Page 119 of Learn Your Lesson

Then, I grabbed the first pillow I saw, and screamed into it as loud as I could.

Before You Hated Him

Chloe

I had a new definition of March Madness.

No longer did I associate the words with the college basketball tournament. Now, they would forever be tied to how quickly that month flew by in the house of Will Perry.

Once he was over the flu, he was a man focused on one thing and one thing only: the playoffs. As the Ospreys raced toward their chance to fight for the Cup, he grew more and more intense. I knew how much he wanted this, how much the entireteamwanted this. It was evident in every move they made.

I did my best to support him in every way I could.

Just like when he was down with the flu, I ensured things at home were covered. And if I was being honest with myself… Ilovedthat I was helpful, that I could alleviate some of his stress and provide comfort, even if in a small way.

I ran the house like a manager, coordinating Chef Patel and the housekeepers while also playing my role asnanny. When spring break rolled around, I filled it with activities and adventures for Ava. Will joined us whenever he could, but it was a busy time for him, and I ensured Ava didn’t have a moment to feel sad at his absence because we had so much fun on the schedule.

But just because his focus was on the team didn’t mean Will wasn’t present with us. Every week we brainstormed until we thought of another way to introduce Ava to Jenny through something she loved to do. We had a movie marathon day during spring break with all her favorites. We took Ava to a taco truck Jenny loved one Saturday afternoon before a game. Will dug out photographs from Jenny’s life, and Ava and I crafted beautiful frames and fun ways to display them around the house.

I’d never found Will more attractive than when I witnessed him being a great dad even when he had a full plate.

And when Ava was sound asleep, all that attentiveness turned tome.

It never mattered how tired he was, how late a game ran, or how ragged he felt after two back-to-back away matches. It also never mattered how tiredIwas, how busy I was with teaching and handling things at the house.

Somehow, Will always found the energy to slide into the pool house, pin me against the nearest wall, and drive me mad with his touch.

And I apparently never ran out of energy when it came to him.

Some nights, he was slow in his perusal of me, teasing me and offeringlessonsin everything from foreplay to going multiple rounds. Other nights, he was quick and needy, stripping me and taking me hard like I was the key to draining all the stress coiled in his body.

My favorite nights were the ones where he stayed.

They came more often than they should, more often than I knew he wanted them to. I thought he’d pulled away from me a bit after the barbecue, but it had lasted only a couple of days before it felt like he couldn’t resist me.

God,how I loved that feeling.

He was always watching me, always waiting for the first moment he could get me alone. After hours of exploring each other, we’d lay in my bed or stand in my shower until the water ran cold, talking and laughing like we had nowhere to be in the morning.

Laughing.

I still couldn’t get over that breakthrough.

The first time the sound had come from his chest, it was as if it had been wrenched free against its will. He was still sick then, and the laugh had rattled his chest in-between coughs.

But now, that laugh came more freely, like once the first one was released, the others couldn’t wait to follow suit.

He laughed when I attempted to be sexy and alluring in a strip tease, only to trip on my pants and fall against my bedpost, yelping at my stubbed toe and bruised knee. He laughed as he kissed those injuries and I mewled beneath him, like it was the most adorable thing. He laughed when I lathered shampoo in my hair and styled it in a mohawk, rocking out on an air guitar and singing a terrible rendition of an old Fall Out Boy song.

When I made a joke, when Ava snorted milk out of her nose, when Chef poked at him for being grumpy… all the times he never laughed before, he laughed now.

I cherished each one like it was the first.

And with every laugh, with every night that passed between us, I found it harder and harder to see the line we’d drawn in the sand.

I willed my heart not to hold onto every smile he shared with me, not to latch onto every word he said on the nights he stayed late and opened himself to me. I tried not to read into it when he asked aboutmylife, when he broke his own rules and seemed to hate the moment he had to leave when it finally did come.

Still, we hadn’t kissed on the mouth — that was one rule we had followed strictly.