Chapter One
April 14, 2021
9:17 PM
Dunn pulled away from Raab's embrace and looked away almost shamefully. Raab looked at him with a stunned confusion and then dropped his hands into his lap.
"What's the matter?" Raab asked
Dunn shook his head "I can't do this." He looked at him "We both shouldn't be doing this. It's wrong."
"You said yourself, before I ever said anything, that you couldn't help feeling some kind of attraction towards me."
"Yeah I know what I said. But I never actually thought we'd be sitting here about to… to kiss each other. What are we thinking any way? We're both married, and to incredible woman I might add, and what would our children think? This could really mess them up."
"You worry a lot."
"Maybe so. But maybe you don't worry enough."
"It was your idea to do this, now you're backing out?"
"Well I don't know what I was thinking when I came up with this ridiculous idea."
April 16, 2021
Dunn household- 6:45 AM
Brianne groaned softly and buried her head beneath her pillow, clutching it tightly in her hands. She grumbled to herself and closed her eyes as she tried to block out the sounds coming from her parents' bedroom.
"My God, do they have to do it so early in the morning? And with their fourteen year old daughter trying to sleep down the hall? Those two need to grow up."
She sighed and cringed before throwing her pillow to the floor and flinging the covers off of her. She walked across her room over to her stereo and then turned it on to drown out her parents before crawling back in bed.
"I swear if they keep this up, I'm moving out."
Raab household- 6:45 AM
"Hey Chris?" Lilly called out
"What?" both father and daughter answered
"Oh sorry, Christene." Lilly chuckled "I was calling dad."
"Oh ok."
Raab went into the bathroom where his wife was "Yeah?"
"Chris this drawer is stuck again and the toilet is still making that noise. Could you fix it?"
"What am I? The repair man?"
"Chris please. I would try to un-stick the drawer but I'm running late for work. You don't have to try to fix the toilet but you could at least fix the drawer."
"Alright."
"Thank you." She kissed him "Oh one more thing, make sure Christene gets ready for school on time."
He motioned towards Christene's room "She's up."
"Yes, and lying in bed still. So much like her father."
Raab rolled his eyes and grinned "Ok I'll get her ready for school on time." He kissed her "Now get out of here."
She kissed him back "You're so cute. Part of why I married you. But I have to go." She kissed him again "I'll see you this afternoon." She said before leaving
Lilly walked to Christene's bedroom and knocked on the door.
"Yo!" Came Christene's voice from inside
"Christene I'm leaving for work. You get to school on time ok?"
"Yeah."
"Bye Christene."
"Later."
"Mind your father."
"Uh-huh."
Lilly turned toward the bathroom "Chris make sure she's on time!"
"Uh-huh!"
"Bye Chris!"
"Later!"
Lilly grinned and walked down the hall "Those two I swear…"
Dunn household- 8:01 AM
Dunn and December sat at the kitchen table eating breakfast. They smiled at each other, held hands, picked on each other playfully. Dunn even made December blush "in that cure way" a few times and she managed to coax out what Dunn insisted wasn't "giggles". They were acting just like they did when they first started dating.
Brianne shuffled into the kitchen wiping sleep from her eyes. She looked up right as her parents were in the middle of a smooch.
"Ick…" Brianne rolled her eyes "How old are you two? And you're acting like that?"
"What? I can't kiss your mother?"
"That's not the problem, dad. The way you and mom have been acting lately, it's like you're… my age. It's sick."
"Good morning to you too, Bree." December said "Why don't you get your breakfast and never mind dad and me?"
Brianne grumbled and picked out some cereal. She poured herself a bowl of cereal and sat down at the table, trying not to pay attention to her parents' teenage-like behavior.
Dunn glanced up at the clock "Bree shouldn't you be in school?"
"It's Wednesday, dad."
"Yeah I know, but aren't you late?"
"You know I go in later on Wednesdays."
"Oh yeah. So never mind then." He looked at December and gave her a kiss, causing Brianne to roll her eyes
Raab household- 8:01 AM
Raab finished cooking breakfast and began setting the table. He poured juice in one glass, causing it to overflow onto the table. Mumbling to himself he quickly grabbed a towel to clean up the juice.
"Yo Christene!"
"What?"
"Breakfast is ready!"
Christene walked downstairs and entered the kitchen. She looked up at the table and froze.
"What's the matter?" Raab asked
"You set the table."
"Yeah? So?"
"You hardly ever set the table."
"I hardly ever get to eat breakfast with my daughter." He fixed his plate "Now take a seat by your old dad."
Christene grinned and went up to the table and then sat down. She fixed her plate and began to eat. After a few bites she looked at Raab.
"This is nice for a change."
He looked at her and sipped his juice "You think so?"
"Yeah. We don't spend a lot of time together just the two of us." She held up her fork with some food on it "And your cooking has improved quite a bit." She took a bite
Raab grinned "I do what I can."
"No really, this is good. I haven't died yet." She grinned
"Oh come on. My cooking was never that bad."
"So what's been going on with you and mom lately?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well it just seems like you two have been acting different towards each other."
"Like how?"
