Conflicted Love

by Hamford, Kacey

  “I got it.” I smiled, grabbing the box from his arms. Fuck, it was heavy but I wasn’t about to show him that it was a struggle for me. I stepped back into the garage and placed the box on the worktop. I opened it up to make sure it was the right bit that I needed. Once I was satisfied, I closed the box back up and turned around to find Toes and Cooper weren’t where I left them. I strolled over to my office to find Toes was sitting on my small sofa with Cooper on his lap.

  “You’re really good with him.” I smiled.

  “Ah, busted. I love kids,” he laughed.

  “Yeah?” I asked walking in and sitting on the arm of the sofa. “Do you want kids?”

  “Oh yeah, definitely. A whole house full.”

  “Oh?”

  “What?” He frowned at me.

  “Nothing. I just… You seem to be all about the fun. I didn’t think you were the settling down type.”

  “When I meet the right lady, she’ll have all of me. No sharing whatsoever.”

  “That’s good to hear. I hope you find her soon.” Toes pulled Cooper up onto his feet in his lap and bounced him up and down. I smiled along with Cooper as he giggled.

  “Shall I see when I can get your bike in?”

  “Yeah, that would be great. I gotta keep her well looked after.”

  “Let me check the diary.” I climbed to my feet and rounded my desk. I flicked through a few pages. “I can do next Thursday? Can you bring her in for eleven?”

  “Sure, write it down for me, will ya, sweetheart?”

  “Of course.” I grabbed one of my business cards and jotted down the date and time before passing it to him.

  “Thanks.” He took the card and then passed me Cooper. “I had better get back to the club. See you soon.”

  “Bye Toes.” Once he had ridden off, I locked the office door from the inside, placed Cooper back in his pushchair, set the alarm and walked outside and pressed the button to close the shutter door down.

  “Come on, little man. Let’s get you home for lunch.”

  * * *

  Pup

  I leant against the doorframe and watched Stef and Cooper playing on the floor. She was building a tower of cups and once it was big enough cooper would push them all down.

  “Yay!” She cheered and he squealed in happiness. “Shush, little man. We don’t want to wake up daddy.”

  “Da da da da da da.” She then sat with her back against the sofa and pulled Cooper into her lap so he was facing her with his legs on either side of her. She grabbed his hands and began singing as she rocked him.

  “Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily life is but a dream.” He bounced up and down with excitement and she started singing again. I pushed off from the doorframe and her eyes instantly connected with mine.

  “Oh, did we wake you?” she asked, biting into her bottom lip as she climbed to her feet.

  “No, babe. I’ve been asleep for hours.” I stalked towards her and yanked her bottom lip out from under her teeth and kissed her.

  “You hungry?” I nodded. “Let me make you something to eat.” She placed Cooper back on the floor and surrounded him with toys before hurrying away into the kitchen. I followed behind her and sat on one of the stools at the breakfast bar making sure I could still see Cooper too.

  “I like having you here when I wake up,” I confessed.

  “Oh yeah? And why’s that? Because I make you food?” she asked, placing a cup of coffee in front of me.

  “And coffee.” I smiled. She swatted me with the tea towel before placing a bowl in front of me.

  “We had tuna pasta salad for lunch. I made you up a bowl.”

  “Is that why it’s got, what’s this? Bob the builder pasta shapes?” I screwed my face up looking at the small pieces of pasta.

  “It’s Thomas the tank engine pasta,” she informed me, “he liked it.”

  “You spoil us.” I laughed as I started eating. It was really good.

  Stef

  I’d had a really busy week at work and was glad to finally get a day off, it seemed like everyone in town was having bike troubles. I loved that the business was doing well and I was making great profits but I missed spending time with Pup and Cooper.

  “Hey, what you doing today?” Pup asked. He strolled into the bathroom just as I was getting out of the shower.

  “It’s a lovely day. I thought we could all go for a stroll on the beach?” I suggested as I towel dried my body before dropping it to the floor. Pups eyes hungrily devoured my body. “You’re looking at me like you haven’t had me in weeks.” I laughed.

