Icily he hissed. “What do you want Jenna?”
“We...I...” she was struggling to keep composed. “I thought we agreed on talking over the situation this evening?”
“No, not as I recall. Now if you’ll excuse us we’ve plans.” They took the three steps to his door; he inserted the key, and was pushing the door open when Jenna screamed.
“CHAD! Wait. You don’t want to do this.”
“Oh trust me, I definitely do...” chuckling he looked at the little pixie, and continued speaking making his meaning very clear. “I definitely want to do her, and she wants to do me. We have before and we plan to now. Good night.” He stepped into the house with his pixie, closed the door, and with a final stab to Jenna’s heart, he clicked the lock.
Frozen in place Jenna was swamped with desperation. Chad had brought women home before, but he never, ever took one into his house and so blatantly flaunted he was going to have sex. She’d overlooked Randi because she knew that Chad ultimately felt unfulfilled with her, and he always wanted and accepted Jenna into his bed. Jenna catered to his rough side, his hard edge, and he did likewise for her. He was acting like she meant nothing to him. She was pregnant with his child, and she told him she loved him, she needed him, and they could be a family. This baby was his. She had a plan!
Tears ran from her eyes and she hurried back to her house. How could he be so cruel to her? Maybe if she called him, or sent him a text he’d realize he was just scared. Scared to love her and frightened of being a dad. Quickly she tapped a message to him on her cell:
Luv u, need u, plz stop. Our baby!
Would he answer? She waited, and in a few seconds she got her answer when her phone rang it was Chad. Quickly she answered, but before she could speak he whispered.” Stop Jenna. Now! There is no us, we will talk tomorrow,” and a low growl escaped his mouth. She knew instantly that in his arrogance he had called her just as things were heating up next door. “Leave me alone.” Click. Conversation over.
Jenna went upstairs and lay across Luke’s bed. She rolled over onto her back, and stared unfocused at the ceiling. Flashes of Chad danced in her head as she remembered him making love to her on this very bed just a day ago. He’d told her they’d talk tomorrow. Perhaps she could forgive him this one bad decision. After all, he never got angry with her when he knew she was coming home to her husband, and that Luke would want and get sex from her. Luke was her husband, and he’d expect to have sex with his wife. But what if Chad really meant what he said and this baby had ruined what they had? Maybe she should get rid of it while there was time. She wasn’t that far along, and Luke didn’t know. Pushing her head back into the pillow she let out a long, loud moan. She needed a backup plan and fast. Glancing at the clock it was after 2am.
Grabbing her cell she decided to send off one more text message. This one should salvage her marriage, give Chad some time to come to his senses, and rid her of Randi Shaw from their lives.
~~**~~
Luke’s cell quietly vibrated on the nightstand. Silently it beckoned, but its call was lost in the dark.
Daylight had slipped quietly into the arms of darkness and this dance of time was repeated over, and over again. Relationships are in turmoil. The good hearts are heavy with hurt, but strong with resolve. The evil hearts are cold and seething, but determined.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Randi couldn’t sleep. Even the soothing melody of the waves hadn’t carried her into slumber. She kept thinking about Luke, and wondering what it would feel like to be wrapped in his arms, and feel his warmth against her body. Rolling onto her side, she blew out an exasperated sigh, and decided she just needed to go out her bedroom door onto the deck. Fresh air might clear her mind and help her to relax. Certainly laying where she was only magnified she’d been without sex for way to many weeks. Pushing herself up off the bed, she decided her current attire of white cotton shorty bottoms and a black cami top, was fine since she was just outside her own bedroom on her own deck.
As she exited onto the deck she leaned next to the railing, inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly, and was awestruck at the beauty of the full moon sparkling on the ocean water. Off to her right a low male voice gently cooed. “I guess you can’t sleep either.” Startled, Randi jumped and squeaked in alarm at the same time.
“Shit, Luke you scared me to death. What are you doing lurking out here?” She could see his form, but couldn’t see him in every detail. However, she was bathed in moonlight and little else.
