by Lacey Black
An hour into it, a knock sounds at the door. Knowing that my dad would use his key to let himself in the back door, I slowly make my way to the door, wishing I had a sweatshirt or something to throw over my tank.
When I get to the door and take a look through the peephole, I almost choke on the air in my lungs. Reid Hunter is standing on my front steps. Displeasure is the first emotion to set in as I realize that Reid is showing up at my house on a Friday night after eight o’clock. The next emotion is confusion. Why is he here? Finally, embarrassment rears its ugly head. Of course he would show up on a night where I’m already in my pajamas and scrubbed free of any makeup. Awesome.
The second knock, which comes louder and with more force, startles a little yelp out of me. Easing the lock until it releases, but keeping the chain secured, I slowly open the door. Reid stands there in snug dark jeans and a striped polo shirt that does nothing to mask the muscles in his upper arms and chest. If anything, the tight material only magnifies them. His feet are stuffed into a pair of nice brown loafers, and the watch on his wrist probably cost more than a half-month of my salary. For as put together as he appears on the outside, the lines around his eyes and the creases in his forehead tell a different story. His hair is mussed as if he’s run his fingers through it repeatedly, and his eyes appear weary and lifeless. It’s as if he’s carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
“Can I talk to you?” he finally asks when I offer no greeting. I’m still so completely shocked that he’s standing at my doorway that I’ve lost my manners. My eyes return to his for a few seconds before I close the door, remove the chain, and grant him access.
As Reid steps through the door, his eyes instantly drop to my chest. The intensity of his gaze is like a sucker punch, as his greedy eyes look their fill. As if I couldn’t feel the moment my nipples harden under his scrutiny, the audible hiss that comes from his lips would have been a dead giveaway.
Upset at the reaction my traitorous body has to his mere presence, I cross my arms over my tank top, shielding myself from any further embarrassment. At least, I pray that’s the outcome.
“Uh, do you want to go put on another shirt?” Reid asks, those steel gray eyes bearing into me so fiercely that I can feel it clear down to my toes.
Nope, nothing could save me from the embarrassment. Apparently, Reid would prefer I cover up my excitement caused by his gaze. Maybe it wasn’t a lustful eyeful that he was drinking in like water. Maybe it was disgust and I read this entire scene wrong. Kill. Me. Now.
“What are you doing here, Reid?” I ask, trying to get my mind back to the problem at hand: Reid Hunter is in my house.
“I, uh -” he starts, but is cut off when Ryan runs into the foyer.
“Mom, you’re missing the best part,” he announces happily before he catches sight of the man by the front door. His gray eyes stare up at the man in front of him. God, looking at the two of them together is almost physically painful. The similarities are uncanny, and frankly, it freaks me the hell out a little.
“Ryan, do you remember Mr. Hunter?” I ask my son, dropping my arms from my chest to walk over to him. His swift head nod is the only response that I receive. “Well, I’m going to take Mr. Hunter into the kitchen and have a word with him, okay? You stay in the living room and watch the movie. I’ll be back in just a few minutes,” I tell my son as I steer him back towards the couch. I don’t have to turn around to know that Reid is following me. I can feel his presence in the room.
Giving Ryan a soft kiss on the forehead, I turn and head towards my kitchen with Reid hot on my heels. When we step inside, I turn to him. “I’m going to grab a sweatshirt. I’ll be right back,” I tell him before slipping out of the small space and all but running back to my room.
Grabbing the first hoodie I can find, I slam my arms through the sleeves while trying to calm my racing heart. What the hell is he doing here? Why would he show up now of all times? It’s been days since our awkward and tense reunion in my classroom that ended with him walking away, so what brings him to my doorstep at eight o’clock on a Friday night?
There’s only one way to find out.
Zipping up the front of the sweatshirt, I head back out towards the room where I left Ryan’s father.
