Second Chance (A Secret Baby Romance Novel)

by Carter, Charity

  “Did I wake you, mom?”

  “No honey, I was just kind of laying here. Is everything all right?”

  “Yeah, I guess so. I wanted to talk to you about something.”

  I nodded at him that he could. It was a rhetorical question anyway. He knew he could always talk to me about anything. As he came to sit on the corner of the bed, the dim light forming outside caught his face, and I could see just how much of Chance he had in him. He looked just like him. It was no wonder so many people in town had a lot to say.

  “I think I’m going to go ahead and tell Officer Sparks that he’s my dad.”

  “You are? When did you decide to do that?”

  “I’ve been thinking about it for days, but I finally made the decision last night.”

  “I see. What happened that made you decide to finally go through with it?”

  “Well, I haven’t really said much, but I’ve been watching him like a hawk. Everybody seems to think he’s a good guy, and he’s been real good to me, even after all the crap I gave him. If he was a bad guy, I doubt everyone would like him as much as they do.”

  I felt like I was going to cry. This was a monumental stepping stone in his life, and I was so happy that he had come around and made the right decision on his own. “I’ve seen it too, son. That man doesn’t seem to have an enemy around here. He’s a good man.”

  “Yeah, I can tell. Even all the kids at school like him, and kids where I come from hated anyone in a uniform. Everyone always tells me how lucky I am that he’s dating my mom.”

  “Your friends think he and I are dating?”

  “Yeah. I mean, you guys are dating, right?”

  I tried to fight it, but a big smile developed on my face. CJ had just made a huge decision, and the last thing I wanted to do was give him false hope that we were all going to be one big happy family.

  “No, sweetie, we’re not dating. The two of us are just really good, close friends. Even when we dated, we were best friends. That’s never going to change.”

  “Why not date him? He wants to date you really bad. Everyone talks about how he wants to be with you. Everyone around town talks about how they think I’m his son. He’s had to hear that from someone by now. I pretend not to hear it when people say it to me. He already spends all his free time with us. He could be relaxing today on his day off, but he’s picking me up instead. Besides, I’ve seen him with you, and he treats you real nice. He treats you like you should be treated. I like that.”

  My son, who couldn’t stand the sight of the man when he first encountered him, was practically begging me to have a relationship with his father.

  Chance did treat me well, and I liked the way he treated me a lot. There was so much more to it than CJ would ever know. He would never know the true intentions of Chance when he’d come over right before bedtime. He’d never know that they were hormone induced, and that was it.

  “So when do you think you’re going to let him know?”

  “I haven’t decided yet,” CJ shrugged. “I just thought you should be the first person to know that I’d made my decision.”

  “I appreciate that. Can I give you a little advice, though? I wouldn’t wait too long. Chance will probably be upset that we kept this from him for so long.”

  “So maybe I shouldn’t tell him?”

  “Oh, you definitely should tell him. He may be upset for a little bit, but it won’t last long. That man thinks you’re awesome. He’ll be so happy; it won’t matter how long you waited.”

  “Really? Do you really believe that?”

  “I really do.”

  CJ smiled. “I may just go ahead and tell him today then.”

  I nodded my head, worried that if I tried to say anything, I might break down in tears. I could imagine the look on Chance’s face when CJ broke the news. His day would be made, that’s for sure.

  Chapter Twelve

  Chance

  CJ had already had a long day with me, and I wanted to get him away from some of the chaos that always come with my family getting together. I needed some things from the grocery store, so I decided to have him tag along with me.

  I could tell something was on his mind all day, but he hadn’t really said much to anyone. It wasn’t until we were standing in a long line waiting to check out that he started asking me questions.

  “Do you think it would be okay if I asked you something kind of personal?” he inquired.

  “Sure thing. You can always ask me anything you want. I’m pretty much an open book.”

  “Well, you were talking to your family earlier, and I heard you saying something about how you really liked kids. If you ever decided to get married to someone, do you think you’d want to have more than one kid?”

  I stopped dead in my tracks, surprised by how direct the question had been. I wondered what had brought the question on in the first place.

  Did CJ want to be an only child? Was he going to feel threatened if I said the wrong thing? I decided that I needed to be honest with him.

  “Yeah, I think I’d want more than one child. I love children, and I’d have as many as my future wife wanted to have.”

  He looked at me with a blank expression on his face. I had no clue whether the answer I gave was right or wrong in his eyes, but at least it was an honest answer.

  “Is your name really Chance?”

  “Yep. Chance Jeffrey Sparks. What made you ask that?”

  “I was just curious because my name is Chance Jeffrey too. That’s what CJ stands for.”

  I had no clue what had brought any of this on, but I liked where the conversation was going. I acted surprised as if I had no idea. “Are you telling me that you mom named you after me?”

  CJ nodded his head and looked down at the ground.

  “I had no idea. Why did she name you after me?”

