“They get home at three.” I watch him strip down, and his cock springs free.
“Good. We have all day.” He fists his cock, giving it a few rough jerks.
“How will we fill the time?” I ask him, taking off my shirt now.
“Oh, we’ll think of something.” He meets me on the bed.
And do we ever. We find ways to fill the time in the bed, on the kitchen counter, on the kitchen table, and finally, in the shower.
The rest of the week goes off without a hitch. Austin runs home and brings back some suits, since he doesn’t have to leave at five a.m. anymore.
Now, here we are on Sunday morning, getting ready for my parents to come over for brunch, when Kaleigh and Noah walk in.
Another thing that has changed is that she is never home anymore. She comes to get the kids off the bus in the afternoons, but when it’s time for dinner, she leaves. I’ve never seen her looking happier. Except this morning, she looks a little pale, with circles under her eyes.
“Are you okay?” I ask her while readying the roast for the oven. I set the alarm to make sure we put it in on time.
“I just feel tired, and I think I caught a bug.” She sits on the stool at the counter.
She is beautiful, her hair curled at the ends, in tight blue jeans and a pink long-sleeved sweater that’s tight at the top and flares out at the bottom.
“She was up all night barfing. You know it’s love when you get someone water while they are yacking,” Noah says, grabbing a coffee cup and filling it up.
“That is really nice of you, pal,” Austin comments from his side of the counter while he looks at them. Both Austin and Noah are dressed down in jeans and button-down shirts.
“I can do a lot of things. I just can’t do the whole vomit thing. But I was proud of myself.” He reaches over and rubs Kaleigh’s head.
We don’t have a chance to say anything before we hear my mother. “Knock, knock, knock!” she calls out before walking into the house.
“Mom, it defeats the purpose if you just walk in,” Kaleigh says. “What if we were all naked?”
My mother gasps. “It’s noon, why would you be naked at noon?”
“Oh, dear God,” I say under my breath. The kids come barreling downstairs, yelling for grandma and grandpa.
“Hey, Austin,” my father greets him, hitting him on the back. “How are you, son? Should we be expecting any penises today?” He laughs as he goes to Kaleigh to give her a side hug.
“Kaleigh, you look like death,” my mother remarks while she comes to hug her and then me. “Austin, it’s good to see you, without, you know.” She motions her hands into the shape of a penis in the air.
“That was a fun time,” Noah says into his cup, smiling, while Austin and I just glare at him.
“I don’t feel good.” Kaleigh gets up to go to the bathroom.
“What can I do to help?” My mother comes into the kitchen and opens the oven to check out the roast. “That looks delish.”
“I made it,” Noah pops up, winking at my mom while she blushes.
“Yeah, right,” Austin says. “Come on and help me set the table.” He orders Noah as he grabs the tablecloth and shows him where the plates are.
When they are out of the room, my mother and father both look at me, but it’s my mother who speaks first. “He really knows his way around the house.”
“Um, yeah, he usually stays for dinner.” I don’t make eye contact while I move around the kitchen, looking for nothing in particular.
“Does he do this every night?” my father asks, sitting down.
“Most nights, yes.” I put the cloth that I have in my hands down. “I like him. A lot.”
He nods his head, while my mother clasps her hands together. “You love him?”
“Um, yes. Yes, I do,” I finally admit. “I’m happy. Like really happy. So, please, let’s just drop the third degree.”
“My lips are sealed.” She pretends to zip her lips shut. “Is he good in bed?”
“Mom!” I exclaim at the same time my dad warns, “Dede.”
She looks at both of us. “Oh, please, she is in the peak of her life. She should be having sex daily.” She shrugs. “I read it in Cosmo.”
“Oh, dear God,” I say again just louder.
“There is a quiz you can take to show you what kind of lover Austin will be.”
“What?” I ask the same time Austin and Noah come back into the kitchen.
“It asks you questions.” She looks at Austin. “Are you a selfish lover?”
Noah snickers behind Austin, while Austin’s face turns from white to red. “Um…”
“Don’t answer that,” I tell him.
“Do you wait for her to go first, or do you just think of yourself?” my mother continues, actually trying to recall the questions in the survey.
Austin just stands there like a deer caught in headlights. “Um...”
“Well, that isn’t good if you have to think about it. I’ll send you the quiz, too. You can both take it and see.”
“Can you send it to me, too?” Noah asks, grabbing a grape from the fruit bowl. “Frank, did you take this quiz?” He turns to my father.
“Don’t need to. I’m a bull in the sack,” My father deadpans, fist pumping in the air.
“Gross, I think I’m going to be sick.” I put my hand on my stomach.
“Maybe you caught Kaleigh’s bug.” My mother is not catching on.
“I think lunch is ready.” Austin heads to the stove at the same time Kaleigh comes back into the room. “Kaleigh, we made you some tofu stuff that Lauren found in the freezer. I made sure to put it in another pan.”
“Awww, so you forgive me for tricking you into drinking breast milk?” she asks him with a smile.
I grab the side dishes that have been warming in the oven with the roast, while Austin grabs the roast. My father grabs drinks from the fridge, and my mother calls the kids. Noah walks over to the wine fridge, grabbing two bottles.