Luke had to steady himself because the sight of Randi in her skimpy pj’s, and drenched by the moonlight was breathtaking. He could see the outline of her breasts, and her long legs, all of which sent a pulsing urge to his lower body. Realizing she had just implied he was stalking her, he began to walk towards her and calmly asserted. “I think I could ask you the same thing since we’re both outside, in the dark, in the wee hours of the morning.”
“What! No. I just couldn’t settle so I wanted some fresh air.” He was getting closer, and she could see he was wearing only boxers. His muscles glistened and mesmerized her as he appeared in the moonlight.
“So maybe that’s my defense. You know, I have a door from my room onto this deck as well.”
“Oh, really? I hadn’t realized.” Her mind and her mouth were in a battle for sanity. Mentally she was wrapped in his arms, her hands roaming over his broad shoulders, and her mouth wanting to sample all of him. But the reality was her mouth was just talking stupid. “Maybe it’s a good thing we can’t sleep, or I mean that we needed some fresh air. Both of us…ur…I mean me.” OMG! Can you screw this up anymore Shaw?
“Am I making you nervous Shaw? You seem tense.” Tense didn’t even begin to explain how Luke felt. His body was buzzing with need. Randi was still a stranger to him, in that he didn’t know a lot about her, but they definitely had begun a friendship that he wanted to cultivate. From day one when he first saw her, he wanted to feel her in his arms. Kiss her, and as unfair as he was being he wanted to make love to her. She’s a fantasy, that under different circumstances, he could see being a wonderful reality.
Randi folded her arms across her body, attempting to make her body less conspicuous under the glaring moonlight, but she had very little on so her arms weren’t helping much. He was close, and she could smell him, fresh and musky, and feel his body heat. It was a struggle for her not to just grab onto him and drag him in to her room, and bed. He was married, or at least legally he is. She didn’t really know him, they were at the beginning of a friendship, but sex with him could be too much too soon. He was making her nervous, but she needed to convince him otherwise, and fast.
“I just get frustrated when I can’t sleep, and yes I admit it I couldn’t sleep. You’d think I would be able to, but lounging on the beach all day I’m sure didn’t help. We’ve just been total beach bums, which has been great. Maybe I just hate the thought of leaving and going back to the real world.”
“Ahhh… the real world. A hard truth, but we have a couple more days you know.” He could see she truly hated the thought of going home. Gently he grasped her shoulders, and when she looked up at him, he cupped her face in both his hands. “There is one thing you’ll have when you go home that you didn’t have before you know.”
Randi wanted so much for him to kiss her. Just a kiss, or maybe two, she needed that from him. Selfishly she wanted to seduce Luke Timmons. Breathlessly she panted, “What’s that?”
“Right now, this moment in time. You, me...and this.” Leaning down he softly covered her mouth with his, and tentatively stroked her lips asking for entry to deepen the kiss. A kiss that he knew could be the beginning of something he couldn’t stop, and as much as she was trying to deny him, she wanted him to kiss her. How much more she would accept he didn’t know. Maybe he was crossing a line he shouldn’t, but he’d follow her lead because for reasons he couldn’t explain, he knew they had a connection.
Giving a little whimper, and moan Randi opened her mouth to taste Luk
e’s kiss. She frantically let her hands roam over his chest, up his neck, and into his hair. This. Him. She wanted all of him. Suddenly a horrific memory flashed in her head. The lie she couldn’t share with Luke. Seeing his wife, with Chad. They’d been ready to have sex that very night, and probably would have, if Randi hadn’t interrupted them unexpectedly. As much as she wanted Luke to make love to her, she couldn’t. Not now, like this. She and Luke would be no better than Chad and Jenna.
Pushing back away from him and breaking the kiss Randi pleaded, “Luke, Luke...stop. I can’t do this, not now.” She couldn’t look at him. Stopping was not what she wanted, but she couldn’t be with him. So many things were unfinished, especially for him. They were both vulnerable right now, on this deck in the dark, under the glow of soft moonlight.
