Part 33
From the steps of the deck, AJ cleared his throat causing Kevin to pull away quickly. “What’s going on?” questioned AJ looking Kevin dead in the eyes.
“We were just talking, Alex,” explained Chelsea trying to defuse the situation. She could tell AJ was mad.
“We were talking about Annie,” offered Kevin as he moved to allow AJ to sit with Chelsea.
“And that’s why you felt the need to kiss my girlfriend?”
“It’s not what it looked like,” protested Kevin knowing that it was exactly what it looked like.
“What was it then, Kevin?” demanded AJ. “I walked up and found you kissing Chelsea. She’s told you it’s over…that she’s in love with me.”
“You’re making it sound like I forced myself on her.”
“Well?”
The two men stood face to face, fire blazing between the two.
“BOTH of you STOP IT!” hissed Chelsea. “Alex, Kevin didn’t force me to kiss him. Come sit with me….so we can talk…please?”
From behind them, a tiny voice broke through. “Daddy, can you help me feed ‘Bo’?”
Shaking his head and looking over AJ’s shoulder, Kevin smiled and said, “Sure, sweetheart. Come on, let’s go get the food.”
Chelsea watched the two go inside and then looked at AJ. “Alex, please…sit with me.”
AJ took Kevin’s place beside her and put his arm around her. As she snuggled closer to him putting her hand on his stomach, he asked, “What was going on?”
“We were talking about Annie and Dianne.”
“You told him?”
“Yes, and he’s going to get his attorney to draw up the custody agreement.” Chelsea stopped and looked up at AJ. With her finger, she traced a line down his chest. “Baby, I love you. The kiss…it meant…well, it did mean something to me but NOTHING compared to what your kiss means to me.”
AJ looked into her eyes. “I love you too, ‘Beautiful’. I’m sorry I got pissed.”
“It’s okay. It’s hard on you too but I promise, I mean what I say when I tell you I love you.”
“I know,” smiled AJ as she brushed her cheek with his fingers. Closing the short distance, he covered her lips with his own, kissing her slowly, savoring the sweetness. Pulling back, he said, “Tell you what, I’ll call my attorney, let him know what you want, and he can handle your end of it.”
“Thank you, Alex, but…”
“Nuh uh! No ‘buts’! You can afford it and you KNOW you need representation in this. I’m just offering you my attorney because you don’t know one out here yet.”
“Okay! Okay! I appreciate your help,” laughed Chelsea. “You know something…Dianne’s right.”
“About what?”
“We do need some ‘couple’ time.”
“Okay, so what do you suggest?”
“Why don’t we cut out of here as soon as dinner is over?”
“What about Annie? We promised her a bedtime story and you’d tuck her in.”
With a heavy sigh, Chelsea leaned her head on his shoulder. “She goes to bed at eight….”
“And we can be home by eight-thirty. How about this? When we get home, I’ll help you change and then we’ll go out on my deck that overlooks the ocean and watch the stars. Just you and me…..”
“And your dogs.”
AJ gave a soft chuckle. “They aren’t there right now.”
“Where are they?”
“Sarah has them but I’ll go get them when we know you’re home.”
“I was looking forward to playing with ‘Tank’. Okay…so tonight, it’s just you and me watching the stars and tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow, we’ll go with Kevin to enroll Annie in school, swing by my attorney’s office, and then head to your appointment.”
“Sounds good, Alex,” whispered Chelsea snuggling even closer.
