by Nikki Ash
Ashley laughs and says, “Yup! We are definitely drunk. It is time to go home. Our rugrats will be up before we know it.”
We make it back to Ashley’s place and both pass out in her bed. Tomorrow is going to seriously suck. Hangover plus trick-or-treating equals… I don’t even know what the hell it equals but it sure as hell can’t be anything good.
We wake up to the kids running around and playing. I grab my phone to see what time it is and it’s dead. Shit. “Hey, Ash, I am going to head out with Bella. My phone is dead so I need to charge it.” She mumbles what I think is a reply and goes back to sleep. Luckily for her, her parents spent the night and are hanging out all day with Tristan.
We get home and I jump in the shower to rinse off last night. I swallow a few Advil’s hoping to relieve this massive headache I have going on, and once my phone charges enough to turn it on I check it and see my phone is overflowing with what looks like a million texts.
Coop: Hey baby girl. I tried to call you to say good night to you guys. Call me. Love you.
Coop: Baby, everything ok? You haven’t called me back.
Coop: Bella must be in bed by now. I tried to call to keep my promise to her. Just let me know you guys are ok.
Coop: Liz, are you mad at me?
Damn, I should have told him I was going out but I didn’t even think to. I have spent so many years coming and going as I please, I didn’t even think about that fact that Cooper would be worried if I didn’t answer his calls or texts, and on top of that he didn’t get a chance to say goodnight to Bella. I keep scrolling through my texts.
This is where it gets weird…
Kayla: Liz, you need to call me ASAP
Hayley: Where are you?
Hayley: Liz, please call someone as soon as you get this.
Kayla: Liz, I know you wouldn’t cheat on Cooper. Please just call so we can get this whole thing figured out.
Cheat. On. Cooper. What the fuck?
I immediately try to call Cooper but his phone goes straight to voicemail. I try again and again and nothing. I feel sick to my stomach with worry. Why would they think I was cheating on Cooper? I try his phone a few more times and just as I am about to try Kayla I hear the front door open and close, and then Bella screams, “Daddy!”
I walk into the living room and see Cooper standing in the door way with Bella in his arms holding her tight to his chest. His gaze turns to me, and my stomach drops when I see the exhausted and defeated look in his eyes.
He swallows loudly, composes himself, and gives his attention back to Bella. “Hey princess. Did I make it in time to go trick-or-treating with you?”
“Yes! Yes! Yes, you did. Thank you, daddy!” Bella gives him a huge wet kiss on his cheek.
“Good. Why don’t you run upstairs and get your costume ready and then we will all go to lunch and trick-or-treating?”
“Ok, daddy!”
Cooper waits until Bella is upstairs before he turns his attention to me. I open my mouth to say something but close it again. I am not sure what happened but for him to be here when he should be in Boulder says a lot. It should be a good thing that he’s here but after reading the texts Kayla and Hayley sent me, I have a feel he’s here for another reason.
“What’s the matter? Not sure how to explain what happened last night? If you want, you can call up my mom and ask her how it’s done. I am sure she can help you explain and justify what happened.”
I can feel myself flinch at his words, like I was just slapped in the face. I don’t know what is going on but it’s got to be bad because Cooper doesn’t speak to me like this, ever.
He moves a step closer to me.
“I don’t know what you think I did, but you are wrong.”
He moves a bit closer.
“You didn’t go to Club Surrender last night?”
“Yes, I did. Ashley and I went with a couple of her friends.”
He moves closer with his eyes never leaving mine.
“Did you dance with anyone?”
What. The. Fuck! “Yeah, Coop. I did. I danced with Ashley and a few other people. What’s going on?”
He takes one more step and he’s right in my face. If I didn’t know Cooper would never hurt me, I would be terrified of the expression on his face. I can see why other fighters fear this man. When he’s pissed he is not someone you want to mess with.
