by LK Collins
“With Parks.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It’s a long story, but really, I’m fine. I promise. I just woke up, give me about ten minutes, and I’ll come explain everything.”
“Okay, baby. I love you. I’m so glad you’re all right.”
I hang up just as the news flashes a mug shot of Leo and then the news anchor says, “Marlika, what’s the latest on this devastating situation?”
The footage cuts to a female who is standing outside Leo’s house. “This is tragic. The victim, who has asked to remain anonymous, is being treated at a local hospital after suffering a blunt force trauma to the head. Neighbors say they heard the two arguing in the early morning hours, and then her screams for help followed shortly thereafter. From what we can tell, Mr. Valderami is accused of pushing her down a flight of stairs.”
The reporter stops talking, and Parks mutes the television. “Holy fuck,” I blurt out. “He pushed her down the stairs?”
Leo has always had a temper. The smallest of things would set him off, but other than the one time he put his hands on me, he was never violent. Though, shoving me into a wall isn’t exactly peaceful. The memory of him getting physical with me still makes my skin crawl. After that one night, I always let him do what he wanted when he wanted. Even after he cheated on me the first time, I didn’t put a ball and chain on him like I wanted to. I gave him freedom . . . sadly, it was for all the wrong reasons. I’m still sickened that I was brainwashed by him for as long as I was.
Parks looks so concerned that I’m afraid he might pass out, so I curl my whole body against his, needing comfort as much as I want to give it.
“Why would he do that?” Parks asks.
“Because Leo doesn’t like to be controlled, and I bet that is what she was trying to do to him.”
“It still sickens me that you were with him. I should’ve beat the shit out of him a long time ago and taught him a lesson.”
“Guys like Leo can’t learn lessons.” I reach out and touch his face, so grateful that we are together and that part of my life is over. The sheets fall from my breasts as my hand touches him, and he groans, looking down at them.
“Have I told you how perfect your body is?”
“Like a dozen times.”
He smirks and leans in to kiss my neck and then moves his way down my chest. I rest my hand on the back of his head to stop him.
“What should I tell my parents?”
“Shhh,” he says and pushes me onto my back. His large body is lying on top of mine, and as much as I just want to stay right here, I know how my mother is, and now that she knows where I am, if I don’t show up, she’ll be here before I know it.
“Parks?”
“Just give me . . . two minutes?” he asks, kissing down my ribs. When he nips at my hipbone, I squirm, not wanting him to stop but knowing he needs to.
“What should I tell my parents?”
“That was like ten seconds,” he complains. And when he sees the look of seriousness written across my face, he looses a deep breath and moves to lie next to me again. “I assume you are referring to the baby?”
“Yeah, they hate Leo, and after what we just saw on the news I fear they won’t want to be a part of the baby’s life.”
“Maybe we ease things on them and start just by telling them what Leo did and about us.”
“Oh, God. What about my work?”
“That’s not really relevant, is it?”
He’s right. It isn’t.
“Are you coming with me, then?”
“Thirty seconds?” he asks and starts kissing me, but I wiggle out of his hold, which really is tragic because he’s so sexy. Fuck, I’m still pissed at myself for not seeing what was right in front of me all along.
After we are dressed, Parks and I head out.
“You want me to drive?” he asks.
“Sure.”
We make the short trip across town to where both our parents live. As he drives, his hand is on my thigh, his fingers are strumming back and forth, and as much as that would typically be distracting, I spend the entire drive wondering what the heck I’m about to tell my parents.
“Ready?” I hadn’t realized we were in their driveway, so I manage a small smile, trying to cover my anxiety.
“Yeah.”
“No eye-fucking me while we’re in here, ’kay?”
I laugh. “I would never do such a thing.”
“You know you’re a terrible liar.”
“Not any worse than you.” We get out of the truck and both glance over at his parents’ house. “You think they are home?”
“No, they were taking the boat out today.”
“Oh my God, I miss that boat.”
“You do?”
“Yeah, don’t you?”
“Nah, the water still freaks me out after losing Meg.”
“Sometimes the ocean does for me, too, but not the Puget Sound.”
“True.” And we both know that’s where my parents always take their boat.
We walk through the front door of the house and barely make it two steps before my mom has us both in a tight hug. It’s as if she was standing here waiting for us.
“Hey, Mom,” I cheerfully hug her back.
“Roger, they’re here!” she hollers and then holds me by the shoulders, saying, “I’m so glad you’re okay, Fallon.”
“You know I always will be.”
“Not always. What Leo did could easily have happened to you.”
My dad comes into the room and gives us both a hug before we move to the living room.
“What happened with Leo?” my mom asks, glancing at Parks’ hand wrapped around mine. I glance at Parks, wishing he could just handle this all for me. But he can’t, so I relive the unfortunate events that led to the end of my and Leo’s relationship. My dad is the first to break the silence that follows.
“I told you he was no good.”
“I know, Dad. And I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you.”
“It’s what kids do,” he grumbles and then points to the two of us. “So, how long has this been going on?”
