Next Door Daddy

by Amy Brent

  “I can help you. We can work on a way to tell him,” I assured her as I stepped closer. I reached out for her and she melted into my arms as I held her. “I’ll do anything you need me to.”

  “I’m doing okay, James. This is a safe pregnancy…I knew it would be. I feel healthy, and I am doing everything that I need to. Just sleeping more,” Tory tried to joke as I looked into her eyes.

  “Can I see you? Can we work something out?” I asked her as I cupped her face in my hands.

  “I’ll answer your texts, but we have to be careful,” she told me as I saw the fear in her eyes. Tory wasn’t the girl that she was before, willing to push the boundaries. Now she was soon to be a mother and scared of her future.

  I kissed her as she moaned into my mouth. I wouldn’t take it further here or ever if that’s what she wanted. I just wanted to support her and do what I could.

  My mind already moved forward to decorating one of my rooms for the baby and then I saddened as I pictured not having Tory there was well.

  We agreed to have dinner this week before I made my way back to the party and she cleaned herself up from crying with me.

  My heart was twisted as I drove home that night, not sure of what to do. I wanted Tory and the baby, but I was fearful of telling her father and losing the job I’d worked so hard for.

  CHAPTER 9

  Tory

  Seeing James broke me. I was so strong until I met his green eyes. I was staying away from him to protect him after finding out that my wish had come true.

  I’d never forget the day I took the test. I was so excited, and when I saw the positive result, I wanted to scream.

  Then reality set in, and I knew that James would lose his job for a baby that he didn’t plan. We were casual lovers, nothing more. He wouldn’t want his entire future ruined by a baby with me.

  I ignored his calls and texts as I cried alone in my bed. I played the strong woman for everyone else, pushing through my lies to my parents as Dad ranted on and on and Mom cried.

  How could their brilliant daughter be so careless? How could I slip up this way? I’d never admit that I stopped taking my birth control pills towards the end of my affair with James, wanting this until I actually had it.

  Mom was accepting of it now and even getting excited. She couldn’t wait to find out what the baby was so she could plan for it and start buying things in earnest.

  Dad was sullen, but I knew that he loved me. I tried to show him that I had this together every day as I continued about my life with a child growing inside of my stomach. I knew that he’d come through at the end, but now that I’d agreed to see James again, I couldn’t help but worry. I knew that I still had feelings for him, and I didn’t know where we’d end up.

  A big part of me hoped that I’d be in his bed soon. I was horny as hell, and my hand wasn’t enough anymore. I wasn’t about to sleep with some random guy to satisfy my needs, not with this baby inside of me. I deserved the best. I knew that sex would be hell on my emotions, but my pussy ached for him every night, and I cursed that part of pregnancy. I had a great thing with James and I hated giving it up.

  I made my way back to the party with my make-up fixed and a smile on my face. It was hard not to move towards James, towards the pull that he had on me. I just talked with everyone and played the part of the owner’s daughter. I acted excited about the baby and kept the tears at bay until I was in my room that night, alone under my covers.

  The next day I received a text. Dinner was at his house, just like before. I smiled when he asked me just what I wanted, making sure that it met his requirements for being healthy. I was obsessively healthy with this pregnancy.

  I wore a pair of capris and a t-shirt, since I was supposed to be studying with friends. It was casual on the surface, but there was a heat that filled the room as he ordered in some big salads and poured me some ice water.

  James drilled me about every aspect of the pregnancy as I answered his questions in between bites of food. He’d already done this in texts and calls and it was sweet somewhere under all of the obsessive nature of it. But hell, I was still obsessed with him.

  Yes, I was eating healthy. No, I never had any real morning sickness, which made it a bit tougher to figure out for me. It wasn’t a problem to keep going to school and I’d be taking a little time off when the baby was here. It was all planned out…without James being involved. I wasn’t losing my future in all of this and I didn’t want him to, either.

  Were my brothers pissed off? Livid, actually. I never revealed who the father was, claiming a stupid drunken night at a party so they never had a face to attach their rage to. Now they were warming up to the idea of being uncles and helping me raise the baby, which I wasn’t certain about quite yet.

  We ended that night with just a kiss, though I wanted to rip his clothes off with my bare hands. He was sexy and the way that he wanted to take care of me was more of a turn on than I ever could’ve imagined.

  The next time I was there though, I attacked him. I told him all about what the hormones did to me between hungry kisses and his fingers moved to ease my ache as his lips claimed mine. Sex had never felt so good and I begged him for it again and again, throwing us right back into the affair that we’d started.

  I rode him once I assured him that sex wouldn’t hurt the baby. He took me from behind when I wanted it rough and hard and found ways to make missionary some of the hottest sex that I’d ever had. I made the visits to his house more than once a week once I realized that I’d found the itch to my deep scratch.

  Once we found out the baby was a girl, he started shopping. I went with my mom to find out, still sticking with my secret and James cried when I called him as soon as I could to tell him.

