“I know I like what I’ve seen so far” Jason said, as he watched her eyes floating around the room.
He put his hand out to touch her knee, inviting her to look at him. Her deep brown eyes met his and he spoke to her again.
“Seriously. I thought you were beautiful from the first night I met you, but you’re not just skin deep. You’ve got this amazing personality; you’re funny, and witty. And you swear more than any woman I’ve ever known, but I love it.” He joked.
Dee looked at him intently, listening to his words.
“I just know that I want you around, and I wanna try and make this work. Is it so bad that I wanna take my baby’s momma on a date?” he joked again.
Dee smiled, and it met his. But still, she wavered him away, telling him to ‘shut up.’
Again, Jason got her attention to turn back to him by brushing her arm, and once more, their eyes met.
“You’re amazing.” Jason said again.
Dee looked into his bright blue eyes, and saw the way he was looking at her. Her heart suddenly skipped a beat, like she was nervous, or excited, and then she wondered whether he was going to kiss her. His eyes flickered from her eyes to her lips and slowly, he made his way toward her. Instinct caused her to move his way too, and suddenly their lips were touching. Something about what he had said had put some kind of passion in her, and she sucked on his lips with a sense of urgency, before he started to run his fingers through her hair. She could feel it radiating from him that he wanted her, and that only spurred her advances further. She let out a small moan into his lips and slowly, he lowered her back onto the sofa, climbing on top of her. His hands explored her body as if for the first time and before she knew it, clothes were being thrown onto the floor. His words had struck a match inside of her, fuelling a passion that she didn’t know she’d had before. She straddled him, their naked bodies moving together.
Dee didn’t know what made Jason’s words different to the lines she’d heard from men before, but she believed him when he spoke. He had an honesty about him, and she believed he was genuine. It wasn’t a cheesy line or something he had rehearsed, he truly thought that about her, and she hadn’t heard that a lot. All she knew was she wanted to make him feel good, like he had made her feel. The first night they’d slept together, neither of them really remembered any details, alcohol had prevented that. This time may as well have been the first. This time neither of them would forget how it felt, and they didn’t have alcohol to use as an excuse. After they climaxed, Dee threw herself into the seat next to him, as they both caught their breaths.
“Wow” Jason said, causing Dee to giggle, embarrassed beside him.
“I didn’t mean to do that"
“You’re totally forgiven”
Chapter 15 – Deleisha
After the two of them put some clothes back on to protect their modesty, there was a bit of an awkward silence. Luckily, Jason had a good sense of humour, so when all else failed, he could always crack a joke to ease the tension in the air.
“So was that a yes to a date?” he asked, smirking slightly as he waited for her answer.
Dee rolled her eyes at his comment, but still, she said yes. She thought she could probably do a lot worse, and since they were about to have a baby, maybe it wasn’t the worst idea to try and make things work. He seemed genuine, and she liked that. She’d been with Trey since she was a teenager, and so she’d never really had a man tell her things like Jason had. The fact he was a few years older than her was probably a good thing too, since she knew how much more immature men could be compared to women. Though he liked to crack a joke, she didn’t see Jason as immature. Considering his speech about how he was going to provide for her and the baby, she knew he had a serious side to him, and she liked that she’d seen that already. She thought something as huge as a baby coming into the world should be enough to make a man wise up, but unfortunately she’d seen it time and time again that it didn’t.
Her brother had a daughter of his own with his high school girlfriend, but that didn’t stop him creeping around with other women, or breaking up and making up with her every few months. The pair of them were supposed to be role models to their little girl, but sometimes that little girl didn’t know whether she was coming or going. Sometimes her mother and father were together, sometimes they weren’t. Sometimes daddy lived with mommy and sometimes he lived with grandma. Shontelle was four years old, and it was unfair to confuse a child like that. That’s how Dee knew she couldn’t do the same to Tushaun. She wondered sometimes whether Tushaun was the motivation she needed to break up with Trey once and for all. She knew it wasn’t fair to her son. She was glad Jason had stepped up to the plate, but she knew things might change once the baby arrived. Either way, she was going to try, and if it failed, she could say she tried.
