Remember to Forget || Chapter 12

Chapter 12

It was morning, a morning different than the rest… at least to Isabella.

She was so overjoyed by the news her mother gave her last night about how they were staying in ‘Engrald’ longer. Though she couldn’t help but tear up when she saw her mother’s saddened face about breaking off the wedding with JT.

Though, Isabella was completely confused this morning, she noticed something was abnormal. Or maybe it was normal? Her mother was glowing with happiness at the breakfast table. A very wide smile was planted on her face while her Uncle Simey was talking about how they will all be spend their remaining days.

Isabella continued to eat her pancakes as her mother and uncle engaged into a deep conversation. She could hear her mother giggle once every few minutes passed and that made her smile. In the corner of her eye, she saw their hands slightly touching each other, just barely.

Something was wrong… or maybe right? Something was different. She needed to find out what was going on. Perhaps, she should take drastic measures.

--Remember to Forget--

Paula was at the stove making dinner when the front door opened just shy of seven o’clock. She smiled to herself as she closed her eyes.

“Where’s my little Bella-Boo?”

At the sound of Simon’s voice, Isabella let out an excited squeal as she bounced in her seat at the kitchen table. She had been quietly playing with her colored toy blocks, but at the sound of her uncle’s voice, she was about to fall out of her chair with excitement. Simon had been busy all day with a few meetings here and there.

“All right, take it easy, sweetie” Paula laughed at her daughter’s adorable actions.

Simon walked in right when Isabella jumped from her chair and ran towards her uncle. “Uncle Simey! Uncle Simey!” she exclaimed, holding out her arms.

Paula watched him scoop her up and toss her in the air. Her heart melted when Isabella clung to his neck once he caught her. Such love, she thought as she made herself turn away from the endearing sight. It always touched her to the two of them like this and she would usually stop what she was doing so she could watch, but she had a feeling it would affect her just a little too much this time around and so she kept her back to them. However, she could still hear.

“I heard you had quite a day, sweetheart,” he smiled, giving a slight Eskimo kiss as his nose brushed lightly against her tiny one.

Isabella exclaimed, “Yeah! I went swimming!”

“Did you have fun?”

“Yeah… Mommy threw me up really, really, really high… All the way up to the sky!”

He chuckled, “Wow…that’s pretty high.”

“Mhmm,” she agreed with a firm nod.

“That’s awesome, sweetie. I’m glad you had fun.” He set Isabella back on the ground and then glanced towards the toy blocks on the table. “Have you been playing with your blocks?”

“Uh-huh…I can stack them really, really high! Wanna see!?”

“I’d love to see,” he laughed. “Start stacking, Bella-Boo.”

Paula kept her eyes on the sauce she was stirring but a ghost of a smile appeared on her face. She kept her back to him, giggling softly to herself. She was just about to lift the spoon for a taste when she suddenly felt him sneak up behind her.

Her whole body stiffened as he peered over her shoulder and placed a hand lightly at her hip. “Smells good,” he murmured.

Her whole mouth went dry as she tried to find a way to accomplish the simple task of speaking. “It’s tomato sauce.”

“Yeah?” he chuckled softly. “I guess that smells good, too.”

She blushed.

He asked, “Are you going to let me have a taste?”

Paula turned her head to look at him and immediately realized that was a mistake. Their lips were now inches apart. “I don’t think that would be appropriate with Isabella in the room,” she said shakily as her eyes moved to his mouth.

Simon gave her a slow grin. “Although that would be nice…I was talking about the tomato sauce, darling.”

She felt her whole face flush with embarrassment. “Oh… right.” She hastily scooped up some up with her wooden spoon and tried not to shake as she held it up to him.

Simon grasped her trembling hand that held the spoon, and then made sure his eyes met hers when he slowly took it into his mouth. “Mmm… that is good stuff,” he said smacking his lips. “Are we having pasta?”

“Yes… Are you sure it’s okay? It doesn’t need anything?”

“No, its fine,” he smiled. “Here, try it.” He took the spoon from her and scooped up some for her to taste.

Although she could feel his gaze on her, she made sure she kept her eyes elsewhere as he fed her the sauce. “It’s okay,” she said brushing off a dab of sauce she felt on the corner of her mouth. “Could use a bit more salt.”

