Break Point

by Rachel Blaufeld

  “Can we come in?” the big dude asked. “It’s looking a little weird with us standing out here.”

  I unlatched the chain, and just as Drew walked inside, Darla opened the bathroom door.

  “Drew!” She ran and jumped into his arms.

  “Heya, superstar.”

  Held in Drew’s arms, Darla stared down the big guy as if he were a short kindergartener. “Who are you?”

  “I’m Russ, a friend of your parents.”

  My eyes glazed over at the word parents, and I felt faint.

  “Jules!”

  “Mom, I don’t have parents . . .”

  Those words echoing in the room were the last I heard before I actually did faint.

  I came to on the bed, my feet up on a pillow, my head propped in Drew’s lap. Darla sat next to me, dressed for the day and licking a lollipop.

  “Ugh,” I groaned.

  “Mommy, are you okay? You fainted. Drew asked me if you ate yesterday, but I couldn’t remember. Did you?”

  “I did, baby girl.” I tried to sit up, but Drew held me still.

  “Take it easy.”

  “Mr. Russ knew my dad too, like Drew. A long time ago,” she said.

  Apparently Drew had fixed the situation, the crisis averted.

  Of course.

  He was the hero, and eventually I’d be the bad guy.

  “Russ is going to drive my car, and I’m going to take you and Darla home after some breakfast.”

  “We need to get back for my tennis lesson tomorrow, Mom.”

  I closed my eyes, blocking out the sun and the sight of my girl, cooing after her father once again.

  “It’s time for us to go, Jules.”

  I nodded. Drew helped me up and walked me to the bathroom, where I did my thing and slipped on some clothes.

  Thankfully, Russ was gone when I came out of the bathroom. Darla was now sitting next to Drew, telling him about the ocean.

  “Turtles are my favorite, but fish too. And today, we were gonna look for dolphins. When I grow up, I’m gonna be a sea doctor. Isn’t that awesome?”

  “It sure is, superstar. What about your tennis?”

  “Of course, I’m going to play tennis too. I’m going to do it all like Mom.”

  “That’s right,” he said, reaching over to smooth her hair out of her face. He looked at her with an adoration I wished I’d been on the receiving end of at least once in my lifetime.

  Of course, Darla swatted his hand out of the way and shook her hair out, leaving it messy the way she liked it.

  Come to think of it, thank God she liked messy, because her life was going to get all kinds of it.

  Over pancakes and coffee and juice, Drew laughed with Darla and told her how glad he was she had this little trip.

  Walking back to the car, he whispered to me, “Don’t try a stunt like this again. I’m not taking Darla from you. I want to share our daughter. I mean it.”

  Unable to meet his eyes, I stared forward. “Drew . . .”

  “Nod if you hear me, Jules, right now. We can talk later, but now let me know you understand me.”

  I didn’t know if I understood, but I nodded.

  Jules

  “Why’d you do it?”

  “Because of this.” I waved a hand to indicate the scenery. It was Sunday night, and we were settled back in our apartment after Sunday went just as Drew had orchestrated. Darla had played tennis earlier today like she’d wanted. Then she’d had her smoothie and bagel.

  Her dream was coming true, and I was in a bad nightmare. There had been no other choice; Drew made it clear I needed to call Molly and take a break to talk with him.

  “The beach? The ocean? The glass of wine in your hand?” Drew asked, his eyebrow lifted, his T-shirt blowing in the breeze. “You’ve got to give me a little more than waving your hand in front of you.”

  I shut my eyes and inhaled the salty air. Or was that my tears?

  Drew’s chair screeched as he scooted closer. He ran a finger under my eye and kissed the saltiness away, then took my drink and set it aside.

  “Were you trying to hurt me? Punish me?”

  The tears flowed more freely now. It didn’t matter how hard I closed my eyes, they poured out.

  “I don’t know,” I choked out.

  “Shhh.” Drew placed a small kiss on my forehead. He pulled me close, holding me by the back of the neck as he whispered in my ear. “You can tell me anything, Jules.”

