What to Read After FSOG: The Gemstone Collection (WTRAFSOG Book 3)

by Lauren Hawkeye

  “Well because you already cooked dinner. Plus we don’t get to all eat dinner together every night.” I admit.

  “Yah, you’re right, but how often do you get a night out without me?” he asks. He’s right. I never go out. Well, without him. But I love spending time with him. Especially with his crazy ass work schedule.

  “Don’t get me wrong Jes. I love having you all to myself, but you can still have a life. It’s good to have things we can do apart. It’s healthy. Besides, you said she had a shitty day. She needs you. So go out and have a good time and be there for her.”

  This man of mine is constantly surprising me with more of his greatness every day. “When did you become so smart Mr. Jordan?”

  “Hmmm. I don’t know. I think being with you is the smartest thing I’ve ever done.” He gives me a quick peck before tending to the boiling noodles. “Oh by the way,” he says over his shoulder, “Jaxon is suspended from school tomorrow.”

  “What?” I shriek.

  “Chill Jes. It’s not as bad as it sounds. Actually, I personally can’t be mad at him, and I don’t think you will be either. He was just being a loyal friend.”

  Derek tells me how Jaxon’s friend was getting beat up by another boy. A much larger boy for that matter, who was a grade ahead of them. So Jax tried to pull the kid off of his friend, and when that didn’t work, he decked him. By that time there was a teacher showing up to stop the fight, they saw Jaxon punch the boy. They know he wasn’t fighting, but the fact that he did hit him as well, he had to be suspended along with the other two involved. Derek was right, there was no way I could punish my son for trying to protect his friend. No way. That’s something I’m proud of. Yes, he got suspended, but its good values to take up for the people you’re close to. I don’t want to teach him to just sit back and watch his friend get beat up if he could help in some way.

  I spot Mallory’s car as I pull into our favorite place to eat, Buffalo Wild Wings. I could seriously eat their wings all the time. She’s already seated and ordering our drinks. “Is a Dr. Pepper okay?” she asks as I pull my seat out draping my purse on the back of the chair and take my seat.

  “Yeah. You not drinking tonight?” I eye her curiously as I grab for the menu even though I already knowing what I want.

  “I don’t really feel like drinking tonight. I just want to have a chill night with my bestie,” she admits. She’s always up for a drink. This chick at work must have really put her through the mill today.

  After we place our order Mallory lets it rip. “Ahhh. Jes I have never wanted to punch someone’s face into the ground as badly as I did today. I had a whole Sick Puppies moment going through my mind. One of us is going down, bitch! And all I could do is sit there and smile. I know I was red. I can’t control that when I get mad. But I just smiled like I wasn’t planning her death in my head as that woman threw me to my own.” I know how cut throat people can be. Even more so when there’s a new job title at stake. I have a few coat tail riders at the dental office.

  She continues to tell me the story. How some fellow skank made it out to look like Mallory forgot about a meeting she was supposed to talk at. Once at this meeting, the girl pops up at the very end and ever so politely announces that ‘since it must have slipped Mallory’s mind, that she’d go over the notes that Mallory was supposed to.’

  “So, what happened after that hussy threw you to the wolves?” I ask as dipping my boneless wing in ranch before taking a bite.

  “Well, one of my bosses asked me what had happened in there. I told her that I was told that part of the meeting was cancelled and that I must have misunderstood. I was just trying to cover my ass you know?” She looks at me and shrugs her shoulders. I just nod completely understanding. Even though that is so out of characteristic for Mallory to keep her mouth shut.

  “But my boss called bull shit. She knew something was up, so as soon as she made it clear that she was there for me to vent, I let it all out. Told her everything that manipulative bitch did to me. She agreed that what Tara did was not team work and it was noted.”

