The Risque Contracts Series(49)
Bonus Scene: Football Time With Daddy
Elisa
Dropping my shopping bags on the kitchen counter, I wandered to the sliding glass door to see if Brysen and Gregory were outside. It was a gorgeous spring day with plenty of sunshine, and our little boy always wanted to go out and play on the playground equipment his daddy had picked out for him. There was a lot for him to love with two towers, four slides, a clubhouse, a built-in picnic table, and four swings. I’d thought Brysen had gone overboard with it, but I couldn’t argue with the look of delight on Gregory’s face every time he saw it.
I heard his boyish giggle, but couldn’t see either of them through the glass. Stepping outside, I found them on the open grass at the side of the yard. Gregory was a little replica of his daddy with a lock of his dark hair brushing his forehead and his chocolate brown eyes scrunched up in concentration. He was dressed just like Brysen in black gym shorts and a grey T-shirt. And they were even in the same stance—one knee down, a hand on the ground, and a football tucked between their body and their other arm.
I watched silently as Brysen’s strong hands guided our baby boy through several drills, ever so gently. They stopped for Brysen to show him how to hold the football the right way, using the smaller ball since it fit Gregory’s baby hands better. Once he got the hang of it, Brysen told him to run and started chasing him. Gregory darted forward, giggling when his daddy caught him and tossed him up in the air.
“Momma!” Gregory shrieked when he was mid-air and caught sight of me. Brysen set him on his feet, and he hurtled across the back yard, running towards me at full steam ahead. It was the only speed he had since he learned to walk a year ago. He was all go until he literally dropped from exhaustion.
I bent down so his chubby arms could wrap around my neck when he threw himself at me. Breathing in his sweet smell, I hugged him tight to my body until he started wiggling. As soon as I let him go, he began dancing around the patio.
“Didya see me? Didya?” he sing-songed. “I pwayed fooball wit Daddy!”
“I did see you,” I answered. “And you were awesome! I didn’t think Daddy was going to be able to catch you, you were running so fast.”
“I’m da fastest!” he shrieked. “Like dis!”
He streaked past us, darting towards his playground and running circles around it as quickly as his little legs would carry him. Brysen took advantage of Gregory’s and my distraction to steal a kiss, his mouth crashing against mine as his tongue swept inside.
“I missed you,” he whispered against my lips when he lifted his head.
“I was only gone for an hour,” I sighed, leaning into his chest.
His hand slid down, coming to rest on the side of my swollen belly. “You know how much I hate for us to be apart, especially when your body’s ripe like this.”
“With another boy,” I mock-sighed, bumping him with my elbow in his side as we turned to watch Gregory.
“What can I say? We needed more help keeping our eye on you so we added to the team.”
“Speaking of teams, Gregory is barely two. Isn’t it early to be teaching him how to play football?”
“It’s never too early for football,” Brysen chuckled. “Just ask our son.”
“Of course he’ll agree with you,” I muttered. “There’s too much testosterone around here.”
“I promise to work some of mine off with you later, after we get him down for the night,” he whispered in my ear.
That was an offer I wouldn’t pass up, even without the pregnancy hormones raging in my system. “You’ve got a deal.”
Bonus Scene: No Boyfriends
Brysen
I heard little feet running down the hall before a burst of energy blasted into the room, a veritable tornado of little arms and legs. I was working in my office when the school bus pulled up, so I made my way to the kitchen, knowing my three boys would immediately claim to be starving. I chuckled to myself as I pictured the way they would dramatically grab their stomachs and gasp, as though they didn’t empty the house of food on a regular basis.
My sweet, little Gemma followed the boys in more sedately, walking right over to me and lifting her arms for a hug. At six, she barely hit me mid-thigh and I bent down to scoop her into my arms, swallowing a damn lump as my angel squeezed me tight. She leaned back and placed a hand on each of my cheeks, her eyes sparkling, “Guess what, Daddy?”
I kissed the tip of her nose and smiled. “What?”
“I have a, um,” she paused and her little nose scrunched as she concentrated, trying to find the right words. “A boyfriend!” she exclaimed excitedly.