Lemon Cake (Naughty Desserts)

Gemma

Monday morning, had been called to the front desk only to see that their receptionist had trouble looking past a large bouquet of flowers on her desk. The kids loved them, and she had to promise not to take them home so they could enjoy them in the classroom.

During nap time she finally had a quiet moment, to open the card. Three game tickets fell into her lap as she unfolded the handwritten note.

,

I hope you are having a wonderful start to your day.

Here are the tickets for Friday.

Dinner tonight?

Rider

was already contemplating dinner before she finished reading the note. Though when she pulled out her phone to text him, she saw a message from Gina. Dan had been sent home sick from school and her boss wanted her to make up those lost hours that evening. Without hesitation, offered to watch Dan and shot off a text to Rider.

I won’t be able to meet today. Dan was sent home sick from school. Gina’s boss is a jerk and wants her to work late to make up for it.

Poor little man! I hope he feels better soon. Let me know if you two need anything.

You’re not upset, right?

Why would I be? He’s sick and needs you more than I do. I adore you for taking care of your family.

Instead of a romantic dinner for two, ’s evening was spent cuddling and comforting Dan. His only symptom was a fever, so she made sure he was comfortable while they spent their night on the couch.

Over the next few days, was lucky to be able to leave work early and watch Dan so Gina could work. When Friday came around, Dan was fit as a fiddle. When picked him up from school that afternoon, he was practically bouncing in his seat. And as always when he was like this, he chatted along so excitedly he could barely focus on anything. even had trouble getting him fed while Gina changed out of her work clothes.

Though they both tried to talk Dan out of it, he insisted on wearing his custom jersey. Gina didn’t want him to wear off the signatures but after Dan promised to take good care of it, she relented. wore a matching Bullriders jersey with Rider’s number on the back. As they walked to the car told Gina that she expected to meet up with Sarah at the game.

“So, do you get along with Sarah?” Gina asked once they’d settled into the car.

“She’s wonderful—and her daughters are amazing too. But Rider said he wasn’t sure if the girls were coming too.”

“Well, I’m looking forward to meeting her.”

The drive was filled with Dan chewing their ears off—in a figurative way, of course. The stadium was packed, making that night one of the rare times she used her handicap permit. Once she’d gotten used to her prosthesis, she barely used it anymore. She didn’t like being stared at by people trying to figure out exactly what her disability was.

They navigated through the massive crowd that couldn’t even drown out Dan’s cries about how Gina was going to make his hand fall off. They found their seats—behind the team zone like last time—and Sarah joined them a few minutes later.

“I hope I just hugged the right twin,” she laughed, turning to Gina.

“You did,” confirmed. “This is my sister, Gina, and her son, Dan.”

“It’s so nice to meet you two. I left my two troublemakers at home with their grandparents. They seem to be coming down with something.”

“Dan stayed home from school too this week,” Gina said, running her fingers through his hair. Dan, however, was far too busy looking for Rider to pay Sarah any attention.

“There’s always a bug floating around when it comes to kids, isn’t there?” Sarah laughed. “I was going to grab a snack and a drink, but I might wait until after kick off—the lines usually go down then.”

They chatted along while Dan hyper focused on the field. As always, Rider looked delicious, and snuck a few pictures again. Gina and Sarah didn’t seem to stop talking, and it made ’s heart swell. Gina had trouble making friends, but she and Sarah seemed to click like two pieces of a puzzle.

Though could practically see the exhaustion worming its way onto Dan’s face, he didn’t fuss, behaving perfectly all the way to the last play.

“Are we going to see Rider today?” he finally asked, rubbing his eyes.

“Not today sweetheart, but if you want to meet up with him again, maybe we can invite him over for dinner some time,” Gina offered, trying to soften the blow.

“We love having barbecues so maybe we can all get together soon,” Sarah suggested, then turned to . “But only if you bake for us again.”

“We would love to. I’ll be sure to bring the cake. ”

Sarah walked with them as far as she could, only parting because her car was in a different lot. The Bullriders had won so the stadium was vibrating with excitement. It was a good omen to have won all three pre-season games, setting a tone for the season to come.

Dan fell asleep within minutes, a contented smile on his face. After dropping them off, drove home, pleasantly surprised to get a call from Rider. “Hi there.”

“You sound cheery. I assume you got along with Sarah well?”

“I think Gina’s finally made her first mom friend.”

“They should join us for the next barbecue.”

laughed. “Sarah’s already invited us.”

“Are you heading home?”

“Yes.”

“Mind if I join?”

“Please do.”

“I might pass out, though,” he chuckled. “I won’t be good company.”

“Then neither will I. Are you hungry?”

“No, just need you in my arms and sleep—in that order.”

It wasn’t long after got home that Rider knocked on the door. The second he saw her, he had his arms wrapped around her and held her close. She slipped her arms around him and under his shirt, a pleased hum coming from his chest and vibrating against her cheek.

Rider held her for a moment, inhaling deeply as he nuzzled into her hair. Then, he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom, even taking care to make sure the door was locked.

“Fuck, I missed you,” he growled, setting her on the bed and taking a step back. Hungry eyes raked over her, heating her from head to toe. “And you get prettier each time I see you.”

“Well, thank you. I do think your ass looked cuter this time around too.”

“Ah, all those hours in the gym are paying off.” He kissed her forehead, then turned to the hallway again. “Do you mind if I grab some water?”

“What’s mine is yours.”

She began to get changed and after making sure that she didn’t need anything else, Rider returned and set two water bottles on the side table. He undressed, changing into pyjamas he pulled from his backpack.

Just a few weeks ago, she’d been crying in this room, ashamed and terrified to have him see her without her prosthesis. Now, it felt natural. The insecurity was still there—it always would be—but the way he made her feel kept it contained to a dark corner of her mind.

Once they were both changed, they curled up in bed together.

“Come here,” he groaned, pulling her onto his chest and letting out a contented sigh. “Ah, much better.”

“I always thought the bed was big, but now it feels so tiny with you in it.”

“Just means you have no way of escaping my snuggles.”

closed her eyes and with his fingers drawing lazy shapes over her back, she drifted off easily.