  We continue devouring our wings and fries. Smothering each one in ranch as we go. It’s true, I have a ranch fetish. I tell her about Jaxon being suspended. That I can’t punish him for doing something he truly felt was right at the time. She told me about how she desperately wants to find someone to settle down with. Raise a family. The whole white picket fence with a wrap-around porch and walk in closet kind of life.

  “So what’s the deal with you and Seth? Y’all seem to get along great when he’s around.”

  Eyeing me with a look of regret she answers, “Yeah when he’s around. How often is he around? He keeps himself so wrapped up in his music to keep from having to allow anyone in. When we are together it’s amazing. Yeah, at first it was just about having toe curling sex with a hot lead singer I’ve always had a crush on. Now, I actually like the guy. There are times that he actually lets me see a side of him I know he keeps on lock down usually. But as soon as he realizes what he’s doing he shuts it down and then I go days, sometimes even weeks before I hear from him. It’s not like I’m putting my life on hold to make sure I’m available for him. But dammit, no matter what I’m in the middle of when he calls, I drop it for him. He has this pull on me and he doesn’t even fucking care. I’m probably just like all of his other hussies,” she huffs out.

  “You can’t really believe that Mal. I see the way he looks at you sometimes. I think he does have some feelings for you. Not sure how strong, but they are there. That’s why he shuts down. He’s scared to let you in. From what I hear his last ex, the one that broke his heart, really put him through the ringer. Apparently she had got pregnant, so doing the natural thing he proposed because he did love her. Five months later she had a miscarriage, dumping him after and running off. He could have handled losing the baby, but the fact she just took off without an explanation, has pretty much ruined him. So, like I said, he’s scared. You are bringing up feelings that he hasn’t had in years, so naturally he’s going to push you away. But seeing that he can’t stay away for long only proves my point that he does have them.”

  I take the last bite of my wing and instantly feel sick. Like I’m going to barf. I get up and run to the bathroom not even shutting the stale door as I fall to my knees to let out my stomach contents. Mallory is instantly behind me holding my hair back. “You okay Jes?” I can hear the concern in her voice.

  I nod.

  “Man, where the hell did that come from? I mean I have been feeling a little sick lately, but that’s the first time I’ve barfed.” And oh how I hate throwing up. I’d rather have my ass stuck to the toilet seat with the runs, than have to throw up. Mallory goes and wets a paper towel while I flush the toilet and stay sitting on the bathroom floor. She walks back over with a curious expression on her face.

  “What? Why do you have that look?”

  “What look?” She asks like she doesn’t have a damn clue.

  “That look like you’re working something out in your head or thinking really hard.” I place the cool wet paper towel she hands me on my forehead before wiping my face off with it.

  “Well, I was just wondering that it’s weird that you’re sick. You never get sick.”

  “I’m sure I caught a bug. Or maybe I ate a bad wing.” She’s right though. I rarely get sick, thankfully.

  “Jesika. When’s the last time you had your period?” Oh that’s what she was working out in her head. Now that I think about it, it’s been a good three months since I’ve had any sign of a period. How could I have not even realized that? Right, it’s because my periods have always had a mind of their own and the fact that I’m not supposed to be able to get pregnant.

  “Mallory, it can’t happen. You know all the crap that happened while I was pregnant with Jaxon. You know they said they fixed me to keep me from getting pregnant again because they said if I did, I’d likely die. And then on top of all of that, what in the hell will Derek think? He will th
ink I lied and tricked him when I told him he didn’t need protection. I can’t be pregnant Mallory.”

  She waves the waitress over to pay for our meal. “Seriously you know damn good and well Derek will not think that. He will probably be thrilled at the idea, but then scared shitless when you explain to him what all it entails. But right now you know what we need to do.” I look at her questioningly.

