Not only that, but the woman is spectacular. I don’t care that she’s fifteen years younger than me. She takes care of me. She’s always been there for me. She treats me like a king. I adore everything about her, from the way she smiles to the small snorts she passes when she finds something truly hilarious.
She’s all I want. Her personality shines bright and it’s hooked me. I’m in deep. So fucking deep.
I feel even worse today because I’m meeting with Barry at the bar.
Naomi sticks around at my house with Hannah, kissing me passionately on the lips before I go. “I’ll see you when you get back,” she says.
When I arrive at the bar, I spot Barry at the counter watching a basketball game with a mug of beer in hand.
“What’s up, B?” I clap his shoulder before I sit and he perks up.
“Oh, hey, what’s up, man? Let me order you a beer!” He flags the bartender down and orders. “Can you believe the fucking score of this game?”
“I know.” The bartender hands me a beer and I nod my appreciation before taking a quick sip.
“Naomi is watching Hannah tonight?”
“Yeah.” I avoid his eyes, looking up at the screen instead.
“That’s good. She’s so good with her, man.” He takes a gulp of beer. “I told you she used to watch her little cousin, right?”
“Yep. I remember.”
“Yeah. She loves Hannah and she loves coming over there for some reason. I’ve never met a college student who would rather babysit than go out and have fun with her friends.”
“Yeah.” I force a laugh. “I tell her she doesn’t have to. We have a daycare center at the gym.”
“Have you given any thought to hiring another sitter once she goes back to school? Besides Cathy?”
I shrug. Fuck. I don’t even want to think about her leaving me. “Not really. I wouldn’t trust anyone else with Hannah but Naomi. She’s a good sitter. She takes care of Hannah, way better than Annie ever did.”
“Ah, man. Annie.” He rubs his face. “Did she come last Saturday?”
“Yeah, but said she was busy this Saturday and couldn’t make it.” I sigh.
His brows furrow. “You’re kidding.”
“She won’t get another chance if she doesn’t come next week.”
“Shit, I would have just told her to fuck off. Hannah deserves better than a mother who might disappear on her again.”
“I just don’t trust her and I don’t want Hannah to get used to her coming and then expect her to show up, and Annie doesn’t. I don’t want anyone hurting my baby girl.”
“I hear that, man. I wouldn’t trust her either. She’s lucky Hannah is just a baby and won’t remember what she did. I know if something like that ever would have happened to Naomi, she would have been devastated.”
“I know, man. Good thing she has good parents.”
“Well, don’t worry about not ever having any help. You have Naomi, and you also have us. I’m sure Omi won’t mind helping you out the rest of the summer or even while she’s in town from school for the holidays. She’s a good girl. Kind and caring, and you know that, I’m sure you take care of her while she’s there. She always brags about you overpaying her every week.”
I hold back on a sigh. All he’s doing is making me feel guiltier. He’s my best fucking friend — my only real friend — yet here I am, fucking his twenty-one-year-old daughter behind his back like I don’t even care about our friendship.
Friends for years, and I’m betraying the fuck out of him. And the sad thing is I can’t stop even if I tried. I’m fucking addicted to her now.
I get home close to midnight and Naomi is curled up on the couch with the TV on, texting on her cellphone. When she sees me, she lowers the phone and gives me a warm smile.
“Beers were great?” she asks.
“Beers made me feel like shit,” I confess.
She sits up and I can feel her staring at me. “What do you mean? What’s wrong?”
“You know what’s wrong, Naomi.” I connect my eyes with hers and she frowns.
“Because of what we’re doing?”
“Exactly that.” I rake my fingers through my hair, sitting beside her.
She chews on her bottom lip. “He will never find out, Dom.”
“Your father has been a good friend to me for years, Naomi. And you’ve been a good babysitter to me. I don’t want something to happen between us and you decide to never watch Hannah again. He’ll question it and I won’t know how to explain.”
