Tara's POV:

Justin was driving me crazy. Literally, I was a hair away from attaching a frying pan to his head.

"T! Something's not right … can you come here?"

I had just gotten out of the shower - a shower that Justin himself had just urged me to take.

'Take as long as you want, T. Relax and do something for yourself for once. Me and my Smiley will be fine.'

That's what he'd said, dumbass. Now I was barely half dressed after only a five-minute shower and he was screaming out for me again. I wondered what it was this time: the diaper? Or was it the bottle? Or was it burping her? Or was it that she just was looking at him with a strange expression? Over the past week he'd called me constantly for any one of those things. Not Lynn, who was a pro with Riley and could handle her with her eyes closed. Always me.

Sometimes I wondered if he just did this to get closer to me. It wouldn't surprise me. Nothing he did would surprise me. Maybe Sash was right - she swore he was trying to work some 'mojo' to get me back but from my end, no way was that shit happening. He was Riley's dad and that was it.

Seriously. You don't thing I'm dumb enough to get involved with him again, do you? Oh, shut up. What do you know anyway?

"I'll be there in a minute, Justin," I hollered back, annoyed. "Ask Lynn to help you if you can't wait!"

There was no answer, which probably meant he was patiently waiting for me to arrive and magically clear up whatever problem was going on. Finally I was ready, after hurriedly putting on some deodorant and lotion - I never take a shower and not put on lotion afterwards or my skin would be like a crocodile - and threw on a Juicy sweat suit. My hair was in a loose braid that kept getting untangled by Riley but I tried to keep it neat. It was way too long and I kept meaning to go get it cut but there never seemed to be enough time to go to the hairdresser. There never seemed to be enough time to do anything anymore. Having Justin, Lynn, and Paul stay with me seemed to increase my workload instead of easing it, although Lynn and Paul did their best to help me, but they weren't the problem -- if you know what I mean. They weren't the ones hanging around me, asking a multitude of questions, hanging over my shoulder to see how I did everything and generally just talking my ear off.

Didn't he have a girlfriend or something somewhere to go talk to?

Irritated, I finally left my bedroom and went downstairs to the family room where Justin and Riley were laying on the couch. "What's the big emergency?" I asked tiredly. Riley had been up and down last night because she had gas and neither of us had gotten much sleep. She'd been cranky all morning and I was hoping to get her to take a nice, long nap around noon - which was just a half hour away - and I planned on napping with her.

And I'm sure Justin would be right there with us, 'sharing' every experience.

Man, he was driving me nuts.

He looked up from the sofa where he was staring intently at Riley who was lying right beside him, contentedly gnawing on a rubber teething ring. She looked perfectly fine, which pissed me off even more but I tried to hold my anger in.

"She just let out, like, three big ass burps in a row!" Justin informed me, excitedly. "Is that okay? That's not normally what she does. I've been watching her and she only lets out maybe one or two burps at a time, not three. And they were big, T." He waited patiently for my answer as I gazed at him for a few seconds, and then shook my head.

"There's nothing wrong with that, J. Sometimes she has a lot of gas. You know she was gassy all last night. She's just letting it out in her own way. She'll be farting or burping until it's over. Give her to me," I sighed walking over to sit next to them and taking her from his arms.

She innocently gazed up at me, seemingly knowing my mood was not great. I always had her pacifier clipped to whatever she was wearing so we wouldn't lose it and her tiny hand patted around her tummy to find it and place it in her mouth without removing her eyes from mine. I loved when she did that. She was learning so much and growing so much every day that I wanted to record every minute. Already she was scooting around the place, managing to crawl a little bit here and there to our excitement. Of course everything in the entire house was baby-proofed by Jen and me before we even brought the baby to the house, so she was safe to roam anywhere she wanted to.

Justin insisted on being included in everything that the baby did, but he still hadn't gotten the knack for taking care of her for more than about five minutes without having a question for me. Only me. His mom could be sitting right next to him and he'd be hollering out for me, needing me immediately. Sasha kept telling me that this was a ploy to keep me close to him and while it sort of seemed true the way he was calling me for every tiny thing, I didn't want to think that he would use his own baby for something like that. So I let him continue to try my patience and just kept answering his annoying - and repetitive - questions.

