Alicekai'd 1.34: Dada

 CW: iffy NSFW

 

     I'm sick of Geoffrey having to sleep on the sofa. He pretty much bought this house, but he sleeps in the living room. Any time anything is going on in there, his sleep is disturbed. The man is stressed out enough as it is; he doesn't need sleep deprivation making things harder.

     One afternoon, I've had enough, and I ask him to follow me into the office.

     "Is there something you want to show me?" He really has no idea.

     I explain to him how I'm tired of him sleeping on the sofa. "This could be your room. Temporarily. I'll move the desk into the bedroom, and we'll set up a bed in here for you. At least then you can have some privacy." And what I don't mention to him is probably something we're both thinking: there will be another door he'd have to pass through in order to get to my bedroom.

     I've noticed he's avoided the master bedroom ever since the accidental shower viewing incident. He uses Bruno's bathroom instead. Last night, I heard a jiggle on the doorknob to my room from the dining room. Then there was a loud sigh and footsteps walking away. He's really struggling.

     Maybe we SHOULD just go to the courthouse.

     Geoffrey brings me back to the present when he throws his arms around me.

     "Thank you. What a great idea." His hand moves over my butt. "I have just one request." He squeezes. "Don't come in here." He starts kissing my neck.

     I giggle. "Deal." He pushes me back against the door and moans, still kissing my neck. "Geoffrey..." I lightly push against him.

     He pulls back with a not-so-sheepish smile.

     Over the next week, he and Bruno get started on a treehouse project.

 

     I hear them outside as I'm going around gathering the laundry.

     "And here is where I can park my motorcycle!"

     I listen. Geoffrey doesn't respond. We wish we could figure out how Bruno became so obsessed with the idea of getting a motorcycle. He won't give up the idea.

     Carlie continues to grow up way too fast for my taste. She likes to play with her blocks, mostly putting them in her mouth. That freaks Geoffrey out, but I'm not worried. He's always taking them and washing them in the sink afterwards. I merely shrug and let him.

     He's such a great dad. Carlie cracks him up with her antics.

     He and Bruno eventually finish the treehouse. I'm kind of jealous of Bruno. I always wanted a treehouse like that when I was a kid. It just makes me love Geoffrey all the more.

     This was a selling point for this house, he'd told me. Oasis Springs doesn't really have trees, at least trees that could support something like this, so there was no way they could do a treehouse at the Landgraab Estate--which he's GIVING to Malcolm. As if Malcolm's not spoiled enough already. But I keep quiet about my opinion on the matter, even though I suspect Geoffrey knows how I feel about it. It's his decision, and I see for myself what a great dad he is. Maybe the fault lies with Nancy.

 

     He shocks me when he knocks on my bedroom door. I tell him to come in, so he does, smiling, and he sits on my bed.

 

     "What are you up to?" I ask suspiciously.

     "Who says I have to be up to something?" I can hear the grin.

     "Because I know you. You're up to something." I can't think anymore. My writer's block has finally broken, and I've been finishing up my science fiction book FINALLY. I've been writing like mad, but my fingers stop on the keys as my fiance sits on my bed.

     I wait. He'll get to it. In the meantime, I reread what I'd written a little bit ago.

     "Carlie called me Dada."

     I spin my chair around. "That's so sweet!"

 

     He smiles. "It was at breakfast. I guess she picked up on Bruno calling me 'Dad' because he was talking away."

     "I didn't correct her." He almost looks guilty.

     "Why should you, Geoffrey? Yeah, Mark gets his visitations, but YOU'RE the dada who's always there."

     Tears swim around in his eyes. "I can't wait to really be her dada."

      "Geoff, don't make me cry!" I get up, and he pulls me into his arms.

       I love him so much. How could I have not seen that from the beginning? Yeah, I have my theories, but I still wonder sometimes.

      He pulls back before he can go too far, and that reminds me...

     "Geoff?"

     "Hm?" His fingertip traces my face.

     "Let's, um, yeah, let's go to the courthouse." I peek up at him through my lashes.

     At first, sheer joy shows up on his face, then a look of determination slowly replaces it. "No."

     "What?"

     "Love Day, Alice." He playfully pops my butt, releases me, and leaves the room.

     I follow after him, and we have a kind of discussion/fight. I can't believe he said no! In the end, he explains that he really loves my reason for picking Love Day. I want to throw something at him, so I storm out of the house, telling him I'm going for a jog.

     When I come back later, I can't find him at first. Both kiddos are in bed asleep, but he's nowhere in the house. Then, I look out my bedroom window into the backyard. Ah. He bought a hot tub.

     I grin, spin into my swimsuit, and decide to join him. He has his back to me, so he doesn't see me approach. I smirk when his eyes grow as he sees me in my bikini.

