Taking Chances

by Melange Books, LLC

  “I’d love to wake up every morning like this,” Kal said, lying on his back with Shana’s head on his chest, still caressing her.

  “Me, too,” Shana said.

  “Well, we’ll have to see what we can do about that.” Kal rose from the bed and headed to the bathroom. “Okay, if I use your shower?”

  “Sure,” Shana said, getting out of bed. She grabbed her robe, feeling a little shy about walking around naked in front of him. “There are towels under the sink.”

  “Thanks.” Kal smiled at her as he closed the bathroom door.

  Shana made the bed and picked up all their clothes lying scattered on the floor. She put hers away and laid his neatly on the bed. The water was off already. Wow! She realized men must really take short showers. The door opened and Kal walked out with a towel wrapped around his waist. He had a broad, tanned chest and a firm stomach. He looked good! He walked up and kissed her.

  “It’s all yours,” he said and turned her toward the bathroom, patting her butt.

  “Okay, but be warned my showers take more than five minutes,” Shana teased and shut the door.

  Shana stepped into the shower and let the hot water flow over her flushed body. It felt good. Good, yet not as good as the sex. She just plain felt fabulous, still she could not let herself get used to this. Not before they had a talk. She simply had to do it and this was as good of time as any. They were both in great moods and had experienced a fabulous night of sex or was it lovemaking? Did she love him? Had she gotten there yet? She wasn’t sure. She knew she could certainly fall in love with him. She needed just a little more time. First, she needed to explain what she’d done. He’d said he loved her last night so hopefully he would be open to listening with an open mind and have a forgiving heart. Thirty minutes later, Shana emerged from the bathroom. Kal was in the living room watching the morning news. She quickly dressed in a pair of jeans and a tank top and went out to sit on the couch with him.

  Kal kissed her. “You look great.”

  “Thanks,” Shana said. “Kal,” Shana started. She watched him as he looked at her expectantly.

  “Yes?” he prodded.

  “We have to talk. Things are moving quickly,” she managed. This was so difficult.

  “You’re right,” he answered holding her hand in his. His phone was vibrating in his pocket. “First, I have to check this. I’m on call this morning.” He pulled the phone out of his pocket and listened to his message. “I’m sorry, I have to go to the hospital. We’ll have to finish this conversation later. I’ll call you when I’m done.” He stood up and pulled her against him, kissed her and left.

  Shana sat back down on the couch. “Damn!” She’d wanted to get that conversation over with badly. Oh well, she’d tried and now she’d have to wait and hope she could get up enough courage to try again.

  * * * *

  What the Hell was he doing? What was he thinking? He definitely wasn’t thinking at all, that was the problem. He could’ve called the hospital and taken care of the patient over the phone. But no, he was CHICKEN! He was afraid to hear her confession, because then he would have to make his own confession. Even though he felt guilty as Hell about not telling her, he was terrified of the conversation’s outcome. Could they get past their past and still move on? She was right, they needed to talk. She’d tried to and he’d went running out the door. But maybe she really wasn’t going to tell him about the abortion, maybe she just wanted to talk to him about how serious he was about the relationship. Sure, that’s what it was. Women always got serious after you slept with them. Hell, he was serious, so what was the problem? He was damn serious, hadn’t he told her he loved her last night? He did love her. She was the mother of his child. He would simply wait for her to bring it up again.

  Kal pulled up at Sadie’s to pick up Kalsha and walked up the driveway into the house.

  “Daddy!” Kalsha yelled running to the door to hug him.

  “Hi, Baby!” Kal said picking her up and planting kisses over her cheeks.

  “Daddy home,” Kalsha giggled, kissing his cheek back.

  Sadie stood watching the happy reunion. “So you decided to show up after all.”

  “Sorry, Sadie.”

  “So tell me what happened,” she said smiling at Kal. “It better be good!”

  “It got late and I decided to spend the night with Shana.”