He even insisted on trying to nap with us. At first it was kind of cute, the three of us lying there on my Heavenly Bed together, talking softly to her and to each other but even that was beginning to become a little too close for comfort. It was too intimate, you know? Like him watching me breast-feed - was that right? I knew he was generally curious about the human body and weird things like that and that he was jealous of that close time I shared with Riley that he couldn't compete with, so I let him watch and ask his litany of questions but it was still too intimate, like I said before.

We'd been so close before that him looking at my body and even touching it on occasion felt normal. Like when I was breast-feeding - he'd reach over to rub Riley's head or cheek and make contact with my breast. Just a tiny thing like that sent shockwaves of lust through me because it'd been so long since I'd had sex. The last time had been that night with him in Cali, the night before I left him. And don't think just because things were over that I didn't still have remaining feelings for him. Our sex life had always been banging - so to speak - and any touch from him brought back those feelings. I needed to get laid, and bad. Last night, my dreams had been filled with him - touching me all over, flipping me around and doing all sorts of unspeakable things to me that brought me to ecstasy. Damn, I even had an orgasm in my sleep that was so good, so explosive that it woke me up out of a dead sleep. And that was saying a lot, because I was so exhausted what with Riley having gas the last few days and not sleeping through the night like she normally did. She woke up so much lately that I broke my steadfast rule of not letting her sleep with me at night but stay in her crib, bringing her in with me so I wouldn't have to keep getting up and down. Even having her in the bed with me didn't stop those lust-filled dreams.

Something had to give.

I mentioned it to Jen this morning over the phone and she flipped out. "Don't you even think of screwing that fucker, do you hear me, Tara?" she said, uncharacteristically being crude. Geez, I was just telling her about my dreams. I wasn't going to actually act on them.

Really, I wasn't. Honest!

So either I needed to go invest in a good vibrator - Sasha's recommendation, of course - or continue going through this torture.

What she didn't know was that I actually had a little treasure trove of sex toys already. In Cali, when things were going good between the two of us, Justin had been into experimenting and constantly brought home all sorts of things to enhance our already very active sex life. All that stuff was hidden in a bag way in the back of my lingerie drawer where I prayed no one would ever have a reason to go into. I certainly wasn't going to use them alone. Although I knew lots of women had their own private fun, I just didn't get down like that. Without Justin, it was just a bag of funky, mechanical stuff.

Between the lack of sleep and the lust-filled thoughts I was having of Justin, I didn't know what I was going to do. He'd filled out his chest quite nicely - he was very buff now, working out all the time. He even went through a workout routine here, using my Stairmaster along with doing hundreds of sit-ups and pushups. Every morning he'd go through his routing right in front of me in the family room, and even though I pretended to be watching daytime television like Regis & Kelly or Ellen, I couldn't help but watch. Wouldn't you watch if some buff, perfectly in shape, hot, sexy, figure dripping with sweat was parading in front of you in nothing but a wife beater and some mesh shorts that showed off how muscular his legs had also become?

Whew. I needed another shower, I thought, as I shifted away from him with Riley. "How you doing, sweet pea?" I asked her, running my hands over her thick hair. I knew her hair was going to be a mixture of mine and Justin's, which meant it would be long, thick and very curly. A pain in the ass to deal with when she was young, but as soon as she got old enough I was slapping a permanent relaxer in that shit and making bi-weekly appointments to get her hair done right along with me.

One thing my mom had never skimped on was hairdresser appointments for me, with my thick, unmanageable hair and I planned on following her schedule. In fact, I did just about everything to Smiley that I could recall her doing with me. I mean, look how great I turned out, right? An unwed thirty-one-year-old mother with a much younger, worldwide famous pop star - oops R&B star for a father … she'd really be proud of me.

At least I had gotten my education --- I'd graduated from college and graduate school, something I was very proud of. Dealing with thoughts of Justin and the pressure from Dave to get married, I was very proud of myself for managing to get through grad school and getting a job writing for a publishing company for their online division. I'd taken a leave of absence since Riley was born but planned on finding a real nine-to-five once it was time for her to go to day care and the pre-school. I wanted nothing but the best for her and that meant a routine that would keep her settled and comfortable. I didn't want her gallivanting around the country, thrown back and forth between me, Justin and Lynn, who had already started waxing poetic about the summers Riley would spend 'running around her grandparents and my house' in Millington. I hadn't said anything yet but other than perhaps a few weeks, I wanted my baby girl with me. Call it selfish but technically, she was the only family I had in the world.

