Undeniable You (Sapph in the City #4)

Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

Larison

Jo said she was in. She kissed me like she was serious about this. But kissing was the easy part, generally. It was everything else that made relationships rough. At least we had the kissing part figured out, though. Oh, did we have that down.

When Jo kissed me, it was hard to remember why I spent time doing anything else. She was soft and enthusiastic and responded with the same intensity. We were evenly matched in a way I hadn’t experienced in a long time.

If ever.

The fire was lit. We just had to make sure neither of us got burned.

Eventually I remembered that I couldn’t spend every waking moment making out with Jo and that I had a daughter I needed to take care of.

“Crap,” I said when I realized that I must have put my phone on silent and I needed to check it to make sure everything was okay with Juni. I turned the notifications back on and saw there were several missed messages from Sophie, but they were all just videos and pictures of her with Juniper at the park and then getting lunch together. She’d taken her to one of the food trucks near the pier and gotten her a hot dog and fries.

I turned my phone to show Jo.

“God, I adore that kid,” she said, flicking through the pictures and laughing at the videos.

“She’s a keeper,” I said. That was the same thing that Mama had said when Juniper was born. Her birth had been an utterly terrifying experience and I didn’t like to think about it that much. Juniper and I had both made it out alive and that was what mattered.

Buck up, lovely.

“I think that we should go on a date,” Jo said, passing the phone back.

“Oh do you now?” I said, taken aback. When the hell was the last time I’d gone on a date? Had I ever really gone on a date as an adult? I didn’t think so. Not a real one.

“What kind of a date?”

Jo smiled in a way that made me want to taste it. “How about you let me take care of it?”

I sighed. “Jo, you don’t always have to take care of me.”

“I know. But I want to. I like it. And you’ll get to plan the next one.”

I laughed. “Wow, you’re awfully confident there’s going to be a second date.”

Her smile grew mischievous. “I’m very confident.”

This new, flirtatious Jo was doing all kinds of things to me. I felt giddy, like I couldn’t catch my breath. Everything was shivery and fluttery.

It made me want to turn the tables on her. To make her feel a fraction of what I felt.

So I leaned forward and met her mouth with mine as she let out a little surprised gasp.

Yes .

She melted against me and I pulled her until she was straddling my lap again. Now that we’d talked things out, all I wanted was to indulge in her. Savor her. Drink her slowly.

Until now, I had no idea how starved I was for this kind of touch. Having a kid meant that I was constantly touched, but this was different. Warm and languid and delicious. The kind of touch that led to other things. I hadn’t had an orgasm by anyone else’s hand in years. I was exhausted with my own routine, with doing everything myself. Jo wouldn’t leave me unsatisfied.

The little sounds she made were so hot and sweet at the same time. Jo was responsive as she grabbed at my shirt and pushed her fingers against my skin and rolled her hips against mine. I was so turned on that it wouldn’t take much for her to get me off like this.

And then my phone went off, startling both of us. My mom senses went off and I froze.

“Sorry!” I said, reaching for my phone as Jo trembled in my lap.

It was a message from Sophie asking when I planned on coming back. Crap. I’d been with Jo for a long time. Her stomach growled and she went red from embarrassment.

“Sorry,” she said.

“It’s okay,” I said, stroking my fingers across her stomach. “I should probably get going anyway.”

“Wait, why?” She seemed genuinely confused, her brow wrinkling adorably.

“I left Juniper with Sophie, and I’ve used her for way too much free babysitting.”

“Okay. I’ll come with you.”

I blinked a few times at her. “You don’t have to.”

Her forehead scrunched even more. “I want to. Isn’t that what we just talked about? I want to be with you, Larison.”

“Right, but you’re not on the clock. You’d feel obligated to be a nanny.” All of this was so complicated, and we’d barely started.

“Oh you wonderful thing,” Jo said, putting both hands on my cheeks and giving me a quick kiss. “I know the difference between being a nanny and being with you. I promise. And I miss Juniper. I want to see her.”

Gazing up into her eyes, I saw the truth there. Blue eyes. They were still my weakness.

Jo told me that she wanted to take a shower and get dressed before she came over, so I went back to my place and she said she’d be over in an hour.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you rush back,” Sophie said when I walked in and found her playing a game with Juniper. The house was a little messy, but not too bad. I’d just pick up a little before Jo got here.

“No big deal,” I said, hugging Juniper.

“How did it go?” Sophie asked.

I couldn’t hide my smile. “It was good.”

She squealed and gave me a hug. “I am almost mad at myself for not setting the two of you up in the first place. Because now that I think about it, it’s obvious that you’re perfect for each other.” Was it?

“Mama, can we go and see Jo Jo later?” Juniper asked and Sophie giggled.

“We don’t have to because she’s going to come over and hang out with us.”

“My Jo Jo!” Juniper yelled and started dancing around the living room.

Sophie leaned closer. “If you need babysitting anytime, you know you can ask. I’ll even take her overnight.” That was far too generous.