As the two of them sat for a while idly watching what was on the television screen, Jason glanced at the time on his Rolex and realised how late it was getting. He was sad at the prospect, because that meant he’d probably have to drop Dee home soon, and he was enjoying her company. He didn’t remember the last time he’d had a day off from work and had just sat with a woman, enjoying her company. It had been years since he’d had a girlfriend that was in the spotlight too, and though they understood each other’s lifestyles, it was often hard to make time for one another. He’d always thought it would be easier to have a girlfriend that wasn’t part of this industry, someone who could make time for him, and bring him back down to earth away from the fans and the media.
“It’s getting pretty late.” Jason announced. “You got any plans for the rest of the night?”
“No, Tushaun’s at his dads so, pretty much just chilling”
Jason nodded. “You could always stay if you like. You could have the bed, I’ll take the floor.”
Dee laughed a little then. “You don’t have to sleep on the floor. We just did that and you’re worrying about sleeping next to me?”
Jason shared her laughter. “Guess it does sound a little stupid.”
“But yeah, why not” she agreed.
“There’s fresh towels in the bathroom if you wanna shower or anything, I’m gonna go anyway.”
“Thanks, I’mma take you up on that.”
Jason watched her walk to the en-suite bathroom at the end of the room, and shut the door. He thought about previous events and shook his head disbelievingly that he’d just had sex with this beautiful woman again. He hoped she didn’t think that’s all he was interested in, but he wasn’t complaining either. He’d only meant to kiss her earlier, but he felt the passion she’d brought to the table and he couldn’t help but take it further. He got the feeling that he was in for the ride of his life with this girl. There was something exciting about her. She wasn’t the usual polite, well behaved woman who did things the proper way, but he liked that. She said what she thought and he could tell she could handle herself. He thought there was nothing sexier than an independent woman.
Around ten minutes later, Dee opened the bathroom door and appeared in a towel that was tucked in at her chest. Water droplets appeared on her bare body and the steam from the bathroom circulated from the door.
“That shower was amazing” she announced, using a smaller towel to towel-dry the ends of her hair which she’d gotten a little wet. Jason couldn’t help but watch her, and for a minute, he imagined ripping the towel away from her body, but he snapped out of it.
“I’ve got a couple t-shirts if you want one for bed”
“Thanks” she said, as she made her way to the sofa while Jason rummaged through his drawers to find an appropriate shirt. He pulled one out, and set it on the seat next to her on the sofa, announcing his departure for his own shower. Before he left, he took some bed clothes with him into the bathroom.
After his shower, he joined Dee back at the sofa. She was already sat in his t-shirt, her legs sprawled across the other seat watching TV. She looked comfortable, and it made him smile. As he moved near t
o the TV, she looked up at him and moved her legs for him to sit down.
“It’s OK” he told her, and instead of allowing her to move, he simply lifted her legs up and lay them in his lap once he’d sat down. The two of them watched a show on television for a while, neither of them saying anything, but it wasn’t an awkward silence anymore. It was weirdly comfortable.
He looked over at Dee who now had her hands in her hair, tying her long locks into a high ponytail. As she wrapped the band around her hair, her gold earrings embellished with her name glinted off the light in the room, and for the first time, he saw them clearly. They didn’t say ‘Dee’ as he thought, but ‘Deleisha.’ He took this in for a moment, and then spoke.
“De-Lee-Sha” he read aloud, causing her to turn around and look at him.
“What?”
“Your earrings” he pointed. “Is that what Dee’s short for?”
“Yeah.”
Jason smiled. He’d never really given much thought to what her real name was. He just took Dee as a given, never thought of what it might be short for.
“I’ve never heard that before”
“I guess it’s a little unusual. Don’t start calling me that though, it’s reserved for when my mama’s angry at me.”