 

     "Plumbob, Alice."

     I smirk. "I see you bought that hot tub you'd been talking about."

     "Yeah. I thought it'd be nice after a... stressful day." He moves to the middle of the hot tub, not hiding where he stares, his chin level with the water. Then he takes the seat next to me.

     His eyes finally meet mine. "I'm sorry about our fight."

     "Just about the fight?"

     "I guess I'm saying I'm sorry I don't agree with you."

     "It was even your idea in the first place."

     "I know. What I didn't say earlier is I really appreciate you considering it."

     I sigh. "It's just... Geoffrey this living together and being, um, celibate, is really hard on both of us."

     He reaches his hands up.

     "It is," he agrees, his fingers working magic on my shoulders. "But I'm also having loads of fun exploring gray areas." His fingertips trace my spine from my neck to the bikini straps across my back.

     I jerk away.

 

     "So is that what you're doing now?" I smile at him while he pulls his hands away. "Gray areas?"

     He looks down at the strap. "Actually, it's kind of a blue." His fingers return. "Or, um, green? And the front has shiny spots on it, as if I needed any help having my attention grabbed."

     I wiggle to prevent his fingers from doing what they're trying to do, which is undo the double-knot I made. My wiggling distracts him for a moment. Then he kisses me.

 

     Is he hoping to distract me from the fact that he's working at the one behind my neck? I smile, deciding it doesn't matter. I'm enjoying every moment of this. Hot tub: brilliant idea.

     I pull back. "Don't think I don't know what you're up to."

     He grins for half a beat before putting on a totally-full-of-crap, innocent expression. "I'm doing something?" His other hand moves to my thigh. "What am I doing?" He's having way too much fun with this, and I love it.

     "You keep messing with the ties on my straps." Yeah. Point out the obvious.

     "You mean these straps?" He frees the one behind my neck. I can't help my little gasp. They were double-knotted! "Okay, I'll stop." He frees the one at my back. "There." He slips my top off and tosses it behind us. "Better?"

     I cover myself with my hands.

     He does a kind of contemplative pout. "Now, that's not very fair, Alice." He gently tugs my arms down. I let him.

     "Oh, that's," he swallows, "better."

     I inch away from him. If he notices, he doesn't let on that he does. "You're just... staring."

     His eyes don't move. "Yes, I am." He has one hand on my back and the other back at my thigh, and it lightly squeezes me.

     "Geoffrey..." I'm very self-conscious right now, fighting the urge to cover myself. "Is that... all you're going to do?"

     "No." His fingers do a kind of crab walk up my inner thigh, pulling my leg towards him. When he pushes forward at my swimsuit bottom, I gasp and push him back.

     For a moment, I ponder why I stopped him. It's not like I'm innocent. I can't explain it.

     When my grip of his forearm slackens, he pushes forward again, and then his fingers start up their magic again. To silence me, his lips cover mine.

     I'm shaking. He's purposefully drawing this out. I want to scream, but every time I try, his mouth follows mine, his tongue eating my scream. I reach down to encourage his hand, and he only chuckles.

     Just then, an unexpected sound brings everything crashing down upon our heads.

     "Dad?"

Alicekai'd 1.33: Family Life

 CW: Mildly NSFW

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     Like I said, Geoffrey and Bruno become daily fixtures around my house. I love it. We're almost like an actual family. Bruno keeps asking why he has to go home every night, that why can't THIS be home? Geoff explains it's because he and I aren't married yet. Bruno scowls and asks why not.

     Yeah.

 

     "Geoff, I can just hire a repairman." He hates, and I mean loathes doing repair work. I know he does, but I wonder if he's doing it in some weird way to impress me.

     "No, no. I've got it. Ow!" He pinches his finger. At this rate, his clumsiness is only going to break it more. "Almost.... There." It's fixed. Good. My house only has the one bathroom.

     He and Bruno wind up staying later and later every night, meaning Bruno is exhausted by the time they leave. I put my foot down and get him a bed.

 

     He sleeps in Carlie's room with her on those nights when Geoffrey doesn't have work the next day. We'll sometimes stay up until two in order to have time alone together. Then Geoff sleeps on the sofa, and he makes a point of Bruno knowing where he's sleeping.

     Time both flies and drags along. Geoffrey manages to keep a lid on his passion, but I'm about ready to burst into flames. He does what he deems he can to help, but it's not the same.

     Carlie starts eating baby food, and Geoffrey is happy to feed her whenever possible.

     "Who threw away my motorcycle magazine?" Bruno asks with suspicion dripping in his tone.

     "I didn't think you needed it," Geoff replies.

