by LK Collins
“You’re not running from me again, Abby.” He gets in behind me and I look down at his bare feet, shocked.
“Where to?” the driver asks.
“Just drive!” Latch growls.
I try to get out the other side of the car, but it’s already moving. Latch pulls me back across the seat, close to him, and as tenderly as possible in this crazy ass moment, he places his hand over my stomach. I freeze looking down, his long fingers are spread wide over the thin fabric of my white t-shirt and tears well in my eyes.
I can’t bring myself to look at him. His possessive hand touching me is all I can focus on. And then the cab is filled with the soft noises of his sobs and he leans over, lifting my shirt and pressing his lips to the skin of my stomach. Letting out a pent up gasp of air, I stare up at the ceiling, my heart breaking with him touching me like this – crying.
He whispers something inaudible to my skin and rests his head on my thigh. I look down at his tattooed back and can’t believe how much I’ve fucking missed him. Even with who he is and just finding him with someone else, I can’t be mad at him. Threading my fingers into the back of his hair, I pull him closer to me, holding him against my stomach, where both of us sit, together, sobbing.
I don’t know what is next. Hell, I’m terrified for what the future will hold thinking of all of the obstacles that I’ll have to face, but being with Latch right now calms me in a way that no other man ever has, and I know that no matter what I face, if I have Latch to protect me, I’ll be okay. And so will our baby.
_____
“Why are we here?” I ask Latch as we enter a lavish Crown Height’s home.
“I’ll explain, but you have to promise to let me this time. No running!”
I nod my head, still confused why we couldn’t have just gone back to his place. I know he was there with someone, but I assume she left. God, I hope she did. He directs me to sit down on an oversized vintage purple suede couch and then sits next to me. He’s still shirtless and barefoot, and there is so much uncertainty in his eyes that I fear what he is going to tell me.
“This is my grandmother’s home. She’s out of town.”
“Why couldn’t we just go back to your apartment?” I ask him.
He looks nervous and swallows before proceeding. “I…” he trails off. His reluctance to be open with me makes me uneasy.
“Latch, you said you’d explain –so, explain!”
He takes my hand in his and looks me in the eye, “Abby, I don’t know how to do any of this. I’ve never had a real relationship. And when I’m around you, the feelings that are inside of me scare me.”
“You make me feel the same, Latch,” I whisper, worried where things are headed.
“Part of the reason I kept you as a client for as long as I did is it’s the only way that I know to have a relationship. It was my way of being with you in a way that worked for me and seemed to for you as well. Then when I saw you with your husband, it fucked me up. I want to be the one to give you that happiness and it killed me that I am not.”
I swallow hearing his words, confused by what he’s referring to. “I’m sorry things have turned out like this between us.”
“Me too. I know you’ve chosen him, and he probably deserves you over me. He’s a better man than—”
I cut him off, “What are you talking about? I haven’t chosen anyone.”
He blinks a few times, confused, and then says, “I saw you two leave your condo together. He had his hands on you and…you looked so happy. Abby, that expression on your face was something I’ve never seen from you and that’s how I know he’s the one you’re supposed—”
“Will you just fucking stop it, Latch?” He blinks and lets go of my hand. I take his back, holding it tighter than ever, “That’s because when I’m with Darrell, I’m pretending to be happy – it’s only me being fake. But when I’m with you, I’m able to be myself. That’s why you’ve never seen me look that way. I’m only real when we’re together. The truth is, we don’t know what the future will bring us, like this…” I point to my stomach and he places a hand over it. “But what I do know is that this baby, our baby, is the most important thing to me right now, and that means we need to figure out what we’re going to do. I haven’t slept with Darrell since you and I started seeing each other, so if he finds out I’m pregnant, he’ll know it’s not his. Going forward, everything we do has to be for the sake of the baby, whether we are together or not. It didn’t ask to be born into our fucked up lives, so we have to take responsibility for our actions.”
He smiles for the first time today and cups my cheek with his free hand. “Abby, I don’t know what to say! I don’t want to say the wrong things and scare you off.”
“You can start by telling me who that girl was today. You said you don’t take clients to your home.”
“After I thought you’d chosen Darrell, it hurt like hell every time I thought of you, or looked at the couch we fucked on the last time we were together, so I had my clients start coming to my house. It kept my mind busy, and briefly numbed the pain. I thought it would make me forget. But every time I was alone, you were on my mind, like you always are.”
“And that’s why we’re here…” I look around his grandma’s home.
“Yeah, I have other clients that were scheduled today.”
“So what? You’re just going to hide from them forever?”
He nods dead serious, still holding on to the side of my head. I close my eyes and pray that somehow and some way we can make this work. I’m not sure why I think it’s a good idea, but being with him again makes everything in this fucked up world feel like it’s going to be okay.
17
Latch
Waking up in a panic because I dreamt that Abby left again has my heart racing. But as I look down, she is sound asleep on my lap. I run my knuckles down the sides of her cheek and hope that she will never leave me again. I’m not sure where we stand, but I want to be with her more than anything I’ve ever wanted. Getting up, I gently lay her head on a pillow and get up to grab my grandmother’s phone. I step outside to call her and she answers on the first ring, “Hello?”
