Pulled

by A. F. Crowell

  I turned the corner and saw him sitting on the bed next to Leila, his back to me. She was lying down on her side facing the bathroom, with a tissue in hand wiping her tears. Neither of them saw me. He leaned down and kissed the side of her head. It took all my self-control not to rip him off the bed and beat the shit out of him.

  “Brody, don’t. You have to stop. I love Jaxon. You and I are over. You made that decision, not me. And yeah, some part of me will always love you. You are a part of me now, but it’s not the same way I feel for Jax.” I stepped through the doorframe causing the floor to squeak.

  “I should’ve known you’d be a fuckin’ pussy and wait to corner her when I wasn’t here to throw your fuckin’ ass out.” I crossed the room. “You’re leaving. Now.”

  “Fuck you, I’m here to see the mother of my child.” The asshole was pushing all the right buttons if he was looking for me to beat the shit out of him.

  “Both of you stop,” Leila scolded.

  “What? You want him here?” I set my sights on her.

  “Lei, we need to finish this conversation,” Brody chimed in before she could answer.

  “Jaxon, I do need to finish—” she started.

  “I guess I’m the one who needs to be leavin’.” Anger reverberated through every cell in my body. I couldn’t believe she was going to let that fucker stay and continue to manipulate her. Why couldn’t she see him for who he was—a selfish prick.

  “No, Jax, please. Don’t leave. It’s not like that. I just need to finish telling him I’m with you. There is nothing left for him and me. I’m with you, don’t go.” Tears streamed down her beautiful face. Watching her cry, knowing it was my doing, almost broke me, and although I hated staying in the same room as that fucker, I wasn’t gonna do one more thing to hurt my Leila.

  “Drew can stay with you tonight and I’ll come over tomorrow. You can finish whatever this is and then we will talk.” I needed to get away from her. She was slowly destroying all my defenses. I was trying to make the right decision for her, for us and for this innocent child.

  “No. I want you here, not Drew, not Brody. You! Stay and talk to me now. You promised you’d be here with me no matter what.”

  Fuck, she was right. “Fine, I won’t leave. I’ll sleep in the spare room and we can talk later.” I turned and looked at Brody. “You might not think you need time to figure things out, but from what I heard, you do. I’ll be downstairs if you need me.”

  “Please Jax, stay up here. Brody is leaving. I don’t know what you heard or think you heard, but I want you. I love you,” she started to get out of the bed to come to me.

  “Leila you can’t—” Brody started to tell her what to do.

  “Fuck you Brody. Haven’t you done enough,” she hissed.

  I rushed to her side as she stood up. “Okay, you made your point. Now lie back down. Please.”

  “No. Not until you promise to stay with me, up here.” Damn, if she didn’t know exactly what to say to make me cave.

  “Fine, we will talk—”

  “Tonight,” she butted in.

  “Yes, tonight.” Yep, totally just caved.

  “And stay up here?” Her bloodshot eyes looked up at me.

  “Yes, now lie down.”

  “Leila, please think about what we talked about and call me tomorrow.” Brody stood in the doorway staring at her.

  “Get out.” I tightened my hands at my sides.

  “Fuck you,” he shouted.

  Leila grabbed my forearm before I could go after him. “Babe, just ignore him.” She turned to Brody. “You heard him. You need to go Brody.”

  After helping her to the bathroom, I got her back in bed. Okay, I carried her. I loved her fiercely and would do anything to protect her and this child. “I’m gonna go talk to Drew. You wanna drink or somethin’ to eat?”

  “Yeah, will you bring me up some tea and salami with cream cheese?” She batted her long, black eyelashes at me. As if she really needed to. We both knew she had me wrapped around her tiny little pinky.

  “Yeah.” I gave her a quick peck, then went to find Drew.

  We needed to get some shit straight and fast.

  *****

  ~Leila~

  Jax didn’t come back for half an hour. I could hear him arguing with Drew downstairs, but they were too quiet to make out what they were saying until Jax raised his voice and said, “That fucker isn’t welcome here. We clear?”

