Hating the Rich Bastard

by Hamel, B. B.

  I blink at them, confused. “Flowers?”

  “Exactly. As an apology.”

  “Apology?”

  “For the way I acted.”

  “What?” I’m like having a fit or something.

  He laughs softly. “Maybe we should talk somewhere… private.”

  “Wait.” I turn inside, stepping aside. “Nana, this is Ben.”

  He bows his head at her and smiles. “It’s lovely to meet you.”

  She smiles back. “Hi there, honey,” she says. “Alice here was just talking about you.”

  I blush big time. “Nana,” I say.

  “What? You think he doesn’t know?”

  I sigh and grab his wrist. “Come on.”

  “It was nice to meet you,” he says as I tug him out of her room.

  “Come visit again soon,” she calls out as we leave.

  Freaking Nana. She’s going to blow up my spot. He just came back and she’s already trying to tell him how I’m obsessed with him or whatever.

  “I hate the way I left things,” he says softly as we walk. “I got angry but I shouldn’t have. That was… that was the old me.”

  “The old you? So you’ve changed?”

  “Absolutely. I’m going to be a father.”

  I stare up at him, not smiling. “I plan on raising this baby myself. You don’t… you don’t have to be involved.”

  “I’m going to be,” he says as we step into the lobby. He takes my wrist, spins me toward him. “What kind of man would I be, abandoning my child? And abandoning you?”

  “I don’t understand,” I whisper.

  “I’m not going anywhere, Alice. You shouldn’t have kept this from me, but I understand you had your reasons. I’m not going to be the man I was before. I’m going to be better… for you.”

  I stare up into his beautiful eyes, not sure what to say. I feel my body ringing with desire and confusion, but above all, relief.

  I’m so relieved he’s here. I’m so relieved he doesn’t hate me.

  “Come back to work,” he says softly. “I need you there. Please.”

  “I don’t know,” I say. “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure.” He takes my hands. “Come back to work.”

  “Okay,” I say, and we gaze at each other for a moment.

  “Oh, for Pete’s sake, kiss him already or I’m gonna!”

  I blink, surprised and spot an old woman in a wheelchair sitting a few feet away. I guess we overlooked her when we stopped.

  Ben laughs and grins at me. “You heard her, Alice.”

  I smile and get up on my tiptoes to kiss him softly. He smirks and kisses me back, just a short, small thing… but it means so much.

  “That’s it?” the old woman says. “Use a little tongue, young lady. Look at that man! You don’t got a lot of years on this planet, better use them doing the fun stuff. Come here, young man, I’ll show you what age can teach a woman.”

  “Oh, Jesus,” I say to Ben, tugging his hand. “Come on, before she jumps you.”

  “I am kind of curious what age can teach a woman,” he says following me out. “You sure I can’t go back?”

  “I’m saving you from yourself here. You’ll thank me later.”

  He laughs as we walk through the parking lot together, hand in hand. I don’t know what it means, what he wants, where we’re going… but I don’t care.

  I’m just happy I’m standing next to him right now.

  20

  Ben

  Alice comes back to work and it feels like my life clicks into place.

  I’m going to be a father. I never in a million years wanted a baby, but now that one is on the way, it’s all I can think about.

  I have a chance to be better. To do right for my own child.

  And to do right for Alice.

  The latter thing is easier. I want to be with her, be near her. It won’t be hard to stay with her through this all, help her where I can, take care of her as much as possible. She won’t have to worry about this baby financially, that’s for sure. I’ll make sure they never, ever want for anything.

  So we get back to work, and suddenly the world seems clear to me. All of the ideas that have been floating around in my head for so many years suddenly coalesce into a creative whole, and it all just flows.

  We get through three songs in three days, writing and recording them in a single session each.

  It’s like I’m on fire. When I get home, all I’m thinking about is the music, and I’m overwhelmed with creativity. I’m working on it all day in the office, even when I should be doing other things.

