Slow

Chapter 7

Sam

I tap away on the joystick and Ace shoves me before saying, "Dammit." I chuckle and give a cocky grin. "Finish him." The Tv blast. Ace throws the joystick on the table. I smile in victory.

"You know." Ace begins. "This is how you stole my heart."

I roll my eyes, "Shut-up."

He smiles and stand before walking across the room. He was shirtless and wearing a pair of black jeans. You could see various of tattoos on his back and up his arms. He didn't have as many as Rose but he had enough for it to be noticeable. He run his hands through his badly chopped hair as he stare into the fridge. "You need a haircut." I tell him.

He slams the fridge and walk back across the room. "Thanks mom." He snorts. He pops the cap on his beer and take a few sips. I watch him with interest. He hasn't changed at all. He moves across his loft and turn on some music. It's low but I can make out the band.

He smirks, "Good ole days huh?"

"Not so much." I chuckle. I begin to think about me and Ace relationship. The two of us were inseparable. It was insane how time could change. I didn't think there would have been a time where Ace wasn't apart of my everyday life. Ace make his way back across the floor and sit next to me on the couch. He pass me a beer and I take a sip. The music is playing lowly behind us and I find myself humming for a moment.

"So? What's up." Ace eyes me. "What brings you to the otherside of town."

I frown. "I can't come see you."

"I'm not stupid." Ace chuckles while taking another sip of his drink. He leans over and turn off the Tv. "You're here for a reason. The last time you popped up out of nowhere you needed drugs and before that Austin was here looking for you."

I don't say anything.

"She fucked you up again huh." He finishes.

I clench my jaw. "Something like that." I stare at the dresser in the corner and there is a picture of me and him. Ace watches me for a second and then ask, "Are you going to tell me what happened?"

I sigh and run my fingers through my hair annoyed. I begin to explain everything from my point of view. The problems with Paul and Miranda leaving for a few months just to return and think everything can go back to normal and ending the story with our recent argument.

At this point Ace was getting up and going to the fridge to get two more beers. He slam the fridge and I roll my eyes. I never understood why he had to slam everything. Door, cabinets, books, even his laptop was slammed in a aggressive manner.

"Don't you think you're being a little dramatic." He says.

"Are you serious?" I ask.

"Don't get me wrong." Ace mutters. "Miranda is the biggest bitch I've ever had the pleasure of meeting."

I frown. "Don't call her a bitch, Ace."

"Okay. Sorry." Ace replies. "Bro code."

I roll my eyes.

"Seriously." He explains. "I think you should have thought about what you were signing up for before you started dating Miranda Grayson the biggest...you know, of all time. I figured you were just into that shit."

"She's not like that all the time." I argue. "You don't know her. She's more than that, Ace. She parade around like she doesn't care but deep down she does."

"Then why are you here?" Ace ask. "She sounds perfect."

I chuckle. "She's not perfect, Ace. She can be really selfish sometimes. She's not use to answering to anyone. She feel like she's has the right to just disappear on me and expect me to be here waiting. It's traumatizing. She's here now but... I don't know about tomorrow. I told her we needed to start over. Work things out slowly but she's not cooperating. She's only thinking about her feelings and caught up in Tessa."

"Who is Tessa?" Ace ask.

"She's a friend." I explain. "She helps me with my projects. We have a few classes together."

"She's cute?" Ace ask.

I shove him playfully. "Seriously?"

He shrugs. "Show me a picture." He pushes.

I roll my eyes and scroll through my phone. I pull up Instagram and hand him my phone. "Dude." He chuckles. "Miranda isn't stupid. She's hot as fuck."

I frown and try to snatch my phone but he pull his arm out of my reach. He continue to scroll through her photos. "She's your type." He comments.

"What?" I push. "Shut-up. She's not my type. I don't have a type."

Ace toss me my phone. "Yes you do. Dark hair." He points at his head. "Beautiful eyes and a banging body." He continues to point at his eyes and body. "And powerful." He finishes. "She comes from money."

"What?" I ask confused.

He take my phone away from me and scroll towards her older pictures. "Look at her family. This house." He continues to scroll. I take in the pictures. I never took out the time to scroll through Tessa photos before. I didn't know much about her honestly. "What does this have to do with anything?" I frown.

