Thin Resolve Ch. 03

"Look Lane, I can see the sign!" Jenna cries. As we reach the entrance, she slows a little bit as we're around more people. Taking my hand, she leads us at a more subdued pace as we walk through the aisle until the exhibit appears.

Rising above all of us, several tall creatures lumber and waltz across their paddock. For the first time since I've meet her, Jenna falls completely silently as we stand in awe of the beautiful animals. We watch together as a baby giraffe, surprisingly taller than myself, frolics around its mother as she nips at her baby's tail. Jenna giggles beside me and I glance towards her, her face bright and smile wide as she watches them.

"What's their name, Lane?" Jenna breathes, squeezing my hand still clutched in her much smaller one as she gazes at the baby.

Looking for a sign, I notice one to the left of us. Craning to see, I explain to Jenna that the female giraffe baby hasn't been named yet.

She stares at the baby again and quietly declares, "Her name is Alexis."

Hiding my smile, I agree with a nod and we once again fall into silence as Jenna looks on at "Alexis" and her mother. As much as I enjoy every wild word that comes out of her mouth, seeing Jenna at peace for once at the sight of the animals is moving.

We stand and watch in peaceful silence for several minutes when I hear, "There you two are!"

Turning around, still holding Jenna's hand, I spy Brian and Luke walking up to us.

When Luke sees me, he runs from Brian and plasters himself into my side, joining the silent show with Jenna. Looking away from them, Brian meets my eyes as he takes in me holding the hands of his children. His eyes soften as he comes up behind me, surprising me when he slings his arms around my waist from behind. I stiffen, worried that any second he'll pull away but instead, all four of us stand together and watch the small family.

Motionlessly frozen in time, wrapped in the middle of Brian and his children, I can't help but feel we're becoming a family too.

---

It was later that evening far after the kids went to bed when I sat in the living room, reading a book. My eyes were focused on the pages but they absorbed no words. My mind was firmly swimming with memories from this afternoon. A smile plays on my lips as I remember watching Brian with the kids today. The man turns my insides to gush just by looking at him but the way he is with his children sets me on fire as much as it melts my heart.

I'm startled out of my thoughts when I hear his low voice behind me.

"What are you thinking about so hard over there?" Brian murmurs as he leans against the door frame. Like myself, he's dressed in loungewear, ready for bed. The man can wear the hell out of a suit but there's something to be said about his bulging muscles under a white cotton tee.

I throw him a soft smile and reply, "Just about today. I had a truly great time with you and the kids."

Brian smiles in return and leaves the doorframe, traveling across the carpeted floor to join me on the couch. He takes a seat, sitting thigh to thigh against me on the loveseat. My breath hitches as I'm bubbled in Brian's atmosphere. His smell and touch searing my skin as I try to mentally calm the erection in my sweatpants roaring to life. Brian must not notice because he scoots closer, looking me in the eyes as he opens his mouth.

"I don't say this enough, Lane," Brian starts while taking my hand, "but I want to thank you for everything you do for me and the kids. I don't know what I would do without you. You're truly one of a kind."

Blushing furiously, my hand sweats in his and I stammer, "No, you don't have to thank me. I was just lucky to get the best job in the world. I'm just as good as anyone else, not really better or less. "

Brian frowns and moves his hand slowly up my arm, across my shoulder, and onto my jaw, stopping when he cups my face in his hand.

"Don't sell yourself short, Lane," he urges. "Of all I've learned about you today, you're an incredible person for overcoming what you have and my kids would be worse off if you weren't here."

Brian stares hard, hard enough to cause my heart to jump in my chest. Leaning forward he whispers, "My life would be worse off if you weren't here."

And with that, my lips are taken by his as I crush myself against his body. Thank god James retired to bed after the children or he would get quite an eyeful as Brian and I relieve the tension that's been building up over the last few days.