  “Well, then, you’re off the hook for not calling.”

  “Sadie, you said not to worry if I didn’t pick Kalsha up last night—didn’t you?”

  “Yes, I did. Just wanted to make sure where you were,” Sadie said. “So how was it?”

  “Sadie!” Kal stated. “You aren’t serious are you?”

  “Of course. I want every little detail!”

  “A man never tells.”

  “Whatever! So at least tell me if this is getting serious yet,” Sadie prompted, sitting down on the couch.

  “I think so,” Kal said thoughtfully. “I think I’m in love with her.”

  “Good.” Sadie picked Kalsha up and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “We’re going to get you a Mommy yet, Baby.”

  “Huge obstacle though. Shana and I need to have a talk. No, not a talk. It’ll be more like confession time.”

  “No doubt that’s going to be tough. But if she loves you, too—she does, doesn’t she?” Sadie asked, stopping abruptly and watching Kal’s face for an answer.

  “I’m not sure. She hasn’t said anything yet.”

  “Have you told her?”

  “Sort of,” he answered.

  “How do you sort of tell her?”

  “I told her, but she was sleeping.”

  “Oh ... are you sure?”

  “What? That I told her?”

  “No. That she was sleeping?” Sadie asked to make him consider the possibility she might not have been.

  “Not positive.”

  “Regardless, you need to tell her when she’s awake.”

  Kal knew she was right and he knew Sadie knew she was right. Of course, she was a woman and all men knew that women were always right anyway. “She said we needed to talk and I got nervous. Luckily the hospital called so I said I had to go and left.”

  “Kal,” Sadie said soothingly.

  “I got scared. Having a confessional conversation is real scary. Period.”

  “It has to be done.”

  “I’m not even sure that was what she wanted to talk about.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You know how women are.”

  “How are women?” Sadie asked, totally confused by the conversation now.

  “Once you sleep with them, they get notions about marriage.”

  “I see. You think she wants to get married already. Probably not. Women like to be sure about it first.”

  “Really?”

  “Maybe she just wanted to know if you wanted to date exclusively, to see what your intentions are,” Sadie offered.

  “I am only dating her.”

  “She doesn’t know that unless you tell her.”

  “I think I want to marry her. She is so beautiful and loving. But then sometimes when I think about what she did I get so angry, I don’t want to be with her.”

  “Forgiveness, Kal. You have to forgive her before you two have this confession talk.”

  “I know. I do forgive her every time I look at Kalsha. Then I’m thankful she gave birth to our beautiful daughter.”

  “Keep thinking about Kalsha and forgiveness and the dreaded talk will go fine,” Sadie offered.

  “It’s still her call. I’m going to wait for her to bring it up.”

  “She did. Remember?”

  “Okay. I’m going to wait for her to bring it up again, then.”

  “And you are not going to run out the door again. Right?” she asked.

  “Yes, I promise,” Kal said.

  Sadie got Kalsha’s bag ready. Kalsha was such a beautiful child. Whether her parents knew it or not, she was co
nceived in love. They just didn’t know it at the time. Kal was walking to the Vet carrying the car seat in one hand and holding Kalsha’s hand with the other, when she remembered to ask him about Thanksgiving. “Kal, what are your plans for Thanksgiving?” she asked walking toward him.

  Kal strapped the car seat into the seat and then put Kalsha into the seat. He turned to Sadie, “No plans yet. Are you cooking dinner?”

  “Yes. Maybe you want to invite Shana.”

  “Can’t unless we have the confession talk first.”

  “Oh, right, because she doesn’t know about Kalsha.”

  “Yes, and I don’t think it will happen that quickly, still you never know.” Kal got in, and he and Kalsha headed home.

  Sadie walked back to the house. She was going to need to do some praying. There were three lost and lonely people who badly needed some angels holding their hands while they tried to mesh their lives together. They needed to open their hearts and be forgiving to each other. At least two of them needed to. The third one was patiently waiting for the other two to come to their senses. “Please, Lord, help them become a family,” Sadie prayed softly.

