bmm; hold on to me as we go

bmm; hold on to me as we go by ssaarah

Chloe yawned, rubbing her eyes as she widened them to keep them open and watch the TV but she kept nodding off.

“Are you sleepy princess?” I asked, kissing the top of her head. She shook it vigorously.

“No! I want to finish the movie!!!”

“This movie is stupid.” Ben said, wrinkling his tiny nose and putting his legos in separate boxes by color. Even at 8 he was already as anal as his mother about organizing. Chloe? Not so much.

“Don’t say stupid.” I told him, giving him a glare and making him set his hands on his hips.

“You did on the phone before!!” I smirked. It was so funny what kids picked up on.

“That was different. He deserved it.” I said the last part under my breath as Ava walked into the room and plopped on the couch next to me.

“Hey baby.” I leaned over and pressed a kiss against her soft lips, lingering against them for a second longer as she sighed slightly. Even after two kids she still reacted to me the same and I loved it because she had the same effect on me.

“Mom can I have a snack?” Ben asked.

“Me too!” Chloe said, always wanting to do whatever Ben wanted. I wondered how long that would last. Ava ignored them as if they hadn’t spoken and kept watching the tv.

“Dad?” Ben asked, a frustrated look on his tiny face. I shrugged.

“Ask you mother.” I said simply, knowing the game Ava was playing all too well.

“I did already!”

“En francais?” Ava asked, looking back at him. Ben sighed.

“J’ai faim!!!” he said frustrated. Chloe nodded.

“Oui!!!” she said in her tiny voice.

“Dites la phrase entire Benjamin.” Ava said sweetly. We spoke French and English in the house but it was only recently that we started having the kids speak French to Ava and English to me. It was working pretty well; both had almost perfect accents in both. They were lucky. Even to this day I kind of sounded like a tourist when I spoke French and Ava had a thick accent. That I thought was sexy as hell but that was beside the point. Ben groaned which was silly since he was excellent at both. He was a smart boy, smarter than me for sure and I was damn proud.

“Je peux avoir chose à manger?” he asked Ava walking up to her. Ava leaned in and kissed his forehead, beaming at him.

“Tres bien. Oui.” She nodded and Chloe looked up at me.

“J’ai faim!!!” she pouted, thinking that they had forgotten her and pouting as she wriggled off my lap. “Moi aussi mommy!!!”! she called out, padding after Ava and her brother as they walked to the kitchen. Come to think of it? I could use a snack too. I had smart kids. Ava reached down and picked up Chloe as I followed them, watching my family run around the kitchen.

“Quelle est ma princesse faim pour?" Ava asked and kissed her forehead, while Chloe pouted.

"Quoi?" she asked in her tiny voice.

"She wants to know what you're hungry for," Ben sighed and shook his head. Ava laughed but gave Ben a smile.

"Good job Benji," his pout turned into a gap toothed grin and Ava beamed. Seeing her every day with our children? God it only made me love her more.

"Mommy! You spoke en English!!" Chloe said wide eyed, taking a page out of my book and mixing the two languages. Only problem was I did it on purpose, eventually Chloe wouldn’t realize which was which and I’d be the one to blame….still it was pretty cute.

"I did," Ava set her tiny body on the counter and walked over to the fridge and looked inside.

 "I like that," Chloe giggled. "I want chicky nugs!"

"You always want nuggets," Ben groaned, the joke was on them since Ava called every meat chicky nugs only so Chloe would eat it. She was picky, hated everything unless it came in a McDonald's happy meal….my fault again.  I walked up to my wife and wrapped wrapped my arms around her waist after she grabbed some chicken nuggets from the freezer.

"Make some for me too," I said, pressing my body against hers.  

"What do you say?" Ava tilted her head towards me and grinned. I leaned my head into the cook of her neck and placed soft kisses against her silky skin.

“S’il vous plait mon amour.” I whispered, feeling her shiver against me and make me wonder how long it would be till both our babies were asleep.

“Mmmm.” Ava turned in my arms and pressed a kiss against my lips, leaning her body into mine softly.

“Yuck.” I pulled back and watched as Ben made a face at us and Chloe pushed her lips into a kissy face.

“Kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss.” She said in a sing song voice as she danced in a tiny circle.

“You kiss mommy why can’t I?” I asked my son smirking at him. He shook his head.

“That’s different. I don’t kiss girls like that.” Chloe stopped spinning.

“Cami wants to kiss you she told me.” She said in her tiny voice making me chuckle as Ben widened his eyes.

“She didn’t say that.” He replied adamantly as Ava set the food in the oven.

