeats with a wink to Ben.
"I like tacos too," Wyatt adds.
"It's my turn," Jack growls.
"Boys," Ben exhales. "This is my son Jackson, but we call him Jack for short. He likes video games and picking on his baby brother."
"Dad," Jack hisses.
"Oh yeah, he's seven," Ben adds.
"I forgot, Greer's six," Rey says.
"And I'm five," Wyatt declares.
"Yes, you are. This is my son Wyatt, and he's five. He likes, well lightening bugs and—"
"Rey. I like Rey," Wyatt says.
Rey bends over and gives him a hug. As soon as she straightens up, Greer hugs him next.
"Now that we all know who each other is, who wants pizza?"
At first, all four children are quiet as little church mice.
But thank goodness for Ben Solo.
"I'm starving, Rey." He picks up a loaf of bread and brings the entire loaf to his mouth like he's just going to start to eat…
"You can't eat that!" Greer informs him.
"But I'm hungry," Ben whines and even Rey can't keep the smile from her face.
"That's part of the pizza," Juniper says as she takes it from him like it's an explosive.
"Can you help me make one?" Ben whispers. Rey has to shake her head. How did he know that Juniper's favorite thing in the entire world is helping people.
"Dad?" Jack interrupts. "I can help you too."
"Me too," Wyatt chips in
"Me four," Greer adds.
Rey can't help but to grin as he directs the kids on helping him while they make everyone a pizza. Then she's cleaning up their mess and setting pizzas into the oven.
"Rey!'' Wyatt exclaims. "It's almost dark, can we go hunt lightening bugs?"
"Please, Mama," Greer begs.
"I doubt if there's any around but yeah all of y'all can go outside." She can hear them giggling as they run around the yard.
She's so focused on the kids, that she doesn't realize Ben's beside her until she feels his arm around her shoulder and he kisses her temple. "I missed you today," he admits in her ear.
"I missed you too." She leans her head on his chest. The oven buzzer echoes through the house. She steps away, but not before he kisses her forehead.
"Well, I never thought I'd say this, but I'm so glad that Dad bought the girls their Switches." Rey says.
"It's a good investment. I'm just glad that you had a game all of them could play together." Ben adds. They are sitting beside each other on her old sectional while Juniper, Greer, Jack and Wyatt play Super Mario cart.
"I'm just glad that they are playing something together," she whispers.
"Do you think we could go neck in the bathroom?" He murmurs with a smirk.
"Is it bad that as much as I want to, I'm also a little scared? These people are sneaky."
He bumps her shoulder with his. "Are you still going to the reunion this weekend?"
"Yes, please tell me that you're going too."
"I asked Mom and Dad to babysit."
Her grin lights up the entire room as she does a happy little wiggle. "Now, you're coming to the cookout too, right?"
He hesitates and she's nodding. "I guess so?"
"Correct answer," she giggles. "What I'm planning on is, I'm taking the girls for that. Then they are going home with Rose and Finn. They'll be spending the night with Josie." He looks confused. "That's Rose and Finn's daughter. Then we can get ready for that evening."
"You mean, we'll actually be kid free?" He murmurs in her ear, making goose pimples erupt all over.
"All night long—" she adds with a wink. "Whatever will we do?"
"I can think of several things—" his voice promising her all kinds of things.
"I need you," she mouths, wanting him even more than she wants her next breath.
"Didn't you say that Poe has the girls on Wednesday and Thursday?" She nods with a smile. "Wednesday, I'm taking you out."
"Just come over, we'll get take out? We can do something crazy like eat Chinese naked in the bed."
"I like the way you think," he winks and then steals a kiss. They both glance at the kids, but they are too busy trying to beat the others to see or hear what their parents are planning.
Ben: Can I pick you up at 6?
Rey: I thought we were ordering take out and eating it in the bed while we do it over and over.
Ben: You always have the best ideas.
When the final bell rings, Rey has to keep herself from skipping to her SUV. She rushes home to change the sheets and to shave everywhere she can reach. Then she throws on her newest pair of boxers and a shirt that she bought last week.
At six on the dot, she sees him through the screen door with bags from their favorite Chinese place. He takes her breath away. He's wearing a pair of aqua scrubs from his office. She opens the door and says, "I didn't realize that we were going to play doctor."
"That's an interesting idea," he purrs as he accepts a kiss. "You can have me anyway you want."
"I want you all kinds of ways, Ben. In my bed, on my couch, in my shower—" he interrupts her with another kiss.
"Let me—" he stops kissing her so he can put the food down, then he's in her arms again. He kicks the door shut, and she's pulling his shirt off. Her boxers hit the floor, and she's digging out the drawstring of his scrubs.
When they are left in nothing but their underwear, she grabs his hand and leads him to her room. She stops before they reach the bed. "Are you real?"