“It’s pretty new,” Parks answers.
“I can’t wait to tell Barbara and Frank that we knew first!” my mom exclaims.
“Uhhh, they kind of already know,” Parks breaks the news gently, but my parents still look as if he just told them their dog had died.
“What? Why would you tell them first?” We all chuckle, and Parks says, “Sorry, we didn’t mean to.”
“Well, what else are we the last to know?” Parks shakes his head, but I figure I might as well come clean about my job. I hate keeping things from my parents. I really do.
“I also left my job.” I leave out the part that it was my boss who told me to leave. It’s better to say it that way then to try to explain that my boss was a psycho bitch who hated me and fired me for a few wrong time cards.
“Why?”
“Yeah, I though you loved it there,” my mom adds.
“It was okay. But—”
“It was my idea,” Parks jumps in. “I need her to help with my photography business. This National Geographic feature is going to create a buzz, and things are going to get overwhelming for me. Fallon has a sharp eye for photography, so I asked for her help.”
His save is unexpected. He’s never said such a thing to me. Granted, my parents don’t know that, and they have always been proud of Parks and his success. I can see the smile across their faces as they wait for me to answer, which I do with a smile and a nod.
19
Parks
After our visit with Fallon’s parents the other morning, she hasn’t given me a straight answer about my proposal. “I meant what I said. I could use your help with the business, and I do believe you have a good eye for it,” I tell Fallon as we sit in the doctor’s office, waiting for what feels like an eternity for someone to come in and see us.
“I appreciate the offer, Parks
, but I can’t keep depending on you to fix all the problems in my life.”
“Is that really how you see it?” I ask her, holding on to her hand. “I’d love working with you everyday; it’d be a dream come true.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, don’t you think?”
“It would be amazing, and I don’t want to lie to my parents or worse, let them down. You really think I have an eye for it?”
“I do, I’ve always told you that. And the pictures you took the other day on our hike were spot on, that’s raw talent, you can’t teach that, baby.”
Her mouth spans from ear to ear, and I lean in to kiss her, but there is a knock on the door.
“Ms. Wrenshaw, thank you for waiting,” the spunky woman says as she walks into the exam room.
“Please, call me Fallon.”
“All right, Fallon. I’m Dr. Cornelius, and who’s this lucky guy?” she asks, looking at me.
“Parks, the baby’s dad.” I shake her hand as she sits on a small stool opposite the two of us. I still have a hard time lying about being the father. Yes, I want it more than anything, and both of us know Leo is not fit to be a parent, but it doesn’t make it any easier.
“Well, congratulations you two. Is this your first?” Fallon nods. “Do you know how far along you are?”
“Not really, the hospital never did an ultrasound and my periods are always screwy.”
“All right, we can measure your little peanut today. How have you been feeling?”
“Good.”
“Great, that’s good news. You wanna lie back?” She adjusts the table, and Fallon lies back and then lifts her shirt. “Can you unbutton your pants, please?” Fallon does so, and the small glimpse I get of the top of her sex has all the blood rushing to the tip of my shaft.
Jesus, not here.
“This might be cold, I’m sorry.”
The doctor squeezes out some blue goo on Fallon’s tummy, powers up the machine, and then starts to move a wand thing around her stomach. All three of us watch the screen, waiting for the first glimpse of the baby.
“There it is,” the doctor says, and man is she right. Covered across the screen is the tiny resemblance of a child, Fallon’s child.
“Is it healthy?” she asks.
The doctor moves the probe all around and then says, “Yeah, looks good.”
She points to the tiny flicker that is the baby’s heartbeat before clicking a few buttons on the machine. The sound of our baby’s heart pulsating fills the room, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything more amazing in my life.
“Is that the baby?” Fallon whispers as if she’s afraid to break the magic of this moment.
“Absolutely, the heart rate is normal, and all your blood work came back great,” she says, which is a relief. Fallon has been stressing about the drinking she’d done before she found out she was pregnant, but the hospital reassured us and clearly so is Dr. Cornelius.
“How far along is she?”
“By the size, I’d say about ten to eleven weeks.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah, so you guys are about in your second trimester. I’d like to see you in two weeks to check the progress, and as long as you stay on this track and are feeling well, then we can stick to once a month visits.”
The doctor wipes the goop off Fallon’s stomach, turns the monitor off, and then hands us a strip of pictures she printed during the exam.
“Thank you,” we both tell her, and she leaves the room.
“That’s great news, huh?” Fallon doesn’t answer in words—she just nods and stares at the pictures.
“Ready to eat. I’m starving. I’m sure you are, too.”
“God, yes.” She bites her lower lip between her teeth, and I help her off the table, then we head out of the doctor’s office, hand in hand, the way I’ve so quickly grown to love.
“Where do you want to eat?” I ask her as we walk out to the warm summer day.
“Anywhere.” She is staring at the pictures deep in thought, and eventually lets out a tiny sigh then turns to me. “This all suddenly feels real.”
“What do you mean?” I hold open the door to a small café, letting her walk ahead of me.