Chapter Eight – Face To Face
Reid
I know the moment she steps into the kitchen. Not only can I smell her clean, floral scent, but also something in the air changes. It’s packed with awareness and this unspoken sizzle that only happens when I’m near Dani. It screams of sex and want.
I’ve been staring at a picture of Ryan and Dani since the moment I walked into the kitchen. Dani’s wearing a bright blue and green striped bikini that makes my dick instantly hard. Her honey-colored hair is pulled up high atop her head, and her eyes are covered up with a pair of big, black sunglasses shielding her from the intense sun. The boy with his arms wrapped around her looks so much like me at that age, it’s scary. If it weren’t for the woman standing next to him, I’d think it was a photo taken from an album back at my childhood home. Their smiles are so happy and free that you can feel the love pouring through the image. And the scary part is, the only thing I can think of right now is wondering where I might fit into this picture.
“When was this taken?” I ask without taking my eyes off the photo.
“Last month,” she responds after clearing her throat as if to push away the sudden dryness. Still, I stare at the picture. Her body is a little curvier, her tits a lot fuller, but she’s still the same breathtaking woman who blew me away all those years ago.
When the silence in the room all but gobbles us up, she asks, “Do you want a drink?”
Finally, I turn towards her, my eyes instantly dropping down to her hoodie. It was the most painful thing I’ve ever had to do, suggesting she cover up her beautiful chest, but I knew that if she didn’t, I’d be too distracted. I’d never have the conversation that I came here to have. I’d end up throwing her over my shoulder and carrying her off to her bedroom. I’d end up doing just what images my mind has conjured up over the past couple of nights in bed alone. Nights where I did nothing but remember the way she felt against me, under me, riding me. Her body is imbedded in my mind like an exotic tattoo.
“You wouldn’t happen to have any scotch, would you?” I ask, the corner of my mouth rising up slightly into a small grin.
“Uh, no. But I might have a little white wine left,” she tells me as she slips around me and goes to the fridge.
“Actually, water is probably best,” I say with a solemn tone. Even though I’d love to drink a few fingers of something hard to help with this nervous energy I feel, I’m thankful that we’re settling on something a little milder than hard liquor.
Grabbing two bottles of water from the fridge, Dani turns back and takes a seat at the modest-sized kitchen table, which takes up a big portion of the kitchen. I follow suit, taking one of the bottles of water and chugging half of it in one big gulp. I feel her eyes on me as my throat bobs in quick succession. My mind instantly going straight back to the night I caught her watching me drink the same way. Only that night, it was beer…and it was right before we removed each other’s clothes.
“I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m here,” I start, gazing down at my half-full water bottle. “Honestly, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing here. No clue whatsoever and that scares the shit out of me, Dani.” My voice is firm, yet hushed. I don’t want little ears to overhear the conversation, and her look is grateful.
“I never wanted to be a father. I don’t want that lifestyle. I have my work, and that keeps me extremely busy. There’s just no time for a kid to be thrown into the mix.” I watch as her breathing becomes slightly shallow and her eyes turn glassy. My admission is honest and clearly scares the shit out of her as much as it does me. She can see my struggle.
“I was ready to just set it up to support you financially and then walk away,” I start. “I don’t need a blood test, becaus
e I can see he’s my son. But what frightens me most of all is that I can feel it. I know he’s my boy.” I take another large gulp of the water. My throat feels drier than the Sahara right now, and no amount of water can quench this thirst.
“Reid, you have to know that I never planned to disrupt your life like this. I thought it was the right thing to do to tell you about Ryan. It’s completely your choice if you want to be a part of his life or not. I don’t want your money. I won’t bother you, I promise. I’ll sign anything you want that says I can’t come back to you later for anything.”
