We laughed, and spent the rest of the afternoon in bikinis, poolside, completely ignoring Dane and his mouth-watering gaze.
“Riley, you're so ready for me baby.” Dane pushed himself into me and I winced. He was beyond huge, I didn’t know how he could possibly fit inside my body.
After that night, after losing my innocence to Dane I felt like I could do anything. I looked at myself differently, I felt powerful. Not just some girl, but instead a tall and fabulous woman clothed in strength and dripping sex.
I let him turn me utterly senseless, and believe me, he fed me all the lies and sweet nothings that ruthless charmers like him do.
I fell for it, like a fool. Little did I know he was also putting the wood to the dry old Mrs. Lerner. I'm surprised the two of them didn’t start a fire.
Eww.
Too little too late for me; I was pregnant and when he found out he told me he wasn't meant to be a dad. But he would support my child regardless.
My parents were upset, of course, but they saw the light at the end of the tunnel. They knew Dane wasn't someone who would be a good role model, so they supported my decision to keep Isaac and raise him myself.
Not the life I had planned for myself when my sixth grade teacher asked the class what we wanted to be when we grew up. Riley the mother was a long shot from Riley the lawyer. But through all of it I was supported by my family and especially Addison. She even held my hand when Isaac was born. I remember the first time I saw his face, I forgot all about Dickface Sullivan and every other insignificant thing in my life before that day. All that mattered was the tiny eight pound bundle in my arms—my new purpose in life. The only man I'll ever cry over again.
***
“Babe, we're almost there.” Alex squeezed my bare thigh and traced his fingers along the top of my leg.
I turned around and look at Addison through my groggy eyes, she sat behind Alex's seat with a silly smile on her face. I smiled and shook my head.
I love that girl.
I pulled out my cellphone from my purse and text Sadee. Hey girl, how are my babies?
She responded almost instantly. They R good. Scar's still sleeping. Isaac's almost out too! Have fun!!
I breathed, feeling relieved they are doing well.
As we pulled on to a busy street in downtown Buffalo, Alex had to slow down to almost a crawl to avoid the people walking all over the place. There are rows of sports bars and clubs on this street. It's like it's only bars and clubs. We found a big parking lot and by some miracle pulled the truck into a space.
“Which one first, babe?” Alex took my hand and pulled me out of the truck.
I looked around at all the flashing lights and tried to let my head settle while taking in all the thumping music streaming from each open door.
“Ry, this one!” Addison yelled over to me, pointing to the biggest building on the street. A towering three-storey black brick club.
I smiled, wide-eyed and I nodded my head.
It took about ten minutes, but we finally get served and each took a shot of Jagermeister from long cylindrical tubes.
Addison and I ordered and carried our margaritas onto the dance floor and started to move. The DJ played a raunchy song, the lyrics oozing sex, and when I caught Alex's eye across the dance floor I mouth the lyrics of the song to him.
That's right baby...
His eyes flare and he sputtered beer from the tip of the bottle, slowly wiping the beer from his lips he kept his gaze held on me as I moved.
I turned my back to him and looked over my shoulder to catch his stare, I reached for Addison and she took my hand to hold up in the air with hers. I dropped my body and slowly traveled up the length of hers, still keeping my eyes glued on Alex's.
Blaine was at Addison's side in seconds, taking her into his arms and enveloping her into his body.
I tossed back the rest of my drink and beckoned Alex to me with my finger.
He walked through the crowd of dancing patrons, and when he stood in front of me I put my hands on his chest, feeling the heat radiating from his skin.
“You're gonna make me fucking crazy if you keep that up.” He leaned in and tightly gripped my pony tail, whispering his lips softly against my ear. “Please keep it up.”
I let go of the empty plastic cup that once held my margarita and snaked my arms around Alex's neck, my body flush with his. The song changed and the tempo slowed. I kissed and sucked at the stubble on his jaw.
His hands were like sparklers running down my back, trailing his fingertips on my spine and when he reached my behind he gripped my ass tightly.