“It’s me.”
“You okay, dear? I can see you’re at my house.”
“Yeah, I…uhhh. I’m here with Abby and we might need to stay here for a few nights, just until you’re home, if that’s okay?”
“Of course it’s okay, sweetheart, stay as long as you need.”
“Thanks.”
“What’s going on though? I thought she’d chosen to work things out with her husband.”
“I thought so too, but she didn’t, and she’s kinda pregnant.”
She gasps. “She’s kinda or is?” she asks me sternly.
“She is.”
“It’s yours?”
“Yes, it’s mine!”
“Oh dear, Latch. How do you feel about it?”
“I’m not sure.” I look inside, watching her sleeping on the couch. “I’m worried.”
“I can imagine. What about your work, is she okay with it now?”
“We haven’t talked a lot about it, but I’m gonna stop.”
“And that’s what you want?” she asks me and I hear an announcement in the background.
“It is.”
“Okay. I support whatever you decide. I’ve gotta board the boat, we’re heading out of port so I won’t have service for a few days, but I’ll check on you when I do. Make yourselves at home, and congratulations, dear, this is a good thing. I love you.”
“Thank you, I love you.”
We hang up and I’m so grateful for her understanding and reliable nature. That’s why I’d do anything for my grandma. She simply accepts me and anything that comes along with me. She’s always loved me and sees the good in the decisions I’ve made, as crazy as they are at times. I hope the way that I feel about her is the way that my child will feel about me one day.
Going back inside, I pull a throw off the back of
the couch and lay it over Abby. Sitting on the table, I watch her sleep, so peaceful and so fuckin’ gorgeous. Her lips are slightly parted and I could watch her forever. But I don’t want her to catch me.
Tearing my eyes away from her, I walk to the bathroom and start the shower to wash away the scent of Jessy and the others that I fucked today. With my head under the steady stream that pours from the showerhead, I grab the soap and scrub away the remnants of my past. Letting it swirl down the drain is relieving. Easier than I’d imagined it ever would be, and I know that’s because I have a shot at making things work with Abby. There’s going to be a lot of steps to getting there, but letting go of my work and clients is the first of many and I’m ready to do that.
Thinking about the future, I wonder what’s ahead. Will Abby and I be able to make things work? I think she wants to and we have every right to try, but she is still married, and that’s something neither of us can avoid. For me, I don’t ever want her near that fucking asshole again, especially carrying our child. Not with what she’s told me he’s done to her. I don’t care the type of contact, a man never has the right to put his hands on a woman. Even to push her away, it’s wrong! I rack my brain, trying to think how I could avoid her having to see him.
But she interrupts me by opening the shower door and I look behind me, brushing the water from my eyes. Abby is standing naked, staring at me, with the sexiest expression on her face.
I outstretch my hand towards her and when she takes a hold of it, my world is complete. Closing the door behind her, neither of us speaks a word, we just look into each other’s eyes as the water shrouds our bodies. My cock throbs wanting her, being this close and naked. Reaching up, she holds on to the back of my head and kisses me. My body freezes, finally being intimate with her again feels so fucking unbelievably good that I’m afraid to make the wrong move, so I let my lips work with hers, teasing and enticing her tongue. Taking my time, which is new to me.
My cock rests against her pussy and I want to fuck her so badly, skin to skin, with nothing separating us, but I will never push things with her. She pulls back, looking so damn sexy and I run my thumb over her lips. “I’ve missed your kisses,” I tell her. Her eyes dance telling me what she wants as she asks me, “Have you been with anyone unprotected?”
“No! Just you when the condom broke.”
She directs me to sit on the seat inside of the shower and then kneels in front of me, staring at my cock. “I don’t ever want you to be with anyone else except for me, Latch.”
“I want that too! I mean it, I’m done working. If you’ll be with me, that’s all I need, forever. I promise, I’ll take care of you and our baby.”
She gives me her signature look, the one that melts my heart as she wraps her lips around the head of my shaft and painstakingly descends down my length. The way she sucks me causes me to groan. Her mouth is stretched so wide and the way she holds my dick makes me want to blow into her.
She keeps sucking me and I let her take her time, loving how fucking amazing she makes me feel. My dick is so hot and just when I am about to give over to her, she stops and pulls away, standing to her feet.
My eyes scan her body, the water pelting her hard nipples as she kneels over my lap taking my dick in her hold. My breaths are labored as I watch our bodies become one, truly unprotected for the first time. She’s so wet for me that I slide right in, the inside of her so perfect and tight. I love it. Her body matches mine, like God made us for each other. The pieces of my past shatter as I hold on to her hips and she begins to move, our eyes locked on one another’s.
Her noises are beautiful and it hurts me to have been away from her for as long as I was. I should’ve fought for her. I shouldn’t have given up on her and let her go as easily as I did. As we fuck, so slow and tenderly, my hand glides over her stomach and she reaches back, resting her hands on my thighs. She rocks her body against mine and I match her movements, giving her every bit of me. “Mmmmmhhhh,” she whines and I slide my hand away from her stomach, pulling her closer to me, wrapping my arms securely around her. She keeps moving as do I. With my eyes closed, I find peace knowing that she is my future, that the chaos of my past is gone. She writhes on top of me, the sensation of her pussy slamming me like this sends a jolt to the end of my dick and I can no longer fight letting go.
