Greg had crept out of Joel's room some time later, tiptoeing along the small corridor and avoiding the noisy toys and creaky floorboards littered across the floor like booby traps. The nervous tension in his body twisted a knot in his stomach as he peered inside her bedroom; she was curled up on one side of the huge bed surrounded by pillows of every description. The room was decorated in soft pinks and crème's, a completely feminine space with white antique furniture filling the spaces and a huge patio door leading out into the garden on one wall.
Moonlight filtered through the window casting haunting shadows across her dark hair and pale skin and he hesitated for a moment, taking in the scene in front of him. Her eyelashes flickered in her dreams, her mouth curling into a soft smile and her hair fell softly over her face, whispering around her nose. The sheet draped across her slender form, clinging to the shapes of her body like a second skin. It felt a little strange creeping into bed beside her while she slept, he placed his pants and shirt on the table beside him and slipped under the sheet running a gentle hand along the slender curve of her collarbone.
A sigh made itself known on her lips and she moved in the bed until she was pressed against him, the warmth of her body and the scent of her skin overwhelming him. He pressed a kiss on her shoulder, taking a deep breath of her aura.
"I thought you'd never come to bed" she muttered sleepily as he nuzzled against her neck, his breath shivering across a bare patch of back.
"I thought you would be asleep"
His fingers danced a trail down her arm, lacing between her fingers carefully as she twisted in his arms to face him properly. Robyn quirked an eyebrow at him, her hands rested on his chest and the glint in her eye enveloped him in a heat that left him breathless and quivering in anticipation as she gently kissed him.
"Sleep is over-rated"
He was suddenly incredibly nervous; he could feel the blood pumping through his body like a freight train as her nails lightly scraped across the muscles of his shoulders. With trembling hands he slowly unfastened the dainty buttons of her pajamas, hesitating slightly when she held her breath. A quiver crossed her lips but she nodded her head, resting a hand on his cheek so gently he could have melted into it.
"I haven't... you know, since Joel" she whispered, clearly incredibly nervous. He could feel her trembling against him as he danced his hand across the soft milky skin of her abdomen. Greg dipped his head to her neck, kissing toward her ear before breathlessly whispering to her.
"We don't have to"
But the lust had descended between them; it was evident in their darkened pupils and careful touches. Her skin was so smooth that he couldn't help but let his hands explore and she smelled so good it was impossible not to taste the sweet honey flavor that dabbled her skin.
"I… I want to" she purred, wrapping her legs around his body and pressing against him.
They surrendered their bodies to each other in a tender and powerful culmination of months' worth of building tension withering into each-other's arms in a breathless mess of tangled limbs and desperate kisses. Greg fell asleep holding her in his arms, feeling her heart pounding through her chest in time with his.
He woke in the morning to glorious sunshine and an empty bed. The sheets felt like they were floating around his body, the smell of flowers and freshly cut grass waving through the open patio doors. He stretched out his legs, arching his back with a groan as he tried to shake off the dew of sleep and searched around the room for his clothes, finding nothing but Robyn's clothes and trinkets, including a collection of teddy bears she had stashed inside the huge wardrobe and a drawer full of jewellery he had never seen her wear.
Robyn was in the kitchen, in a pair of tiny black shorts and a massively oversized t-shirt that draped off her shoulder as she flipped some pancakes onto a plate and drizzled maple syrup over them. She returned his kiss before nodding towards the table, juggling a multitude of plates towards it with a smile. Joel was already sitting there, drawing with a red crayon with his tongue sticking out at the side of his mouth like he was performing calculus.
"Blueberry pancakes, eggs and bacon and fruit loops for the little guy!" Robyn smiled, spreading the plates across the small dining table and running back into the kitchen for yet more maple syrup.
"You trying to give me diabetes?" he teased, snatching a small stack of the fluffy pancakes away before they were drowned in syrup. Robyn narrowed her eyes at him sending him a sarcastic smirk as she took the chair beside him.
"Did Greg have a sleepover mommy?" Joel asked wide eyed as he took in Greg's current state of undress before turning his scrutiny to Greg "where's your clothes?"
Robyn shared a bemused look with Greg as she carefully wiped a bead of milk from her son's face. He had no idea how to respond, he had never been in this situation before and it took him off guard.
"Well…uhh… sometimes when two people love each other…"
Robyn placed her hand on his, laughing at his nervousness and shaking her head.
"Yes, Greg had a sleepover. Is that ok?" she soothed, attempting to mask her amusement.
Joel shrugged, having lost interest in the subject already. He jumped down from the table and switched on the TV.
"That was easy" he sighed, relived that he dodged a bullet. The added complication of a child wasn't anything he'd been faced with before.
"I told you he'd be fine" she smiled, moving from the table to hoist Joel into her arms. "Let's get you dressed – Greg I washed your clothes I hope that's ok. Figured you might need them for work"
He grinned up at her, enjoying the feeling of being domesticated and looked after.
"I have a change in the car… but thanks"
When she disappeared into Joel's bedroom Greg cleared the plates and sheepishly crept out to retrieve his bag from the car. The sun was in full force, splitting the sky and throwing its heat into the day already. Robyn's neighbors were out cutting their grass and fetching their mail, they eyed him suspiciously as he stood on the driveway in just his boxer shorts.