  I watched, waiting for the words I’d been longing to hear. He looked around, trying to muster the courage. Finally, he took a deep breath. “She named me after you because—”

  “Hey, fancy meeting you here,” my father said, apparently deciding to do his grocery shopping at the worst possible time.

  “Hey, dad. Give me just a minute.” I turned my attention back to CJ. “Go on. You were saying?”

  It was too late. He had already lost his nerve. “She named me that because she really liked your name.”

  “Because she really liked me name?”

  “Yeah, I think that’s what it was.”

  * * *

  I sat at home that night replaying CJ’s words in my head. His name was CJ because his mom really liked my name. I had been so close.

  I knew that I was just seconds away from hearing him tell me that he was my son. The words were literally sitting on his tongue, waiting to come out and make the announcement to the world.

  He was going to tell me the truth about who he was before we were interrupted, my father inadvertently blowing the opportunity. I was frustrated, but I knew I‘d get the opportunity again. All I had to do was be patient and hope it would come soon.

  We drove back to meet my family in relative silence. My brothers were all over the place, as usual, not allowing CJ and me any time to be alone.

  I thought about acting like I’d forgotten something and seeing if he wanted to go back to the store with me, but I figured he’d need time to build up the nerve again to tell me. Instead, I manned the grill and CJ helped me cook, just like he had when we grilled burgers together.

  It was nearly midnight when Latrice showed up to take CJ home. He was tired and on his way to sleep when she got there. My brothers managed to wear him out through the day.

  While Latrice was gathering his things, I studied every inch of her, which was pretty much what I did every time I was in her company.

  That night, she was wearing a pair of jeans that hung perfectly to her hips and a t-shirt that accentuated her breasts nicely. They were the same breasts that I’d recently become reacquainted with, kissing and sucking o
n them on a nightly basis.

  When we were dating, I had a hard time keeping my hands off of her. That body still turned me on. It was nice to know that nothing had changed in that aspect.

  “The two of us are going to say goodbye to your brothers before we take off,” Latrice told me. She hung behind for a second while CJ walked off towards the kitchen. “I also wanted to thank you for inviting CJ to come here with you today. You have no idea how excited he was when he told me about it.”

  I didn’t reply. Instead, I gave her an unmistakable look. The look told her that she might be heading home, but she hadn’t seen the last of me for the evening. The message was received loud and clear, and Latrice smiled and bit her bottom lip, a little thing she does when she's embarrassed.

  * * *

  Latrice

  The night was as close to perfect as you could get. The stars were shining brighter than I’d ever seen them before and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

  The air was crisp and cool, but not cold. I liked the way it felt on my skin as I walked out my door and made my way to our spot behind my back yard.

  Chance didn’t tell me he was going to come over after he left his brother’s house, but he didn’t have to. I knew he was going to be waiting for me, so I threw on an over-sized t-shirt that I had hanging in my closet.

  It was a t-shirt that used to belong to him. It had taken me longer to get outside than I’d wanted to. CJ got his second wind right after we came through the front door and he wanted to sit and chat with me. He told me that he almost told Chance that he was his son, but he chickened out at the last minute.

  I’d barely made it to our secret spot when I saw Chance moving between the rows of trees. Seeing him there still gave me butterflies even though I’d been seeing him on a nightly basis.

  I ran over to him, allowing him to take me into his arms. I loved the feeling I got when he held me tight.

  Letting me go, he grabbed my face with both of his hands and kissed me deeply and passionately. An involuntary whimper formed deep within my throat, which seemed to make him want me even more. He lifted my shirt and was excited to see that I had nothing on underneath.

  Chance grabbed me and lifted me into the air. I wrapped my legs around his waist while he carried me over to the tree.

  He pushed me back against the tree, unzipping his pants as his breath became ragged. He reached inside and pulled his raging cock out and thrust it into me.

  The sudden feeling of going from empty to full caught me by surprise and caused me to moan in pleasure. Knowing how loud I can get, Chance placed his hand over my mouth to muffle the sound, followed by his lips.

  He moved his tongue inside of my mouth as if it were the first time he’d had the opportunity to kiss me. I knew how he felt, and I returned the kiss in a similar fashion.

  I spread my legs wider for him as I grabbed onto his waist even tighter. The feeling of him going deeper into me was almost too much for me to take.

  He’d just entered me, but I was already getting close to the edge. I dug my fingernails into his back as I let myself go, enjoying the feeling of climax and knowing there was still more to come.

  Chance could always tell when I was getting off, and nothing excited him more than knowing what he had done to me. As I came down from my orgasm, he was intent to give me another one as quickly as he could.

  He threw his head back and started pushing himself deeper into me. With each movement, he got faster and harder, causing me to arch my back and take him in as far as I could.

  I could feel my walls clenching onto him as I prepared to get off again. This time, he was going to get off with me. It was already too late for him to try to regain control of himself, not that he had any interest in doing that.

  As I felt his entire body tense up, I had an orgasm so strong that there could have been an earthquake under our feet, and I would have never even realized it.

