by Alexa Davis
“This isn’t on a whim, Dad, and I’ve thought about Meghan a lot. I want to adopt her. I want to be her father.” I wasn’t even annoyed that he seemed shocked by the idea. I knew it was a little crazy, but I also knew exactly what I was doing. “Trust me, I know this is the right thing for me.”
His mouth opened, he seemed to have more to say, but then he must have recalled our last argument where I was the one in the right in the end. “Okay, whatever you want, son. I really do hope it works out. Olivia and Meghan are great and I’m sure you’ll be good together.”
“Me, too,” I nodded as I spoke. “I do know this is right, Dad. I hope you can trust me.”
We embraced for a moment, and I felt my dad’s acceptance of me and my decision. I needed everyone on my side for this. It was a huge step.
***
“This is silly, isn’t it?” I declared as we stood in the hallway outside our apartments. “Living in different places. We should just look for a bigger place together.”
“What?” Olivia was so stunned, she almost dropped a sleeping Meghan in the process. “Are you insane?”
“What, too quick?” If she thought moving in together was a huge step, then maybe Dad was right and the ring wasn’t the best idea. “Sorry, you know me. I just say whatever’s on my mind.”
“No, it isn’t that, I’m just surprised that’s all.” She pursed her lips thoughtfully for a moment. “You know what, why don’t you come in for a bit? I’ll lay Meghan down and get her off to sleep fully. Then we can properly talk about it.”
“My dad and Drea really tired her out, didn’t they? Racing around the house, playing Iron Man.”
“Oh I know… That’s another subject we’ll get to later. What is going on there?”
“Definitely something!”
I watched in awe as Olivia expertly laid Meghan down in her bed, not disturbing the girl’s sleep at all. That had to take some training. I couldn’t wait until the day that I was as good with Meghan myself. If Olivia let me adopt her, of course. I knew that was a huge decision to make. I didn’t think I’d ever be a good father before, but now I felt like it was all I wanted in the whole world. Meghan was worth it, and she truly deserved a decent father figure. If her asshole biological dad didn’t want to step up to the plate, then I would do it.
“She’s so sweet, isn’t she?” I cooed once she was rested. “Such a lovely daughter. You should be proud of what you’ve achieved with her. She’s amazing.”
“Thank you so much; obviously I think she’s amazing, but it’s nice to hear someone else say it.”
We moved away from Meghan’s room and towards the front room, with the monitor clutched tightly between Olivia’s hand.
“You never let that thing go, do you?”
“Not when my baby’s asleep. I need to keep a link to her wherever she is.”
Olivia placed the monitor down on the table and wrapped her arms tightly around my neck. She pulled herself up onto her tiptoes and pressed her lips gently to mine. My heart swelled and my chest heated up happily as love and passion circled me. This was right – everything about me and Olivia was right, I didn’t feel bad about moving forwards at all.
“So what do you say?” I murmured into her mouth. “Do you think you might want to move in with me?”
“I mean, of course I want that. But is it a bit soon?” The hesitation in her voice didn’t feel too genuine. She was trying to be smart, but she wanted it.
“It isn’t if you know it’s right. Do you think you could ever be as happy with someone else? I know for a fact that I couldn’t. I’ve never loved anyone but you.”
“No, of course not. No one will ever make me as happy as you do. I guess I’m just scared. It’s a big step, isn’t it?”
I understood. After everything that she’d been through, it made sense that she’d freak out. Her ex had clearly left her high and dry when she needed him the most, but she had to know that I would never do that.
“But yeah, I do think I’d like to move in with you. We can at least look for places, can’t we? Make a start on it. It’ll probably take a while…”
I wanted to punch the air excitedly, but I just about managed to contain myself. I wanted to move at Olivia’s pace. I just felt great that we were moving in the right direction at last.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Olivia
Thursday
As soon as I gave Zack my word that we’d at least start looking for places to live, his mouth crashed excitedly into mine. After spending my only real romantic history with a man who didn’t want to commit at all, even when he discovered I was having his child, it felt wonderfully comforting to have a man actually wanting to make this relationship progress, even if it was at a scarily rapid pace.
Although, he was right about one thing… I did know that he was the one, so what was the point of hanging around?
We kissed frantically and passionately while stumbling backwards, as quietly as possible to my bedroom. The only time I stopped was to pick up the baby monitor because that still always came first.
As soon as the bedroom door closed behind us, our clothes whipped off in a heartbeat. This was more like our early sexual experiences together when everything was hurried and passionate, which was kind of cool. It was awesome to be where we were, now that we loved one another, but I enjoyed the steamy memories from our past, too.
“Oh God, Olivia, you’re so damn beautiful.”
Once we were both naked, Zack walked me backwards until I fell onto the cool bed sheets beneath me. I shivered, but it was more to do with the thrill than the cold. Lying down with Zack towering over me allowed me to run my eyes all over that gorgeous body of his. I felt like I knew every muscle, every dip, every inch of him, but I still liked to drink him in.
“Come here,” I purred. “I need you now.”
He climbed over me tantalizingly slowly, making it ages before I could wrap my fingers around his cheeks. I lowered his face to me so I could kiss him gently. His soft plump lips sent a flurry of electricity racing right down to my core.
