A/N: I haven't updated this story in a long time and honestly it hurt my heart so I came up with this :) I have some other 2020 centric chapters on the way as well, but I have to finish them... anyway, I hope you all enjoy! xx Mariah

Ages for reference:

Jim - 38
Melinda - 34
Katie - 8
Aaron - 5

Burrowing deeper beneath the covers, Melinda inhaled and exhaled. She was not ready to get up just yet. The warmth of their bed and the body heat soaking through the blankets from her husband lulled her into a state of bliss. A cool breeze danced through the house like it always did on chilly mornings, adding freshness to the air but also a nip of chill that made her snuggle close to Jim.

A burst of laughter and a child's shout travel up from downstairs and she groaned, elbowing the body beside her into motion. It was Saturday. Her turn to sleep in.

"Go see what they're up to downstairs, would you?" she asked and Jim rolled over, draping his arm around her, hauling her into him. She wriggled until her feet were tangled with his and her face cradled in the hollow of his throat. She was not ready to let him go just yet either.

"Then I can't keep you warm," he teased and pressed a kiss against her neck. He knew exactly how to get her to change her mind. "They can work it out."

Her pulse slowed. Wrapped in Jim's arms, everything else calmed and became inconsequential. She could stay here all day if their children and adult responsibilities didn't call. All fell quiet downstairs, and Melinda let her hand stroke over his chest. She pressed soft kisses of her own to his throat in return.

"Stop that," he warned, but she giggled and kept it up, letting one hand drift to his hip and pulling them tighter together. With a groan, he nibbled on her ear, his breath hot against her neck. "How much time do we have?"

"Probably not enough," she whispered but didn't protest when his hand slipped beneath her shirt to palm her breast. He rolled her onto her back, his lips lavishing her neck and ears with heady kisses. Melinda let her legs fall open, allowing him to settle in their embrace, his hips now flush with hers. They roll and grind. Kiss and caress.

"What do you need?" he asked in a strained whisper as she pushed down on the waist of his pants.

"You," she panted and gripped his hard cock. "I need you."

Footsteps thundered down the hallway and Melinda groaned as Jim tugged his pants back up over his hips and flopped back onto the mattress just as their son barreled through the door, tailed closely by his sisters.

"I told you not to bug Mom and Dad!" Katie protested as Aaron turned to make a face at her.

"But I'm so hungry," Aaron whined and threw himself on the bed dramatically. "What's for breakfast?"

"I'm sorry, Mom. He wouldn't listen," Katie said, crossing her arms and trying to look like an adult. Melinda wanted to tell her to slow down. There would be plenty of time to be an adult and no need for an eight-year-old to rush into it. Not like she had to.

"Next time, knock," Jim says, tweaking Aaron's nose but rising from the bed and pulling on a t-shirt. "Let's go see about breakfast. Let Mom sleep in a little more, okay?"

Melinda burrowed back under the covers once they left the room, deep in discussion about pancakes versus french toast, and Jim expertly kept the disagreement from dissolving into a petty sibling squabble. She sighed and closed her eyes, but her body was awake now. After listening to the laughter and muffled conversation from downstairs for a few minutes, she climbed out of bed.

Hastily shoving her feet into a pair of fluffy socks that came off while she slept last night and donning a cozy sweater, she snuck downstairs and watched her family for a moment while Aaron dipped bread into the french toast batter and Katie tried to find the powdered sugar. Jim split his attention between their two children, providing soft guidance where needed, encouragement, and kisses on top of their heads.

"How can I help?" Melinda asked, announcing her presence as Aaron bit his tongue and carefully handed the battered bread to Jim to put on the hot pan.

"Hey," Jim greeted her with a quick kiss on her lips. "We haven't set the table yet."

She took care of the chore, and when the french toast was done, complete with a powdered sugar topping, the family sat down to breakfast. Something was bothering Katie, though. Melinda could sense it in the quiet way she deflected her father's questions and focused on her food.

Sharing a look with Jim, she claimed this one. So when the meal was done, he enlisted Aaron's help with the dishes and Melinda asked Katie to help her sort the laundry.

"Something on your mind?" she asked when the basket in the kids' bathroom was about halfway sorted.

"No," Katie said with a slight huff and tossed down a pair of her brother's chalk dusted pants with a wrinkled nose.

They continued sorting the clothes in silence and she waited, knowing that her daughter, so much like her, would only confide when she's good and ready to do so.

