Good morning and Happy Hump Day ! If it's Wednesday, then it must be time for more flash fiction from the Wednesday Briefers! We're a group of authors who bring you our finest flash fiction every week, 500 to 1000 words, inspired by one of our prompts.
Vinnie and Ethan have a new case - involving Ethan's Uncle Benny! But first maybe they have something to talk about? See what's going on with the guys in this week's chapter of Rose and Thorne 6. Don't forget to visit the other Briefers and see what's up with them. Their links follow my tale! Enjoy!
“Nothing’s the matter, what do you mean?” I bluffed.
If I thought that lame attempt would diffuse the situation, I was completely
mistaken. Naturally. That man knows me better than that.
“Vinnie,” he said, stretching out my name in his
incredibly sexy low voice that was also a warning that he wasn’t buying what I
was selling.
“We can discuss it while we pack for tonight.” That
wouldn’t buy me much time, but every little second counted. “I promise,” I
quickly added as I saw his brows begin to draw together in what I called his
frustrated scowl, one that was usually aimed at me.
“Think we should take both bags or just one?” I
attempted to make conversation once we reached our bedroom. Not that I thought
that would distract him for any length of time. And it didn’t.
“I think we can share one,” Ethan said, pulling the
larger of our two cases from the closet and setting it on the bed. “It’s just
for a few days. And it’s not like we need to bring your dresses, not for this.”
Thank goodness for that.
At some point in our relationship, I’d grown used to
the idea of having an assortment of dresses and wigs and assorted accessories
that I needed to wear for various undercover assignments. But I’d be lying if I
said I never wore them on our downtime, for Ethan’s benefit, because I surely
did.
And I was liking it more and more…
“Yeah, no need to schlep those,” I agreed.
When Ethan cleared his throat, I realized I was
practicing my usual avoidance. Time to come clean.
I reached for his hand, he gave it willingly, and we
took seats next to one another on the edge of the bed.
“Ethan, you know how much I love you, right?” I
squeezed his hand to demonstrate my deep affection, but I think I only
succeeded in scaring him.
“Vinny, now you’re frightening me. Is something
wrong? With you? With us? Whatever it is, we can fix it.”
My heart broke at the sound of his woebegone voice.
I’d been trying not to upset him, but my words were having the opposite effect.
“There’s nothing wrong with you, absolutely
nothing.” I wrapped my arms around him and burrowed my face against his chest.
“Is it you? Are you sick?” He held me tightly, so
close that I could feel the frantic beats of his heart.
Damn, I could be an idiot sometimes. Or often.
I raised my head to look into his distressed face,
took a deep breath, and said, “I just thought maybe you should find yourself a
woman, someone who can give you actual children.”
That sounded dumb, even as I said it.
“I mean, I don’t have a uterus, you know…”
Even dumber.
“You’d make such a great dad, you shouldn’t waste
your time—”
His lips stepped the tide of my idiocy rather
effectively. I clung to him as we breathed one another in, my tension draining
away as I melted into him.
Nothing was spoken between us for a few moments. He
broke the kiss and pulled back just far enough to look into my eyes as he
gently caressed my cheek. He seemed to be much calmer, now that he’d managed to
decipher my stupidity.
“You are so selfless,” he began, but I wasn’t having
any of that.
I shook my head. “I’m very selfish,” I insisted. “I
want you all to myself but I want you to be happy.”
“So you would give me up for some non-existent woman
with her non-existent uterus?” His lips curled up slightly into a smile.
“Well… yes… Kindof,” I waffled.
Ethan’s smile grew wider.
“You were watching me with Alex, weren’t you?”
I nodded mutely, no longer trusting my voice.
“And you decided to give me up so I could have a
baby with someone else?”
Again I nodded.
“Vinnie, I don’t want children with anyone but you.
And that’s only if you want them too.”
“But—” My protest was cut off by his finger laid
gently against my lips.
“There are other ways of having children, Vinnie.
Non-traditional ways, you know? It’s not like we’re exactly a traditional
couple, are we?”
“Well, no…” When he put it like that.
“Has this been bothering you ever since I asked you
about having kids this morning?” His blond brows arched at me.
“Well… maybe,” I conceded, unwilling to admit to how
stupid I really was. Of course there were other ways. Adoption, surrogacy… I
guess the question had shaken any semblance of common sense out of my brain.
What little I possessed, that is.
“Let’s not worry about it right now, okay? It was
just a random question. Nothing to lose sleep over, and certainly nothing to
get upset about. I’d rather have no children with you than twenty children with
anyone else.”
“Even if you could get a reality TV show out of it?
I couldn’t help but tease.
Ethan laughed. “Vinny, you are reality enough for
me.”
He kissed me again, and the subject was tabled. At least
for now.
to be continued
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