That Little Spark

I tugged him on top of me, he sank his tongue into my mouth and we kissed as he slid my legs around his hips, fisted himself in his hand, and slowly began to nudge his way inside me.

I had almost forgotten how incredible this felt. To be this closely connected to someone, especially someone I really cared for. I don't think I'd felt anything as perfect.

For a moment he didn't move, both of us slightly trembling, he just held me, letting me get used to the feel of him stretching me inside. It did feel a little snug, but still felt so incredibly good to be this close, I wanted more. Digging my heels into his ass to make him move, he laughed, and thrust a little deeper.

"Mmmm, you feel so good," he whispered, pulling back and thrusting in again.

I smirked. "And you feel like... heaven." Racking my brain, I couldn't think of another word, for what I was feeling. I just felt like after so many years of being on my own, to find myself like this with him, was almost too amazing to be real. Snuggling into his neck, I kissed his throat, his jaw and then licked his earlobe making him laugh and shiver.

I think he knew I was a little overwhelmed, because I couldn't even express how good he was making me feel.

Already, this felt like way more than just sex, and I hoped he could feel it, too.

Tunneling in and out of me harder and faster, he clutched my ass in his hands. I whimpered and shook as I felt myself beginning to crest. David threw back his head and groaned, and I could feel him pulsing inside me as he came. Clenching around him, as we rode it out together, he dropped his head and kissed me. Whispering breathlessly, "Remind me to get your mother some flowers."

I laughed and ruffled his hair, both of smiling, I nodded. "Yeah, I think I owe her a great big thank you, too."

The next few weeks were like magic. The boys were so happy spending so much time together, but so were we. Usually we stayed at my place, because the kids loved to play outside.

One Friday night, I'd just got off work, and I smiled when I saw the text from David. "Don't forget, sweetheart, sleepover's at my place tonight."

Nathan was so excited to have Brayden over at his place, he gave me a quick wave and said, "Hi, Mrs. Winters." Then he said to Brayden, "Come on, and I'll show you my room. I got stars on the ceiling that glow in the dark, and new Star Wars sheets on the beds. And I even got a new Batmobile Lego set we that can build together, too!"

I smirked when I saw we were standing in David's kitchen, by his walk-in pantry, that I'd never noticed before. "Oh, you've got a pantry. Care to give me a tour?"

"I'd love to." His lips twitching, he took me by the hand, and led me inside, closing the door tight behind us.

Then he pulled me into his arms and kissed me like his life depended on it, the two of us clinging to each other as our tongues began to mate. Seemed like every time we got together, it was like this.

Now that I had him wrapped around me again, I let out a little sigh, sliding my hands down over his back till I was clutching his nice tight ass. "Hmm, I love your canned goods," I murmured, making him laugh as I gave him a squeeze.

"Yeah, nice buns," he teased, squeezing me right back.

We pulled back for a moment, and the way we looked into each other's eyes, I almost blurted out, "I think I'm falling for you." But I held back, realizing it might be too soon, especially if he didn't feel the same way about me.

At home the next night, I heard my phone chime and smiled when I saw it was David. Just knowing it was him, had my heart skipping a beat. At least until he said those fateful words: "Hey, Kaitlin. I uh... I think we need to talk."

I stared at my phone, feeling sick. I'd never heard him sound so serious, and had a pretty strong feeling, just from the tone of his voice that we were done.

Though I had no idea why.

We'd just enjoyed such a good time at his place, hanging out with the kids, and later in bed, once they were asleep. At least I thought we did. Now I wasn't so sure.

Clutching my phone, I listened with my heart in my throat as he told me what was happening.

"You know I've been going through the process of adopting Nathan."

"Yes, I know," I said, nodding my head, forgetting he couldn't see me.

"I thought because my sister had put in writing that she wanted me to raise him, that there'd just be some paperwork involved, and that would be it. But now his father, who's never had anything to do with him from the time he was born, has decided that he wants his son, now that he found out my sister's gone."

"But can he do that? I mean, if he's never even been in his life? Can he just walk in and say I want my son?"

