Hacked by Love, Part 3

by Sharon Cummin

  “You can get as far away as you want, but I know you can still feel me there between those sweet legs. Sexiest thing ever,” I said before pulling away, grabbing our bags, and walking into the airport.

  She was right behind me, but she didn't say a word. When I got to the security person and they said my name, I turned to her and winked.

  “That shit isn't so funny anymore, is it?” I asked her.

  “Ass,” was all she replied.

  The flight home didn't seem nearly as long as the flight there did. I Couldn't wait to pick Jackson up. While I wouldn't have traded one moment from the night before with her, I missed him and planned to get him anything his heart desired for dinner. We'd only been away one day, but it felt longer. I knew my mom had spoiled his ass rotten while he was there, and a tiny part of me felt jealous of the time she'd had with him. He was getting the biggest bowl of ice cream with all the toppings too. I'd wait for Lauren to go to bed if I had to, but it was happening.

  “What are you smiling about?” Lauren asked, as we walked through the airport and out the door to look for James.

  “Jackson,” I said. “I missed him.”

  When I turned and looked at her, she had a sad look on her face.

  “Over here,” I heard James' loud ass yell as he pulled up in front of us. I looked up to see him waving us over.

  “Is that James Reid?” a man that had walked up next to me asked.

  “No,” I said. “Do you think a washed up Pirate would be picking people up at the airport?”

  “Washed up,” the man said louder than he needed to. “I don't think so. The man was awesome. I still can't figure out why he didn't ride that shit out.”

  As soon as we got in the car, I looked over at James.

  “Washed up,” he growled. “Fuck you. See if I ever pick your ass up again.”

  I burst into laughter.

  “Where's the wife?” I asked. “Can't you fit her in the car anymore?”

  “You're such an ass,” James snapped. “I'm telling her you said that. I hope she kicks your ass. You know what else? I hope Jillian calls you Lancie forever.”

  “She'd have to get that leg high enough,” I said. “That Lancie shit is not funny.”

  I heard Lauren snicker from the back seat.

  “It kind of is,” she said.

  “Pipe down,” I said, as I turned to see a smile on her face.

  It was nice to see the look she'd had when I said I'd missed Jackson gone. I'd take Sammie's shit if it brought a smile to Lauren's face.

  When we pulled up the driveway, I hopped out of the car and took off toward the sound of Jackson's voice. I rounded the corner to the backyard and stopped. My dad was standing on one side, and Jackson was on the other. Lauren stopped next to me, and I motioned for her to be quiet. My dad's back was to us. I watched Jackson on the other side, watching and listening intently to every word my dad was saying. When Jackson nodded, my dad threw the ball. Jackson jumped up and the ball landed right in his mitt. A huge smile covered his face, and my dad ran over, scooped him into his arms, and twirled him around.

  “I'm so proud of you,” my dad yelled out in excitement. “Did you see that, Firecracker? He jumped up and snatched that ball right out of the air.”

  “I saw,” my mom said with excitement from the side of the yard where I hadn't seen her standing. “Great job, Jackson.”

  That was the moment Jackson saw us standing there. He wiggled out of my dad's arms and ran toward us.

  “Did you see that?” he yelled, as he got closer. “I caught grandpa's ball. We've been working all morning. I jumped into the air. Did you see it mom?”

  I turned to see tears in Lauren's eyes. Her hand was over her mouth, and she was fighting everything in her not to lose it.

  “It's okay,” I said with a laugh. “He's not going to run off and be a Pirate after one catch.”

  “Our boy has a great arm too,” my dad said with a smile on his face.

  “You're playing baseball with him,” I said.

  “Of course I am,” he replied. “I can't count on you two nerds to do it.”

  “We've actually been playing catch with him,” I said defensively.

  “You've walked away from your laptop long enough to pick up a ball,” my dad said mocking shock.

  I narrowed my eyes at him and leaned down to scoop Jackson into my arms.

