Lovesick -- A Rocky Lynch Story

Chapter 6

It felt like I had just gotten the kids home from school and settled when everything got crazy once again. On the big screen in the living room, Sesame Street was playing and their eyes were glued to the colorful scenes. I took that time to start going through their backpacks and Rocky sat at the kitchen table reading emails, bouncing Mason's chair with his foot idly.
Everything was finally calm, so obviously the doorbell would ring.
"Mommy!" Avie yelled, running through the kitchen and launching herself at me. I was barely able to catch her. "Who's here? There's someone here, mommy!"
"Is that...?" Rocky asked, and I nodded.  He shut his laptop and made his way for the door and Avie finally let go of me. She tagged along behind her dad with her fingers clinging to his back pocket.
Mason started to fuss at all of the hustle and bustle around him. Carter came into the room and sat next to the bouncy chair, placing a sweet kiss on the forehead. It always hurt my heart in the best way when I saw acts like that. "Carter, you are my sweet boy," I told him as I passed by. My fingers fluffed his hair and he smiled up at me.
Rocky pulled the door open and standing on the porch in a university sweater and dark denim jeans stood a girl in her early twenties. Her dark brunette hair was pulled back into a bun and she had a pair of purple glasses resting on her face. "You must be Karlee," Rocky said with a warm smile. He extended a hand to her to shake. "I'm Rocky Lynch, and this is my wife Juliette." He motioned back to me as I stepped forward and shook her hand as well. "Come on in."
"It's nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Lynch," Karlee responded. Her voice was a lot higher than I was expecting. Her gaze shifted downward at Avie, who was clinging to Rocky's leg and hiding. She was being unusually shy. "And who's this pretty little girl?" she cooed.
Avie shook her head no and hugged onto Rocky tighter. "Can you tell Miss Karlee your name?" he asked in a quiet, soothing voice that even calmed me down in the most stressful situations. Surely it had to work on our little girl.
"I'm Avelyn," she whispered.
"It's very nice to meet you, Avelyn. I'm Karlee." She knelt down to her level and smiled sweetly. "I like your dress. It's very sparkly." That immediately perked her up.
We led her into the kitchen where Carter was reading a picture book to Mason. Carter, being the little gentleman he was, stood up and introduced himself politely. "And this little guy," I said, leaning down to pick my baby up, "is my Mason." Mason reached his arms out towards Karlee. "Do you want to hold him?"
"Of course!" She took him into her arms and talked to him, bringing a huge smile to his face. "Your kids are adorable, Mrs. Lynch."
    "Please, call me Juliette," I laughed. Being called that made me feel decades older than I usually felt. "Let's go chat in the living room."
    We sat and talked to Karlee about her experience with kids and expectations of the job, but the conversation quickly turned casual as we spoke about her schooling and family life. All three kids immediately warmed up to her, which was a relief to both me and Rocky. "I like her a lot," I whispered to Rocky when Avie pulled Karlee away to show her the rest of the house.
    "I think this is going to work out after all," he said with a small kiss on my forehead.
    The rest of the night passed in the blink of an eye. Karlee stayed for dinner and left shortly after. I would have completely forgotten about the daily task if it weren't for Rocky. "I think we should put the kids to bed early tonight," he said to me as we did the dishes.
    "And why is that?" I laughed.
    "I read the task for today, and it requires a good chunk of time." He loaded the last dish into the dishwasher and closed the door. It started whirring away as soon as he clicked the start button. "I have to go prepare, though. Start with the kids and I'll join to say goodnight." Just as he started walking away, he turned back around quickly. "Oh, and our bedroom is off limits to you until I say so."
    They resisted at first, saying that they wanted to watch one more episode of Sesame Street or play with their toys. But I stood my ground. Carter picked a bedtime story and I read it to them on the floor of Mason's bedroom. Just as I finished the last page, Rocky peaked his head through the doorway. We laid each of them down with the same routine, giving them a kiss and expressing our love before wishing them sweet dreams and backing out of their rooms quietly.
    "So," Rocky said with a satisfied grin, "I think you're really going to like today's task. I'm a bit glad that you didn't read ahead, because now it can be a surprise." Our fingers hooked together loosely as he led me through our bedroom to the bathroom.
The lights were dimmed and a few scented candles sat on the counter. I glanced over to the corner where our giant tub was filled with water and bubbles instead of mountains of clothes. When we bought the house, Rocky and I were in awe with the tub, but it soon became a storage place and we never used it. Sure, we always discussed cleaning it out, but it just never happened. "Day two, take a romantic bath together," he said, tugging at my pants so that they fell to the floor.
"Rocky," I sighed, tears threatening to escape through the corners of my eyes. "This is so perfect."
I turned around and saw that he was already undressed. I bit my lip and pulled the rest of my clothes off as well. Through all of the years we had been together, I had never felt more vulnerable. He got into the water and sat comfortably before wiggling his finger and beckoning me to him. Carefully, I stepped over the edge and got used to the hot water. I positioned myself between his legs and laid back into his chest, feeling his arms wrap around me and hold me tightly. I focused on the way his skin felt against mine, on how close we were in that moment.
We sat in the silence for a few minutes, savoring the sensations. His fingers traced along the contours of my skin, against my breasts and my stomach, and over my hips and thighs. "Can I tell you something?" he asked quietly, breaking the silence.
"Anything," I replied.
"This is the closest I've felt to you in a long time." Another moment passed. "You are even more beautiful than the day I met you. I didn't think that would be possible, but it's true."
I turned my neck and looked up at him, seeing that his eyes were red and glossy. I didn't say a word; I just reached my hand out of the water and up behind his head. Gently, I pulled him down until our lips met.