“I love you, Olivia,” he whispered gently, allowing his breath to tickle my lips.
“I love you, too.” So damn much, it filled me up completely.
Slowly, I moved my hand down his body. I rubbed his abs, I brushed his lower stomach, and I moved right the way down until I could curl my fingers around Zack’s thick, pulsating shaft. As I moved my hand up and down him at the pace I now knew he loved, he rested his forehead against mine and stared lovingly into my eyes. I could feel all of his emotions pouring out of him, into me. I could feel us connecting on a much deeper, more intense level.
It urged me to have another taste of him.
I slid down the bed, underneath Zack, until my mouth was level with his erection. I tiled my head backwards until I could see his eyes fixed on me, and I parted my lips to invite him in. I grabbed onto his hips and controlled the pace with which he fucked my mouth.
“Oh fuck.” I could see Zack fisting the sheets in sheer bliss. “Oh my God, that feels so good. You have no idea.”
As he began to lose control of himself, he took over the pace. I could feel him hitting the back of my throat, which made me open up more for him. I wanted to taste all of him, I wanted to feel him all, but unfortunately, Zack could take it no more and whipped himself out of me.
He slipped his own body off the bed until he was standing in front of me all over again. My legs dangled to the ground, but he grabbed onto my thighs and tugged me right down until my butt was hanging off, giving him full control of me.
“What are you-”
I didn’t get time to finish that sentence because Zack dropped to one knee and wrapped his lips around my clit. I writhed and bucked uncontrollably as his tongue traced the most wonderful feeling patterns all over my body. It zinged, it bolted, and I didn’t even know where I was anymore. It was too damn much for me to handle.
“Oh my God, Zack, fucking hell.” One ha
nd worked its way up into my hair, the other one brushed against my breast. It felt good, surprisingly amazing actually, so I left it there. I flicked my nipple, squeezed, and played with myself while Zack licked me all over and it caused my back to arch in bliss. I wanted to push myself further into him. I wanted his mouth all over me. His tongue was utterly expert.
By the time Zack stood up and slid that wonderful length of his into me, I was already really close. The pressure was building, the hot pool bubbled, and any minute now I would crumble and absolutely fall apart. I pushed myself into a sitting position to wrap my arms around Zack’s stomach while he thrust quickly and powerfully into me. My head buzzed, my fingers dug in because I needed something solid to cling onto, and finally, the waves crashed.
The orgasm rocked through my body with force. I felt it zap everything away from me in the best way possible. I flew high, gleefully, and I had to clap a hand over my mouth to stop myself from screaming freely.
Finally, I couldn’t keep hold of him anymore, and I fell backwards onto the sheets, allowing Zack to continue thrusting until he brought himself to the same position as me. Somehow this action caused the bliss to flow that much longer and more powerfully. It got to the point where it felt like it was never going to end, and actually I didn’t want it to…
I wanted this feeling to last forever more.
***
My eyes flickered open as the sunlight streamed through the window, and instantly I felt strange. The aura of the room felt nothing like it usually did, and that was for one very specific reason. This wasn’t like every other morning, especially not for me. Actually, this was a huge, monumental step for me, and I wasn’t totally sure how I felt about it.
I twisted my body in the bed and I stared at the first man I’d ever woken up in bed with since Ben.
This was so much different to what I had with Ben – it couldn’t have been further from what I had with him if it tried. With Ben, I always felt like I had something to prove, I never felt like I could relax; but with Zack, I felt comfortable and safe. He made me feel absolutely incredible. He truly was the man for me. I felt like the best version of myself when I was with him, and I thought I brought the best out in him.
“Morning,” I whispered as his eyes flickered open. “How are you feeling today?”
“Good, now I’ve seen you.” He smiled and pulled me in for a hug. “I want to wake up with you every single day.”
“Yeah, you know what? I do, too.” I really did. It wasn’t a bad shock to wake up with him; it was just the next progressive step into taking our wonderful relationship further.
His eyes lit up with happiness. “So you’re surer about us moving in together?”
“I think I am.” I paused thoughtfully for only a split second. “We’ll have to tell Meghan, though; how do you think she’ll take it?” I ran my fingers through his hair and lost myself in the pools of his eyes. “Do you think she’ll be happy?”
“Access to my game console twenty four seven, she’ll love it,” he laughed. “And of course she’ll have more room for all her stuff. And, she’ll see Lark even more than she already does, since I can’t ever get rid of him…”
“So you’re thinking bigger?” I suppose that made sense if we were going to combine both our crazy lives. “And maybe somewhere with a working elevator?”
Zack chuckled again. “Oh I don’t know about that. We’ll miss the broken elevator, won’t we? It’s been a fun experiment to try and work around it, hasn’t it?”
“Hmm, yeah maybe.” I shrugged. “Maybe not, I’m sure we’ll soon find out.”
For a moment, I paused thoughtfully before I spoke something that I’d been thinking for a while, but I’d been keeping inside. “You know, you talk a lot about the things I’ve had to take on for you. You seem to think your leg issues and money will be problems for me, but we don’t talk much about what you’re taking on for me.”
