Reunited

by Jodi Kae

  ~Livvy~

  “Hey, Buddy, you comin’ and bringing your girl?”

  “I’m on my way but not with my girl. She bailed.”

  “Well, I’m at the docks already and have four beach bunnies to help you take your mind off of your devastated ego.”

  “I’m not sure that will do it, but I’m on my way.”

  Boating is fun, although my mind is still on Livvy. Three of the girls keep flirting, trying to get my attention with no luck because I’m just not interested. I am nice but just not flirting back. Maybe I should. Maybe I should just take one of them below deck to the cuddy cabin to get my mind off of Livvy; maybe all three. Shit! Why does that feel like a betrayal? She’s the one who left without saying anything or leaving a note. My mind keeps playing through the night, trying to discover anything that would have offended or scared her, but she was right there with me. We were both fully invested in what we were doing. She didn’t seem like the type to use a guy and walk away, especially to just get rid of her virginity.

  “Helllooooo. Earth to Play Boy.”

  I blink and my brain comes back online. “Oh, sorry. What’s up?”

  “These lovely ladies were asking if we would like to come back to their place for a barbecue.”

  I would rather sit on the beach by the boardwalk and look like a sap, hoping she might go there again. I have five days left in Miami and I’m afraid I will spend the rest of my vacation searching for her in the crowds. What the hell is wrong with me? I have never acted like this over a woman before. I have never let myself want or need anyone. Why her? Why did I leave this morning without waking her up to tell her I would be right back? In a country with millions of people, how will I find the one perfect woman I’ve lost? “Yeah, a barbecue sounds nice,” I say resigned.

  ~Livvy~

  The flight home was uneventful. John and I avoided each other like the plague. A clean break is what I call it and I don’t regret anything that took place, other than not having some kind of closure with Alexander. Not knowing is what drives a person crazy. Did I leave too soon? Did he leave with the thought of not coming back? Did he come back? I wish I had asked for his full name or where he lived. Does he live in Miami? If I go back there someday soon, will I see him?

  My flight lands and I have to call my mother to pick me up because John didn’t even look my way. I guess having my virginity meant more to him than it did to me. I smile at the memory it brings.

  “What are you so happy about?”

  My mother is a very unhappy woman. Since my sperm donor father left her, she is never happy, so that basically meant my entire childhood. She is always so suspicious when I’m happy and makes accusations about why. “Nothing, Mother, John and I broke up, though.”

  “Why, did you sleep with him and now he’s had enough of you?”

  Most people would be offended by that comment, but I have lived with her snide remarks my whole life. “No, I didn’t sleep with him, but that is why he left me on the beach in Miami and then threw my suitcase in the trash bin before I could retrieve it.”

  “See, I told you; this is how all men are. You’re better off without them.”

  How does this woman make it from day to day with such a chip on her shoulder? How did I survive my childhood without turning into the cynical, pessimistic person she is? Are we not products of our environment, or do genes play a role? If so, maybe I got the only good genes my father had. The rest of the ride is spent in silence. I will never tell her of Alexander because I would never hear the end of it. I just don’t understand why things turned out the way they did when the night was so perfect; he said the perfect things and did the perfect things, he is the perfect guy. Hopefully going back to work on Monday will reset me and all will be right in my world.

  ~Savage~

  For the last five days of vacation in Miami, Tag wanted to kick my ass. I went to the beach boardwalk several times a day. Begged the vendor I watched her buy a dress from to give me any information, to no avail. I didn’t even have a picture of her to show people and ask, “Have you seen this woman?” I have resorted to being the crazy stalker that Tag accused me of being that first day. I just don’t understand what happened and that is driving me crazy. It kills me to think that maybe she thinks I left her with no possibility of coming back. What if she thinks I used her for sex? My God, she was an innocent. How horrible it must be to feel like you wasted your virginity on the wrong guy, or to feel like you were used. I’m pretty sure that is what her stupid ex-boyfriend was threatening her with and she walked away from him and right into my arms. Was I the rebound guy? That doesn’t make me feel any better either. It sucks to be the guy who won the lottery but couldn’t hang onto the winnings.