  It’s the best I’ve felt in a long, long time. And I know I have Alice to thank for it.

  I was angry at first, angry that she kept this from me for so long. After everything, after how close we were getting, she still didn’t tell me right away. I felt a little betrayed, like she was doing it to hurt me on purpose.

  But I know that’s not the case. I can see it all over her history: a father that betrayed her, an older brother that’s a useless addict. She saw me as just another man that could easily hurt her.

  I’m not going to be that man. I could easily, so easily. I’ve been that man to other women in my life, sleeping with them once or twice before leaving them for something more enticing. I’ve been going down the wrong track for a long time now, but for some reason Alice changed all that.

  I’m going to get it together. I’m stepping up, whether she realizes it yet or not.

  On Friday, we finish our last session of the week. We’re starting a fourth song, and although we don’t get it all recorded, we’ll finish it on Monday. That makes a good chunk of material for this album finished or nearly finished way ahead of schedule.

  “Good work today, guys,” I say as Caleb and Tony head out. Caleb waves, following Tony. They’re heading for some beer, and I’m supposed to come meet them soon with Alice, once we’re finished straightening up.

  “What do you think?” she asks me.

  “We got a ton done these last few days.”

  “You seem like you’re on fire.”

  “I guess I am.” I shrug a little. “Life changes can have that effect.”

  She laughs softly as I walk around the piano and sit down next to her. I play the melody that started it all, the original melody from “Tune”. She plays along with me, a smile on her face.

  I lean over and kiss her. She kisses me back, and we keep playing, the tempo increasing slightly as her tongue slides into my mouth. I kiss her back, my blood pumping hard, my skin prickling all over.

  It’s amazing how badly I need this, especially after everything. I hit a discordant note and stop playing, pulling her tight against me. She’s pregnant with my baby, she’s beautiful, she’s my creative partner.

  I need this woman so badly I can barely stand it.

  I turn to her, straddling the piano bench. She does the same as I pull off her shirt before pulling off my own. She groans when I kiss her neck and slide my hand down the front of her jeans after loosening the button and releasing her fly.

  She groans as I rub her above her panties. She’s wet already, and I’m betting she was thinking about this as soon as the guys left.

  I push her back, laying her flat on the bench. She holds onto the sides as I tug her jeans off, rubbing her pussy the whole time. She groans, rolling her head side to side, her thick, beautiful hair shaking all around her.

  “Shit, Ben,” she whispers. “Why do you do this to me?”

  “Because I love it,” I whisper back. “Fuck, girl. Every inch of you. For a second, I thought I might not see you again…” I trail off as I slide my fingers deep into her soaking pussy.

  She gasps and bites her lip. “But you couldn’t stay away.”

  “No, I really couldn’t. Not when I knew you were waiting for me, pussy dripping wet, begging to get fucked.”

  She groans as I slide my fingers in and out of her. I push back and spread her legs open, kissing he
r stomach, her inner thigh, teasing her pussy with my tongue.

  I start to suck and lick her clit, making her gasp and moan. She holds onto the bench as tight as she can as I lick and suck her, crouching now, holding her in place with my hands. I love her taste, her delicious little pussy, and I can’t help it.

  I keep sucking, licking, driving her wild. I love the pants and the gasps and the moans, the way she whispers my name, the way she bites her lip and arches her back. Every inch of her body is so fucking sexy it’s hard to breathe around her.

  I’ve never experienced this level of desire, let alone had it sustain. Every time I see her, I feel this way. It hasn’t diminished at all, not even a little bit. She gasps, moaning, rolls her hips. I slide my fingers inside of her while nibbling her clit.

  She grabs onto my hair with one hand, trying to steady herself as I fuck her with my fingers and lick her clit at the same time. She rolls her hips, as much as she can at least, and I keep going. I want it so badly, I need it so badly. I need her to come for me.