"Apparently, because he's his father, he can try and convince the court that being his dad, trumps me being his uncle, even if my sister did put down in writing that she wanted me to have him."

"But, does he at least seem okay? Have you met him?"

"No. We were supposed to meet him tonight. I was told it would probably be a good idea for Nathan to meet him on his home turf. But his father never showed."

"You've got to be kidding. He never even showed up to meet his son?"

"No, he wasn't there. The address they gave me was for the grandparents' place. They've got a tiny little townhouse in this sketchy part of town, and it was pretty bad. We knocked on the door, that was half-kicked in, and the grandmother came and had to unbolt about four different locks to let us in. Then as soon as we stepped inside, I could tell they were heavy smokers. We couldn't even see across the room the air was so thick with smoke. Right away Nathan started coughing, and I couldn't believe what we'd walked into. I had an uncle who smoked, but he always took it outside."

"Oh, that must have been awful, especially for Nathan."

"Yeah, it was pretty bad. The grandfather was sitting in a ratty lazy boy recliner, in a wife beater t-shirt, covered in stains, without any pants, just in boxer shorts. After he lit a cigarette, and sat it on his overflowing ashtray, he reached for his beer, glaring us down, and didn't even bother to nod, when I said hello. I could tell he wasn't overly thrilled about meeting his grandson. Ignoring us, he went right back to watching this violent movie he had playing on his big-screen TV, that I couldn't imagine letting Nathan watch."

"Poor Nathan, walking into that."

"I was thinking the same thing. I tried to think of what to say so we could leave, when I looked down at Nathan. He was looking up at me wide-eyed, whispering, "Please, Uncle David. Don't make me stay here."

I felt so sorry for the poor kid, he looked so terrified, I decided that we were going to turn around and walk out. But before I could move, this little black dog ran out of the kitchen and came at Nathan, snapping and snarling. I had to pick him up before it sank his teeth into him. The grandmother didn't seem to care, she just laughed and said, "Don't be such a baby, Ethan, Rocky won't hurt you."

I couldn't believe that she didn't even know his name. I told her that his name was Nathan and she just shrugged and said, "Does it really matter?"

"And they expected you to leave him there?" I couldn't believe what he was saying, it sounded like a nightmare.

"Well, I knew there was no way I could leave him alone with those two, no matter what family services had said.

Then out of nowhere, Nathan said, "Uh, Oh," and I could see he looked kind of panicked.

"What happened?" I asked him, hoping the dog hadn't bit him. When he didn't answer right away, I said, "Buddy, what's wrong?"

He winced and said, "I think I just pooped my pants."

I was so shocked, I said, "You what?" He's never had an accident. So, I wondered if their dog might have literally scared the shit out of him."

"Do you think that's what happened?"

"I did at first. Till I noticed he was trying to keep a straight face, because he'd figured a way to get out. Playing along, I said to the grandmother, "I guess I'd better take him home and clean him up. Unless, you'd rather do it."

Shaking her head, she held up her hands, and said, "No, no, you go ahead and take him home."

The dog was still growling and snapping at us as we got to the door. The grandmother unlocked the door for us, looking a little disgusted, she said, "Isn't he a little too old to be doing that?"

I just shrugged and told her, "He's only five, so it still happens every now and then."

When we got out to the car, while I was helping Nathan with his seat belt, trying to not to laugh, I said to him, "So, you had an accident, did you?"

Thinking it was pretty funny, he broke out laughing, and told me the truth. "No. But at least it got us out of there."

Hoping they weren't watching us laughing like idiots in the car, I ruffled his hair and told him, "I'm just glad you thought of it, so we had an excuse to leave."

On our way home, we went through a drive-thru, and I got him a burger. While he was eating, I called my lawyer and told him what had happened. He couldn't believe that his father didn't show up. He said he'd get us a hearing with a family court judge, so I could explain the whole situation to him."

"Well, I think any judge who heard what you two went through, would automatically decide to leave Nathan with you."

"I hope you're right."

"David, what I can't understand, is if Nathan's father has never shown any interest in him before, why he would be coming forward now and saying that he suddenly wants to be his dad."

