“Hurry up, Lionel.” Daisy chided as the car door closed with an abrupt slam. The corners of her mouth were slanted downwards, a tendency that often happened when she was stressed about one thing or another. Impatiently she waited for the ten year old to round the car, his new shoes dragging sluggishly against the pavement. “Pick up your feet.”
She rested her hand between his shoulder blades, urgently prodding him along the poorly kept sidewalk that was littered with weeds sprouting along the cracks. The further they continued towards the front steps the more he resisted, his eyes nervously looking back at her.
“Ma, why do you have to go?” He pleaded.
Daisy exhaled, her eyes rolling out of view. “It won’t be for long. Besides, your father is looking forward to seeing you.” She knocked on the door quickly, her weight shifting between her feet until the door opened, Marcus staring bewildered back at them.
‘Daisy… Lionel…” He forced a smile upon himself, a little scrambled and slightly underdressed. “I didn’t expect…”
“I’m sorry. I should have called, but something came up and… I thought that you would like to spend some time with the boy.” She said nervously, her hands starting to sweat being around Marcus, his chest bare before her. Every thought that crossed her mind were memories between the two of them… And, well, many of them were intimate, seeing as they had always had a physical attraction. It was the one thing that had always drawn them together each time, and quite frankly, she didn’t mind.
“Come in.” He held the door opened as the two of them entered the dark space that was adorned with outdated wallpaper, dust particles lingering in the rays of sunlight that streamed from the small windows.
The three of them stood awkwardly as Marcus closed the door behind them. With his hands in his pockets he walked around them until he mustered something to say. “So bud…” He swallowed hard, unsure of how to act around this new child of his. Marcus thought that it couldn’t be harder than interacting with Cleo, his other child, but this time it felt different. It was as if everything he said or did was being judged. “I’m sure we can find something to do… You know there are some toys upstairs… Albeit there are lots of girl stuff…. I’m sure there is something that might interest you. Puzzles, maybe?”
Lionel shrugged, his interest took a nose dive that was borderline boredom. “Sure.” He walked hastily past him and out of view, his footsteps hitting against the steps as he climbed them.
Phew, Marcus sighed. This was rough.
“So…” He turned his thoughts towards Daisy. “Sounds like you have some big plans for tonight.”
“Yeah,” she cleared her throat. “Some of my old girlfriends… They set me up on a date tonight. It was pretty last minute-”
Although these strange new feelings swelled within him, an overwhelming pricking sensation cut at his chest. Thoughts of her being with another guy besides him haunted him. It was something he had never experienced before. Whenever she was nearby it had always been him. Even with each time she had come and gone… It was him. And now he was just the one on the side. Maybe it was time that they accept the truth of what their relationship had turned into. With how many times their relationship didn’t pan out… It was probably time that they accept that it wasn’t to be in the end.
“And I’m sure it’s just nothing.” She finished, her voice trailing off uncomfortably admitting everything in front of Marcus. It was obvious this wasn’t something he wanted to hear anyways as she observed his body language. Daisy knew that he still liked her, and she him. That was obvious, but she knew she had to take a break… to withstand his unnatural attraction she had towards him and see if there was anything else out there. Besides, their relationships had been about one thing and one thing only and that was sex- and a lot of it. It never turned into much more than that because each time she felt the pressure of a relationship she had always found a way to escape. To run off in pursuit of something else that would distract her.
“Well, good luck,” Marcus forced a smile, finding it hard to be as supportive as he wanted to be. He had to keep reminding himself that even if he never had a relationship with her, she would always be part of his life as the mother of his child.
Daisy put her hands in her shallow pant’s pockets. “Erm, thanks.” She lingered a moment, unsure of what to do.
“It’s just… really good to see you. It’s been a while… Are you staying in the area then?”
“Yeah.” She nodded. “Staying with some friends currently, but the plan is to find a house to rent in the area for just me and Lionel. Now that he’s in your life I feel like we should stay close.”
“Really?” Marcus’ eyebrows rose in a shocked surprise that lit up his eyes. “Thank you.” He pulled her towards him and held her in a tight embrace. In an unexpected shock, Daisy stood there awkwardly, but soon found her hands holding him back against the bare skin of his back. With a deep breath she could smell the familiar sandalwood scent that she had always familiarized with him within her nostrils.
She could feel the slack in his arms as they loosened, yet lingered in a comfortable entanglement of the two of them, their breaths syncing with the rising and sinking of their chests against each other. What was this? Was this still a hug? An embrace? Something else…? What is this supposed to mean? Sure they had plenty of time to step away. He could have let her go, but… why hadn’t she?
Daisy was sure that she didn’t want a relationship with Marcus, but why was it so hard to pull away from him? It was as if her body and mind wanted two different things, both conflicting in a tug of war against the other in which she was sorely losing.
She leaned away as far as she could, but it wasn’t far enough. He was still before her, their bodies still touching, her hands holding his muscled arms while his slid to her slender waist awaiting the next checkpoint before continuing their exploration. Her eyes searched his emerald green irises as if she could read what his thoughts, feelings, intentions were. How did he really feel about her? She obviously liked him, but was he just her security blanket?
The reality of time warped between them in those moments, her gravity melding into his as she drew nearer, their lips about to touch in a time of weakness between the two of them. His warm breath brushed against her and she bit her bottom lip, unable to stop progressing this unwanted betrayal her body instinctively did.
“Stop,” she whispered painfully, her voice weakening from conflicting emotions. “We…”
He turned away, hurt from the sudden decision. Marcus was fully aware that what they almost did was terrible, considering she was about to go out with another guy in just a short amount of time, but it was so hard to fight through and process these feelings of jealousy and possession. How was he going to watch her have a relationship with someone else?
“I’m sorry.” His voice deepened, while scratching his neck nervously. “I guess you should go… Enjoy your date.”
She nodded in response, unsure of what to say or do in a position that they were now in. Without more than another word she turned away towards the direction of the door and exited herself.
Marcus turned around and saw Lionel standing in the doorway, his expression confused as all his thoughts bubbled beneath his surface, unable to speak about it comfortably. It was obvious that he had seen the moment between his mother and him… It was just too bad that there was nothing he could do to make it that way. But that is life sometimes.
“Come.” He beckoned him alongside. “How about we go find a puzzle.”
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