She frowns then, sliding back. “Wait — is that all you see me as? Just the babysitter you’re fucking?”
“No! You know I don’t mean it like that. With Annie knowing what’s going on now, it’s fucking risky. What if Barry is around one day while Annie is? What if she tells him? Then what?”
“Then we’ll just make sure my dad isn’t around while she is.”
“It’s too fucking much! The secrets are killing me and there’s way too much going on right now. I look at my best friend and feel like I’m stabbing him right in the fucking back.”
She hops up. “Seriously? You’re coming to this conclusion now? You came onto me, Dominic. You wanted me, too! And this is only a secret because you’ve made it one.” Her head shakes as she steps away. “You know what? You’re right. I’m just the babysitter, so let’s keep it that way, yeah?” She walks over to the door where her tote bag is and picks it up.
I stand. “Naomi, seriously, come on! You know you’re not just a babysitter to me!”
“Yeah, I’m clearly just the babysitter you fuck to get a load off.” She snatches the door open but before she steps out, she says, “And by the way, even if something were to happen that would put us in a bad place, I would never stop showing up for Hannah.”
The door slams right in my face before I can get to her. I pull it open but she’s so fast, already inside her car and cranking it up.
“Naomi!” I shout, rushing down the brick pathway. Her headlights turn on and she backs out of the driveway before I can meet up to her car.
She doesn’t even stop to look at me. She puts the car in gear and hauls ass, leaving me standing in the middle of my yard like a fucking idiot.
Chapter Twelve
Naomi
It’s been awkward between us. For five days straight, I’ve been doing my best to limit our time. His words hit me like bullets that day and I couldn’t stand to hear any of it, even though all of what he said was true.
It was getting risky. Complicated.
When this first started, it was easy and fun.
Now it just feels too real, too deep. Like he said, it’s too much. He is still my dad’s best friend. He is still Dominic Thomas, a man who is older, smarter, and has a lot more to lose than I do.
During those five days, I would show up a few minutes before he had to leave for work, just so there wouldn’t be much time for him to talk to me. If there was one thing I know, it’s that he hates being late for work.
When he got home, I would make sure Hannah was asleep and then leave as soon as he walked through the door.
He’s tried to stop me, but I never stopped. Talking to him would only make me cry and I didn’t want to cry.
Lately, I’ve been so emotional, and maybe it’s the birth control or maybe I just really, really care about him, but either way I fucking hate it.
I hate how I feel. I hate when I want to be so close to him, but have to stay put in my bedroom because I feel like he doesn’t want me.
The next morning, I’m hanging over the toilet, vomiting my insides out. I dry heave several times, clutching the porcelain, praying hard that it’ll pass soon.
I push off the bowl and stand, looking into the mirror.
My face is pale and I feel so weak. I hope it isn’t a stomach bug. I walk to my bedroom for my cellphone, about to text Julia and ask her what the hell she put in that chicken salad she made last night, but then something hits me.
My
eyes grow wide, my heart slamming in my chest.
I lower my phone and stare at the mirror across from me, looking myself up and down.
No. It can’t be. There’s no fucking way.
I dress quickly and dash for my satchel, tossing it over my shoulder and rushing down the stairs.
“What’s the rush, Omi?” Dad calls before I can get out the door.
“I have to pick up something for Hannah and I’m running late.” My lie is so quick and easy that I cringe. I hate lying to Dad. Sometimes he can see right through me.
Fortunately, this time, he doesn’t. “Oh, well go ahead. Be safe!”
“I will!” I’m out of the door before my words can escape. I crank my car up and race to the pharmacy. After my purchase, I hurry to their public bathroom and into one of the stalls.
I tear open the foil and squat over the toilet, peeing on the stick.
I wait.
And wait.
And wait a little longer, until finally something appears.
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
Chapter Thirteen
Naomi
I knock on Dom’s door, my heart banging inside my ribcage like a drum. I can hardly breathe — can hardly think.
