Fate on Fire

by E. L. Todd

  “I guess he went out with Amelia.” She took a seat on the couch and started to breastfeed. She placed her blanket on top of him, so he could eat in private. “And apparently, they hit it off…”

  I hadn’t talked to Kyle, so I didn’t know what his life was like. I knew who Amelia was, just from pictures with Neil. She was young and pretty, and if she was Neil’s colleague, she was obviously brilliant. “Wait…how did that happen?”

  She shrugged. “Vic ran into him somewhere. They talked for a bit.”

  “I just can’t picture him with an astronaut…”

  “I mean, she’s pretty hot and successful…that’s Kyle’s type.”

  “I guess so.”

  She studied me, letting her baby eat. “You okay?”

  “Yeah. I’m just…surprised. I was not expecting you to say that.”

  “It was a surprise to me too.” She adjusted the blanket and looked down at her son. “But that’s the weekly gossip.”

  “So, they like each other?”

  “I guess Amelia is smitten, and Kyle thinks she’s cool.”

  “Wait. That means Neil knows about this?”

  “He has to since they work together.”

  That seemed like way too much of a coincidence. There was something going on right under my nose.

  “You aren’t jealous or anything, right?”

  “No, not at all. I’ve been wondering how he’s doing. I want him to be happy…more than anything.”

  “If he’s going on a date, I’d say he’s in a good place.”

  “Yeah…maybe.”

  Neil walked inside, carrying a box of diapers. “Dad to the rescue.” He placed the box on the table and ripped it open.

  “Thank you. I’m totally out, and I didn’t want to go out this late.”

  “No problem.” He looked down at me, a slight grin on his face. He held my gaze for a few seconds, like he wanted to keep staring at me, like I looked particularly beautiful in that moment. “Happy to do it.” He grabbed a diaper and walked into Kingston’s bedroom so he could change him.

  I carried the rest of the diapers and set them up in the changing station.

  Neil was a pro with diapers, picking it up easily, and he returned Kingston to the crib. “Much better, huh?” He rubbed his belly and watched him giggle. “But it’s time for bed.” He pulled the blanket over him, stroked his hair, and then walked out with me.

  We returned to the living room. “Did you go by the store?”

  “No. I had extra.” He took a seat on the couch, and Torpedo immediately jumped up to sit beside him. He smiled and rubbed him behind the ears, just like old times.

  I took the seat next to him and watched them for a while. “Neil?”

  “Yeah, baby?” That was all he ever called me anymore, like saying my name was something he physically couldn’t do. He turned back to me, leaving his hand on Torpedo’s neck.

  “Stacy told me Kyle is seeing Amelia.”

  He didn’t have much of a reaction, as if I hadn’t caught him off guard. “Yeah, I heard that too.”

  “Did you have something to do with that? That’s just too much of a coincidence.”

  He turned back to Torpedo and stared at him for a bit before he turned back to me. “Amelia told me she was looking to settle down, and I mentioned Kyle. She was interested, so I talked to Vic, and we kinda set it up.”

  “Why?”

  “I just know that he used to meet women at bars, and if he met someone of quality, he might be happier. Amelia is smart, beautiful, independent…his type. I didn’t think it would do any harm.”

  “I still don’t understand why you intervened like that.”

  “I knew it would make you happy if he was happy…and Vic tells me he’s happy.”

  “He said that?” I whispered.

  Neil nodded. “They’re going on their third date. Amelia tells me that she really likes him, that he’s a great guy.”

  I couldn’t picture Kyle with an astronaut. He’d always been with strippers or waitresses. But then I realized he didn’t have a lot of opportunities to meet a different kind of person, so maybe it was a good idea. “Well, I’m happy to hear that.”

  “Me too. I told Amelia Kyle was a really great guy, and she trusted me. Kyle made me look good, apparently.”

  It’d been almost two months since we broke up. For most people, that was enough time to put themselves out there again. Maybe Kyle was ready to move on…once he found a good person to move on with. “He is a great guy.”

  “And Amelia’s got spunk, which I knew he would enjoy.”

  I smiled. “That’s really great. I hope they keep seeing each other.”

  “Not to gossip, but I guess they’ve already slept together. Amelia says she’s officially addicted.”

  It didn’t make me uncomfortable to know Kyle had been physical with someone new. It felt like it used to, when he told me about his conquests, when we swapped stories about our lives. The only difference was he wasn’t actually the one telling me.

  “I’m not trying to pressure you, baby. I just know the guilt is holding you back, so I thought if he was happy…you could let it go.”

  I already did feel better, knowing Kyle was thinking about someone else besides me. “Yeah, you’re right. Thank you…”

  “Maybe the two of you can be friends again soon.”

  “We’ll see. He has to reach out to me. I’m not going to reach out to him.”