  When he came up with my sweet tea, he sat beside me on the edge of the bed.

  “Listen,” he started. “I know we’ve said we would raise this baby together”—he rubbed my little bump—“but, I don’t want you to feel obligated to stay with me. He is the father and I would understand if you wanted to try again, for the baby’s sake.”

  Oh hell no. He did not just say that. “Are you done?” I waited, but he gave me this bizarre look. “Finished? As in, I can talk now?”

  “Uh, yeah.”

  “Good, sit back and listen real good and carefully.” I pushed up to sitting in the bed. “Number one, I would never stay with you out of obligation. Two, I’ve said it before, but I will say it again and again if I need to. Brody may have donated sperm, but you’re who’s been here for me. Three, I know you heard me say that a part of me would always love him, but you took it completely out of context. A small piece of me will always love him, because he gave me this little miracle.” I rubbed my stomach. “Who, by the way, is hungry. Four, I want you Jax. All six feet four inches of frustrating, loving, compassionate and sexy you. Yes, the situation is less than ideal, but it’s the hand we were dealt.” I took a deep breath. “Now, you’re gonna scoot your fine, tight ass over here and hold me for the rest of our first Christmas together.”

  “You wanna know what I want?” He turned back to me.

  I shook my head.

  “What’s for dinner?” He smirked. “Really, what do you want? I can make a quick sandwich or—”

  “Frozen pizza, pepperoni.” He scrunched up his nose. “What? Don’t make that face at me. It’s what the baby wants. Ooh, and she wants buffalo wings and cheese fries.” I didn’t realize how hungry I was.

  “What? We don’t have wings and fries, and it’s Christmas night. I doubt any place that is open serves either of those. How about a grilled cheese?”

  For a half a second I contemplated messing with him, but I was too tired and hungry to work up the energy. So Jax went downstairs, made grilled cheeses and brought them to bed. We watched movies until I remembered his Christmas present.

  “Can we do presents now?”

  “Yeah. Wanna tell me where you hide mine and I’ll grab it while I get yours?” He walked over and opened my closet.

  “Nah, I can reach them.” I hid them under the bed.

  He came back with two wrapped presents, one about the size of a large shoebox and the other a small jewelry box. Seeing the tiny box made my heart race, surely it wasn’t a ring. We hadn’t been together long enough for him to propose, and I certainly wasn’t ready for him to ask me to marry him.

  I pulled out his presents and sat them on the bed in front of my crossed legs. “Let’s take turns opening so I can watch, ’kay?”

  “Whatever you want baby.”

  I handed him the first present. He tore into the silver wrapping paper, opened the box to reveal the silver frame engraved Daddy’s Little Girl with the 4D ultrasound picture of her sucking her thumb. “Lei,” he said then paused. “It’s perfect, I love it.”

  “Okay, my turn.” I held out my hands, letting him decide which one to give me first. He handed me the large box first. Ripping back the green and red paper, I stopped to run my fingers across the words Jimmy Choo embossed on the box. “Jax what did you do?”

  “Open it and see,” he said, giving nothing away with his deadpan face.

  Carefully, I lifted the box lid and pulled back the tissue paper. “Oh my God, Jaxon.” I was stunned at the luxurious black Jimmy Choo diaper bag with double h
andle top and quilted leather bottle pockets on the sides.

  He just grinned. “You like it?”

  “Oh Jaxon.” My eyes leaked. “It’s gorgeous and way too much. You shouldn’t have done this.” I took the bag out of the box and hugged it in my arms. “I love it, really I do, but we can’t spend this kind of money with a baby coming in a few months.”

  “Says who? You let me worry about that ’kay?”

  I leaned over and kissed him. “Here, open,” I instructed, handing him the larger box of the two.

  “This one’s a little heavier.” He shook the box.

  “Just open it.” I was excited for him to see what was inside.

  He tore into the paper. “Holy shit babe. You got me a camera?” He pulled the black Nikon box out of the wrapping.

  “Well, we were lookin’ at them a few weeks ago and you said you wanted to get one before the baby came,” I explained. “Now you can take all the pictures you want.”