"I'm saying you can't be mad at the woman for lashing out." Ace shrugs. "I'll feel intimidated to."

"Whatever, Ace. I'm loyal. I wouldn't do that to Miranda. I would never cheat on her." I frown. "Plus, I have already told Tessa I wasn't interested. That I'm trying to work things out with Miranda."

"It's not cheating if you and Miranda is not together." Ace say. "You're fair game. And who says Tessa is gonna stop. She's definitely the type to get what she wants."

I huff annoyed. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Whatever, dude." Ace stands. "Stay in denial all you want. You know everything I'm saying is true. I gotta pee." Ace stands and stretches before disappearing into the bathroom leaving me to my thoughts. I continue to scroll through more of Tessa pictures. He wasn't lying. How did I miss this? She was obviously one of those rich uptown girls.

[][]

Around midnight after a few more beers Ace decide to walk to the nearest store. He was starving. We grab our jackets and shoes and leave. We head down the street and I knew the store wasn't too far away. It was a short walk. Ace walks close to me and say, "How's Nathalie?"

I arch my eyebrow at the question. "She's good."

"How does she feel about all of this?" He questions.

"I'm not sure." I answer. "She's Nathalie...supportive as always."

"Damn." He laughs. "How did you get so lucky?"

I chuckle at his joke.

It's silent for a moment. "Do you think you could handle a normal relationship?" He ask. I look at him oddly. Ace was known for asking the hard questions. "You know. Settle down and have children. Work your nine to five and come home to your family. You think that's for you."

"I've never thought about it." I answer.

"You're going to have to make a decision soon." He mutters. I look at him oddly and shake my head. He was stoned. We walk into the store and Ace begins to grab several bags of candy, a huge bag of chips, and a pineapple Fanta. I roll my eyes and get two bottles of water and some ice-cream. Ace look at my snacks. "The Graysons have changed you." He frown. "What type of water is that?'

I chuckle. "Miranda doesn't believe in eating to your death."

We walk back to the apartment and it's silent for most of the walk. Minus, Ace obnoxious chewing. We watch a few movies and I scroll through my phone for the most part. I'm chewing on my lip wondering if Miranda will text me or not. I'm surprised that there isn't no messages from Nathalie. Not even Rose.

Soon, enough I'm falling asleep.

[][]

I wake up with a blanket on top of my body. Ace is gone. There is a note on the table that quotes, 'There is a extra key under the matt if you choose to stay longer' I smile and throw away the note before grabbing my keys and heading home. When I walk through the door it's still early and there is still a few hours before my first class. I decide to skip. It was only a small workshop. I go into my room and lay back down for a few hours.

I wake up again and it feels like it's mid-evening. I brush my teeth and shower before heading to the kitchen. I almost jump out of my skin at seeing Miranda sitting in the living room. She's wearing a black pin skirt with a white sheer blouse. Her heels was placed neatly by the coffee table and her legs was folded underneath her. She looks up at me and close her laptop. "You didn't go to class today?" She say.

"No." I find myself answering. I run my fingers through my hair awkwardly.

"I'm sorry." Miranda begins to grab her things. "I was waiting for Nathalie. I didn't know you were here."

"You don't have to leave." I tell her. She pause.

After a heartbeat she take a seat and crosses her legs elegantly. I walk into the living room and take a seat across from her. She fidgets with her foot and twist the expensive ring that is place on her finger. "I'm sorry for screaming at you last night. It was completely uncalled for." I say.

Miranda is silent for a moment. She then shifts, "No." She starts. "I should be the one apologizing, Sam. I'm irrational and reckless when I'm scared. But, that doesn't justify my behavior. I should respect your wishes. This relationship shouldn't be just about what I want." She then sigh. "I left because I was scared and that's what I do. I didn't want you to see me so weak and I could see how much it was affecting you."

"You should have let me help." I push. "I wanted to be there for you but you continued to push me away before leaving."

"Your grades was slipping, Sam." Miranda frown. "I could see the stress in your eyes. I didn't want to get better for me. I wanted to get better for you. You had final projects to prepare for and I didn't want my problems to be in the way."