However, just yesterday Lynn had sat me down and told me that no matter what, she considered me to be the daughter that she'd never had - she glossed over the daughter she'd lost at birth, Justin's sister Laura - and to expect to be included in all family events. I was touched beyond belief - I knew that Sasha and Jen's families were like my own, too - especially Aurora who I'd grown even closer too since the pregnancy and now considered to be me second Momma.

Running her hand over my checks, she leaned over and kissed me on them. "I don't know what foolishness is going on between you and my son but I know that Paul and I, and my parents, too, love you as much as if you two were already married." I winced when she said that, thinking of his relationship with Cameron. She noticed and smiled.

"Like I said, this foolishness you two are going through is just a big ol' mess to me. To me, you two should've gotten married years ago and should be settled in a house right next door to mine but I can't control either of you so I'm just going with the flow."

Curious, I just had to ask. "What about Cameron? Don't you like her? Haven't they been dating since I left?" I already knew the answer to those questions but I wanted to know her opinion.

She shrugged. "Yeah, they have, honey. And Cameron's a nice girl. Paul and I have tried to get to know her because you know we want to be a part of my baby's life any way we can, but that doesn't mean we don't realize what's going on between you and Justin."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "There's nothing going on between us, Lynn! It was over when I left. Between the cheating, the touring, the drugs, the ... the everything," I blurted out, for lack of anything else to say, "I just couldn't take it anymore. I'm not used to living like that! I tried for him, I really did. I was willing to do anything for him but when he started the cheating again - that was it. I could take him clubbing, I could take him doing some occasional drugs, I mean, he kept that under control for the most part, I could take living in a house with Trace and Rachael and Marty and Chris and any other one of his friends happened to be crashing there, but with a baby coming I knew it wasn't the right environment. Am I wrong? What would you have done?"

She looked me dead in the eye. "I love my son, Tara, more than anything in the world; I don't have to tell you that. And I always put him first before anything else, which is why I wasn't angry with you when I found out what happened with Riley. You gotta take care of your child first, so I respect you for doing what you had to do. Even though it meant me missing out on some things that I would rather have not, I understand. My son, I love the hell out of him, but I know he doesn't always treat you the right way. I know he took you for granted. But I want the two of you to work this shit out and get back together, if you want to know the truth. I truly believe you two are meant to be together."

"What about Cameron?"

"Cameron's a nice woman but there's just not that same look in his eyes when he looks at her than when he looks at you. I'm not getting myself involved, but Justin knows how I feel. You know I'm not shy about telling him how I feel. And if you want to know the truth, I think he'd be more than happy to rekindle things with you, especially now that you have a daughter together. But you've made it clear to him that that's not happening, so what is he supposed to do?" She gazed at me and I gazed back, unsure what to say. Half of me wanted to jump up run and find J and tell him to ditch that trick and give us another try. But the mature part of me wasn't willing to give up what I'd worked so hard to establish these past few months - a home for me and my baby, with plenty of friends and family around to help me in a place where I felt very comfortable.

God, why was everything so damn hard when it came to dealing with Justin Randall Timberlake?

Like she was reading my mind, Lynn said, "Honey, dealing with Justin ain't easy. Lord knows I know that. So I respect whatever decision you make, okay? I can separate my feelings for him from what comes best for my sweet little grandbaby. I'm so happy to have her and you back in our lives that I'm willing to accept however I can get you. So you do whatever you want, okay, and know that I'm not judging you. Unless you deny me access to Smiley, in which case all hell's gonna break loose," she finished causing us both to laugh. She was so sweet.

I leaned over and hugged her. "That's never going to happen. Lynn. Whatever differences I have with J or you or anyone, I will never deny her time with her family. I know more than anyone how important family is …" I started to tear up, thinking of my own mom, who would've been practically obsessed with Riley, and my dad who would've doted on her like she was a princess.

And she was a princess as far as I was concerned.

Lynn hugged me ever harder. "Honey, you are not alone. You've got a Momma right here who loves you no matter what goes on between you and my hard-headed son, and you've got a Daddy right there in the other room who'll do anything you need him too. And I won't even get in the other grandparents you've got, four sets, all waiting for Miss Riley Smiley to make an appearance. That's gonna happen soon, isn't it? 'Cause as much as I'd love to stay, Paul and I need to leave in a few days. But my Momma and Daddy are foaming at the mouth to see that little thang in there so you're gonna have to fit in some time to come to Millington, okay? Promise me, because you know they're getting old and I don't want any of them to miss out on seeing this precious thing. Okay?"

