by Mia Kayla
"Did you drive here?" I retracted my hand. I hoped his stupidity level hadn’t jumped a notch higher and he hadn’t driven here drunk.
"Of course not. So I can have you more pissed than you are already at me? Pack your stuff." He swayed as he stepped toward me. "We'll discuss this at home." He pulled at my waist as he stumbled against me, and my arms flew out to keep him steady.
"I don't think you're in any position to talk about anything." My eyes protruded, my body tensing. "You’re not even going to remember what we talked about in the morning.”
"I'll help you pack your stuff," he mumbled.
I dug my fingertips into his arm. "No, Kent. Don't start things up right now. If you wake up Chase, it's over."
He straightened and his jaw locked. He stood a whole head taller than me. "You're coming home." There it was, the direct command that had my body tensing.
I guess in his drunken state, he'd become a broken record.
I answered him with defiance, throwing it right back. "No, Kent. I'm not."
We stared at each other in silence.
Forever silence.
Unblinking.
I didn't know who would give in first.
My noisy breaths were the only sounds. I knew he was stubborn, but I hadn’t realized I had pride enough for the both of us.
After a beat, his face crumbled as he dropped to his knees and wrapped his hands around my waist, surprising me. His forehead pressed against my stomach, and I held my breath.
"Baby, please don't fight me." His voice was barely above a whisper, and it weakened my resolve, melting my insides. "I-I can't do this anymore. I'm fucking dying." He sounded like a man defeated, a boxer laying down his gloves.
I couldn't take it anymore. I choked back tears as my fingers ran through his hair. "What's happening to us?" I asked him the question I’d been too afraid to ask because I was afraid to face the truth. I wished I could blink us back to a couple of months ago, when we’d been happily in love and our mere problems were a messy house or what to eat for dinner.
He squeezed me against him and answered with pure honesty. "I don't know."
His hands fisted the back of my shirt as he tapped his forehead lightly against my stomach. Tremors took over his body. "Don't leave me, baby. Don't...leave me. I won't survive it." Slow breaths escaped him. Liquor made people more vulnerable, and that was evident tonight. There were only a few times that he had let me see this unshielded part of him, and it was taking a toll on my emotions.
I unlatched his hands and lifted him up. His shoulders sagged as his eyes met mine, and I read such torment in the span of his chestnut brown peering down at me.
He cupped the side of my face, his thumb brushing the side of my cheek. "For better or worse," he choked out. "You promised me. For better or worse."
I nodded and fisted the back of his shirt, bringing him closer. I wished the worse would end, because it seemed forever since we'd had the better.
His eyes glazed over as he croaked out, "Please come home with me."
I nodded, swallowing back tears. "Let’s wait until the morning. Sleep this off, and I'll come home."
His arms encased my lower back, flushing me against him as his head dipped to the crook of my neck and we held each other in silence. He breathed me in, all of me, and rested his weight against me as though he'd fall if I let him go.
It was the first time I felt steady in what seemed liked forever. And it was then I realized it was only in his arms where I felt complete.
The next morning Kent shuffled my suitcase into our condo. His sunglasses were sitting on his face, blocking any light from his eyes. He'd mostly been quiet as we drove home, and I sensed it was because he had a major hangover. Or maybe he was avoiding the big elephant in the room—the baby.
He staggered into our bedroom with my belongings, opened my suitcase, and pulled out my toiletry bag. "Where do you want me to put this?" This was his way of trying to make things better between us. From his breakdown yesterday, I knew he wanted to work on our relationship, but how did I bridge the gap between our past and our future with the baby.
"I'll take care of it."
When he bent down to unpack my belongings, I stepped toward him. "I can do that, Kent."
With both hands on his hips, he glanced down at my open suitcase. His eyebrows knitted together as though he was in deep thought. After an audible exhale, he replied, "Okay."