  He made such a beautiful room for her and I snuggled close to him in bed as looked down at my growing belly. We hadn’t decided to tell my parents yet and I felt like I was living a lie, in some ways. I wanted to tell them that I was happy and falling in love with him though I was acting like I was doing this on my own. I lied every time that I was with him, telling them something about school or studying. I knew that it was affecting my grades and my life and after two months of seeing each other behind everyone’s back, I looked at him in bed one night.

  “I hate this. I want to tell them so bad, but Dad is just getting excited about her,” I told him as I rubbed my bare belly. Thanks to my hormones, I focused on sex more than talking and when we did talk, it was about the baby. We didn’t deal with anything else, staying inside of our bubble when we were together. “He’s going to kill both of us when he finds out and we won’t know our daughter at all.”

  “Baby, I can quit as a coach. I have money saved up, and I can start a business to support us,” James told me as I looked at him. “I’ll tell him. I’ll ask for your hand in marriage.”

  “He’ll kill you. We can’t tell him now.” I sighed and rested my head against his shoulder. “When did this get so complicated?”

  “It wasn’t planned,” he assured me as I looked down at the sheets.

  “I messed up with my pill. I think that I’m at fault.” I knew about his divorce and the details now, and I felt guilty, knowing what he went through with that. I didn’t know too much about it at all before the pregnancy. “I don’t want to trap you like this.”

  “I’m happy with you, Tory. I don’t mind that this happened,” James assured me as I stared at him. “I could’ve walked away once I found out about her, but I didn’t. I want to be in your life.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked as I read his expression. He was giving up everything for our daughter and me.

  “Yes. We’ll work through this.” James kissed my head as I closed my eyes. I always fell asleep here, and I was glad that my parents didn’t pay that much attention to me at night, even though they grew more concerned as the pregnancy moved forward. I was always home when they woke up in the morning.

  Around the sixth and a half month mark, they started to call me more
and more if I was out late. I felt worse lying now and I’d go home earlier, taking time away from James. I knew that he was trying to focus on the beginning of the season in a few weeks and that the team was working hard to prepare. I knew that my absence bothered him since he was as worried as my parents were behind the scenes.

  I didn’t want to be a burden and I reconsidered us telling my parents all over again, though I’d have to either way. He’d want to see his daughter whether or not we were together. James was going to be an excellent father and I’d never take that away from him.

  We started to fight as I stayed home more and more. I was getting more tired as my stomach grew and school work was dragging me down more now. I talked to James and texted him as much as I could, but he said that wasn’t enough. My hormones agreed and I made a point of going over on the weekends to try and pacify the situation.

  I wanted to make everyone happy and it was taking everything out of me. I couldn’t wait to be on a break from school and be able to focus on all of the other chaos in my life.

  CHAPTER 10

  Jame

  I was relieved when Tory agreed to see me again, not at all surprised that we began to sleep together immediately. We already had a strong pull, and she was pregnant, so it seemed natural. I didn’t want her with anyone else, and she assured me that she did not want anyone else.

  That happened after I questioned whether or not the baby was mine. Tory was pissed and threw a glass across my kitchen, reminding me not to mess with her out of balance hormones. She insisted that there was nobody but me and how could I think that there ever could be?

  She was a firecracker when mad as well as in bed, and I was falling in love with her. I let the issue of us go for a few months after we got back together to keep her relaxed, but I knew that I couldn’t do it forever. I needed to know that she and my daughter were going to be a part of my life.

  I didn’t even tell her that I loved her and she never said the words to me, though I was sure that it showed in the way that we looked at each other. It was in the way that we loved each other behind closed doors. It was in the way that I hoped out daughter looked a little more like Tory than she did me, because her mother was beautiful.

  Even the team asked me what was going on in my life. There were times that I was content and relaxed with them as well as days that I was on edge. They teased me about a new girlfriend and I was frustrated that I couldn’t tell them the truth. I couldn’t tell them anything. These were like my sons and I wanted to share my news with them, knowing that they’d be the overprotective uncles to this baby. At this rate, I wouldn’t be with her mother since we kept fighting with all of the stress hovering around the situation. It was terrible and I grew more on edge being alone in my house as I worked on a pretty pink nursery for my baby girl.

  The season started and I was busy with that, but missing Tory. She only came over on weekends since her parents were acting worried, something they had the right to when I didn’t.

  It was making me crazy and I picked up the phone one day to make some calls. I had to find a way to make Tory mine so we could be a family once and for all.

  I decided to give everyone until the upcoming holidays to drop the bomb. It would be a break for Tory and we got together for a big Thanksgiving party every year. I’d skipped it last year since my mother had come down with a serious flu that put her in the hospital, but this year I’d be home and able to go through with my plan.

  I made some calls and hung up with a grin on my face as I stared at my phone and considered calling Tory. No, this as a surprise to her as well and one that I hoped was well received.

  I had just over a month to plan and I took what Tory could give me in that time. I knew that she was stressed out and the upcoming due date wasn’t helping matters. Her parents were being overbearing and school was nothing but studying for her right now.

  I let her study at my house in the evenings, watching her on the couch one night as I went over plays. She looked beautiful with her long hair and growing belly, and I saw her glance at me. “What?”

  “I want you to move in,” I told her, nudging the subject as she stared at me.

