Before Bed 2.0

Ben was in the kitchen watching his wife, Miranda, fix dinner. "Do your kids have everything ready for their soccer practices tomorrow?" She asked him.

"Honey, you have to ask them," he answered.

She turned back to the stove. "The food will be ready in like an hour."

"Okay, I'm going to take a quick, little nap," he whispered.

"Why are you whispering?"

"Because if the kids hear me, they won't let me have my little morsel of sleep." In the living room, he lay down and began flipping through the channels. It wasn't often he got the TV all to himself. Finding the list of programs that he'd recorded, he put one on, dozing off before the ending credits rolled. "Dad."

"Hmm?"

"Dad?"

Ben opened one eye. "Yes?"

His 14-year-old stared at him. "Can you please tell Dani to give me my headphones and to stay out of my room?"

He sat up and eyed Tuck. "Tuck, you did not wake me up to ask me that," Ben groaned. The teen smiled sheepishly. "I finally get a chance to close my eyes and you come to me with nonsense between you and your little sister."

His eyes got wide. "Sorry?"

"Yeah, well, I'm up now." He sat up and really looked at his son. "Tell her to come here please."

"Yes, sir."

Miranda came out of the kitchen and flagged Tuck down. "Is your bag ready for practice tomorrow?" She inquired.

"Yes."

"Okay. And make sure your sister's bag is ready, too, please." He rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "Is there a problem?"

"No," Tuck grumbled. He marched up the stairs.

Miranda turned to him, her face a giant question mark. Ben wiped his face. "It's not you, babe."

"I don't care what it is, I will snatch him up." Husband and wife laughed. "But what's wrong with your child?

"Dani did something or took something." He lifted his arms in the air, his shirt rising a little. She sat next to him and put her lips on his cheek. "Thank you."

"I love you," she told him

Ben's chest warmed. "Yeah?" She nodded. "Even when I'm just waking up from a nap?"

"Especially then," she said hugging him tightly. She pushed her face into the nape of his neck. "You smell good, babe."

"Stop," he moaned. "I haven't showered all day."

She shrugged. "Still smell good." Ben grabbed her chin gently and pulled her in for a kiss that started sweet and ended full of heat.

Their daughter walked up to them. "Yes, daddy?" Husband and wife looked at each other. Miranda kissed Ben's lips again quickly. She stood up, winking at her daughter. Ben patted the seat next to him. The eight-year-old flopped down, her feet inches off the floor. "Yes?"

"Do you have your brother's headphones, baby?" He asked tucking a braid behind the girl's ear. Sometimes Dani looked so much like her brother, so much like her mother, so much like him.

Dani nodded. "Yes."

"Now, are you supposed to do that?"

"I want some."

"So, you take mine?" Tuck asked coming into the room.

"Are both bags ready?" Ben asked him. He nodded and sat on the other side of him. "You don't take things that don't belong to you, Danielle. But you know that already, don't you?" Dani poked out her bottom lip, seconds from crying. "Put that lip back in, young lady. That's not going to work."

Tuck laughed and Dani lunged at him and Ben grabbed her. "Stop laughing at me!" Dani shouted.

"Stop taking my stuff, brat!" Tuck rebutted, jumping up. Ben was two seconds from sending them down south to their grandparents for the summer.

"Meanie!"

"Baby!"

"I'm not!"

"Alright! That's enough," Ben bellowed. Miranda walked out of the kitchen, smirking. She usually played the bad cop while he played good cop. He knew that it entertained her watching him discipline the kids. "If you two don't cut it out, no one's going to practice tomorrow and we'll start spring cleaning two months early."

"Whoa! We want them to go to practice," his wife said raising an eyebrow.

"Not if they don't get it together."

"Apologize to Tuck, Dani," Miranda told their daughter.

"Sorry, Tuck." The girl stood up and hugged her brother.

"That's okay. You can borrow my headphones, but you have to ask first, okay?" Tuck responded.