  Chapter Seven

  Search:

  *try to find something by looking or otherwise seeking carefully and thoroughly. *examine a place, vehicle, or person thoroughly in order to find something or someone. *look for information in a database or the World Wide Web using a search engine.

  ~Livvy~

  Tears roll down my face as I stare in shock at the two little pink lines. How could this be? How does this happen? Well, I know how, but why to me? Of all the people in the world that have a one-night stand, how many of them end up pregnant? What are the odds of a one night stand ending in pregnancy? Probably less than ending up with an STD.

  I don’t know how I’m going to tell my mom. What will she think? She will think I lied to her about John and when I tell her the truth, she will think I’m a slut.

  “Come on, Livvy. It’s not the end of the world. Women have babies all the time without the help of the father.”

  Liz, my co-worker and best friend at the bar where I work, looks at me with pity even though her words suggest the opposite. “That may be true, Liz, but most people actually know more about the father of their baby. I don’t even know Alexander’s last name, career or location; good hell, that makes me sound so bad. I don’t have time for a baby, Liz. I take two classes in the morning and two at night, three days a week. I work here after closing until 2:00 a.m. four nights a week and that’s just to pay for books and tuition at Georgia State. When do I have time for a baby let alone have the means to be able to pay for one?”

  “Won’t your mom help you out? Plus, George said next month, on your twenty-first birthday he will start training you to be a bartender. The money will come rolling in so you can afford to take classes during the day and work at night.”

  “So when would I have time for a baby? My mom won’t help me. She is going to kick me out. Oh God, Liz, what am I going to do?”

  “We will all help where we can, Livvy. We can call him or her our Bar Baby. All of us will just share responsibilities.”

  She laughs like she thinks that idea is funny, but I’m pretty sure she is serious. I am in so much trouble. I have been looking forward to bartending so I can make more money, but not for the purpose of raising a child on my own. Sky blue eyes and soft dark hair flash in my mind and I know that I am keeping his baby. Maybe one day I will run into the mysterious Alexander and we can have a happy reunion. Ha, like that will ever happen. My luck doesn’t run that way.

  That night, I lay on my bed with my laptop and search the name “Alexander.” The first thing that pops up is information on Alexander the Great. There are pictures, paintings, statues and many actors who played Alexander the Great. I must have scrolled through hundreds of pictures just hoping that maybe he had once been on the news or in a magazine and I would finally find him. I don’t even know where he lives, or I would probably search the phone book for all of the Alexander’s in there. I even thought about going back to Miami Beach Boardwalk and looking for him or his friend Tag. With nothing new to find, I close my computer and close my eyes. How long will it be before I start to show? Should I wait until then to tell my mom? Definitely yes!

  ~Savage~

  Being back to work hasn’t calmed my obsession any. Everyday for weeks I have scanned numerous da
tabases searching for the name Livvy in Miami to no avail. How hard can it be to find one perfect blonde woman named Livvy? Apparently, it’s pretty damn hard. “Dammit, Jax, why can’t we do a more extensive search in the database?”

  “Listen, Mate. I’m starting to worry about you. You have an obsession that is starting to affect your work. We have already searched arrest records and come up empty. You stared at the computer for weeks, just looking for that familiar face. Why don’t you come to the club with me tonight and blow off some steam? One of my subs has a multiple person fantasy; you can assist. I’m not saying you have to get sexually involved if you don’t want to, but it’s discreet and up to you.”

  “Sure.” Maybe if I go, I can quit obsessing over finding her. Jax said it doesn’t have to be sexual, but everything about that club he frequents is sexual in one way or another. I just know I have to do something to take my mind off of the one that got away.

  ~Livvy~

  Six months pregnant

  “So are you going to tell your mom tonight?”