"Well, yes," Katie admitted as they gather up the first load to carry downstairs to the laundry room in the basement. "It's just that, I was supposed to go with Hannah to the movies tonight, but then Janie invited her over for a sleepover, and I don't really like Janie's house. Hannah says I'm being ridiculous."

The words spilled out in a near torrent and Melinda absorbed them, slowly nodding as she tried to order her thoughts. Maybe Jim should have been the one to handle this since her first instinct was to tell her daughter to find new friends. Her husband had always been the calm one, at least on the surface. But when something truly angered him, sometimes it stole her breath away.

She'd never forget the day Katie was called into the office because her bra strap on her first-ever training bra had slipped down and had been visible for a few minutes during class. Her male substitute that day had thought it was a distraction and made her go to the office.

Jim had been the one who'd gone in that day and when Katie was around, he had been calm, cool, collected. But the second the door had shut in the principal's office, he'd let the man have a piece of his mind. It had been ugly and glorious.

That night, after they'd dealt with Katie's concerns and discussed the hypocrisy of the dress codes but also what she wanted to do in response to the unfair punishment of detention, they'd tucked their children in for the night. And Melinda had been consumed with a need so fierce, it'd left both her and Jim breathless and spent, sprawled sweaty and aching on their sheets. It had been a struggle to get up the next morning, but it'd been worth it.

Focusing on the problem at hand, she put the clothes in the washing machine and turned towards her daughter. "Well, why don't you like Janie's house?" She asked.

"Janie's grandpa's ghost is there and he's always asking questions," Katie said, obviously trying so hard not to whine. "And Hannah promised. We were gonna go see Inside Out again."

"Did you talk to Hannah about it?" Melinda asked, crossing her arms when her daughter gave her no answer. "Oh don't play dumb with me. I know that she knows."

"Well, she doesn't know that you can see them too," Katie admitted.

She made a fake surprised face and then smiled. "You cannot claim to be the coolest person in this family as though I didn't give that trait to you," she muttered and then returned to the task at hand. "Maybe Hannah forgot and I know that hurts, but it's not as bad as her changing plans on purpose, right? Do you think she meant to hurt you?"

"No," Katie said fiercely. "That's not what friends do."

"Let's get these started and you can call her, okay? Straighten it all out before it bothers you any more," she said as she poured the detergent into the slot.

"Okay," Katie said, although she doesn't sound convinced.

She pushed the buttons and as the machine whirs to life, Melinda swiped open her phone and handed it to Katie. Her daughter scampered off to her room and Melinda headed upstairs to change clothes. Their tree dropped a ton of leaves during a thunderstorm that week, and the yard needed to be raked.

Melinda was tugging her shirt down over her body when Jim walked into the room. "Crisis handled?" he asked.

She nodded and quickly told him what was bothering Katie and how she dealt with it as they dressed. She paused between two sentences to admire him as he bent over to retrieve a hooded sweatshirt from the bottom dresser drawer but kept talking with Jim none the wiser.

Once they're both ready, they head down the hall to Aaron's room, where she helped him into his own sweatshirt. "Can I jump in the piles?" The four-year-old asked excitedly and pulled on his sneakers.

"I don't see why not," Melinda said, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

Jim smiled and ruffled the top of their son's hair. "As long as you stick around after to finish the job."

"I will," Aaron promised as he ran down the stairs.

As they passed Katie's door, she paused with her hand raised to knock, but her daughter's voice halted her. She can't hear the words. Instead of intruding, she told Jim to text her phone and tell Katie to join them outside once she's done talking with Hannah.

It's back aching work, but the three of them banter and laugh. Aaron squealed with joy as he leaped into the gathered piles of leaves then scurried to rake them back into a mountain while his parents worked on the other sections of the yard.

About an hour into the chore, Katie walked out of the house, her hair in a braid and her eyes shining in happiness. She picked up a rake and settles in to work next to her dad. Melinda barely overheard her telling Jim that Janie couldn't afford a movie so that's why she suggested a sleepover, but after telling Hannah about her little ghost problem, her friend suggested they sleepover here instead.

"Is that okay mom?" Katie asked, running over to include her.

"We've got stuff to make pizzas if that's what you wanna do," Jim added.

"Sure and maybe we could rent Inside Out?" She suggested.