He pulls out his phone and lifts it up to my face. It’s so close I have to pull my head back a bit and squint to see what he’s showing me. My stomach drops when I see the grainy photo of me and some guy, who isn’t Cooper, extremely close to one another. I am sweaty from all the dancing and shots, and I have my head thrown back up against the guy’s chest while his hands are around my waist. Fuck! Not good!
“How did you get that?” I spit out more harshly than I intended. I should feel bad about the picture but the truth is nothing happened, and I am pissed that someone is sending photos to him. I am even more pissed that he doesn’t trust me.
“Does it matter how I got it? What fucking matters is why my woman is grinding all over another man’s dick while he has his hands wrapped around her.”
Wow! It’s not even a question. It’s a straight up accusation. Apparently I am guilty without even a trial.
“So, let me get this right? You get some picture, taken by God knows who, and you jump on a plane, not to take my daughter trick-or-treating, but to accuse me of cheating on you.”
He lets it sink in for a second before he responds. “No, I was already coming here to take OUR daughter trick-or-treating. I just figured while I was here I would find out why I was only gone for less than two days and the woman who supposedly loves me is already all over another man.
Taking a closer look at Cooper, I notice his eyes are dark with black circles under them like he hasn’t had a decent night’s sleep in a few days, his shoulders are slumped over a little, and while his words sound so sure, I can see he is sad and scared and confused. I could argue with him; I could scream and curse and be pissed about his accusations but it wouldn’t do any good. Cooper needs to feel secure about us and arguing isn’t going to help anything. He might be a badass fighter on the outside, but on the inside, he is an insecure little boy who has been traumatized by the choices his parents made.
I wrap my arms around his torso and look up at him. He tenses under my touch so I bring my hand to the back of his head to lower it down. I give him a small kiss and after a few seconds I can feel him melt into me. The kiss goes deeper and he sighs into my mouth. We kiss for a short time and when we separate he closes his arms around my body tightly and nuzzles his head into my hair. I hear a sob so soft I almost wouldn’t have caught it if it wasn’t so quiet. When he looks up there is a tear falling down his cheek. I reach my lips up to kiss it away.
“I love you, Cooper and I would never cheat on you. What you saw was a shitty picture and I am sorry you saw that. While I was dancing, a guy came up behind me and for a second I thought it was you. I was drunk and it reminded me of our time together five years ago, but as soon as I realized it wasn’t you, I freaked out and decided to go home. Ashley was there and saw the whole thing play out.”
He squeezes his eyes closed and then opens them again. “I’m sorry, baby girl. I know you would never cheat. I just freaked out. I saw the picture and I just about lost it.”
“It’s ok.” I give him another kiss to calm him down.
“Kayla said I am the only guy you have ever been with. Is that true?”
“Yeah, it is. I just couldn’t stop hoping that maybe one day you would come back to me. I focused on school and Bella, and I just had no desire to be with anybody but you.”
Just then Bella comes prancing down the steps looking like a princess in her Elsa costume.
“I’m ready to go!” She squeals out.
We head out to eat lunch and then take Bella trick-or-treating around the neighborhood Kayla and I take her every year. We have never lived in this neighborhood bu
t we found it years ago. It has nice houses that are close together and the people who live there all sit outside at the ends of their driveways giving out candy.
After going up and down several streets Bella is candied out and Cooper is carrying her back to the car. Every time she asked for a piece with her cute little voice and batted her eyelashes he would give in. The day started off rough but it ended up being an amazing Halloween.
We get back home and after Cooper takes Bella to bed he finds me in our room. I am changing into my pajamas when he comes up behind me and puts his arms around me. Remembering this is why he accused me of cheating I freeze. He must sense what happened because nuzzling my neck he says, “I am sorry, baby. I just want to be the only man to ever touch you like this. Please forgive me.”
I turn around to face him. “And you are the only man who will ever touch me this way. You own me, Cooper, Mind, body, heart, and soul. There’s nothing to forgive. I love you.”
