Underestimated

by Jettie Woodruff

  “Congratulations,” she said. “I just saw him through the window. He is beautiful, Ry.”

  “Thanks, how are you?”

  She held up her left hand.

  “Engaged!?” I said, shocked. Wow. That didn’t take long. “Are you pregnant, Lauren?” I just spit it out. Why else would he be jumping into that again already?

  “Dawson proposed on Christmas Eve, and yes, Ry. I’m pregnant.”

  “Oh, my God.” I squealed, grabbing her and hugging her. I was ecstatic for her. It was weird. I felt no bitterness toward her whatsoever. “I’m so happy for you, and I’m sorry I am making things so difficult for you guys.”

  “You stop that. This is a happy day for you. It will all work out, besides if the baby is Dawson’s, we’ll have to stay friends forever,” she stated.

  I smiled. I really was happy that she was there. I could see me back in my little house in Maine while my son was next door with her and Dawson. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. It would take Drew some time, but I knew he would love him like he was his own. Maybe I was just trying to place a little sunshine on a bad situation, but in the meantime, it seemed to be working.

  Drew came in carrying our baby with a happier smile than he had left with.

  “Do you want to hold him?” I asked Lauren.

  “Yes, of course.”

  She held him, playing with his little fingers. “Ry, he is beautiful.”

  I was trying to read her face. Was she seeing Dawson in him too? If she was, she hid it well.

  She talked about the shop, the radio station, Star dating John, my beach friend. I was glad she was talking like nothing had ever happened between. I laughed when she said she had to take up cooking and how the first time she tried to make Dawson a nice meal, it all had turned out to be a nightmare. They ended up going to Millie’s for supper.

  She handed me my baby when he started to fuss. The nurse came in with a bottle and Lauren hugged me.

  “I’ll see you later,” she said.

  “Geesh, I didn’t think she was ever going to leave,” Drew stated, kissing me.

  “I’m glad she came,” I said, watching my little man take his bottle.

  “Yeah, but I have been dying to tell you something, and she wouldn’t shut up,” he exclaimed.

  I laughed. “What?”

  “Let me see my baby,” he said, taking him and laying him over my legs.

  “What are you doing?” I asked. Nicholas was mad. He was enjoying that bottle, and he didn’t want to be unwrapped.

  “Drew?” I asked again as he took the tiny diaper off.

  He smiled and held him up, showing me the exact same strawberry birth mark that Drew had on the same left butt cheek. “My mom told me that my dad also had it.”

  I knew that a birthmark didn’t prove paternity, but Drew sure did, and I was a little more hopeful.

  The fifteen hour delivery was nothing compared to waiting on that stupid test. My visitors all left except, Dawson, Lauren and of course Drew. My mom made me promise her that I would call as soon as we found out. She had gone home with Celeste and Alicia because she didn’t want to stay in our home alone for the first time. I think she was a little intimidated by it.

  Finally at exactly ten twenty one, a man that I hadn’t seen before entered with a clipboard. My heart sank. Finally, it was over. One way or another it was finally going to be out.

  The man stood beside me with Drew on the other side. Drew took my hand as the man begun to explain the results.

  I looked down the chart with ten lines, all saying marker 1 through 10 with numbers that I didn’t understand. I didn’t care. I just wanted the results.

  “Based on the testing results obtained from analyses of the DNA, the probability of Drew Kelley being the father is 99.99%.”

  “It’s Drew?!?” I asked. I was shocked. I had already set myself up for the bad news.

  “Yes!” Drew yelled.

  “You’re sure?” I had to ask.

  He flipped the page and showed me the results saying that Dawson had a 0% chance of being the father. That was a pretty low chance.

  Drew kissed me and then his sleeping baby in my arms. His sleeping baby. I was ecstatic and sad at the same time. I knew that set it in stone and my life in Maine was over. I would sell the house and probably never visit there again.

  Drew of course had to drag the technician out to Dawson. He didn’t want him there, and wanted him to know that he was free to go with no further contact needed.

  I didn’t see Dawson again. He left without so much as a goodbye. I knew we had already done that. I still felt a little hurt that he didn’t see me before he left. Lauren did come in and say goodbye with a hug. She too knew that we probably wouldn’t stay friends. She hugged me with tears in her eyes.

  I listened to Drew making the calls with the good news. I was suddenly exhausted. I had been up since five in the morning and endured a hell of a long labor. I had been running on adrenalin all day, waiting for the results. I couldn’t have slept had I tried.