  “It feels like it.” He grunted as he rearranged himself in his jeans.

  “Babe, last night counts enough for at least a week,” I teased him.

  “Oh really? And how do you figure that?”

  “Hmmm…” I stepped into my denim shorts and slipped a strappy top on. “Well, five orgasms in the space of an hour was enough to make me pass out.”

  A loud chuckle rumbled from his chest as his head dropped back.

  “I thought I killed ya.”

  “It was definitely intense.” I looked back into the bathroom mirror and wiped away the steam. I added moisturiser to my face before brushing my hair back into a ponytail.

  “A good intense I hope?” He smiled as he stepped up behind me and placed a kiss on my neck.

  “Oh yes. Always great.” I smiled, feeding his ego.

  “That’s all that counts.” He kissed me once more before he stepped back and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He frowned as he read his message.

  “The club?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I’m sorry babe. I need to head over to ‘Nudes’ there’s a problem with the drinks delivery. I’ll meet you on the beach? Say in about an hour?”

  “Ok.” I smiled at him through the bathroom mirror. “Ty?”

  “Yeah babe?” he answered as he tapped away on his phone.

  “Why is the club called ‘Nudes’ if the girls don’t get naked?”

  “It was called that when the club bought it. We didn’t want to change the name but we did make it high end. Weasled out all the sleazy men. Plus it’s safer for the women if they don’t feel fully exposed. We wanted it to be a place where guys could go and have a drink and appreciate the female form.”

  “And what about the woman who you had your eyes on that night?”

  “What night?”

  “The night we met.”

  “Oh, that’s Candy.” He placed his hands on my hips and turned me around to face him. “Nothing has ever happened between us. The guys were joking around that she liked me.”

  “Oh.” I dropped my eyes from his. If I hadn’t been there that night, would he have gone home with her?

  “Hey, what’s this? You jealous?”

  “Yes,” I spoke honestly.

  “You have nothing to be worried about, I promise.”

  “If we hadn’t met that night, would you have taken her home with you?”

  “In all honesty, yes, probably.”

  “Is that all you were looking for that night? A quick fuck?”

  “Yes,” I gasped as my heart sank to my stomach. “I never thought I’d meet someone that could knock me off my feet, leave me feeling like a lost puppy when I couldn’t find her. I never imagined I’d find the one I want in mine and Cooper’s life in a strip club. But there you were busting my balls because I got served at the bar before you.”

  “Of course you got served before me. You threw her your sexy smile and she gave you a look at her goods when she spoke to you.”

  “Did she? I just remember a gorgeous as fuck woman with dark hair and mesmerising blue eyes giving me shit for jumping in. I’d never take back that night, I believe that everything happens for a reason and you and me were meant to meet.”

  How did he always manage to say the right things to me? I was swooning over him and wanted to crawl up his body and have him fuck me right in the bathroom. I
was pulled out of my daze when Pups phoned vibrated again.

  “Shit, I really gotta go. I’ll meet you at the beach?”

  “Yeah, I’m gonna take the car so I can pack us some food and drinks.”

  “I’ll need to take your bike then.”

  “Fine, but remember what I said the first time you borrowed it?”

  “Something about leaving a scratch on her and you wouldn’t let me come the next time you were riding me?”

  “That still stands. That will always stand. Be careful with her.”

  “Always am babe. I’ll see you soon.” I nodded my head before he kissed me. I angled my head and deepened the kiss. He stepped in closer to me, pushing me back against the sink. I could feel him hardening in his jeans and I couldn’t resist rubbing up against him.

  “Fuck,” he growled, stepping back. “You see what you do to me?” I smiled as I sunk my teeth into my bottom lip. “I won’t be long.” He squeezed my hand before he hurried out of the bathroom. I heard him saying goodbye to Cooper and I couldn’t stop the smile from covering my face. He wanted me over a stripper, me. I wanted to do a happy dance but was pulled from my daze when I heard a crash in the living room. I shot out of the bathroom and down the small hallway.

