Because I Love You

by Amy Brent

  “I don’t want to impede on your life, Jessi.”

  “You knocked me up, Chris. Impeding is the last of my worries,” she said.

  “Has Caleb been giving you a hard time at night?”

  “Why do you ask?”

  “You don’t look like you’ve been getting much sleep.”

  “Sorry I don’t look put together like my Instagram account portrays,” I said.

  “I didn’t come here to fight with you, Jessi.”

  “Then why did you come?” she asked. “You say it was to talk, but the one question I want an answer to, you refuse to give me. You’re angry because I hid Caleb from you, but I’m not allowed to be angry that you’re hiding why you left from me? Do you even see the double-standard in that?”

  She threw back the rest of her coffee as her nostrils flared. Fuck, when this woman wanted to piss me off she knew how to do it. She slammed up out of her chair and tossed her mug into the sink.

  So hard, in fact, that it broke.

  “Is this a test, Jessi? Because I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do here.”

  “I’m not testing you, Chris. I don’t have enough time in my life for that. You can come over and be with your son whenever you want to be with him. Just tell me when you’re headed over and I’ll unlock the door for you,” she said.

  “Fine. So who’s cleaning up the broken glass in the sink?” I asked.

  “Leave it. I’ll get it eventually.”

  “Like you were going to tell me about Caleb, eventually?”

  “Like you were going to call me, eventually?” she asked.

  “How the hell was I supposed to know I had gotten you pregnant?” I asked, as I stood up.

  “I don’t know. Try sticking around long enough to find out next time,” she said.

  “What are you really upset about, Jessi? Huh? What is this anger really about?” I asked.

  I backed her into the kitchen wall as her eyes widened. I was done with this fight. I was done going in circles. We could forgive each other and get to the root of this, or we could agree to disagree and co-parent like adults. If we needed a lawyer to bang this out, I could find us one.

  But either way, this anger had to go.

  For Caleb’s sake.

  “What are you so angry about?” I asked.

  Her eyes danced between mine as my hand rose to her jaw. I wrapped her face within my fingertips, steadying her gaze onto me. I felt her magnetic pull taking control again. I saw that fire rising in her eyes. Her nostrils were flaring again with her anger and I could feel her hands gripping the hem of my shirt.

  “I’m not angry,” Jessi said.

  I felt her soft fingertips caressing my hips as I stroked my thumb over her lip.

  “I’m scared,” she said with a whisper.

  Chapter 35

  Jessi

  There was nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide once those words slipped through my lips. I opened my eyes and took in Chris. The way he was pressed against me as his thumb stroked my lip. Just that subtle movement sent fire rushing through my veins. No matter how upset I was with him, or him with me, I would always want him.

  My body would always crave him.

  I took a chance and pressed my lips to his. I knew he was upset with me. He had every right to be. But the pull towards him was unmistakable. I couldn’t resist the heat he spread along my limbs. His hand cupped my cheek as his lips parted for me, and I slid my tongue in before he denied me.

  Before he pushed me away and was disgusted at my touch.

  But instead of pushing me away, he pulled me close to him. His arms wrapped around me as he rolled his hips into my body. I tilted my head to the side, deepening the kiss as our teeth began to touch. I could feel his hands gripping me. Massaging my hips as I slid his pants off his hips.

  I wanted him.

  And I could tell by the girth of his cock that he wanted me, too.

  He pulled me from the wall and began pushing me into the living room. His movements were commanding and I stumbled over myself. His hand fisted my hair as he kissed down my neck, biting me and lapping at my veins as we poured into my room.

  He reached out and shut the door behind him before he pushed me to the bed. My robe fell open, revealing my naked body to him. He ripped the rest of his clothes off before he grabbed my wrists, then he pulled me upright so I was face-deep in his cock.

  “Open,” he said.

  And I parted my lips to accept his throbbing dick.

  He pressed all the way to the back of my throat and I gagged. My nose nuzzled his trimmed curls as he groaned into my room. His hand tightened in my hair as he guided my mouth, my cheeks hollowing out with my sucking. My hands rushed up his thighs, then wrapped around to his ass. I dug my fingertips into him, feeling his muscles flex as he fucked my throat.

  “Such a good girl for me,” he said. “So willing to please me.”

  Spit was dribbling down my chin as I sucked his dick. My tongue swirled around his head and swallowed down every drop of precum he had to give me. He moved faster and faster as his cock grew against my cheeks. I lapped at him and opened my throat as he moved at lightning speed. I could feel his legs trembling, his cock pulsing. I could feel him ready to spill down my throat and I was prepared to accept everything he had to give me.

  But he pulled my lips from his cock before he exploded, and instead, pushed me down onto the bed.

  He grabbed my ankles and flipped me over as my robe tumbled down my back. He grabbed my hips and moved me to the edge of the bed before he pulled me to my knees. His wet cock was bouncing on my ass cheeks as his fingers slid within me. Pumping in and out as I coated his skin with my arousal.

