Kick Off: Secret Baby Romance (Bad Ballers)

by S. J. Bishop

  18

  Ava

  I busied myself in the kitchen while keeping one eye on Lily, who watched her cartoons and lay on the sofa. Lily had been so tired lately it was hard to get her to do anything else. Since the doctors told me that Lily shouldn’t exert herself too much, I had no real objections to letting her veg out for a while if that’s what she wanted.

  The pasta was boiling; the sauce was simmering. I double-checked my hair in the mirror. I had pulled it back into a ponytail while preparing dinner; now I let it hang loose around my neck. I let myself imagine Carter running his fingers through it, then shook my hair, trying to push away the thought. My hair fell over my shoulders and seemed that much darker when it laid against the pale pink shirt I had chosen just for this effect, I matched it with a tight dark brown skirt that came up just above my knees. Not too revealing, but I thought it showed off my curves. It had been so long since I’d even attempted to look nice for a guy and I felt sort of stupid for caring so much.

  There was a knock and I jumped. This was it. I was going to tell Carter tonight no matter what. Not with Lily in the room of course. I’d put Lily to bed after dinner, then serve Carter some coffee and dessert. I’d splurged on a Sarah Lee pound cake just for the occasion.

  "Hi," I said, opening the door. But my face fell instantly when I saw Olivia. Her bleach blonde hair and fake nails hurt my eyes. "Oh.” Stay cool, don’t blow this. No matter what, remember? "I didn’t realize you were bringing a guest. I’ll just set another place at the table. Won’t you come in?"

  I plastered a smile on my face as fake as Olivia’s boobs.

  Carter grinned. What was with him? I guess I had been wrong in thinking he’d punched his teammate out of jealousy. It was probably just some protective big brother thing. He would have done the same if it had been Hannah. I was so mad that I’d allowed myself, once again, to hope for something more with Carter.

  "Hi, Lily," he said. She waved one hand limply at him.

  "Where is everyone?" Carter asked.

  "What do you mean?" I froze. "Did you invite more people?" I looked into my pot of pasta. I’d never be able to feed another person.

  "No, but I mean... I thought your boyfriend was joining us." Carter said, flustered.

  "My boyfriend?" For a moment I forgot my earlier lie. "Oh, no. He works on Thursdays." I continued smiling my exaggerated smile, afraid that if I stopped now I might scream or cry.

  "But you said people would be here. That it wouldn’t be just us."

  My smile was frozen on my face and my breath caught in my chest. "I meant Lily." Is that why he’d brought Olivia? Because he thought Myron would be here too?

  Carter’s face burned. But I didn’t care if he felt bad. He should. Of all the people for Carter to take with him, he had specifically chosen the one person he knew I wouldn’t want here.

  "Salad?" I asked, pulling the bowl from the fridge and dropping it onto the table with a loud bang. Olivia giggled. She laid her head against Carter’s shoulder and kissed his neck. My stomach began doing somersaults.

  "Lily, honey, come to the table okay? It’s dinner time." I looked at Carter and Olivia. "Grab a seat."

  Lily got herself up from the couch and wobbled to the table, sitting in her child-sized seat. She put her head down and closed her eyes.

  "Lily, baby, lift your head up, okay? Come on now, you’ve gotta eat something." I spooned some pasta and sauce onto Lily’s plate, but Lily kept her head where it was on the table.

  "Some children just have no manners, do they?" Olivia said. She kissed Carter’s neck again, making loud sucking noises.

  "She’s sick. She has an excuse. Unlike you, who has no excuse." I paused, feeling the rage bubbling inside of me and not being able to push it down even had I wanted to, which I didn’t. "Unless all that plastic surgery somehow killed your brain cells. I suppose being brain dead is as good an excuse for not having manners as anything else."

  Carter laughed and Olivia shot daggers at him.

  "So..." he ventured. "What exactly is wrong with Lily?"

  "Do you want to explain it to them Lily?"

  Lily lifted her tired eyes and looked at Carter. "Mommy says my heart is broken."

  "That’s right, but remember what else I said?"

  "They can fix it. Like a Band-Aid for my heart."

  I kissed Lily’s sweet head. "That’s right."

  "Can I go sleep now, Mommy?"

  I hesitated. "You don’t want any food?" Lily shook her head.

  "Alright, I suppose it’s okay."

  "You’re sending your daughter to bed without any food?" Olivia sneered. "Isn’t that child abuse?"

  "Shut up, Olivia," Carter said. Her eyes went wide but he ignored it. He turned to me. "Do you need help with anything?"

  I hesitated. My heart had thrilled when Carter told Oliva to shut up, but he wasn’t exactly pushing her off him. She still clung to him, pouting her lips now and looking hurt. If only she wasn’t there, I would have the perfect chance to tell Carter everything. I was certain he’d help Lily.

  Olivia made small mewing noises now and flung one leg over Carter’s lap, so that she was almost straddling him.