  Cooper was sitting in his highchair and I noticed that his bottle was laying on the floor next to a spilt box of cereal.

  “Did you throw your bottle again?” I asked him as I yanked him out of his chair and placed him on the floor. He clapped his hands in excitement and I couldn’t help but laugh at his cute little face.

  I grabbed the dustpan and brush and cleared up the mess before making up some sandwiches and snacks to take to the beach. Cooper had crawled back into the living room and was laying on his back with his legs in the air as he chewed on the corner of a small book.

  Cooper and I had been at the beach for over an hour, I made sure to plaster him in sun lotion even though the sun was behind the clouds. The beach at Portwrinkle was in a little cove and the only breeze was coming off the sea. I placed Cooper’s hat back on his head before picking him up and walking to the edge of the sea. It was quiet on the beach so I knew that the picnic I bought with us would be safe.

  I paddled in the sea and looked out to the horizon, it was days like this that I wished I could share it with my mum and dad. We had spent many days at the beach when we were kids, building sandcastle and swimming in the sea.

  “I miss you, mum and dad,” I whispered. “I wish you were here with us. I know that you would love Cooper as much as I do. I hope you’re both together and as happy as you were here. I’m happy, I wasn’t sure if I could trust someone again after Sam cheated on me, but I know that I’ve found the best guy out there to make me happy and keep me safe.”

  “Da da da da da.” Cooper started chanting as I felt a pair of strong arms circle around my waist.

  “Sorry I was longer than I expected.”

  I turned around in his arms and cuddled into his chest. He pulled Cooper out of my arms and tugged me up the beach further so we were away from the water. He sat Cooper on the sand and encased me in his arms.

  “Are you ok?” he asked. I nodded as I buried my face into his chest. “Stef?” he sounded worried.

  “I’m ok. I was just thinking about mum and dad. I know they would have loved you both. They would be happy that I’m happy.”

  “I’m glad to hear that.” He kissed my temple and I laughed as Cooper attempted to crawl away in the sand. His hands and feet were sinking and he screwed his face up in frustration.

  “Grab your son and let’s have some lunch.”

  “Sounds like a plan, I’m starving.”

  “You’re always hungry.” I laughed.

  “Hungry for you,” he winked. He scooped Cooper off the sand and lunged towards me. I squealed and attempted to run up the beach and away from him. It was no use, he was faster than me. He grabbed me with one arm around my waist and hoisted me off my feet. I screamed with laughter and Cooper laughed too.

  “Put me down,” I giggled.

  “Just so you know. You can’t run away from me, ever.”

  “I don’t ever plan to.” Once I was on my feet I pressed my lips against his and only stopped when his hand wandered down to grip my bum. I slapped him on the shoulder, laughing before sitting down on the blanket.

  He sat down with Cooper in between his legs and I handed him a plastic tub. He opened it up and looked inside.

  “Ah, babe, you made me little triangles and cut the crusts off.”

  “Those are Coopers unless you’d rather have soft cheese then ham and cheese?”

  “Give me the meat, woman.” He placed the tub in front of Cooper and his little hand grabbed a sandwich before shoving it into his mouth.

  I crossed my legs in front of me as I drank from a bottle of water, it was lovely spending time together like this. I hoped there were many more to come.

  Pup

  I had an amazing couple of weeks with Stef. She didn’t have to work every day and the club was quiet so we spent some quality time together, all three of us. She didn’t go home except for a change of clothes and she stayed with us. She was right where I wanted her to be.

  “Oh look, there’s a new soft play area opened up not far from here.” She smiled at me from where she was sitting on the sofa. She held her phone out to me so I could check it out.

  “Looks good.” I nodded my head as I handed it back to her. Cooper was laying on the floor surrounded by toys.

  “Shall we go?” She smiled up at me, “We can get some lunch while we’re out.”