"Yeah," Katie said, warming to the topic as the four continued their chores.

"Uh oh," Aaron said at one point, lifting his mud covered hand. "Found a puddle."

"Here, let's get you cleaned up," Jim says, reaching down to grasp the little boy under the arms to extract him from the massive pile of leaves.

Aaron's hand slipped and smeared mud over his face. For a second, Jim blinked, and Katie giggled. Melinda smiled and shook her head, but as she shifted one of the bags full of leaves onto the curb, a broad, wet hand spreads goop all down her neck.

"Mama's a mud monster!" Aaron shrieked and with a scowl, Melinda chased after her husband, bent on retribution.

"I'm going to get you for that!" she shouted as Jim yelled for help and Katie flung leaves at her.

A few stuck to her and some to Jim. Melinda wasn't sure how it happened, but their afternoon of chores dissolved into laughter and flying leaves, smeared mud, and at one point, she grabbed the hose with Aaron, dousing both Jim and a squealing Katie. Her husband held his hands in front of his face, sputtering against the stream as he charged and wrapped his arms around her, lifting her off her feet and playfully yelling for her to yield.

"Never!" Aaron shouted, dropping the hose and attaching himself to Jim's leg.

Katie seized the chance and picked up the hose. Within minutes, they're all soaked, with chattering teeth and leaves sticking to odd places. Katie's jeans. Jim's cheek. Aaron's hair. Melinda's neck. She couldn't stop laughing, bursting with joy as Jim breathlessly begged for a ceasefire and suggested hot chocolate and chicken noodle soup for lunch.

The children cheered and moved quickly to help put away the yard tools. There was still a fair amount of leaves scattered about the yard, and four bags on the curb waiting for pickup on Monday, but she figured they can finish the chore tomorrow. Besides the leaves left on the ground were now wet, and raking wet leaves was a frustrating and pointless task.

Herding them into the garage, Melinda shut the door and ordered the kids to take off their wet clothes and march straight to the shower, handing them each a towel to dry and stay a little warm. She knew she could trust Katie to make sure Aaron got into the shower while she and Jim got the lunch and hot cocoa ready.

"C'mere," he murmured at one point, leaning over to pluck a leaf from her collar and nuzzling a kiss over the sensitive skin of her neck.

"Stop that," she said, shivering at his touch and wished they weren't having guests tonight. She was not sure she can be entirely quiet, and the smile he was giving her wasn't helping her clothes, panties in particular, dry any faster.

Once they have the kids settled at the table, with their food, Melinda and Jim remain in the kitchen to eat, still in their wet and muddied clothes. They still have some cleaning to do in the house, but will need showers and to change first.

Once she's done eating, Melinda headed to the laundry room, carefully moving the clean clothes to the dryer and tossing in her children's soiled work clothes. As she peeled her sweatshirt over her head, warm hands caressed over her sides and lips suckled her neck. She gasped and dropped her shirt into the machine. The door to the room shut behind her and she couldn't help it, she pushed her hips back into his, smiling arrogantly at his half-hard state.

Some days, she scowled at the stretch marks and pouch of loose skin left on her abdomen from carrying their children. But on days like this, with Jim growing harder by the second and his hands desperately trying to consume every inch of her flesh, Melinda knew that he, at least, still found her attractive.

And her response to him, with the added weight around his middle that wasn't there when they first met, convinced her it's possible to grow old and grizzled with someone and still desire them more than anyone else.

"What are Aaron and Katie doing?" she asked breathlessly as his hands shove her sports bra up just enough so he can tweak her nipples.

"Coloring and reading," he told her. "They'll be busy for a while and I told Katie to keep an eye on her brother. Do you know how hard it was to leave you in bed this morning?"

"I have an idea," she teased as she reached back to pop the button on his jeans and slides her hand inside to grip him. His skin was cold and clammy, but as he kissed her and she stroked him, he grew hot and hard.

"Were you wet for me this morning?" he murmured, one hand sliding down her abdomen to loosen her jeans. "Are you wet for me now?"

She wanted to suggest he find out, but she gasped as his hand shoved inside her panties and cupped her. He groaned and his hips bucked into her. His fingers drew through her and spread the arousal already gathered, drawing forth more.

Hands shove and fling. Random leaves flutter to the floor as clothes were stripped and tossed into the open washing machine. When they're down to their bare skin, Melinda's hands shake as she got the machine started, mainly for the extra noise to cover what she planned on doing with Jim.