"I don't know how to explain it. Just that, well ok, you and mom don't seem as affectionate towards each other as you used to be. And the most I hear mom say to you lately is just like things she wants you to do around the house."
"Well your mom's been really busy at work, trying to get her promotion. And I'm at home all the time so I'm the one who's able to do certain things around the home when she's at work."
"Oh yeah. But what about the other thing?"
"We're still affectionate."
"Not that I've noticed."
"Don't worry about it. We don't have to be affectionate with each other all the time. The love is always going to be there."
"Yeah I guess."
Raab glanced at the clock "You probably should be leaving soon."
"Uh-huh."
Christene finished eating and then got up to put her dishes in the sink. She walked over to Raab and kissed him on the cheek.
"Thanks for the breakfast, Dad."
"You're welcome. Just don't die, I don't want to get blamed for it."
She snickered "Don't worry, Dad. I'm not planning on dieing." She grinned and walked away
Dunn household- 7:58 PM
It had been raining hard for about two hours. The rain clouds wee so dark that they gave an illusion of a night sky. Dunn, unable to relax or keep his mind occupied on any thing, sat in his chair in the living room casting an almost nervous or anxious appearance to his wife and daughter. He shook his crossed leg, tapped his fingers on the table and sometimes picked up a magazine and quickly thumbed through it before putting it back down.
"Baby what's the matter?" December asked as she placed a hand on his leg to steady it
He looked at her "Huh?"
"You just been acting really nervous about something. Are you ok? Is something on your mind?"
"I'm fine I just…" He stood up "I need to find something to do. I think I'm going to go for a walk."
"A walk? Ryan it's pouring out there."
"Uh, yeah I don't care." He kissed her on the cheek "I'll be back in a little bit. If you need anything I'll have my cell on me."
"Um ok…"
Dunn, without saying anything more, left the house to walk in the rain. He had no idea where he was going. All he knew was he had to find some way to clear his mind.
Raab household- 7:58 PM
Raab turned away from Lilly and peered out of the window. He sighed and shook his head.
"Lil, you're twisting my words again. I never said that it was ok for Christene to go to that senior party. I don't want her going there without some kind of chaperone there. How does that mean that I'm allowing her to go?"
"Would you still want our fourteen year old daughter around seventeen and eighteen year olds with no parents there? Who knows what could happen to her. There could be drinking there and smoking, and God knows what drugs or whatever else that teens could be into that they shouldn't be doing. You'd still let her go?"
"No! There's no way I'd let her go to that party. If she was having a party for her friends here, when we were going to be home and able to keep an eye on every one, if she was at a party at a house where we knew and trusted the parents that were going to be there, then that would be different."
"So you would still let her go?"
"I don't know why we're having this argument right now! It's ridiculous!" Raab sighed and groaned "I have to get out of here for a while. I'll be back."
"Chris! Don't leave! We're discussing something!"
Raab walked out of the house and into the pouring rain.
8:05 PM
The rain came pouring down in a steady rhythm. Cars splashed through puddles of water that had formed on the road. Hardly anyone, of those who were outside, were not riding safely in vehicles. But most of the pedestrians were wielding umbrellas, and some were near by their home and just went outside for a second.
Dunn pulled the hood of his rain-soaked sweatshirt up over his drenched blonde hair. His jeans had clung to his legs from the wetness, causing them to feel heavy. He held his head down much of the time as he walked, so he was unaware of anyone else who might have been around him.
A short ways down the sidewalk, coming from the opposite direction, was an equally wet Raab. He too kept his gaze down ground-ward as he walked casually in the rain. Without looking up he bumped into another walker unrepentantly.
"I'm so sorry I…" He looked up "Dunn what are you doing out here?"
"I'm wondering the same thing about you." He drew his sweatshirt closer to him as if it would have some effect on protecting him from the rain.
"I had to get out of the house for a while to clear my head."
"In the rain?"
"Yeah well… what are you doing out here?"
"I had to do something so I went for a walk."
"In the rain?" Raab asked, imitating Dunn's previous tone with a smirk
Dunn grinned a little "Yeah I guess."
"I'm actually glad I ran into you, Dunn."
"You are?"
"Yeah. I haven't been able to stop thinking about the other night."
Dunn let out a slight sigh "Me either."
"What were we thinking?"
"I don't know."
Raab looked down at his shoes and glanced up towards him a little; just giving him a peek on his blue eyes. A piece of Raab's wet hair fell into his face and water dripped from it. Dunn reached out and brushed the hair out of Raab's face. Raab grinned a little and looked into Dunn's eyes.
"Thanks."
"No problem."
Raab stepped closer to Dunn and looked deeper into his eyes. Dunn looked back into Raab's eyes and a soft smile ran across his lips.
"There's something about you right now that's so irresistible, Raab."
Raab's grin broadened "Like what?"
"I can't explain it. I… just…"
Dunn placed a hand on the side of Raab's face, gently pulling him closer. He leaned in and pressed his lips on Raab's lips. They looked at each other for a moment, all kinds of thoughts and emotions rushing through them, and then went back into a longer, deeper kiss.