We are both silent for a few moments. "I thought I was doing the best for the both of us. But, I've only destroyed our relationship. So, maybe we should try this by your terms. My decisions has been lacking lately." She rolls her eyes at admitting such a thing. "I will accept all your terms. If you wish to take it slow then we will take it slow."

I arch my eyebrow in surprise.

"You can even hang out with your homewrecking friend."

"Miranda."

The older woman roll her eyes, "I'll be nice. I don't trust her but I trust you." She then stands and begin to put on her shoes before grabbing her bags. I stand and follow her. "I thought you were waiting on Nathalie."

She blushes, "I was but she said she'll meet me later."

I chuckle to myself. "You knew I was here."

She nods her head and lean back against the wall. "I wanted to fix things." She runs her tongue across her lower lip and my eyes follow the movement. "Would you like to go get dinner tomorrow?" She ask.

"Huh." I almost miss it because I'm too focus on her lips. She smiles wickedly. I blush and take a step back. "Dinner tomorrow? Yea. It's a date."

Miranda smiles mischievously, "Yes. It's a date." She repeats her voice low and sultry.

I furrow my eyebrows in a questionable manner. "Miranda..."

"I'll be good. I promise." She leans over and plants a small kiss on my lips. She then pulls back in shock. She shake her head and lean back into the wall."It's a habit." She tells me.

I lick my lips, "We're dating." I tell her. "It's okay to kiss." She chuckles and her laugh is contagious. I try to lean in to get a good kiss but she's pushing me back. I sigh. "We can't take it slow when you want to take it slow, Sam." I plant both of my hands beside her head and lean in closely.

She shifts closer to me. "We are going to take this very slowly, Sam." She mutters while running her nail down my shirt. Her fingers then pull at the rope on my sweatpants.

The door behind us opens and I move away awkwardly from Miranda. Rose is the first to notice us. She smirks. Nathalie walks through the door and eyes the both of us suspiciously. "At least it's not the couch." Rose jokes. Miranda opens her mouth to say something but the twins barge through the door.

"Move stupid." Delilah squeezes pass Rose before shoving her as much as her small body would allow her. Lily then walks in behind Delilah and grab Nathalie hand. "Delilah. Be nice." Nathalie chastise the small girl. "And please stop being immature." She tells Rose. Delilah sticks her tongue out at Rose and Rose roll her eyes.

"You're gonna be in big trouble if you don't stop." Nathalie says to Delilah sternly. The small girls looks sadden and moves towards the living room.

"Hello sweetheart." Miranda greets her daughter.

Nathalie opens her mouth to speak but the two twins sprint into Miranda arms, "Mira!" They both scream.

Lily looks up with bright eyes and Delilah screams. "My birthday tomorrow. I'm turning eight!"

Lily pouts, "Our birthday is tomorrow."

Miranda naturally run her fingers through Lily dark hair. Delilah grab Miranda other hand and place it awkwardly on top of her head. "When are you coming back over for another sleepover?" She ask.

I arch my eyebrow curiously and take a step closer.

"I'm not sure." Miranda answers.

Lily look up, "Next time we can make cookies."

"Of course, sweetheart. What kind?" Miranda questions nicely.

Lily concentrates and it's so cute seeing how much thought she's putting in cookies. Delilah then screams, "Sugar cookies with frosting."

"No. No." Miranda says. "Its your sister turn to choose. You chose last time."

Delilah pouts, "But...."

"No buts Delilah." Miranda say.

Delilah crosses her arm and waits on her sister to choose a cookie. Lily then smiles and Miranda bends down so the smaller girl can whisper in her ear. "Are you sure?" Miranda ask.

Lily nod her head, "Yep." She then grab Delilah hand and the two of them rush into the living room. Nathalie and Rose sit on the couch and Lily plops herself down in Rose lap and Delilah crawls on top of Nathalie lap while screaming, "Let's play the shooting game."

For a moment I'm envious and I hate it. I turn around and Miranda is on the phone. "Yes. Immediately. Sugar cookies with frosting." Her hand is on her hip. "Your extra commentary is not needed, Austin. Find the cookies. The best." She then hang up the phone. She walk into the kitchen and I follow her. I lean against the counter and she look at me skeptically.