  “Awesome.” He started pulling things out of the box. “Did you charge it?”

  “No pictures tonight.” I put my hands up in front of my face.

  “All right.” He lifted the last present to me. Inside was a silver key.

  I held it up. “Is this the key to your heart?”

  “Nope, front door.”

  Now I really was confused. “The front door? To what?”

  “The front door to my house around the corner. I want you to move in with me.” Thank God I wasn’t drinking or else it would’ve come out my nose.

  “Huh? As in, live with you? Sell my place?”

  “Yes, as in, live with me.”

  “You want me and the baby to live in your house?” I still needed him to spell it out. “I thought you were renovating? We can’t move in with a newborn if there is hammering and sawdust.” I realized it sounded like I was rejecting him. “I’m not saying I don’t want to, but how could we live there while you are workin’ on it.”

  “First of all, you’re right, I have been remodeling, but I am about a week or two away from being done. Just have to finish the master bathroom and decorate the nursery. I would never move y’all in if it wasn’t perfect, but I do want you to help me pick out the finishings.”

  “How long have you been planning this?” I wondered.

  “The remodel or moving y’all in?”

  “Moving us in. I mean, I knew you bought the place and gutted it, but when did you make changes to your plans to include a nursery?” I wanted to know how long he had been so committed to me without me realizing it.

  “First time I considered moving you and the baby in with me? Probably the middle of October. I changed the plans to include a nursery six weeks ago, and I canceled all of the tile, flooring, mirrors and vanities for our bathroom about the same time.”

  I sat watching him. His excitement blazed across his handsomely rugged face. “This is real? You want us to move in with you and you want me to sell my place?”

  “I do. I’m committed to both of you. Talk to me.” He took my hand and rubbed circles on the back with his thumb. “What part freaks you out?”

  “I’m not freaked out. Why do you think that?” I was a little bit freaked, but excited too.

  “Come on Lei, I know you. I know your faces and your noises. This face”—he lifted his chin—“says you’re having a tiny panic attack, but refuse to admit it to anyone.”

  Holy fuck, he does know me.

  “Okay, cards on the table?” He nodded. “I’m scared that if I move in with you and you have to deal with Brody about the baby all of the time, you’ll get sick of it and want us to leave. If I’ve sold this place, then I won’t have any place to go. I’m just as committed to us as you are—I’m just scared Jax.”

  “Slow down and take a breath, babe. I won’t let him come between us. I will never get sick of either of you. And I will always want you. I don’t doubt your sincerity, love or commitment.” He leaned forward and pulled me to his chest. “You need to protect yourself and always be prepared. It’s one of the things I love about you. If it will make you feel better, don’t sell this place, just rent it.”

  “What did I do to deserve you?” I kissed his chest. “I love you Jax. More than I ever thought possible.”

  “I love you too princess.” He held me for a minute. “So is that a yes or a no?”

  “Yes, I want nothing more than to fall asleep with you every night and wake up with you for three a.m. feedings.”

  He let out a deep breath. “Good. Now let’s go to sleep. I’m exhausted.”

  “Sounds like a great idea. Night Jax.”

  “Sweet dreams baby girl.”

  Chapter Nine

  ~Leila~

  Over the next week, Jax brought home design books, tile samples, paint colors and pictures of the bathroom in its current state. We reviewed the blueprints, made a few changes and settled on a color scheme. Since I couldn’t get out of bed to see the real thing, this remote planning would have to do.

  During the day, when Jax worked on the house or was at the clubhouse, I lay in bed with my tablet looking at nursery themes and paint schemes. I picked out a pale pink and gray bedding set with a paisley pattern that was handmade. Jaxon found the most adorable white furniture in a Pottery Barn Kids catalogue and were having her name made in wooden painted letters to match.

  Barb and I were lying in the bed Sunday morning, flipping through baby books shouting out names. We had decided to see who could find the worst name, then we asked Jaxon to pick between them. Obviously, we weren’t actually going to name her one of these awful names, and, knowing him, he’d cotton on to the game soon enough.