  “How? You’re lucky that I’m here at all. I doubt that they’ll let me leave the house once she’s born.” Tory was crabby, and I reached over and took her hand.

  “Just study. We’ll worry about this later.” I assured her as she smiled at me and looked down at her book.

  She finished with all of her tests just before the middle of November, and I saw her a little more than usual. It was hard to leave her house, but Tory told her parents that she wanted to shop herself for things, even though there was a shower coming up just before Christmas. I sat back and let my plan form.

  Tory took advantage of her parent’s party planning and came by to see me more since she wasn’t allowed to help this year. She looked gorgeous even though she claimed that she was a beached whale all of the time. I disagreed.

  CHAPTER 11

  Tory

  The party was next week, and I was so glad to be done with school. I helped Mom from the couch as she planned the caterers, called the bartenders and scheduled delivery of the additional tables that we’d need. As stressed as party planning made my mom, she loved it. Nothing made her happier than keeping busy.

  I knew that she had a baby shower planned for me as well, though I’d asked for something smaller. I didn’t want it to be one of the events that they planned for the team or the extended family. That was intimate.

  I left the house when I could to see James, loving the feelings of his arms around me. He soothed me in a world that seemed so uncertain, though he didn’t bother me about moving in anymore. He just acted happy when I was there as though he didn’t want anything else and I got scared with that. My mind was mush. I didn’t know what I wanted anymore, and I grumbled about the party.

  “It’ll be fun, Tor. Lots of good food, the team. It’s tradition,” James told me as I rolled my eyes. “Maybe we can sneak off into that little room for old times’ sake.” I smacked his shoulder for that and crawled over him as I kissed him. It wasn’t easy, but we managed these days, and he seemed happy.

  Too happy.

  I managed to help Mom decorate for the party here and there, looking forward to it being over. Maybe then, James and I could sit down with them and tell them what was going on, just the four of us. I knew that there was going to be a fight afterward, and I wanted to keep it as calm and quiet as possible.

  This was so nerve-wracking for me.

  I wore a beautiful purple dress the night of the party with some black flats. It had cute cap sleeves and hugged my chest while it draped over my stomach down to my knees. I looked in the mirror after I lined my eyes with some dark liner and added some mascara. I didn’t want the bombshell effect from the party the year before since I got what I wanted, just without the man. I just wanted to be pretty because the cameras would be going off and my daughter deserved a beautiful picture of her mother before her birth.

  Then I would go cry for what I didn’t have in my life; the man that I loved but was too afraid to say the words to.

  James hadn’t told me that he loved me either, even though there had been hints about my moving in here and there and his telling me that he wanted me in my life. That was all I had and I wanted love for us. I wanted love for our daughter.

  I went downstairs when the guests started arriving and forced a smile on my glossed lips as I descended carefully down the stairs. The team was arriving and I greeted them as they passed by me on the way to the bar to grab a drink, accompanied by their cute kids and beautiful wives. I told the family members that were walking in and hugged them as they told me how beautiful I looked.

  James took my breath away when he came in, dressed in a classic suit with his hair slicked back. He shook my father’s hand and kissed my mother’s cheek before he moved to me. “Looking beautiful as always,” James told me before he leaned down and pressed his lips gently
to my cheek before moving into the house. I felt wrecked with the idea that I couldn’t join him, holding his hand and walking around with him. I imagined him here with a date and the idea killed me as I watched him smile at everyone as he chatted, looking happy and content. What was his secret?

  We sat to eat dinner and I considered myself lucky to be at the same table that he was. My father said a blessing as he always did at big meals and he teared up when he mentioned the baby and looked at me. I fought my own tears after all of the silence and stress I’d seen him go through over the last year. I glanced at James, who was smiling to himself as he raised his glass.

  Why was he so damn happy? I wiped the tears away that were more than just a reaction to my father. I wanted to stand up and scream that I was in love with James and that he was the father of my baby. I wanted them all to know.

  I was done with my plate and I pushed it away as James stood and cleared his throat. I stared at him, wondering what the hell he was up to. “I have a few things I’d like to say here.” He looked at my father and smiled. “Gary, I have been blessed to coach for your team. The guys are like my own kids but I’ve made the decision to resign and my assistant coach is happy to step up and take over for me. I have something else that I want to pursue in my life.”

  “James, what’s going on?” My father stood and looked at him with angry eyes. “Is it money?”

  “No, sir.” He stopped in front of my chair and dropped to one knee as my mouth dropped open. “I am in love with your daughter and she’s giving me a beautiful gift. The baby is mine and I want her to marry me more than anything and be a family.” I felt tears slide down my cheeks as the room reacted, but nobody stronger than my father.

  “You did this to Tory? She’s a kid, James. What the hell is wrong with you?” I winced as we were all a witness to Dad’s anger and I looked at him.

  “I’m going to be twenty-two soon, Dad. I am young but not too young to be his wife and a mother. I love him, and we’ve been seeing each other for months, only secretly. We didn’t know how to tell you, and I didn’t expect…this.” I looked at him and wiped my eyes. “What are you doing?”