“Do you mean Meghan?” he asked while pushing himself up onto his elbow. “Because I want her in my life. I love her very much. As much as I love you, actually. It doesn’t feel like she’s a burden to take on. I feel like I’m gaining something with her.”
I nodded slowly. “But you haven’t ever really pushed me for information about her father, and I can’t help but wonder if that troubles you. You know you can always talk to me about it, if you want?”
I didn’t necessarily want to open that box, I didn’t want Ben to interfere with what we had even in memory, but I didn’t have anything to hide, either.
“Look, he’s obviously an undeserving asshole. What more is there to say? Unless he’s about to come out the woodwork and cause us issues, then I don’t see what there is to say about it. Unless you want to talk about it, of course.”
I shook my head and grinned. “No, it’s so far in the past now, I don’t even think about it. There’s no way Ben will come out the woodwork, he didn’t even want to be named on Meghan’s birth certificate, so he hasn’t got any rights.” I sighed loudly. “Plus, he isn’t the fatherly type. According to rumors, he hasn’t even stuck around for his new child, either, so it’s unlikely he’ll suddenly come back into my life.”
“Well, he doesn’t deserve Meghan then, does he? And Meghan sure as hell deserves better than that. She needs a man as strong and kick ass as she is!”
I got this strong feeling that she didn’t need him, either. I was a good enough parent to be Mom and Dad anyway, but with Zack, his father, and Lark around she didn’t have a lack of positive male role models.
“I don’t deserve you, you know?” I purred, overwhelmed by the romance of the situation. “You truly are wonderful…and if you’re going to start staying over or we’re going to move in together, then you need to know that I have to have coffee first thing in the morning.”
Zack laughed, but he got up to make me a drink. Almost the second he walked from the room, Meghan jumped on him excitedly. She must have got up quietly today! I panicked for a moment, expecting a whole bunch of questions, but she simply went with the flow.
I felt so unbelievably happy as I sat up in bed and shoved my messy hair out the way. This was wonderful, I had the man of my dreams wanting to move things forward, I had the best kid in the world, and every single day, my life in New York got better. The move was the scariest, but the best thing that I’d ever done. My life would have been very different if I hadn’t taken that bold step.
Now it was on to the next step of life, and that promised to be just as good.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Zack
Monday
Thump, thump. I scanned my eyes anxiously over the crowd, trying to work out just how many people were staring back at me. Hundreds of eyes met mine, it was almost too much.
Thump, thump. A sickness swirled within me. I’d been preparing for this for days, but I still didn’t feel totally ready for it. All the words I’d prepared fled from my mind, leaving me clueless.
Thump, thump. The nerves were almost about to get the best of me, but just at the right moment I felt the warm, comforting touch of Olivia’s hand sliding into mine. She was still by my side; she wasn’t going anywhere, she was there to support me.
I turned to give her a smile, and the reassuring look that she gave me back told me all that I needed to know. I could do this, it wouldn’t be so bad. I just had to get my little speech out.
“Thank you everyone for coming,” I started, maybe a little too quiet. “I really appreciate you being here, especially members of the press.” I hadn’t had the best time with the media, but I’d learned from Lark that taking control of it made it a whole lot easier. “It’s great to be able to introduce you all to my new charity today. Military First.” I indicated behind me towards the building that was now ready to be opened. There were still small bits to do, but it would probably always be a work in progress.
“We at Military First want to help military men and women in two separate ways. Soldiers coming home from war often need
more help than they’re currently getting with settling back into this life. Also we want to help vets who’ve fallen through the cracks of a broken system. The men and women that have fought for our country and are now struggling with nowhere to turn for support. Those are all people that need help, and Military First will be there.”
Hands raised everywhere, but I wasn’t quite ready to answer questions yet, so I indicated to the group of people behind me.
“First off, I would just like to introduce you to the team. Here is my father, who helped me set up the venture. And here are the team; Javi, Helen, Amy, Lori, Max, and Liam.” My father and I had grown the team, and it was really starting to become something amazing. “So if you have any questions for any of us, please ask.”
I felt good as people fired off some really reasonable questions about the charity. Everyone in attendance appeared to be really interested, and I felt certain that would lead to some awesome press in the morning. Finally, the papers doing me a favor.
One part that everyone really went for was the family home being converted into a shelter. It gave the whole charity a unique angle and personalized the story.
Finally, it came to picture time. The photographers raised their cameras as I grabbed onto the novelty oversized scissors to cut the ribbon outside the office. Cheers burst out, the crowd celebrated with me, which only helped me to see even further that I was doing a good thing with the money.
Olivia squeezed my arm, giving me reassurance. I turned to look at her with a bright, genuine smile on my face. “I’m so proud of you,” she whispered in among the cheers. Somehow, I managed to hear her louder than everything else. “You’ve done a truly great thing.”
My dad popped champagne and the celebration started to take more of a party mode, but all I could focus on was Olivia’s beautiful face. I left all the fun to everyone else as I snaked my hands through hers. She pulled me closer and rose onto her tiptoes. Then, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, she kissed me softly.