"I promise I'll make a trip if not this month than next," I told her as we squeezed each other one last time than finally let go. "Let them know I'll be down there very soon and they can spend as much time spoiling her as they want." Knowing how they doted on Justin, I couldn't imagine how they would shower Riley with all kinds of affection. And I would love seeing it as much as she would love receiving it.

"Okay," Lynn said, and patted me on the shoulder. "Now I think we better go rescue Riley from those two in there - the last I saw, Justin was still trying to figure out how to get her in that dress. You know he can't manage any snaps. My son," she shook her head and got up and walked into the family room.

I watched her walk away. Lynn was so awesome. I loved her and Paul, and J's whole family.

It was just him that I had the problem with. We - or I - really needed to figure something out. Or maybe I was the one who needed to figure something out. My feelings for him that were rearing their ugly heads when he was in a committed relationship. It was truly time to move on and fund a committed relationship of my own.

It was time to grow up. And who better to help me than the man with a Sidekick chockfull of eligible, hot young men in Cali? My man Mike, who was due in town the very next day. If he couldn't help me, no one could.

I just had to get him over the fact that J and I weren't going to be together anymore. Once I'd done that, it was time for Miss Tara Wallace to get herself a life besides the one surrounding Miss Riley Wallace.

Oh yeah - maybe it was time to mention to Justin that when Riley was born I hadn't put his name on her birth certificate to avoid any intrusion from the press? Knowing him, he'd want to go down to City Hall ASAP. Steeling myself for the upcoming battle, I followed Lynn into the family room. A battle with J? Same ol. Same ol'. If I was keeping count correctly, here was Round Three for today.

Ding! Ding!

*~*

"Okay, time to feed her and then hopefully, a nice, long, nap for both of us," I reached down and took Riley from Justin, who was reclining on the sofa in the family room watching television. Lately he'd gotten hooked on 'All My Children', the one ABC soap that I couldn't stand. Figured. He sat up immediately, ready to join us.

Maybe this was the right time to institute the new rule I had been pondering. "Are you sure you wanna come, J?" I asked, hoping he wouldn't make a big deal over this. "I mean, you're not tire - you weren't up with her last night - so why don't you just stay and enjoy some time on your own?" There. That was said very nicely, wasn't it? Certainly no one could take offense tot hat.

Then again, look who we're talking about here.

He looked crushed, like I'd asked him to pack up and leave the state, never to return. "What, you don't want me there? Did I did something wrong? I really like those times before she naps … I thought it was 'our' time, you know, as a family."

Shit. Family. We weren't a family, that was just it. I mean, we were, we were her parents and as such would always have contact with one another, but I didn't want him to think that the rest of our life was going to be like this. Him coming over and staying as long as he wanted, me having no life but taking care of the baby and him … I wanted more. And I wasn't going to get it if he hung around for the rest of my life like we were a couple or something.

I sat back down hauling Riley over my shoulder. "J, we really need to talk. What are your plans? How long are you planning on staying here? Don't you have an album you're working on? I men, I need to know these things. You're welcome to be in Riley's life as much as you want but you can't forget that I need a life, too. And you staying here, acting as if we're back together and things are hunky-dory … well, that's just not true. We need to figure out some sort of schedule or something. Something where you can regularly see her that won't disrupt my life and my schedule. I want to start interviewing for a nanny next week or so, so I can-"

He looked even more hurt, and pissed off. "A nanny? What the fuck does she need a nanny for? My momma raised me just fine all by herself. T, you know I got you covered financially. You don't have to work, you don't have to do anything you don't want to do except take care of Riley. That's the most important thing, isn't it? Making sure she's okay. And what's the problem with us being a family? You never said anything about this shit before."

I sighed. He was living in some other world. "Justin, you have a long-term girlfriend waiting for you back in Cali, and I need to find someone of my own to be with. Despite what you may think, as much as I love my daughter, I need someone in my life, too. And you're not it. We are not together in any way, shape or form except as Riley's parents. So we need to work something out where I don't feel crowded and I can start to have a life, a real life. Just like the one you have with ...Cameron," I spit the name out bitterly, exposing my hatred for the pock-faced, bottle-blonde bitch that had stolen my man right from under me. "And another thing; you can't sit and watch me breast-feed anymore. It's not appropriate; neither is you lying in bed with us. You can take Riley into your own bedroom and cuddle with her there, okay? I don't feel comfortable with you ...seeing me in that way anymore.