  “I missed you, Buddy,” I said.

  “I missed you too, Lancie,” he said.

  My eyes went wide, and I looked up at my parents. Then I looked over at James.

  “Your sister and wonderful niece might have been here too,” he said.

  “You tell her,” I said. “You tell your woman that it stops now. I will not have my boy calling me that.”

  “I'm just going to go home now and check on my wife and your favorite niece,” he said, as he stepped away, turned around, and got out of there.

  “How was it?” my mom asked. “What did they say?”

  I looked over at Lauren who hadn't said a word or moved at all. Then I turned back to my mom.

  “It went well,” I said. “They seemed impressed with Lauren's work.”

  “Our work,” she said without feeling.

  “You okay?” my mom asked her.

  “I'm fine,” she answered. “I'm not feeling well. Would you mind if we went back to the apartment?”

  “Are you sure?” my mom asked. “Do you need anything?”

  “No,” she answered. “I just need some rest.”

  “Do you want to leave Jackson here?” my mom asked.

  “No,” Lauren replied quickly. “I need him with me.”

  “I bet you missed him,” my mom said. “I'll run and grab his stuff. I hope you feel better.”

  “What's wrong?” my dad asked Lauren. “I can get you something. You need some water. Maybe you need to sit down.”

  “I'm fine,” she said. “I think I'm just tired. Would it be okay if I wait in your car, Lance?”

  She didn't take the opportunity to mess with my name, so I knew something was up.

  “Go ahead,” I said. “I'll get Jackson.”

  She turned and walked away. Something was going on. It was more than her not feeling well. She had the same look she'd had several times since we'd left my parents the day before. I knew she was tired, I was feeling it too. I wasn't going to push her, but we would be talking after she'd have a chance to rest.

  When we got back to my apartment, she looked sick. Maybe she wasn't feeling well, I thought. I'd asked her several times if she was okay on the drive, and she kept saying she was just tired. I grabbed our bags and Jackson's and walked in behind her.

  “Why don't you go get some rest,” I said. “I'll play with Jackson.”

  “It's okay,” she said. “You're tired too.”

  “I'm fine,” I said. “Go.”

  Without any argument, she walked down the hall and into my room, and she closed the door. When I walked up a few minutes later to check on her, I heard her crying and stopped before I'd even turned the knob on the door. What was she crying about, I wondered? Had I done or said something wrong? Was it something that happened at my parents' house? She was acting a bit strange before we'd gotten there, but that was where we were when she froze and said she wanted to leave.

  “I missed you, Lance,” Jackson said, as he ran down the hall, grabbed my hand, and pulled me back toward the living room. “Do you want to play?”

  “Of course I do,” I said, as I followed him down the hall. “I missed you too.”

  I played with Jackson for a bit. Then I walked back to my room and slowly opened the door. Lauren was asleep on my bed with my pillow tucked into her chest and her arms wrapped around it. It was the sweetest sight. I heard my phone ring in the other room and quietly but quickly closed the door and took off to answer it so it wouldn't wake her up.

  When I saw who was calling, I couldn't help but wonder what they were calling me for. I hadn't heard Laur
en's phone ring, so I knew I was the first one hearing from them. The pleasantries went quickly, and it was right down to business.

  “We'd like to offer you a job,” the man said.

  I reached over and grabbed Lauren's phone just to be sure they hadn't called her first. Had I heard him correctly, I wondered? She was the one that had called them to let them know she was through.

  “Me?” I asked.

  “Yes,” he said. “We were very impressed with your work. I know it took a few months, but what you came up with was pretty amazing. We want you on our team. You'd be working with the same people that were in the room with us at our meetings. We hire the best, Lance.”

  “Look, Lance,” Jackson yelled from the living room. “Isn't this funny?”

  I walked around the corner to see Jackson on the couch, in my spot, with the recliner out, and his feet kicked up, watching a cartoon. He turned around and looked at me, and I saw the silliest grin on his face. The little guy was so damn proud to be sitting in my spot, and I couldn't help but smile.