  “I don’t know if I wanted to punish you or me. Maybe both. It was so selfish.” I sobbed into his shirt.

  “Stop,” he said, his own voice raw. “When I left, I thought it was for the best. I didn’t know about you or Darla. Now we do. It’s not fair to her or me if you run every time you get scared.”

  I looked up, putting on my bravest face. “I’m not scared.”

  “Like hell.” He stared me down. “Say it. You were scared.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because I was scared once, and I ran away from the best thing that ever happened to me. But like I said, the stakes are higher this time.”

  “Being with you, it’s so perfect. It feels so right.”

  “Because it is right.” His lips touched mine for a chaste kiss. We sat knee to knee, facing each other in our deck chairs.

  “It should’ve never been.” I wanted to refute everything he said, change his mind, argue until I was blue in the face.

  “Take a drink.” He handed me my glass off the table. “Relax. It was and it is and it should’ve been, because we created a child.”

  “A child I kept from you.”

  “You can’t keep punishing yourself. I left. I made the first mistake.”

  “Why are you the wise one here?”

  “Because I’m so much older.”

  “Oh, please. I feel like I’m a million years old tonight. Worn out, tired.”

  “Because you are worn out. You’ve been doing everything on your own, but I’m here now. Thank God, because your mom certainly isn’t rushing to help you.”

  “What in the heck are you talking about?”

  “I may have called your mom.”

  “You what?” I wasn’t sure I heard him correctly with the ocean roaring in the background.

  “I called your mom, looking for you.”

  “Oh my God, what did she say?” The tears dried up and I felt a bubble of nervous laughter rising in my throat.

  “She pretty much bitched me out.”

  “Your funeral calling her, but she does love Darla in her own way. She’s the only person my mom’s really loved since my dad.”

  “I’d suffer anything to have you back, Jules. You have to know that. You’re all that I want.”

  “I’m sorry. I do, but can we put it behind us? I got spooked. My emotions were so amped up or something, and I went into crazy mother-hen mode.”

  “Next time you get into the mood, remember that I’m your rooster.”

  This time I laughed so hard, I gave the waves a run for their money.

  The next morning, I gave Bryce some crap story about needing space from all the shit swirling around me. He bought my excuse, especially since I was back on the schedule and opting for more lunches, which meant more evenings with Darla.

  And Drew.

  The next few weeks passed in a blur.

  Drew, the hot-blooded man and the doting father, usually joined us for tennis at the park, always sneaking in an ice cream cone for Darla and plenty of naughty glances my way. He even took Darla to Rocky Brook a few Saturdays on his own. Of course, she’d come home high on Drew and strawberry smoothies. Sunday mornings, I would grab a coffee and watch her beat the heck out of the boys in her lesson.

  Every so often, Drew would glance up at me and wink. I wasn’t sure if it was about me or Darla’s prowess.

  We’d also had a few dates. He’d been selective and careful about pushing me, but Halloween wasn’t the only thing sneaking up on us. His patience and time
were both running short.

  Darla was mesmerized with flyers for a costume party at the club, and I wanted her to trick-or-treat around our building. I’d probably end up working anyway.

  Then Drew said he’d back me up if we told her the truth. It was a built-in bargaining chip to get what he wanted.

  Against my better judgment, he’d slept over two other times, but he kept pushing for a more full-time arrangement. I feared it was only a matter of time before he took the matter into his own hands.

  I continued to hold tight to my excuse: Halloween was still three weeks away.

  “Did you check in with Molly?” Drew asked as I made my way back from the ladies’ room to our table at Prime Italian.

  We’d driven to South Beach for the evening. It was a Friday night, and Molly was at my apartment with Darla. Drew wanted her to drive Darla over to his place to sleep, and then she could spend the day with him when I left for work.

  My job was another sore subject, but tabled for the moment at Drew’s insistence at our spending the night at his place.