She smiled jokingly, but her smile quickly faded.
“Does that happen a lot?”
“Has lately. She didn’t take the pregnancy too well.”
“Really?”
“Really. She brought Tushaun into it. She basically said I can’t even look after the child I got, so this is gonna be another baby that she ends up caring for.”
Jason frowned. He was surprised that her own mother had been so harsh to her.
“I’m sure she didn’t mean it. She was probably just surprised. We all were, right?”
“Oh she meant it. You don’t know my mother Jason, she can be a real bitch when she wants to be.”
“You two don’t get along?”
“No we do. We’re pretty similar for a lot of things, but, she ain’t never been mother of the year or ‘nuttin.”
“Is anybody?”
“No for real, she done some fucked up things.”
“Like what?” Jason found himself asking, before his mind had got into gear. Thinking how intrusive he just sounded, he spoke again before she had chance to answer. “Sorry, you don’t have to tell me”
“No, it’s cool. She just basically was a druggie half my life, got us in some shitty situations.”
“Wow. I can’t imagine.”
“Having to phone ambulances for your mom and then her shouting at you for doing it. It’s fucked up.”
Jason listened intently. He was surprised at what Dee told him, and he could tell the whole situation still struck a chord for her. He saw the frown lines in her forehead, and the way her words sounded harsher as she spoke about it. He’d been privileged to have such a fantastic mom growing up; he couldn’t imagine how hard it must have been for her growing up with a mother addicted to drugs.
“I just wanna be a better mom to my own kids, you know?” Dee added.
“I’m sure you will. I guess you already are, you’ve already got a son that loves you.”
“Yeah, he’s amazing too.” She smiled. “You wanna see a picture?”
“Sure” Jason agreed, scooting along the sofa to get closer to her as she picked up her phone and looked through it.
Dee showed him a few different photos. One of Tushaun on his own, one with the two of them together, and one with her sister. It was the first time he had seen Dee’s sister, Kiki, who she and her brother had talked about before.
“Wow, you two look so different to be sisters,” he said, studying the photo in front of him. Though she was clearly beautiful, he didn’t see much of a family resemblance.
“I know, everybody says that. Different dads though.”
“Do you still see them?” he asked, thinking he had never broached the subject of her father, though he’d never heard a father mentioned before.
“Never met ‘em. Either of ‘em.”
“Oh”
He knew it wasn’t his place to start asking further questions, but he thought it was sad that neither sister had ever known their fathers. Sadly, he knew what an epidemic it was becoming these days for fathers to be absent in the raising of children, and he knew he was lucky to have his stepfather when his biological father didn’t make the cut as much as he wanted him to. He knew this was why he had to stand by his child, and make sure he made it work. It made him think of how much Dee probably distrusted the words of fathers, knowing she never knew her own, and knowing her relationship with her son’s father broke down. He knew at only twenty-two, she must have been around twenty when she had her son, and he couldn’t imagine how hard it must have been raising a child so young on your own. He had respect for what she had done already.
The night was getting late, and as Dee took out the gold earrings from her ears, she yawned loudly.
“Tired?” Jason asked, starting to yawn himself after watching her.
“Yeah,” she agreed.
It didn’t feel that weird when the two of them moved to his bed and got under the covers. They left the TV on for a little while but it wasn’t long before Dee’s eyes started to close over slowly. Jason didn’t realise until he laughed at a segment on the television and looked over to see if she was laughing too. She wasn’t. He kept his gaze on her for a second to check if she was really asleep or just dropping off. As he saw her chest rise and fall he smiled and after a few minutes, he picked up the remote from the bedside table and turned the TV off, leaving the room in silence. He sunk his body down into the covers and felt an unfamiliar heat radiating from the body next to him.
