The Book Of Me & You

"Thoughts That Come At You Like Monsters At Night"

Galloping back over to the spot by the bookshelf, he took one of the toys from the floor, "Hwere", handing it to his sister who was next to him busy shoving her foot into her mouth. He giggled when she took the toy from his grasp, growling with wide eyes at the feel of it. "What are you sa-ay-ing Em-ma?" John asked, cocking his head above her, as Emma continued to make all kinds of sounds, "Daddy, what is Em-ma sa-ay-ing?"

Ricky looked up from the blanket he was folding, "nobody knows, buddy - she's just talking in her own way."

John's tiny brow furrowed, as he shrugged and went back to playing with his assortment of brightly colored blocks.

The door opened sharply, "I'm late, I know, I'm sorry" She quickly apologized, sprinting inside the space. Bending down to greet the two on the floor, "Traffic was a nightmare. Leave it to some idiot to ram into a utility pole right next to the school."

He chuckled, "It's fine. We don't have to be at mom's until 6:30, and our reservation isn't until 7" draping the folded baby blanket on the end of the playpen to check his watch, "It's only 5:08 - we've got some time - How was your day?"

Standing back up, Amy pushed her hand through her bangs, keeping a half glance on their children, "Good. O'Malley thinks we're really making progress, but won't know for sure until finals next week."

He nodded, "Yeah, my professor brought me in today to discuss some things..."

"Things like what?"

"It's fine."

"No, It's not. Are your grades okay?" He was silent, pursing his lips. "Ricky..."

Sighing, he scratched his eyebrow as a means to avoid eye contact, "They slipped a little - but it's okay, they didn't slip enough to lose my scholarship or anything"

Her mouth fell slightly agape, twisting her flat into the floor as she fought her glassy eyes, "Is it because you've been helping me?"

"No." Ricky quickly comforted, knowing how she'd blame herself for the rest of the night, "This is on me. Not you, okay?" It was silent, "okay, Amy?" before she nodded and went in for an embrace. Slightly caught off guard, his lip tipped up as he wrapped both arms tight around her, breathing in the sweet combination of strawberry shampoo, and her hypoallergenic lotion that he always teased her about. "What's up with this dress? I've never seen it before..." His fingers brushed the fabric, the black lace on the part where her shoulder blades met, making him smirk.

"It's Madison's" She giggled, pulling herself away from his warm chest, "I thought I was going to be late, so she swapped with me in the bathroom before we left"

His brow rose, "Well, remind me to thank her the next time I see her - are you wearing that tonight?"

"Maybe..." Amy blushed, giggling again, doing a quick glance to their still content children, "The kids are going to be at your moms all night..." biting the end of her thumb nail, "I'm going to go fix my makeup before we go." Nodding, Ricky bent forward and pressed his lips to hers, smirking again when she added more pressure, quickly slipping her tongue against his before pulling away. "Save it for tonight." Her whisper was seductive as she started walking away, making sure to move in a way that made that dress that was hugging her backside, work to her advantage as she knew his eyes were following her. His eyebrows waggled when she turned her head to smirk at him, before he shot her a wink, and bit his bottom lip as she shut the door.

5:36 PM

Dragging the zippers across the bag, his brow furrowed, counting out loud before going into the kitchen and opening the refrigerator door.

Pausing in the space for a few seconds, he clicked his tongue and reached inside, pulling out two full bottles and screwing on their clunky plastic coverings before going back to the diaper bag on the coffee table.