❃𝙺𝚒𝚊𝚛𝚊❃
I've got, like, a thousand different things I have to do today. Or at least I'm thinking that when I get up in the morning.
It's Saturday which means most, if not all, of my errands need to be ran today. Because the water place is closed on Sundays. And one of the stores I need to hit is the busiest on Sundays for some unknown reason. I don't get it.
Anyway, Cameron also hates errands, so we can't spend the whole weekend doing errands without doing at least one fun thing. So, I fully expect to have to stop at a park for half the day or something somewhere in the middle of our errands.
But then I remember my boyfriend is also my son's dad. My son's dad who would love to spend the day with our son. Just as I'm rolling out of bed and grabbing my phone from the charger to give him a call, I process the sounds of Cameron outside my door. At first, I pay him no mind, unconcerned that he woke up before me.
I frown when I realize he's talking to someone. I pause and stare at the door, squinting as if it'll help me hear better. We'll just say it does, because I recognize a deeper voice than his hush him. Then continue to whisper.
My heart beats a little faster as I hurry to the door. Before I throw it open though, I take another few seconds. It only takes me three to come to the conclusion that that extra whispering voice isn't a threat. It's just the guy I was getting ready to text. He either must've let himself in or had Cameron let him in with the help of their walkie talkies.
I narrow my eyes as I lean against the wall beside the door. They're coming down the hall slowly, whispering a little too loud to each other. Well—Cameron is. Noah tries to get him to be quieter, but Cameron's whispering is simply too loud. I nearly gasp when I hear a little something about scaring Mom. They're conspiring. They both woke up early, and now they're trying to scare me in my sleep.
I have about thirty seconds to figure out what to do. I do it quick, rushing carefully but quickly to my bed to grab a couple of pillows, stuffing them under my blanket. I tiptoe my way quickly to the corner of the room behind the door just in time for the doorknob to jiggle. Very slowly and quietly, it opens.
I bet this is why Noah came by to fix our creaky doors. So he could sneak up on me in my sleep. Creep.
It's hard not to laugh as I watch my boys approach the bed where they think I'm sleeping in the place of those pillows. I slowly move away from the corner while they stop at the foot of the bed. Noah lifts Cameron up onto the mattress. Cameron can't help his little giggles as he crawls further up the bed, careful not to disturb the pillows. Meanwhile, Noah creeps up the side of the bed.
I fully expect at least one of them to see me before they do their scare, but neither of them do. Not even when the puppy that Noah brought over here with him wanders into the room and looks right up at me. Like rookies, neither of them look over their shoulder to make absolutely sure they're about to get me.
So, honestly, it's their faults I'm able to jump out and loudly yell "What're you doing?" at them. Cameron screams and jumps, falling onto his back beside the decoy. Noah screams too and spins around to face me. Gus barks because I scared him too.
I start laughing before they've even recovered. Cameron groans and stays onto his back, writhing around in his defeat. "No!" He whines.
Noah's a sore loser like our son, so he huffs and puffs too. "Kiara, what are you doing? You scared us." He scolds childishly.
I laugh and cross my arms over my chest. "What were you just about to do?" I question, nodding to my decoy. Noah sighs deeply as he reaches over to pull back the covers, revealing the lump on the bed for the pillows that they are. "You're just mad your plan failed." I dismiss smugly.
They both huff in response. Cameron sits up and pouts at me for a moment before he looks over at Noah. Almost at the exact same time, Noah turns his head to look at Cameron.
I recoil when they share just a second of silence. I mean it. They really stare silently at each other for one second. That's all they need to decide what to do next.
I gasp and spin around the moment they both make simultaneous moves towards me. I can't help my laughter as I retreat down the hall. "No!" I cry as I run in the house exactly how I keep telling Cameron not to. Gus chases after us all, barking his little bark the whole time.
They chase me all the way to the living room. I end up dooming myself in the corner beside the couch and a lamp. They corner me with Noah in the way of my shot at the hallway and Cameron in the way of my shot at the kitchen where I'll probably end up cornered again.
There is a weak link here. I'll just have to figure it out before I make it to the next corner. The bathroom maybe. I could run at that the second Noah moves to chase me to the living room. He will move because we both can acknowledge Cameron can't hold me for long.