Robyn and Joel were heading outside when he came back, Joel wearing shorts and a rubber ring clearly headed for the pool. She stopped and regarded him carefully as he pressed the front door closed behind him.
"You were outside…like that?" she smiled. "I would have got the bag for you, you know?"
"And deprive your neighbors of this" he smirked.
Robyn rolled her eyes and followed Joel into the garden leaving him alone in the house to get dressed. Her shower was fantastic, a proper power shower that beat the water down on him like a massage. He could have stayed there all day if there wasn't the promise of a day lounging in the sun waiting for him outside.
Robyn had a large back yard, a patio area skirting around the house framed by a lush green lawn with a pool in the far corner. Robyn had taken up residence on a lounger, massive sunglasses monopolizing her face as she read her book in the sunshine. Greg scanned the garden for Joel, unable to locate him until he was shot in the face by a water pistol and the little boy scurried between his legs giggling.
"Hey you! You messed with the wrong guy buddy – I was the water fight champion of San Gabriel in the summer of 85!"
Quick as a flash Greg grabbed the second water gun sitting on the table and gave pursuit. Joel was good though, being his garden he knew all the best routes and wobbly fence panels and before long Greg was soaked from head to toe and laying on the grass begging for surrender.
"Ok, I give! I give! Have mercy!" he laughed as Joel shot him over and over.
Robyn appeared at his side, rolling her eyes at the sight of him.
"I think he's had enough Jo-Jo… go for a swim!" she stood over him, meeting his eye before she shot him with the pistol once more "I can't believe I just had to save you from a 4yr old Greg"
"He's almost 5!" Greg justified, scrambling to his feet.
Robyn shook her head and started to walk back to her lounger as Joel jumped into the pool with his life bands, rubber ring and sunglasses all still in situ. Greg pointed to Robyn and nudged his head towards the boy who nodded enthusiastically and he wrapped his arms around her waist before looping one hand under her legs and running towards the pool.
Her arm looped around his neck as she screamed, meeting his mischievous eye before he dropped her square in the pool with a smile. Joel's laughter rung out in the air as she gasped for breath beside him, surprised by the shock and the relatively cold temperature of the water. She stood up before swimming to the edge of the pool, unable to keep the smile off her face. She crooked a finger at him, asking him to come closer but he wasn't naive of her intentions.
"No way, I know your type Ms. Morrissey! Keep dreaming!"
"Oh come on, I just want a hand out of the pool, I bashed my knee on the bottom"
She even sent him puppy dog eyes and pursed lips so he couldn't resist. He reached out his hand to help her out and she shifted her weight pulling him into the pool with an almighty splash.
He didn't think he could have got any wetter than during the water fight but he was wrong. His thin blue shirt clung to his torso, water dripped from his hair and he drew a hand across his face.
"That was uncalled for" he smiled, approaching Robyn with the intention of dunking her right back under but she slid an arm around his waist and met his eye, pressing her body against him.
His hands stroked down her back, the T-shirt now clinging to her frame. He pulled her closer, the length of her body touching his as he dipped his head towards her. The playfulness was suddenly forgotten as he met her eye. His fingers stroked across her face, curling a strand of loose hair around in his fingers before he covered her lips with his own.
He tightened his grip around her, backing her up to the side of the pool and pressing her body against him. He couldn't seem to pull her close enough, their bodies molding together and their wet clothing adhering to each other, he kissed her passionately, his head swimming with lust.
The moment was destroyed in a second by Joel and his water gun. He laughed a cheeky laugh as he tried to swim away, the inflatables keeping him afloat but slowing him down as Greg gracefully slipped under the water and emerged in front of him.
"Can you swim without these?" he asked, flicking a finger off the rubber ring languishing around Joel's armpits. He shook his head indicating no, the sunglasses slipping down his tiny freckled nose.
"then I'm gonna teach you!" he declared, lifting him out of the water and helping him out of the various flotation devices he had used. Robyn smiled at him and met his eye; she appreciated the way he was bonding with Joel. She had told him so herself but when she looked at him like that his heart still turned somersaults.
"You boys have fun. I'll make the lunch"
Robyn sauntered inside the house, slipping the T-shirt from her body before she was fully inside and turning to smirk at him playfully. With a shake of his head and an exasperated smile he gestured to Joel to join him in the water sans armbands. He had expected Joel to be hesitant and nervous, perhaps even a little untrusting of him but he wholeheartedly threw himself into the water and before long Greg was lightly holding him afloat while chanting 'paddle' and 'kick' over and over again.
When Robyn emerged a short time later, having adorned the picnic table on the patio with food, Greg was able to raise both his hands out of the water and walk alongside Joel as he swam on his own without realizing. She had changed out of her saturated clothes and into a blue floaty dress with tiny straps that slid off of her shoulders every time she dipped her head, the material danced around her knee's, delicately licking at the skin there as the wind caught the skirt.
"You're a natural" Greg smiled, giving the boy a high five as they both climbed out of the water and strode across the lawn towards lunch.
"Momma, Greg taught me to swim!" Joel cried excitedly as he climbed onto his chair "he said next time I can do a triple backwards somersault!"
"Oh did he now?" Robyn asked, raising her eyebrows at a sheepish looking Greg. "I think you tired him out Jo, Greg should have a lie down after this"
Joel nodded through a faceful of egg salad sandwich, regarding Greg with some amusement.
"He can borrow some of my Jammies"