Ellie thought she'd never find love again, especially after having her son, Noah, and the love of her life leaving her to raise their child alone. Ellie found contentment in being a single mother until she meets Daniel on a night out.
He's charming...
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Talia leans back in the chair and slurps on her iced coffee. She swirls from side to side while eying me off. I give her a look but she tilts her head to the side like she's trying to solve a complicated math problem.
"Can I help you with something?" I raise an eyebrow.
"You just look, hm, different and I can't place my finger on it."
"Um, thanks?" I frown.
I'm unsure if I should take that as a compliment considering how long she's been looking at me.
"Have you changed your skincare routine?"
"It's amusing that you think I have a skincare routine. Between the office and my child, I'm lucky enough to slap on some moisturizer let alone a six-step skin routine." I laugh. "Some days when I'm lucky, I even put sunscreen on."
Talia rolls her eyes.
"I don't have a six-step routine either. Nobody has damn time for that." She chuckles.
"Certainly not! I'm more of a 3-in-1 hair wash person."
"What about eating more fruit and vegetables?"
"No."
"What about organic foods?"
"Stop, Talia, you know how I feel about organic food." I roll my eyes. "They just rub some dirt on it and whack up the price tag."
Talia gasps and whacks her hand on the desk, creating a loud whacking noise to echo through the small office.
"I know what it is! You got some action," she shouts.
Heat pools to my cheeks and it only confirms her suspicions.
"Ellie," she gasps, "Tell me everything. Don't miss a single detail."
I close my eyes and sigh. I've learned to just give her what she wants because Talia is relentless otherwise.
"Daniel spent the night on Saturday, I passed out in bed before anything could happen. Sunday morning was a different story." I smile, biting my lip.
"Tell me everything!" She bounces in her chair.
"I told him I read every night before bed, so he picked up the book I was reading and read some of it. He must have come across a smutty scene when I'd fallen asleep because, in the morning, he opened the book to a specific scene and asked me to read to him."
"Oh." She grins.
"He did everything as I was reading, it was so hot."
"Oh. My. God." She squeals.
"I thought it was going to lead to sex, but I'm relieved it didn't. I haven't really been with anyone since having Noah. Going slow and just exploring is a pace I'm happy with and we seem to be on the same page."
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"Aw Ellie, that's a green flag right there!"
"What's a green flag?" Jordan asks as she walks into the office.
She dumps her bag on the desk and sinks into her office chair.
"Our girl got some action over the weekend," Talia says.
"What." Jordan gasps. "He must have been good in bed because you've been so happy this morning despite all the cockups that have been happening with the projects."
"We didn't have sex," I explain.
"There's always next weekend." Jordan winks.
"Or in about three months when I can ask my mother to babysit again. Craig is too fickle with taking Noah and I don't want to keep asking my mother to take Noah so I can get some action." I sigh.
"Is Noah a deep sleeper?" Jordan smirks, raising her eyebrow.
"No." I gasp.
"C'mon, he can sneak through the window and back out," Jordan says.
"No, it feels dirty expecting him to just hop out the window after we're done. Plus I like to snuggle after sex."
"If you're not entertaining him, someone else will," Talia says.
Daniel doesn't seem like the type and he seems really interested in whatever our thing is. Although, we both have needs and after Sunday morning, I would love to read more stories to him. I just hope he doesn't get bored of me because I can't be spontaneous and just drop everything.
I should ignore that comment because Daniel knows what he's getting himself into; I was very transparent about what it's like dating a single parent with a casual baby daddy.
"Okay, enough about me. We should get back to work."
Talia rolls her eyes, then leans back in her chair to finish her iced coffee.
I glance at my mobile and catch a message from Daniel.
'Hope you're having a wonderful day. Missing you x' - Daniel.
I miss him and the warmth and comfort he bought to my bed. I just don't know about the sneaking-through-the-window idea. What if Noah wakes up in the middle of the night and comes to my room? He hasn't done that in months, but the fear is real. He would be terrified to find a random man in my bed and I'm not sure if I'm ready to introduce them.
Before I can reply, the office phone rings and Talia spins around, ignoring it. I sigh and answer the phone. I jot down some information before hanging up.
"Tell me again what your job is, Talia." I sigh.
"I'm having a ten-minute break, thank you very much." She laughs.
"I would love to stay and chat, but I have to head out on-site to check on something. I will see you two tomorrow." I pack my things into my work bag and head for the door. "Be good and do some work."
"Yes, mum," Talia says.
* * * * *
Noah and I gather around the coffee table sharing a plate of chips and chicken nuggets. He's so focused on watching his new favourite tv show, that I don't think he'd notice if I took a mini nap or wander off. After all the driving around and managing the project, I'm exhausted. So here's to a very lazy dinner and some comfort television to get me through the remainder of the night.
My phone buzzes with another message from Daniel. It's hard to cover the smile on my face, so luckily Noah's so engrossed with the television.
