by Megan Noelle
A few tears rolled from my eyes and down onto his shirt.
“Thank you,” I whispered. “I think I need to go home and lie down.”
Actually, I just needed to get the hell out of here.
Gramps patted my shoulder and kissed the top of my head. “Yes, please go rest and call us later.”
With another hug, I turned to walk away and almost made it out of the house, when I heard my Grandma’s shrill voice.
“We are, in no way, through with this conversation!” I placed a hand over my heart and didn’t look back.
Space and time. That was all I could depend on now and just hope that, one day, we could look back and laugh. Then she would tell me she was sorry—that I am not my mother.
Chapter Eleven
Once I got out of that house and returned home, I was sick. Sick of family humility. Sick of my grandmother’s insulting ways. Mostly though, I was sick of crying. Every few hours it seemed something new was tugging at my heart and making tears fall. Whether it was because of the pregnancy itself or the catastrophic events that made crying a daily thing—I wasn’t sure. So, I decided I was going to let the tears fall relentlessly tonight but then, first thing when I woke up tomorrow, I would be done. No more sobbing like a baby every time a heightened emotion struck me. I mean, I wasn’t sure how many more ridiculous appliance commercials I could shed a tear at. My unborn child would one day laugh at me if they found out I was a sobbing baby about everything and nothing.
After a peaceful night’s sleep, I woke up with a refreshed sense of self. I was going to be strong and determined and there was no way I was going to shed one single tear!
Then I looked at my phone. That was when my day headed south. There were five missed calls and two text messages. The first two calls were from my Grandmother and the next three were from Oliver Garrison. Ollie had been my first love and also one of my greatest mistakes. The whole time Corey was professing his love to me, I was seeing Ollie on the side. In my head, I was stuck on a love that sparked for all of four seconds when I was eighteen. But as a girl with daddy issues and a low self-esteem, Oliver was just the guy for that job. At least I didn’t make the mistake of sleeping with him—although it came close.
Now he was the last person I wanted to hear from. Okay, I lied. He’s tied for first with my darling mother. To make things even worse, both of the text messages were from him as well. My first instinct was to delete his messages without looking, but the sinking feeling growing in my stomach made me read them.
My mouth dropped and the little hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.
Oliver Garrison: You’re PREGNANT!?
Oliver Garrison: I’m on my way over!
The text was sent five minutes before and that meant, if he was serious, he would be there any minute. I jumped from the warmth of my bed and threw on a long grey robe and the pair of yoga pants I had on yesterday. I wanted to run outside this second, but my little one was causing my need to pee to take top priority. After I used the restroom, I ran a brush through my messy hair and I bee lined it for my front door. I came to a skidding halt when I stepped out and saw Ollie walking toward the house with hands locked in his hair.
Surprisingly, that wasn’t the scene that made my pulse quicken. Pulling up behind Ollie’s perfectly detailed car was Corey.
Immediately, I saw the fire in Corey’s eyes at Ollie’s presence. So much for a calm and relaxing day! Corey threw the car in park and bolted towards us. Ollie didn’t seem to notice anything, but my heart was pounding.
“You’re pregnant, Dani?” he asked and I gave a single nod of my head. I still didn’t have time to even process what his issue could have been about this.
“I am,” I confirmed.
His distraught appearance heightened as he shook his head. “Why didn’t you tell me?” I raised an eyebrow at him. While Ollie stood about 15 feet in front of me, Corey now stood off to the side and half way between the two of us.
“Why did I have to tell you?”
This was a dream, right? Nothing about this situation made sense, so I couldn’t possibly be truly awake. Right?
“Well, I mean, don’t I have a right to know?!” Blood rushed to my neck and cheeks. Corey turned a skeptical eye to me as Ollie continued his questioning, as if there would be any chance the baby would be his. How delusional could this guy get!
“No, you don’t. Who even told you I was pregnant?” I demanded.
“Your Gram told mine and, I mean, that last time I came over I was really drunk. I didn’t think we slept together, but obviously we did!”