     "Dad! This is my favorite!" He storms off with the slightly-dirty magazine in his hand.

     Ah, family life.

     One morning, I wake up to the sound of clanking and muffled cursing. When I come into the kitchen, I find my fiance in his jammies and standing in a puddle of water.

     "I've got it," he says before I can utter a word. I merely sigh and go find the mop.

     When he gets home from work, he pulls me aside to talk.

 

     "Alice, this house is falling apart all around us."

     I grin. "Does this mean you're going to let me hire a handyman?" I'm teasing, and he knows it.

     He purses his lips for a second. "No. I'm fixing things just fine. I'm just tired of having to fix them in the first place."

     "Well why don't you let me do it?" I giggle. I already know why: it's that 'old fashioned' streak he has. He's lucky I think it's cute because otherwise it would get really annoying.

     "Because I don't mind." He's backing himself into a corner. He huffs. "Anyway, that's not the point I'm trying to get to here."

     "Well, I'm not stopping you from reaching that point. What is it?"

     He gives me a look. "You know perfectly well you're distracting me."

     I open my mouth in mock outrage. "Why would you accuse me of something like that?"

     "Because it's truth."

     "I thought you said you liked my distractions." I grin. Sure, I loved joking around with him when I considered us just friends, but now that we're more, it's so much better.

     "I love your distractions." He grabs my wrists and starts backing me into the hallway. I can't stop giggling, and he drops his facade for a moment to smile. Then it's back on as he opens my bedroom door behind me and pushes me inside, closing it behind him.

     "Oh, so you think you have me now, huh?" I tease as he keeps backing me towards the closet.

     "Yes, I do." He opens the closet door.

     "Come here," he continues, reaching for me, but I slip out of his grasp at the last second.

     "Why, Geoffrey. The closet? What about your resolve?" I seriously doubt he's going all the way, but I love taunting him.

    He successfully grabs me. "Gray area. They're my favorite nowadays. And that dress and my tongue have unfinished business."

     Yes! I knew he couldn't resist me in this simple little dress.

     I can't stop laughing happily as he pulls me in.

     Then those laughs turn to gasps.

     And the gasps to moans.

 

     Mark can't compare. Geoff has skills. Yes, there's no actual woohoo, but his tongue definitely gets a workout. My hands get the impressions of the hangers as they sit on the rod in the closet because I grip the rod so hard while my wonderful fiance drives me out of my mind in the darkness of the closet.

     "Now, as I was saying," Geoff says as he leaves my closet.

     "You were saying something? I think I want to take a nap." My knees try to buckle.

     His arms go around me. "Hold it, gorgeous. I think I just thought of a better way to do this."

     "I don't know. That was pretty damn good. And you think you can top it?"

     He laughs. "Come here." He stands me apart from him.

     He gets out a present. "I was going to wait until later, but I think it makes sense for you to open this now."

     "What is it?" I take the box.

     His lips quirk. "Well, you see, the idea here is that you're not supposed to know. That's why it's wrapped up. You're supposed to OPEN it." He grins.

     I give him a look. "I know that, goober."

     "You got me a professional grade camera?" I can't believe it. 

     "Well, yeah. You take pictures of Carlie and Bruno all the time. I thought they'd be better with a better camera. Not that they're bad, but, well, I wanted to."

     I hug him. I don't deserve him. 

     "And," he continues, "maybe you could have more space for pictures if I bought you... a new house."

     "What?"

     "I haven't done it yet. But I want to. For US. I want something new that'll be for both of us. OUR home."

     I kiss him hard.

     I'd been wondering how we were going to make the Landgraab house work for us. It just didn't feel like ME. Sure, I'd live anywhere if it meant it was with him, but to have a place that's new for both of us: He's brilliant.

     "Is this your way of saying you want another spin in the closet? Or maybe we could get a hot tub. Those are pretty fun." He takes my hand.

     "Aren't you tired?"

     He chuckles. "Hardly." He pulls me once more to the closet, but I stand my ground.

     "Geoff, I'm barely upright as it is." I watch him walk back in front of me.

     "Then that's something we'll have to work on." He pulls me to him and starts kissing my neck.

     Dayum, who knew he had this in him? 

     The following weekend, we go look at houses. Or... house. I fall in love with the first one.

 

     "Is it too soon to carry you across the threshold?" he asks me while I'm helplessly dangling here.

     "Probably."

     "Too bad." He picks me up and carries me to me laughing my head off. Then, he nearly topples both of us as he trips going up the stairs. After we right ourselves, he shrugs and throws me over his shoulder, carrying me into... our... house.

     So... he pretty much moves in. At any rate, Bruno gets his own room. Geoffrey still, however, makes a point of making sure his son knows he sleeps on the couch at night.