  “We gotta go to Walgreens.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Derek

  This whole family life is nice, if I do say so myself. Something I never got to experience as a child. I didn’t know if it was something Emma would ever get to experience or if she was just going to basically grow up the same way I did. Yah sure living with Seth had its perks. She’s had both of us wrapped around her finger since the day she was born. Having Emma around is what kept Seth from totally hitting rock bottom when that devilish ex of his took off after her supposed miscarriage. What a heartless fucking bitch to do that to somebody you claim to love. Someone you had wanted to marry. To be completely honest, I never liked that Allison chick. She seemed slimy from the get go. Like one of those groupie chicks just looking for the easy ride to money. Riding on some dumb bastard’s dick hoping he keeps her around until she got a ring on her finger, which never happens, or knocked up. Which in Allison’s case she got the latter followed by the former. So she completely lucked out because Seth had actually fallen in love with her. For some damn reason that I’m unaware of because she was a total bitch from what I could see.

  I’m glad to see him opening up bit by bit to Mallory. It’s not much, but in Seth’s world, it’s huge. He never opens himself up to anyone; well, except for me but that’s typical brotherly love. We’ve always had to count on each other with no dad around to raise us and our mom working two full time jobs to keep a roof over our head and food in our bellies. We were all we had. That’s where playing baseball first came into play. We gathered up the neighborhood kids and would just play around for something to do. It wasn’t until a few years after that we were introduced to music. Watching the teenagers up the block form their own little garage band is what inspired us. Even if we never went anywhere with it, we knew that’s what we wanted to do with our lives.

  It became our new passion. But baseball was always going to be a passion of mine as well. Hoping to get out of this town, I used those God-given pitching abilities to get out of this place on a scholarship. Seth was pissed. Me leaving the band we had formed as adolescents nearly ruined our relationship. He didn’t get it. He didn’t get my need to fly solo. See what else awaited me in the world. I didn’t want to be stuck in that town for the rest of my life. Maybe I got that from my mom.

  She was always complaining about how our dad, or my dad or Seth’s dad, who knows really, had ruined her life by knocking her up and then getting caught up in drugs leaving her stranded in this town to fend for herself and two children. Now that Jesika and I are a family and I’ll be making her my wife soon, I know I will do anything and everything to make sure our children have the best life ever.

  Seth is pretty busy with the band lately, trying to see if they can join another tour. But I still call him to see if he wants to come over and eat. I miss getting to hang out with his crazy ass all the time. And hell, the kids love uncle Seth. He is the fun uncle. Maybe that’s just because he’s the only uncle. It seems like the only time he truly relaxes is when he’s around the kids. He seems at ease even when he’s trying to whoop their asses at Mario Kart and fails miserably. They whip my ass all the time too, but I don’t bother to mention that to him.

  “So when exactly did you become a Suzy Homemaker?” Seth says while plopping down at the table.

  “Shit son, who do you think kept your ass fed when we lived together? It wasn’t those skanky broads you were sneaking in and out.”

  Flashing me a devilish grin, “You knew about them?”

  Hell yeah I knew about them, but I never brought it up because in reality it was his place too but also because he respected me and Emma enough to keep it hidden. Or try to. The kids hurry and eat their food because they want to go back outside before it gets too dark. Seth finishes right after them as if he hasn’t eaten a good cooked meal in months. He might not have since I haven’t been there to cook for him.

  “So when are you going to learn to cook something besides ramen so you can get a little meat on those bones. You’re fading away brother.” I tease. “Maybe if you’d find you a damn woman and settle down, you could have yourself a warm meal every night.”

  He sits his tea down while glaring at me. “I don’t need a fucking woman to be happy or to eat. I’m perfectly content with being single. Especially with all the shit going on with the band, why in the fucking world would I want to get attached to someone, just to leave them and hurt them? Because we all know that’s what I would do. I’d get on the road and screw every hot chick that’s willing to spread their legs. I’m not the faithful type. And I’m for sure not the committing type.”