  “Darla’s watching a movie and tired. I’m not going to have Molly move her for no reason.”

  “Making you two breakfast isn’t a good enough reason?”

  “Drew, come on. It’s enough.”

  He poured more red wine into my glass. Our plates had already been cleared, and we were lingering at our corner table on the front patio. The meal probably cost more than my monthly rent.

  “I want you there all the time, Jules. I’ve had enough of doing it this way. I want you in my bed, sleepy and droopy eyed when I get home from the gym. And I need my daughter in my house. It’s my job to protect and take care of her.”

  “I want that too.”

  It was the first time the words had fallen from my mouth. They were quiet and hesitant, almost ashamed to make themselves known. I blamed the wine, but in reality, Drew had won. Just like I predicted would happen.

  “So, let’s do it. Let’s tell Darla. She’s smart, resilient. She’ll be fine.”

  “What will this mean for her massive crush on you?”

  “Only one girl for me. In that way.”

  I laughed; I couldn’t help it. He knew what happened when he got silly cheesy with me.

  “I wonder what all the girls from the team at Hafton would say if they knew about us?”

  “So, that’s a yes. We’re going to do this.”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “Say yes.”

  “To what?”

  “To everything.”

  “Everything?” I asked.

  “Yep.”

  “I don’t even know what that means.” I guzzled the last dregs of my wine.

  “It means we become a real family, make it legal and all that.”

  “Nope. Not ready for that.”

  “It’s your game, Jules. The ball’s in your court. Every advantage is yours . . .”

  “Stop! No more lines. Yes, I’ll consider moving in after we tell Darla.”

  “When we get married, we should invite the old team to the wedding.”

  I almost spit out my wine. “No, just no.”

  “Why not? I wonder what happened with all of them.”

  “Who, Stacia?”

  I couldn’t help myself. Here I was sitting across from the man at a chic five-star South Beach restaurant, paparazzi and Ferraris lining the sidewalk, and while he begged me to move in with him, I was jealous. Insanely, stupidly jealous.

  “Not Stacia. Only one tennis coed for me, Jules-y,” he said and winked.

  “Um, no Jules-y needed.” I laughed like a giddy girl. This was fun. More fun than I’d had in years.

  “Lulu and Hilary knew I was prego. They thought it was Lamar.”

  This got me the dirtiest of looks from Drew. If you googled if looks could kill, his snarl would come up.

  “Who’s jealous now, Drew-y?”

  “Don’t go there,” he grumbled. “You’re talking about my woman and my daughter, so there’s no need to mention Lamar in the same breath. Yes, I was foolishly jealous of him back then. But you had my baby and you’re back where you belong, so fuck him.”

  “Well, they knew. They swore they wouldn’t tell, but we also pinkie-promised to stay in touch, and I didn’t.”

  “Lord knows, no one could find Claire Smith. That’s like looking for a musclehead on a motorcycle down here.”

  “Maybe they told someone when I never kept in touch, but they didn’t know it was you. I don’t even think they expected.”

  “It would be fun to see their faces if they found out. We’re definitely inviting them to the wedding, Jules-y.”

  “One step at a time, Drew,” I said with a scowl, but he was wearing me down.

  “Go ahead. Text Molly and have them go back to my place so I can take my time later with you. That’s my one step for tonight.”

  “Drew, listen.” I set my glass down and looked into his eyes. “We have to do this my way. I’m not having Molly uproot Darla to your place. If you want to come back to my place, you can.”

  “I don’t want Molly watching her tomorrow night. I want Darla with me. I’m sick of the food at the Southern, and I don’t feel like watching you work. All those nasty guys and Bryce, and there’s no reason for it.”

  I’m pretty sure I growled, “Enough.”

  “Okay, okay. But Darla’s with me.” Drew stood and helped me up. “Want to walk on the sand before we get back in the car?”

  “Sure.”

  Once we took off our shoes, Drew held both pairs in his hand and took my fingers in his other. Our bare feet in the sand, we walked along the ocean’s edge.

