Yours or Mine (8 page)

She nodded. “He’s
been under more stress. With the school cuts, he’s been forced to
terminate several positions.”

* * *

A few hours later,
Blake, Sydney, and Carter were back home.

“It’s been a long
night,” Blake said to Sydney after he tucked a tired Carter into
bed. “I’m glad your dad’s going to be okay.” Marty Smith had
several tests. They decided his new blood pressure medication caused
his fainting by making his pressure go too low.

“It’s such a relief
that it wasn’t anything serious. I do still have a problem,
though.” She stuck her hands in her jean pockets. “Have you read
my columns lately?”

“Yes, I’ve read
your columns.” He didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but Sydney’s
articles hadn’t been as good recently. Actually boring would be the
word to describe them. He didn’t want to lie either and say they
had been great.

“I feel like I’ve
lost my edge. It’s gotten so hard to create. I’m afraid I’ll
lose my job.”

“We can’t have
that.” He pulled her into his arms. “Maybe I can give you some
help.”

She grinned. “I was
hoping you’d suggest that. I think your work has been suffering
too.”

He nodded, feeling his
need for her growing by the second. “Whose bed? Yours or mine? And
make it fast.”

“Mine.” She grasped
his hand, pulling him quickly to her bedroom. “Do you think Carter
will sleep a long time? I might need his daddy for an all nighter.”

“I think he might.”

The phone rang on the
nightstand. “I better answer that. It might be Mom.”

While Sydney chatted,
Blake went back to his bedroom for condoms. Knowing she hadn’t
gotten pregnant the other time was a good reason to be careful now.
After he bought them, he’d hid them under his boxers. Pulling the
chest drawer open, he thought how much Sydney meant to him. He'd
loved Caroline, but never felt this deep, burning passion for his
wife. From the moment Sydney had mistaken him for the realtor, he’d
felt something wonderful for her. Blake also grabbed the monitor so
he could hear Carter in case he woke up during the night.

He waved the package of
protection at her when he returned to her room. Sydney put her free
thumb up with the receiver still against her ear. He sighed, hoping
it wasn’t Libby on the phone. Sydney would have a hard time getting
away from her talkative friend. He’d looked forward to Sydney
removing his clothes, but heck he’d save her the time. He eyed her
cute behind while he stripped.

He was getting ready to
grab the phone from her when the conversation was finally over.

“It was Mom. She said
Dad’s fine and thanked us for going to the hospital.” She
shimmied out of her jeans. “I was naughty and told her that I
couldn’t talk because you were butt naked.” She gave him a wicked
wink.

“You better be
kidding.” He helped her out of her lacy little panties. He wrapped
his arms around her, his hands sliding down to her smooth buttocks.
Gently, he squeezed them. Once her T-shirt was off, he pressed his
body against hers. Her skin felt silky. The light fragrance she wore
was perfect to his senses—lovely, like Sydney. He lifted her onto
the bed and unhooked her lacy bra. The sight of her perky breasts
sent his heart racing. An ache spread throughout his body.

He cupped one of her
luscious breasts and sucked on it. His pulse quickened with
excitement, remembering the first time he felt her breasts against
him. She looked so adorable after falling off the treadmill into his
arms. His temperature went up a few degrees that time.

Covering her mouth, he
kissed her hard as hot currents of passion sizzled through his body.
He quivered from her warm skin touching his. There couldn't be
anything better than this; he wanted Sydney to soar with him to
greater heights.

When he stroked her
inside, her body tensed. His thumb pressed harder, wanting her to
come apart in his hands. He yearned to hear her shriek his name and
he got his wish.

In an agonized voice,
she said, “Blake, I need you. Now!”

She touched the core of
his spirit. “Oh baby, I need you too.”

He pulled his finger
out to grab a condom. He covered his erection, and in one thrust
drove into her.

“I love you,” she
said in a throaty voice.

His heart jumped at her
words. Her breath was warm and moist against his face. He whispered
into her hair, “I love you, Sydney.”

While he thrust deeper
into her, Sydney tightly wrapped her legs around his body. She
clutched him with her arms, her fingers pressing into his flesh. She
writhed beneath him as he exploded in a downpour of fiery sensation.

