In the morning, Sara was the first to wake up. Disoriented for a minute, she allowed her eyes to rest letting her mind and brain interact to bring her memory up to date. She opened her eyes as she remembered falling asleep with Freddie in Lucas bed, so she turned to view the occupant of the bed and was surprised to find Lucas snoring lightly next to her. He had his arm draped around her waist, effectively trapping her body to his. She wasn't too alarmed, realizing he probably returned late at night and rearranged the sleeping positions. She let her eyes wander dreamily over his handsome features.

He was always gorgeous all his life, that it had earned him an award on entertainment chart for two consecutive years as the most handsome and eligible bachelor of the year. That was before they got married. Apparently, the award brought him too much unwanted attention and he had declined it the third year.

He had a deep sculptured oval face with sharp aquiline features. His brows, like his neatly trimmed curly hair, were thick and dark, and perfectly streamlined to accentuate his pointed nose and almond shaped eyes. His pupils were characteristically hazel brown which was a rare feature in this country considering that he was mixed blood. The light tip at the edge of his nose gave way for his full sensuous lips that did numerous things to her senses when they captured her lips in a kiss. His strong chiseled jaw held a week old stubble, his characteristic look which she always found sexy. His chocolate dark skin helped to highlight his features and with a perfectly sculptured body to boot, no wonder he was a playboy.

She had loved this playboy very much, Sara thought sadly, watching the long lashes that fanned his cheek. He had swept her off her feet, shown her what love was and then had taken it all away as fast as he had given it to her. That had killed her, broken her terribly and separated her from her son. She would be a fool to allow him into her heart or give him the power to break her heart again, at least what's left of it. Slowly, she moved her body to climb out of bed, only to have his hold on her waist tighten. Her eyes flew up and her heart missed a beat at the hawk-like gaze watching her as though she was a prey.

"Good morning, beautiful," he hummed, blinking away sleep from his eyes.

She blushed at his endearment, looking away for a second. "Good morning," she repeated.

"Did you sleep well?"

"When did you get back?"

They both asked simultaneously.

"Late." Was the reply. "The party went longer than I expected. But it was a good thing seeing that Martin pulled a surprise on me. Turns out he and Judy are back in Lagos for good."

Her mouth formed into an O, remembering her best friend Judy and her midnight lover. Those had been wonderful times, she reflected.

"He said he and Judy would be celebrating their five years anniversary sometime in July and we're invited."

She nodded but frowned. "July is five months away. It's uncertain." She trailed off, hoping he caught her meaning.

He did. "Let's not think about that right now. When that time comes, we'll see what happens."

She was still in doubt. "But my situation with my son is still delicate despite everything..."

"And you're still very beautiful despite everything," he murmured, his eyes settled on her lips.

She swallowed hard, finding it quite hard to breathe suddenly. She knew it was a bad idea to have fallen asleep on his bed. She needed to get away from him, she thought frantically, struggling quite futilely to move away but he wasn't having any of it. Quickly, he tilted his head towards hers. He sat up on the bed and using his right hand cupped her face. Slowly, he let his hands pull her up and his lips captured hers in a kiss, barely giving her time to think or even react. His mouth covered hers, pulling her into the wave of pleasure. She kissed him back with the same fervor despite herself, even as his tongue pushed past her lips into her mouth, fighting for dominance. Easily, she gave him what he sought, allowing him to lead the way. He adjusted on the bed quickly pulling her to sit on his waist, straddling him. Then the fire brimming between them erupted.

They broke apart for air, breathing hard before finding their way back to each other's lips. It was like they couldn't get enough of each other, with the way their hands were moving everywhere around their bodies. Lucas groaned into her mouth, obviously aroused to the point of no return. He tore his mouth from hers, allowing it to roam all over face. From her eyes to her nose, pausing to nibble at her bottom lips, evoking a moan from them. Then he trailed his kisses down to her ears and then to her throat. Annoyed that the sweatshirt was preventing him from getting more skin, he tugged angrily at it and she helped him pull it off from her head. Then his blood exulted as he saw her full breasts and peaked nipples screaming for his attention. But so was her parted lips. He decided to focus on the breast later.

He moved his lips back to hers, eagerly swallowing her moans. She was hot and he was on fire.

"Lucas, please." She moaned again, rotating her hips atop his engorged member. He willed patience into him at her plea. He was ten seconds from taking her here and now. Maybe. He opened his mouth to respond to her.

"What are you doing?" asked a small confused voice. Freddie stood a few meters from the door, rubbing away sleep from his eyes.

Like children caught stealing meat from the pot of soup, the couple broke apart, looking like a bucket of iced water had been dumped on them. Sara was first to recover, pulling the sheets to her naked breast and scrambled out of bed, making a mad dash for his bathroom, leaving Lucas to diffuse the situation.

