Party of Four

Extended Aftercare - Nica

Cole and I were still giggling as Riley left the house. His arms wrapped around me, and I snuggled into him. “How are you feeling?” he asked, playfully nipping at my earlobe.

“Good,” I smiled, turning my head to catch his lips in a kiss.

“Even after everything?” Cole sometimes had a need to discuss whatever scene had played out, especially when it involved him dominating me. I didn’t mind it, I was happy to ease his anxiety.

I nodded again, smiling as I reassured him. “I was very surprised, but I enjoyed it. All of it.”

“Is it something you would want to do again?”

“Which part?” I teased, my smile turning into a grin.

“Any of it?” His gaze flicked away from mine as he pushed his glasses up his nose. It was so intriguing to me how he could be so confident in the moment, then so nervous afterwards. I found it sweet.

I leaned in, pressing a kiss just in front of his ear. Then I whispered, “All of it.”

Cole swallowed, his brows arching as his eyes widened. “Really? You…”

I nodded. “You read me so well,” I reassured him. “You always seem to know exactly what I want…what I need, in the moment. Sometimes,” I felt my cheeks warming, “even things I didn’t know I wanted.”

“Like last night?”

I nodded. “When I said both, I meant both.” I bit my lip, my admission causing my blush to deepen. “I just didn’t know I wanted that until that moment.”

“And physically you feel okay?”

I nodded. I’d admitted to him last night that I was sore, and understandably so, but that it was a good sore. I was also still feeling the immediate post-orgasm high last night too though. Now that most of the aftersex glow had faded with the morning light though, I could take a more accurate inventory of what I felt. “I’m still sore,” I admitted, “but I’m not in pain.” Whether that was due to the intensity of the scene or everything being far more sensitive because of the pregnancy, I wasn’t really sure.

“Is there anything I can do for you? Bath? Advil?”

“You’ll run me a bath?” I asked, another smile forming.

“With bubbles,” he grinned. Cole kissed me, then slipped out of bed to go run the water without waiting for an answer.

I could hear the water running in the bathroom and leaned back against the pillows, happiness warming me. I held my hand up, flexing my fingers to see how my new ring caught the sunlight filtering through the windows. I couldn’t have asked for a better holiday. I couldn’t have asked for better partners.

Eventually I pushed myself up out of bed and made my way to the bathroom. My steps were slow and deliberate. Cole knelt by the tub, swirling the water with his hand so that the bubbles became extra frothy. “Ready for your bath?” he asked as he stood.

I nodded, crossing the room to him. He cupped my face with his hands and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips.

“I think I put a couple of your hair ties in the drawer,” he told me. “Unless you don’t mind your hair getting wet.” He opened the drawer under the sink. “Or a clip?”

He pulled out the pink rose shaped clip I thought I’d lost and I smiled. “Clip.”

The only thing I wore was Riley’s borrowed tee shirt. I peeled it off, and stepped into the tub. I sighed softly, feeling the warmth radiating up my legs. I turned the water off before I sat down, groaning softly as I eased into the bath.

“I’ll be back,” Cole informed me. His hand cupped the back of my neck as he leaned down to press another light kiss to my lips.

I sank further into the tub and rested my neck on the edge, letting the water soak all the way up to my shoulders.

My eyes closed as I relaxed. I wasn’t sure how long I actually laid there in the tub before Cole returned. He had a bottle of water in one hand and his phone in the other. “We’re out of Advil,” he informed me as he sat the bottle down on the edge of the tub. “Google says you shouldn’t take Advil while pregnant anyways, but I texted Riley to pick up some Tylenol on the way home.”

“Thank you,” I smiled. “But I think I’ll be okay, the warm bath is definitely helping.”

“Good,” he smiled as he sat on the edge next to the water bottle. He sat his phone on the closed toilet lid, focusing his attention on me.

Most of the bubbles had either popped, or we had flicked them at each other, giggling and splashing the water when Cole’s phone went off. Then it went off again. And again. Text after text coming through. Cole’s face was blank for a moment as he stared at his screen. “Is everything okay?”

“I think so,” he breathed, handing me the phone so I could see the texts from Riley:

Mom made an offer on the house.

At Stonehaven Estates.

The two messages were followed by a collection of pictures.

“Wow,” I breathed, stunned. Stonehaven was definitely one of the more affluent neighborhoods. The kind where everyone was a member of a country club. I almost couldn’t believe that was where they’d went.

“I can’t believe mom made an offer,” Cole admitted, still seeming a bit awestruck.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m not sure.”

I pulled the plug on the tub and stood. Cole immediately fell back into caretaker mode, handing me a soft gray towel. I mostly dried off, not counting from the calves down, which were still surrounded by water, and wrapped the towel around my body. I dressed quickly, putting on clothes I’d left behind the last time I had stayed. Except I purposely left off a bra and panties, not quite feeling the ability to handle something so snug on my body.

We moved into Cole’s room from there, not wanting to crawl back into Riley’s sweat and s*x soaked bedding. Then Cole and I swiped through the pictures Riley sent. “It’s beautiful,” I commented.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “I just…I wasn’t expecting something like this to happen so soon.”

“I know.” I ran my fingers through his hair in an effort to comfort him, and kissed his cheek. “Do you wanna be Little Spoon?”

“A little bit.” I smiled and kissed his cheek again. He laid down, his back to me. I curled against him, and draped my leg over his hips. My arm slid under his arm, my hand flat on his chest. My head pressed against the spot between his shoulder blades.

“I love you,” I murmured, closing my eyes.

“I love you too,” his hand covered mine.