  “Come watch it with me,” he said.

  “We'd need you to move here obviously,” the guy on the other end of the phone said.

  “When would you need me to start?” I asked, still so shocked that they'd called me and not Lauren.

  I walked over and sat down on the couch, and Jackson crawled over onto my lap. When he wrapped his arms around my neck and kissed my cheek, my heart melted.

  “I love you,” he whispered.

  “As soon as possible,” the man answered. “When can you be here? We'd give you a moving allowance and could set you up in a furnished apartment here until you can find something.”

  I could hear him talking in the background, but my mind was jumping from one thought to the next. Jackson was snuggled in on my lap. He loved me, and I loved him. Then I looked over my shoulder and down the hall where Lauren was. My parents loved her, my sister loved her, and I loved her. Wait! Shit! What? If I moved away, where would she go? What would she do? What would I do without the two of them? I couldn't believe my own ears when I spoke again.

  “I'm sorry,” I said. “I can't take the job.”

  “What?” the man asked.

  “I can't leave,” I said.

  “This is your dream job, Lance. You told me yourself. I know how hard you worked to get to where you are. There are so many people that would give up everything for the opportunity I'm offering you.”

  “I know,” I said. “It was exactly what I wanted.”

  “What changed?” he asked.

  I couldn't help but laugh at his words.

  “Everything,” I said.

  “If you want, I can give you some time to think about it,” he said.

  “That's not necessary,” I said. “I know where I need to be. Thank you so much for the opportunity to work with all of you. If you ever have anything you need that I can do from here, I'd love to work with you again.”

  “You're sure?” he asked.

  “I'm positive,” I said.

  I hung up my phone and wrapped my arms around Jackson.

  “I love you too,” I said.

  I knew what I wanted and nothing was going to change my mind. The second the bedroom door opened and Lauren came out, I was on my feet.

  “I have to go,” I said. “I'll be back in a bit.”

  “Is everything okay?” she asked with a confused look on her face.

  “Everything is perfect.”

  I grabbed my keys from the counter and took off out the door. If you would have told me less than a year before that I was going to turn down a job with the government, I would have told you that you were crazy. Things really had changed, more than I ever could've imagined.

  Chapter 23

  Lauren

  The second I stepped into the hallway, Lance took off. I had no idea what was going on. It was actually really great timing. I'd taken off to bed as soon as we got home. Wait! We got to his home. It wasn't my home, and I needed to remind myself that. It was temporary. Between my lack of sleep and what had happened at his parents' house, I needed a few minutes to myself. Jackson had called Lance's dad grandpa, and Lance's dad had said our boy. I'd already told myself the night before that I needed to make a change, I needed to get my own place. Lance had never said one thing about us moving out. It wasn't like that at all. He was being great about everything when it came to me and to Jackson. That wasn't the problem. The problem was me.

  I was in too deep already. I'd admitted to myself that I loved him. That was not okay. Us staying with him was only until I got on my feet. It was not permanent. If I was already having strong feelings for him, how was Jackson feeling? That was just a tiny part of what was going through my head the night before. I quickly got my answer when my son called Lance's dad grandpa. It was even worse that his dad never even flinched when Jackson had said it. He was as in love with Lance's family as I was. His mom and sister were amazing. His dad and James were something else. Even his extended family was the best. He'd made it clear that he wasn't the relationship kind of guy. We were fucking in his eyes. Sure, he got pissed about Eric, but that was just some manly, macho bullshit. It had nothing to do with me as girlfriend material or anything.

  I'd just sat down on the couch with Jackson and hugged him super tight. How was he going to feel when it was time to move? Shit! How was I going to feel? It didn't matter. I'd have to get over it. I was used to not belonging. My mom and dad had both made sure of that. No man would want me. I heard those words so many times, I could even hear them in her voice.