“You think?” he asked. He grabbed her hand that she was bringing to her mouth to suck off the sauce. “Let me try it again.”

Paula tried to make herself pull her hand away before Simon’s dangerous mouth made contact with her skin, but she couldn’t seem to do it. Her whole body shuddered when Simon closed his mouth over her finger, than swallowed back a groan when he sucked off the sauce in one long stroke. It was ridiculous. How could her whole body react to such a simple gesture? It was her finger for crying out loud, it shouldn’t be this arousing. But god help her, it was.

“Nope,” he murmured softly as he kept her finger inches from his mouth. “Perfect the way it is.”

Paula blinked up at him. “What?”

He grinned. “The sauce?” he reminded her as he nipped the pad of her finger. “Its fine the way it is.”

Her breath caught at the feel of his teeth lightly scrapping her skin. “Oh. Right.” She cleared her throat as she tried to tug her hand free. He was way too close… but not close enough. He was now driving her crazy by kissing the tips of her fingers one by one. “Simon…”

“I never realized how incredibly feminine your fingers are,” he said quickly between kisses and then lifted her other hand to give it some attention as well.

“That’s probably the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever said,” she laughed slightly as she tried to sound annoyed. “They’re just fingers.”

“No, they’re not.” He stopped at one finger and lingered. He whispered low enough so Isabella couldn’t hear a word, “These fingers were all over me just the other day.”

“Simon…,” she warned him, “I don’t think-”

He continued to tease her. “They were in my hair… all over my back… they even sneaked in between the buttons of my shirt… and drove me crazy.”

Paula closed her eyes when he softly kissed her palm. “Simon, you’ve got to stop this.”

“Stop what?”

She quietly said, “Seducing me… here… with Isabella just a few feet away. We agreed that we-”

Interrupting her, he told her, “She’s happily playing with her blocks.”

“Uncle Simey, I’m done!” Isabella exclaimed.

Simon grinned. “See?” he said and gave her a wink before letting go of her and turning his attention back to Isabella. “Wow…that’s a pretty tall tower, sweetheart,” he said, watching the colorful wobbly tower that she had made. “It is almost as high as your head!”

“Yep!” Isabella then made a crashing sound with her mouth as she knocked down her tower, then clapped and jumped in her seat, absolutely pleased with herself. “I’ll make it again,” she giggled.

Simon chuckled as he leaned down to pick the blocks that fell on the floor. “Knock yourself out,” he smiled.

When Simon had left Paula, she immediately retreated to the sink, busying herself with washing the dishes so her hands would be occupied. He would probably go upstairs now that his little seducing act was over. Besides… he wasn’t ‘that’ great at it. She blew out a breath that sent her bangs dancing. Who was she kidding? He was good. Too good. And not to mention incredibly sexy.

“Paula?”

Her whole body jolted when he snuck up behind her and placed his hands on her hips. The dish, she had been washing, slipped from her fingers and clattered into the sink. “Yes? What?” she asked breathlessly. She squeezed her eyes shut when he gently moved her hair to expose her neck. “Simon...”

“You smell incredible,” he said with a whisper.

She bit her lip when he pressed himself against her, pinning her to the counter. “T-thanks,” she managed to say even though her mind felt like a pile of mush.

He nuzzled his lips against her ear. “You feel incredible too, darling,” he groaned before giving her earlobe a little nip and then he pushed himself away.

Paula waited until he left the room, only stopping long enough to kiss the top of Isabella’s head, to close her eyes and let out a not so steady breath. Her whole body was wired and she needed to have a few moments before she felt relaxed and her heart rate was down to normal. She blocked out her daughter’s block building noise in the background as she tried to calm herself.

When she finally felt more at ease, which took awhile since Simon knew just how to stir her blood, anger for the insufferable man replaced wanting. The nerve of him! God knew how he was going to act around the dinner tonight. She lifted her chin as she continued to wash the dishes. She’d like to see him try. If he so much as winks at her, she would give him an icy stare that will turn his blood cold.

He didn’t wink at her. In fact, he didn’t so much as look at her through dinner and acted completely oblivious. No one in the room would ever suspect that just a few hours ago Simon had his hands, which were now busy cutting up Isabella’s spaghetti, exploring under her blouse. It infuriated her that he could turn his seduction on and off so quickly.