  The last thing that I remembered was Drew on the phone with my mom. I was out of it.

  I didn’t wake again until around three in the morning. I heard Nicholas cry and opened my eyes to see Drew feeding him a bottle in a nearby chair. I smiled and watched him talk and hum to his baby. He was so proud. There wasn’t an ounce of doubt left in me about the kind of father he would be. He was so in love with that little man.

  Epilogue

  I would have never in a million years dreamed that Drew would be so hands on with our new baby. He woke to midnight feedings, diaper changes and a postpartum crying wife. I think I had more of an adjustment melt down than he did. It took almost three weeks before I was done with the crying sprees for no apparent reason.

  Alicia spent a lot of time at the house with me. Celeste was there so much it was the only way they got to spend any time together. She was my new Lauren, and I loved her.

  Drew made Alicia and Vincent come and spend the night with me five weeks after being home. It was the first time that he had to leave since Nicholas was born. We had argued more than once about a nanny. I didn’t want a nanny. Just because I was rich didn’t mean that I was going to pay someone to raise my son.

  I’m not sure how he got any work done at all. He called at least five times a day. He had to talk to Nick every one of those times. It was cute, but annoying as hell. Alicia and I had a good time though and after Nick, and Vincent was down for the night we sat by the pool and drank a couple of beers, well, I did anyway. She had hot tea. I was so happy that it was her pregnant and not me. I wouldn’t be going through that again anytime soon.

  I could have consumed more had Drew been there to take care of Nick. Alicia tried to tell me that she would take care of him, but I quit after two. The alcohol wasn’t doing anything for my sex life anyway. I hadn’t had sex in over two months, and damnit did I ever want it. I had one more week to go, and I couldn’t wait.

  We called it a night when Nicholas demanded my attention through the baby monitor.

  I changed him, talking to him as I did. He was so handsome, and he no doubt looked like his daddy now. I loved the little cooing noises that he made and the way that he stretched his little arms and legs like a cat. I knew his daddy was watching and as soon as I sat in the rocking chair with him he would be calling. It had become his routine if he wasn’t home at bedtime.

  I had just gotten the bottle in his mouth when my cellphone rang. I smiled, answering it.

  “You are the hottest little mama on earth,” Drew said.

  “Do you know how hard it is to hold the phone, your son and his bottle at the same time?” I asked, teasing.

  “Yes, but I need to tell him goodnight.”

  I smiled and placed the phone by his ear. I could hear him telling him that he loved him, and daddy would see him tomorrow. I loved that man.

  “Let me get him down and grab a shower, and I’ll call you back.”

  “You’re
going to make me watch you shower?” he asked.

  I laughed. “No. you don’t have to watch. You’re the one that put the stupid cameras in the shower.”

  “I’m watching,” he assured me.

  “Okay. I love you. I’ll talk to you in a little bit.”

  “I love you too, baby. Give my little man a kiss for me.”

  I kissed sleeping Nick, once for me and once for his daddy.

  I tried to hide my sneaky smile as I undressed and got in the shower. I was no longer self-conscious about Drew watching me in the shower. It kind of turned me on. I seductively bathed for him and then placed my left hand on the tiled wall as my fingers made their way to my throbbing core. I made it show half, moaning and twisting my hips into my fingers. I heard my cellphone ring from the bathroom sink. I ignored it which I was sure he expected. I couldn’t have gotten out and answered it had I wanted to. I was going to come, and he was going to watch. I did come. I came hard and called out in much needed pleasure.

  I hadn’t even gotten dried off when my phone rang again. I smiled and answered it.

  “I’m going to freaking kill you,” Drew promised.

  “What’s wrong, baby?” I asked, smartly.

  “I can’t believe you did that. Do you have any idea how long it’s been? Do you really think I can handle that right now?”

  “You didn’t like the show?”

  “If you could see how hard I am right now, you would know that I loved it.”

  “Damnit, Drew,” I said. I didn’t want to picture that. I wanted that inside of me.

  “How much longer do we have?” he asked.

  “One week, and we are staying in bed for a whole week.”

  Drew laughed and decided that we needed to talk about something else. We did. We talked about our baby boy, and going to our beach house with Celeste, Alicia and Vincent. Drew had an office built on to the house so that he and Celeste could work while we were there. Alicia and I would spend a lot of time together while the two work-a-holics did their thing. We didn’t mind. She loved the beach house as much as I did, and Vincent wanted to move there. He and Caroline had treasure to find.