  "Okay," this was enough. "Time for bed. You two can show yourselves out."

  "What about dinner?" Carter asked, trying to look around Olivia’s head.

  I looked at him like he was nuts. "Are you serious?"

  "Yeah," Carter said. "Why? What’s wrong?"

  "The fact that you even have to ask me that just proves what an incredible idiot you are," I shouted.

  "Olivia’s just," he pushed her off his lap and back onto her own chair, "being Olivia."

  "Great, then you can go be Olivia together." I paused, thinking that I wasn’t making sense anymore. I couldn’t stop the rage that was boiling over in me. Even worse, Lily was starting to cry.

  "Just get out. Leave."

  "You don’t have to ask me twice," Olivia said. "I don’t know what the hell he brought me here for anyways. You could fit this whole apartment inside my building’s garbage dumpster. In fact, it kind of looks like my building’s garbage dumpster."

  "Olivia...," Carter said. "Ava..." But there was nothing he could say to me now. I scooped Lily into my arms and carried her to the bedroom. When I came back out a while later, they were gone. I flopped down on the couch, tears spilling over. Tonight had been disastrous. There was no way I could ask Carter for money now. It was too humiliating, begging some guy who was entangled—literally—with such a cruel and shallow woman. I couldn’t lower myself to ask him for any favors. Things couldn’t have gone worse.

  I didn’t know what to do. I stared at my phone, my stomach churning. Finally I picked it up, hesitated, then dialed Mr. Brewster’s number. I hung up before he could answer. What was I doing? What was I thinking? Was I seriously contemplating taking Mr. Brewster up on his offer? My mind was riddled with thoughts both logical and illogical. Desperation was even worse than panic.

  I took a deep breath and dialed Mr. Brewster’s number again. A woman answered.

  "Hello?"

  I gulped. "Um, hi. Is Mr. Brewster there?"

  "Who’s calling please?"

  "Oh," I didn’t want to give my real name. "I’m Hannah. I work with him at Piccadilly’s. I had a question about a shift."

  The woman on the other end paused. "I’m sorry," she finally said. "This is his wife. I’m afraid Mr. Brewster has been in a car accident. He’s at Dover Medical."

  "Oh, I’m so sorry," I replied, stunned. Not only had I not heard anything about an accident, I hadn’t realized Mr. Brewster was even married. I hung up quickly, feeling stupid.

  I was being a baby. I knew that. What would I have done if Mr. Brewster had actually been there? I could never sell myself like that. Especially not when there were alternatives, if I could just muster up the courage to tell Carter. I had to quit being so selfish. Every day I wasted was another day that Lily had to fight, and I was afraid my daughter
was getting tired of fighting.

  19

  Carter

  I opened the door for Olivia, who scooted out of the passenger seat of my father’s car. She flashed her angry eyes at me, certain that would do the trick. I had always found her angry eyes not only alluring, but also impossible to resist. But not tonight. I could forgive jealousy, but going after Ava for her parenting and making those snide comments about Lily, it was disgusting.

  "Where are you going?" she asked when she realized I was getting back in the car.

  "Out. You were a real bitch tonight. You know that?"

  "What are you talking about?" she said. "You asked me to come. I thought you wanted to piss her off, otherwise why bring me?"

  For once, I had to admit that Olivia had a good point. Why had I brought her? Was it to make Ava jealous like I’d told myself, or was it because with her there, there was no chance for anything more intimate with Ava? Was I afraid of my true feelings for her?’

  I stepped on the gas, intent on finding out the answers to my questions. Olivia coughed on the exhaust fumes as I peeled away.

  I made it back to Ava’s in record time, knocking lightly on her door so as not to wake Lily. When that resulted in nothing, though, I began to pound on it. I heard Ava moving around inside and when she finally opened the door I could see that she’d been crying. Her eyes widened when she saw me.

  "Carter," she said, breathless. "What are you doing here? I told you to go."

  "I did go. I got rid of Olivia. Now I’m back."

  The corners of Ava’s mouth turned up in a slight grin. "You got rid of Olivia huh? Did you throw her in the Allegheny?"

  I laughed, relieved Ava wasn’t slamming the door in my face. "I only wish. Can I come in?" Ava hesitated. "Please?"

  "I don’t think that’s a good idea," she said. But she held my gaze in a look that seemed to suggest the she didn’t care whether it was a good idea or not.

  "Ava, I’m so sorry about tonight. I should never have brought Olivia here."

  "That’s right, you shouldn’t have," Ava said, angry. "Why did you?"

  "I just... I thought your boyfriend was gonna be here and I... I wanted to make you jealous." The words came out before I could think about whether or not I should admit this. But as I was confessing, a smile played at her lips and she opened the door wider for me.

  "Alright, come in."

  I sighed with relief and stepped inside. Almost as soon as she’d closed the door, her phone rang. She looked at me indicating that I should give her a minute.