  “I love your hair down like this.” Drew stopped in his tracks and spun me toward him, never letting go of my hand.

  “I’m such a rebel without my bun.”

  His laugh was warm like honey and deep like the Atlantic. It coated my soul, soothing my nerves.

  “We should make another baby.”

  This time I laughed. “Drew, let’s get through telling our first baby that you’re my baby daddy.”

  “I know, but I want more kids.”

  “I can’t right now, can’t discuss it. Tell me what you’re going to do with Darla tomorrow instead.”

  He squeezed my hand and started us moving again. “Tennis. Probably go to the club so we can eat afterward. Please don’t laugh, but I also have these math workbooks . . .”

  “What?”

  “Yeah, I ordered them online because she’s so smart. I know she likes Ms. Green, but I think she needs more. Numbers are my thing, so I thought I’d do a little extra.”

  It was like a fuse went off in my brain—like a short circuiting of all that was reasonable and right.

  “I think I just fell in love with you all over again,” came tumbling out of my mouth. I couldn’t snatch my hand back fast enough, slapping it across my own lips.

  “Oh yeah?” Drew turned to face me, and even in the moonlight, I could make out his cocked eyebrow mocking me.

  “Yeah.” My reply was so quiet, it was almost lost in the crashing waves.

  “Well, I never stopped loving you, babe.”

  And just like that, we both burst into laughter. Only Drew knew how to break through the tension.

  “Come on. Let’s go back to your place and practice making another baby.”

  With me curled against his chest, the water lapping behind us, we made our way to his car.

  Back at my apartment, Drew paid Molly like he’d been doing that sort of thing for years.

  “Have fun, Claire . . . I mean, Jules,” Molly said, adding a wink as he opened the door for her to leave.

  Oh God, my sitter is thinking about me having sex. I turned to look for Drew, but he was MIA.

  It didn’t take me long to figure out where he was—a small sliver of light from the nearly closed door to Darla’s room gave him a way. He found his way in there each and every time he came over.

  I
pushed the door open and there he was, sitting on the edge of Darla’s bed, watching her sleep. His gaze didn’t move from her chest rising and falling. His hand rested on her foot, and I saw his thumb running figure eights over the blanket.

  A little wobbly with emotion, I made my way to him, pretending I wasn’t having the urge to make another baby STAT. He sensed my nearness and brought his free arm around the back of my thighs, but never pulled his gaze from Darla.

  It was in this tender moment of truth that I decided to make my family whole. It was time to set my wrongs right, no matter what it meant for me in the long run. There was no way Drew wasn’t in it for forever with Darla.

  He bent over and placed a kiss on her forehead, then stood and whispered, “Let’s go to bed.”

  Inside my room, I became the aggressor. A puma born in a woman’s body, I needed to claim my man. I shut the door quietly, turning the lock and pushing his back into the wood. Before he could put his mouth on my lips, I dropped to the floor, my knees hitting the carpet and my hand going for the zipper of his jeans.

  My fingers grazed his abdomen, pushing his white Henley shirt up and exposing his tanned skin. With my index finger, I circled his navel and traced a path down his pleasure trail. Adding my thumb to the mix, I undid his button and drew his zipper down.

  There he was on display in front of me—hard, reaching, ready, and commando.

  When he sifted his fingers through my hair, I looked up at him.

  “Jules, baby, you have no idea what this sight does to me.”

  I didn’t answer, just opened my mouth and grasped his length in my hand, guiding it toward my lips. At first, I teased the tip and taunted his hardness, pumping up and down, barely able to reach my fingers all the way around his girth.

  When he let out a low moan, I took all of him. This time, he released a growl, and that was all I needed to keep taking him deep. With long, languid movements, I brought him to climax. I think he warned me it was going to happen, but I was way too into the moment. I kept at it until he released down the back of my throat.

  Before I could register anything but the sublime pleasure on his face, Drew hoisted me up and onto the bed, returning the favor before making love to me.

  Twice.

  Drew