Lucas knew he shouldn't be laughing at the horrified expression on Sara's face when she saw their son but he could barely hide the flicker of smile across his face. Looking down at the bulge in his pants, he groaned.

"Hey, musketeer. Wanna join daddy in bed?" He asked, choosing that instead to standing in front of the boy still aroused.

The little boy nodded eagerly, running to quickly bundle up on the bed. Once he was on the bed, Lucas reached for him, attacking him with tickles.

He shrieked, laughing and kicking furiously, attempting to escape. Seeing that he had enough, Lucas stopped and watched as his laughter subsided.

"That's what you get when you disturb daddy in his sleep."

Freddie tilted his head, a mannerism similar to his father's. "Were you sleeping with Sara?"

Lucas nearly choked on the image his innocent words conjured. He grinned, barely stopping himself from saying almost but decided to go down a different path instead.
"Sara and I were playing tickle monster. Like I said, she woke me up and so she got the tickle monster, just like you did." He attacked him again with tickles and his laughter echoed throughout the room.

When he stopped, he climbed out of bed pulling his son along. "Are you hungry, buddy?" He asked, opting to send Freddie away as he still needed to talk with Sara.

He nodded eagerly. "I want coco pops, daddy. And rice Krispies, too," he chanted, hopping from one foot to the other.

Lucas nodded, thankful Camilla had restocked the kitchen yesterday. "Tell Camilla what you want and she'll make them for you. I'll join you later. I need to brush my teeth 'cause they stink." Father and son wriggled their mouth at that, giggling at their antics. Then Freddie ran off, leaving Lucas and Sara, who was still in the bathroom, alone.

He strolled to the bed and picked up the sweatshirt she left behind in her hurry and marched to the bathroom. He knocked at the locked door, and handed her the item of clothing when she opened it. Allowing her privacy to get decent, he walked back to his bed.

She followed suit a few minutes later, clutching the sheets. He was lying halfway through the bed, his arms linked and folded behind his head. She watched him, not wanting to face him yet and knowing there was no way out of it either.

"What did you tell him?" She asked. He sat up watching her. She strolled to come drop the sheets back on the bed, and moved back to her original position. She was keeping her distance, literally.

"The truth." Was the simple reply as he sat up looking at her.

She felt her jaw drop open in disbelief. "Why?!" She cried in dismay. "He's too young to understand this, any of this even."

He glared at her, annoyed that she would think him capable of such ridiculous action. "I'm not stupid, alright. I was only pulling your legs."

"Oh." She fought to clamp her jaw shut, feeling embarrassed at thinking the worst of him. He was staring at her standing in the middle of his room, with an unreadable expression on his face. He was thinking about something very hard, and she foreknew she didn't want to be here for that.

"I should go..." she began hesitantly.

"I like you Sara. I like you a lot," he said quietly, then frowned as though the words sounded wrong.

But they were just the right words to set her heart into a randomly scattered beating pattern. She swallowed against the lump in her throat. "Lucas... "

He didn't let her say anything. He stood up from the bed, coming to stand in front of her. Looking into her eyes he said, "I hope it's not too late but I want to try again with us. I know what I feel and it's obvious you are still attracted to me. So let's run this ship and see where it sails."

She knew what his words implied but she felt insulted, realizing she wanted more. She wanted so much more. Shaking her head, she replied "No, Lucas. That would be very bad. We are not ready for this. I'm not ready for this. Besides we have our son to consider in all this."

He was perplexed. "What does he have to do with this, with us getting back together?"

"Everything!" She cried frustrated. She sidestepped him to go sit on the bed. It was probably easy for him, seeing that he was familiar with climbing in and out of relationships faster than she could breathe but she was still a learner at it. And her first experience hadn't been so pleasant. She would need more than mere words to attempt it again.

He let out an exasperated breath. "Sara, Freddie has nothing to do with anything, at least not when it concerns us. We can still have a cordial relationship just for his sake, but I want more than that. Even if he's out of the picture, I still want you," he explained, sounding sincere.

She shook her head slowly. "That is not possible."

"Why?" He was adamant. "Why is it not possible? We are starting again, people start again all the time and many times fall in love."

She felt her heart freeze at that word. Love. She had fallen in love once, yes, she had even reveled in the feeling of euphoria, of ecstasy that the word brought. Everything was so perfect in that moment, and everything had gone so wrong in an instant.

"You say it like it's so easy. Why are you acting like we're still married, Lucas? In case you've forgotten, we are divorced. We have five years separating us."

He nodded sourly. "I'll never forget. All I'm saying is we can try again. I want us to, even without our son in the middle of it."

He was being inconsiderate and she had to let him know. "What are you saying, Lucas? Why is this easy for you? Why are you so eager to move on as though nothing happened?" She didn't understand him and it was very frustrating.

"Why do you find it so hard to move on? Why do you insist on holding on to the past, Sara?" He asked, looking deep into her eyes.

