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When You're Around

Chapter 27

Chloe pulled up to Randy's house Friday night nervously. She had gotten a call from him less than an hour ago asking her to come over so he could fill her in on what happened today at the zoo with Lindsey. Honestly, Chloe could see it going either way. She wouldn't be surprised if Linds was upset about it but on the other hand, she wouldn't be horribly surprised if she was happy with it. She walked uneasily up to the porch in her black velour track suit. After knocking on the door, she slapped a confident expression on her face because if he had bad news to deliver, she didn't want to make him feel bad. If Linds was not ok with their relationship, she would accept the fact that Randy would probably want to end things. She knew that by the end of the night, their relationship could be no longer. This was a huge bump in the road. If his daughter was ok with things, they would get over the bump and continue on the road that was their relationship. But if it upset her, the bump would hold a 'No Trespassing' sign and the road would end.

"Hey," Randy said as he pulled open the door, greeting her as if it was any other day. He wasn't extra happy, but he didn't show a sign of disappointment so Chloe still held hope.

"Hey," She said back as she stepped into the house, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"You want something to drink?" Randy offered as he led her into the living room with his hand on the small of her back.

She shook her head. "I'm ok, thanks."

Randy nodded as he sat down on the couch, patting the spot next to him so she would join him. "How was your day?"

"Uneventful. I watched some of those wrestling tapes you let me borrow. It's nice to actually understand what the company you're working for is all about."

Randy smiled. "Good, I'm glad they're helpful."

Chloe let out a sigh. "Randy, why are you acting like this is a first date? Did you tell Linds? Cause if you didn't, it's ok, I understand that's a big step and you might need more time."

"No, I told her." He commented.

Inside, her heart sank. So the reason he must be acting so weird was because Linds isn't ok with it. "So what happened? How'd it go?" She asked as she placed her hand on top of his reassuringly.

Randy licked his lips as he watched her. "I'll start from the beginning," He said as he launched into the story.

A Couple Hours Ago, At the Zoo

"Did you have fun today?" Randy asked his daughter as he watched her scarf down the ice cream cone he'd bought her. They were just about done with the zoo; they just finished seeing the monkey's when Randy bought her an ice cream and led her over to a bench so they could talk.

Lindsey looked up at her dad with a grin. "So much fun!"

He couldn't help but beam proudly. "Oh yeah, what was your favorite part?"

"The petting zoo," She paused thoughtfully. "And the elephants," Another pause. "And the giraffes," She listed, unable to make up her mind.

"Those were my favorite parts too." Randy agreed then gulped, knowing it was now or never. "Linds, there is something I need to talk to you about." She just looked up at him expectantly, cuing him to go on. "You remember how I told you that Chloe and I have become good friends since school's got out?" He questioned.

She nodded as she happily took another lick of her ice cream cone. "She's my friend too,"

Randy smiled. "That's right. Well," He paused, another gulp. "Things have changed and-"

She cut him off. "You're not friends anymore?" She looked like she was going to cry.

"No, no baby," He said as he rubbed the top of her head affectionately. "In fact, quite the opposite." She tilted her head in confusion. "We've developed special feelings for each other and we would like to date. But," He said. "We both wanted to let you know and ask what you thought of it."

She took a breath and looked up at her dad. "She's going to be my new mommy?"

Randy shook his head. "No baby, Mommy will always be your mommy. But, if it's okay with you, I would like Chloe to be my girlfriend."

"Can she still be my friend?" Linds asked.

Randy let a smile slip on his face. "Of course, in fact, your friendship is really important to her."

"Really?" She asked happily. Randy nodded. "Then it's okay with me."

"You sure?" Randy asked.

She nodded and brought her knees under her on the bench to give her some more height. She reached up and put her hand on her dad's face. "Will it make you happy?"

Randy nodded and brought his hand up to hold hers on his face. "Very much. Having you already makes me the happiest man alive but with Chloe, I'd be extra happy."

Lindsey smiled and pressed a kiss to her dad's cheek. "I'd be extra happy too."

Randy felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding and pulled his daughter into his arms. "Thank you baby." He pulled back a little and looked at her. "But if you have a problem with anything, let me know, okay?" She nodded, happy to see her dad so happy. "Alright then. I believe we've got one more spot to hit." He said, standing up, setting Linds on the ground. "Any idea where we're going?"

She looked up at her dad, beaming. "Gift shop?" She asked excitedly.

"Gift shop." He confirmed, knowing it was her favorite spot to hit wherever they went.

Back to Present

Chloe smiled up at Randy, her cheeks hurting so much with how hard she was smiling. "So, we're good?"

Randy nodded, his grin matching hers. "We're more than good." He said and leaned forward, catching her lips with his. Chloe melted immediately into the kiss, returning it with equal excitement and glee. Randy pulled away from her mouth a couple minutes later, his forehead resting against hers. "Linds is upstairs but she really wants to see you, is that ok?"

She nodded. "Of course," She said, her voice husky from the kiss.

"Linds!" Randy yelled. A couple seconds later they heard some clatter upstairs and then a door open.

"Dad?" Linds yelled back.

"Chloe's here, you want to see her?" He shouted.

"Yes!" Linds yelled excitedly. Loud, fast footsteps were heard from upstairs as the young girl ran down the stairs, straight into Chloe's arms once she reached them. "I missed you!" She said, having not seen her dad's girlfriend since the week before.

Chloe couldn't help but smile happily. "I missed you too Linds," She said as she readjusted so the girl could sit in her lap comfortingly. "You're dad told me about your day at the zoo, did you have fun?"

Her face lit up. "So much fun! We saw the lions, and the elephants, and the monkeys, and the giraffes, and the penguins, and the koalas!" She listed off eagerly.

"Wow, I'm so jealous, the elephants are my favorite!" Chloe said back just as excitedly.

"Mine too!" Lindsey said with wide eyes. Randy couldn't help but grin as he watched them. His daughter and his girlfriend. Damn that sounded good. He felt like the luckiest man alive that he was blessed with such a wonderful daughter and with an amazing girlfriend. He felt his heart tug as they chattered back and forth as if it was the most natural thing in the world. He knew at that moment that he loved Chloe. He couldn't imagine not having her in his life. He couldn't imagine never seeing her again. And he could only imagine her as his wife as they bred more children and raised them happily together. He knew he was getting ahead of himself but nothing could make him love this woman any less than he did. He could only imagine his love for her grow deeper by the day.

A/N: Sorry for the delay! I'm taking a couple classes over summer so things are a bit hectic. But today I was in a writing mood and I wrote two chapters so hopefully this week I can find some time to make a quick update. Thanks for all your reviews, as always they are wonderful!