  “So wet for me, sweet girl.”

  “Chris. I—I’m sorry,” I said, breathlessly.

  And he answered my plea with a resounding crack against my ass.

  He pressed his cock into my dripping pussy and I groaned into my bed. He set a deafening pace, my body jolting with every slam against my ass. I felt myself jiggling for him. I felt his hands massaging my ass. His cock was throbbing against me as he raked at that beautiful spot that sent electrical jolts through my body.

  My toes were curling within seconds as I exploded around his cock.

  “That’s it. Cum for me, sweet girl. You can’t resist me. You never could.”

  “Chris. Oh. Chris—don’t stop. Shit. I—it’s so—”

  “It’s so what?” he asked.

  He pulled out from between my legs and flipped me back over. He fell onto my body, his cock sliding into me with one thrust as my arms wrapped around his neck. He dipped his lips to my tits and sucked at my nipples. Stroking them and licking them and biting them playfully. I buried my face into his neck to muffle my sounds. I couldn’t contain them. My body was on fire as the sound of skin slapping skin filled the corners of my room.

  “You like that?” Chris asked. “You like what I have?”

  “I love what you have,” I said breathlessly. “I love it.”

  His movements stilled and my eyes found his. I looked into his beautiful blue eyes he had passed onto his son and I felt the last of my walls recede. I loved him. Every single part of him. And the plan to hurt him had gone out the windows days ago. I would never be able to hurt him. I would never be able to resist him.

  I would never be able to create a family with anyone else if he didn’t want to do this with me.

  His lips descended to mine as his hips rolled against me. He plunged deeper than he ever had before and stars burst behind my eyes. I moaned into his lips and wiggled underneath his body. His hands panted against my hips, pinning me to the bed as he fucked me senseless. He rolled and thrusted. Pounded and swerved. My legs hung limply at his sides as I gave way to his assault.

  My orgasm crashed over me, rendering me silent as my juices sprayed onto his hips.

  “There it is. Shit. I’ve missed that, sweet girl. Your juices covering my cock. Sliding down my balls.”

 
His words were hot. Hotter than I could remember as he pulled out again. He fell behind me and lifted my leg, then slid into me with his rock hard girth. I was spent. Helpless against how he twisted my body as his lips nipped at my shoulder. He pounded into me, chasing his own high as my tits jiggled for him. He guided my hand back to his hair before wrapping his arm around my waist, and I had just enough energy to grip his hair tightly.

  “Cling to me, sweet girl. Don’t let go,” he said.

  “Never,” I said breathlessly. “Never, Christopher.”

  His hand slid from my waist to my pussy folds and I moaned into the room. I knew what was coming and I was helpless to stop it. His hips were stuttering and his cock was growing thicker. Throbbing against my walls and forcing me to mold to him. I panted and whimpered as his fingers found my clit. He pressed deeply into me, sending me into a spiraling frenzy.

  “Chris. Chris! Yes…. Oh, yes. Shit… I’m cumming. I’m… cumming. It’s here… I’m cumming. Yes, Chris!”

  I arched into him as he bit down into my shoulder. His cock dove into my pussy, then stilled as it began to pulse. He pumped me full of his hot cum as my body shook, quaking against his sweat-covered chest as he kissed the teeth marks he’d left behind in his wake.

  Our bodies rolled together, shaking in the aftershocks of our orgasm. Chris pulled my tattered robe off my body, then cast it to the side before he settled down next to me. I felt my eyes growing heavy as his fingertips traced my nipples. His cock slid from between my legs and I whimpered as the movement sent shivers all the way to my toes.

  He kissed the nape of my neck, moving my hair out of the way as my eyes slowly closed.

  But when I woke up to the sounds of Caleb grunting in his crib, Chris was nowhere to be found.

  Chapter 36

  Christopher

  I sat at the table, waiting for Justin to arrive. Now that I knew what was really going on, we needed to talk. There was too much animosity flowing between us and I wanted it gone. I wanted to squash whatever the hell this was and move forward for the sake of everyone involved.

  Including Caleb.

  I swirled my straw in my drink as I sat and waited. I’d arrived a few minutes early to make sure I could gather my thoughts. There were so many things I wanted to say. So many things I wanted to establish. I wanted to tell him that it was beyond inappropriate to approach me the way he did at my home. To come at Jessi and I with Caleb in the car like he had. To corner the mother of my child in front of her own damn apartment, because he needed answers then and there and wouldn’t stop until he got them.

  And I planned on addressing all of it.

  The chair in front of me pulled out and it ripped me from my trance. Justin sat down hard in it, his eyes locked onto mine. The waitress came over and he placed his drink order, then he turned his attention back to me.

  “You wanna start? Or should I?” Justin said.

  “I know,” I said.

  I watched Justin’s face slowly fall as the waitress sat his drink in front of him.

  “Jessi told me a few days ago,” I said. “And the first thing I want to say is that I’m going to be there for my son, no matter what. No matter what my relationship is with you or Jessi, I’m going to be there like mine never was.”