I give my shoulders a quick shrug, trying to shake off the nerves before I make my move. I need to do it fast. They're starting to close in on me. Even little Gus. Which is sad because I advocated for his name to be changed from either Fucker or Rex. I guess he doesn't like Gus either.
I squeal as I make a run for it right towards Cameron. Noah all but dives at me. "Grab her!" He orders our poor eight-year-old who doesn't do great under pressure. The dog just keeps on barking at all the commotion.
Cameron yelps too and throws himself at me. I let him off easy, careful not to let himself hit himself too hard on the ground on the way down. Noah's also worried about him hitting the ground too hard, because he takes two whole seconds to make sure Cameron doesn't actually fall. It's a sacrifice I take advantage of immediately. He groans when I sprint right back down the hall. They're both right behind me, but are a few seconds too late. I stumble into my bedroom and slam the door shut behind me, locking it for good measure.
"No!" Cameron whines. I'm pretty sure he's the one who tries the handle. I laugh loudly at them, pressing my shoulder against the door like that actually helps keep it shut.
My brows furrow at the sound of something dragging against the wall above. I look up to find what it is. I immediately zero in on the door frame. The very top of it, to be exact. There's nothing on my side, but on theirs, there's a key hidden on the doorframe for the door.
And Noah can reach it.
I'm quick to shoot away from the door. It's only a matter of time before his finger brushes against that key and he grabs it. The door knob jiggles some more, and my psycho of a son cackles on the other side. I dive into my open closet and try tucking myself under one of the shelves in the small room. It works, but I know it's just another corner. I'll have to run when they're checking under the bed.
At least, that's what I hope to do. That is until Noah decides to be smart for once. "Okay, you check the bed. I'll check the closet." He says.
I start looking around for something to defend myself with, but it's too late. I gasp the moment I see him step into the doorway. "Noah, wait!" I plead, pressing myself up against the wall.
"Ohh, Kiara—" He murmurs in pity. But then blinks at me. "Oh, wow. How'd you get yourself down there?" He asks curiously as he leans down. "Wow. You're really under there. That's impressive, princess."
I squeal when he catches my wrists. My own fault for holding my hands up to try and protect myself. "No! Noah, please!" I beg. I have no chance though. He drags me out from under the shelf by my wrists. Once half of my body is out, he leans down to grab me and pick me up to get me the rest of the way out. I don't go lightly, kicking and fighting to get out of his arms.
I groan my defeat when he ultimately gets me over his shoulder. I huff and purse my lips, left to stare at Cameron over Noah's shoulder who grins like a madman. "Crap." Noah backs out of the closet before spinning around in case I hit my head on the doorframe. "Oh, no, Cam. We caught Mom without a plan on what to do with her afterwards." He points out, turning to face Cameron. I scoff when that leaves me with either the view of my closet where my plans were foiled or an upside down view of his ass.
"Let me go!" I squirm to try and escape my fate. I show my middle finger to the dog who just barks up at me.
"I know what to do!" Cameron declares proudly.
"What should we do, Nut?"
"The lie detector!"
I gasp at that and plant my hands down on Noah's back to try and lift myself up and look over my shoulder at Cameron behind me. "No!" I argue. "You wouldn't!"
"The lie detector?" Noah gasps. "Isn't that a bit drastic, Nut—"
"Do it!"
"No!" I repeat my protest desperately.
Noah sighs like he has no choice. "Well, all right. If you say so."
"Noah!" I plead, mortified as I'm carried over to my bed and thrown down. I roll over onto my hands and knees and desperately crawl away from them, but my ankle gets caught and I'm dragged back down the bed. "No, please! Spare me!" I'm forced to roll back over onto my back. My son's still cackling at me as he struggles a little to climb up on the bed. He grins down at me like a monster. I stare up at him, betrayed and hurt. "Cam, help me." I offer my hand.
"Do it!" Is all he responds with. Noah starts to laugh as he climbs up on the bed. While his attention is away for a few seconds, I start moving backwards up the bed, still on my back.
Once Noah's sat on his knees on the bed, he grabs my leg again to drag me back over. Cameron proudly watches on, so I resort to pleading with Noah again. "Noah, please. I thought you loved me—Don't you love me?" I shake my head quickly as his hands slowly slide up my sides.
He sighs sadly. Thinks for a moment before he tilts his head to the side and clicks his tongue. "Sorry, princess. Boss's orders." He reasons. I gasp my betrayal at that. "Nothing personal. You understand."
