By the time the kids are in bed it's just Jax and I. He's sitting in the living room watching television while he waits on me, to talk. I know we still have a lot to talk about, more than that I saw him with the kids earlier and they love having him here. They absolutely love having him tuck them into bed instead of me, and that makes me realize how much they need to have their dad in their life. They need to have that stable relationship with him that they haven't got, and maybe giving him back this house would do that.

So, When I walk back into the living room with the moving boxes his whole mood changes. He immediately stares at me blankly and starts, "Ry we had this talk." He tells me as I sit the boxes on the floor. They aren't for the living room, but hauling them through the house is to get them to my room, where I can hopefully start on all of my shoes.

"And I think you should live here." I tell him as he smiles. "I know I should, with you and the kids." He tells me as I stare back at him and laugh.

"No. I mean with the kids every other weekend while I live across town." I tell him back as he reaches forward to me and pushes the boxes out of my hands.

"Ry...." He starts pulling me into his chest. He used to do this all the time to get his way. He starts kissing down the side of my neck sitting me on his lap as he smiles into the back of my hair.

"No Jax. I don't think staying here is going to be beneficial. If we try this again and we work, sure. But not right now why we're trying to figure things out." I whisper as he starts rubbing my hips melting away my ability to say no.

"Ry.. you know you don't want to move. Here's an idea, withdraw your offer and stay here. My other home is payed for, I'll stay there until you're ready for me to move back in, until then, you'll stay." He tells me as I laugh.

"And why would I do that?" I ask looking over my shoulder into his eyes. "Because you know you don't want to pack up this whole house by yourself. Be honest, it's full of way too much stuff." He tells me as I laugh. He's right, it's a lot, but I'm willing to do it if I have to.

"What do I get if I stay?" I ask questionably. "Endless orgasms whenever you want." He whispers into my ear opening my thighs as he starts trailing his fingers up them and I stop him by swatting his hands away.

"Nope. Don't think so. When we started dating, it was just sex and then Maddie. We never had time to be Rylee and Jax and if we're doing this again we're doing it the right way. No sex this time, I want to go on dates, be wined and dined, and progress like a relationship should. No sex." I tell him as I quickly flip around and stand up. I cross my arms over him and make him laugh.

"Ry, you aren't serious." He tells me as I nod. I am, I'm so serious. We never really dated like we should have, we started with more sex than I could imagine and around ten days later found out I was pregnant with Maddie, that was way too fast. And I know I want that experience that I never had with him.

"Baby..." He starts while trying to grab me as I shake my head no. "What's wrong with that?" I ask him.

"I don't mind the idea of it. I really don't, I'll love to wine and dine you and take you on dates like we didn't really get to do. But sex, Rylee we have to have sex." He tells me as I shake my head no. I have a plan for this, he's not touching me without taking me on real dates.

"If you want to make this work you'll give up sex for at least fifteen dates. That way we know exactly everything we didn't know about each other before having sex, again. I mean real dates too, not just you coming over." I explain as his mouth drops.

"Fuck no. Five, five tops before sex." He tells me as I shake my head no. "Let's compromise then." He tells me as I sigh. "Fourteen" I negotiate as he laughs.

"Six." He tells me back as I sigh. "Thirteen." I tell him as he sighs. "Six and a half..." he trails off as I kick his leg, "fine nine, there my max." He tells me as I smile. "How about ten? Compromise for us both. No more, no less. And we can't have sex if I'm not comfortable or you. We can't if we're arguing because I don't want to have sex just to have it anymore, I want a real connection. One that I haven't had in years." I tell him as he nods.

"Okay. Ten. And just so you know, what happened yesterday, that wasn't just fucking and you know that." He tells me winking as I look away and move taking the seat next to him on the couch.

"Oh really? I used you for a release babe." I whisper patting his chin as he grabs my hand and pulls me into his chest.

"A release?" He asks as I nod laughing. "Why else do you think I let you fuck me Jax?" I ask him as he locks his jaw like he always does when he's pissed off.

"Because I'm your husband." He tells me as I smile. "It's because your dick fits me perfectly." I tell him confidently as he sighs and reaches down clearly adjusting himself over his shorts.

