"Okay, I'm not trying to make a joke out of it," Alexis laughed out, leaning forward to place her wine glass on the table in front of us, "but maybe me leaving was the best idea for your culinary skills."

I laughed, nodding. "Seriously. I've become quite the cook."

"I mean, you were never bad," she said, "persé."

She folded her legs on the couch, smiling at me.

"I was never good either," I said, taking one last sip of my wine before I stood up.

I grabbed her plate and she shook her head, standing up. "Cook don't clean."

She looked up at me with a smile, grabbing the plates from my hand.

"I was just going to put them in the sink, thank you," I said, looking down at her.

She walked into the kitchen, placing them in the sink after rinsing them off. "Isn't it weird you haven't even seen my apartment?"

"A little bit," I said, but in all honesty, I had no desire to see her apartment.

"You should drop by one day," she said, looking over her shoulder at me.

I nodded, smiling a soft smile.

My phone began to vibrate, making me grab it from the counter.

"What is it?" Alexis asked, making me look up from my phone.

"U-uh, both of the kids just texted to tell me that they're both abandoning me for the night."

She laughed. "You know, it's funny. She and Henry usually text me at the same time. I guess it's a twin thing."

I smiled, leaning against the counter as she dried off the two plates.

"I really wish you wouldn't have," I said, watching as she placed them in the cabinet.

"Well, it's the least I can do," she said, "I mean, after that gourmet dinner."

"I'm glad I could be of service."

She brushed her damp hands off on her jeans, picking up the bottle of wine. "This was really great."

"Brand new, too," I said, "well, after staying in the cellar for fifteen years."

She tilted her head over. I knew she had something to say, but she wasn't saying it.

"Ask your question," I said, nodding.

"Did I," she began, shaking her head, "i-intrude?"

"What?" I chuckled out, "why would you think that?"

"Well, I mean, you had two steaks cooking, you made all of this food, opened a new bottle of wine-"

"You didn't intrude on anything," I said, "I was practicing self-care. Isn't that what you call it?"

She smiled down at the bottle of wine. "Yeah."

We stood in silence, my eyes locked on her. Alexis, over time, had turned into a painfully graceful woman. Every move she made was almost perfect.

And maybe that's why she had to leave, because she couldn't take the thought of anyone seeing imperfection from her.

She walked into the living room, grabbing her glass of wine. "Thank you for dinner. It was a really great time."

"Yeah, it was good to catch up," I said, smiling.

She nodded, obviously spacing out. "Y-yeah."

She let out a loud gasp when she dropped her glass of wine, covering her mouth. "I-I'm so sorry-"

"It's okay," I softly said, grabbing some paper towel, "nothing that some paper towel won't clean up."

I wiped up the wine, beginning to grab the broom but I saw her looking down at the shattered glass, her bottom lip between her teeth with glassy eyes.

"Hey," I said, gently touching her arm, "did it cut you?"

She shook her head, sniffling. "N-no."

I lifted her head by her chin, gently wiping a tear from her cheek. "Too pretty to cry."

She looked up at me, shaking her head. "I'm so sorry."

"Lex, it's a twenty dollar glass, if even," I said, grabbing the broom with a chuckle.

"No, Fred," she said, "f-for everything."

I stopped in my tracks, looking over at her.

"I just left," she said, "and I left you with no direction, and-"

"Lex, stop," I said, shaking my head, "we've moved past it."

"No," she said, "I left in hopes of not dragging you into my mess. I created an even bigger one, though."

"Alexis, things have been going great," I said, "y-you know they have."

"And the kids," she said, raking a hand through her hair, "I mean, you're juggling running a multi-billion dollar company, two teenagers, a house-"

"Have I not proven to you that I've got it?" I softly asked.

She looked up at me. "I feel like I'm taking you for granted."

I took a step towards her, looking down at her.

"Take me for granted," I whispered, nodding down at her.

Her eyes darted down to my lips, and before I knew it, our lips were against each other's.

She pulled away from me after the single-handedly most passionate kiss we'd ever shared, breathless. "Fred."

I boosted her up into my arms, walking over to the couch as I pressed my lips against hers again. I gently laid her down, trailing kisses down her clothed body.

She unbuttoned her shirt, ripping it open. I smiled down at her plain, white bra that was so out of character for Alexis King.

I pressed kisses to her bare stomach, making her sit up and cover herself with her shirt.

"Lex," I whispered, pulling her close to me.

"You're beautiful," I muttered, pressing a kiss to her neck, "every inch of you."

Her eyes met mine as she bit down on her lip. "I-I'm sorry. I was never that way before."

"Let me show you," I said, "how beautiful you are."

~*~

I wrapped my arms around Fred's neck, moaning into his shoulder. "Baby."

He gripped my hips, looking down at our bodies. "Fuck."

Truthfully, I'd lost count of what round we'd gotten to.

I wound my legs around his hips, bracing my palms on the kitchen counter beneath me. I leaned my head back, each thrust sending my body forward.

He leaned forward, his face in my bare chest as he continued to thrust into me. I let out moan after moan, and those moans mixed with his groans.

"Lex, fuck," he grunted, grabbing my face roughly.

I parted my lips, keeping my eyes locked on his. Fred King had a way with sex.

"You feel so fucking good," he whispered, his face only centimeters away from mine.

I nodded, biting down on my lip as his thrusts became more violent and erratic. He wrapped his hand around my neck and I let out a moan, reaching behind me for support.

I leaned back on my elbows, looking down at his body meeting mine. I fell on my back, trailing my hands up my body and to my hair, that'd been pulled up into a ponytail early into our all-night session.