We make love several times throughout the night before we pass out with our bodies entangled in one another.
Chapter Twenty-One
Liz
It’s been almost a month since Cooper went away and received that stupid picture. Thankfully we have moved passed it, for the most part. There are times when I still see Cooper’s insecurities come out like when he texts me and I don’t answer or if I go somewhere and don’t mention it. He isn’t an asshole about it; he doesn’t yell or get mad. It’s more like he gets sad and worried like I am going to leave one day and never come back.
He’s been busy at the gym training for his fight. Bentley won his fight so he has been helping Caleb and Cooper train for theirs. Cooper has been insisting Bella visit every day and is home by her bedtime every night.
Thanksgiving is almost here and we have decided to fly to Florida to have Thanksgiving with my parents and brother. Kayla is flying back with us as well but will be spending the day with her family. Cooper’s mom has decided to join us tomorrow as well so it will be nice.
I have been feeling kind of queasy lately so I am hoping I’m not catching something before Thanksgiving. That will surely ruin our trip to Florida.
We arrive at the Palm Beach Airport on Wednesday afternoon to find my brother waiting for us.
“Hey you! We could have taken a cab.”
He just scoffs at me and gives Bella a big hug and then shakes Cooper’s hand. We grab our luggage and head home. I am excited to show Cooper where I grew up. Kayla catches a ride with us since she only lives down the street. Matt drops her off first and then we head to our house. Bella spots the beach across the street and asks if we can go swimming.
“It might be a little chilly, angel, but we will head down there later to at least walk along the sand.”
When we pull up, my mom and dad come out to give us all hugs and kisses, and then we make our way inside. As soon as I walk in, the smell of pumpkins and stuffing makes me stumble back. I put my hand over my nose and excuse myself to the restroom. After throwing up everything in my stomach it hits me that I have been feeling queasy lately. I have also been extremely exhausted, and now I am throwing up. I thought maybe I was catching the flu but when I was pregnant with Bella certain smells made me feel the same way. Could I be pregnant? Before I tell Cooper I want to get it confirmed. I don’t want to get his hopes up if it’s just a coincidence.
I give Cooper a tour around my house including my bedroom where he laughs at the fact that my parents have kept it the same since I left, and wants to know if I still have the cheerleading uniform from high school. Damn perv! I need to get away from the smells that are making my stomach churn so I suggest we take Bella for a walk to the beach.
It’s beautiful outside here in the fall. Florida doesn’t really get different seasons and it barely even gets cold but it drops enough in the fall and winter occasionally for it to feel nice. Today, it’s in the low seventies so it’s too chilly to go swimming but perfect for walking along the beach.
Cooper is walking in between Bella and me, holding our hands as Bella stops every couple feet to pick up a new shell. They all look the same but Cooper shows the same amount of excitement every time she shows him a new one. It makes me sad to think this time last year we were here without Cooper. This Thanksgiving I am so thankful for Kayla making me go to that UFC fight; I can’t imagine Cooper not being a part of our lives.
We decide to sit down in the sand while Bella plays at the edge of the water. Cooper sits first and then pulls me down in between his legs, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me so close my back is flush against his chest.
He gives a soft kiss on my cheek. “Thank you, baby girl.”
I twist my neck to look at him. “For what?”
“For everything; for giving me a second chance, giving me Bella, turning my house into a home. I have never felt so at peace. I have been thinking…”
I don’t say anything. I feel the same way but I am suddenly so emotional. Pregnancy hormones?
“After this title fight, win or lose, I am going to take time off from fighting.”
“Cooper, you love fighting. Why would you do that?”
“I am still going to run the gym but I just want to focus on Bella and you. I have spent the last fifteen years fighting, and I just want to take a break and spend some time with my girls.”
I want to ask if it’s because of the picture but I am afraid it will upset him. So I just say, “Well, if that’s what you really want to do I am not going to complain. But make sure it’s for the right reasons. Are you actually retiring?”