"I know you had a long night, and if you want to rest or nap, I can get dinner ready later." I was offering the white flag in surrender because, before we could have a serious conversation about our future, he needed things to be good between the two of us.
He pushed the sunglasses to the top of his head. Deep dark circles clung to his eyes. "I just need to shower and I'll be fine. I'll cook dinner."
"No, Kent, you don't look well."
He shook his head. "If I don't look well, it's my fault. You're the one who needs rest. I'm not the one..." His sight dropped to my belly. "That's pregnant."
I stiffened and swallowed. He must’ve noticed, because his features softened a moment later. "I just want you to rest, alright? We both have work tomorrow and have a lot of things to talk about before then."
He reached for my hand and pulled me into a warm embrace. I reveled in the comfort of his hold, realizing how much I'd missed him. Married people were truly one unit because the last couple of days, I hadn’t felt whole without him. It was like I was functioning on life with a half tank of gas—I was incomplete.
I nestled into his liquor-filled shirt. He reeked, but I didn't care. The tranquility of his hold dimmed the chaos in my head.
"I want whatever you want." His warm breath brushed against my forehead. "I want you with me." He brushed his lips against my skin. "And whatever you want, that makes you happy. I want you to be happy."
I rested my chin on his chest to meet his eyes. "Babe, that's the thing. I want you to want this, too. For yourself, not just for me." I reached for his hand and placed it on my stomach, feeling wholly content as he held our baby. "And to want the baby for the both of us."
He nodded. "It's crazy. I can't grasp the idea. Maybe ‘cause she isn't here yet, so I can't picture it."
"She?" I smiled. "Have you already decided it's a girl? I don't think that can be determined for another couple of months.” Though inside I secretly wished for a little princess for Kent to fawn over.
He shook his head, his eyes filling with wonder. "She's like this inanimate object I can't touch, but when I close my eyes and picture her, she's a little version of you." His eyebrows pulled together as his stare became distant. "I mess up a lot, Beth."
I blinked. "What do you mean?" Had he done something else that I wasn’t aware of?
He tore his gaze from mine and stared above me, his eyes unfocused. "When I said, I don't think I can do this...what I really meant was that I have no clue what I'm doing here." He paused and blew out a breath.
I intertwined our fingers to give him courage to get it all out.
"Baby, I mess up a lot, and I can't afford to mess up something this big." He let out a long, jagged sigh. "To be responsible for another human being..." His voice trailed off. "I just don't know...I don't know the first thing about raising a child. I don't know if I'm capable."
I pulled back and searched his face. I had thought all along that Kent didn't want to give up his selfish ways, and one of his main motivators about being anti-children was because he didn't want to share me. But all along, he’d been insecure about being a father.
My heart swelled as I tiptoed, wrapped my arms around his neck, and kissed him to silence his nonsense. "No more talk about being incapable. Kent Plack, you're capable of a lot of things you don't give yourself credit for. And don’t you think I’m equally afraid?”
“You?” He scoffed. “You’re perfection personified. I don’t think there is anything you can’t do.”
I stepped back and shook my head as my own fears threatened
to choke me. “You had the best childhood with parents that adored you. I don’t even know my father, and my mother...” My vision blurred while memories of my childhood and all the disappointment my mother had caused pushed to the surface. “I’m just thankful I turned out semi-normal, and that I’m nothing like her. I have no idea what I’m doing. All I know is that I’m going to try my damn best.”
He reached for my hand and squeezed. “You’re going to be the best mother, I already know.”
His words gave me courage and hope and redemption. I smiled up at him. "And you'll be a wonderful father. At the end of the day, all this child needs is love and we have tons of that."
“That we do.” He smiled with relief. "And that's also what my mom said."
"Of course she did." I angled closer. "I don't know the first thing about parenthood, and yes," I admitted, "I'm scared to death, but we'll do this together. That'll be the joy of it all."
He nodded and the tenseness in his eyes relaxed. He brushed his nose against mine in the most intimate gesture. "I'm going to take your lead on this one."