Ben felt his heart rustle. What was his life that he got to be in the midst of such amazingness? He conveniently forgot that just ten minutes before he wanted to get rid of them. "Miranda, our babies are growing up."

"Yes, and dinner's ready."

At dinner, Ben said the prayer before they tore into the spaghetti and meatballs Miranda had cooked. It was her specialty and he saw himself getting up in the middle of the night to grab some more while everyone else slept. "So, your Aunt Ros is coming to pick y'all up for practice," Ben said. "And then, bless her soul, she's going to take you guys ice skating."

"Yes!" Tuck and Dani shouted pumping their fists. Ben and Miranda exchanged glances. The kids were so excited, but it was the parents who should have been rejoicing. They were both off and would get the house to themselves for at least half of the day.

"I didn't know about that," Miranda told her husband. He watched her stab a meatball.

"Well, my dear, if you looked at your text messages from time to time…"

She glared at him and he avoided her eyes and looked at Dani who was accidentally dropping noodles into her lap. "What if I wanted to do something with my children tomorrow?" Tuck and Dani exchanged their own glances and Ben chuckled.

"Then reply to the messages," he said getting a little annoyed. He let a smile fall on his lips knowing that it would piss her off even more but not caring in the moment. "But, hey, if you want to take them somewhere tomorrow, I'll text Ros."

"Please can we go ice skating with Auntie Ros, ma?" Tuck asked as Dani looked at her with the brown eyes that turned both of her parents into putty. They were making easy work of his wife.

She put her fork down and picked up her wine. "Of course."

"Thank you, mommy!" Dani said getting up to hug Miranda. She kissed the top of the girl's head and Ben smiled.

"Yeah, thanks, ma," Tuck added.

"But make sure your homework is finished." The kids nodded, dancing in their seats and talking to each other over the table about their last trip to the rink and how awesome Ben's little sister was. Ben caught the eyes of his wife and winked. Miranda scoffed and continued to eat her food.

After dinner, Ben brushed his teeth in the bathroom as Miranda turned down their bed. "I should have talked to you about the skating rink face-to-face," he said offering an olive branch.

"Yeah, probably."

"Wait, are you really mad? Or…"

She walked into the bathroom and prepared to brush her own teeth. "I'm not mad, Ben."

That was probably a lie and if he hadn't been married for almost a decade, he would have let the issue rest. "I thought we wanted them out of the door tomorrow."

She nodded. "Yeah, for a little while. But I've been so busy lately and I haven't gotten a chance to be with them."

"I know, babe, but maybe we could go with them to the skating rink."

"No… I… it's fine." They both spat into the sink at the same time. "Though they never get so happy when I take them somewhere." Ben rinsed, washed his hands and moved behind his wife, slipping his hands around her waist, kissing the side of her head. They stared at each other in the mirror. "Forget it, I'm just being dramatic."

He moved his head from side to side. "A little."

"Hey!" Miranda said brushing more. When she rinsed, she turned around and he leaned down to kiss her.

"Hey yourself," Ben whispered squeezing her butt through her silky nightgown.

She moaned softly. "Our bedroom door is open," Miranda told him. Ben reached his hand back and closed their bathroom door. "The kids are still awake."

He knew it was important to her that their kids never heard them as they made love if it could be avoided. "Tuck probably has on headphones and I gave Dani mine, so their ears are soundproof right now," Ben said in her ear. In the mirror, he saw her shoulders relax.

"But we still have to be quiet," she warned.

"Yes, quiet. Right. Got it." He put his lips against hers, the mint surged through his body. "You taste good."

"You, too," Miranda smiled. It drove him insane whenever she smiled. It was one of many reasons he'd fallen in love with her. He kissed her neck, softly scratching her skin with his teeth. She shook in his arms. Miranda pushed him away and walked into their bedroom. Closing and locking door, she climbed on the bed.

He stood in the doorway of the bathroom and watched her get beneath the covers and pull off her nightgown, dropping it on the floor. "Good God."

