by Louise Bay
“Honestly, I don’t know. At the moment I’m too worried about you.”
He was far too good to me. He shouldn’t have to be troubled by me. He should be able to count on my support rather than be concerned I was going to run.
The clatter of a dropped glass in the distance broke my concentration. “How about we give ourselves a time out? Talk about other stuff, just for a few minutes. I need to be lighter—we need to be lighter.”
This was not what I’d planned. I’d thought we’d be naked by now. I’d been looking forward to him taking control, restraining me, owning me. I had wanted that and now? Now everything was more complicated. Now I had to be in control.
Jake swept his hands through his hair and leaned back in his chair. “Sounds good. How did the Sandy Fox article go down?” He stretched his too long legs out in front of him. I couldn’t help but enjoy the muscles rearranging themselves under the fabric of his clothes. I wished we were back home. I wanted his arms around me. I stood up abruptly and Jake tensed immediately, watching for my next move. I moved my chair so I was kitty-corner to his, and sat. Our legs touched. I interlinked our fingers, trying to get as much of my skin pressed against his as I could. It felt good.
“I’ve missed you,” he said.
“Good.” I smiled at him. “And Robert’s happy and it’s always good to have the boss in a positive mood. The second part comes out this week.”
“Sandy texted me to remind me about the wrap party on Thursday,” Jake said.
“I bet she did,” I replied, rolling my eyes in an exaggerated way. I wasn’t really worried about Sandy, but it felt good to tease him about it. It felt like us. “She wants in your pants. Are you going to go?”
“It depends. Are you? I mean, do you want to go?”
I shrugged. Twenty-four hours ago, heck, even two hours ago, I would have jumped at the chance to go anywhere with Jake. Now I wasn’t sure what the next few days held. Could we survive him having a baby with another woman? Could I?
Jake’s phone rang and a shiver ran down my spine. Was it Millie? She had a claim on him now. She had a reason to be around him, pull him back to her and her glamazonian world. But he silenced the call at the same time our waiter arrived.
The sea bass smelled good, but I had no appetite. Apparently neither did Jake—his burger remained untouched in front of him as we sat, our hands still interlinked.
“Wanna eat, or hold my hand?” I asked.
“I’ll take your hand over food any day.” He flashed me his Jake Harrison grin and I couldn’t help but smile back. He was still my Jake.
“Smooth, Mr. Harrison, very smooth.”
Eventually, Jake’s stomach won out and he stroked the back of my knuckles with his thumb and let my left hand drop. I tried to pull my right hand away, but he tightened his grip. Apparently he was going to eat one-handed.
He swallowed a mouthful of burger and took a deep breath. “Beth is convinced Millie’s lying.”
“What do you think?” I asked.
“I don’t know. It would make life a lot easier, but I feel terrible for wishing I wasn’t in this situation, for wishing away a baby. Children should be a blessing—I want to be a good father.”
An ache burrowed inside me at the thought it wouldn’t be our child that he would be a father to.
“And I know I can’t accuse her of lying in case I’m wrong and she tries to punish me by not letting me have a relationship with the kid.” Jake shook his head. “It’s all such a mess. I have to take it one step at a time. We’ll have the test eventually, and in the meantime I’ll be there if she needs me.”
“What do you mean? Go for scans and stuff?”
“I guess. I need to meet with her and work out what it is she’s thinking. What she wants.”
“I still think she’s wanting you back.”
“Well, she’s shit out of luck.”
There was nothing he could have said that would have made me feel better, but that didn’t mean I was okay.
“You shouldn’t rule it out. We don’t know what’s going to happen. You need to think things through. Maybe we need to take some time.” I squeezed his hand.
“Think through what? There’s nothing to think about,” he said. “Millie and I broke up because I realized dating women like her didn’t work anymore. I don’t actually like her. She’s spoiled and selfish and I have nothing in common with her.”
“All the things I used to think about you.” I patted his leg.