We make our way to the dining room. Gabe runs in, while Austin puts the roast down. Rachel comes into the room banging two white things together. “Tap, tap, tap!” she shouts. “Click, click, click.”
“What is that?” I look at the white sticks in her hand.
“They’re drum sticks. I found them in the bathroom.” She is still tapping them together. “Like a wand. Bippity boppity bo.”
“Oh my God,” I hear Kaleigh whisper as my mother grabs one of the sticks from Rachel’s hand.
“Oh my god.” She looks at me. “You’re pregnant!” She sits down at the table.
My head snaps back and I grab the other stick from Rachel. Sure enough, it’s another positive pregnancy test.
I look at Austin, who has gone paler than a ghost. “Lauren?” he questions, holding the table with one hand, while he looks like he is going to fall over.
“You have to marry her,” my mother announces with tears in her eyes. “A child out of wedlock is a no-no.” She shakes her head no over and over again
“Lauren,” I hear Austin again, this time his voice quivering.
I look around the faces at the table. My heart beating fast in my ears, my throat going dry, my palms getting sweaty.
“It’s mine,” I hear from Kaleigh, who then looks at Noah. “I’m pregnant.”
Noah places the bottles of wine on the table. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, I’m pregnant,” Kaleigh repeats, throwing her hands in the air.
“But… but… but,” Noah stutters.
“This is worse than Lauren being pregnant,” My mother groans with tears running down her face.
“Mom,” I snap at her, walking over to Kaleigh and hugging her. “It’s going to be okay,” I whisper in her ear.
“Holy shit,” Austin breathes, finally sitting down.
Noah walks over to us, grabbing Kaleigh’s face in both his hands. “I love you. So, so much. More than I love me.” He smiles at her and rubs away the tear
s that are rolling down her cheeks. “Marry me? Be my wife?”
“Are you sure?” Kaleigh asks him while she puts her hands on his.
“More sure than anything I’ve ever done in my whole life.” He pulls her close to him.
“Yes,” she agrees right before her hands leave his and she throws them around his neck, kissing him.
“This is wonderful,” my mother squeals. “Frank, we are planning a wedding.”
“Great!” My father looks at Austin. “Open that wine.”
“I’m getting married!” Kaleigh shouts.
“Um,” Noah murmurs as we all turn to look at him. “I just need to get divorced first.”
Epilogue
LAUREN
My heels click on the cement pavement as I walk down the street. I’m going to meet Austin at his ‘new adventure,’ as he calls it. Kaleigh was supposed to come with me, but the baby is throwing up, so she opted out of it.
It’s been over a year since he smashed into my car. One year of pure happiness, really; well, minus that week I kicked him out after he bought both kids a drum set. That they played together. We also made the decision that we should keep it at his house, for when we go there.
The cream peep-toe slingback shoes I’m wearing are starting to pinch my feet, but they were the only shoes I had that go with this outfit. I’m wearing a baby pink high-waisted pencil skirt that stops at the knee and a long-sleeved, lace turtleneck crop top to match. My hair is pinned up in a bun at the base of my neck. To show off the lace back, a gold zipper is holding it together.
I make my way up the stairs to the address he gave me. I check my phone and make sure I’m in the right place. Once I confirm that I am, I pull open the huge mahogany door.
Opening the door, I step inside and stop. The whole room is filled with white candles, accentuating the dark mahogany color of the interior. The thick bar sits in the middle of the room, open on both sides. Bouquets of white roses fill all four corners of it. Three crystal chandeliers hang above the bar. Shimmering pieces of crystal drip down from it, looking like diamonds falling.
The whole place has low tables, all with white roses in the center and candles around them. The flickering candlelight throughout the bar casts a dim yellow glow through the space. There, standing in the middle of the room, leaning against the bar, is my man. Dressed in one of his black suits, this one with a slight sheen to it. One arm cocked on the bar, with his feet crossed in front of him. “Hey there, beautiful,” he says, coming to meet me.
“What is this?” I look around, noticing that no one else is here.
“You look fantastic.” He moves down to kiss my neck.
“You look pretty fantastic yourself.” I hold onto his jacket lapels. “What is this?”
“This,” he tells me, “is my new adventure called Crazy Days. It’s mine and John’s and Noah’s. God forbid, we leave him out.”
“So, this is all yours?” I look around to see that it is very him. Dark mahogany everywhere, low tables, elegant.
“It’s ours,” he says as I see his hands fidget at his sides. “I sold my house.” He rubs them together. “I’m never there. It was silly to keep it. But…” His voice trails off.
“But?” I walk to him and take his hand, which is cold in mine. “What is going on?” I kiss his hand to try and make him feel better.
“I want us to buy a house together. I want us to have something together that is just ours,” he whispers and then lifts our hands to kiss mine.
“Okay,” I tell him.
“Okay? Just like that, okay?” He is surprised by my answer.
“Honey, we live together. We haven’t spent a night apart in a year.” I smile at him, while he looks down at me. “I would like to stay in the same neighborhood for the kids and school, but yeah, just like that.”