The door swings open and Dom appears, looking down at me. His eyes are bright and relieved, like he’s glad to see me.
“Naomi, what’s up? What are you doing here?”
“I-I need to talk to you about something.”
He frowns a little. “About what?” He steps back and lets me in. I walk past him, but then notice Annie standing there with her purse strapped on her shoulder.
“Oh, I-I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were here.”
“It’s okay. Hannah is sleeping and I’m getting ready to leave.”
I press my lips as she walks past me. “Next week I’d like to take her to the park,” she tells Dom.
“Yeah, I’ll see about that,” he mumbles, rushing her out the door. As soon as it’s shut, I toss my bag on the single recliner, dig through it for the test wrapped in toilet paper, and then turn to look at him.
He’s already turned my way, his eyes demanding answers.
“Dom,” I murmur. “I’m . . . pregnant.”
His eyes grow wide, nearly popping out of his head. He stares at me for a long time, making me shift sideways.
I take the pregnancy stick out of the toilet paper and point to the pink lines. This is no joke. This is serious.
He can only stare at it, mouth slightly ajar, shoulders tense.
“Please say something,” I plead.
“I . . . well, shit, Naomi. Pregnant?”
I nod and he drags a rough hand over his face. “Fuck, I guess I should have seen this one coming,” he laughs.
“I know it’s not what you wanted! I promise I took the Plan B and I started my pills right away! God — I’m so fucking scared! Dad is going to find out eventually and I don’t know what to say —”
“Whoa, baby, calm down.” Dom comes closer to me, holding my shoulders. Our eyes connect and I calm down, only a little.
“What are we going to do?”
“We have to tell him before he finds out himself.”
“I-I don’t think I have the courage to tell him.”
“You won’t be alone,” he sighs. “We’re going to tell him. Together.”
“Together?”
“Yes.”
“But, he’ll hate you, Dom. He may even try to hurt you. He’ll never speak to you again.”
He pulls away, looking elsewhere. “Then I guess he’ll just have to hate me or hurt me, Naomi, cause there’s no way I’m letting you raise a baby by yourself. And there’s no way in hell I’m letting you get rid of my baby either. We did this. We knew what we were doing. I won’t let you go through this alone.”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. I thought he would completely flip out and shout at me — or worse, tell me to get rid of it.
“You want to . . . keep it?”
“Fuck yes, we’re keeping it.” He wraps his arms around me, and I sink into his warm body. I love when he holds me and kisses my forehead. I feel protected. “That’s my baby in your belly. No one is taking that away from me. I’ll face my consequences, but you aren’t leaving my side.”
“He’s going to yell at me. I already know it.”
“He may do some yelling, but you are still his daughter. I know Barry. He’ll be disappointed in you for a while, but he’ll come around. You’re his little girl. You’ll need him, and you’ll definitely need your mother.”
“But what about you?”
He releases me and shrugs. “He may never come around when it comes to me, and that’s fine. I brought this on myself the day I made you mine.”
I don’t know why, but I blush way too hard. My entire body rushes with heat. “When should we tell them?” I ask.
“Tonight. The sooner, the better.”
I am freaking the fuck out. Dom pulls into our driveway, parks the car, and then looks over at me, squeezing my hand.
I mesh my lips together and look back at where Hannah is sitting. She smiles at me, and something about her tiny smile comforts me. She loves me, and if she can love me, so can my own baby.
I just don’t think I’m ready for this.
I’ve never thought about having one of my own.
Dom steps out of the car first and goes for Hannah. I follow his lead, and when he has her, I walk to the door, ready to get this over with. I can hear my pulse whooshing in my ears, my hands all sticky and sweaty.
Dad is going to kill me.
I unlock the door with my key and the TV is on. And there he is, sitting in his favorite recliner. He’s got a beer in his hand, which is a good thing sometimes. When he drinks, he’s much more lenient than when he’s sober.