“Here’s my problem,” I interrupt. I make sure I’m looking her square in the eyes as I say this. Even though this is nothing like one of my business transactions, I have to treat it as if it were. Focused. Blunt. Determined. “I don’t want to walk away. I don’t want to support you financially and step aside while someone else fills my shoes. I never wanted this, but I can’t walk away from it now. That’s the hardest part for me to swallow. I don’t know why, but I can’t just disappear into the night.” I watch as Dani’s eyes fill with unshed tears. Tears scare the shit out of me. I’ve never been able to do tears. I can’t decipher them as good or bad, and women have used them too many times in my life as a means to try to get what they want.
“Like Batman?” I hear behind me. Both Dani and I turn quickly and look over at the boy in the doorway.
“What?” Dani and I both ask at the same time. The boy before me is wearing Batman pajama shorts, and his hair is tousled and standing up at all angles. I fight the grin threatening to spread across my face; he looks just like me when I wake in the morning. Well, minus the youthful pajama shorts.
“Batman. He disappears into the night after he saves the day.” Ryan looks back and forth between the two of us, his gray eyes like little laser beams shooting straight at my soul.
“Is he your favorite superhero?” I ask, turning my full attention to the boy before me.
“Yeah, he’s so cool. He wears a cape like lots of other superheroes, but he has a utility belt that has all kinds of awesome gadgets! Plus, he flies. And don’t forget about the Batmobile! That thing is awesome and can shoot missiles and fire out the back!” Ryan exclaims in practically one long, run-on sentence. Hell, I’m not even sure he took a breath. I find myself smiling a real smile for the first time in I don’t know how long.
“Batman is pretty cool,” I confirm.
“I think my dad is Batman,” he adds quietly. “That’s why he’s my favorite.” All air is sucked out of the room, and for damn sure, sucked out of my lungs. Apparently, if the way Dani gasped is any indication, she’s having a hard time getting her lungs to function properly, too.
“Why do you say that?” I ask just as quietly as his statement.
Ryan’s gray eyes turn solemn with a hint of sadness as he steps forward and stands before me. “Because my dad can’t be here with me. My mom says that his work is very important to lots of people and that he’s needed elsewhere. Superheroes have to help get all the bad guys and put them in jail, so that must be why he can’t be here with me.”
The sadness in his eyes is so intense that it practically knocks me on my ass. I wasn’t expecting to feel any sort of emotion towards this boy, but suddenly, I’m overwhelmed with it. Emotion that I haven’t felt since I was a boy and my life was turned upside down.
I’m suddenly angry. Angry at the sadness in this boy’s eyes. Angry at the fact that I’m the reason I see it. Instantly, I want to pull him into my arms and confess who I am. I want to promise him that he’ll never be without his dad again. I want to vow that he’ll never feel sadness and experience heartbreak again.
The problem is they’re all vows and promises that I can’t make.
It’s not my place to tell him who I am at this moment. Dani and I have tons of shit to figure out, and the last thing I want to do is tell him before we’re ready. Even though part of me is dying to confess, I know that it has to be the right time, and that’s something that Dani and I need to discuss. So for now, I’ll bite my tongue. Plus, there’s the fact that I have no fucking clue how to respond to him. I’m so far into uncharted waters that I’m afraid I might never get out alive. Everywhere I look, I am surrounded by dark, murky water. It makes me want to get the hell out of dodge, and go back to Plan A where I send a check every month.
There’s no way I can do this.
And then I look up at Dani and see the sadness in her smile. Suddenly, I want to punch myself in the fucking face for even thinking about walking away from them. The unexpected urge to protect them from any more hurt and hardship is so strong, it practically knocks me to the ground. It’s a damn good thing that I’m sitting right now, because standing would be nearly impossible with the way my legs are shaking.
“Ryan, it’s past bedtime. Why don’t you go brush your teeth and get ready for bed,” Dani states.
“Okay,” Ryan replies and turns around. Before he vacates the room, he turns back around and says, “Good night, Mr. Hunter. It was nice to see you again.” His eyes hold me captive with their uncertainty and fatigue.
“Good night, Ryan. I’ll see you again soon,” I tell the boy in a voice that I don’t recognize.