 

     The new house isn't without issues. For one, Bruno insists there's a ghost in his room.

     "It's a new house, Bruno. How could there be a ghost?" I hear Geoff ask.

     "It's under my bed. Dad, please go look!"

     I hear a sigh and then see Geoff lumber off to his son's new room.

     That's not the only issue. He may sleep in the living room, but Geoff usually uses the master bathroom. It's not normally a big deal. He gets up early and leaves to go to work, doing his showering then while I'm sleeping. I shower at random moments.

     For instance, when he gets home from work one evening...

     ...I feel a sudden draft as I'm taking my shower, but then it goes away. I don't think much of it. Could've been the A/C.

     Ever get that feeling you're being watched?

     I turn around and see him standing there, watching me. "Geoffrey!" I make a feeble attempt to cover myself.

     His eyebrows raise. "Yes?"

     "What are you doing?"

     "I'm having a great time. You?"

     "Get out of here!" Don't know why I'm bashful all of a sudden. Maybe it was the way he was just STARING.

     He chuckles. "As you wish." He turns and dutifully walks out of the bathroom.

     Later, I grab a plate of dinner and see he's on the back porch. Yeah, he has some explaining to do.

     I lightly glare. "Care to explain what you were doing just then?"

     "Oh! Gladly."

     He's having too much fun with this.

     "So I get home from work and need to use the restroom." He pauses. "That's a really quiet shower, have you noticed?"

     I take a bite, continuing my glare. "Not really."

     "Hm. Well, maybe my mind was elsewhere. But don't worry, I was certainly paying close attention when I walked into the bathroom."

     I guess I shouldn't be upset, but still... "So did you enjoy your little peep show?"

     "I did until you noticed me." He fights a smile. "It wasn't near long enough." He gets up and walks around to sit next to me. "I could've stood there all evening watching you, especially when you'd reach up to wet your hair."

     Butterflies take up kickboxing lessons in my stomach. "You like that huh?"

     "Very much." His hand slides over and lands on my knee. In a lower, more serious tone, he tells me, "I don't know how much more of this I can take, Alice. We'll go to the courthouse. You can still have the big wedding later, but I'm losing my mind."

     "Losing your mind, huh?" I start forming an idea.

     Again, he's totally serious. "Yes. Where do you want to go on the honeymoon? Sulani? Selvadorada is nice, but it has a lot of bugs. There's always Mount Komorebi, but, hm, warmer would probably be better because the more you stay naked, the happier I'll be."

     He is milliseconds from pouncing on me. I wouldn't mind one bit, but I know he'll hate himself afterwards for being unable to wait. I reach over and gently take his hand. The way he snaps his fingers around mine tells me how close he is to the breaking point. "This way." It's like he's been hypnotized as I pull him up from the picnic table. But then he surprises me.

     His kiss tells me his intent, and I realize I have to walk a very fine line here. Yes, dammit, I want him, but I don't want him hating himself.

     He pulls up. "I can't stand it anymore, Alice. I'm just a man. I've been barely staying under control as it is, but you have no idea how close I came to jumping into that shower, fully clothed or not."

     "It's okay, Geoffrey," I say to his pained expression, and I tug on his arms and lead him into the living room. We get to the green armchair. "Have a seat."

     "What?" He does, but he acts like he wants to pull me down with him. In a way, I let him, undoing his pants. When I get on my knees on the floor in front of him, he realizes what's going on. "Oh holy plum, Alice." He doesn't stop me.

     He breathes in shuddering gasps, trying to keep quiet so we don't wake Bruno. I would've taken him to the bedroom, but I honestly worried I'd lose control if we got that far.

     "That's.... so...." He squeezes the back of my hair, making me pause--in a way. Then his entire body tenses up before I drive him crashing over the edge. He wilts back on the chair, trying to catch his breath. He doesn't stop me from sitting in his lap, so I curl up on him.

     When he's able to speak, his voice sounds breathy when he says, "Thank you. And by 'thank you,' I mean thank you for stopping me. And well... yeah."

     "I knew you would hate yourself later," I explain.

     He kisses my forehead. "You're right. I would've. You saved me from a depressing bout of self-loathing in the... nicest way."

     I chuckle. "I'm sorry you're having to wait so long. I really want the wedding on Love Day because I think that's the day I finally figured out I was in love with you." Only to wake up the next morning pregnant with another man's child. 

     "And I can wait, especially now that I know that's the reason." He kisses my forehead. "We're going to be a family, Alice. Forgive me if the waiting gets difficult."

     "Well, we know how to handle that, right?" I smile to his light laughter.

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Alice and Geoff's new house can be found HERE.