"Are you?"
"I still can't believe that you're here and this is happening."
"I'm glad that you're real too." She reaches for her bra, but he stops her. "Close your eyes," he mutters.
Goose bumps and eyes closed is her answer. "Take a deep breath," he murmurs. In she breathes and when she exhales, that's when she feels him
His touch is lighter than air as he runs the very tips of his fingers up her arms, stealing what little breath she has left. He eases her bra straps off her shoulders, releasing the clasp. Before her nipples can pebble in the A/C cooled summer air, she feels him behind her.
His hands replace her bra, and she leans back into his embrace. "I've dreamed about this—" his whisper caresses her ear and she just wants to melt into him. He doesn't just lick her ear, he nibbles on it like he's done every other part of her and she just wants, no needs him so deep inside her she feels like she's going to burn up or something worse if she doesn't get to touch him soon….
"Ben."
He turns her around, but when she starts to open her eyes he kisses her lids instead. Her hands come up and touch him on his sides and even though he didn't say she couldn't touch him she needs to as if it's the only thing keeping her grounded right now…
"I need you," she says. "Please, Ben—" his lips are on hers and he's licking into her mouth and all she can do is hang on as waves of need, no desire for this boy, no man in her arms. she backs up, eyes still closed because after all he hasn't said that she could open them yet, did he? When her knees hit her bed, that big old lonely bed that hasn't had anyone but her and her daughters in it, welcomes her. She pulls on him and she has to smile when he falls on top of her.
He can't wait any longer because her panties are on the floor with his boxers. "Look at me, Rey." And then, like an invisible switch is flipped, she opens her eyes.
"That's better," she purrs as he parts her legs. He doesn't wait to slide in. When he can't go any further, he has to pause, resting his forehead against hers. Their breaths mingle and while this moment couldn't get any more perfect, she reaches for him and he tilts his head so they can better kiss one another.
And that's when he begins to move. He rocks his hips, and she answers him with some of her own. It doesn't take them long and they are coming together. Even when he can no longer stay inside her, he pulls her into his arms.
He thinks she's asleep when she asks, "Why is the sex so great?"
"Hmm? Between us?"
"Yeah, I mean I haven't been with a lot of people, but this is amazing. If it wasn't for the kids, I could stay right here for the rest of my life."
"It is pretty good sex," he teases.
"Tell me it's the best."
"It's the best," he agrees.
She's quiet for a moment then she's getting up for him to pull her back into his arms. "I have to pee." He chuckles. "And food, I need food."
"You always need food."
"And there is food in the kitchen."
"Well, then get off me," he says with a grin and a smack on her bottom.
"That hurt Solo," she grumbles as she wiggles off the bed then hurries to the bathroom. "Do you want to eat in the bed or the kitchen?"
"It's your house, where do you want to eat?"
"I guess the kitchen." She comes walking back. "I guess I've been a mom too long to eat fried rice in the bed." Her grin lights up the room. "We could eat dessert in here—"
She stops at the edge of the bed, close enough for him to touch. "What's for dessert?"
"You'll just have to wait and see—" he reaches for her, but she grabs her clothes and pulls them on. He grabs his boxers and follows her out the door.
"Couch?" she asks as she digs for forks and chopsticks in her silverware drawer.
"The couch but not the bed?" he chuckles.
She sticks her tongue out at him. "We eat in here all the time." he sits beside her on the couch and they reach for the cardboard boxes.
"You remembered," she gushes with tears in her eyes.
He looks up and she's staring into the open container. He grins. "We always ate it."
"I know, I know," she whispers. "But it's been years since we've eaten Chinese and then you remembered that I like spam fried rice of all things." She leans over and he closes the space between them to kiss her. "Thank you."
The smile on his face is amazing and you would have thought she had confessed her undying love. "What else did you get?"
"The usual's. Chicken fried rice, orange chicken, beef and broccoli."
"I like those too." She uses her chopsticks to snag a piece of broccoli. "I don't really have dessert planned."
"You don't?"
"I was so busy and I forgot, but I do have a can of Reddi-whip that Greer eats on her pancakes. We could take turns licking it off each other—"
"Why didn't we just do that?"
"Instead of eating real food?"
"You, me naked? That beats everything," he says with a smirk as he eats a piece of chicken.
"Eat Solo, you have to keep your strength up, we have a lot to do this evening," she says with a wink.
Brbrbrbrbr
"Don't forget Saturday," she reminds him as she pours him a cup of coffee in one of her travel mugs. He's making toast and kissing her each time he passes.
"What's Saturday?"
"The reunion."
"Are you really going to that? Can't we just load up all the kids and go to the lake?"
"As nice as that sounds, let's get dressed up and go. I even got a new dress."
"Can we go to Onion Mountain and make out afterwards?"
"Yes," she giggles. "I think we can do that."