His smile is natural and easy. His eyes instantly fill with something…hope, maybe? “Night, Mom,” he hollers over his shoulder as he turns and runs out of the room.
And it’s right there, in that moment, that I realize I’ve lost my heart forever.
Chapter Nine – Decisions, Decisions
Dani
I watch as Ryan runs out of the room. My throat is constricted so tight from the emotions I’ve been fighting that it’s painful. I blink so rapidly that I’m sure Reid will think there’s something wrong with me.
“He’s a great kid,” Reid says as he turns to look at me.
“Yeah, he is.”
“Listen, Dani, I won’t keep you. I didn’t mean to just show up unannounced and disrupt your evening, but I just needed to see you for a moment. I needed to tell you that I’m not going anywhere. I don’t know what exactly that means yet, and we definitely have some things to work out, but I can’t walk away. Not now.”
“Reid, I know that you have a lot of stuff to work out and that all of this is a huge shock for you. But you have to understand that protecting him is my first priority. I have to know without a shadow of a doubt that you are one hundred percent invested in this before I say anything to him. I can’t–no, I won’t–subject him to the possibility of having a father, and then have you flake out on him when you realize this isn’t what you want.”
“Can we meet and talk more soon, maybe dinner one night this week? I’d really like to talk with you more about Ryan,” he says. Dinner with Reid is probably a really, really bad idea if I want to keep a clear head, but he has always been my one weakness.
“Reid, I don’t know -” I start, but he cuts me off.
“Just dinner. We have a lot of stuff to discuss, and I don’t want to do it here where little ears can overhear,” he says, knowing that with that one little statement, he has me on the line. I’m sure he can see the question in my eyes and feel the resistance rolling off me in huge waves, but I’m sure he also knows that I’ll do anything for my son.
Our son.
“Fine. My sister is off Tuesday night so I could do it then,” I say, crossing my arms protectively over my chest. The action only reminds me of how I must have looked when I opened the door earlier. Right before he asked me to put on more clothes…
“I’ll call you with details. I have a late afternoon meeting, but should be free around six-thirty,” he tells me as he digs out a business card from his wallet. Retrieving the ink pen lying on the counter, he jots down something on the back of the card before handing me the card. “Call me if you need me,” he adds.
I glance down at the ten numbers on the back of the business card. Following behind Reid as he walks towards the front door, something keeps nagging at me. Something’s off and I can�
��t quite put my finger on it.
Turning around after he opens the door, Reid says, “Call me anytime, Dani. I’m serious.” His eyes are darker suddenly, like black orbs pulling me into the depths of his soul.
“Thank you,” I mumble as I reach for the nob, but instead of touching the cool metal, I touch warm skin. Reid’s hand turns, enveloping mine, causing fireworks to erupt in the pit of my stomach and my blood to zing through my veins.
I’m sucked into his expressive eyes so quickly that I don’t even realize what’s happening. I’m right back at that night, in the little blue tent on the small, overcrowded campground. I’m suddenly wrapped up in his arms, sweating and panting from exertion. I’m instantly wet and needy.
Before either of us can do anything that we’ll regret–or not regret, depending on who you’re asking–Reid leans in and gives me a small peck on the cheek. His warm breath kisses my over-sensitive skin, heating me up clear down to my core. His lips feel soft and damp against my cheek, and I feel myself swaying just a little towards his touch.
But before anything further can happen, he pulls away.
“Lock up,” he whispers as he slips out the front door.
I watch him head down the steps and take the walk towards his car. When he reaches the driver’s side, it suddenly hits me. Earlier in the kitchen, there was something that was bugging me, and now I know what it was. “Reid,” I holler before he can slip inside the car. When he pauses and turns to me, I ask, “Why didn’t you ask me for my phone number?”
“I already have it, sweet Dani,” he says. The grin he offers me starts small enough, but eventually transforms into something entirely different. Something dirtier. Wolfish. The kind of smile that makes panties burst into flames. Oh, I can feel the heat, all right.