  Liz still looks at me with pity when we discuss anything about my mom. “I think I have to. These baggy shirts aren’t hiding much anymore. My only saving grace has been that I go to school before she wakes up and she’s usually in bed before I get home from George’s Bar. I have chickened out every time I get up the nerve and I know I’m just delaying the inevitable, but I’m scared anyway.” I have been bartending since I was three months pregnant and trying to save up every penny I can. I’m hoping to decrease my hours to part time at George's when the baby comes. Having a cute belly has worked to my financial benefit. People feel sorry for me and tip more, plus my adorable baby belly keeps any and all suitors away. The $10 ring I wear on my left finger helps a lot too.

  “Well, you know if things go bad, George said you could stay in the studio upstairs until we move locations in a year.”

  “Thanks, Liz. You have been a Godsend for me. It helps that you and George have hit it off because he listens to you more than the rest of us. Hell, if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have the best schedule, right alongside yours.”

  Liz puckers her lips, leans down to my belly, and places her hands on both sides of my protruding bump and talks in her baby voice to my belly button.

  “Anything for my Godchild, my wittle babè Alex. If he looks anything like his papa, that you have waxed poetic about for months and now I have wet dreams about, I need to keep you both close to beat the women away from him.”

  We both burst into laughter as George walks in and rolls his eyes.

  “Would you quit makin’ her baby hungry? If I get any more sex between her wanting a baby and the wet dreams she’s been having about your long lost love, my you know what is going to fall off.”

  “Whatever, George. That is the only reason you have kept a waddling pregnant lady behind your bar for the last four and a half months. Keeping Liz happy keeps your pecker happy.”

  “True, so true. Let’s lock up and walk you out. Let us know how Mommy Dearest takes the news, then we’ll start cleaning out the studio.”

  George and Liz have been my sounding board; they are closer to me than my own mother. At least I know I have a place to go if she kicks me out.

  George let me off a little bit early so I could get this confession over with, so I climb in my car as soon as my shift ends then drive home for a dreaded chat with my mom. My anxiety spikes as I pull in next to her car. In the back of my mind, I was hoping she would be asleep so I could avoid this chat for another day. Unfortunately, as I walk in, she is sitting at the kitchen table staring sightlessly at her bills. I give her as much money as I can after paying for school and books, but it never seems to be enough.

  “Hi, Mom, I came home a little early so we could talk. Do you have a minute?” As soon as she looks up, her eyes zero in on my protruding belly and she gasps. We haven’t seen much of each other in the last few months so I can imagine that this is a shock to her, but I didn’t expect her to burst into tears and start cursing right away.

  “Oh my God, Livvy. What have you done? Do you have any idea what this will do to us? How could you?”

  I knew this wouldn’t go over well, but now I think it would have been better to move out and then tell her. She calls me several choice names and locks herself in the bathroom.

  “Why would you do this to us?” she screams through the door.

  Unfortunately, I’m sure anyone walking by can hear her. “Mom, I didn’t do anything to you. This is my choice and my life. It doesn’t have to affect you; I’m twenty-one years old and can take care of myself. Besides, I’m not asking you for anything, I’m just telling you about the baby.

  “Doesn’t affect me! You’re damn right it will not affect me. I can’t have a screaming, crying, baby wake me up at all hours of the night. You have to leave, Livvy, and it serves you right since you spread your legs for the first guy that made your heart flutter. I warned you this would happen and you didn’t listen to me.”

  Moving into the studio didn’t take long because I don’t have much. I only took my personal belongings: laptop and books for school, clothes, shoes and jewelry. Lucky for me, there is already bedroom furniture and dishes in the kitchenette. Although very sparse, it’s clean considering it used to be George’s bachelor pad until he met and fell in love with Liz. They now live in her condo a block away from the bar.

  I do not regret that I waited to tell my mom about the baby and get kicked to the curb. The extra time has given me a chance to save some money, which I have now spent on doctors and baby furniture. George refuses to take money for rent or even electricity. He claims that the bar pays the expenses of the studio and Liz will kill him or withhold sex if he takes money from baby Alex.