"What?" She ask. "You have that look on your face?"

"I don't have a look." I say quickly. She continues to stare at in me in her Miranda glory and I instantly break. "When did you have a 'sleepover' at Joy place?" I ask while using air quotes.

Miranda furrow her eyebrows, "Are you allowed to ask that. Since we're friends now?"

I run my fingers through my hair. "I guess not. You're right." I pause. "Sorry."

"This is new. We're learning as we go." Miranda says with understanding in her tone. She opens the fridge and begin to make turkey sandwiches with small bags of chips. I watch her with interest. Once she's done the both of us hear, "I'm hungry."

"Okay. Lily. Let's go find something to eat."

"Bacon!" Delilah cheers.

Miranda meets them halfway and pass them both plates. Nathalie sighs in relieve. She looked tired. The two twins sit on the floor and eat in silence. Soon, the both of them are falling asleep. Rose take the both of them to Nathalie room. Miranda disappears into the other room and command into her phone about a special cake she wants by tomorrow.

"What did you guys do today?" I ask.

"We went to the swim park." Nathalie smiles. She then move closer and show me pictures of the four of them in swim suits. She continue to scroll and there are photos of them on the water slides and a few other water rides. And then there are photos of just she and Rose. I continue to scroll and Nathalie quickly snatch the phone out my hand. She blushes. "Those are all the pictures." She giggles nervously.

I smirk. "You're so nasty." I joke.

She roll her eyes, "Whatever." She then yawn in her hand and stretches. "I'm so tired." She says. "Rose kept me up all night and then dragged me out of bed this morning. We argued because she didn't tell me earlier this week that we were taking the twins today. Communication. I keep drilling in her head. She said she forgot herself. How you forget the twins birthday?" Nathalie vents.

"But." Nathalie pause. "We talked and got through it. Today turned out great." Nathalie then lay her head on my shoulder. "How's it going?"

"It's going." I answer.

She then move and lay her head in my lap and look up at me. "Just going?" She pushes.

"We made up." I reply. "But, we're still working things out."

"How long is this gonna go on?" She questions.

I shrug my shoulders. Nathalie sigh. "I know." I say. "I don't have the answers. But, I don't wanna jump back in this relationship until we both trust each other."

Nathalie lifts up. "You don't trust her?"

"No. Not really." I explain. "I don't trust her to stay. That scares me." I pause. "It's better. We're taking it one step at a time."

Rose come back into the room. She look at the two of suspiciously but shrug her shoulders before sitting on the couch that opposite to us. "The brats are asleep." She breathes. "Finally." She yawns in her hand and lay her head down. Nathalie follows and she's yawning also.

Miranda walks into the living room and look at the two, "You two can leave. I'll watch the kids and drop them off at Joy's later."

"Really?" Rose ask. "You're fucking awesome."

Miranda frown. Nathalie smiles and kisses her mom on the cheek before grabbing her keys. "We're out." Rose smiles while following behind Nathalie. "If you need anything just call me. We will be at my place. Delilah will wake before Lily but check up on Lily regularly because she'll freak out to waking up in a odd place alone without her sister. And she's usually too afraid to get out of bed. She'll just sit there and cry until someone come and get her. Also, they will be hungry again..."

"Rose." Miranda stops her. "I can handle the twins."

Rose blush. "Right. See you later. I'll call."

[][]

The next two hours Miranda and me is sitting in the living watching a movie together. It feel like old times. Her feet is laying comfortably in my lap and she is typing away on her laptop. My fingers naturally run up and down her leg and she flinches in surprise before relaxing. I continue because she doesn't stop me. I get really into the movie and my hand is crawling further up Miranda leg and I don't even notice that she has stop typing.

She changed into loose striped pants so my hands can freely trail towards her thigh. She shifts again and pull my hand back down before drawing random shapes on her ankle.