***
I woke up in my bed, unsure of the time and for a moment, even the day. My eyes felt glued shut and I rubbed them; a slight peek shows black on my fingers.
Oh great.
I fell asleep with my makeup on and I am damn sure I’m rocking the raccoon eyes. My head throbbed a little, no doubt a hangover from the many, many margaritas I had. With my face buried in my pillow and I groaned, not wanting to get up or out of bed at all.
“Well, good morning, sleepy head.” Alex jumped on the bed beside me and playfully snuggled into me.
“Ugh, no! Go away,” I groaned. My face still deep in the pillow. “What time is it?”
“It's almost eleven.”
“Where's Scarlett?” I jumped up and sat, frantically looking around the room for our daughter.
“She's at Addy's, both of them stayed there last night. We got home so late I didn't want to wake them up,” he said, rubbing my arm gently. “I gotta say, you look so hot right now.”
I glared at him, through my smudged black eyes and smirked. “Oh yeah? How are you managing to keep your hands off me?”
“It's painfully hard.”
“I need to take a shower, can you get me some Tylenol?”
He hopped off the bed and left the bedroom. “You better be naked when I get back!”
I worked the bar of soap in my hands, lathering up and rubbing it all over my face. I don’t have the time or patience to use any beauty lotions to get the makeup residue off. I shampooed and conditioned my hair, letting the shower beat down on my back. Maybe I'll just stay in here all day.
Alex walked in the bathroom and pulled the shower curtain back slightly. “Water and Tylenol are on the dresser. Are you hungry?”
“Yes, starving. Do we have any bacon?”
I’m craving grease like nobody's business.
He nodded.
“BLT's?” I asked.
“I'm sorry.” He shook his head from a daze, and smirked. “What?”
“Alex! Get out.” I grabbed the shower curtain and closed it on him.
“I'm easily distracted, okay?” He yelled from the doorway, and laughed before closing the door behind him.
***
I could feel that there was something wrong when we walked into the kitchen of Blaine and Addison's house.
Sadee was still there; she was sitting on the couch with Isaac who's playing a video game. She gave me a semi-smile and looked back to the TV. Isaac didn’t notice me at all.
Addison came out of the dining room carrying Scarlett, she hugged me and Scarlett threw her arms around my neck.
“Hi, lady!” I smiled at her. “Mommy missed you so much!”
“She was so good. Sadee said she slept through the night,” Addison said, smiling at Scarlett.
“Well, maybe Sadee should babysit more often. You don't sleep through for mommy!”
Scarlett pointed into the living room, and after I set her down she walked in and sat down on the couch beside her big brother.
“Is something wrong?” I asked Addison.
“Bennett had a stroke early this morning. Nick called and Blaine left around five to meet him at the hospital.”
I covered my open mouth with my hand, surprised and saddened by the news of Blaine's father. I knew he had had a mini-stroke years ago, I hoped this time it's only minor too.
“What d
id Nick say?” Alex asked, hugging his sister.
“Blaine didn't really say. He just said his dad was acting drunk and Maria found him sitting on the floor singing an old nursery rhyme.”
“Oh, my God. I don't know what to say.” I frowned. “What can we do?”
“Pray.” Addison forced a smile. “That's all we can do.”
We made lunch, and tried to stay positive and happy for the sake of the kids. At one o'clock Addison drove Sadee into town for her 2 PM shift at Lake's.
Blaine came home before she returned from town, and when he walked through the door I got up from couch and hug him.
“How's your dad?”
He sighed and took off his ball cap, fingering his already messy hair. “Not good.”
“I’m sorry, Blaine. Is there anything we can do?” I asked, knowing that there wasn’t much of anything but it was something we were compelled to ask a grieving friend. “We're praying for him.”
“Thank you, Riley. We all are right now.” He lifted his mouth into a tiny smile. “The doctor said there's a pill they can give someone who has had a stroke, but it's only good for a few hours after it happens. They don't think they found him in time for that.”