  Gathering our plates up to load in the dishwasher I know he’s right. But I do know it’s more of a cover. Yeah he might be worried about hurting someone if they get attached, but more than anything he’s worried about getting hurt again. I’m starting to wonder if he’ll ever allow someone in again. We all deserve to be happy; we just got to find the right person to be happy with. Mallory might just be that person, if she can keep sane and patient while Seth figures his shit out. Not like she doesn’t have her own shit to figure out as well, but she has changed a lot since the time I first met her. She’s ready to settle down. Pretty fucking sure she’s ready to settle down with the one man who won’t be easy to settle.

  I’m actually in our room folding laundry when Jesika comes home from her girl time with Mallory. I guess I am a fucking Suzy Homemaker as Seth called me. But hell, I’ve been doing this shit even before I had Emma as my reason to learn the all the ins and outs. Seth and I did have to fend for ourselves a lot as kids since our mom worked so much. Helping around the house and doing shit is just second nature for me. Jesika takes her sweet ass time shutting the door which makes me think something is wrong.

  “Jes, is everything okay?” I yell as I fold the last two towels. I hear her soft steps make their way to our bedroom doorway.

  “Ummm. I’m not really sure Derek. I got sick when we were out. Right after eating actually.” Screw the towels. I drop them and walk over to where she is and feel her forehead.

  “Are you okay baby? What kind of sick? Do you have a bug? A cold? The flu? What’s wrong?” She chuckles at the doctor side of me coming out in full force.

  “Actually I’m not sick. Well, yes I did throw up, but it’s not a sickness. Umm well, actually it is a sickness. One they usually call morning sickness.” She tries to keep from making eye contact with me which I feel is strange and totally not Jesika.

  “Okay. Well what’s that mean then? I mean you threw up, but you aren’t sick—” then it hits me. The meaning of what she had just told me. Morning sickness usually only happens when you’re preg—grabbing her face in my hands I force eye contact. “Baby, does that mean you’re pregnant? Like we are going to have a baby?” She nods her while my hands still grasp it.

  “That’s so great! I mean it’s crazy since you weren’t supposed to be able to have any more kids and I was totally fine with it, but the fact that we are having one is amazing. I get to be a dad again. A dad to our baby. The one growing inside you that we made.” I can’t help but place my hand on her belly. She’s biting her lip trying to contain her smile. Her eyes are glistening with unshed tears. She must have feared that I wouldn’t be happy about this. How in the world could I not be? Even though Emma is mine in every important way possible besides blood, I still craved having one of my own.

  This woman standing here in front of me has given me everything. She’s given me hope, love, understanding, truth, and life. She fully brought me back to life. As I did her. We saved each other. And now we are
finally getting our happy ending. I can’t help the emotion that’s building up in me. She wipes away the single tear that treads down my face.

  “I love you Derek and I need you right now.”

  I waste no time closing the distance between us and claiming her hot sweet mouth with mine. She wastes no time persuading my mouth open with her tongue. Her very eager tongue. Thank god the kids are already asleep because I’m not sure I’d even be able to stop myself if they weren’t. With both hands I grab underneath her ass where her legs meet urging her to hop up and wrap her smooth tan legs around me. Not breaking the contact between our mouths I turn around and walk us to our bed pushing off all the folded laundry as I lay her down and proceed to lay on top of her.

  I take my time with her sweet body making sure I pour out all the love that’s flowing through mine with every kiss, touch, taste and thrust. I want to ingrain it in her soul that she is mine and I love her beyond words. Because when there are no words left to tell someone just how much you love them, the only thing left is to show them. That’s exactly what I do and she willingly returns the favor. Afterwards we lay on our sides with her back nestled against my chest.

  My left arm is tucked under her head while my right is draped over hers with our fingers entwined together across her heart. We lay content like this for minutes before she breaks the silence with an admission that rocks me all the way down to my core.

  “I’m scared Derek.” My grip tightens around her. If she’s scared there is a damn good reason. We never really discussed why she wasn’t supposed to get pregnant after Jaxon. She had only told me she had severe complications with his pregnancy.