“She did too she said she’s going to kiss you and marry you and live pappily ever after like Cinderella.”

“Happily Chloe, pappily isn’t a word.” Ben corrected her making Chloe pout at him.

“Daddy is pappily not a word?” she asked, looking miserable at the thought of it.

“Cami said she wanted to marry me?” Ben asked, looking terrified at the very thought. For now at least. I wondered how long women would scare him.

“No princess Cinderella lived happily ever after. It means her and her prince were happy forever!” Chloe brightened up as I picked up her tiny body.

“I look like Cinderella do I get a prince?” I kissed her nose.

“Someday.” I felt my chest tighten at the thought. Chloe was a dead ringer for her mother and I was going to have to keep the boys from chasing down our door in just a few years. Not something I was looking forward to. Maybe her whole personality would change by then and she’d get really shy and awkward.  Ava leaned back against the counter and smiled as she looked at our son who was still in the “I hate girls” phase. For now at least. Hopefully Chloe would grow into an I hate boys phase so I didn’t have to lock her in her room for her entire teenage life.

"I don't want to be a prince," Ben stated with his arms crossed over his chest. "I don't even like Cinderella."

"Because Cami is like Belle instead," Chloe pointed out and covered her mouth with her hand, giggling so hard her little body was vibrating in my arms. Her laugh? It made me want 5 more girls just like her.  Ben threw his arms up in frustration,

"I don't like girls!"

 "You liked when Cami kissed you!!! Your cheeks were pink and that means you liked it!!" My eyes widened with Ava’s as we looked back at Ben, I was pretty sure 8 was too young for kissing.

"You kissed Cami?"

"Chloe held me down and she kissed me!" He said and sighed.

"Chloe," I looked at her as her cheeks turned pink, her face hidden against my chest. "Did you do that?"

"Plus she made Cami do it! She dared her," Ben kept telling on his sister, the two of them throwing each other under the bus constantly. "I heard her," He added so matter of factly, glaring at Chloe as she stuck her tongue out at him.

"So how was your first kiss?" I grinned at him,  and Ben groaned loud in frustration.

“It wasn’t my first kiss.” He grumped and I rose a brow at him.

“You seem bummed out buddy but I think you should be more concerned that your little sister is stronger than you.” I teased and Ben’s jaw dropped open as Chloe burst into a fit of giggles and Ava glared at me.

“Cor.” She warned shaking her head though her eyes were still smiling. God her eyes were so damn blue I’d never get used to her beauty.

“I let her!!!” Ben said after his initial shock of my accusation wore off. I smirked.

“Oh? Then you must have wanted to kiss Cami.” Ben’s face turned an adorable shade of red as I tried not to laugh. I’d thought I’d never have kids, hell I thought I’d never fall in love but my family? It was the most amazing thing in my life. I worshipped Ava and my kids.

“He did.” Chloe whispered in my ear. She’d just learned all about secrets and how you were supposed to whisper them, however she still wasn’t all that great at not telling them to everyone so we just whispered silly things for now. I nodded at her.

“Snack time!” Ava called out, squirting some ketchup on each plate before splitting up the nuggets.

“YAY!” Chloe grinned and I set her down in the chair next to Ben and they traded his long necked dinosaurs for her t-rex while Ben made one of them growl at the other before biting it’s head off and Chloe was dipping hers softly and taking tiny nibbles like the little princess she was.

“You’re beaming.” Ava said, sliding into the seat next to me. I shrugged.

“We did good.” I replied, sharing a plate of nuggets with her as I pressed a soft kiss against her lips.

“We did.” She agreed, nodding as she watched them play together. I could see she was half tempted to tell them to stop playing with their food but it was too cute to stop. Plus why bother making chicken in dinosaur shapes if you weren’t going to play with them?

“I'm thinking we should take a bath after they go to bed.” I replied seriously but soft enough so they wouldn’t hear. Ava smirked.

“Oh?” I nodded slowly.

“I'm thinking about those jets in the tub…” I trailed off as I thought about placing Ava in direct contact with them, watching her come apart before I could take her. Ugh.

“Do you want more babies Cor?” I laughed. I wasn’t against it, if Ava got pregnant again I’d be happy but I was pretty damn happy with our little boy and girl.

“I'm not sure you can beat what we’ve got, but I'm up for practicing….” Ava bit her lip.