Corey’s arms crossed over his chest as both men waited for me. My eyes darted from one to another before my hands flew up in frustration.
“No, Oliver! We absolutely did not have sex that night! In fact, I kicked you out of my house and said it was never going to happen!” Honest confusion crossed his face.
“Well then, whose baby are you pregnant with?” Corey let out a snort and gave me a look of amusement.
“Please. Tell me you weren’t attracted to him because of his intelligence.”
I bit back a smile as Ollie took a step forward and, for the first time, noticed Corey’s presence.
“What the hell? I didn’t know you were seeing another guy!” I almost wondered if someone slipped Ollie some drugs recently. I was getting the strong feeling that he wasn’t totally ‘with it’ today.
“Ollie - me and you were never together.”
He wiped his hand across the space in front of him to put a pause on everything going on.
“Wait a minute!” Ollie looked at Corey with disgust, pulling his lip into a snarl. “Were you sleeping with this guy?”
Corey let out a snort and rolled his eyes. “You’re out of your mind if you think Dani would want to sleep with you. A real man wouldn’t forget being with a woman like her.”
With a scowl, Ollie looked back at me. “This guy, Dani? He’s a goddamn bartender!”
Corey let out a dry, sarcastic laugh. He was trying to not let Ollie get to him, but I could see to his dismay it wasn’t working.
I crossed my arms over my chest and stared down the stunning and delusional man I used to fawn over. “He is a business owner, Ollie. What do you even do, by the way? Corey is an amazing guy and he is the father.”
Corey moved a few feet closer to me. He was almost completely standing between me and Ollie. “I suggest you leave now, man. You have no business here.”
“Fuck off!” Ollie yelled at Corey before looking past him, locking eyes with me. “You wanted to be with me, Danielle! Tell this chump that he was the back up. I was the one for you!”
I rolled my eyes as a frustrated sigh pushed its way past my lips.
“Oliver, you are absolutely not the one for me. I made a mistake by trying to reconnect with you. I was holding onto something that wasn’t there in the first place. It was a mistake that we slept together when we were in high school, Ollie. But I can’t change any of that.”
I looked to Corey and, even though he looked posed to strike at any second, I still saw my Corey. The one with more kindness and love than I have ever known. I was a fool for that man, but I was an even bigger fool for ever letting him go. With a soft internal sigh, I turned back to Ollie.
“My bigger mistake was ever accepting to go on that first date after moving back … when my heart was already with Corey. But that is something I can and will change.”
My eyes shifted as Corey gave me a warm and comforting smile. I wanted nothing more than to run into his arms and let him protect and shield me from the bad. Even more, I wanted him to be here to share all the good with me.
I was pulled from my moment of comfort when Ollie let out a laugh.
“Give it a fucking rest, Danielle. You were not that special—you were just there. Always fucking there, like a pathetic little puppy. It wasn’t a mistake to you to sleep with me. It was a goddamn dream come true to you! You, however, were nothing more than a rel
ease for anger and disappointment in my eyes.” My jaw dropped, my blood boiled, and I felt shame and embarrassment creep into me. “Why don’t you just …”
I never found out what I should ‘just’ do because, the next thing I knew, Corey’s fist connected directly into Ollie’s jaw. His head whipped around, almost as if they were in some goofy kid’s cartoon. I heard a shrill scream echo around the space and it took me a few seconds before I realized it came from me. Ollie turned back to face Corey with fire and fury in his eyes. His fist raised to return fire and my hand flew to cover my mouth. I had apparently no reason to worry as Corey’s arm muscles tightened while another fist formed. His body flexed and twisted as this next punch sent Ollie to the ground.
I watched Ollie’s face look up in surprise at Corey standing over him, his finger pointing directly at him.
“Listen up, Daddy’s money - you are a worthless piece of shit. You don’t deserve a woman’s love and you sure as hell don’t deserve Danielle! So, why don’t you get the fuck up, get in that chick car your dad paid for, and drive your ass far away from here. And if I find out that you so much as breathe in Dani’s direction, I will make sure you are never able to drive again.”