I could tell her didn't know what to say. I'd hit him with a one-two-three punch out of nowhere, shattering his so far perfect world. But it needed to happen. This last week had been wonderful for both of us - and therein laid the danger. We were starting to become this harmonious little trio, daddy, mommy, and baby, and that wasn't how our lives were going to be. Someone - I guess me, since no one else was complaining - needed to get us all back into reality mode.

"T … look, I've seen every part of your body. I've seen parts of your body that you haven't even seen! What fucking difference does it make if I watch when our daughter breast-feeds? It just makes me feel closer to her. I want her to know me. And I don't have long to lie around like this and spend days at a time with her right now. You're right, I do have a CD to finish and Cam is waiting for me back in Cali but … things are different now. Cam isn't my priority anymore and I've told her that."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh yeah? And how did that go over?" I asked, genuinely curious to know what that ho felt like to know she was no longer #1 in J's life. To know that she would never be able to get rid of me now. I would never do it, but if I wanted to I could literally pick up the phone at any time and whine to Justin about how I needed him because of the baby and he'd drop everything and be here instantly. I now had control; I wasn't going to use/abuse it, but it was nice to know that for once I had something that Britney, Jenna, Janet, Cameron and whoever the else he'd been fucking didn't - I had the heir, the baby, the legacy. The newest and permanent Timberlake that was never going away either.

I had won.

But what I'd won wasn't what I wanted. I still didn't want to rest my life on Justin's whims. I wanted a stable, grown-up man who could be there for me in my stable life with my daughter. Justin would just have to deal with a stepfather. I knew he'd despise even the thought of it but that was how it was going to be, damn it. I wanted stability and routine for my little girl, with her mommy and daddy with her all the time and if he couldn't give it to me I'd find someone who would. I may have been thirty-one but my body was still tight. I spent so much time running around after the baby that it was the same as exercising, and with a little make-up I could put on one of my old dresses and go and get myself a man in no time.

He finally answered my question about Cameron. "She didn't like it but so the fuck what? Riley takes priority over everything in my life now. I can't stay here much longer, but as soon as I finish recording I plan on coming back again - unless you want to let me have her in California. But I know you don't trust me like that alone with her yet, do you? So from what I can tell, it's a package deal - you and Riley, right?" He waited as I nodded. "Then Cameron will have to make herself scarce when you guys come to town," he shrugged.

He made it sound so easy. Was she that much of a doormat that she'd just disappear when I came to visit? I wanted to laugh but tried to hold back the evil side of me that came out whenever I thought about her coke-addled ass. "Doesn't sound like much of a relationship if you can just dump her to the side while I'm around," I noted, leaning down to kiss Riley's cheeks to hide my smile.

Justin grunted. "Look, I can handle Cam. Riley's what's important to me right now. And what's this shit you're talking about now, I'm getting too close? I thought that was the whole point of me being here, wasn't it?"

I looked up at him for a moment. "Yes, that's true. But not close to me; close to Riley. And I think lying in bed with me and watching me feed her may be over the line, is all I'm saying. We were together for so long that everything feels natural and I understand how you're feeling, J, I really do. But for me, I need boundaries. I need to not get hurt again, okay? That's what it basically comes down to. You may be able handle all this closeness but I can't and I'm just tying to be honest about it. Okay?" With that, I stood up and began to walk upstairs for Riley's feeding and nap.

"That's not fucking fair, Tara!" he yelled out behind me and I knew he wouldn't just let it be.

And I was right.

As soon as I got settled on the bed with Riley's lips attached to my breast, there was a knock at the door. I sighed.

"What, Justin?"

He opened the door like that was an invitation of some sort. Which it totally wasn't. "I need to finish talking to you about this, T. You can't just waltz out of the room in the middle of a discussion," he told me, coming in and sitting down on the edge of the bed.

On his side of the bed, the one he always lay or slept on when we were together. Shit.

But I was pissed. He'd completely ignored my request and from the looks of it, was planning to join us despite my request for him not to. I was proved right again when he climbed up on the bed and stretched out on his side.