  Even though I have continued to search and still have not found Alexander, my newfound family has been a blessing in our lives. My baby boy will have everything he needs and more love than he can handle. He will be smothered and protected by his Godparents, George, and Liz. Even though his biological grandmother wants nothing to do with either one of us, we will be fine.

  ~Savage~

  Nine months and thirteen days after Livvy

  It feels like a lifetime since I touched her, but her memory hasn’t faded from my mind. I still see her amber eyes as they glow in the dark when she’s aroused. I still feel her lush pink lips on mine, and I still hear her voice every night before I go to sleep, begging me to take her. I still wake up alone.

  I woke up at 2:14 a.m. with my heart racing and an empty feeling in the pit of my stomach. Something big is happening, but I don’t know what it is. As an FBI Agent, sometimes intuition can save a life; Jax and I have learned to follow ours. I roll over and dial his cell, hoping I don’t catch him in the middle of a session.

  “Jesus, Mate, what’s wrong?”

  He answers sleepily, so I guess I didn’t interrupt a session. “Intuition. Something big is going down and I can’t shake this feeling. I wanted to check on you and make sure everything is fine.”

  “Everything is good, Mate. I’m home in bed asleep, well, I was. Maybe you’re still bothered about the little girl on the compound and her mother. She is safe and in hiding now, but that was a long case so maybe it’s still effecting you.”

  One of Jax’s friends, Derek, is a private investigator. A couple that claimed their daughter was brainwashed and took their granddaughter to live in a compound of some religious cult hired him. Once Derek confirmed where the woman and her young daughter were living, he contacted the FBI to help him get them out. The compound was filled with children who didn’t have a choice or know any better because their parents either took them there or they were orphans. Being the victim of uncaring parents makes every child case hard for me.

  “No, this feels more personal, like someone I care about is suffering.”

  “Get some sleep, Mate. Maybe you should join me for a session this week.”

  Everything with Jax can be cured by control and sex.


  ~Livvy~

  “Congratulations, Livvy. You have a healthy baby boy.”

  The doctor leans down and places a dark haired, light blue-eyed, piece of heaven into my arms. My tiny Alex weighs 7lbs. 14oz. and is 21 inches long. He has healthy lungs and a strong grip and looks just like his daddy. George and Liz stand on either side of my hospital bed staring in awe.

  “Shoot, Honey, look at him. That is our Godson.”

  George is crying and Liz is crying so now I am crying. He is so perfect and beautiful and mine. I wish Alexander was here to share him with, but I still haven’t found him, not from lack of trying.

  “See, George, see. We could have one of those if you stopped worrying about all the things that can go wrong.”

  Liz glances George’s way, but he still doesn’t look convinced that having a baby would be that easy.

  “Livvy, he is the most precious baby in the entire world. We are so honored to be his Godparents. Thank you for sharing him with us,” Liz praises me.

  I had been in labor since a little after 2:00 a.m. and although it is only 7:19 a.m. that was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It is also the most rewarding. I have decided that no matter the reason Alexander left that morning, I can’t be mad because he gave me this amazing blessing to love. I wonder if I’ll ever stop searching the crowds for him. When I save some money, I will take my baby to Miami Beach boardwalk and tell him a love story of how his mommy and daddy met.

  Chapter Eight

  Intuition:

  *a thing that one knows or considers likely from instinctive feeling rather than conscious reasoning.

  ~Savage~

  It has been almost three months since the last gut instinct jerked me awake, causing me to call Jax in the middle of the night to make sure things were good. Now I just keep the panic to myself or Jax will try to drag me to The X Club for a session hoping that it will clear my head. He has tried to convince me to see a therapist about my obsession since my most recent vacation was spent in Miami on the boardwalk one year to the day that I found and lost her. He would probably try to have me committed if I told him of my latest investment in Miami, so I will just keep that to myself.