"Please stop before my dick gets harder. You better stop acting like this or I'll take you into that room and show you date ten." He tells me as I laugh. I lean back into his shoulder watching the television when he throws his arm over me and pulls me closer to his chest.

It's silent while I admire being held, and then he starts again. "Please stay here." He whispers down to me as I look over at him.

"I mean that Ry. Don't go, please don't move, not with the kids not anywhere. I was raised here and I want them to be too." He tells me rubbing my shoulder in his palm.

"But Jax..." I trail off as he sighs. "I'll put your name on the lease. It never got changed since I own the house but if you promise me we'll work on this for real, and that you'll stay here with the kids, I'll gladly put you on it Ry." He tells me as I sigh. He's right, I know he is. We always talked about raising a family here. The in-ground pool, the big backyard, the trees, the flowers around the house, the big porches and patio, the space the house has, it's perfect for our kids. I know the house I put an offer on, it's so much smaller, but still it would be my own.

But Jax and I's finances merged when we got married, what's his is mine and what's mine is his.

"Okay." I whisper softly as he smiles and kisses my cheek. "I'm trying Jax. I really am." I whisper out as he nods. "I know and I promise I'll never hurt you again." He tells me back as he pulls me back into his chest.

I'm laying across the couch on him when he flips the channel to one of the reality shows we used to watch together making me smile. And for two hours we laugh and watch it together before he grabs the blanket and throws it over me. And when he's rubbing my scalp between his long fingers with dull fingernails I'm out, I fall asleep right on his chest.

___

Softly opening my eyes I squint looking at the ceiling in my bedroom. I look around and see the blinds opened slightly along with my slippers beside the bed. And that's when I realize I fell asleep without setting my alarm last night meaning the kids are probably late for school and I'm probably late for my shift that starts at lunch time. Double fuck.

I roll over looking at the clock and see it's already nine as I palm my forehead, of fucking course. It's because I fell asleep on Jax last night and I don't even remember crawling into bed.

I slip out of the covers and look at my clothes from yesterday still on my body before walking into the living room. But what shocks me is when the blankets are folded and I don't hear the kids. I walk into the kitchen and see what I don't expect. Jax has made a full breakfast and is currently on the phone with what I'm sure is a client.

I wait in the doorway and watch him as he talks. I'm brought back to the first time I stayed with him, I walked in on him rapping at the top of his lungs, something I'm sure he'd be doing right now if he wasn't on a work call. "Of course. Yeah, I'll be there in.." he trails off looking at the time on the stove clock.

"I'll be there in about two hours. I had to take my kids to school this morning and I have some errands to run." He tells the person as I smile. So he took them to school and let me sleep, the best sleep I've had in a while might I add.

He hangs up as I tap on the doorframe and he turns around. "Good morning sunshine." He tells me as I laugh. I walk up to him and reach beside his head into the cabinet before grabbing my vitamins I take every morning and I start, "I heard you, thanks for taking them to school." I tell him as he nods and watches me open different bottles.

"How many things do you take?" He asks grabbing the bottles of my vitamins. "Not that many, I just forget to eat sometimes and it was worse after.." I go to start but cut myself off. "Nope, finish. I can see you're constantly losing weight." He tells me as I sigh.

"It was worse when you left. I stopped taking care of myself and it messed me up. I don't eat like I'm supposed to, food just the thought of it some days makes me sick. So I'm on enough vitamins that if I go a day without eating I won't pass out. I'll still get my nutrition, just with these." I tell him holding up my multivitamins.

"I hate that. Please eat normally." He tells me as I look over at him. He doesn't know how bad I've struggled with my image because of him leaving. I thought everything in the world was wrong with me because he left. It messed me up to the point where I told myself I was fat and useless.

"Jax when you left that shit messed me up. I'm still not fully okay." I tell him as he nods.

"Fuck I didn't know that, I thought you were losing weight on purpose Ry. I'm so sorry." He tells me as I nod. I know he's sorry, I know it now.

"We'll work on it." I whisper out softly as he smiles and kisses my head. He reaches for me and takes me into his chest before fixing me the biggest plate he can. He eats with me and for the first time in a long time, it's okay.

"Cheers to our first real date." He whispers making me laugh as he kisses the back of my hand.

"Cheers to that." I tell him back.