  * * * *

  Kal drove home thinking about his conversation with Sadie. She was right. He knew it. He needed to pray to God and ask for the strength to get through that dreaded conversation. No, confession. He needed a forgiving heart. He needed to stay focused on that part especially. God already forgave her and so he also needed to. If God could forgive her, there was absolutely no reason for him not to. Kal prayed softly, “God, please forgive me for what part I played in this mess and help me to forgive Shana. And please give me the strength and wisdom to do whatever I need to do to correct the situation now.”

  Kal called Shana after he drove home and put Kalsha to bed. They talked on the phone. He couldn’t take her out or go over to her place now because he had Kalsha. Sadie and Mac had a party to attend, so he was staying home. He didn’t mind, yet he couldn’t tell her the reason. That made it difficult. So they talked on the phone. The Vikings were playing on Sunday though, and he was taking her to the End Zone bar again to watch the game. He missed her. He wanted to be with her. He missed touching her. Finally, their conversation ended and Kal was lying in bed alone, completely aroused. He forced himself to stop thinking about Shana’s naked body. It was tough but he finally succeeded and drifted off to sleep.

  * * * *

  Shana was looking forward to the Vikings game and especially to seeing Kal. She thought it was odd he hadn’t come over on Saturday night. He said he just got home from the hospital when he called her last night. Oh, well, she didn’t want to be a needy girlfriend. She would see him any minute, since he was picking her up to go watch the game. She was dressed in her Vikings shirt and cap, ready to go, when he knocked at her door.

  “Come in,” she yelled out from the bedroom.

  Kal walked in and towards the bedroom where her voice came from. He took her in his arms and kissed her thoroughly. “I missed you,” he said against her ear.

  “I missed you, too,” Shana said.

  Kal was hard-pressed to let her go and walk out of the bedroom. The bed looked inviting and reminded him of the crazy lovemaking, just the other night. He took her hand. “We better get going so we don’t miss the kick off.”

  Shana picked up her purse and keys. “I’m ready,” she said, opening the door and locking it behind them as they left.

  The bar was even more packed then the last time they were there, probably because it was a Sunday game. They squeezed their way to the back table where Kal’s friends were waiting.

  “About time you guys got here, they’re about to start the kick off,” Tom said, pulling out chairs for them.

  Shana chatted with Susie and Bonnie, feeling she knew them at least a little bit this time. They were both so open and friendly. Conversation was tough, though, with all the cheering and noise in the bar. The Vikings scored and Shana joined the cheering, jumping up out of her chair with the others.

  Kal caught her around the waist pulling her to him. He gave her a quick kiss and whispered in her ear, “Can’t wait until later.”

  Shana wasn’t sure what he meant, though she hoped it meant he would be spending the night with her again. She smiled and said, “Me, too.”

  It was an exciting game, with a tied score until the last minute when the Vikings scored a touchdown to win the game.

  They left as soon as the game was over, saying their good-byes to Kal’s friends. Shana watched Kal, throughout the game. He was definitely a good-looking man. She watched women check him out as they walked through the bar. Kal, however, hadn’t acknowledged their bold appraisals at all. Instead, he placed his hand on her side, guiding her to the door, so everyone knew she was with him. She felt proud to be with him. He was a good man. She got in the car while Kal held the door open for her. Did she dare call him her boyfriend?

  After arriving at her parking lot, he walked with her to her apartment. This felt awkward. Did she invite him in or did she assume he would come in? Heck, she didn’t know, so she said, “It’s early, so do you want to come in for a while?”

  “Thought you’d never ask!” Kal grinned, picked her up and twirled her around.

  Shana buried her head in his shoulder and protested, “Hey, I’m getting dizzy.”

  “Wouldn’t want that,” Kal said, stopping and kissing her instead, while she unlocked the door so they could go inside her apartment.

