The sound of Steve's parents bedroom door opening brought a quick halt to Steve and Kate's first kiss. They quickly sprung apart but not before Steve's mother had seen what they were up to. "Why's everyone out here?" she asked, as she made her now routine middle of the night trip to the bathroom. It was one of the down sides of growing older and was usually done alone. This evening she had quite an audience.
"Sorry, I needed the bathroom," said Kate. "Did I wake you?".
"No I need it too," Mrs Arnott said. "Is this a queue?" she asked, turning to her son.
"Err…no," Steve replied. "You go," he told his mum, hoping she wouldn't ask what he was doing up. Thankfully Mrs Arnott did as asked, a small smile on her lips that escaped both Steve and Kate.
"Do you think she saw?" Steve whispered to Kate when they were alone again.
"Don't know," Kate said. "We should probably go back to bed before she comes back out,".
"Wish I hadn't agreed to stay here," Steve said disappointedly as he pulled Kate closer again. Now that he had made the big step of kissing Kate he didn't want to spend the night apart from her. "I really would like to be back at my place right now," he admitted shyly.
"Why's that," Kate asked as she placed her hands on Steve's shoulders.
"It only has two bedrooms. Mia's and mine," he explained before he gave Kate another brief kiss.
"Maybe I don't do that on a first date," Kate replied sassily.
"How many dates does it take?" Steve asked very interestedly.
Kate just shrugged her shoulders. "Depends,".
"On what?".
The sound of the toilet flushing again in the bathroom made Kate realise their time was coming to an end. "You'll just have to find out," she replied before giving Steve a quick kiss. "Night," she whispered before heading into her bedroom.
"Night," Steve said before entering his room and closing the door. He got back in to bed and lay back, supporting his head with an arm. This time he thought about the kiss he'd just shared with Kate. He was proud of himself for having had the courage to finally do it. It was a much more pleasant way to end the evening and he was soon entering a very contented sleep.
His bedroom door opening in the early morning woke him up, followed by the familiar sound of his daughters feet making their way to his bedside. "What's up, Mia?" He asked groggily.
"Can I sleep with you, Daddy?" She asked. "I got cold,".
Without speaking, Steve pulled back his duvet and helped his daughter climb up on to the bed before helping her settle down beside him in her usual position when she joined him in bed. He hoped they'd both get a few more hours sleep.
What was unexpected was something jumping on to the bed and a wet nose sniffing at his face. "Morning Brian," Steve mumbled, pushing the dog away. Brian got the message and went to settle himself at the foot of the bed for the remainder of the night.
"Wakey wakey, Daddy," was the next thing he heard as Mia tapped on his cheek, trying to draw him in to consciousness. Steve played dead for a little while until Mia's little fingers strayed a little close to Steve's mouth and he made to bite them.
Mia shrieked with delight before Steve lunged for her and began tickling her. "Stop it Daddy!" Mia said through her laughter as she tried to avoid Steve's attack. Steve ignored her. His daughter was growing up so fast that soon she wouldn't want to play with him so he was enjoying it whilst he still could.
"How long have you been awake?" he asked once they had both calmed down.
"A little bit," Mia said. "Grandma and Pop are up," she informed and Steve could hear some movement in the kitchen downstairs. He also heard some movement in the next door bedroom. The guest room where Kate had been staying.
"We should go downstairs then," Steve instructed as he quickly got out of bed and hurriedly threw some clothes on, eager to see Kate again. Reaching for Mia he placed her on his hip as he left his room at the same time Kate did. "Morning," he said shyly.
"Morning," Kate replied. "Morning Mia,".
"Hi!" Mia said.
Brian came trotting out of Steve's bedroom and headed for his owner. Kate crouched down to scoop her pet up. "I hope you've been good," she told him as Brian licked her face in greeting.
The foursome made their way down to the kitchen where breakfast was being cooked. Mrs Arnott instructed Kate to sit at the table and Mia chose to sit next to her. Kate immediately made sure that Mia's needs were attended to by pouring her a drink from the large jug of orange juice. Steve watched the pair as he made a coffee for Kate.
Mrs Arnott plated up a very large breakfast for everyone including Brian who was treated to a few rashers of bacon with Kate's permission.
"Did you have a nice time last night?" Mrs Arnott questioned Steve and Kate. It was an innocent question to most of the room, but it could be misinterpreted as something more after seeing her son and Kate kissing.
Kate glanced at Steve quickly. He had gone a bright shade of red and Kate knew he wasn't going to be any use in replying. "Yes thank you," Kate replied taking charge.
"What would like to do today?" Mrs Arnott continued.
"I don't know," Kate replied, "but I do need to take Brian for a bit of exercise before we leave for home,".
"What time are you leaving?" Steve asked.
"Four at the latest, I think," Kate informed him.
The group decided on a walk around the local park. Brian was able to be let off the lead to explore by himself whilst Kate and the Arnotts walked the path. Steve was itching to take Kate's hand for the walk but didn't know if it was too soon for that. They'd only kissed a few times after all. Luckily Mia played a blinder and insisted on holding both her father and Kate's hands as they walked. She enjoyed being between them and even got a few swings out of it.
"I better go pack," Kate said once they got home and quickly made her way to the guest room.
"Go and help her," Mrs Arnott suggested. "I'll keep Mia occupied," she said, realising Steve wanted some private time with Kate.
"Thanks mum," Steve said, fairly sure his mother knew his relationship with Kate was changing. He took the stairs two at a time and headed to Kate's room. "Need any help?" He asked as he stuck his head around the door.
"It's ok," Kate said. "I'm nearly done," she continued and Steve could see her small suitcase was nearly full. He sat on Kate's bed and watched her collect the rest of her belongings. He really didn't want Kate to leave and decided to misbehave, taking things out of Kate's suitcase when she wasn't looking.
Kate was starting to get a little flummoxed with things she was fairly sure she had already packed appearing around the room, when she caught sight of Steve with his hand in her case. "I thought you wanted to help not hinder," she scolded.
Realising he'd been caught, Steve took Kate's hand and pulled her on to his lap. "I just want a bit more time with you," he said before he kissed her for the first time since the previous evening.
"When can we see each other again?" Kate asked once they pulled apart. She too was reluctant to leave London.
"I'm up near you next weekend," Steve said.
"Yeah?". "Chris got tickets for him, me and Joe to go to that concert in the arena near you," he explained. They'd purchased the tickets months before Steve had met Kate. "We're gonna stay in a hotel but maybe I ditch Chris and Joe afterwards?".
"Sounds like a plan," Kate agreed before they were kissing again.
This time Steve flopped back on to the mattress bringing Kate with him before rolling them over so she was underneath him. Their upper bodies and pelvis's in full contact. Steve couldn't help but start to automatically thrust his hips against Kate as his hands explored Kate's chest as he continued to plunder her mouth with his tongue. Kate let out occasional moans to let him know she was enjoying his attention.
"Daddy?!" Came Mia's shout from downstairs, breaking the spell. "Are you and Kate comin' downstairs soon?" she asked.
Steve smiled at Kate. As much as he loved his daughter it would be good to spend some time with Kate without her around. "Coming Mia," he shouted back before giving Kate a brief kiss. "We'll put this on hold until next weekend," he murmured to Kate before getting off her and helping her to her feet.