by Amy Brent
Nothing would go the way she wanted to, no matter how many different ways she tried to piece it out, she was always left alone in the end. He was married, and Rachel had been more than passingly pretty. She could have stepped out on a runaway wearing rags. That was who Rafe was married too…that’s who Rafe loved.
Part of her didn’t even want to talk to him, to tell him everything. Instead, she wanted to hide away in this cabin where no one could find her… or hurt her. She moved down the long hall to shower, something that always made her feel better. At least then she could relax a little. She let the heat wash over her and soon wrapped herself in a fluffy white towel which helped drastically.
She walked out of the shower and back down the long hall where she found him.
He was waiting for her, pensive and on edge. She could see it in the way he sat on the edge of the couch, his fingertips tapping the leather of the couch. He glanced up then, seeing her and he stood, shoving his hands in his pockets.
“What are you doing here, Rafe, you scared me to death.” She stood there, folding her arms across her chest.
“I wasn’t trying to scare you Lacey, I could have called you… but you would have to respond to me in order for that to happen.” He watched her, his eyes scanning the length of her.
She felt the heat of a blush rush through her at his words, true as they were. “What do you want Rafe?”
He sighed. “I want to talk to you Lacey, I want to have a conversation that is real and honest. I want to talk to you and not have to worry about you running from me again.”
She moved over to the couch across from him, settling in. Finally, she looked up at him. “Ok Rafe, talk to me then.”
He frowned for a moment, then sat back down into the couch. He let his eyes look her over again. “First of all, are you ok? I mean I can see your alive and well, but it’s been weeks.”
No, I’m not ok. “I’m fine Rafe. I just needed some time away things have been stressful lately at work and stuff.”
“I want to talk to you about Rachel. “He held up a hand as she tried to speak. “For me Lacey, please let me talk.”
She swallowed hard, bracing herself for what was to come. He would tell her everything she didn’t want to hear, and her heart would break even more. She felt her body tense up, and she hung on every word.
“Rachel was everything to me for a very long time. She was smart and funny and she made me believe she was going to be there for me no matter what. I trusted her in that.”
“Rafe I can’t.”
“But she had more than just one side to her and there was something ugly there too.” He continued on.
“Stop it Rafe I… I can’t.” She stood then, leaving him there and making her way into the room where she slept, shutting the door behind her.
He was with her in an instant, hugging her close, making her feel protected and safe. Both things she hadn’t felt in a long time. He moved to her chin, lifting it up just enough for his mouth to claim hers, sealing their lips with a deep kiss. She felt the tears in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall, knowing that she would give in to him, and to let him love her even if it was goodbye.
She moved frantically as he kissed her deeper and longer, making quick work of the clothing between them. She wanted to feel all of him against her skin, wanted the heat of him to brandish her. She moved back then, leaning on her elbows her full breasts jutting upward in the air for him to feast on. He suckled on each crested peak hard, bring them both to a full peak, one hand carefully tugging on them and tweaking them between his fingers. He looked at her as he lapped at them flicking his tongue in new circular patterns on them as he freed his now swollen member from his clothes.
She watched, feeling him tease her skin with the velvety smoothness until he pushed her breasts together, and he slid the length of his between the luscious mounds, pumping slowly. Glancing down, she watched as the glistening tip appeared before her and without hesitation she slipped her pink tongue out licking the head momentarily with each stroke.
He groaned, looking down at her and she soon found herself rolled over on her stomach, waiting for his next move. She felt his fingers run down the length of her back, softly and gently caressing her until he pulled up on both legs, bringing her into an all fours position. She felt the heat rush to her face, embarrassed as she sat there exposed to him. She watched him move around behind her, his fingers slipping down until he found the entryway to her womanhood. He slid between her lips, pushing until he moved his hands, causing gasps from her as he moved his hand back and forth causing a tremendous about of pleasure in her body to enjoy.
Soon she gasped loudly as she felt the wet heat of his tongue there, his mouth moving on her feasting from her love. He intensified his play causing her to moan out in ecstasy as he kissed and pushed there. He stood then, the heat of his mouth, leaving her panting and wanting more. He moved behind her, grabbing her hips and impaled her with the length of him, pushing into her until he was all the way in. She gasped as she took him, soon finding her back arched and her knees spread wide apart from each other. He grabbed her hips, using them to slide her off and back on the length of him in slow, deliberate strokes, each one causing a new whimper of delight from her.
As he moved she felt him growing even bigger inside her, her cries, obviously making him more and more excited. He moved to reach under them, cupping the heavy swaying breasts as they bounced back and forth with his movements. She moaned as he rubbed the peaks of each one, causing a cry out as he began to move harder and faster then. He pummeled her from behind. His every stroke causing her to cry out. She heard him too, loudly crying out as she tightened down on him, moving with him to climb that peak to release.