My smile was so wide, it hurt my cheeks. "Yes, you will."
I lifted my chin and, when he met my lips, fireworks boomed in my belly and my whole body tingled. It’d been so long. I tiptoed and brought him closer, kissing him hard until our breathing was labored. Then his hands dropped to my ass, and he pushed me against his hardness, making my nipples pebble against my shirt.
"You need to shower," I said through muffled kisses. I pulled back and peered up at him. "And since you're taking my lead, I think I need to join you."
"You sure it's okay? You know with the baby and all?" His gruff voice vibrated against my lips.
I pressed my softness against his hard body. "It's more than okay. With all these pregnancy hormones, you don't understand how horny I am. I'm about to combust here."
He lifted me in one swoop, wrapping my legs around his waist. "I'm not about to argue with you." A devilish glint hit his eyes. "Especially since you're pregnant."
"Yes," I said, pulling at the tips of his hair. "That's right."
The alarm clock blazed loudly in my ears, awaking me from my deep slumber. When I shifted to hit snooze, it was already off. My eyes opened, and I took in the most handsome male in the universe—my husband.
"Hi," I pulled the covers closer to my chin and tried to dim my morning breath that could wake the dead.
He propped his head up with his hand as he stared lovingly in my direction. "Hey."
Seriously, I was married to a male model. Pieces of hair stood in disarray, but he still looked charmingly beautiful.
"How long have you been up?" I croaked out. My morning breath wafted up my nostrils. Not cool.
"I don't know. Thirty minutes or so. I couldn't sleep with all that snoring." He pulled the covers from my grasp.
I scrunched my nose. "Whatever!" Last night had been the best sleep I'd had in what seemed like ages. I knew it had to be a number of factors, including being in my own bed. But the most important factor was that Kent was right next to me.
My arms reached to the ceiling in the most satisfying stretch. Every muscle hurt from exhaustion from our sexcapade last night, another factor that contributed to my remarkable slumber.
Kent's stare didn't waver from my face.
"What are you looking at?" I pulled the covers up to my chin. "Stop looking at me like that."
"Like what?" His voice was tinged with humor as he angled closer. "Like I want to eat you for breakfast?"
"Yeah. That too. But just stop. Sorry I'm not as beautiful as you in the morning."
He pulled the covers toward him, exposing me. In the next second, I was in his arms. "You don't see yourself too clearly, do you? You never have. I'm looking at you because I'm thinking two things." He framed my face with his hands, brushing my wild hair away from my face. "I've been thinking how much I've missed you." He pecked my lips sweetly. "And that, of all days...today is the day we should call in sick. We have a lot of catching up to do." He bent down and kissed me harder, flicking his tongue over my lips, beckoning me to open, which I did.
He moved me to straddle him as our tongues collided together. A moan escaped me as I angled closer, wrapping my hands around his neck, my fingers threading through his silky locks. The alarm clock rang loudly in the background, yet he didn't relent. If anything, his kisses grew hungrier, which sent my body into overdrive.
"Kent...." I pulled back and shifted off of him to silence the blaring in the background. "We're going to be late.”
"No," he whined, tugging at my waist, but I didn't let up.
My self-control was shot, and if we kept at it, I doubted my ability to fight his advances.
When he reached for my waist, I jumped off the bed.
"Hey, I wasn't done with you."
"Seriously, babe, we're going to be late." I lifted my shirt and tossed it to the side. Next came my shorts, which I chucked at his head.
He let out a low laugh as his eyes darkened, desire pooling in his chestnut irises.
I smirked at him. "I think we should shower together to save time." I shimmied toward the bathroom and didn't have to turn around to know that Kent was right behind me.
Chapter 10
Beth:
One hand held my coffee cup steady on my lap, while my other hand was intertwined with Kent's warm fingers as he drove us to work. I missed this, the normality of our life. Heat radiated in my chest, and I thanked the heavens above for our regular routine. Who knew I would crave our predictable daily life?