“Yeah, but I dated Millie for three months, so I know it’s true. You made assumptions about me before you knew me.”
“Well she wasn’t spoiled and selfish enough for you to not sleep with her . . .”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I have no right to ask you, but I don’t want this to come between us. What I had with her doesn’t compare to what I have with you.” He seemed so sad.
“We’ve known each other five minutes, Jake. I don’t know what our future holds.” It might not have been the response he wanted, but it was how I felt. It was reality. It all seemed impossible.
“Holy crap,” Ash said “And it’s definitely his from when they were together?”
Sunday dinner was at my place this week. I hadn’t invited Jake and he hadn’t asked why. I wanted to talk to Ash and Luke and sort through my feelings. I needed someone to tell me what I should be doing, how I should be reacting. I wasn’t sure of anything anymore. We weren’t doing much cooking collapsed on the sofa, each clasping a glass of wine.
“Millie is saying it’s definitely his,” I replied. Ash’s question was where I was secretly focusing all my hope. If it wasn’t Jake’s baby, everything got a lot easier. “He hasn’t cheated on me. I’m as sure as sure that’s true. I think he’s telling me everything. He even asked me to go with him to meet with Millie tonight.”
“Are you going to go?” she asked.
I’d scoffed when he suggested it. My initial reaction had been it was the last place I wanted to be, but perhaps I’d not done the right thing. “I said no. It’s just too weird, isn’t it?”
“I really have no idea. Is there a book called What To Do When Your Boyfriend Is Having A Baby With Another Woman?”
I sniggered and took a sip of my wine. “Google it. You never know.”
“It was nice that he asked you.” Ash always tried to see the best in people.
And it was reassuring that he’d asked me. Perhaps I was thinking about this the wrong way. Maybe he wanted me to go to support him and I’d let him down. I reached for my phone to text him. “You think I should have gone?”
Ash shrugged and I scrolled through my messages. I should be there for him. I cared about him. I wanted to support him.
Haven: Do you want to come round after you’ve seen Millie?
I released the clenched muscles in my stomach when he replied straight away.
Jake: Sure. Absolutely.
A bang and a thud echoed out from the hallway and Ash and I said in unison, “Luke.”
A minute later, he appeared at the door with a beer in his hand.
“Did you move in?” I asked.
“Poor fucking guy.” Luke ignored me and started speaking as if we were mid-conversation and he’d been here all along. I’d told him about Jake last night and he’d sounded more shocked than I had.
“You stick your dick in someone and it’s always a possibility,” Ash said.
Luke groaned and grabbed at his chest as if he were in physical pain.
“How would you feel if Emma got pregnant?” I asked him.
“Seriously, can we not talk about it? She’s not going to get pregnant.”
“What? Ever?” I asked. “You want kids though, right?”
Ash was uncharacteristically quiet. I wondered from time to time how she’d react when Luke got married or became a father. Would she give up on him then? Most of the time she joked about the two of them, but I knew, whatever Luke might say, she really liked him.
; “Can we change the subject? This isn’t about me, it’s about Jake. Are you going to stay with him?”
“Of course she’s going to stay with him. They are amazing together—he’s hot with a capital H and good in bed.” That was Ash’s M.O. Her dial was set to deflect with humor. I wasn’t sure if she was deflecting from my situation or the question of Luke fathering Emma’s children.
Luke ignored her and looked at me. I shrugged. “I really have no idea. I like him. I’ve not liked anyone in forever and he’s different. He makes me laugh and calls me out on my shit. It’s as if he’s crawled inside my head and understands how I work. And I trust him, you know? Like, in the same way I trust you guys. I’ve not felt like that before.”
“That sounds like a man you don’t give up easily on,” Ash said more solemnly than before.