He smiles at me, his eyes lighting up. “That was easy.” He drops to one knee in front of me. The hand that he isn’t holding moves to cover my mouth, and the purse that was in it falls to the floor. “The day I ran into you changed my life. You came into the office with all that sass, and you almost killed me. Twice.” He laughs, his eyes never leaving mine, while I smile at the memory.
“Oh, please, how was I to know you were allergic to that powder?” I roll my eyes at him. “I saw the pictures. It wasn’t that bad.”
He just glares at me, obviously disagreeing. “Needless to say, I fell in love with you. I fell in love with Gabe and Rachel, and even Kaleigh.” continues, “I want us to be together forever. I want to wake up every morning and see my ring on your finger. I want to go out and hold your hand for everyone to know that you’re mine.” He shakes his head. “I know it sounds silly, but my ring on your finger, the world knowing that you’re all mine, it’s important to me.”
The tear that I blinked back now makes its way down my cheek. “You want me to be yours?” I ask him as he nods his head yes. “Good, because I want you to be mine. I want to see my ring on your finger every morning. I want to see my ring glisten in the sun when you drink coffee at work. I want to see my ring on your finger when we go to hockey games and the other moms all drool over you.” I smile at him. “So, I guess that would be a yes. Yes, I’ll be yours. I’ll be your wife. I’ll be yours forever.” I tell him and in one second, he is off his knee and twirling me in his arms. I laugh out loud while I wrap my arms around his neck, my head leaning against his. He stops and puts me down, taking a blue ring box from his pocket. When he opens the box, the round diamond solitaire sparkles in the candlelight. He grabs my left hand, slipping the ring on my finger. It is a perfect fit.
“She said yes!” he calls out, and I laugh at him before, seemingly out of nowhere, Gabe and Rachel run to us, followed by my mother and father. Noah, Kaleigh, Barbara, and all of our closest friends and family follow them.
I hear congratulations being shouted out while a waiter comes around with glasses of champagne. Austin makes his way back to me with Gabe next to him and Rachel holding his hand, and he raises his glass to toast. “Thank you, everyone, for coming. I would like to toast to my future wife, and to Gabe and Rachel for giving me their permission. Cheers.”
“To tempting the boss,” I say as I raise my glass with a smile for the man who started off as my boss and ended up being the man of my dreams. He leans down and kisses my lips, sealing the deal.
And they lived happily ever after.
About The Author
When her nose isn’t buried in a book, or her fingers flying across a keyboard writing, she’s in the kitchen creating gourmet meals. You can find her, in four inch heels no less, in the car chauffeuring kids, or possibly with her husband scheduling his business trips. It’s a good thing her characters do what she says, because even her Labrador doesn’t listen to her...
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HELL AND BACK
PROLOGUE
Walking into the bare room, I look around. A small dresser with three drawers sits up against the plain white wall.
A couple of shorts, shirts, and some socks fill the drawers, but most are empty. The small toddler bed lies in the middle of the room.
Two nails hold up a dusty sheet in the window to block out the light. It used to be navy, but the years of wear have turned it to baby blue.
I look down at my three-year-old daughter curled up into a small ball. Almost like she is guarding or protecting herself from whatever evil is lurking around us. She’s seen enough blackness in her three years to last a lifetime.
She cried enough tears and heard enough sobs to fill twenty years’ worth of scary movies.
When the doctor placed her on my chest I vowed to love and protect her, but I’ve failed her. I’ve failed myself. But no more. From that fateful day I
vowed to right all the wrongs I did to her.
I’ve escaped the horror we’ve endured. The bruises are starting to fade. The black and blues have now turned into a greenish yellow.
The scars will fade, too, but the terror, the memories…nothing will erase them.
I wake my girl up and grab her from her bed. “Momma, we habe to leabe again?”
“No, baby, I just want to show you the stars outside.” I tuck her into my chest and make my way to the porch.
No one knows about this one-story house my grandmother left me. Which is why we are safe. For now.
The yard is overcome with weeds. Something I plan to rectify tomorrow. We’ve been here for the last seven days, staying inside. Trying not to bring attention to us. I’ve done my best not to be too jumpy, but every time I hear a car door slam shut, I hold my breath, hoping no one is coming up the steps that lead to the front door.
We haven’t even opened the windows. It is almost like we’re shuttering ourselves inside this temporary safe haven as if we don’t even exist.
Opening up the screen door, the rusty springs make a loud squeaking noise in the dead of the night. Trying not to make it slam shut, I hold the handle till it shuts softly.
The sounds outside are quiet. Serene. No car sounds, no horns honking, no rushing, just crickets. I settle into the swing I know my grandfather hung to make sure my grandmother had somewhere she could sit and watch the stars.
For thirty-seven years, they did it all together until death came and took my grandfather in his sleep. Ten years later, he came and rescued her from the pain of ALS. Her knitting, cooking, cleaning, gardening, baking all came to a halt the minute her hands shook so badly she couldn’t hold not even a fork to feed herself.
Settling myself into the swing, I fold one foot under me, pushing off with the other one.
“So many stars, Momma.” My brown-eyed girl looks up, pointing to what looks like a million twinkling lights in the sky.
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