“I’m gonna come,” I warn her, and she says, “Let go, give it to me.”
Leaning my head back, my fingers dig into her back and I grunt out, “Fuck, yeah.” Giving a piece of myself to her. And like clockwork, she lets go, so beautiful as her orgasm rocks her to the core. She shakes from head to toe riding me, and for one of the first times ever, there is something else inside of me, something different, something new. And I know this is what it’s like to make love.
18
Abby
“You okay?” Latch asks me. I nod, feeling nauseous. “What’s bothering you? You’ve gotta talk to me, Abby, about everything. Let me into your head.”
I’ve never had a guy care about me the way Latch does. His every waking moment is spent making sure that I am okay. As I look around the gorgeous guest room that Latch and I have made into our sanctuary these last few days, I know that I don’t want this all to end. “Darrell texted me. He’s coming back to New York tonight.”
“So? We talked about this; nothing is going to separate us – ever.”
“I know, I’m just afraid.”
“Why? He’s not going to come near you. He has no clue where you are. We’ll stay here as long as we need to, it’s safe.”
Latch wraps me in his arms, holding me close to his body, a place that I love. And I breathe in his intoxicating scent trying to believe his words. “Latch, he’s going to flip when I’m not there.” I’ve still been texting him to make him feel like everything is okay. So when he gets home and there’s just a note from me saying I needed a break, he’s going to lose his mind.
Latch grabs my chin, forcing me to look him in the eye. “Let him flip, because he’s going to be doing it alone. We’re here together and that’s what matters. Our number one priority is keeping you and the baby safe.”
“I agree,” I tell Latch. “But—”
He cuts me off, “But nothing! Everything is going to be okay, I promise.”
“Okay,” I trust in his words, like I have in him.
“Come on, let’s eat, I need some more of your cooking.” He tickles both of my sides and I throw my head back, laughing loudly.
“Stop!” I shout, pushing his hands away. He kisses my stomach and then hops out of bed, naked and sexy as sin as he struts away from me to the bathroom. Looking down at my stomach and the baby that’s growing inside me, I know we have a long road ahead of all of us, but it will all be worth it in the end…it has to be.
Getting up, I pull on a pair of sweats and a comfy t-shirt. Yesterday, Latch and I went to my condo and packed me a bag of clothes and some essentials, and that’s when I left Darrell the note.
Latch is brushing his teeth and I head in to do the same. As I walk towards him, my eyes are all over his ass as he leans over the sink. I stand back for a moment and watch him. He’s gotta be the sexiest man in the world, so tall and muscular, and best of all, he wants to be with me. Hearing the news that he’s done with his work is still something that I think is going to take some time to process. I really can’t believe that he’d just let something like that go at the drop of a hat, for me. As he finishes, he splashes some water on his face and then runs it through his messy hair. I realize then that this is the first time we are getting ready together and it feels so normal, like we’ve been doing it for years. I never knew something so simple could be so reassuring.
Drying his face with a towel he says, “I can see you watching me.”
I smirk and respond, “Is that a problem?”
“Not at all…I like it.”
“I like this.”
“What?” he asks, pulling me into his chest.
“Us, like this.
”
“Me too.” Swiftly, he kisses me and then gets dressed. After we finish getting ready, Latch and I head to the kitchen and I ask him, “What do you want for breakfast?”
“Anything you’re willing to cook is good with me.”
I chuckle at his comment; he acts like he hasn’t eaten a good meal in years. Looking in the fridge at the options, I ask, “French toast?”
“Sure, sounds great!”
I pull out what I need as Latch heats up a pan. I love having his help. Darrell never stepped foot in the kitchen with me, so this is the complete opposite of what I’m used to.
“When will your grandma be back?” I ask him as I whip the eggs.
“Tomorrow night. Are you okay staying here until we figure out what to do?”
“I don’t know; I don’t want to intrude on her space. I don’t even know her.”
“Trust me, we aren’t intruding. Plus, you can’t forget this is where you’re safest.”
“Darrell doesn’t know where you live.”
“But if he’s smart, it wouldn’t take him long to look at your phone records and do an address search on my number.”
The thought of Darrell confronting us makes me uneasy, but I forge forward pushing away the thought. Latch is right, we are safest here. He opens the patio door and then comes back to the kitchen to pour us each some juice. “So we’re staying here?” he asks.
“Yes,” I confirm.
“Good,” he says.
Inside I feel that staying here is best, but I also wonder if there is more to his reasoning, like maybe he’s not ready to end things with his clients, to really let that part of his life go, so hiding here allows him to stall. He takes a sip of juice and reads me well. “What’s the matter?”
Taking a deep breath, I decide to just jump right into it. “When are you going to call your clients?” He holds two plates for me to serve the French toast on and I can see the reservation on his face. “You need to let them know that you’re done.”