  Alicia and I were eating lunch when Drew and Celeste arrived back home the following day. Marta brought them both a plate. Alicia and I rolled our eyes at each other because they couldn’t shut up about a new merger during our meal.

  I eyed Drew like I wanted to devour him. He sensed it and kept giving me the eye to stop it. I didn’t. I waited until Nicholas was down for a nap and Alicia had to leave to pick Vincent up from school and went into his office.

  “Alicia is leaving to get Vincent. Go with her. You’re done here,” I told her point blank.

  “I can’t leave yet. I have to get this done,” she stated, keeping her eyes on the laptop in front of her.

  I closed her laptop. She had to move her fingers to keep me from closing them in her computer. She looked up as did Drew, both with shocked expressions.

  “Go home,” I demanded. She didn’t even look at Drew for permission. She knew that I was serious. She gathered her things and left.

  “What are you doing?” Drew asked as I came to him.

  I didn’t answer. I walked around his chair and loosened his tie from behind. He didn’t speak as I continued to unbutton his shirt.

  “Morgan?” he questioned. I still didn’t answer.

  I bent and kissed his ear and sucked on his neck. That was all that it took. He was up, and I was in his arms as his mouth devoured mine.

  “You can’t do this yet,” he panted to my lips.

  “I have to,” I assured him, sliding out of my pants. He helped me out of my shirt and ran his fingers between my legs.

  “Jesus Christ, Morgan,” he exclaimed as he felt my wetness. I moaned at his touch.

  I stepped around him and bent over his desk, brushing his steel rod as I did. I thought I was going to come unglued just seeing the protrusion lying erect to the left side of his dress pants.

  “What do you want?” he asked in a panty, raspy tone.

  “I need for you to spank me,” I instructed.

  I knew I was being crazy and erratic. I didn’t care. We hadn’t had rough sex in so long. I was beginning to forget what it was like.

  I felt the first painful, pleasure and moaned as he rubbed away the sting, dipping his finger inside of me. I could have endured the painful pleasure for an hour.

  I heard him open a desk drawer. I knew what he was doing. I wanted him to do it. I felt his finger at the pucker of my ass. He moved his finger in slowly until he was easily taking in and out.

  “Is this what you want, baby?” he asked.

  “Yes,” I panted. I wanted it there, and I wanted it right that second. I needed to come.

  I heard his zipper and moaned when I felt him enter me. Drew didn’t worry about going easy. That wasn’t the sensitive hole. He took me rough, fast and hard, and it was just what I needed. I grabbed the side of the desk when his fingers, frantically went at it on my clit. I screamed out in pleasure which sent him spiraling into a mind blowing orgasm with me.

  He stayed inside of me, panting and trying to regain control while we both came down.

  Once I was finally able to breathe, I turned to him, sliding him out of me.

  “I fucking love you,” he said to my lips.

  “Good, I love you too and thank you. I needed that.”

  “I’m more than happy to assist,” he smiled.

  “Stop working for the day,” I begged.

  “Can I have twenty minutes?” he asked.

  I groaned but gave in, knowing that his twenty minutes was going to be at least an hour.

  It was, and I was sitting by the pool with Nick when he came to find us. He took him and sat beside me on the glider.

  Marta brought us out coffee and we sat hand in hand with our baby, talking about our trip to the beach house. I smiled as he explained to Nick about treasure hunting, and how the two of them would find him the best sea glass collection ever.

  For the first time in my life, I was happy. I was where I was supposed to be, and I couldn’t have asked for a better life. I loved my husband more than life its self, and my baby was the most important thing in my life. I loved Celeste, Alicia, Vincent, my mom, Caroline and even Jason. I don’t think there was anything more in life that could have made me happier.

  My nightmares had become few and far between, and when they did creep up, Drew was right there, holding me in his safe, secure arms. Even when he was gone he was always with me. I didn’t even care that wherever he was, he could always see me. He even called in the middle of the night the two times that he had been away, and I woke panicked, sweating and trying to suck in air. He talked me through both nightmares, and I was glad that he was always there.

  “I love you, Drew,” I whispered, contently.

  “I love you, Morgan,” he replied with a soft sweet kiss to my hair.

  The End