"Get over here," she said softly. Ben rushed to pull off his pajama pants and A-shirt, jumping into bed beside her. His hands coursed her body, raking her stretchmarks, and grabbing handfuls of her thick thighs. Miranda's hand roamed his skin, grabbing his arms and his body melting beneath her touch. They both inhaled as he climbed on top of her.

"Don't forget to be quiet," he reminded her. "You get loud sometimes." Miranda only nodded as he pushed aside her panties and slid into her. "Oh, God!"

"Bennn!" She whined in his ear, making him want to scream obscenities. "Shhh!"

"I was trying," he laughed, stroking her slowly, going deep. He dipped his head into her chest, biting her breasts as he searched for her nipples. With every lick and suck, his wife eased her nails into his skin. God, he wanted to scream!

"Yesss," she said softly. Drawing his body back a little, he moved back inside of her hitting the spot that sent her hips into a frenzy. She moaned. "Fuck."

"You know what it does to me when you curse."

"Shit, Ben." Ben hadn't known what great sex was like until he'd fallen into Miranda. Being in love and appreciating each other provided the perfect combination when they made love. Even when their sex was mutually so-so, it was still pleasurable and fun and he always made sure to satisfy her to the best of his abilities. "Ben?"

"Yeah, babe?" He asked, grunting in a low tone. Sweat decorated his forehead. She wiped his face, pushing it into his hair. He was so in love with her. Ben kissed her just in case she decided to raise her volume.

Miranda smiled slowly, "I'm coming," she told him, her voice calm. The room was near silent as she climaxed except for his wincing as she pierced him with her nails.

He pulled out of her and started to stroke himself to a finish. "I hope that was good for you," he said grinning. Miranda nodded and threw a leg over his torso, kissing down his body. Ben stuffed a pillow behind his head and watched his wife work. It took three minutes before he was orgasming quietly, his hands reaching into her hair, holding it back before it fell into the mess he'd made.

"I hope that was good for you," she said, still smoothing his organ as his body shook.

"Okay, okay, okay, that's enough," he begged. Laughing, Miranda lay back, her head at the foot of the bed. "I feel like I need to say sorry for tomorrow."

In the darkness, he heard her say, "Don't. You know I'm grateful to Ros for being available when we need her. Of course, the kids love her and she's their favorite."

"Ohhh," Ben said snuggling up to her body. "You were jealous."

"The smallest bit."

"How about…" He kissed her ankles, "we all play hooky one day next week; from school and work and we, uh, take the kids someplace fun—"

"And educational."

He snorted. "Right, and educational." Ben placed another kissed on her legs and another on her thigh. "And we just have a good time?" He was up to her stomach now.

"I'd like that," she whispered. He licked her body as she pushed his head down until the tip of his tongue reached a sweet spot. "I would really, really like that."

When they were finished, Ben rolled off of the bed and went to check on the kids. Dani heard him coming and was giggling as he wished her a goodnight. He picked up his headphones and kissed her forehead. "Go to bed, child of mine. I love you."

"I love you, too, daddy," she said hugging him. Tuck was fast asleep, his phone propped up against a pillow as a video played. Ben took it and plugged it in, so that it was charged for the next day. Ben touched the teen's shoulder before walking out of the room.

"They're good?" Miranda yawned.

"They're perfect."

"And Dani's awake?"

They laughed together. "Yes, she is. And Tuck is sleeping like a baby." He smiled to himself thinking about how much different the two of his kids were. Ben kissed the back of her head before settling his body around his wife's. "I was thinking that we should get Dani her own pair of headphones," he told her.

"I already bought her a pair. They're on my side of the closet."

"You're such a great mom."

"You're trying to make me feel better."

He rolled over her with a small fire in his eyes. "I would never use your greatness as a parent as leverage in a tiff."

Miranda reached for his hand and brought it to her lips. "You are such a good man."

"Mmm-hmm, I am."

"And you're cocky."

"Very."