For the first time in the entirety I’ve known Ollie—he looked terrified. He gulped down the knot of fear in his throat. Corey’s body was tensed and rigid and he was breathing deeply. Ollie remained stuck on the grass with his eyes fixed on the terrifying man poised in front of him.
“You know I could sue you!” Ollie yelled out, as he brushed his thumb along his bleeding lip.
Even from my angle, I didn’t miss the smirk that crossed Corey’s face.
“You go right ahead, pretty boy. Just because I don’t look like a sweater-vest wearing tool, doesn’t mean I don’t have a pot to piss in. Trust me when I say this - your money doesn’t scare me.”
Ollie’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he gulped back his fear.
“Why are you still lying there? Get the hell off of this property.” Ollie jumped up and darted off towards his car. Unfortunately for him, Corey wasn’t quite done.
“Oh, and Ollie?” he mocked as he called out. Reluctantly, Ollie turned back around, using the door of his car to shield him from Corey. “Don’t even bother calling Dani’s grandma to cry. She likes me more. You have a nice day now. Put a little ice on your jaw. It seems to be swelling up.”
I stood with my hand still covering my mouth in shock while Corey remained on the grass, watching Ollie as he got in his car and squealed off. Under any other circumstance, I would think the picture of Corey sweetly waving goodbye to Ollie would be quite hysterical. But under these circumstances, I was stuck trying to figure out what happened in the twenty or so minutes from the time I woke up until now.
Once Ollie’s car was completely out of sight, Corey turned back to face me. I opened my mouth, but the look in Corey’s hooded eyes stopped any train of thought.
There was determination, fire, and undeniable desire flaming in his blue eyes as he crossed the lawn and up the stairs until we were face-to-face. He didn’t stop there. His hands thrust into my hair and pressed his lips against mine. The confusion surrounding me faded away; I didn’t know what this moment was supposed to mean, but I sure as hell wasn’t about to stop him to find out.
His lips moved with mine, skillfully slipping them open, allowing his hot, wet tongue to caress my swelling lips. I moaned into his mouth while I tried to hold back my soft pants of desire. His teeth nipped at my bottom lip and I felt my eyes roll back into my head. I understood right away that this was supposed to be his show to lead, but I needed him to know just how much I wanted this, too. My hands pressed into the back of his neck while my tongue slid into his mouth. Together, they tangled in our dance of desire before I let my lips capture it - slowly sucking his tongue deep into my mouth until I heard him growl deep in his throat.
His chest rumbled against my already sensitive breasts and I knew if I didn’t find release soon, I would be begging on my hands and knees.
Hmm … now there’s an idea.
Being on my hands and knees, letting Corey demand, instruct and control what I did until I was yearning and panting and lusting after him…I shuddered at the erotic image that sent a wave of heat deep to my sex. Just when I was getting ready to start begging, Corey lifted me up. My legs wound tightly around his waist, while my mouth licked and tasted his neck, licking away the slick sweat leftover from his fight with Ollie. His hands worked behind me to pull open my screen door and the second it was opened, we were through. Corey carried me from room to room and our lips never stopped moving until we reached my—thank the Lord!—clean room.
My feet hit the ground but our lips didn’t dare part. The same hands I saw throw solid punches into Ollie’s jaw reached up and carefully brushed the robe down my arms. My eyes locked with his as the calluses of his hands rubbed ever so lightly against my smooth skin. Shivers shot up my arm all the way through my toes. My robe fell to the ground in a circle around my feet, but neither of us moved from the intensity surging between us.
His hands reached down to the bottom of my tank top, a single finger lingered against my skin. I licked my lips and waited for the right moment to close the distance between us. Painfully slow, Corey lifted my shirt over my stomach, my chest and then off my body. That joined the robe on the floor and I wished the rest would evaporate because I needed Corey more than ever before.
“Corey?” I asked, in an overly breathy voice.