"I've been thinking," he said, eyes focused on the road.
"Oh, I know what you've been thinking." I smiled coyly at him. "Your thoughts are usually on one thing."
"That's not true." He shook our hands lightly. The seriousness in his tone had cooled off the warm fuzzy feeling. "I've been thinking that I need to talk to Jason."
The color drained from my face and my heart rate picked up in speed. Was I naïve to believe that Kent could put the unwanted kiss behind us?
"To tell him what?" My muscles tense at the thought of the kind of conversation they would have. "I really don't think that's a good idea." When the car stopped at a red light, I shifted to face him directly. "You know, I didn't initiate anything with him, right? You believe me, don't you?"
"Of course I do, which is exactly why I wanted to talk to that asshole."
"No, that's exactly the point,” I reiterated. “You believe me. I did nothing wrong, so there's no need to talk to him." My pulse quickened as the light turned green, the drive bringing us closer to the office.
The muscle in his jaw jumped as his eyes focused on the road in front of us. Anxiety rose within me because, in less than five minutes, we'd be out of the car and at Plack Industries. If I wanted to keep my personal life and work life separate, I had to stop the train wreck I foresaw. If Kent confronted Jason, there was no doubt in my mind what would happen—WWE in the office, only live. I couldn't have that.
"You have to trust me," I insisted. My eyes set firmly on his.
"I do." The tightness in his stare caused my hands to sweat profusely. One curt nod, and I knew he had already made up his mind. "I'm the one who has to talk to him. To set that jerk straight. To squash all hopes of getting you back."
When the car turned into our reserved parking spot, my pulse skyrocketed, like a beating drum to a rock song. He shifted the car into park, and I reached for his hand, gripping it hard so I had his full attention. "Please, Kent. You need to let me handle this. He shocked me last time. I had no idea that he was going to do that. I'm never going to let him get that close again. Never, ever."
"That's right because he's never going to get that close again.” The tightness in his expression frightened me. “He's fired."
My eyebrows jumped to the roof of the car as I stared at him in shock. "You know you can't do that. You'd have a lawsuit on your hands." I intertwined our fingers, bringing them to my lips. "I love you and only
you, and if you love me...." Yes, I threw out the If-you-love-me card. "Then you'll let me set him straight."
He let out a jagged breath as his eyebrows pulled together. "He still has feelings for you."
"It doesn't matter. I feel nothing for him. Nothing." I emphasized my point by angling closer so he could feel the warmth of my body.
"What if he...." He opened his eyes and gave me a sad stare. "What if he convinces you?"
"Seriously? Of what? To leave you?"
"No, not that." He ran one shaky hand through his hair.
"Then what?"
"That he's a better man. For you...." His breathing labored. "A better man in general."
Suddenly, all his insecurities were laying out in front of me. It was crazy how he could be cocky and confident when it came to most things in life, but when it came to me, all his confidence was thrown out the window.
I gave my head an emphatic shake. "That's never going to happen."
His face told me he wasn't convinced.
"I'm going to only love you, forever and ever. Amen. I made vows. That day under the blue summer sky, when we exchanged our vows, I gave myself to you completely and I meant every single word. You just have to trust me."
He nodded. "I do. It's him I don't trust. I hate that you were ever with him. I hate that he was your first."
I gripped his hand tightly in mine and met his stare straight on to squash his insecurities. "It doesn't matter that he was my first love, because you—you're my forever love."
His eyes fell shut, and he blew out a breath, resting his forehead on mine. I reveled in the silence and his closeness.
"Let me talk to him, okay? Just let me handle this. Please." I needed to talk to Jason by myself and curb any more drama.
He pulled back, eyes hard. "Fine, but if he tries it again, I'm going to punch him in the face. And it won't matter where we are. Office or not, I'll give him a good beat down."
I nodded, satisfied. I’d never let it escalate to that point. "Thanks, babe."