He grabbed her hips once more slipping in deep and all the way back out, teasing her and watching her moan angrily at him and his teasing ways. She glared at him and he pushed her down flat on the bed. He was practically laying on her as he moved up and impaled her once more, the sensation a new one as she felt him filling her and using her to find release. The sounds of their slapping skin was the only consistent noise in the room as she felt her as lift up slightly with each thrust.
He pumped into her hard now, harder than ever before and she felt her orgasm coming quicker and quicker. She moaned out his name as she announced her orgasm to him, which only pushed him over the edge as well, their cries mingling together in the night air.
She felt him move to lay beside her, but she couldn’t talk or move for that matter. They made eye contact for a split second before she closed her eyes to focus on her breathing, and feel the air as it circulated around her skin, helping her to calm down.
She hurt all over, but it was a good hurt as she blinked a few times trying her best to clear her eyes and take in the room around her. At some point she had been resting and simply fallen asleep from exhaustion. She felt the space next to her, but he was gone, and she felt the tears spring to her eyes once more, causing her to bite her lip in frustration. She sat up carefully, grabbing her towel once more that she had been wrapped in, carefully tying the belt at her waist before walking down the long hall and back towards the kitchen.
She squashed the tiny hope she had been forming when she instantly took in the room around her. He was gone… there was no doubt about that. She padded her way to the fridge to get a drink and that’s when she saw the note on the countertop.
Lacey, going out for groceries, be back in 30 min or so. Need to finish what we started.
She felt her heart beat fast reading his words. He was gone… but he was coming back. She knew he wanted to tell her things… things about Rachel. She settled into the overstuffed chair and waited. She took a deep breath, smiling to herself and the new found confidence she was showing. She had to share some things of her own.
True to his word he came back and this time she heard the rumble of his bike. She waited for him to come in, more determined now than ever to tell him the truth. He walked in his face a smile
and sat down across from her after sitting the bag on the counter.
“I don’t want to drag this out Lacey so I am just going to tell you everything quickly… then maybe we can go on with our night, is that ok?”
She nodded at him, bracing herself once more.
“Last time I started with the unimportant stuff so this time I’m going to try something a little different. I love you Lacey, I came home to say goodbye to dad and what I found was this incredible woman who I have known and loved my whole life. I love you differently now, but the foundation is still there and the goodness in you is there just as it always has been. Rachel cheated lied and stole money, likely trying to get me shot at as we speak but I don’t care about any of that anymore. I just want to be with you, settle down and have something good.”
She felt the tears fall freely as he spoke.
“What we share, that is something amazing that most people don’t find in their lives. In fact, it’s so good that I had to question if I was losing my mind or just remembering how you felt in my mind blowing it out of proportion. But I wasn’t, this between us is a good thing… a right thing. I want to spend the rest of my life with you Lacey.”
She smiled at him as he finished. She wiped the tears that ran down from her eyes.
He moved to hold her hands in his, wiping at the tears himself. “What do you have to tell me Lacey, whatever it is we will be ok?”
She smiled into his eyes, slowly moving his hand over to her stomach. “You were right, Rafe, what we share is special because form the very first moment we shared together we created something even more beautiful than just “us”, we created a life.”
He looked up at her, his eyes widening as he took it all in. “Oh my... are you serious Lacey?”
She nodded happily as he wrapped his arms around her, dropping kisses on her stomach. She knew then she would never have to worry again about her size, or about being pushed around by anyone. She was one of the lucky ones, she had found real love. It was good and true and she knew she would hold on to that for as long as she was alive.
The months passed quickly and the two of them found themselves enjoying a new life together. As her stomach grew, she would glance at the man who would soon be her husband and she would think about the extra room in the house where they enjoyed each other so very much. There is something new around every corner, and she knew they were just getting started on exploring as much of that as they could. She caught his eye and he gave her a wink, no doubt remembering the way he had made love to her that afternoon. She was a lucky woman, and she knew there was no doubt about what was to come.
THE QUARTERBACK’S BABY
Chapter 1
Amanda nearly dropped a tray of dirty dishes when an old man pinched her ass as she walked by. She ground her teeth and shot him a glare, but she kept her mouth shut. She'd complained to the boss on more than one occasion about the behavior of the customers, but Spiro didn't care about anything but the restaurant's sales at the end of the day. If a customer kept coming back week after week and spending money, then he wanted that customer treated like gold.
Not that the assholes who treated her like a piece of meat ever tipped well. She'd be lucky if he left her a dollar on the table after he left. But Spiro only cared about the amount of money he made, not what his staff made.
She dropped the dirty dishes off in the back, then printed out the check for one of her other tables. She took the long way around to drop off the check, so she could avoid walking by the perv's table again. She also noticed the perv's drink needed to be refilled, but as far as she was concerned, he could wait. Maybe if she gave him bad service, he'd stop coming back. Spiro would complain about losing a customer, but Amanda had better things to do with her time than be manhandled by someone who didn't even tip.
She dropped off the check at the other table. “Is there anything else I can get you?” she asked, keeping her fake smile on her face.
“You can give me your phone number,” the man said, winking at her.