I yelp when he pokes at my side, jerking away. He starts laughing along with Cameron, and I have no choice but to join them because I'm ticklish there and he decides to tickle me instead. "W-Wait!" I giggle, squirming around to try and escape him. "You said lie detector!" I squeal the last word when he pokes at a particularly ticklish spot.
"Oh, man, this is brutal, Nut. You sure you wanna do this to your mom?" Noah murmurs. He doesn't stop poking at my sides though. "Ow!" Despite what he yells, he's still laughing. "Hey, no scratching!" He decides. I laugh uncontrollably and helplessly dig my nails into his wrists in a weak attempt to stop him.
"She wants to run errands!" Cameron spits the word out like it's a bad one.
"What, like grocery shopping?" Noah questions. "Stop it." He laughs even though I must be hurting him pretty bad by digging my nails deeper in his skin. I can't help it. It's a defense mechanism due to the attack being played out against me right now.
"Yeah," Cameron scrunches his nose at me, not an ounce of mercy in his eyes. I toss my head back and gasp, trying to catch my breath through my laughter. At this, Noah eases up on his relentless attack.
"Okay, okay, I think she's had enough." Noah's still laughing, mostly to himself now, as he takes his hands off me. I groan once it's finally over, little remanence of my laughter lingering for a moment while I catch my breath. Even though Cameron looked like he had more psycho plans, he smiles as he decides he's fine with their tickle attack.
"I don't wanna go grocery shopping." He hums, smiling down at me as if I've just agreed to give him whatever he wants.
I let out a long exhale at that, chuckling to myself at the fact that he thinks he can get what he wants after that. "Too bad." I tiredly hum. "We need to."
Noah absently smiles to himself as he inspects his wrists with little crescent moon marks all around them. Cameron groans his disappointment. "Mom!" He pleads.
"Do you want to eat this week?"
He pauses like he's actually thinking it over. I smile and roll my eyes, slowly sitting up and taking another deep breath to finally catch up to myself. "Fine." He mumbles eventually.
My cheeks hurt from smiling so uncontrollably wide. "Maybe Dad will take you and Gus to the park while I go." I glance at Noah.
Noah looks up from his wrists. He takes a second to catch up to our conversation. Eventually, he smiles and looks over at Cameron. "Yeah, maybe." He agrees. "We're still helping Mom will her errands though."
Cameron whines at that. "I don't want to."
"Yeah, well, we're not letting her do all the work while we just play around. That's not fair." Noah reasons. Cameron huffs but doesn't protest any more than that. Noah hums his satisfaction and absently looks back down at his wrists.
I smile apologetically as I sit up more. "Are you okay?" I ask with a quiet chuckle.
"Fine." He confirms with an amused smile. I scrunch my nose to show him I don't believe him. He ignores it and leans in to peck my lips.
"Ew!" Cameron shrieks as he spy rolls to the edge of the bed and jumps off. I smile as I watch him and Gus retreat from my room. Gus barks excitedly at him as they go.
With our son no longer watching us, Noah cups my face to bring me in closer, kissing me like he probably wanted to before he just gave a simple peck. I hum into the long, lingering kiss and smile lazily at him when he pulls away. He still stays close. "I wanted to get my nails done today." I add to the list of things I need to do. Errands, grocery shopping, and my nails.
"You mean your talons? What, gonna go get them sharpened?"
I scoff but start grinning now, my eyes trained on his lips still. I lean in to steal one more kiss. He doesn't mind. "I'm sorry." I insist, darting my eyes up to meet his. "Seriously, are you okay?" I ask again as I look down at his wrists. I grab his right one to inspect it first.
"I'm fine." He insists, laughing carelessly as he lets me look. There are indents, but no blood is drawn that I can see. Those indents will be gone by lunchtime. "Hope you can understand." He adds on a hum.
I hum back and shove his chest back. He falls back to sit on his knees. I almost copy the spy roll Cameron did to get off the bed, and it makes him laugh. "I don't." I stubbornly decide as I get off the bed and go towards my dresser. "You ass. I begged for mercy."
"Fought like hell too." He adds, getting off the bed too. I look over my shoulder curiously when I recognize the hint of pride in his voice. Like he's proud of me for digging my nails into his skin until he relented.