I nodded. I wasn’t ready to let him go. “The thing is, it’s not only about how I feel, is it? He might think it’s best to try and make it work with Millie. I don’t want him to stay with me out of obligation or something. I know that at the moment I don’t want to lose him. He just gets me. So I guess we’ll have to take one step at a time and see how we go.”
“I like that plan,” Luke said. “Don’t overanalyze. Don’t try and nail everything down like you normally do. You’ll have to take each day as it comes.”
“You might have to remind me of that,” I said.
“How’s Rallegra?” Ash asked. That was coping strategy two from Ash, change the subject. But she was genuinely trying to be helpful. I was so lucky to be surrounded by people who only wanted the best for me.
“Okay. Rumor is the deputy editor role will be available soon. I heard from Emily that one of the girls met up with Carole, the current deputy editor on maternity leave. She said she didn’t think she was coming back.”
“That’s exciting,” Ash said.
“Yeah.” I’d been working toward deputy editor since my last promotion. “She might change her mind though.”
“Sounds great, babe,” Luke said. I loved that he was so proud of me. He’d worked so hard to take care of me after our parents died that doing well in my career at a successful magazine like Rallegra seemed like a way to thank him in some small way for the sacrifices he’d made, to make it worth it and show him that it hadn’t all been for nothing.
“Emily’s in with a good shot. She’s been in her role longer. And she’s popular.”
“Robert knows how dedicated and talented you are. He’s always been supportive, right?”
“Yeah,” I replied. Robert was a great boss. If Carole did leave, I should be in the running for her role. I was trying to sound enthusiastic. I just wasn’t sure if I was feeling it. Perhaps I was distracted by Jake or the pregnancy, but I wasn’t sure that was it entirely.
Jake
“Hey,” I said as Haven opened the door.
“Hey, come in.” She lifted up on her toes to receive a kiss, and I bent and brushed my lips against hers. Before I could grab her and turn the kiss deeper, she pivoted and headed down the hall.
Her apartment was full of the sounds of the television but nothing else as I followed her into the kitchen. “Where’s Luke and Ash?”
“They left about half an hour ago. I’m just finishing clearing up. Do you want a drink?” She held up a glass she had taken out of the dishwasher.
I shook my head but took the glass, placing it in the cupboard behind me. It was only a few minutes past nine. They must have left to give Haven and me alone time and I was grateful. I’d been dreading meeting Millie and now all I wanted was Haven. I watched as she continued to unload the dishwasher. How did she make the mundane look so graceful?
“So, how was it?” she asked.
I was relieved she was the one to bring it up. I didn’t want to hide anything but I didn’t want to be the one always introducing the subject. “Weird. Transactional. I thought her sister would be there, but she wasn’t.” It was true. I hadn’t felt anything when I saw Millie again, not even a hint of affection. It was as if Haven had rendered my previous relationship history completely inconsequential. It might be different once there was some physical evidence of my child growing within her, but I’d had no emotional reaction to seeing her at all.
“Did you go to her place?”
“Yeah. I wasn’t there long. About thirty minutes, that’s all. I guess I was trying to be polite by going to see her face-to-face, but I’m not sure I needed to. We didn’t really have anything to say to each other.” I wanted to reassure her that there was no connection between Millie and me.
Haven chewed the inside of her cheek. I moved toward her and brushed her face with my thumb. She slid her hands around my waist as I pulled her toward me. “I want to tell you everything, but I don’t know what you want to know. I have nothing to hide.”
“Is she going to take the test?” she asked, her voice vibrating against my chest.
I liked that she was asking questions. Somehow it felt as though she was invested and that had to be a good sign. “She said she’ll talk to the doctor about it. She has her first ultrasound coming up, so she’s going to bring it up then.”
“Are you going?”
I kissed the top of her head. “No. She’s going with her sister. I offered. She said she didn’t want me there. She was pretty pissed I asked about the test.” Pissed was an understatement. Once she’d realized I wasn’t going to back down on getting confirmation of paternity, she’d been furious. I hadn’t bothered arguing about going with her to the ultrasound.