  "Hello?" She seemed nervous and I guessed that with a kid in and out of the hospital, every phone call had the potential to bring her horrible news. I couldn’t imagine what she was going through.

  "Oh, Myron," she sighed. "Thanks. I can’t right now. Maybe another time." Myron, was that her boyfriend?

  "Everything okay?Okay then, another time.” She looked over at me and rolled her eyes. It didn’t sound like she was happy to be talking to the guy.

  They hung up. I stood by the window and looked down at the street. There was a guy looking up at me. Probably another reporter. They really were everywhere.

  "Ava," I turned and walked over to her. "I’m so sorry. Please believe me."

  She sighed. "I do. But..." Soft sobs escaped her throat and I went to her, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her close. She let me and I could feel her shoulders relax.

  "Carter, I’ve been trying to tell you something since you got here. I... Lily..." But the sobs took over again and I wiped them away from her cheeks. The feel of her skin was electric.

  When I leaned in to kiss her, she didn’t stop me. She kissed me back, pressing her lips harder against mine, surprising me with the depth of her desire. I wrapped my arms more tightly around her.

  We moved to the couch, falling back onto it like a wave crashing against the shore. Ava was still wearing the short brown skirt she’d had on for dinner, and my hands moved under it, lifting it up as I pushed her panties to the floor.

  I tenderly circled the delicate pink center of her pussy. She began moaning softly and I stroked her harder. She threw her head back and let out a cry. Her energy was electric and my body responded instinctively.

  I lowered my head, seeking her, wanting to bring her to the precipice just before orgasm and to keep her there. My tongue swirled around her center as her body convulsed under me, making my member hard with anticipation. I took her between my lips and pulled gently at her sex, hearing her breath speed up.

  Ava reached down and pulled my head up. I loved the way her hands felt in my hair, tugging gently as she unbuckled my pants and pushed them to my knees. I found my way into her with ease, moving gently at first, searching for the rhythm, then picking up the pace once I had the beat.

  Ava’s hands ran up and over my back, stopping on my ass and pulling me tighter to her. I rocked against her, pressing myself deeper and deeper insider her. Her warmth was like fire deep in my belly, feeding me. This was better than any alcohol I’d ever drunk, any dope I’d ever smoked. Ava was a natural high.

  Her nails dug into my back and her thighs tightened around me. I moved faster, feeling myself grow inside her and the blood in my veins rush to my head. At once Ava and I jumped into the light together, filling ourselves with each other. Our bodies took hold of the energy that surged through us. I fell against Ava, breathing heavy, never wanting to leave her again.

  20

  Ava

  I woke up to the sound of Carter’s phone vibrating on my nightstand. I looked over to see if he would get it, but his head was buried underneath the pillow in an attempt to ward off the encroaching daylight. I paused, wondering again if I’d made a mistake.

  I had thought it would be best if he went home last night, but he had assured me he wanted to stay. He didn’t want to go back to Olivia. He didn’t want to go back to his parents. He said I was the only one who understood him. The only one who made him feel as if his body was on fire.

  How could I resist a line like that? Besides, I knew what he meant. My own body lit up whenever he touched me. This morning, when he woke up, I would tell him the truth about Lily, once and for all.

  I paused. It occurred to me that I was beginning to sound like a broken record. I kept saying that I would tell Carter, yet I hadn’t told him anything yet. I’d been close last night, but then... I wondered now what I was so afraid of. If I told him the truth and he rejected me, I would be no worse off than I was now, so why not tell him?

  I looked over at his face as he slept. My heart both soared and broke at the same time. I loved him—it was useless to pretend that I didn’t. I had ever since that first night together three years ago. If I told him the truth now and he left, that meant he wasn’t just leaving Lily, he was leaving me. It was selfish of me, I knew that, but I’d long harbored the hope that one day he would come back for me. Now that he was back, I was afraid it wouldn’t last.

  Carter’s phone buzzed again and he groaned. I reached over and grabbed it, deciding to let him sleep. I only meant to silence it, but when I saw he had three texts from Olivia, my heart skipped a beat. Jealously instinctively took over.

  I opened the texts and my jaw dropped open. There was a picture of Olivia... naked. Her body was gorgeous. Even though I was sure it was all fake, I couldn’t help but feel inferior to Olivia seeing her like this. All three pictures were the same. A beautiful, naked Olivia. In one of them, she was smiling and holding her hand out to the camera.

  I enlarged the photo, trying to get a better look at what was supposed to be so interesting about her hand when there was so much more of her to see. Then, my mouth went dry. I looked from the photo, to Carter, back to the photo. A diamond engagement ring sat glistening atop Olivia’s ring finger. It sparkled in the light, almost as bright as Olivia’s hair.

  A fourth text came in while I was holding the phone.

  Good morning my darling fiancé. I missed you last night. Thought I’d remind you why you
should get home soon.

  I dropped the phone and pushed Carter off the bed.

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