He put a finger to my lips and shook his head.
“I’ve done a lot of thinking, Dani. You hurt me, shattered me actually, but I could never experience a life without you. I’m not ready to dive back in because I need to straighten up a few other things in my life, but I want it to happen. I want us,” Corey’s hands cupped my lower stomach where our little creation was growing, “to happen.”
I wanted to hug him, kiss him and spend the rest of the day in bed with him.
“Now let me feel you and love you the way I have been craving to.” I gulped and nodded. His finger left my lips and, in a second, my bra was unhooked and the straps were sliding down my arms.
Corey’s hands reached out, cupping my breasts in them. My head fell back as he gently squeezed and rolled my nipples between his rough fingers. A wave of pleasure slid between my thighs as I fought the urge to close my eyes. I was terrified this was nothing more than a dream and I didn’t want to miss a second of it. My self-control seemed to be in place, until Corey’s lips pressed against the base of my neck. The feeling of his full, luscious lips and slightly unshaved stubble caused a delicious mixture of sensations. Very lightly he blew onto the spot he just kissed and I sighed as my body began to tingle. He brought his mouth down again, this time letting his teeth nip at my skin until I let out a soft squeal. His tongue licked across the red mark, but didn’t stop there as he focused his attention on my swelling chest.
My nipples hardened under his touch and my body shook against his hands. His tongue rolled and twirled around my swollen bud and no longer could I hold back my audible moans of pure pleasure. While his tongue and lips focused on my breasts, he softly hummed an inaudible tone that brought out a rumbling that purred and vibrated my sensitive body.
“Corey,” I moaned, while his fingers pressed into the knots of my back and trailed down to my hips.
His hands grabbed hard onto my ass before pressing my pelvis roughly against his. I felt the hardening of his length rub against my sex and I almost found release right then and there.
“Tell you want me, Danielle,” he demanded in a heated whisper against my neck. I shivered at the husky tone of his voice.
“God, Corey. I want you. So badly. You’re all I want, baby.” A deep growl rocked through his body and in an instant I was pressed roughly into the wall behind me. My hands were pinned beneath his above my head as our bodies lined up. Our deep breathing synchronized and I knew I was about to lose my mind if my pants weren’t the next thing to go.
“Say it, Dani.” I looked into his eyes, trying to decipher what he wanted me to say. Then I saw it. That hint of uncertainty, that unfortunate touch of doubt that remained present in his eyes. As much as he wanted to trust me, he still didn’t. At least not completely. But I knew what he needed to hear and, this time, I had no intention of shying away from it.
My fingers twisted into his hair and held his face inches from mine, giving him a perfect view of every truth and the meaning behind what I had to say.
“I love you, Corey Preston. Only you. Right now, yesterday, tomorrow and forever—it will only be you.” His lips seized mine in a hungry, determined kiss. Tongues, lips, teeth - it was rough and passionate and filled with everything we’ve needed and everything we’ve missed.
My fingers began the exploration down his chest until I reached the end of his hoodie. I pulled my mouth away just enough so I could rid him of his very pesky clothing. I didn’t stop at the sweatshirt. His t-shirt was next and, before he could stop me, I unbuttoned his jeans. Before the zipper was all the way down, my hands were pinned back on the wall.
“Ladies first,” Corey whispered against my mouth. My tongue lashed out and took a tasteful trail around his lips before he pulled back with a smirk. “I’m not done playing yet.”
I shuddered.
His hands released mine from the wall and his thumbs slid into the top of my yoga pants and, in a tantalizingly slow fashion, lowered them from my hips. It wasn’t until I felt the friction of his jeans did I realize my panties were coming down, too. Anticipation, need and excitement bubbled deep inside me. Corey sank to his knees to finish pulling them all the way down but having him so close to my throbbing sex was giving me heart palpitations. His nose pressed to the inside of my calf and, oh-so-slowly, began its pursuit upward. The closer he crept into my inner thigh, the more I began to writher against his hands.