“Does she want to get back together?”
It was the question I’d been waiting for. Haven had asked before, and I’d brushed it off. But seeing Millie again made me think differently. My gut said that she wanted more from me than just to be her baby daddy. She liked my money and she was pregnant and alone. But she hadn’t done anything specific. “She offered to cook me dinner and she was quite tactile, but I don’t think so. She’s worried I think.” I wasn’t exactly lying; I just wasn’t telling her my suspicions.
“How tactile?” she asked.
“She didn’t grab my junk or anything, but she was a bit touchy.”
She grasped her cheek in her teeth again. “I want you to promise me something.”
“Anything,” I replied.
“Don’t say that. Not until you know what I’m asking.” She was serious and I wanted to be able to see inside her head. To know what was coming and predict how I was going to react.
“It doesn’t matter what it is,” I tried to reassure her.
“Well, that’s a ridiculous thing to say. If I said, ‘promise me you’ll stab yourself with a carving knife,’ are you going to do that?”
I smiled. “No, but you’re not going to ask me to stab myself with a carving knife.”
“I might. The night is young.” She squeezed her eyes half shut in a mock threat.
I grasped her face in my hands. “You’re getting kissed for that,” I said and I pressed my lips to hers softly. She didn’t resist and smoothed her hands up my back. “What do you want me to promise?” I whispered.
“If you want out—for whatever reason—I want you to tell me straight away. Don’t wait until Millie or someone else accidentally falls on your penis, or you hate me or something.”
I couldn’t stop myself from chuckling. “I promise. No one is having anything to do with my penis except, hopefully, you.”
“I mean it. I don’t want to be one of those women who are totally oblivious to what’s going on under their nose. I don’t want to be made a fool of.”
She sounded so sad as she spoke and my chest ached for her. By opening up to me, she’d given me so much power. The power to take advantage of her, to hurt her, and there was nothing I wanted less. She’d asked me to be careful with her heart and I don’t think I’d ever felt so much responsibility, so much . . . love.
“I promise,” I said. “You have my heart, too, you know. We need to keep each other safe.”
“I promise you, too.” She reached up and brushed her fingers over my cheekbones.
Her touch had its usual effect on me and my dick started to stir. She glanced at my crotch. “Sorry. It’s just been like a millennia since I saw you naked.”
“It’s been a week,” she said poking me in my abs, which did nothing to stave off the blood rushing to my cock as a result of my being wrapped round her like this.
“Yeah? It feels like longer.”
“For me, too,” she said as her hands swept over my ass and she looked up at me from under her eyebrows. “Sounds as though we need an early night.”
I groaned as her hands reached the crotch of my jeans. Holy fuck, it almost hurt I was so hard. I was going to have to make her come several times with my mouth so she didn’t notice when I erupted after being inside her for a second.
“Actually, I have something for you that I think you might like.” She grabbed me by the hand and led me toward her bedroom.
“I only need you.”
She reached for my shoulders and guided me to sit on her bed as she went to her dresser drawer and pulled out a brown paper bag. She twisted her mouth and a blush spread across her throat. I had to glance away; she looked so ready to be fucked.
“What is it?” I asked.
She handed me the bag and then covered her face with her hands. I was intrigued. Why was she embarrassed about buying me a gift?
I pulled apart the edges of the paper, my eyes flicking from the bag to her and back. Her mouth was slightly parted, and she was staring at my hands instead of my face. I didn’t know what I was seeing at first, then realization trickled into my brain. It was coiled rope, not heavy, more like cord, white, smooth and about half an inch thick. I pulled it out of the bag, fingering the silky fibers twisting together like a never-ending helter-skelter. My pulse banged against my eardrums. She was giving herself to me. After everything I’d told her, she was still mine. My chest tightened with expectation, hope and something more.
Haven took a step toward me. “I didn’t know if it was the right—”