He switched their positions, leaning back against the dryer and the narrow space grew humid and hot with the heat of the dryer and their warming bodies as she straddled him, gripping his cock and kissing him frantically, sinking onto him, too impatient for any more foreplay. She whimpered a little at the burn. She wasn't quite aroused enough to push this fast, but his enraptured moans cut through her.

He caressed her face, brushing back hair and whispering to her, heated words that help as she swiveled her hips and the vibrations of the dryer travel straight to her through his body.

"Oh, fuck," she moaned, her head dropping back. He cradled her neck in one hand and laved her neck down to her breasts with sucking kisses and swipes of his tongue. "Jim."

"Fuck, I love hearing you moan my name," he whispered as he circles one nipple with his tongue and then sucked it into his mouth, teeth scraping lightly over the pebbled surface. "I want you to moan it while you come."

Her hips thrust involuntarily in response to the jolt caused by his mouth as he sucked again, harder this time, before switching to the other breast. By the time he lifted his head and looked into her eyes, she's jerking her hips over him in a fast and hard ride. Her juices dripping between them. His hands skimmed over her ribs, her back, down to her ass, warming her as he went.

His lips on her neck trail up to her ear where he whispered to her. "Melinda, honey, you're the hottest fucking woman I've ever seen or touched or known. Don't ever think otherwise."

She whimpered and focused on the stroke of him inside her, the quivering of his body beneath her as she ascended on the feelings. She clenched and bit her lip to contain the moans, hoping that the dryer and washer, and closed-door were enough to muffle the sounds that escape despite her efforts. Jim's fingers clench into her ass as he groaned, and she knew he was getting close.

He whimpered and sucked on her neck, her collarbone, while she drove her hips over him, gasping and laughing in relief when her ragged moan of his name escaped from her mouth. The rest of her ecstatic words were silenced by the hand he used as his back arches. He threw his head back and as her body covered his with her release, feeling the quiet moan rumbling inside him.

They stayed there with the rumble of the dryer and whoosh of the washing machine, her head resting on his shoulders, heaving as he tried to catch his breath, letting the euphoria slowly ebb. She licked up a few drops of sweat from his collarbone and he shuddered again.

When he's somewhat recovered, he caressed her cheek and shifted their heads to kiss her, long and languid. Slow tangling of tongues that send fluttering to her core anew. She doubted that they have time for a second round, though.

"You're so beautiful when you fly apart, it makes me weak in the knees," he whispered against her lips and she blushed furiously. They've been married close to twelve years now, and he still managed to say things like that which overwhelm her with the force of his undying love.

"We should go get cleaned up," she whispered back instead and he kissed her one more time before helping her stand.

Jim searched, finally finding a couple of towels that they wrap around their bodies before they snuck through the house.

A quick glance revealed their children exactly where Jim said he left them. Aaron coloring on the coffee table, his tongue poking between his lips in concentration. Katie lounging on the couch reading a book, her foot tapping in the air to the music playing over her earbuds.

With suppressed giggles, they head upstairs to shower and dress. Guests or not, as Melinda worked with her daughter to get the supplies ready for pizza making, her eyes keep straying to Jim, wondering if they'll have the chance and the energy for a more leisurely session tonight. She thought she'd like that silver tongue of his to be silent but occupied.

As Aaron settled in his room with puzzles and Katie's guests start to arrive, Jim stole a moment to pinch her ass and whisper to her that he was not done making her come for the day, if she's up for it and promises not to be too loud. It sounded like a challenge, and she smiled playfully at his knowing grin. He knew she'd never been able to back down from a challenge.

So while the girls were watching their movie, she cornered him in a dark part of the hallway and palmed him through his jeans until he started to harden and hissed her name in warning.

"What?" she whispered indignantly before she kissed him, swallowing his protests about the kids interrupting, and not mentioning that he didn't seem too worried about that in the laundry room earlier today.

The kiss built in heat and intensity until Aaron shouted from somewhere downstairs.

"Dad! I need some help with this!"

They separate with a sigh, but Jim went happily to help their son, tossing one last smile and an I love you over his shoulder at her. Warmth flooded her body to the tips of her fingertips. Love wasn't a word she threw around lightly or very often, but she knew she'd whisper the words later tonight. First to their children, and then to him.

The perfect ending to a simple day.