  “Yeah,” I said as I glanced at the time on my phone.

  “Oh, do you have somewhere you gotta be? I can always go. I have been here a lot, you probably have stuff to do and sort out. I’ll grab my stuff and leave you to it,” she rambled on. I couldn’t help but laugh at her as I stepped in her path.

  “You’re not going anywhere. I love having you here with us. I was just going to text Solar to see if he wanted to bring Nate.”

  “Oh. Ok.” She turned on her heel and went to walk away but I grabbed her wrist first. When I didn’t say anything she frowned. “Pup?” I hated it when she called me by that name. Hearing her call me Tyler was like pure seduction coming from her lips.

  “Tyler,” I told her.

  “Sorry. I just think I should call you Pup every so often else when we’re at the club I’m bound to slip up and call you Tyler.”

  “You will be fine.” I pressed my lips against hers and she stepped in closer to me.

  “Da da da.” I groaned as Cooper interrupted us. I broke away from Stef and was surprised to see him sitting on the floor beside us.

  “I’m never going to get used to the fact that he can crawl now.”

  “Get used to it. He’ll be walking soon.” She smiled as she tapped her hand against my chest. “Text Solar.” She swept Cooper up into her arms and blew raspberries onto his neck. He screamed out in laughter and I couldn’t help but laugh along with him.

  P - I’m being dragged to the new soft play centre. I think you need to come too. Lol

  S – I can’t go, all the mums will be all over my sexy body. Haha

  P – You wish. We’re leaving now. See you there.

  S – I don’t wish, I have all I want right here. She’s currently sucking my dick.

  P – I didn’t need to hear that. Gross.

  S – I’m joking she’s feeding Lily Rose. See you soon dude

  “Solar is going to meet us there.” I announced turning to see that Stef was packing a bag in the kitchen. “What you doing?”

  “Just packing some snacks.” She handed Cooper a mini breadstick and he shoved it into his mouth.

  “Come on, lets go. Then I had better swing by the club to check in. Do you mind?” She pulled a face. “What’s that face for? You don’t like going to the club?”

  “It’s not the club. It’s someone in it.” Lottie.

  “Just ignore her, babe.” I
plucked Cooper out of her arms and she grabbed the bag, following me towards the door. She stopped to slip her jacket on.

  “Let’s go.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed me on the cheek.

  Stef

  “Wow, its crazy busy in here.” I looked over my shoulder to see Solar, Jasmine, Nate and Lily behind me. “Whose bright idea was this?” Solar asked.

  “Stef’s.” Pup said.

  “Hey, it’s good for the kids.” I argued. We had just arrived and settled down at a table when Solar and Jasmine arrived.

  “Dad, can I go play?” Nate asked Solar.

  “Sure buddy.”

  “Shoes off first.” Jasmine called. Nate sat down on the floor and untied his trainers and shoved them under the table before he shot off to play with the other kids.

  “Da da da.” Cooper called stretching his arms up in the air.

  “Wow, he’s started talking.” Jasmine smiled.

  “Yeah. It’s all we hear.” I chuckled. “Babe, why don’t you take him over there?” I pointed to a small area that was for under two year olds.

  “Dad, come and play with me,” Nate shouted.

  “Coming.” He stood up and started walking away.

  “Shoes,” Jasmine called out.

  “Seriously I have to take my boots off?” he complained, running his hand over his beard.

  “Yeah, what if you stand on some little kids toes or fingers?” I add. He mumbled something under his breath before he slipped his boots off. Pup did the same before he waltzed away to the small kids area. I noticed that all of a sudden all eyes were on them, and the tables by the small kids area had suddenly filled up.

  “Look at them all.” I said waving my hand in the air.

  “It happens wherever we go.” Jasmine said. “It’s the jacket, I think being with a biker is on some women’s fuck list.”

  “A what?” I asked. Jasmine passed me Lily Rose as she finished breast feeding, to sort herself out. I sat her on my knee and rubbed her back.