His gaze made her uncomfortable so she stood up from the bed to move away from it. "That is not what I mean," she murmured.

"No," he concurred, nodding his head. "But your eyes scream it. Are you reluctant to move on because of me, because you don't trust me?"

Yes, Sara heard her heart scream out and she clamped her mouth shut to deny it access to her lips. He couldn't see that she was also ready to try again with him. Despite the pain of his betrayal, she honestly wanted to fall in love with him again. But she couldn't. She couldn't allow her heart to go through it knowing what she suffered the first time around. She didn't have it in her yet.

He cackled derisively. "Now I see it very clearly. You won't even try because you don't trust me."

"You have not given me a reason to," she retorted unblinkingly.

"What other reason do you need? How else can I prove it to you that I'm not that man anymore, that I am not the man I was before I married you?"

She was perplexed, realizing he was referring to his cheating scandal. She was not prepared for this right now. "What?" her disbelief echoed out.

"Yes." He was oblivious to her crisis. "All this boils down to that one night, isn't it? And no matter how many times I reiterate it to you that I was innocent, that I never slept with her, it just doesn't seem to stick."

She didn't reply. Unlike that day at the hospital when he had walked in looking lost and claiming he was bring framed and she had been in so much pain she had yelled profanities at him. She wasn't in pain today, but it didn't mean she was not in doubt.

He continued despite her silence. "Hell, what I am even saying?" He asked rhetorically, running a tired hand across his face. "Why do I even bother explaining myself to you if you already have your opinion of me? If you knew me well enough, if you knew who I was, you would have no doubt whatsoever concerning me. But that is my folly, isn't it?"

He asked her shaking his head in resignation. He looked like he was in agony, and had admitted defeat suddenly. "I married someone who knew nothing about me."

Not letting her speak or even perhaps react, he marched out, leaving a stunned Sara still standing in the room.

+++++++++++++++

He didn't return, at least not after she went to the guest room she had been lodged in to get dressed. She had overstayed her welcome and the owner of the house would probably want her gone if their earlier discussion was anything to go by. He was right in saying he had married someone who knew next to nothing about him. They had gotten engaged a month after they met and got married four months later. And even though their marriage lasted roughly two years, she rarely spent a lot of time with him to really get to know him. Perhaps that was why she had been so quick to jump to conclusions when the scandal broke out. But who could blame her really, waking up from a 20 hour-long surgery still in pains just to switch on the television and find your husband's face plastered over the news saying he had been caught in a famous motel room in Enugu with his lover. It didn't help that said lover was his all-time girlfriend of more than five years, Karen Thomas.

But thinking about all that now helped no one. It was too late for her to change the past, and it was too late for her to still be in this room. Quickly, she picked her shoes from the wardrobe and putting it on, exited the room.

She must have stayed long in her room, because when she got to the bottom of the stairs, Lucas was standing there all dressed up in a traditional attire and looking sexy. He was drool-worthy. Suddenly, Freddie ran out from the kitchen area carrying a tote bag he had obviously filled with candies. He was dressed up too, in jeans and a short sleeved shirt. He beamed when he reached his father before linking his arms with his.

She coughed to announce her presence and watched as two pairs of identical eyes flew up to her face. Lucas looked taken aback, Freddie just grinned at her.

"Are you guys going out?" She asked, despite the obvious answer.

He nodded "Yeah. Aunt Sophia is having a birthday party for her son, Lincoln and we were invited. Come on, we'll drop you off on the way there," he said, invitingly.

Aunt Sophia was his mother's youngest sister, who like her elder sister, had also married a Nigerian man. Lincoln was their only child.

She thought about declining until she saw Freddie grinning at her as though she were the Mona Lisa painting. It was obvious he was high on sugar rush.

"OK. I accept."

"Good," he replied, marching off towards the Ford Explorer parked in front of the driveway.

The ride was seemingly pleasant. Freddie sat at the passenger side, singing and chanting all his favorite rhymes and songs, while Lucas and Sara sat at the back holding desperately onto the antics of the little boy in order not to slip into an uncomfortable silence. Later, they pulled up in front of her apartment complex and she climbed down. She could see Lucas studying the area, as though trying to figure out why she would live there when she should be able to afford better. But he didn't question it and she breathed a sigh of relief. Her family's problems were none of his concerns.

He stepped out of the car just before she could walk into the compound. He held her arm, stopping her strides.

"Lucas?"

He smiled. "I want you to think about what I said, Sara. I know you're not ready so I won't rush but it doesn't mean I'll hide what I feel. Because I won't." He twisted his lips before turning to walk back to his car.

She stood in the same spot he left her for about five minutes contemplating what he had told her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Writer's secret: It is completely alright to go cliché and bring in a child to ruin a smut moment, especially when you don't feel like writing it. 😎😉

Asides that, our couple is reviewing their past which means they can choose to move on or not.

And you, my readers can also vote and comment as usual.

Thank you😍😘