“I’m not saying I will never go back, but it won’t be anytime in the near future.”
Thanksgiving is amazing! Cooper’s mom got in early this morning, and Kayla ended up getting into a fight with her parents so she is here as well. Bella is chowing down on cookies and biscuits in the living room sitting on Cooper’s lap while the guys all watch football.
“Dinner is ready,” my mom announces. Everybody makes their way through the lines of food spread out across the countertops and gather around the table. Sadly, my plate is a bit bare. Food I would normally eat doesn’t seem to be appetizing at all, and I am struggling not to throw up.
“Liz, don’t you want some sweet potatoes? They are your favorite.” My mom asks innocently. I haven’t told anybody I suspect that I might be pregnant so it doesn’t make sense why I am not grabbing all my favorites. I take a scoop of sweet potatoes and plop them onto my plate trying to make sure they don’t touch my other food. Please Lord; don’t let me throw up all over my plate of food.
Before we dig in, it’s a tradition for everyone to say what he or she is thankful for. Bella begs to begin so of course we let her.
“I am soooooo thankful for my mommy because I love her because she gave me my daddy.” Everybody ooh’s and ahh’s around her but she keeps going naming everybody around the table. “I am thankful for my Auntie Kay because she is the best at painting my nails. I am thankful for all my grandma’s because they let me eat cookies. I am thankful for my grandpa because he gives me a dollar every time he sees me. I am thankful for my Uncle Matty because he always sneaks me bubblegum even though my mommy says I’m too little to eat bubble gum.”
Matt laughs out loud and says, “Kid you aren’t supposed to tell that!” She looks genuinely confused not realizing she is telling on everyone around her while saying thank you. Finally she gets around the table to Cooper and says, “I am thankful for my daddy because he is the bestest daddy ever because he is going to get me a puppy and a baby brother or sister. I really want a sister but a brother will still be good.”
Cooper turns white as the entire table goes quiet looking at him and then we all bust out laughing.
“I squeeze his hand and whisper loudly, “Sounds like someone has been making secret promises to our daughter.”
He just nervously laughs. We go around the table everybody saying their thanks and finally it is time to eat. Within twenty minutes the food is c
ompletely gone!
Friday morning Cooper offers to keep Bella with him and the guys while the women check out the crazy Black Fridays sales. I decide to put a call into my doctor so I can make an appointment for next week to confirm if I am pregnant. Nobody is in the office, so I leave a message with the answering service for someone to call me back with an appointment.
* * *
Cooper
We had a great weekend with Liz’s parents in Florida. We will definitely need to plan another trip back soon, especially once it’s warmer and we can take Bella swimming in the ocean. It’s Monday morning and we are at the airport with Kayla and my mom since we are all flying back together. Liz’s phone rings and she glances at it nervously. Before it goes to the voicemail she decides to take it and excuses herself to speak to whoever it is on the other end away from us. Kayla raises her eyebrows at me telling me to chill out. Fuck! I am not that guy. I don’t do jealousy and I sure as fuck don’t monitor whom my girlfriend talks to.
Liz comes back over and doesn’t say who it is but she looks guilty as hell. I know I have my issues but I am not seeing shit. My woman looks like she needs to tell me something but decides not to, so I let it go because I need to trust her and trust us.
We make it home and we are all completely jet-lagged. The five-hour flight to and from Florida was no joke. On top of that, add an energetic four-year old to the mix, and a three-hour time difference, and we are done for.
Liz and I cuddle up in our bed with Bella in between us and sleep for hours. I am sure we will regret this tonight when Bella is wide-awake but right now it feels damn good.
I groggily wake up and reach for Liz when I feel Bella beside me laughing softly to something on her iPad. I look over her to see if Liz is in bed but she’s not.
“Hey princess, where’s your mommy?”
“She said she had to run out.”
“Do you know where she went?”
“Nope, she just kissed me goodbye and left.”