  Shana’s body warmed to his caresses and soon there was a trail of clothes leading to the bedroom. Adrenaline was high from the excitement of the game and the sex was intense. Later, they both lay sated on the bed.

  “Unbelievably intense,” Kal said.

  “Totally,” she agreed.

  “Do you want to go steady?” Kal said looking at her with a serious stare.

  “Do people still do that?” Shana asked, unsure if he was serious or only kidding around.

  “Not sure,” he said with a smirk on his face.

  “You are kidding, right?”

  “Sort of. I do want us to date exclusively. Is that okay with you?”

  “That would make me unbelievably happy!” Shana stated.

  “Well, then, that’s settled,” Kal said and pulled her to him. He kissed her to seal the deal.

  “Sealed with a kiss,” Shana whispered up against his ear.

  “Isn’t that a song?” Kal asked.

  “A classic. I love that song,” Shana answered.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Kal didn’t spend the night. He hated to leave, but he’d promised Sadie to pick up Kalsha. He knew Shana wanted him to stay even though she didn’t say anything. He told her he didn’t think he should stay since they both had to be at work in the morning. It was one of the hardest things he’d had to do—leave her bed to go home.

  At the hospital the next morning, all he could think of was Shana. He definitely had it bad. He was in love. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. He was hooked. Now what was he going to do about it? Maybe he could simply take her to Las Vegas and get married. Then, later, they could have the confession talk. Unfortunately, they had to have the talk before he could introduce her to Kalsha, so that was probably a bad plan.

  He called Shana every night and they went to dinner on Wednesday night. Then back to her place to make love to his woman. Yes, now it was making love not just having sex.

  Saturday afternoon he picked Shana up to go to an Art Fair in Old Scottsdale. They parked and proceeded to walk up and down the aisles of Art and Craft booths.

  “This is so much fun, Kal. Thanks for taking me.”

  “My pleasure,” Kal said.

  They walked down more aisles and stopped to look at the artist’s displays. Shana particularly liked the jewelry displays.

  “This is a very unique piece of turquoise,” Shana said as she stopped to look in a glass case. It was a slide shaped like a heart on a silver chain.

  “Do you like it?” Kal asked, l
ooking it over and checking the price.

  “Yes, it’s very different.”

  “Try it on,” Kal urged.

  Shana put the chain on and looked at it in the mirror. She liked what she saw.

  “If you want it, I’ll buy it for you,” Kal offered.

  “Are you sure?” she asked taking it off and setting it on the counter.

  “We’ll take it,” Kal said. The clerk wrapped up the slide with the chain and charged it to Kal’s credit card. He signed for it and handed Shana the bag.

  “I don’t know what to say. Thank you.” She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

  “You’re welcome,” Kal said and they continued walking through the art fair, holding hands.

  They stopped at the food concession area to eat, opting for pizza and salad. For dessert, gelato. The sun was setting so they took the leisurely way home, driving with the top down.

  Shana barely contained her excitement. It was Saturday night and Kal would be spending the night. The day had been great. She loved art fairs and this was her first one in Phoenix. The gift was unexpected though greatly appreciated, mainly because it was a necklace she could wear and be reminded of Kal. The warm wind was blowing and gently caressed her face. Soon Kal would be caressing her body and heat flared through her body.

  “What do you want to do tonight?” Kal asked after they arrived at her apartment.

  “Watch TV?”

  “Anything else?” Kal drew closer, wound one arm around her waist and pulled him to her, then kissed her soundly.

  “Go to bed?” she asked.

  “Good answer. Which order?”

  “We could go to bed and see if anything comes up—”

  Kal’s eyebrows shot up and Shana laughed and ran for the bedroom with Kal close behind.

  “You better run, because that something has come up already.” Kal was quickly undressing while he watched Shana strip off her clothes. He stopped to stare at her naked body. “Damn! You’re so beautiful, Shana.”