Brian's tongue steals into my mouth, claiming my body as his as I lean up on my knees, throwing my arms around his neck. My chest presses against his shoulder as he leans into me, angling so our bodies press together firmer as our mouths fuse together. My tongue gives up dominance to his immediately; my mind, mouth, and body a victim to the siege of his pleasure. When one of his hands makes its way into my lap, nearly brushing my cock, my senses comes back to me and I realize where I am, and who I'm with. If Brian is kissing me, does this mean that Janice is no longer a threat? Does it mean that he found something out between the time we got home and now? I pull away, pressing my hands against his chest as I look in his wild eyes, trying to catch my breath.

"Wait, Brian," I pant. "What's happening? Has something changed? Did Janice-"

Brian sighs and sits back against the couch, letting is body fall in a slump.

"I'm sorry, Lane. I'm no closer to finding out Janice's plans. I shouldn't have kissed you like that. It's just, today has been amazing. Watching you with my kids..." he trails off, a small smile adorning his face.

Slumping back against the couch myself, I reply, "It's okay, I understand. Today was intense for me too."

Brian turns to me, a heated look on his face. I knew he wanted to continue our kiss from earlier but the reminder of Janice is too much for either of us. All we do is sit and stare, not touching or feeling. Just wishing the invisible barrier between us could evaporate.

Suddenly, the air is split by a ringing of a cellphone. Brian curses and rushes to answer it, rising to his feet but not leaving the room.

"Hello? Oh hey, Maria. What's going on?"

Turning away from Brian to give him privacy on the phone, I pick my book back up and pretend to read while my thoughts are lost again. My lips are still stinging from Brian's kiss, my heartbeat not even back to normal yet. I can't believe I was hooking up with Brian right here in the living room. I was still his children's nanny! They could have seen and everything would have been ruined. Not only that, Janice is still out there somewhere, probably plotting a way to take me out like she did with Hayden. Even though I wanted Brian to kiss me again so badly, practically craved his kisses more than anything, I knew it should not happen again. I would just have to stay away from him more than I have been. Today was wonderful but being around him just wouldn't be a good idea.

Still lost in thought, I'm startled when Brian aggressively sits down beside me on the couch and lets out a rough sigh. Peeking to the side through my bangs, I can see an irritated look on his face. Since I was lost in my own thoughts, I missed everything that was said on his side of the phone conversation.

Cautiously I say, "Is everything okay?"

Brian jolts as if he didn't realize I was still sitting there. He shakes his head and replies, "Not really. Do you remember the charity ball I have to go to tomorrow night?"

At my nod, he continues.

"Well, my date feel through. She has the flu and I can't think of a single person who's available at such a short notice. I would just skip it entirely but I have business to attend to tomorrow that can't be done anywhere else."

Brian continues to look trouble until he sits straight up and glances at me with bright eyes. Considering the way he's looking at me, I might as well throw my fresh resolve out of the window as I read his scheming mind clear on his face.

"Brian-", I start, ready to head him off but he interrupts excitedly.

"Please, Lane," Brian pleads. "You'd be really helping me out. I can hire a sitter for the kids and it won't be more than a couple hours. I just can't go to this thing alone."

Worrying my lip, I try, "But what about Janice? Aren't you worried that she might see us out together on what would look like a date?"

Brain brushes that aside and says, "Janice would never show up at something like this. When we were married she would do her best to get out of these things. She always said they were too stuffy for her. We'll be perfectly safe, I promise."

Knowing deep in my gut that this is a bad idea, I hear my mouth agree anyways. Even though I know we should be cautious of Janice, there's a part of me that can't let Brian down.

"Okay, I'll go," I sigh.

"Wonderful!" Brian cries. Standing up, he continues, "The event is black tie so I'll have James organize an outfit for you and deliver it by the afternoon. We'll leave at 6 pm sharp. Thank you so much for this, Lane."

At Brian's excited demeanor, I start to relax. It's possible that I'm just overthinking things and tomorrows outing will go off without a hitch. I'll just have to find a way to quiet the foreboding feeling in my stomach until we get through tomorrow evening.