Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 56213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
She scrunches her nose. “Huh?”
“It’s a riddle, baby,” Lila says, looking over at me. “And I know the answer.”
“No!” Max whines. “I don’t know it.”
“You don’t have to know every answer,” Lila says as she spells NAME on her plate with noodles and holds it up for Max to see.
Max’s eyebrows raise. “Name? I don’t get it.”
“It belongs to you,” Lila repeats, “but other people use it more than you do. It’s your name.”
“Oh,” Max says, eyes wide and mouth open. Then, she taps me on the arm. “Good one, Duke. But you cheated.”
I snicker. “How did I cheat? I gave you clues?”
“You’re supposed to describe it.”
“Next time, you should spell out the rules.”
“Duke likes breaking the rules,” Lila says with a bright smile. “One point for Mommy. You can go next,” she says to Max.
“Are we ever going to eat?” I lean in to say the words under my breath. “Because I’m starving.”
She tips her head toward the stove. “Yeah, I have more on the burner. This is just for fun.”
“Let me guess,” I say, “this game was Ted’s idea.”
Lila chuckles. “No, it was mine. I couldn’t get her to eat macaroni when she was younger. So, I told her it was a game.”
We play a few more rounds of Mac and Clues before we eat our dinner. Max wins because we let her. She announces her victory by taking a lap around the kitchen, and then runs into the living room, begging to watch the movie. After I help Lila clean up, we join Max on the couch. Max jumps on top of us, forcing us to different ends of the sofa. She lounges across both of our laps and kicks me with her shoes. I strip them off, and she wiggles her toes.
I love nights like these, hanging out with two of my favorite girls. Max is growing on me, and with each day that passes, I’m slowly falling in love with Lila. With both of them. I never thought I would find someone who allows me to be myself, someone who understands why I am this way. Lila isn’t afraid to get close to me. She hasn’t run yet. Still, my fear is there, brewing at the surface.
I promised Max we would watch Aquaman together because she loves sea animals. With the lights dimmed, we watch the movie like we’re a family. I haven’t done this since Kat and the twins were younger, and I miss it.
We get halfway into the movie before Max taps me on the arm. Her blonde hair is fanned out around her head on Lila’s lap.
“Did you know that sea otters hold hands while they sleep?”
I shake my head. “No, I didn’t.”
“They hold hands, so they don’t drift away from each other.”
“Aww,” Lila says.
I tilt my head to the side to look at Lila. She has no idea I’m watching her as she watches the movie. I can’t wait for our sessions to end, so I can make this official, so I can announce to the world I’m with her. I’ve never wanted anything more.
“Where do you get all of your facts from?” I ask Max.
“Google,” she says without hesitation. “Wanna watch a cool sea otter video I found on YouTube? Baby sea otters can’t swim on their own. They have to make a raft to keep their family together.”
“After the movie,” Lila says.
Max settles in again, getting comfortable as she moves across both of us. I could get used to this. In fact, I am used to this and don’t want it to end. I love spending time with both of them. With other women, I only wanted to rip their clothes off. But with Lila, we have a real connection. She gets me and tries to understand me.
The movie ends forty minutes later. Max is snoring, dead to the world as the credits roll down the screen. I lift her in my arms and follow Lila into Max’s bedroom. She stirs when I set her onto the mattress, rolling onto her side. Max mumbles a few things under her breath.
“She’s been sleeping better since she started hockey,” Lila says. “Skating tires her out.” She kisses Max’s forehead and whispers, “Night, baby. Sweet dreams.”
Lila closes Max’s door and then leads me into her bedroom, locking the door behind us. She stands on her tippy toes and presses her lips to mine.
“I’ve been waiting all night to do that,” she says.
I wrap my arms around her, holding her warm body against my chest. My lips crash into hers, and she parts them for me to sweep my tongue inside her mouth. She tastes like chocolate syrup. And now, I’m thinking about running into the kitchen to grab the bottle. Not with Max here, not tonight.
Once our lips separate, we get into bed together. Lila curls up against my chest, and I slip my fingers between hers, thinking about what Max said about sea otters. I’ve never done this with another woman. Lila is the one. And as I fall asleep, I hold her hand tight—because I never want us to ever drift apart.