“I’ll let you know. Jo wants to take me on a date, so maybe next week?”

Sophie squealed and hugged me again before saying goodbye to Juniper and doing their special handshake that involved fist bumps and hip bumping and high fives. It was a whole thing.

“Have fun, Larison,” Sophie sang. “You’d better give me all the details.”

“I will,” I said, and she left.

“Hey, Juni, why don’t we pick up before Jo gets here?”

“Okay!” She cooperated with me in picking up the house.

“Is Jo Jo staying for dinner?” Juniper asked. I assumed she would, since it was close to dinner time.

“I think so. Should we make something for her?”

Juniper liked that idea, so I looked through the fridge and freezer to see what we had on hand. There were still a few meals that Jo had made for us last week in there. She was so generous. I wanted to try and do the same for her.

I had some chicken and mixed up a quick marinade and I could throw some rice in the rice cooker, some veggies in the air fryer. It wasn’t fancy, but it would be good.

Before she showed up, though, I made a little snack plate that Juniper kept trying to sneak little bits of cheese from.

“Save some for Jo,” I told her when I caught her the third time.

My heart didn’t normally jump when someone knocked on my door, but it did that time because I knew who was on the other side.

Jo. Josephine . She seemed to enjoy it when I used her full first name so I was definitely going to do it more often.

“Hey,” Jo said, beaming at me.

“Hi,” I breathed, moving toward her and stopping myself at the last second. Right. We weren’t doing anything in front of Juniper. My daughter. Who was now throwing herself at Jo.

“Hey, PJ! Did you have fun with Auntie Sophie?”

Juniper dragged Jo inside and over to the couch, showing her the plate of snacks and telling her what she’d done today with Sophie.

Jo gave Juniper her attention and for half a second, I was jealous. Then Jo looked up at me and winked and I had to clench my hands into the arm of the couch so I didn’t reach for her and just yank her into my arms.

“Jo Jo, will you do my hair?” Juniper asked.

“Hey, how about we let Jo sit and relax, Juni?” I said, but Jo shook her head at me.

“I would love to do your hair, Princess. Go get the stuff.”

Juniper dashed off to the bathroom and I sat on the couch next to Jo.

“You don’t have to do all that stuff.”

She reached out and squeezed my thigh before pulling her hand back. “I want to. I promise. I love doing it.”

Juniper came back with a brush and handfuls of accessories that she dumped in my lap.

Juniper crawled between us and rested against Jo.Something about the way they were so comfortable with each other made my eyes want to tear up.

Jo gently brushed out Juniper’s hair and then carefully braided it in sections before pinning those sections to Juniper’s head in a twisted crown.

Every now and then I would hand her some crackers or a piece of cheese since her hands were busy with the braids. Every time we touched, I’d get a little rush of heat at the contact. Jo kept smiling at me and her cheeks would flush so I didn’t think I was the only one who had a reaction.

Juniper was unaware, singing to herself and asking both of us random questions. That was another thing I hadn’t exactly prepared for when having a kid. The constant strange questions that I sometimes didn’t know how to answer. And the older she got, the more her questions would probably stump me.

“Mama, can we get a dog?”

Crap. This had been a question she’d been asking a lot lately.

“Oh, baby. I would love to have a dog. But dogs require a lot of responsibility.”

“I’m ’sponsible!”

Jo grinned at me above Juniper’s head as if she was enjoying me trying to wiggle out of this question.

“I know you are. You’re so responsible. But dogs require a lot.”

“You know you can visit the dogs at the animal shelter?” Jo said. “You can visit them and read them books and maybe even help take one on a walk.” There was an idea. As long as Juniper didn’t fall in love with one of those dogs and then I’d have to tell her we couldn’t bring it home.

“And our friend, Stace, has a really nice dog named Buck and he loves meeting new friends. I bet she’d let you play with him.”

Of course. Why hadn’t I thought of that?

“I wanna see the doggie!” Juniper was electrified by this idea, so Jo brought up Stace’s social media page and showed Juniper some pictures and videos of Buck.

“You know how you have Auntie Sophie? Maybe you could be Buck’s doggie auntie?” Jo said.

I raised my eyebrows and she shrugged at me. This woman was trying to save me, and she was doing anything she could. Amazing. She was amazing.

“Yeah! Doggie auntie!” We may have just invented the concept of the “dog aunt” but I was going to let my daughter believe it was an established thing. We’d get her a T-shirt made and everything. I didn’t know Stace all that well, but something told me that she’d be on board for the dog aunt concept.

Jo finished Juniper’s hair, then I said it was time to make dinner.

“What can I do to help?” Jo asked, getting immediately to her feet.

“You can sit right down,” I said, pointing at her. “You have made me food too many times and now I’m cooking for you. Deal with it.”

Her eyes went wide. “Yes ma’am.” She stayed on the couch and I tried not to react too much to the way she called me “ma’am.” Normally, in any other circumstance, that word would make me cringe. But Jo saying it? That was something entirely different.