After coming inside
her, he exhaled a long sigh of contentment. He craved this woman and
never planned to let her out of his life. Basking in the warmth of
this moment, he kissed her tenderly. His heart would never be the
same. Every inch of Sydney had been his.

“I don’t think I
ever wanted a platonic relationship. I wanted you, but was afraid of
losing you if we rushed everything.”

She arched her
eyebrows. “We didn't lose any time in buying a house together.”

He loved living near
Sydney and seeing her daily. He hoped that she wasn't regretting
their big purchase. “Buying this place with you was the wisest
thing I've ever done. I've never done anything on impulse before. I
surprised myself─”

Sydney's cell phone
rang before he could finish his sentence. She glanced at the phone on
his side of the bed. “Sorry, but I forgot to call Libby to tell her
about my dad. I bet it’ll be her.”

He grabbed the phone
and handed it to her. “You better answer it.”

Sitting up in bed, she
looked at the screen. “It's Libby, all right.”

“I'll stick something
in the oven for us to eat while you talk.”

He left the bedroom to
get two glasses of wine and put a prepared pasta dish in the oven. He
remembered Sydney mentioned earlier she made it for them. Carter ate
a sandwich in the hospital cafeteria, but they had never eaten
anything.

After walking into the
bedroom, Blake handed Sydney her wine. “The pasta will be ready in
thirty minutes.”

“Thanks.” Her eyes
widened. “Do you always walk around the house naked?”

He grinned. “No, but
it feels great. It might become a habit.”

“Libby wanted to know
if I could go with her tomorrow to pick up her wedding gown. She's
afraid it won't fit.”

* * *

Was she glad they
bought the duplex house together? Sydney wondered while she
absentmindedly watched Libby twirl in front of her. If she hadn't,
they probably would've dated for a few months before getting so
serious.

Libby touched her ivory
colored bridal gown. “You hate my dress now. You liked it when I
ordered it. Do you think I should've ordered it in white instead? Or
is it the style you don't like on me?”

Sydney focused on
Libby. “I'm sorry. I was thinking about something else. You look
beautiful in it. And it fits like a glove. You won't need any
alternations.”

Libby glanced in the
full-length mirror. “I love it.” She turned away from her image,
giving Sydney a serious look. “I bet Blake's on your mind. Is
everything okay in the Smith household?”

She gave a small shrug.
“I can't believe I bought the house with Blake. What was I
thinking? I wanted to get out of my dinky apartment so much, but felt
guilty about buying the house myself when Blake and Carter liked it
too.”

“I thought it was
going great between you two.” Libby took another look at her gown.
Then she stood with her back toward Sydney. “Unzip me, please.”

While carefully easing
the zipper down, she sighed. “Things are moving so quickly. After
we had sex last night, I told him that I loved him. And he said that
he loves me too.”

Libby stepped out of
her gown. “What's the problem then?”

“I'm thinking we
should've fallen in love first and then had sex. What if what we
think we have isn't real? Maybe it isn't really love but just a
wonderful physical...lust we feel for each other.”

Outside the dressing
room, a young woman asked, “Does the gown fit okay? Or do you need
alternations?”

Libby answered, “It's
a perfect fit. Thank you. I'll be out in a minute to pay the
balance.”

“I think I need some
space to think, but that's impossible since we live so close
together. I guess that's bothering me too. All of a sudden I went
from a single life to a family life with a seven-year-old. I'm not
Carter's stepmother but feel like I'm in that position.”

Libby nodded. “And
you and Blake haven't gone out often without Carter. You two need
some alone time.”

Sydney said, “Maybe
then I can wrap myself around this whole idea of being in love. If
that's what it is.”

After she ate lunch
with Libby, Sydney went home and was greeted by Carter. “Guess
what? We're going to Florida. Grandma and Grandpa want to see me.
Daddy said you could go too. Please come with us.”

She smiled, vaguely
remembering how Blake had mentioned something about Florida while
they'd been at the hospital. She hadn't paid too much attention at
the time. She'd been too worried about her dad. “Florida? You're a
lucky boy.”

