We definitely spent a little too long on the porch, making out like two high-schoolers sneaking in a last moment before curfew. I think we both realized whatever waited inside could kill the mood fast, so we tried to squeeze in as many smooches as possible before the inevitable. When we finally came up for air, we noticed the living room lights glowing through the window like a chaperone tapping its watch. So, we straightened up, took a breath, and walked in, trying to look like responsible adults instead of teenagers who’d just been caught. And we got busted big time. Everyone—and I mean everyone—had parked in the living room like concerned friends staging an intervention.
“Dada!” Logan squealed, flapping his little arms.
“Hey, buddy! You missed me?” I scooped him up and kissed the top of his head. He smelled like graham crackers and baby lotion—a combo I’d bottle and sell if I could.
Sophia crouched near Desi. “How was school?”
“It was fine.” Desi paused, eyeing Sophia up and down. “Okay, but—wow. You look hot, Mommy.”
Sophia blushed, as she always did. “Oh! Thank you, sweet potato.”
Desi’s eyes flicked between us, narrowing a little. “Soooo … are you guys good now?”
I couldn’t see Sophia’s face, but I could feel her cheeks heating from behind. The question hit hard, but Desi’s tone was more cautious than snarky. For once, I let Sophia answer for both of us.
“Yes, we’re okay,” she said carefully. “I’m sorry if we made you uncomfortable.”
“It seriously sucked,” Desi said, crossing her arms.
“I know,” Sophia replied, patient as ever. “Sometimes grown-ups mess up. The important part is we learn from it and move forward.”
“What she said,” I added, letting Logan down. “Hey, think you can hang with your brother a little longer? Our date’s not over yet.”
I gave her my best eyebrow wag: an open invitation for an eye roll.
“There it is,” I said when she did it.
“Oh, you’re not gonna send me to bed early this time?” she asked sarcastically. “You two are so cringe!”
I chuckled, surprised she even remembered all those times. “You’re grown now. You know what’s up.”
Sophia giggled. “It’s not cringe, it’s romantic.”
“Uh, no. It’s gross when parents do it.”
“Well, if we didn’t do it, you wouldn’t be here,” Sophia shot back.
“Okay, ew, boundaries!”
That was our cue. I gave Logan a gentle nudge toward Desi. “Go love on sissy for a bit, buddy. And tell her she’s your favorite, okay?”
Sophia grabbed my hand, and we took off up the stairs, laughing like we got away with something.
“Next time, just get a hotel!” Desi shouted after us.
“Love you!” we yelled back in unison.
The door clicked shut, and the house went quiet. Finally, it was just us again. For a moment, we stood there, listening to the muffled sounds of Logan’s babbling and the faint thump of paws on the stairs. It was that easy silence that had been missing all week. I didn’t rush to touch her. It had been so long since it felt natural between us, and I didn’t want to ruin it by hurrying. After the abduction, our intimacy had been … off. When my anxiety spiked, she’d offer herself to calm me down. It worked, sure, but it wasn’t about us. It was survival, not connection. Tonight had to mean more.
Sophia leaned against the doorframe, smizing at me again in her shiny dress. “Well?” she teased. “You just gonna stand there, or are you gonna get me out of this thing?”
That teasing spark in her voice, so playful and daring, snapped me right back to the present. Whatever tenderness I’d planned to build slowly just evaporated.
I smiled, stepping closer. “Yes, ma’am.”
We barely made it to the bed before the laughter turned into something else entirely—something that felt a lot like forgiveness. I thought our date had jump-started a new era in our marriage. But lying together, skin on skin, breathless, passion peaking to max levels, I realized we hadn’t started over. We’d found our way back home.