Wait a minute, what was she furious about? Just moments ago she was mad about how he was flirting with her when their daughter was in the room and now she was mad because he wasn’t flirting with her? He was so difficult.

Simon didn’t know exactly what was going through Paula’s mind at the moment, but he did know that he was getting to her and that made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Simon still kept one eye slightly trained on Paula, while Isabella was talking on and on. Paula was driving him crazy and she didn’t even realize it. She probably didn’t have a clue how sexy she was. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on her again. It wouldn’t happen overnight, he knew that, but he could be a patient man when he wanted to be.

--Remember to Forget--

It was his turn to tuck Isabella into to bed and wait for her to fall asleep. He gave her a quick kiss before slowly getting up from the bed and retreating from the room. He was on his way to his own room when he saw the light flooding under Paula’s bedroom door. He probably shouldn’t have, but he couldn’t stop himself from slowly opening her door.

She was lying on top of the covers, with a book resting on her chest and her eyes closed. He stepped all the way in and made his way towards the bed. She was wearing a pair of pink and purple striped shorts which showed off her tanned legs. His fingers itched to touch every glorious inch of her. Her white ribbed tank top was riding up and a sliver of skin was exposed right above the waistband of her shorts. She was sexy even when she wasn’t trying to be.

“Fifty dollars say that you closed your eyes the second you heard me opening the door,” he said softly.

She didn’t speak and kept the same deep breathing as her eyes stayed close.

Chuckling softly to himself, he said, “Hmm…I guess you’re asleep…so it wouldn’t hurt if I did this…”

He leaned forward, placing a hand on her other side as leverage so he could swoop down for a soft kiss. He teased her and kept the kiss light as he nuzzled his lips with hers. Through his lashes he saw that her hands were clenched tightly and she swallowed hard. He finally leaned back, scrapping his teeth over her bottom lip as he pulled away. “Sleep well, love,” he murmured with a hint of amusement in his voice before getting up from the bed.

He was almost to the door when she said called out his name, “Simon?”

He turned slowly on his heels and saw her sitting up in bed. “Why, Paula…I didn’t wake you, did I?” he chuckled.

She rolled her eyes as she got out of bed. “You know very well that I owe you fifty bucks, Simon.” She stopped in front of him and folded her arms defensively across her chest. “Why are you doing this?”

He arched a brow. “Doing what?”

“You know what,” she said with a scowl. “Why are you…you…”

“Seducing you?” he finished for her with grin.

She closed her eyes and tried to settle her patience. “Yes…that. I mean… we agreed to take things slow and with caution. Meaning-”

“Meaning I shouldn’t seduce you in front of Isabella.”

“Would you stop finishing my sentences, please!” she huffed as she stamped a foot on the floor.

He lifted his hands and laughed softly, “Sorry. Habit.”

“I just… I don’t want to tell Isabella everything until we know for sure that this isn’t a relationship going nowhere. If she knows that you’re her father and for some reason we break, I don’t’-”

“She won’t be disappointed, love.”

Paula frustratingly sighed, “What if this doesn’t work out… and then everything will be awkward. I value our friendship too much to risk that, Simon. And-”

“Why be so negative?” He tried to pull on a smile with much confidence. “Be more positive and believe that this is just the ‘happy ending’ we have all been waiting for.”

She was surprised at his reply. She expected him to be angered or frustrated with her, but his calm voice threw her off track. Paula didn’t say anything else. She didn’t know what else to say. He could most likely just read her mind from there.

“Well,” he said fighting a grin. “I’ll let you get back to bed, sweetheart.” He pulled his hands out of his pockets and framed her face with his hands before placing his lips on her forehead. “G’night, darling.”

He walked to the door and was halfway through it before he turned back around. “Oh, and to answer your question, Paula, I’m seducing you, because I want you. I’m seducing you because I want this relationship, what we have, to work since JT and Terri are out of the way. I’m seducing you because I want you… and I need you.” He breathed slowly and whispered, “I’m seducing you, Paula, because I love you and I want us to be a family.”

And with that said, he closed the door behind him, leaving Paula still planted in the same spot, with that famous dumb expression on her face. He really was getting a habit of doing that to her as well.