"Well..." Heaving a sigh he explained. "My sister was pretty comfortable. When my mother died a few years ago, she left everything to the two of us, since my father died when we were still in high school. My sister was also a successful artist and writer, and lectured at a few universities. She owned a house and drove a nice car. I'm sure Nathan's father was aware that she had money, when they were together. She had a pretty big insurance policy, too, that paid out when she died. I put everything in trust for Nathan. But I've got a feeling that his father thinks he can get at the money, if he can get his hands on his son."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "How awful, to only want him for his money. I'm glad you put it all in trust, so it'll be harder to get at."

"Yeah, I wanted to secure his future, because I'm not getting any younger, especially since he's only five, and has his whole life ahead of him. I know my sister wanted to make sure that he got an education, and that he'd been taken care of, after she was gone. I'm sure she wouldn't be too happy to know that his dad is trying to get his hands on her money, through her son."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"That's the other reason I'm calling. I really didn't want to get you involved in this, but I decided you should know what's going on.

"The lawyer said until this is over, I'm going to have live like a monk, knowing they'll be checking me out, to see what type of life I lead. So, he said, no bar hopping, no one night stands, and no drugs or heavy drinking. I told him I'm home every night with Nathan, and I don't do any of that stuff. Then he also said... 'And no lady friends sleeping over... Kids are pretty impressionable, and the court wouldn't think too much of you having overnight guests.'"

"Oh." Now I really knew we were done.

"Yeah. He said if I was married or even engaged, obviously it would be different, because I'd be raising Nathan in a two-parent household. And sleeping with my wife, or fiancée wouldn't be out of line. But being his bachelor uncle hoping to get custody of him over his own father, isn't going to be as easy as I thought, so I'll have to be careful."

"David, if there's anything I can do, even if you just want to drop Nathan off with us if you get busy, you know I'm here for you."

"Thanks, Kaitlin. I really appreciate it."

After we hung up, I just sat and stared outside into the darkness, feeling utterly bereft. Curling my feet under me on the chair, I hugged my knees to my chest, gave in and cried. I was so in love with him, and knew we had something good. But there was no way I wanted to jeopardize his chances of adopting his nephew, just so we could be together.

When I finally went to bed, with so much going on in my head, I tossed and turned so much I barely slept.

Bleary-eyed, brushing my teeth in the morning, I looked at myself in the mirror, and my diamond engagement ring caught the light and shone back into my eyes. Then it hit me, that I might have a solution.

I ran back in the bedroom and phoned David, busy getting Nathan's breakfast ready, and packing his lunch.

"Hey," he said. "I'm really sorry I dumped all that on you last night. I just needed someone to talk to, after meeting Nathan's grandparents and realizing what a mess this whole thing is."

"It's okay. You know you can call me anytime, even if it's just to vent. But I have an idea, that might help."

"At this point, I'd be game for almost anything."

"Okay, this might sound a little crazy, but what if we pretended to be engaged? Nathan knows me, and we get along great. All I'd have to do is..." I looked down at my wedding band on my hand, that I'd never taken off, wondering if I could do it.

"All you'd have to do is what, Kaitlin?"

I took a breath and said in a rush, "All I'd have to do is take off my wedding ring. And we could use my engagement ring to pretend we're engaged, and tell the judge that we're planning to marry. Then at least Nathan would eventually be living in a two-parent household, at least as far as the court would know."

"That's really sweet of you. But I can't ask you to take off your ring. I really didn't mean to drag you into this."

"You're not dragging me into anything, David, I'm offering. I care about Nathan. We've become pretty close, with how often we're together. I really do want him to be with you, and not his father, who he's never even met. Or his grandparents, that wouldn't even know how to care for him, from what you've said."

"It's nice to know you care. And you're right, it could work. If they believe we're together."

"I think we could convince them. We've gotten pretty close, so it's not like we're strangers."

I could hear the smile in his voice when he chuckled. "No, we're definitely not strangers. But if this is going to work, I think we'd better go out and get you a ring, because everyone has to believe we're getting married, if we're going to try and pull this off."

"David, I already have an engagement ring. You don't have to buy a new one. I can just polish mine, and make it look like new."