Fred had successfully brought back a chunk of my confidence that I'd seemed to be missing. He'd made me feel the sexiest I'd ever felt, in just one night.

He slipped two of his fingers into my mouth, earning a grin from me. I swirled my tongue around them and he pulled them out, rubbing my bundle of nerves as he continued to thrust into me.

"Babe," I breathlessly muttered, "I'm about to come."

"Do it," he growled, never changing his pace. He knew what he was doing was working for me, and wouldn't have dared risk costing me an orgasm.

My body jolted up off of the counter with a loud moan, and I rode out my blissful orgasm. He fell against me breathlessly, making me rake my fingers through his hair.

"Sun's coming up," I meekly admitted, biting down on my bottom lip.

"Yeah," he said, "y-yeah, it is."

He pulled out of me and walked over to the trash can, dropping his condom in it.

"Was that the last round?" He asked, looking over at me before picking up his sweatpants.

"Yeah," I softly said, smiling.

"Wait," he said, slipping into his sweatpants, "don't move."

I did as he said, although, being on the counter stark naked wasn't exactly comfortable. I bit down on my lip as I waited on whatever he was bringing me, but let out a loud gasp when I felt his tongue on me.

"Fred!" I yelled, making him chuckle and look up at me from his position.

"What?" He asked, pushing my legs apart, "I'm cleaning you up."

I giggled, biting down on my lip.

"You used to love this when you were pregnant," he said.

I smiled down at him, but my smile was replaced with a frown when he came up.

"And a towel," he said, "I'll help you."

I propped myself up on my elbows, watching as he softly cleaned me up. I cleared my throat and smiled, sitting upright when he was finished.

I covered my stomach, making him sigh and pull me closer to him.

"What did we talk about?" He asked, looking me in the eyes.

"Not doing that," I softly said.

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my stomach before grabbing my clothes from the floor. "Here you go."

"Thank you," I said, jumping down from the counter.

I stepped into my jeans and slipped into my shirt, completely disregarding undergarments. My brain was most definitely not functioning as it should've, considering neither Fred nor I had gotten even a minute of sleep.

"I'm sorry," I said, making him turn around and look at me.

"I beg your pardon?"

I laughed, pulling my hair down from the ponytail it was in. "I kept you up."

"In more than one way, yes," he said.

I tilted my head over. Fred's inner child was definitely still present, which was one of the redeeming qualities of his.

He leaned against the couch, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm assuming you're wanting to leave?"

"Y-yeah," I said, "probably need to get some sleep."

He nodded, chewing on his lip. "Well, be careful."

I nodded, feeling a bit awkward. Not only had Fred and I jumped back into it, but we'd done it without even having an actual conversation.

"I'll see you," I said, grabbing my car keys as I walked to the front door.

"Yeah," he said, and I opened the door, feeling confused.

~*~

I swept up the broken glass that had been lying in the floor ever since last night. Sweeping up a broken wine glass had quickly become the least of my concerns.

I rubbed my eyes, bracing my palms on the counter. I jolted up when I heard the door open, making me look over at Josie.

"Hey," she greeted, smiling.

"H-hey," I said, "how was your night?"

She nodded, shrugging out of her coat. "Good."

"You stayed with Ana?"

She looked over at me, hesitantly nodding. "Y-yeah. We had a good time."

"Good," I said, shooting her a tired smile.

I'd forgotten how draining sex was. My body was also a lot older than it once was, and I was reminded of that this morning.

She leaned against the counter, tilting her head over. "Why is there a dirty dish still out?" She asked.

"Oh, I-uh, I passed out on the couch last night. I made one of those really hearty dinners, you know? Turned on a movie and fell asleep. Your old man's exhausted."

She nodded. "Sounds like you had a fun night."

The door flew open, making Henry step inside. "God, I'm ready for warm weather."

"Good morning to you, too," I said, earning a grin from him.

He walked over to us, shivering. "Did you enjoy your peace?"

"Yeah," I said, "you guys are just the worst."

He chuckled. "You look exhausted, Dad."

I hadn't even noticed Josie's disappearance, making me search around the kitchen for her. My eyes went round when I saw her standing in the foyer, a pair of underwear dangling off of her finger.

"Jo-"

"What kind of a cheap whore did you invite over here?" She screeched, her eyebrows in an angry furrow.

I knew better than to intervene, because her mother had also once been like this. I knew to just stay back, and let her scream at me.

Henry's eyebrows shot up, and his eyes met mine.

"Josephine, please let me explain-"

"Maybe you're the whore," she said, throwing the underwear down.

I knitted my eyebrows together, my lips parted. "I-"

"She will never be Mom," she sneered, "ever. I don't care who she is. And she'll never be worth losing Mom forever."

She stormed away before I could even get out a breath, making me look over at Henry.

"I'm not here to judge," he softly said.

I let my head fall into my hands, rubbing them down my face.

"But you do realize that any chance with Mom is gone now," he said, "right?"

I looked over at him, genuinely exhausted. I let out a sigh, wanting to flat out tell him, but I knew it'd over-complicate things.

He gathered his things from the counter, beginning to walk away but he stopped in his tracks.

"Oh," he said, "I stopped in to see Mom on my way. Took her some breakfast. She was just as exhausted as you are."

I lifted my eyes to meet him, my bottom lip between my teeth.

"And she seemed to be catching a cold, kinda like you've got," he said, nodding with narrow eyes.

I nodded, letting out a breath as I rubbed the back of my neck. "Y-yeah, it's probably going around. Weather changes, and stuff."

"Yeah," he shrugged, smiling, "what do I know, though?"

~*~

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