“Oh, hey, Omi. Back already?” He looks behind me, at Dom following my trail. Dad stands up when he sees Dom and Hannah, his face confused. “What’s up, Dom? What are you doing here?”
When Dad comes closer, I forget how tall and buff he actually is. Mom steps around the corner with an apron on. “Naomi? I thought you were going to hang out with Julia today.”
I shake my head. “Mom, you should come and sit.” She frowns but doesn’t hesitate. She sits down on the loveseat with a perplexed expression.
“Dad, you should sit too. Dom and I have something we need to talk to you guys about.”
“Well, what is it?” Dad asks. “Is something wrong with Hannah? Wait — is he firing you?”
He glowers at Dom.
“No, Dad! It’s not like that! Just sit please, and promise you’ll be calm when we tell you.”
Dad is caught off guard by my demand. Warily, he steps back, and takes the seat right beside Mom.
“What is this about, sweetie?” Mom asks, blinking quickly.
I glance over at Dom who comes closer to me, Hannah still in one arm. He uses his free hand to grab mine and as soon as he does, Mom and Dad’s eyes drop down to our hands. Mom’s jaw drops, but Dad’s eyebrows stitch together and his mouth forms into a solid line.
“What the fuck is going on here, Dom?” he booms, and shoots to a stand. I can tell he wants to attack Dom before he can even get answers, but with Hannah in his arms, he won’t do it.
“Barry, you know we are good friends, all right? You’re my best friend and you’ve always been good to me. You and Cathy.” He looks at Mom who, I believe, already knows what he’s about to say. “But your daughter is pregnant, and she’s pregnant with my baby.”
There is a thick, uncomfortable silence that hits us hard. The house is so quiet, I can hear the dryer running past the kitchen.
“I will fucking kill you, Dom!” Dad roars. I flinch as he starts to come for us, but Mom jumps in his way, and forces him back.
“Stop it, Barry!” she shouts.
“I know this looks bad,” Dom continues. “There is no explanation for what I did with Naomi. After Annie left, shit just got hard and
everything became unclear. But the only thing that was clear to me was Naomi, and how she was helping me get through the hard times with Hannah. She was there for me and I relied on her more than I thought I would. She took better care of me than Annie ever did. We did things, yeah, and I regretted it at first because of our friendship. I value our friendship so much, but I don’t regret falling in love with your daughter, B. She saved me. She took care of Hannah. She had my back. She was there for me, and I’m never going to forget that.”
Dad’s seething comes to a stop. We are all caught off guard.
I look up at Dom. “You’re in love with me?” I ask, voice soft.
“Yes, I’m in love with you. That’s why I’m here. That’s why I don’t want you going through this alone.”
“Oh, sweetie.” Mom steps closer to me, holding my face in her hands. Tears immediately burn my eyes when she does. “Why didn’t you just come to me, honey? You know you can talk to me about anything.”
“I was ashamed, Mom. He’s Dad’s best friend and he’s your friend too. I didn’t want it to ruin things. But, Dad,” I say, looking over her shoulder, “…this was my choice too. He didn’t force me to do anything with him. It was mutual, so you can’t be angry with him. It just . . . happened. Things happen.”
Dad glares at me, but even harder at Dom. He steps around Mom and charges toward us.
“Dad!” I scream, but it’s too late. Dad is in front of Dom in a flash, his fist in the air, coming down hard and slamming into Dom’s face.
Dom stumbles back, holding his now bloody mouth. Mom and me gasp, our eyes wide. I take a big step away, holding onto Hannah, pressing her forehead to my shoulder so she doesn’t see her daddy bleeding.
Dom picks his head up, looking at Dad.
“I don’t give a damn if it was mutual or if you were both on acid! It was fucked up, Dom, and you know it!” Dad turns around and storms out of the living room, stomping through the kitchen and knocking one of the stools at the counter over.
Dirty Little Quickies Page 21