Juniper decided to keep Jo company while I tossed some rice in the rice cooker, threw the chicken in a pan and poured some of the marinade over the veggies before laying them in the air fryer.

Cooking without having Juniper right next to me was something I hadn’t done in a long time. It was almost soothing, turning the chicken and not having to make sure her little fingers didn’t too close to the stove.

Soft singing greeted my ears as I listened to Jo and Juniper singing together. I glanced over and watched the two of them and it made me want to cry again. Emotions hit me so much harder after I’d become a mom. I could go from zero to waterworks in seconds.

Sniffing, I brushed at my eyes before going back to the chicken so I didn’t burn it.

Since the three of us couldn’t sit at the table (I still hadn’t gotten a third chair), we ate on the couch together. It was a little messier, but having Juniper sitting between me and Jo was better. It just was.

Even when Juniper dumped rice on the floor and in between the couch cushions.

Once we finished, Jo refused to let me do anything with the dishes and insisted on cleaning up and loading the dishwasher. Once that was done, we put on one of Juni’s favorite shows and snuggled with her.

Pretty soon it was time for bed, and Jo seamlessly assisted with the routine. It was so nice to have someone there to hand me something, or to back me up when Juni asked for one more story. And having another person to kiss my daughter and tell her goodnight and that Mozzarella would watch over her while she slept and tiptoed with me through the door was better than I could have imagined.

“Well,” Jo said as we looked at each other outside of Juniper’s room. “What now?”

I smiled and put my hand on her chest, pushing her toward my room. She laughed and then pressed her hand over her mouth so she wasn’t too loud.

“God, I’ve been desperate to kiss you for hours,” I said, gripping her shirt with trembling fingers.

“Same,” she said, and our lips met in a cataclysmic rush. How was kissing her always this intense? Every one completely took my breath away.

“I want you so much,” she gasped. “How long do we have to wait for her to fall asleep before we can do what we want?”

I put my finger up and listened. “Give her maybe five more minutes and she’ll be out. But she’s kind of a light sleeper so you’ll have to be quiet. Do you think you can do that for me?”

Her eyes went wide and then she let out a very soft moan.

“Fuck, the things you say. They wreck me.”

“Are you sure you’re ready for—” I broke off as she rolled her hips against me and I almost blacked out.

“Larison, I have wanted you from the second we met. It’s been a daily challenge not to just…jump you. Is it too much to admit that I’ve been thinking about you naked so much that my wrist started hurting?”

Everything she said was in a harsh whisper, but she might as well have shouted in my ear.

Her words rocked right to my core and I knew that there would be no holding back for either of us and we had to hope that Juniper was a heavy sleeper.

Any thoughts of going slow or calling it a night were futile. The minute we admitted that we wanted each other, it was all over.

“I’ve been thinking about you too,” I admitted. While I hadn’t hurt my hand, my quietest vibrator had been constantly charging. There was nothing in the world like being almost there and then having your vibe die on you. Like getting punched in the clit, and not in a good way.

“Oh yeah? What kind of things did you think about?” she asked, moving away from me and walking back into my bedroom. I followed her and shut the door behind me. The walls weren’t that thin, but we would still have to be quiet so Juniper didn’t walk in on us. She’d busted in on me more than once when I’d been taking care of myself and I’d had to pull up my shorts and shove my vibrator under my pillow. I wasn’t ready to explain things with Jo and I wasn’t ready to do sex ed yet. At least, not more than I’d already done. My philosophy was that I’d answer any questions she had with an age-appropriate answer and so far, she’d been satisfied and hadn’t been overly curious.

But if she walked into my room and found me and Jo naked together, I was going to have to come up with something quick.

“Hey,” Jo said, touching my face. “Where did you go?”

“I was just panicking a little and hoping that Juniper doesn’t discover us and trying to prepare in advance if she comes in.”

Jo snorted. “How about we do our best not to get loud and cross that bridge if we have to?”

She tucked some of my hair behind my ear and recentered my focus.

Her. This was about her. And the two of us together.

“You’re so beautiful,” I said, reaching for her and pulling her close.

“You’re stunning, Larison. I couldn’t believe you were real when I first saw you.”

I’d felt the same way.

“I want to see more of you,” I said, pulling her shirt up.

“Do you now? I think that can be arranged.” She smiled and put both arms up so I could take her shirt off and toss it aside.

She wore a lovely pink lace bra that made me raise one of my eyebrows.

“You like?” Jo asked, doing a little shimmy.

“I love. Did you wear it just for me?”

She grinned. “I’ve had this set in my drawer waiting for a special occasion. Waiting for you.”

Wow, there were those emotions again.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been with anybody,” I told her. She didn’t need to know exactly how long. And she didn’t need to know how limited my dating had been even before I got pregnant.

“Literally same. We’ll figure it out together, okay?” God, she was so sweet. “Right now, it’s just you and me.”

Just us. I liked that.