  He looked deep into my eyes as he pumped into me a few more times, joining me in a climax that refused to go away. His teeth were clenched so he wouldn’t scream so loud that all the neighbors would know our secret spot.

  * * *

  Chance

  My legs shook and felt like they were going to give out beneath me while I was holding Latrice against the tree, still completely buried inside of her.

  We’d been meeting in our spot almost every night, but there was something different. The sex didn’t feel like it was just two people trying to get off. This time, it was passionate and intense. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, there were feelings behind it.

  As her rolling orgasms were finally coming to an end, I looked her in the eyes and realized something. I realized that Latrice was the only woman I ever wanted to be with.

  She was the only woman I’d ever need in my life. She was the only woman who could do what no other woman could. She could not only show me the difference between great sex and true love, but she could make me appreciate it.

  Latrice wasn’t just a woman. She was the woman. She was the only woman I’d ever truly loved, and I was still very much in love with her.

  Afraid that my legs were going to give out and make me drop my woman, I slowly pulled myself out of her and lowered her to the ground. She collapsed onto the blanket I’d laid out, winded and completely satisfied. I slid down next to her, wrapping my arms around her and holding her to me as I tried to suck air into my lungs.

  I couldn’t keep my hands off of Latrice. With my arms wrapped around her, I lightly caressed her back. I closed my eyes and thought about what CJ had asked me earlier in the day.

  I’d told him that I definitely wanted more kids. What I didn’t tell him was that the only way I’d have any more kids was if Latrice was their mother as well. I wouldn’t think twice about planting that seed again.

  The only difference would be the fact that I’d be right there from the beginning.

  * * *

  Latrice

  The Earth felt like it was spinning below me as I opened my eyes, waiting for the dizziness to go away and the explosion that I’d felt within me to settle down a little. I looked into Chance’s beautiful eyes and contemplated how in the hell it was possible that each time we had sex, it was better than all the times before.

  Lying there in his arms felt different. The lust was gone. I suddenly felt safe. I felt like I was treasured. I felt loved.

  There was that word again. What was I trying to do to myself? I knew it wasn’t a good thing to let false hope creep into my mind and into my heart.

  It didn’t matter that all of the signs were pointing me in that direction. If I was going to avoid being hurt, I needed to avoid falling in love with this man all over again. But what if it was already too late for that?

  No, I had to shake that thought from my mind. I broke eye contact and looked up at the sky.

  “Latrice? You okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. I was just thinking about CJ,” I lied. “He was acting funny before he went to bed.”

  “Acting funny how?”

  “I think he’s upset with himself. He planned to tell you the truth today, and he chickened out. He seems so disappointed.”

  “Yeah, it was right there on the tip of his tongue, but we got interrupted by my dad. I was already planning to talk to him tomorrow when we can be alone. Maybe he’ll tell me then.”

  “I don’t know Chance. He seemed really upset. I think the best thing you can do is give him a little space. Let him get himself ready again. I mean, you can still spend all the time you want with us, but be easy on him. Don’t make it awkward. You knowing that he’s your son is extremely important to him.”

  “I know it is. It’s important to both of us,” he said as he laid down onto his back. “I was actually thinking about something. Me and Jeremy are going to go camping this weekend. CJ actually heard us talking about it, so he already knows. Maybe he can come with us.”

  “I thought your camping trips were a guy’s getaway?”


  “Typically they are, but CJ heard us talking about it, and he mentioned that he’s never been fishing before. Jeremy almost invited him on the trip right then and there. The only reason he didn’t is because he didn’t know what I would say.”

  “Do you really think taking him camping will help your situation? Jeremy will still be there, so it’s not like the two of you are going to have the privacy you’re looking for.”

  “We will if it turned out that Jeremy can’t make the trip for some reason.”

  “You think he would go for that?”

  “Sure he will. I mean, I’ll probably have to go camp against next weekend with him, but he’ll understand why I need him to hang back this time. You seem to forget that my brothers want to be uncles to CJ just as bad as I want to be his father.”

  “I guess you’re right. So you and CJ will be in a cabin all weekend by yourselves. Do you think it’ll work? Do you think he’ll open up to you?”

  “I don’t know, but I certainly hope so. I mean, I’ll give him every opportunity to talk to me about anything he wants. What do you think about it?”

  “I think it sounds like a good plan. I just don’t want you getting your hopes up, just in case he doesn’t tell you. I know you’ll be disappointed, but just remember that he wants you to know. He just has to find the right time.”

  “I’ll do whatever I have to do to make sure the time is right this weekend,” he said as he pulled me closer to him. I hoped he wasn’t setting himself up for disappointment.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chance

  CJ looked in my direction as I hung up my cell phone. He had heard my side of the conversation and had a look of worry in his eyes.

  “That was Jeremy,” I told him. “He had something come up with one of his sponsors, and he’s not going to be able to go camping this weekend.”