It had been a while since he had shared a bed properly with somebody. It felt nice to feel that in the space next to him, rather than a cold side. Sometimes he would roll over to the other side in his sleep and feel the cold sheet under his body, making him shiver, especially in the winter. He thought about how nice it would be to permanently share his bed with somebody, to feel there was a presence in the room other than himself. As the thoughts whizzed around in his mind, he soon succumbed to the sleepy veil that clouded his mind and before he knew it, he was snoring lightly next to her.
Chapter 16 – Four Months
It’s amazing how fast you can get to know somebody when you’re really, actively trying, Jason thought. Sometimes, you can be with somebody for months and feel like you still don’t really know everything about them. You may know what shows they like to watch on TV, or what their favourite food is, but when it comes to the nitty, gritty stuff, like their past, their fears, their dreams; it can be difficult to find ground to mention it. Jason knew that not everybody was so open with their dreams like he had been. People feared letting people into their dreams, for fear they’d shoot them down.
Jason had taken an active role in getting to know the woman who has having his child. He was interested in her on a deeper level than just as a baby’s mother, and he wanted to know everything about her; her dreams, her fears, the intimate details you don’t tell just anybody. He knew she may not be perfect, but neither was he. He knew they were opposite in many ways, but somehow it worked. They say that opposites attract, and he believed it. He had been with people in the music industry, and frankly, it bored him after a while. Though he loved his work with all his heart, he liked the idea of having something besides work to talk about with someone. He’d been in great relationships but they’d never lasted very long. He’d simply become bored with them, and the spark fizzled out. His friends had joked that he was a commitment-phobe but he knew that wasn’t true, he just needed somebody different, somebody with some spark.
Dee certainly had spark. It had been a month now since they had been getting to know each other, and he was learning so much. They made an effort to see each other as much as they could, and while they were originally doing it because it was the right thing to do, they both f
ound they wanted to see each other now. It was weird for them to go a day without speaking, even if it was just a text message. It was clear to everybody around them that they were falling for each other, and while Jason would admit it, Dee kept things closer to her heart. Sometimes, they would simply hang out at his hotel and watch TV, or play games. He’d bought a new Xbox not long after the first time she had been round, and while he’d actually bought it for himself and Tom to play when they were bored, it turned out Dee loved to play too. She told him she had often beaten her brother on FIFA and Fight Night, but he didn’t believe her, so she proved it to him by beating him too. He couldn’t believe he’d found a woman who loved to play video games too. He found it hilarious how competitive she got, and how her foul mouth would get worse the more pent up she got.
After a week or two, they found the courage to go out together for lunch and dinner. Of course, this was a difficult decision because they knew at some point the paparazzi would get wind of it and Dee would be the next girl to be researched intensely for the papers and magazines. He didn’t want to do that to her, because he knew she didn’t sign up for it, but it was something out of his control. The first time a few men with cameras showed up and started taking their picture, Dee simply ignored them and kept on walking, and he was proud of her for not reacting. However, she didn’t always have the same reaction. He knew she was an angry person regardless, but with hormones in the mix and sometimes hunger on the way to eat, she would give them an earful. Something he would cringe at, because he knew it would never be a positive thing for her. He didn’t want people to think badly of her.
Dee was four months pregnant now, and her stomach was showing, something that was getting harder to cover up. She would wear loose dresses if they went out together but they both knew it was probably time they told somebody before the story was ‘leaked’ into a trashy magazine with a ton of lies. Around a month ago, Jason had convinced Dee to get a check up at the doctors, and he had paid for her to go into a good hospital. He was surprised when she said she had only ever had one or two checks with her previous pregnancy, as he knew it was important to track the baby’s progress. Considering she had only confirmed her pregnancy with a positive home pregnancy test, he thought it was about time they had it confirmed officially. There was no doubt she was pregnant, but he wanted to know how far she was, if the baby was healthy, if it was too late to get the tests. The first appointment, the doctor had told her she was already three months pregnant. Dee had told him she was on the contraceptive pill, but admitted she didn’t always have the best memory for taking it. Jason didn’t have any ground to be mad, he knew it was his responsibility to be safe too, and that night, he’d disregarded everything.
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