"Yeah, and I'll bet the women you work with know what it looks like, too. I don't think anyone would believe that I'd ask you to marry me, using the ring you already have."

He did have a point. Looking down at my pear- shaped solitaire sparkling on my finger, I remembered how many ladies in the office had admired it. "You could be right. Women do notice things like that. Our receptionist just got engaged, and all the women in the office were gushing over her cushion cut diamond ring."

"Exactly. Kaitlin, if we're going to have any hope of pulling this off, then we'd better do it right. We could take the boys out for dinner, and go ring shopping after."

"You want to go ring shopping with the boys?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, it'll be fun to hear what they have to say. Remember, they'll have to believe it, too. When they question Nathan, I can't have him telling the judge that we're pretending to be engaged."

"I guess you're right, the boys will have to believe it, too." Then I thought about my mother and cringed, knowing how ecstatic she'd be to hear that we were engaged.

At least until we weren't anymore, once David hopefully got custody of his nephew.

***

I couldn't believe how excited the kids were about helping us find a ring.

The instant we set foot in the jewelry store, I noticed a dapper looking older gentleman standing behind the counter, in an immaculate black suit with a crisp white shirt and bow tie. He looked so startled, his eyebrows shot up to his forehead, the moment he realized that were walking into his store with two kids in tow.

Keeping an eye on old Scowly Face, I whispered against their ears, "Boys, don't put your hands on the glass, okay?" I also added, "Or your faces." The two of them nodded that they understood. But they were staring so intently at all the beautiful diamond rings artfully displayed in the showcase, I didn't want them leaving any smudges, if they forgot and put their hands against the glass. Sure that he'd have something to say about it, if they did.

I was relieved when a pretty young lady with shoulder length dark hair came over smiling at us, and remarked to the boys, "Oh, aren't you two, precious?" Then she nodded at the two of us and asked, "And how can help you today?"

David took my hand in his, smiled at me and said, "We're looking for an engagement ring."

She grinned. "Then you've come to the right place." Waving her hand over the showcase, she asked, "Do you see anything you'd like to try on?"

I was eyeing the smaller ones, while David and the boys were at the other end, checking out some pretty big rocks.

"Oh, I like that one that looks like a butterfly, it's just so sparkly," Nathan said, nodding at a big garish ring.

"Yeah, that is pretty," I agreed. But not something I'd ever want to wear on my hand, though I'd never tell him that.

I whispered quietly to David, "Let's just get something small, okay?"

The moment I said that, my son overheard, looked up at me and said, "Mom, if they all cost the same money, then you should get a big one."

Smirking at David, I said, "Sweetie, they're not all the same price, the bigger ones cost more."

The saleswoman was smiling at how cute that was, before she kindly gave the boys a quick lesson on diamonds. Telling them about color and clarity and of course the size of the stone, that determined how much each one was worth.

While she had them occupied, I quietly asked David, "Which one do you like?"

He led me over to a smaller display of what looked like very expensive rings. "I like that one," he said, pointing at a big, gorgeous oval solitaire with a slender diamond encrusted platinum band.

"That is a beautiful." In fact, it was so pretty, I felt a little mesmerized just looking at it.

David smiled at the saleswoman, pointing down at the one that caught his eye. "She'd like to try on that one."

When he slipped it onto my finger, I couldn't believe how beautiful it looked shimmering under the lights. And the way he looked into my eyes as he slid it into place, made it feel almost real, like we were actually getting engaged. Though, I knew it was all for show.

Nathan smirked at the way his uncle was looking at me. "I think you like her, eh, Uncle David?"

David shook his head and said, "No." When I looked at him surprised, with his eyes fixed on mine he said, "I love her."

Just hearing him say those three little words, whether he meant it or not, had me swallowing pretty hard and blinking like crazy.

Without even thinking, I stroked a hand across his cheek and told him, "I love you, too."

For a moment we just stood gazing into each other's eyes, till the sales lady, probably wondering if we were going to be staring at each forever, cleared her throat to get our attention. Nodding at the ring, she said, "That's a new design, just came in this morning. Simple and yet elegant, it really suits you."