Carter grabbed her
hand. “Will you go with us? They have a pool in their backyard. We
can go swimming.”

“When are you
leaving?”

“Two weeks.”

Bending down, she
kissed Carter's forehead. “I'm having a bridal shower for Libby in
two weeks.”

An unhappy expression
crossed Carter's face. “Dad's more fun when you're around. I like
it when you're with us.”

“You two can have
some great guy time together. And you'll have your grandparents to
fuss over you. You won't even miss me. But you better call me a lot.”

Blake came up behind
Carter and ruffled his son's hair. “Hey, I'm fun. I told you bridal
showers are important to women.”

She laughed. “Not as
much fun as the bachelor parties are to men.”

“Carter and I'll go
to the grocery store. I'll grill tonight. It's too nice to eat inside
the house. Is that okay with you?” Blake asked Sydney.

“Sounds like a plan.”

After eating two
hamburgers Blake grilled and lots of Sydney's potato salad, Carter
went to sleep early on Saturday night. “What movie do you want to
go to?” Sydney asked.

Pulling her closer to
him, he planted a kiss on her lips. “Are you sure about the movie
idea? I thought we could spend some quality time in bed together.”

She rolled her eyes.
“We need to have a date night once a week. Zach said he didn't mind
swinging by here after work to stay with Carter. Lindsay and the kids
are at her sister's.”

“You're right. I do
want to take you to a movie. It's just you look pretty sexy in your
tight top, so I started thinking how nice it'd be to watch a movie at
home instead.”

She placed her hands on
his shoulders, giving him a little push. “It's not tight. I was
thinking I should've gotten a size smaller because it's a little too
loose on me.”

“Hey, let’s get a
drink after the movie. The Quarter Bistro is next door to the
cinema.”

“That sounds
romantic. I love it. I’m going to change into something more
special.” She left the room quickly to change out of her jeans and
top.

After a few moments of
looking in her closet, she stopped at a black, strapless dress.
I’ll
wear my pearl necklace with it. Sure, it might be a bit much for the
movie but I want to dress up for a change.
Once she was dressed,
she grabbed an orange scarf for a bit of color.

Blake whistled as she
entered the living room. “You look gorgeous.”

“Thank you. You
changed too.” She liked seeing Blake in dress pants and a shirt.

When Sydney heard Zach
in the driveway, she opened the door and turned to look at Blake.
“This will be fun going out.”

As soon as Zach walked
in, she gave him a hug. “Blake and I appreciate this so much. We'll
plan farther ahead the next time and get a babysitter.”

“No problem.”
Zach's brown eyes twinkled. “I want my little sis to have a date
night. Hey Syd, how many guys have you dated?”

“Me. How about you?
You weren't exactly sitting at home before you met Lindsay.” She
glanced at her watch, realizing they better leave or they'd miss the
previews. She loved seeing the upcoming movies. “We should go so we
get there in time. You have our cell phone numbers if you need to
call.”

“Thanks, man. We
won't be too late,” Blake said on his way out the door.

During the short car
ride, Sydney said, “Living close to the cinema was another reason I
wanted the house.”

Blake, turning into the
parking lot, said, “Here I thought living in the same duplex with
me was the main reason in buying it.”

After they got their
popcorn and drinks, Blake found two seats in the middle of the
theatre. “See, I remembered what kind of pop you like with your
popcorn and where you prefer to sit. You hate being too close to the
screen and you don't like sitting at the top.”

She put her glass in
the drink holder. “Okay, I get your point. We've gone to the movies
a few times, so you haven't completely neglected our dating
relationship.”

“Maybe after the
shower, you can fly to Florida. We can go out while Carter spends
time with Caroline's parents.”

She took a handful of
popcorn. “Do they know you bought the house with me?”

“I didn't want to
tell them on the phone, but I did mention that we're seeing each
other—”

“I hope you didn't
mention how much we've actually seen,” she said in a low voice.
“The whole thing about naked bodies and sleeping together.”

“Shoot. I knew there
was something I forgot to tell them.” He grinned, and then
continued, “I told them how Carter thinks a lot of you.”