“The baby. It’s like before today, I really didn’t think I was pregnant.”
“I understand,” I tell her, as the hostess seats us by one of the windows in the back. “Thanks,” I tell her, pulling out Fallon’s chair.
After taking the seat across from her, I reach for the pictures she’s studying and can’t believe how big the baby already is. “Jesus, look at all those fingers and toes and shit.”
“I know. How crazy, huh?”
“Yeah.”
The waitress takes our drink order, and then we both open our menus, knowing we need to make a decision on lunch soon.
“What are you getting?” I ask Fallon as she quickly sets hers down.
“A bread bowl with soup.”
“Uhhh, let me guess, chicken noodle?”
She smiles, and I chuckle. I know everything there is to know about her. She rolls her eyes at my laughter. After I decide what I want to eat, I close my menu and lean forward on my elbows.
“You know that I meant what I said. I want you to work with me.”
“Yeah, but doing what?”
“I want you to help me run the photography business. Really I’m a bit overwhelmed and could really use your help. We’ll split everything fifty-fifty.”
“No way. You’ve worked your entire life to create that company and get it to where it is. I’m not just gonna take half of it.”
“I want to share it with you. Fallon, I love you, and that’s never going to change. I’m all in . . . forever.”
20
Fallon
Parks really made it impossible for me not to agree to start working with him. And since then, it has all happened so quickly.
Now, here we are about to buy me some expensive ass cameras. “Maybe we should consider a cheaper model or just one?” I ask, and both Parks and the sales associate look at me like I’ve offended their mothers or something. “No, we’ll take these,” Parks says to the guy.
“Or not . . .” I mumble under my breath.
“You can’t talk to your boss that way,” Parks teases me, squeezing my ass as the worker has his back to us ringing up the order.
“Yes, I can. I’m your fifty-fifty partner, remember?”
“Damn it,” he mutters, and the guy hands us back the camera all bagged up and a receipt to sign. My stomach feels nauseated for every dollar that is on there, but I lean over and give him a kiss.
“Thank you, Parks.” I may hate that he just spent that much money on a camera for me, but I refuse to be ungrateful.
“Don’t thank me just yet.”
“What do you mean by that?” I ask him as we get into his truck.
“You promise you won’t freak out?”
“Any more than finding out you’ve been in love with me for our entire lives? Probably not.”
He starts the engine, letting the cool air blow on the two of us, but he doesn’t take it out of park.
“I’ve always wanted to take pictures of you . . .” He doesn’t need to finish for me to know exactly what he means. The thought is not entirely unwelcome, either.
“Ahh, have you now?” I ask and glance at his growing cock. “Why haven’t you asked me then?”
“Because we were friends.”
“But you could’ve pretended I was your client.”
He swallows, and I reach over, cupping his massive shaft through his tight jeans.
“So, what are you gonna do with these pictures if I let you take them?”
“Stare at them.”
“That’s all?”
“I’ll probably jerk off to them, too.”
“Like this?” I ask and unbutton his pants, yanking out his cock. I stroke him, and he groans deeply from the back of his throat. I doubt there has ever been a sexier
noise.
“You don’t need to jerk off anymore. You have me, now.”
His hand cups my face, and I lean in kissing him, our tongues quickly becoming tangled as they duel. When Parks and I are intimate, the connection is strong, and it seems as if neither one of us can get enough.
Then I back away from his lips and nip on his earlobe, whispering in a low, seductive tone, “Drive.”
He puts the vehicle in reverse, and I lean over, eyeing his dick and sending a silent thank you to whoever tinted his windows so dark. Unable to help myself, I bend a little more so I can spin my tongue over the tip before slowly sinking down on him. I can only make it about halfway, but I stroke him deep at the base with my hand.
“I don’t think this is safe,” he says.
“No?”
“No, you make me want to lose control.”
“Just drive,” I order him again and get lost sucking on him
Parks grunts, gripping the wheel and trying not to buck his hips while I indulge in my new favorite pastime.
By the time we get home, my pussy is drenched, and Parks slams the truck in park before we even come to a stop. I laugh as I slide off the seat and glance over at him, watching as he shoves his dick back into his pants.
“Come on, either run, or I’m carrying you.”
I get out the car as slow as a snail and can see how impatient it’s making him, but I love to play with him. He swats my ass, and I giggle as he groans into my ear, “Go!”
“Yes, Mr. Bossy Pants.”
He has the bag of cameras in his hand and heads upstairs ahead of me. “Hey?”
I holler up to him, and he yells back, “I told you to run.”
Taking my time, as I stroll along the sidewalk that leads to his condo, I find it actually hard to walk at this pace. When I finally make it inside, Parks is fumbling to piece together one of my cameras, the thirty-five mm one, and now it makes sense why he wanted to buy two of them. He wants to be able to develop the pictures here.
“Take your clothes off.”
“You’re really bossy today,” I jokingly complain as I flip the lock behind me. “Oh, you have no idea.” His cock is still hard, pressing up against his jeans and I find myself turned on even more by his controlling nature.