Amanda rolled her eyes. Max was one of her regulars, and while he never got handsy with her the way some of her other customers did, he was relentlessly hitting on her. But he was at least friendly about it, and he never took it the wrong way when she shot him down, so she tried to at least have some fun with it. “My phone's probably getting shut off next week, Max,” she said, giving him a playful smirk. “Tell you what, wait until I win the lottery, then we'll see.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “You either make too many calls, or you're not being paid enough here.”
“Little of both,” Amanda said. “Mostly the latter.”
She flashed him a genuine smile as she took his empty plate. Max, at least, was a decent tipper.
She took a quick glance at her other tables. Aside from the perv needing a drink refill, it looked like everyone was doing fine. She'd have just enough time to slip out for a quick smoke.
She kept an eye out for Spiro as she cut back through the dish room and out the back door. The boss didn't much care for his employees smoking on the clock. But Spiro only paid her $2.13 per hour, which was the minimum wage when you earned the rest of your pay from tips, so she didn't really care what he thought. She ducked behind the dumpster, trying to ignore the smell as she pulled out her Parliament Menthols and lit one up. She never smoked at home, because she didn't want to expose her son to secondhand smoke, which meant she had to get her fill while she was at work.
While she was smoking, and dreading the next three hours of her shift, her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw it was a text from her friend Michelle. She almost ignored it. Michelle had been a real party girl ever since high school, and had only gotten worse when she moved away for college. Whenever she stopped back in town during a school break, she wanted to go out drinking and cruising for guys. Amanda didn't have the time, between working two jobs and taking care of her son, for that kind of life. As much as she felt like a jerk for ignoring Michelle's texts half the time, she knew she just couldn't deal with being dragged out for a weekend of partying.
She read the text, already composing a response in her head. She needed to make a good excuse in order to get out of going drinking without hurting Michelle's feelings in the process. Though when she read the text, she nearly dropped her phone.
Hey, Mandy! You need to clear your plans for the weekend. I'm coming home, and guess what? I'M GETTING MARRIED!
Amanda was still staring at the text, trying to process it, when her phone buzzed again with another incoming text.
You'll be there, right? Promise you will! I need my bestie there as my maid of honor!
Amanda held her cigarette between her lips and typed out a response. She didn't see how she could get out of going to her friend's wedding, especially if Michelle wanted her to be maid of honor. Her head was spinning as she typed out her response: Holy crap! Since when are you getting married? Why such short notice? Of course I'll be there.
Just before Amanda headed back in to check on her tables, she got another response from Michelle: Long story, I'll explain when I see you. But Blake only has this weekend available, so it has to be now. OMG! I'm so excited! See you soon!
Amanda tucked away her phone and went back to check on her tables. The man who'd pinched her started complaining about how he'd been waiting ten minutes to have his drink refilled. She muttered a completely insincere apology and went to fetch him a new Coke. Then she finished clearing off Max's table, and stopped, stunned, when she saw the tip that he'd left.
It was a $50 bill. She knew Max had decent money—at least, compared to the usual crowd that came into the diner—but he was never this generous. She immediately felt a surge of guilt about her lie about her phone being shut off. Her bills were tight, but not so tight that she couldn't keep up with them, albeit barely. Max must have taken her excuse to get out of giving him her phone number as a genuine plea.
She pocketed the money, trying not to feel guilty about it.
Though she immediately felt better when the perv at the next table only left her seventy-eight cents. She'd earned Max's big tip, if only because she had to put up with so much shit from the rest of her customers.
When her shift was finally over, she took the bus home, then stopped by her neighbor's apartment to pick up her son, James. Mrs. Carter was a stay at home mom, and she watched James for free, in exchange for Amanda watching her son a few times a week so Mrs. Carter could run errands or have a night out with her husband.
“Come on, kiddo,” she said, taking James's hand. “Time for dinner.”
“But I don't wanna go,” James said, stomping his foot.
Mrs. Carter shot Amanda an apologetic smile. “He's been in a mood today.”
“I have not!” James protested, stomping his foot again.
“I'm sorry, kiddo,” Amanda said, scooping James up and holding him against her hip. “You can come back and play tomorrow.”
James made a frustrated sound as she carried him down the hall to their apartment. She set him down on the couch and did her best to clean the place up a bit before dinner. The apartment was eternally a mess, and she had long since given up on ever getting it truly clean. She just tried to maintain a certain level of disarray.
“What do you want for dinner?” she asked as she looked through the cabinets.
“Pizza.”
“We don't have pizza,” she said. She considered using Max's $50 to order out, and save herself the hassle of cooking, but she really needed to put it towards paying off her credit card. “How about pasta? That's Italian, too.”
James grumbled, but since he wasn't old enough to cook for himself, Amanda figured he could deal with her making whatever she wanted. She set the water to boil, then went into the living room to sit on the couch next to her son.
He'd turned the TV on, and the Monday night football game was playing. She frowned at the TV. “Hey, isn't there cartoons on?”