I'm still watching him over my shoulder as he approaches me again, gentle hands sliding around my hips as he positions himself behind me. I look away as I let him, dragging open one of my drawers as if his presence behind me has no effect on me whatsoever.
My eyes almost fall shut when he dips his chin and kisses softly on my neck. I tilt my head to the side lazily, absently digging through my drawer. My eyes dart to my open bedroom door, and I warn him. "Noah,"
"Mm, just sayin' hello." He dismisses. Presses a lingering kiss on my skin that I can feel even after he finally pulls away. He doesn't take his hands off me or step away, instead dropping his chin onto my shoulder to watch me look for clothes for the day. "I like that shirt." He says, slowly slipping his hands under my shirt. Subtle and just under the hem of my shirt.
I pause with a light red tank in my hand. "This one?" I ask quietly.
"Mhm," He lightly drags the tips of his fingers against my bare stomach. "I like when you wear it with those shorts. The ones with the flowers at the bottom."
I smile to myself. "Okay." I grab the red tank and close that drawer. I don't step away from him when I open the drawer right beside the one I was just in, leaving myself to reach over and dig for a moment before I find those shorts. On the other half of that drawer, I reach for a pair of normal orange panties. Noah chuckles to himself. I glance at him over my shoulder. "What? Got an opinion on what panties I wear too?" I challenge.
"As a matter of fact..."
My eyes narrow. "What, Noah?"
"I like the black ones." He hums simply. "The comfortable ones though."
I smile when I realize he's not going to suggest that one pair of lacy black panties like I thought. Those are too uncomfortable to wear all day, and he knows it. "The high waisted ones?" I ask excitedly. Extra elasticity too.
"Mhm, those ones."
I happily toss the orange ones I have in my hand back into the drawer and dig for a moment to find the comfortable black ones. And with that, today's outfit is set—curtsy of my boyfriend who just likes what he likes and makes no apologies for it.
Even though I have my clothes, he doesn't let me go to get dressed. In fact, I think he just hugs me tighter. He still lightly drags the tips of his fingers against the bottom of my belly, just above the waistband of my pajama pants. I realize after a few moments of standing here that we're subtly swaying as if there's music.
I turn my head to see him. He lifts his chin off my shoulder, leaning over me some more to look back at me. He doesn't move his hands, but somehow someway, he tempts me into leaning into him for a kiss. It's exactly what he seems to want, because the first kiss is nice and sweet before he slides his tongue against mine and invades my space more than he already has just by standing here.
He pulls away some only to mumble against my lips. "Happy birthday."
I blink at him. Lean away from him to stare. "What?"
He frowns and leans away too. "What?" He repeats. "It's...It's today, right?"
"What's today?"
He still frowns, watching me for a few seconds like he doesn't think I'm serious. "The twenty-seventh." He answers eventually.
"Oh..."
"It is today, right? I don't have my days wrong, do I?"
I smile to myself. "It's today."
"Yeah." He repeats, smiling back at me. "So, we can run your errands later."
I frown now. "No, we can't. Some stores are crazy busy tomorrow or just aren't open."
He sighs at that. "Fine." He accepts. "We're still going to dinner tonight. Whatever doesn't have to be done today can wait until tomorrow." He decides like it's the final option. "What do you want me to do in the meantime? Take Cam and Gus and let you have your time?"
I think for a moment. "Mm...Yeah. If you could, that'd be great. They're quick. I can meet you guys at the park when I'm done."
He sighs. "Okay." He accepts as he lets me go. I turn around to look at him, hugging my folded clothes to my chest. "You only want your nails done?"
I hesitate while I think. "Well—We'll see how long it takes me to run my errands. If you guys are bored by then, then I'll just get them done tomorrow."
"But is there more you want to do?"
I sigh deeply as I step away. "If we're going to dinner, I want to see if I can get my hair done. It's been a while, and it's not..." I pause at the little mirror on my dresser that I sometimes apply a last minute bit of makeup on before I run out the door because I'm late.
"Looks good to me, but sure." He dismisses. I laugh to myself as I inspect different strands of my hair.
"I haven't gotten it trimmed yet either." I mumble to myself. I ignore his movement that comes closer to me again. He doesn't hug me like he did though. Instead, he sticks his hand briefly in my pajama pants pocket. Just as I'm looking down to see what he's doing, he pulls his hand out and steps around to the other side of me. I quickly look over my other shoulder to follow his movements.