"Justin, you're completely disregarding everything I just said to you. This is my house and you have to agree to some rules here, okay? This isn't our house together. This is my room and I expect to have my privacy when I need it. Don't make this into an argument because I'm too exhausted to get into one right now, okay?" I switched Riley to the other breast and sighed when she reached for my braid and pulled too hard on it. "Ow! Justin … please, just go. I'm tired, I didn't get any sleep last night and I was hoping to catch an hour or two while she napped. Can we talk about this later, please?" I was only being so nice because I was holding her and didn't want her to feel the aggression that was coursing through me.

Damn it, I was tired, I was horny from dreaming about him all night and I just wanted to be left alone with me and my baby girl. Just the two of us, just for a little while, getting some sleep. Was that too much to ask?

"T, I just want … I don't want to be left out," he told me, looking for all the world like a little boy. "All I want to do is lay here with you guys and then nap with you, too. I don't have much time left with her; can't I please just stay?" And then he gave me the puppy dog eyes with his lips slightly pursed; the look he would give me when he wanted a kiss. Was the man fucking psychic? Did he know what I was feeling? Odds were he probably was; no one ever knew me so well or could read my body as well as Justin. Exhausted, I gave in. Not to the kiss! Just to him staying in the room. What the hell could it hurt one more time? I'd fight this battle later, when I'd gotten a little sleep and was better prepared. 
"Fine!" I said angrily, rolling my eyes at him. "Stay. Go. Do whatever the fuck you want. You always do, anyway." I turned away from him and closed my eyes, slowly rubbing Riley's back to try to get her calm and sleepy.

"What'd I do? All of a sudden you're freaking out on me like I did something to you? Did I do something yesterday to piss you off?" he asked, genuinely bewildered.

Now I was starting to feel bad. It wasn't his fault that I was ready for a bout of animalistic sex after the dreams I'd had last night and needed him to keep his distance or I'd jump him. I sighed, yet again. Something I was becoming used to, being around Justin again.

"No … look, I'm just tired." Finally finished feeding, I pulled Riley up on my shoulder and began burping her. Hopefully she'd fall asleep there and then I could get some rest. Rest that did not include dreams of her daddy ravishing me.

"Give her to me, you're tired, T," he said and I just let him take her and curled into a ball, closing my eyes. "I'll put her to sleep and let you get some rest, okay?" he said, trying to calm the situation down. While it wasn't helping my loins any, it at least would get me an hour or so of sleep.

"Thanks," I muttered, and curled myself even tighter against my pillows and waited for sleep.

It came right away.

Right away I was curled deep into my duvet, tucked into dreamland. In my dream, I was under my covers and had not a care in the world. Someone somewhere was talking care of the baby and I was free … free to do whatever I wanted. Justin tapped me on my shoulder and I opened a bleary eye and smiled at him.

"You okay?" he whispered. "Riley's out for the count … I put her in the bassinet over there," he told me, looking concerned. "You need anything or you want me to go?"

Shaking my head, I pulled back the covers. "Come here," I said in a whisper, and he looked confused.

"What?

"Get in bed with me … let's snuggle," I said, scooting over and holding my arms out for him.

Still looking confused, he was quiet for a minute then asked me, "T … are you sure? You want me to get into bed with you?"

Nodding my head, I made a sound of impatience. "Yes … come on. Don't you want to?"

Justin's POV:

Did I want to?! Fuck yeah I wanted to be close to T. She hadn't let me near her since … well, since a practically a year ago! I wanted nothing more than to get my hands on her and feel the changes the pregnancy had made in her body. I could already see some of them: the slightly bigger hips, the fuller breasts, and that braid of long hair that I wanted to undo and feel wrapped all around me … but she was sleeping and didn't know what she was saying.

Or did she?

Sometimes when people are half-awake, they say things that they wouldn't say normally. T was one of those people. Maybe that's why she'd been so grumpy. Maybe … maybe what I'd been hoping for was coming true. Maybe she was starting to have feelings for me again and that was why she was so upset today. Maybe she wanted me … and God knows I wanted her so fuck the dumb shit. I was taking advantage of this opportunity. I'd deal with the consequences later.

Look, she asked me, right?

Quickly, I eased over and closed and locked her door so Momma wouldn't burst in then crept back over to the bed, hoping like shit she wouldn't have changed her mind that quickly. She was still laying with the covers open waiting for me and fuck it, I slid right in.