Before I know it she's putting away her laptop, straddling me before kissing me passionately. I moan into her mouth and squeeze her hips. "This is not slow, Sam." She whispers against my lips. I ignore her taunting words and begin to kiss her neck. Her hands pull my hair and I hiss, "This is pretty slow or you'll be naked already." I whisper. I then begin to kiss her deeply again before pulling back. Her lips are swollen and her hair is wild as her coffee eyes look at me with lust. She lifts up slightly and my fingers disappear into her pants.

Something knocks and Miranda hurries and move off of me. Delilah walk into the room and she's rubbing her eyes. She look around in confusion. "Where is Rose?" She ask.

"She went home." Miranda answers after clearing her throat. Delilah nod her head and walk around to sit on the couch. She then snuggles into the armrest and ask, "Can I play the shooting game?"

"No." Miranda tells her softly. "Go wake your sister."

Delilah frown but go and wake her sister anyway. Miranda then run her fingers through her hair and pick up the remote before putting it on cartoons. I sit there and sigh. My body was buzzing and I was so focus on my anger that I didn't notice how much tension had built up. I needed release. A special kind of release. I take in Miranda. The loose fitted pants fits nicely in the right places and her shirt was hanging over her shoulder showing her naked shoulder. I could see her black lace bra through the thin shirt and that wasn't making anything better. This woman literally made anything look like a fashion runway. I lick my lips.

I needed a Miranda release.

Miranda catches me looking at her. She smirks, "Slow darling." She mutters before disappearing to check on Lily and Delilah. I grab the couch pillow and groan into it. I literally wanted to suffocate myself.

"Sam." Delilah questions making me jump. "Why are you being weird."

"Nothing." I tell Delilah. "Grab your shoes. Joy is probably expecting you soon."

"What about the cookies?" Delilah question.

I chuckle, "You will get your special birthday cookies tomorrow."

Delilah eyes light up. "For breakfast?"

"Your mother wouldn't approve of that." I laugh.

Delilah looks at me deviously. "What she doesn't know won't hurt her."

I laugh out loud. "Come on. You little devil."

Delilah grab my hand and we head toward the door. Miranda is walking down the hall with Lily in her arms still asleep. "Grab your sister shoes." I tell Delilah. The other twin rushes across the room and grab her sister things. She then walks upon me and say, "Can you carry me?"

I chuckle and bend down, "How about a piggy back ride."

"Yeah!" Delilah climbs onto my back. We walk out the door and Miranda holds Lily while walking in front of me. Viv catches us at her door and she look at the two of us with a smile on her face. "Well, hello guys."

"Hey Viv!" Delilah screams.

"What's up, Viv." I greet.

Miranda just waves and continue walking. I hang back and let Viv and Delilah catch up. "I'll be sure to look up this toy for you buddy."

"Thanks." Delilah smiles. "Make sure it's red. Lily likes red because it reminds her of hearts."

"Gotcha."

I then catch up to Miranda and she is at the car strapping Lily into the car. I put Delilah down and she jumps into the car. The four of us ride to Joy place and they run to the door to greet their mom. I sit in the car while Miranda and Joy talk at the door. I wave politely and she waves back. Miranda then walk back to the car and settles into the seat.

"I want that." I tell her. "With you."

She looks at me curiously with her head cock to the side in the most adorable manner.

"Children." I say.

Before Miranda can say anything her phone is ringing and saving me from a very awkward situation. "Answer it." I tell her. She seem to understand and answers the phone. I sink into the seat and close my eyes while listening intently to Miranda beautiful voice.

"I didn't know a team of interns could fail at picking up a specific cake." Miranda hiss into the phone. "I don't care if the nearest bakery doesn't design cakes within less than a day. Get me the cake and it better have fireworks and flowers like the twins want. If you don't deliver this cake you all are fired!"

I didn't even know I fell asleep until Miranda is tapping my shoulder, "Sam, baby. You're home." I lift up and she leans over and kisses me. "I'll see you tomorrow. Go get some sleep." She whispers.

I find myself nodding and getting out the car. I watch her drive off before heading up to the empty apartment. Nathalie was still at Rose place. I fall back onto my bed and look up at ceiling and groan.

I couldn't let this woman go even if I tried. It was sadly pathetic. I really had to get my emotions in check if this slow dating plan was going to work.