“Hi, baby,” Addison greeted Blaine when she walked into the room. “You okay?”
He folded into her arms, and I felt so much sadness. Like a child, he leaned his head on her shoulder and she soothed him by rubbing his back and kissing his temple.
“What did the doctor say?” she asked, still holding him tenderly.
He composed himself and stood up straight, raking his hands in his hair again. “Well, it's not good. He's alive, but it's like there's no one home.”
“No paralysis?” she asked.
He shook his head.
“Well that's one good thing, then right?”
“I guess.” Blaine shrugged and walked into the kitchen, grabbing a beer from the fridge.
***
I offered to take Seth for the night so Blaine and Addison could have some time alone and go to the hospital to see his father. But, Blaine held his son tightly in his arms and kindly declined.
“Thank you, Riley. Really. I appreciate it, but I just want him close,” he said.
“Anytime, guys. I mean it. Just a phone call away.” I smiled, and we took Scarlett and Isaac home.
To keep ourselves busy at home, Alex got the bright idea of building a fort for Isaac out of old barn boards. Scarlett and I sat outside on a big blanket under the shade of an oak tree and watched the boys construct well into the evening.
I smiled watching Isaac laugh and joke with Alex, he fell over laughing when Alex bashed his thumb with the hammer.
Alex let out a cry and tried his best to stifle the f word. He shoved his thumb in his mouth and gave me a glare when I laughed right along with Isaac.
“Tim the Tool Man, everyone!” I joked.
“Very funny, missy.” Alex smirked. “I don't see you over here helping.”
“I'm supervising. Better job. More pay.”
“Yeah. You know she's the boss, dad,” Isaac shouted happily.
Alex and I looked at one another in complete surprise. He just called him dad...my natural reaction was to smile but I was afraid to. I looked in Alex's eyes for any sign of emotion, wishing I knew what he were thinking right at this very moment.
He smiled warmly at Isaac and scruffed his hair. “That's right buddy, mom's the boss.”
It didn’t seem as if Isaac even noticed he said it; he was dragging more boards around, making piles and handing Alex a nail whenever he needed one.
Fort Isaac had one complete wall and half of another by the time the sun set and the boys finally came inside. Scarlett was fed and bathed, and now we were sitting on the floor in the living room playing with wooden building blocks.
“Baby girl, your fort looks better than the one daddy made!” Alex sat cross-legged on the floor beside us.
“Hey!” Isaac pouted. “Mine's better.”
I smiled at him. “You did a great job today, buddy. I can't wait to see how it looks tomorrow.”
He hugged me. “Thanks, mom.”
“Well, kiddo. I think it's time for bed.” I stuck out my bottom lip at Isaac, knowing he hated those words. “Scarlett is going soon, too.”
Surprisingly, he didn’t argue with me; he must have been tired from all the fun he had outside today.
I texted Addison after both kids were sleeping.
Me: Any news on Bennett?
Addison: Still no change. Blaine is back at the hosp.
Me: OK. Talk tomorrow?
Addison: Yes. Luv ya.
“Bennett's still the same,” I said to Alex, who was sprawled on the couch watching a hockey game.
He looked up at me and frowned. “Come here.”
I sat on the couch beside him when he sat up, making room for me. “You want to talk about it?”
“About Bennett?” he asked.
“No, about Isaac calling you 'dad'.”
He shifted on the cushion and blew a long breath of air loudly out of his beautiful mouth. “Well, I liked it.”
I smiled. “I did too.”
“Speaking of that, Riley...I got the mail yesterday and opened it, not really looking at the envelopes,” Alex said. “What exactly does that guy do to be able to give you fifty-five hundred dollars a month for support?”
“I don't know what he does. I don't really care. As long as he helps support the child he helped create in some way.”
Alex turned to watch the hockey game just as the one of the teams makes a goal, he grinned and sat up straight to pay closer attention to the TV.
“Alex, there's over four hundred thousand dollars in a bank account for Isaac.”