His hand drags quite shamelessly across my ass too as he passes behind me. I scoff even though I'm smiling as I look up at him. "Whatever you wanna do, Kiara." He acknowledges as he continues to walk around behind me and to the door. "Don't do anything you don't have to do today." He firmly orders with a little smile as he leaves the room. I hum quietly in response, watching the door for a moment longer before my eyebrows furrow and I look down at my pocket he slipped his hand in. I reach into it to see if he put something in there. Like pocket lint.
God, that man loves sticking his pocket lint in my hand or my pockets. I hate him.
I purse my lips at the feeling of paper in my pocket. I pull it out and blink when the first thing I see pinched between my middle and pointer fingers is a hundred dollar bill. But it's folded. I unfold it and discover it's not just one, but three.
"Noah!" I scold him just because I'm caught off guard, wondering why he'd give me three hundred dollars for freakin' errands.
"Go, go, go," Noah whispers, probably to Cameron in response. I fully prepare myself to walk into the living room and be handed a pretty crayon drawing and told happy birthday all sweetly from Cameron.
As I expected, Cameron approaches me as soon as I step into the entryway. I take a breath and smile down at him. "Happy birthday, Mommy." He tells me.
I blink slowly, still smiling dryly because I know they both just rehearsed that. "Thank you, Cameron."
"Here you go." He holds up a black velvet box shaped like a rectangle instead of a drawing like I was expecting. But who knows! Maybe there's a folded up picture in this box.
I send a cautious look to Noah as I accept it. He sits on my couch like he owns the place, man spreading with his arm draped over the back of the couch. His expression feigns curiosity, as if he doesn't know what's in there either. Anyone who doesn't know him would probably assume he actually is clueless about the contents of this box.
"Well, what's this?" I ask with a little smile sent Cameron's way as I open the box.
"I know what it is." Cameron proudly declares. "I helped pick it out."
I smile wider at him. "You did?" I finally look down at what's in the box. I blink at the pretty silver necklace neatly presented in a black velvety pillow. The butterfly charm on it sits front and center, given its shape with little shiny diamonds.
"It's silver." Cameron goes on to describe it for me now that I've seen it. He peeks at it as he steps over beside me. "That's because you only like silver." He's quick to add.
"I do only like silver." I quietly agree as I look at him at my side. "And you helped pick it out?" Cameron nods quickly which makes me laugh to myself. "Thank you, Cam. It's beautiful, I love it." I look over at Noah too as I bring Cameron into a hug. Noah smiles back at me. This soft, thoughtful little smile.
"Cam, why don't you help your mom try it on."
"Yeah, help me try it on." I agree quick and carefully get it out of the box. Cameron takes it from me after I've unclipped it. He stares down at the clip for a second, trying to figure out how it works first before he steps behind me. I lower myself to sit on my knees to face Noah, pulling my hair to my right shoulder while Cameron works on getting the necklace on.
Noah doesn't break eye contact with me while I sit here. I smile back at him, jumping a bit when Cameron pulls at the baby hairs laying on my neck. Noah's smile widens in amusement. I sigh.
"Cam, do you need help?"
"No!" He huffs. "I have it!"
I jump again when he pulls at those little hairs. "Ow." I whisper, frowning now.
Noah laughs. He gets up from the couch finally to come over. "Okay, okay, let me see." He hums. Cameron grumbles to himself about how unfair life is as Noah kneels down behind me.
It takes him just a few seconds to clip it. And he doesn't even pull my baby hairs either!
"Ohh, it's beautiful." I decide once it's finally clipped, smiling up at Noah who gets up from the ground and walks in front of me, holding his hand out. I take it and let him help me off the ground. "Thank you, boys, so much." I press my hands to my chest and turn to look at them both. "I love it."
"Are you gonna shower now? You should shower, Mom. Dad says we're gonna go to dinner, so you really should shower."
My eyes narrow. "I was going to, yes." I grumble. Noah chuckles to himself. With the mood now ruined, I walk around them and back down the hall. "Thanks for my gift." I add dryly before I leave.
"I love you!" Noah calls after me, still laughing to himself. I bet he's just happy I didn't end up saying anything about the money he slipped me. I got distracted and now it just seems pointless.
"Love you!" Cameron is quick to jump on that wagon. I laugh to myself.