He wrapped her in his arms resting his chin on her head, and slowly regained control of his breathing. Her good sense was able to put on the brakes and as much as he wanted her, he knew deep down that she’d done the right thing. As he continued to hold her he lovingly whispered, “You’re right. I’ve got a lot of personal things to work through. But know this Randi Shaw, I will never regret this moment. I would kiss you over again in a heartbeat.” Releasing her he raised her chin so that he could look into her eyes. “As I close the door on one chapter of my life I’m really hoping, that this, you and the possibility of us might be my new door. We’ll always have this week.”
“I’m sorry, I wish…”
“Shhhhh. No apologies. We need to get some sleep. David will have my ass up in a couple hours unless he and Linda decide to sleep until noon. We’re fine, this was special and I’m not sorry.” Kissing her lightly on the forehead he turned, walked back across the deck and slipped into his room.
Randi turned and did the same, but as she lay on her bed she couldn’t help but wonder how it would have been if she never made him stop. Silently, she prayed that he’d make his way back to her, but he had so many obstacles. Some he knew, and others he had yet to discover. If only she could tell him about Jenna, his wife, and Chad cheating with each other right under his nose. But, she had no solid proof. She suspected, but she had no proof. Their lie in turn made her a liar. It was like a poison slowly creeping in to undermine her new friendship with Luke. Chad and Jenna were innocent until proven guilty, and she had no proof.
~~**~~
Chad stood in his shower letting the hot water wash away the smell of sex, sweat, and his guilt. Last night he’d known Jenna would show up on his doorstep, and he had hoped that having another woman with him would make her see that what she wanted from him long term, was not an option. But, instead he felt guilt. His little pixie had worked her magic, and for several hours made him forget about Randi being who knew where with Luke. Made him forget that Jenna was carrying his child. Made him forget that his life was one mindless fuck after the next. Women offered and he accepted. Most times he never even knew a name, and very few would he bed again. His pixie had been the exception. A cab picked her up early afternoon and he’d sent her on her way.
Turning off the shower, he grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist. As he stepped into his bedroom he was shocked to see Jenna naked on his bed. He wanted to be mad, but he knew he’d hurt her. Why should he care? Maybe she was wearing him down. Maybe he should be with one woman and start a family. But Jenna? The complicated mess was that she was married already, to his neighbor. Plus, a baby was already growing inside her lush body. Walking over to stand beside the bed, Chad stared at her from head to toe. Pulling the wet towel away from his body, he sat on the edge of the bed facing her.
Licking her lips, she reached over and began to run her hand along his inner thigh. She could see his arousal slowly begin to lengthen and twitch. His steady gaze into her eyes should unnerve her, but she couldn’t help the feeling he was deep in thought. Not necessarily about sex, but something more.
Grasping her wrist to stop her from rubbing him in a hushed voice he spoke. “Jenna, for once let’s talk and not just mate like animals. Time is running out for us, and no matter how much I try to avoid it or rather you, I can’t.”
“Baby I want to talk, I want to solve this. You keep pushing me away, but when it comes right down to it I think you know I’m the woman you need. Right now I’m married to the wrong man, but you, us. We work. You have to feel that.”
Chad stretched out on the bed beside her. They were both naked, and each turned so that they faced each other. Holding hands they began to talk. Not entice each other for sex, but talk. “I don’t know if I can be with just one woman Jenna. I don’t know that I have any idea how to be a husband, or a father. Part of me wants things to stay the way they were, but the baby has changed that.”
“Chad, baby. You’ve run from me time after time. Randi I overlooked, we agreed. But last night when you brought that woman home, I was so devastated. When you called me, and I could tell by your voice she was doing things to you that only I wanted to do, I was crazed with jealously. But I knew that here,” and she placed his hand on her lower abdomen, “right here I have a part of you. Your baby in right here.”
Slowly, Chad rubbed her still flat belly. “I’ve tried to picture you a few months down the road as you swell with this child.”
“Really?” Jenna seemed shocked.
“Really. I have to tell you, it makes me smile. Knowing that you care enough for me to let this baby alter your body, and that you’re willing to commit a lifetime to love and care for…our child. I want to be that committed, but I just don’t know that I can be.”