(present)

"Checking up on our kids again?" I asked, watching Ava as she flipped through the folders BMM kept on Ben and Chloe. She’d do it at least once a month, convinced our kids were keeping one million secrets from us and honestly they probably were but I for one? Didn’t really want to know half of them. With Ben busy with a 5 year old at his age and Chole…..well Chloe never actually had an I hate boys phase and Ava never let me lock her in her room so that hadn’t worked either. She looked up at me where I was leaning against the doorway wondering how on earth Ava managed to be so beautiful every day. While I seemed to age normally Ava still looked practically 35, not that I would care either way. She was my soul mate no matter what she looked like and I was damn lucky that she finally fell for me.  You cant get much more than falling for your best friend.

"I feel like they tell me nothing anymore," she frowned, fingering a post it note on a page in Ben’s file.

"Do you know anything about this girl Ben's seeing?" I let out a laugh and walked over to Ava’s desk, closing Ben's folder and setting Chloe's on top.

"If you're curious about Ben's new girlfriend? We'll invite them over for dinner," I said, always practical while Ava was afraid that she’d send the kids running or something. She was crazy. Chloe and Ben loved Ava, she was an amazing mom, the kind of mother I’d have killed for growing up. "But these post it notes? What are you going to learn about our kids that you don't already?"

"Well for starters? That our son is dating yet another model."

"He takes after his dad," I joked while Ava cracked a smile.

"God I hope not," she smirked, making me wince a little since I’d been pretty awful at Ben’s age….mostly that just meant I couldn’t chastise him for whatever it was he was doing.

“Ben’s young. He has plenty of time to meet someone.” I reasoned, watching Ava raise her brow at me and I knew what she was thinking. “Or maybe he’ll be just like his dad and have met her a long time ago.” I added. “It’ll just take time for him to realize it.”

“Yeah and by that time Cami will find someone else.” I cringed. Honestly I was shocked she already hadn’t. While my son was out making his way through the modeling agency since they broke up? I didn’t even hear one thing about Cami’s love life who both Ava and I loved like a daughter.

“Well then that’s his problem isn’t it?” I asked smirking and pulling Ava closer to me. She sighed.

“And Chloe…” I swallowed thickly. It was one thing to talk about Ben and know pretty much exactly what he was going through. But my daughter? She had somehow gone from the little girl who wanted to be a princess for every Halloween and dress up party she went to, to the girl who’d rather dance on the bar tops. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to take it. Ava had never been that way, she’d liked attention, sure, had a mean streak….but Chloe didn’t even have that it was more like she’d given up on….something.

“It’s just a phase.” I said feeling my chest tighten. Ava sighed.

“I swear I used to think she’d be the one married with kids by now. Such a romantic at heart.” I smiled sweetly and pushed back her hair.

“There aren’t many guys out there that are good enough for her. Must be tough.” Ava wrapped her arms around me.

“Well all men can’t be like you baby.” She teased, nuzzling her head against my neck as I inhaled her scent and wrapped my arms around her waist.

“Unfortunate but true.” Ava looked up at me, keeping her chin on my chest.

“You know that agent I hired a year ago…..Tristian Williams?” I nodded.

“The one that hangs out with Ben?” Ava nodded.

“Right. You know Chloe told me that he threatened to fire her if she didn’t get her act together?” I widened my eyes. It took serious balls to stand up to the bosses daughter and even if Chloe wasn’t our daughter? It would take balls to stand up to her anyways.

“Good for him.” I smirked, laughing at what I was thinking the expression on Chloe’s face would be at that one.

"I think Chloe has a crush on him," Ava added with a smirk. I groaned,

"Why can't our kids just stay abstinent? Wait until marriage?" Ava pursed her lips together,

"If that were the case, we wouldn't have our handsome little grandson..." I felt my face soften as I thought about Gabe. He reminded me of Ben at his age so much it was like having him as a baby again.  I hadn’t been thrilled when our teenage son had admitted he’d gotten a girl pregnant, but he’d stepped up to the plate and became a man faster than I ever could have thought possible. I was proud, but I hoped he hadn’t grown up too too fast. Ava reached up and kissed me softly, reveling in the few moments of alone time we had even now that our kids were grown.

"I love that kid," I said with a chuckle. "Reminds me of Ben at that age."

"Do you ever regret not having more babies?" Ava asked and pulled her head back, finding my my eyes with her still icy blue ones.

"No," I shook my head, our babies were perfect and more than enough. "It's not too late to start trying for another." I joked and Ava laughed hard.

"We're too old for that... you're just trying to get laid." I pouted, sliding my hands up her smooth thighs,

"Do I have to try?" she shook her head slowly, pulling me closer to her,

"No... never."

"When's the last time we fooled around in your office?" I  asked and Ava bit down on her lip, running her eyes down my body and making me feel like I did when I was still in my twenties, she always had that effect on me, kept me young.

"Remind me," she said quietly, smirking slowly.