  “Wait,” she manages to gasp. “Wait, stop.”

  I hesitate, looking up at her, fingers still inside. “What’s wrong?”

  “Fuck me.”

  “Fuck you?” I smirk a little. “You don’t want to come for me?”

  “Fuck me, please,” she begs. “God, Ben. I need to feel it.”

  I slide my fingers out. I don’t need to be told twice.

  I help her off the bench and push her against the wall. I turn her around, make her arch her back as I tease her pussy from behind again. I love her thick ass and her beautiful hips. I take off my jeans, taking my cock in my fist and pushing it against her soaking wet cunt.

  She groans as I sink myself deep inside of her. I take it slow at first, but I know what she really needs.

  She wants it rough. She wants to get fucked. She wants dirty, nasty, hard sex to make her come all over my big, fat cock. I grab her hair and start to pump into her, fucking her nice, tight little pussy from behind.

  She’s such a sexy, filthy fucking girl. She rocks her hips back, moaning, groaning. “Fuck me, Ben, you fucking bastard,” she says. “God please, Ben. Fuck my pussy.”

  I rock into her, fucking her hard. I hold her hair with one hand and reach around her hips with the other to rub her clit at the same time. I keep pumping my hips while she works her back, sliding along my shaft. I rub her clit with my middle finger, rolling around it, making her groans pitch upwards as she gets louder and louder.

  I know she’s close. She was on the knife’s edge back on the bench. I bite her shoulder and thrust my cock deep inside, ripping her apart, wrecking her tight pussy while still rubbing her clit.

  She comes hard, gasping loudly. Her whole body tenses and her hands reach back, clawing at me, losing herself completely in bliss.

  I love watching her tense and come. It’s so fucking sexy. I can barely control myself as I keep fucking her, and I come a second later, filling her tight pussy, nice and deep.

  We breathe slowly together. I hold her tight, kiss her over her shoulder, turn her around and hug her body against mine.

  This is my woman, pregnant with my baby. It’s hard to even imagine, but it’s true. She’s going to have my baby, and I’m going to make her mine.

  21

  Alice

  One month passes, and we never talk about the baby again.

  It’s strange, how quickly it seems to disappear. I keep working on the album, and we keep writing songs together, but the baby…

  He never brings it up, and I don’t either. It’s like it doesn’t exist.

  We still sleep together. We talk on the phone late at night, after sessions. I go over to his apartment and listen to what we have so far.

  And more sex, obviously.

  I’m starting to wonder if the whole thing was a dream. Our relationship is good, really good, actually. We’re fucking almost every day, spending all our time together, talking almost constantly, and I’ve never been this happy.

  Even Nana approves. “Marry that one, honey,” she said to me after meeting him for real about two weeks ago.

  It’s been a blur. We fuck, flirt, hang out, and record music together. I never thought I could be so intertwined with someone in my life, but now that I am, I can’t imagine being without him.

  It’s strange how I went from hating him, thinking he’s just some rich bastard that wants to use and abuse me, to thinking he’s the best thing that ever happened.

  Except… we never talk about the baby.

  Maybe it’s just my insecurities poking their heads up, but that feels like a red flag. I’m starting to show a little bit, and you’d think we’d start talking about how we’re going to handle the baby when it comes. Because it’s coming, sooner or later. My plan to raise this baby hasn’t changed, although I’ve been thinking that maybe he’ll be involved.

  I’m not so sure. He said all the right things when he found out, made all the right promises, but hasn’t said a word since. I’m starting to worry, to freak out, but I have to keep it together.

  Maybe it’s just my hormones going insane. That’s definitely a possibility. Everything sets me off these days, and I know it’s because of the pregnancy. Normally I’m pretty mellow, pretty centered, but I’m a total hormonal mess right now. He can see it, and he’s actually really good about being there for me.

  He just never mentions the baby.