Jenna knew the changes her body would undergo since she was pregnant once before, but a baby was a lifetime commitment. Luke constantly would tell her she was still a child, and that until she grew up, a baby was the last thing she needed. If Chad was finally willing to commit to her, and her alone, did she want a baby and have to share Chad’s attention. NO! She wanted Chad exclusively. But, how would she alter her plan now.
Placing a hand on Chad’s cheek Jenna asked the million dollar question. “Chad, if there were no baby, would we be having this conversation right now?”
Questioningly, he looked at her and tried to figure out what she was really asking. “Probably not. I told you before, I liked things the way they were, but ... what are you trying to ask me Jenna?”
Swallowing hard she asked, “Do you want me to terminate this pregnancy?”
“NO! God no! This has all been a shock, but baby nooo…this baby, our baby, I want it and I want you.” Kissing her hungrily on the lips he firmly stated, “I want you Jenna, and I want this baby. I might be screwed up, but maybe fate is turning my life around.”
Victory! Jenna had won, Chad was finally hers and her plan had worked. Wrapping her arms around him she cooed in his ear. “I love you Chad Wingert.”
Chad’s life had just shifted in ways he could never begin to imagine. Wrapped in his arms, was the woman he would try to be faithful to, and his child snuggled between their naked bodies. He’d never had an open conversation with a woman exposing his true and raw emotions, but Jenna had been loyal, and she declared her love for him more times than he could count. Once Luke came home he’d move Jenna in, and deal with the awkwardness of being neighbors later. But right now, he was throbbing for attention so he rolled Jenna onto her back and plunged into her inviting warmth.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Shades of early morning were beginning to color the horizon on the Outer Banks. Randi knew if she wanted to get some great morning shots with her camera, she needed to be on the beach now. She quickly dressed, grabbed her camera gear, and a blanket so that she could lay on the beach. This morning, Luke had promised to take her out on the kayak for close up photos of dolphins. That is if they weren’t camera shy this morning. The house was still eerily quiet, so Randi slipped out her bedroom door and headed to the beach.
All night she drifted in and out of sleep, and every time the only thing on her mind had been Luke, and their kiss. Stopping had been the ri
ght thing to do, but she still was beating herself up over not just seducing him.
~~**~~
When Luke awoke the sun was streaming brightly into his bedroom. He knew he’d apparently slept longer than he’d planned, but he expected David to give him an early wake up call to go fishing. Reaching over to grab his cell phone off the night stand to check the time he saw the message alert. Clicking it open was a voicemail from Jenna. Not the way he wanted to start the day, but when he heard the recorded time she called he wondered if there was an emergency. Her voice was timid, and apprehensive as she spoke:
Luke, I’m sorry to call so late, but I have to tell you something, and I don’t want you to be mad at me, or at least not any madder than I think you already are. Since you’ve been away I’ve realized how much I want our marriage to work. I hate it when you’re not here. But we need to make us work…for us….for your baby. Our baby. I’m pregnant. I love you, and I’m sorry.
Luke replayed the message at least ten times, and was hoping that at some point, he’d misunderstand her words. Jenna was pregnant. Again! She was pregnant with his child? How had that been possible? They barely were together for sex, and then a sick realization overtook him. Some weeks back in the shower, he’d been thinking about Randi while he was showering. Jenna was relentless in wanting to have sex, and without thinking clearly, he’d had sex with Jenna in their shower. Not made love, it had just been sex. Luke mentally was fantasizing with Randi, but his physical partner that day was his wife. Jenna unexpectedly joined him in the shower and one thing lead to another. He had pulled out before his release erupted, but apparently his slip up had a devastating result. Overwhelmed with disgust, he went into the bathroom and threw up several times. What had he done? Another child? Was this child his? Jenna sounded sincere, and frightened. Luke quickly dressed, packed up his belongings, and sprinted up the stairs to see if David was in the kitchen. Luke had to get home. NOW. Face to face with Jenna was the only way he would get answers to the millions of questions in his head. Silently, he sent up a prayer for another baby lost to him and for a new one he’d recklessly created.
THEIR LIES, OUR LIVES Page 8