Babes Stripping For Love

It was his day off, Keegan had planned to surprise Mara’s little brother. He wanted to pick him up, have lunch, then maybe go for an ice cream, or maybe even to the cinema since he saw a movie that he thinks Cody might like. But when he was about to book the movie tickets, there was an email from Mara’s grandparents. Keegan gave the email a quick read and sighed when her grandparents did an investigation of their own towards Mara and Cody and they decided that they wanted to meet their grandchildren. Keegan knew that he was going to face a very emotional Mara, but he did not expect that she was going to be that confrontational.

“I told you already, Mara. Come on, baby, you gotta believe me…” Keegan pressed on when she accuses him to have gone behind her back when he told her that her grandparents would like to meet her and Cody.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“Why, Keegan? I thought we were done with my family issues?” Mara sounded upset and Keegan felt bad, like really bad. But then again, he truly believed that he was doing it for her future. She deserves to know her grandparents, she may not realize it yet, but in the future, she might. Well, he hoped she would.

“Look, this was from when your stepdad was still alive when I was trying to find another solution instead of you running away to another town. I was just trying to help!” Keegan snapped, and he regretted it instantly.

“Fuck, so sorry, Mara, baby…” he tried to reach her hand but she stepped back. Keegan needed to remind himself that Mara was still jumpy every time he raised his voice in an argument. It was one of the things that he was still working on when communicating with her.

“It’s okay… I’m just tired of all the problems. I just…”

“I know baby, I wish I can take away all your problems. I just want you to be happy. I want Cody to be a kid. Normal, happy, and have all the friends without being worried about having to leave town again.” Keegan explained before doing what he does best, he pulled her into his arms and let all her worries melt away. He wanted to take all her burden, he wanted to take care of her, and he wanted to be her protector. He loves her, he wanted her not to have to worry about a thing.

“Come on, we should go. It’s time to pick up Cody.” Keegan said, kissing her cheek. Mara sighed and let him usher her to his car. Usually, Mara would pick Cody up from school and then go straight back to Keegan’s, but whenever he was on his day off Mara knew that Keegan wanted to go with Mara to Cody’s school.

“Keegan!!” the little guy practically called him out from across the playground, running with his backpack bouncing on his back.

“Hey there, I think that’s the fastest one yet!” he grabbed Cody and hugged him as the little guy giggled in his arms.

“Can we go get ice cream?”

“Of course, lunch then Ice cream,” he took Cody’s hand and Mara took his little backpack with her when they walked to the nearby diner and ice cream shop before they all settled in one of the booths.

“How’s your day?” Mara asked when they were waiting for their orders.

“It’s okay,” Cody shrugged, looking a bit sad, Keegan noticed the contrasting change of behavior from seconds before.

“Cody…” Mara called him out. Keegan could see the silent understanding between the siblings. It was as if she told him quietly that she wanted Cody to tell her about what was bothering him.

“My shoes, it hurts. I can’t run fast.” Cody hesitated when he looked at his sister, but then quickly relaxed when she cupped his face before planting a kiss on his forehead.

There was an intimate moment between the brother and sister. Keegan could already guess what the issue was all about. But, instead of taking things seriously, he decided to be dramatic and hoped to get a smile on Cody’s face.

“Oh God, don’t tell me your feet are growing?!” He exclaimed comically and Cody started to giggle. Even the waiter paused and smiled at the three of them when she was back with their lunch orders.

“I’m a growing kid, my teacher told me and my friends so. But, um… it’s okay, Mara, I can wait a little while longer,” He gave her his adorable smile, and before Mara could reply to her brother, Keegan cuts in.

“Well, you know your sister and I was going to take you to the mall after this.” He winked and Mara let out a small surprised gasp. “I wanted to buy new socks, and maybe look for one of those fast-running shoes.”

“What? there’s no such thing as fast running shoes.” Cody smartly said back in between his bite of chicken nuggets.

“Are you sure about that? maybe we should check it out for ourselves, then maybe we could all take it for a quick test run in the park. It’s been years since I went for a run in the park. What do you say, Mara? Do you think you can beat my fast-running shoes?”

“Keegan,” she warned him softly but not replying to him. Keegan could see that Mara knew that it would upset Cody while she was trying to keep the afternoon enjoyable for her little brother.

“Shh… don’t say it just yet, why don’t we finish our ice cream and head straight to the mall, then we can go for a run before dinner.” Keegan intentionally half whispered, loud enough for Cody and Mara to hear.

Cody was practically jumping in his seat but then remembered to quickly finish his ice cream. Keegan could feel the stare from Mara, while he was pretending to look anywhere else but her.

“I’ll pay for Cody’s shoes,” Mara told Keegan when they stepped back as Cody let the sales assistant help him test his new sneakers. He watched her bit her lip when she saw Cody’s bare feet as he was fitted into new thicker socks. There were small blisters here and there. Keegan could already see how Mara’s heart breaks knowing Cody was too polite to tell her that he needed new shoes. Her eyes were glassy when Keegan put his hand around her shoulder, pulling her in for a kiss on the cheek. A polite comforting gesture that she welcomed with a smile.

“Don’t worry about it, I got discounts for this store and you and I are following through with my plan.” He said when he ushered her to the ladies’ aisle while Cody followed beside them practically skipping in his new shoes. “We’re going to exercise, this can be another way you can spend more time with Cody, while you’re taking some time off before you find a new job. Okay?” His smile was handsome and Keegan knew that she was not immune to it.

Almost two hours later, after a quick stop to buy Cody a new backpack and matching lunch bag, they all headed to the local park a couple of blocks away from Keegan’s place.  Cody was all bright with a huge grin on his face. The three of them were wearing their workout clothes and new running shoes, each holding their water bottle.

“Okay, I’m going to be nice to you, Cody. I’ll give you a few seconds’ head start before I beat you with my fast-running shoes.”

Cody giggled mischievously and he sprinted off before Keegan even gave him the go. Mara was laughing and following her brother’s cue and Keegan was left laughing knowing that he had been played by the siblings.

“Okay, you guys… this sibling six sense is clearly banned in our next run! You guys cheat!” He yelled out, laughing, running after them at a slower pace, wanting Cody to win their race. It has been so long since Keegan was happy. Having both of them made him happy, they made him feel like he had a sense of purpose when he woke up in the morning. They made him want to have them both in his life, like forever.