He turned and gaped at me. “What? Holy shit.”
“I've never spent a penny of it. Every check Dane ever sent went right in that account. Isaac will go to a good school, get a good job and have a wonderful life. He'll never want for anything.”
Alex and I both came from affluent families, lucky to have loving and wealthy parents. But we weren’t flashy and snobby either, and I do not want that for my son. Yet another reason why I don't want Dane in Isaac's life, he was all about money and what he could acquire and control with it.
“Let's not talk about Dane anymore, kay?” I asked, curling my lip at the thought of him.
“Kay.” He smiled and looked back at the TV as another goal was scored.
Chapter Five
In mid-April Blaine's father is moved from the hospital into a nursing home. He had been declared a danger to himself as he was unable to make rational decisions, making it unsafe for him to return to Nick and Maria's house. He had completely lost his short-term memory, and it seemed anything that had happened since the nineties was unknown to him.
When we all went to visit him in the nursing home our first thought was how he didn't look like he'd changed at all. He still smiled widely when he saw the children, even extending his arms out for Addison to let him hold Seth. Then he opened his mouth to speak and it was heart-crushing. He kept calling the baby Blaine, and when he looked at Addison he called her Nicola, Blaine's mother.
We all stood, bewildered, not sure what to do or say.
Blaine looked stoic, not showing any emotion at all. But I am sure on the inside he was screaming.
“Nicola, look at our baby. He's such a cute little guy, isn't he?” Bennett looked up lovingly at Addison and smiled, rocking Seth in his arms.
“Yes, Bennett. He's a very sweet boy.” Addison smiled back to him, being a complete trooper. I gave her so much credit, I didn’t think I could have handle being in her shoes.
Bennett looked over to Scarlett and smiled. “Now who is this pretty girl?”
“This is Scarlett. Scarlett, can you say hello to Bennett?” I smiled, and Scarlett blew him a kiss.
“Hello, Scarlett. This is my boy, Blaine. Isn't he a cute baby?” Bennett gazed back down at Seth.
/> My heart could not take anymore, I was ready to bawl. It was too much, I don't know how anyone else was still standing there listening to that. Thankfully, a nurse came just as I was ready to bolt for the door.
“Mr. Blackstock, it's almost time for lunch. Are you feeling hungry?”
Bennett smiled and nodded his head. “Nicola, take Blaine and hold him while I have lunch, okay?”
Addison smiled and took Seth from his arms, cradling her son tightly in her arms. Blaine immediately walked over and asked her if he could hold him; she looked at him with watery eyes and handed Seth to him. He took his son and walked out on to the patio, just outside of the sitting room we were standing in. Bennett watched Blaine leave with Seth and it looked as if he were getting upset.
Addison touched his shoulder. “It's okay, Bennett. The baby just needs a little fresh air. I am going out to sit with him now.”
Bennett calmed and smiled at her, the nurse winked at Addison and helped Bennett to his feet and walked with him down the hall into the dining area.
“Holy shit, Addy,” Alex finally spoke. “That was too fucking much.”
“I know. How do you think Blaine feels?” She shrugged and started walking toward the outside patio.
Blaine was standing by the railing, holding Seth against his chest, their blonde hair moving with the gentle breeze. He turned when we walked out and he smiled, and I was surprised. I guess I was expecting to see him upset.
“Ready to go?” he asked.
“Yes, you want to get some lunch?” Addison asked, smiling at Seth.
We all went for lunch at Lake's, not talking about Bennett or what just happened at the nursing home. I was still amazed at Addison and how well she kept herself together, I knew she was strong, but damn...not many people could have pulled that off. My heart ached for them, I knew they must be dealing with a boatload of emotions—of Titanic proportions.
“Alex and I are going to start practising for team roping, did he tell you?” Blaine asked me while he shoved a piece of pizza into his mouth.
“He mentioned something. Isn't there a lot of work involved? I mean, can you really even ride a horse Alex?”
Breathless (Meadowlarks) Page 5