  “Jaxon,” I called from the master bedroom.

  “Yeah babe, what’s up?” He trotted up the stairs.

  “So Barb and I have narrowed the name list down and we want you to pick. Whichever one you chose is what we will name our little peanut.”

  “Okay, so let’s hear it.” He sat down on the foot of the bed since Barb was propped up on his side of the bed.

  “I thought maybe Bernice Geraldine,” I said it straight-faced. The inside of my cheek was probably bleeding from biting it so hard. Jax had this look of sheer horror on his face.

  Barb played along so well. She jumped in before he could say anything. “I pick Edna Mae. So what do you think?”

  Jax looked back and forth between us. “You seriously want to know what I think?”

  “Yeah baby, which one do you like better?” I smiled sweetly at him.

  “I think you both need to go back to your crack dealer and ask for a refund, ’cause he sold y’all some really bad shit.” He looked at me like I had three heads.

  “What? What’s that supposed to mean?” I feigned hostility.

  “Yeah, what’s wrong with our names?” Barb shot out.

  “You can’t be serious.” He looked back at me. “You’re not actually suggesting we name our daughter Bernice Geraldine or Edna Mae,” he said, his brow furrowed.

  Game over. He said, “our daughter.”

  Awwww. How can I mess with him after that? I crawled down to him at the end of the bed and wrapped my hands around the back of his neck.

  “No,” I said and gave him a quick peck, “we were just fuckin’ with ya.” I smiled and quickly scooted away.

  “Damn you woman. You’re so lucky you’re pregnant and on bed rest.” He shook his head as he walked back out of the room. Barb and I laughed as we heard him grumbling all the way down the steps.

  “I’m gonna go and let you rest.” She bent down and spoke to my belly. “Bye my sweet girl. Be good to your momma.”

  Grabbing the remote, I turned on FX and started watching the Twilight marathon but I don’t think I made it through the first movie. I woke up during Eclipse and went to the bathroom, then climbed back into bed and checked my phone. There was one text message waiting from Brody, wanting me to call or text him and let him know how I was feeling and when my next OB appointment was.


  Hey, I feel fine. No cramping, bleeding or fainting. Thx for—“Who you textin’?” Jax appeared in the doorway.

  I jumped. “Geez Pete. You scared me.”

  “I’m sorry babe, didn’t mean to.”

  “I was just texting Brody back. He sent me a text while I was sleepin’ wanting to know when the next doctor’s appointment is.”

  Jaxon walked over and plopped down, grumbling, “I liked it better when he wasn’t in the picture.”

  I grabbed his elbow and pulled him back to me. then wrapped my arms around his strong, bulky bicep. “I know it’s not easy to have him in the middle of this, but he is the father.” I sensed him pulling away.

  “Jax, look at me.” He turned his icy stare to me. “Brody might be her father, but you will be her daddy. You’ll be the one singing her to sleep, rocking her when she cries, getting up at three a.m. and it will be your voice she recognizes. Don’t let him come between us.”

  “Babe, I’m tryin’ but he has made it perfectly fuckin’ clear he wants you. He wants to be a family with you. And he keeps throwing that shit in my face.”

  “Well, I guess it’s a good thing I want you, and it’s a good thing that we are gonna be a family. The only one who has the power to change that is you.” I lifted his arm and curled into his side.

  “Promise me he’s not gonna steal you away from me.” Wow. For first time since the day I met him, I realized there was something that could make Jaxon feel insecure. And I didn’t like that I was the cause of him feeling that way. It killed me to know that he thought Brody could ever take his place.

  “Jaxon, I love you. I’m not going anywhere honey. I’ll be here as long as you want me to be.” I pressed my hand to his chest and lifted my lips to his, flirting my tongue along his bottom lip, earning myself a little growl. Reaching up and tugging him over to me, I fisted my hands into his hair, pulling him into my mouth. I needed more of him. Breaking our connection long enough to pull his shirt over his head, I traced the lines of his pecs with my tongue and squeezed his nipple.