  When my phone rang, I jumped. Jackson hurried over to grab it. Then he ran back and handed it to me. When I saw who it was, I couldn't help the excitement that ran through me. What did they want, I wondered? Was it good or bad? When I heard his words, I couldn't believe it.

  “We'd like to offer you a job,” he said.

  “Really,” I said. “Are you serious?”

  “I am,” he said. “I'm not sure how long you'd have to wait, but we want you to start as soon as you can. We even have a furnished apartment you can use while you find something.”

  I looked over at Jackson and knew that I'd done it. I'd done something he could be proud of.

  “Before you say anything, I just want you to know that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. There are a lot of people that would love to be getting this call right now.”

  “You don't have to sell me on it,” I said. “This is my dream job.”

  “You have no idea how good it is to hear you say that,” he said. “I'll tell you what, think about it overnight and call me in the morning. That way you can let me know when you can start.”

  “Okay,” I said, feeling a bit confused. “I'll call you first thing tomorrow.”

  I hung up the phone and jumped up off of the couch. Then I scooped Jackson up and swung him around in my arms. The door opened, and Lance walked in. I noticed he didn't have any more with him than he had when he left and couldn't help but wonder where he'd gone.

  “Mommy is excited,” Jackson yelled out to Lance as soon as the door closed behind him.

  “Oh yeah,” Lance said with a smile on his face. “Why is that?”

  “You're not going to believe it,” I said with so much excitement in my tone. “They just offered me a job. Can you believe it?”

  “Of course I can,” he said.

  His smile was gone, and he quickly turned away from me.

  “I bet Eric is excited about that.”

  “Lance,” I said.

  “What?” he asked. “I was just saying. What are you going to do?”

  “This is my dream job,” I said.

  “I know it is,” he said.

  There was something there. What was it, I wondered? Was he pissed they'd called me? That had to be the reason for the way he was cutting me short.

  “If I take it, I'll be able to give Jackson everything,” I said.

  “Everything but time,” he replied.

>   “What the hell does that mean?” I asked.

  “You'll be working every second. When will he see you?” he asked.

  “If they called and offered you the job, you'd be working every second,” I said in my own defense.

  “That's different,” he said with a shrug.

  “How's that?” I asked sarcastically. “Do you mean because you don't have a child?”

  “That's not what I said,” he snapped.

  “What other choice do I have, Lance?” I asked, letting him know it wasn't like huge job offers were being thrown at me from every direction or anything.

  “Stay here,” he said with the most serious look on his face.

  “Yeah right,” I said with a laugh. “I can't stay here forever. You already let us stay here after I got kicked out of my mom's house. We're not your responsibility. I've definitely abused your friendship more than enough already.”

  “Really?” he asked in a cocky tone. “My friendship. If it's what you want, take it.”

  “If I don't take that, I still need something. I can't stay here forever,” I said.

  He turned and walked away from me and down the hall.

  “Lance,” I called out after him.

  “I'm going to bed,” he said.

  He closed the door behind him, but I quickly pushed it back open.

  “Can you honestly say that you wouldn't jump at the chance if they called you?” I asked.

  “It doesn't matter,” he answered, as he pulled his shirt off by the back of the neck and kicked his jeans off and to the side.

  Then he got under the covers and turned away from me.

  “Lance,” I snapped.

  “I need a minute,” he said. “Turn the lights off on your way out.”

  “Lance,” I said again.

  “I said I need a minute,” he snapped. “Go!”

  I let out a huff, turned the lights out, and pulled the door closed behind me.

  “I can't believe I thought you'd be happy for me,” I said, as I walked away from his door.

  I went back out with Jackson and played with him. When I realized what time it was, I went into the kitchen to make something for dinner. I wasn't sure if Lance was going to eat, so I turned on the oven and put a frozen pizza in to cook. Lance had been paying for food for us and never once complained. That was just one more example of how I was taking advantage of him. It needed to stop.