Always There

Chapter Twenty-Four

Mateo seems to be equally as startled by Bryce's words as his eyebrows literally fly up. He stares blankly at Bryce for a few moments before muttering, "Thank you, I guess."

Bryce smiles, apparently oblivious to the way that Mateo had answered hesitantly. My boyfriend soon shifts to bury his face unto the crook of my neck, and it gives me another opportunity to look to Mateo.

He raises his eyebrows at me in question, and all I'm able to do is mouth the words, 'I don't know.'

Bryce's POV

I have no fucking clue why Blossom is surprised by my ability to be nice to Mateo, considering this is what she's wanted all along.

What a confusing woman.

I also don't understand why she's so damn hesitant to touch me even the slightest bit in front of her family. I know that she doesn't talk about anything involving sex with them, but I really do hope that she realises that everyone in this house right now is pretty well aware that her and I regularly have sex.

I mean, it's pretty fucking obvious. I know that I look at her like a goddamn animal watching its prey fairly often, but she's just too damn beautiful to not want to be alone, naked, and in bed with her all the time.

Kathleen suddenly walks into the living room, using a dishcloth to dry off her hands. She scans the room, her gaze falling on Blossom and I for a moment which elicits a small smile from her. "Does anyone want any tea?"

Before any of us get a chance to answer, Michael calls out from the kitchen, "Do not give my girls caffeine! God knows that they don't need any more energy than they already have!"

Adriana and Addison merely chuckle at this, and Kathleen rolls her eyes before turning to Blossom and I.

"I'll have a cup, please," Blossom answers. Her brother declines the offer but Mateo requests a cup as well, and so when Kathleen turns back to me, I smile and say, "Yes, please."

She nods at me before heading back into the kitchen. Blossom watches her closely, and she seems to be thinking for a moment before she stands up from her seat in my lap and says, "I'm going to go help her. I'll be right back."

I contemplate stopping her, but I don't see the need to halt her from being nice, and so I instead say, "All right, baby. Do you want me to come too?"

She, once again, seems surprised by my general niceness, and it takes her a second to reply by saying, "That's okay, Bryce. Thank you, though."

I smile at her and she grins back, bending down to press a kiss to my cheek before she follows in her mom's footsteps, exiting the living room as well.

Mateo and Charlie begin to talk across the room about something school-related, but I'm really not interested in their conversation and so I watch Blossom as she moves around the kitchen, pulling mugs down from one of the cupboards and lining them up on the island. She looks sort of adorable for some odd reason as she drops a teabag into each cup, and as she grabs a small container presumably holding sugar, she hurries back into the living room to ask Mateo how he takes his tea before darting back into the kitchen again.

A few minutes pass before she returns, carrying a mug in each hand. My dad and Elena have sat down on the loveseat by now, and she sets down the mugs in front of them before heading back into the kitchen.

She returns with two more mugs, one for Mateo and one for me. She disappears one final time before returning with one cup of tea for herself. She sets it down on the small table beside us before she takes a seat in my lap, scooting back so that her back is flush to my chest once more.