I stayed in bed with Emma until two o'clock afternoon, she fell asleep hard… she didn't wake up even when I snuggled out of her grasp, something she'd usually notice. I decided to cook something for us but received a call from Annie a few minutes later.
"Ray?"
"Hey, Annie, are you okay?"
"H-hehe, yes I am. You?"
"I just woke up".
"You woke up at two o'clock? Are you staying home today?"
It is not usual for me to wake up this late and she knows.
"Yes, more than likely" I sighed, it's not like I have any plans for now. Everything is already on the table… everything that I need. Raven has got Mariah Stane, Elizabeth Charleston and even she's got Lourdes' faces; I could go right now to kill Shaw, I may do it after this meal.
Annie and I flirted for a bit until she asked me about Jean.
"That girl should be sleeping now… we had to do some things out of the city and she hasn't slept for a whole day. I dropped her back home a few hours ago".
"I see… just you two…?" She asked.
"Not, It was four of us. Mutant things…"
"Mutant things…" She sounded downcast, "We had planned to go out today, she and I".
"I'm sorry it turned out that way. If you want I can call her–"
"It's okay, I'm sure we can hang out some other day".
I felt bad for Annie, "Do you want me to go to yours…?"
"Aren't you with Emma?" Annie asked, by now she should have put the pieces it was Jean and I together, although she doesn't know about Raven.
"She's sleeping–"
"I am not" I heard Emma say, I turned around and she was there, leaning against the door frame and yawning.
"Scratch that…"
"Then don't worry, Ray. We can hang out this week, remember the trip to the science lab, I'm looking forward to it".
"I'm eager too," I said, trying to focus on the conversation if not for the blonde vixen who embraced me from the back. I said my farewells to Annie and hung up.
"Annie can come and you can have fun with her any other day… I want you for me today, Ray" Emma muttered, snugging and rubbing herself on me.
"I'm ready to get rid of Shaw–"
"I'm sure we can do that tomorrow" She didn't even let me say it, Emma pecked the back of my neck repeatedly, "Your plans with Mystique must be moving forward... but I want to rest for today".
"Rest?"
"You are free and I am free... let's rest, okay?" She hoped, like a little girl begging for attention. I looked at her, those shiny sky-blue eyes enthralled me.
"Alright".
Emma rejoiced, she went for a kiss but stopped halfway, she realised that her breath stunk. Still, I took both her cheeks, she gasped... thinking that despite everything, I would still show my girl some love.
Yeah, no...
I ended up kissing her forehead instead.
"Go wash up, I'll make something for us and then we can watch a movie. What do you want to eat?".
"Hmn... I fancy some pizza~".
"…"
Emma tiptoed back to the room to take a shower, clearly in a very good mood. I was still out of words, 'Didn't she say she's not a pizza girl? And that she has a personal grudge against Mozarella or something like that?'
In any case, that's what she said. Experience told me to do what my woman tells me to do in these situations. It is not like I don't know how to make a pizza. I can even make it better, sadly there aren't too many ingredients for a proper pizza but I can still make a nice Marguerita. There was also a piece of pineapple… I struggled for a bit but eventually picked it up.
In the process, I got another call, this time from Veronica.
**
**
Somewhere in Manhattan, in a room filled with photo equipment, a group of ladies wearing bikinis waited for their turn in front of the cameras. They did so shivering and admittedly frightened as ten men wearing sunglasses stood proudly like immovable walls, protecting Veronica who was in the process of giving her best performance.
"Dear, you look sexy! Worthy ten bodyguards! We need the Secret Service to protect this treasure!" The cameraman said, hyping her up further, doing his job as she posed.
Once her turn was done, a sweating Veronica sat and drank some water.
'He hasn't called me yet, I shouldn't be worried, right?' She thought, her son hadn't called in the past five hours, he had been out of the city. The thought of not being qualified to worry was no longer in her mind.
So she made that call and Ray answered back, she rejoiced.
"You arrived so late. I left stew for you and Emma on the table. You okay?"
"…" It took a while for him to answer back, "Actually, Veronica, I just saw the Stew... you wrapped it up so much–".
"I would have liked for you to have it fresh that's why~ but the way..."
The other models stared at Veronica sitting there and talking all giddily with happiness and enthusiasm, blushing even.
"When did Veronica get a new boyfriend?" One raven-haired Latina gossiped with a Czech beauty.
"I thought it wasn't that long since she broke up with that guy... what was his name again... Jonathan?".
"She's been looking radiant as of late, and having all these bodyguards too, I'm sure she's got a sugar daddy somewhere concealed, that's why she dumped Jonathan".
All sorts of arguments and misunderstandings resurfaced in the midst of Veronica's giggling.
"Yeah, we weren't partying or anything... it was business, I'm making some pizza for Emma and might as well just use the stew as an ingredient," Ray told her, "How is everything on your side, have these guys been doing a god job? If not I can get some others-".
"No no! Everything is safe on my side... they're doing a good job" She looked at the guys, half of them were in the middle of interrogating a group of cameramen who had just entered the premises, "You don't have to worry about me, Ray... instead I think you got me too many,".
"Too many bodyguards? Maybe I did… but this is a mutant we're talking about, so too many is still not enough. I spoke with your agency so there shouldn't be an issue".
"No issue, no issues~ only, the girls here are looking at me weird, they think I have some sugar daddy~ I'm not even at that age anymore you know?" She twirled and played with her hair.
"I don't care what people say... it is going to stay like this until I get rid of Shaw. Don't worry, Veronica... it will be over soon".
Ray hung up and Veronica exhaled a deep breath, pressing the phone against her chest.
'My son is so sweet!~'.
The joy in her heart couldn't be denied, curiously greater than any other man had ever made her feel. She thought she wanted to be back home soon to watch another movie, spend more time together since it was the weekend, perhaps even go out to the beach... but then she thought.
'He's alone with Emma... maybe... should I head back a little late? If I allow them that much then maybe... she won't take Ray away'.
She thought her son should be at 'that' age. He already has a girlfriend, a couple. At such a young age Ray was already more than capable of becoming independent and living on his own.
'But I don't want him to go...'
"Why are you blushing, Veronica?" A colleague asked, the same friend from last time who had given her the 'advice'.
"A-Ah, I was just talking with my son~".
'Son!?' The models gasped.
".. and why are you blushing? Don't tell me… did you become a son-con?~" The woman asked jokingly... half jokingly half seriously.
Veronica seemed to take offence on that, "What nonsense are you saying? I'm just rejoicing in the fact that I have the best son in the world, and he forgave me. What son-con? Pure nonsense".
'You are still blushing, actually, you're blushing harder now' the pretty models thought in unison.
"It only worries me that he's been out a lot" Veronica opened up.
"That's normal for kids his age," They said.
"And he has at least two girlfriends".
The women stared at one another with their eyes opened widely, "… that's… normal too I guess? kids these days are different if he's handsome and a nice boy–"
"He's got a lot of money and his girlfriend is a lot older. She's been living with us, in his room".
"..."
"His name was Ray, right? And he was about fifteen or sixteen years old?".
'Okay, maybe that's not so normal'.
"Veronica, next time we have some party in the agency, you can bring your son, okay?~"
"Yeah yeah, we want to meet him!".