A Woman Like Me...

A Deal With the Devil

      It had been just over a year since we had found out the results of the paternity test.  In that time, Trace had sued Portia for custody and, not surprisingly, had been granted full custody.  Portia did not seem to mind this much though as it opened back up her life for her more inappropriate activities again.

     Portia had Allegra every other weekend, otherwise, she lived with us in the manor.  Almost overnight, I had gone from a devil-may-care, badass living the single life; to helping Trace raise a child.  Trace and I had even begun sharing his bedroom after Allegra had grown confused about our separate spaces.  I had not given up my room, I still used it when I needed a little space, but it was easier for Allegra to only have to go to one location to find both of her parental figures.

     This afternoon, Allegra was with Portia, I was taking advantage of the free time to take a swim in the pool.  I had spent an hour swimming laps, so that I would not feel guilty if I blew off my work out later; now I was just relaxing, floating around the pool without a care.

     I sensed someone enter into the area, but chose not to react; it was likely not a threat, though if it was, I already had the advantage of knowing about their presence.  The person carefully waded into the pool and moved closer to me; I hoped that they no longer believed themselves sneaky as I could hear the water splashing around them.  A pair of strong, muscular arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me against his chiseled chest.  I melted into him, knowing immediately who it was upon his touch.

     "Hey, sexy..." Trace smiled down at me.

     I turned around in his grasp, so that I could face him, wrapping my arms around his neck.  I planted a quick kiss on his lips before returning his smile.

     "Hey, you."

     "I missed you."

     I giggled at him.

     "It's only been like two hours since we last saw each other."

     "I know.  That's way too long."

     He snuggled his face into my neck.  I laughed even harder at him.

     "Okay, who are you and what have you done with Trace Waterford?"  I teased.

     "Hey..." he frowned.  "Excuse me, for being so in love with my girlfriend."

     I rolled my eyes at him and he splashed me with water.  I stared at him in mock disbelief, he offered me a cheeky grin, before splashing me again.

     "That's it!"  I declared, releasing my hold on him.  "This means war!!!"

     With that, a major splash battle began as we both assaulted each other with waves of water.  I was laughing so hard that I could barely breath.  It was so nice to feel this relaxed.  I could not remember the last time that I had so much fun.

     "I swear, you two are worse than Allegra."

     We both paused our water fight as we heard Jay's voice.  We looked at him as he scrutinized us, feigning superiority.  Slowly, we turned our heads towards each other, a subtle twitch on our faces, communicating exactly what the other needed to know.  Then, simultaneously, we turned towards Jay and began assaulting him with waves of water.

     "Hey!  Hey!  Hey!"  Jay cried in response to our attack.

     Once we had finished, Jay stood on the deck, soaking wet.  Trace and I laughing so hard that we were holding our sides.

     "My...face...hurts...from...smiling..." I choked out between chuckles.

     "If you two are quite finished."  Jay pouted, placing his hands on his hips.  "I came out here to tell you that you may want to start getting ready for dinner.  They are going to be here soon."