  “That’s—good,” Justin said. “Jessi deserves that.”

  “And so does Caleb,” I said. “But I have a lot of things I want to say to you, so you’re going to sit there and listen.”

  “I’m all ears.”

  “Coming to my home the way you did and throwing down because of your anger was inappropriate, at best. You involved neighbors in a personal issue I wasn’t even aware of. You fought an unfair fight and you punched your best fucking friend. I want you to know that the next time your anger gets the best of you and you come for me like that you’ll be leaving in a fucking ambulance.”

  I watched Justin nod as he drew in a deep breath.

  “I eventually figured out that the entire moment at my house was because you cornered your sister at her apartment. Your sister, dude. The mother of my damn son. You cornered her like a rabid animal and forced her to admit to things that, for whatever reason, she wasn’t ready to come clean with. I’m not okay with that. You’re her brother. You’re supposed to protect her.”

  “She was hiding something from me. From all of us,” Justin said.

  “And that was her choice. That doesn’t mean you get to force your way in and scare her into talking. Bullies do that, and that shit won’t happen again. Not while I’m around,” I said.

  “Anything else?”

  “Yes. When we came back from the park and you were there unannounced? That shit stops now. Caleb was in the fucking car. My son was in the car. He watched his uncle berate his mother and father out of nothing but possessive anger. If you’re pissed that Jessi and I slept together while we were younger, you take that up with us. You call, you set up a time to meet, and you talk. Like the adult you are. This isn’t high school. You don’t get to corner people in the hallway and loom over them like some fucking bully. You did that shit in front of Caleb, and so long as I’m in my son’s life I will always be the barrier you have to get through in order to do that again. I will lay you out if you ever do that again. To Jessi or in front of my son. Understood?”

  Justin looked off to the side as he snickered and shook his head.

  “So it’s true,” he said.

  “What’s true?” I asked.

  “You’re in love with my sister.”

  “I’m not following.”

  “You accuse me of being possessive, but look whose talking.”

  “She carried my son. She has single-mom’d it all this time, but she’s not doing that any longer. She’s got help. She’s got me. As a provider and as a protector,” I said.

  “Do you love her?” he asked.

  “Why do you keep asking me that?”

  “Because I’m her brother and I listened to her cry endlessly for nights on end when you left. And maybe I was too stupid to put the pieces together then, but I’m not now. My sister was crying over you. While she was pregnant with your kid. So I’m here not as your friend, but as her brother. So how do you feel about my sister?”

  “Honestly? I don’t know. I’m still upset with her for hiding this as long as she did. I’ve been in town for six weeks and around her and Caleb for most of it and I only figured out four or five days ago that the kid I’ve been around is my son. My flesh and blood,” I said.

  “Can you really blame her?” he asked.

  “Maybe not, but that doesn’t stop me from being upset about it. I can’t answer your questions until I can figure out my own complex feelings towards this situation. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t have some things that needed to be laid out with you.”

  “So—what? You guys gonna pass Caleb off every other weekend?” he asked.

  “That arrangement is still for Jessi and I to work out, but we’re getting there. She’s invited me over every night to be there after work and I plan on being there. We’ll take it one step at a time. She says she needs most of the help in the evenings, so that’s where I’ll be.”

  “Can’t fault you for that,” he said. “But whether you decide to co-parent apart or together, it can’t be wishy-washy. You wanna talk about what’s best for Caleb? Having two parents that respect one another is best for him. Sort out your shit, then toss it to the side. Jessi had to suck down a lot of shit from Mom and Dad when she was pregnant. You have no idea the things that happened. The fights that broke out. The things that were said. If she can get through that, you can suck down some anger about not knowing for six weeks.”

  I bit down on the inside of my cheek as I picked up my drink.

  “I know,” I said.

  “You get to be angry, just like she was. You get to be confused, just like she was. But what you don’t get to do is hold anything back from her while complaining she’s doing the same thing.”

  “What?�
�� I asked.

  “Come on, Chris. Don’t be stupid. None of us know why you really took off. I knew your family dynamic was shit and that probably had something to do with it, but I don’t know specifics. And honestly? I don’t really care. You look okay and you turned out all right and I got my fucking best friend back. But Jessi? She gave birth to your child. She did all that shit alone. All the growing pains and the cravings and the sickness and the sleepless nights. All the labor and the recuperating and the first poops and the late night feedings. All of it, by herself.”

  “She won’t have to anymore,” I said.

  “And that’s fine. Great. I applaud you for it. But you’re sitting here bitching about her not telling you about Caleb when I know damn good and well you haven’t told her why you left in the first place. And if anyone deserves the answer to that question, it’s her.”

  Shit.

  Justin was right.

  “Stop holding Jessi to a double fucking standard. Because there are a lot of things you laid down you wouldn’t allow me to do, but there’s one thing I won’t allow you to do.”

  “And what’s that?” I asked.

  “I won’t let you hurt her again,” Justin said.