  I’m in a down mood when I head to our session one Monday evening. I spent the weekend with Ben, alternating between fucking and making new music together like we have been lately, and it was great.

  But now, I just don’t know. I want to talk about the baby but I don’t want to freak him out and worry him more.

  I trudge through the street alone. He offered to send a car like he always does, but I usually turn him down. Exercise is good for me, and now I’m exercising for two.

  When I made that joke, he just smiled and moved on.

  I get to the studio door and hesitate. I probably should take a second and calm down before heading inside. I don’t want to be a mess during this session. I’ve managed to keep my hormonal breakdowns outside of sessions so far, and I’d like to keep that going. We have more musicians now, since Markus heard what we’ve been working on and he thinks we can do something really amazing with more funding.

  I unlock the door, glancing at my phone. I’m running a couple minutes late as I head down the hall. I don’t hear anything coming from the studio, but it’s not totally unusual. They’re probably all in the live room, getting prepped.

  I step into the control room, expecting to make a million apologies for being late, but I stop in my tracks.

  There’s nobody in the live room. It’s completely empty…

  Except for candles, absolutely everywhere. There must be hundreds of them, scattered all over, each one lit and glowing softly.

  “You’re late.”

  I jump, a little startled. Ben is standing behind me, a smile on his lips.

  “What’s going on?” I ask him.

  “Go inside,” he says, nodding at the door.

  I hesitate, but I trust him. I head into the live room and he follows me.

  It smells like flowers. The candles give off a slight heat, flickering when I open the door and again when he shuts it. I notice several flower arrangements placed around the rug where the drums usually sit, although they’re gone now.

  Ben sits down and motions for me to follow. We’re surrounded by flowers and candles, and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

  He reaches out and takes my hands. My heart’s beating so fast I can barely breathe.

  “This last month has been the best month of my life,” he says, staring into my eyes. “I don’t say that lightly.”

  I laugh a little. “Come on. I’ve been a crazy pregnant lady.”

  “Maybe,” he says, a little smile on his lips. “But most of the time, you’re just my Alice, carrying my baby.”
/>   My face brightens. That’s the first mention of the baby.

  “What’s happening right now?” I ask.

  “Right now, I’m making a promise to you. I’m recording it too, so don’t say anything dumb.”

  I laugh, shaking my head. “Are you nuts?”

  “Probably. But I want you to have this forever.”

  I bite my lip and nod.

  “I promise I love you,” he says softly. A thrill runs down my spine. “I promise I’ll take care of you and the baby forever, no matter what happens. I promise never to leave you, never to stray from you. I promise I’ll be yours, as long as you’re mine. Do you understand?”

  I nod, choking up. “I love you, too.”

  His smile blossoms like a rose. “I’m not proposing to you right now, just so you know.”

  I laugh and hit his leg. “Ass.”

  “But I’d marry you, here and now, if I could. The truth is, Alice, you’ve changed me so much. And not just because of the baby. This past month I needed to prove to myself that I’m not the man I used to be, and I know for certain I’m not. I’m sorry if I haven’t been talking about the baby or our relationship enough, but I had to be sure. I couldn’t risk hurting you.”

  Relief floods through me. “You were just scared.”

  “Scared of the man I was, but not the man I am.”

  I squeeze his hands and laugh, feeling so relieved that it almost hurts. Tears drop down my cheeks and he smiles, leans forward, and kisses me.

  It’s a simple kiss, nothing flashy, nothing special, but it’s the best kiss we’ve ever shared.

  Because he loves me, and now I know it. He loves me, really loves me, and I’m in love with him, too. This is what I was so afraid of, so worried about, but now that it’s here, it’s perfect.

  This is what I’ve needed all along.

  “And I promise not to make you cry,” he says, smiling at me and wiping my tears away.

  “These are happy tears.”

  “Okay then. I’ll allow it.”

  We kiss one more time, surrounded by flowers and candles in the space where this all started. It’s like our home, our special place.