  “Maybe that will happen soon.” His arm moved around my waist, and he brought me close, wanting my cheek on his shoulder. He turned his head into me, holding me that way, rubbing his hand up and down my side. “I asked Vic to watch Kingston for the night on Saturday…so we can go out to dinner together.”

  I straightened and looked at him. “Can you even go out in public?”

  He chuckled. “I’m not as famous as people make it seem.”

  “I don’t believe that. But yeah…I’ll have dinner with you.” I looked into his brown eyes, seeing the man who had haunted my dreams since the moment we met. He promised not to hurt me, proved that he wouldn’t, and my heart deserved to finally have what it wanted.

  He didn’t smile, but his eyes shone a little brighter. “Great. I look forward to it.”

  “Are you going to sleep with him?”

  I picked up Kingston and his bag of supplies. “Stacy.”

  “What?” she asked. “I’m just asking—”

  “It’s our first date.”

  “It is so not your first date. You can never have a first date again when you have a kid.”

  “Well, it kinda is—”

  “The love of your life just came back from a long mission. That’s what it is. And he asked me to watch Kingston until Sunday morning, so…he’s obviously preparing.”

  “He wouldn’t expect anything.”

  “But he’s certainly going to hope.” She held baby Neil in her arms as she came closer to me. “He hasn’t been with anyone since he left. He could have been nailing pussy since the moment he got home, but he hasn’t. That’s pretty romantic.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  “He keeps his dick in his pants because his dick is reserved for you. He’s got a big Reserved sign on it.”

  I rolled my eyes again. “Stacy—”

  “Look, I just want you to let yourself be happy. Kyle has a sexy lady on his hook, and you’re so in love with Neil. Celebrate that he’s here, that he made it home. Ride his dick like he was a soldier deployed for a year—”

  “Oh my god, shh!” I glanced at Kingston in my arms.

  “Oh, come on. He’s not even two yet.”

  “But close,” I argued. “Let’s keep it PG.”

  “Fine. But what I said still stands. Just be with the man you love. Stop waiting.”

  I wore a black dress with silver heels, a silver clutch to match. I was nervous, like it really was my first date ever. I sat at the edge of my bed, with Torpedo on the floor, feeling my dress on my
thighs, exposing most of my legs.

  I stared at my phone, so nervous, so anxious, so…nauseated.

  I finally gave in and sent off the text. Hey. How are you? I said I wouldn’t text him, but I couldn’t help it. I needed his blessing even though I would never ask for it. I didn’t expect him to text me back, but I stared at the screen anyway.

  The three dots popped up.

  “Oh my god…”

  His message came. Pretty good. You?

  Things are good. Kingston is getting so big, Torpedo is staring at me right now, and work has been uneventful.

  How’s Neil?

  I hated that question because I couldn’t read the context. Good. He’s coming by soon.

  Tell him he’s the man.

  Wait, what?

  He texted again. Amelia is soooooo sexy. And she’s smart, which is even sexier. I didn’t know being a nerd could be so cool.

  I had to read his message a couple times to digest it. I heard you were seeing her. That’s great.

  She’s different from the girls I’m usually with. She speaks her mind, has a bit of an attitude, she’s really smart… It’s pretty cool. I’m gonna meet her son in a couple of days. I guess the father is out of the picture for good.

  That’s so sweet. I knew they must be serious if she wanted him to meet her son. They were moving fast, but maybe that was a good thing. It was spontaneous. I’m sure he’ll love you.

  Yeah, Kingston can give me a reference.

  LOL.

  The four of us should go out on a double date sometime.

  All the weight left my chest instantly, like I was a whole new person. I stared at our messages, seeing the way we talked like we were friends again, like everything had gone back to normal. Yeah, I’d love that.

  I sat on the couch beside Torpedo and waited for Neil to pick me up.

  Torpedo had his chin on my thigh, his eyes up and on my face.

  I kept looking at my phone, seeing the video Neil had sent me. I hadn’t watched it yet, and now that I felt closure with Kyle, it seemed like I was ready. I was finally about to drop my ironclad loyalty and open my heart to the person who already had it. So, I hit play and watched.

  Neil sat in the chair at his desk, a collage of pictures in the corner near his cot. It was hard to make out, but there were pictures of me there, the pictures he’d asked me to give him. He was quiet for a long time, letting the camera record silence. Then he spoke, and his voice was different, sounding like a voice I hardly recognized. It was broken, strained. “Charlotte, you’ll never see this, but I wanted to say it anyway…to confess my sins and admit my regrets. Coming here was stupid. You never asked me not to go because you’ve always been supportive, but I wish you had asked me to stay. Getting here gave me a high like I’ve never known, but it was short-lived. It only made me realize how happy you made me every single day. I miss the simple things, like making dinner, watching TV on the couch, taking Torpedo on a walk… I miss everything. I miss my family, I miss you. I thought doing this was the most important thing in my life, but now I realize I left behind the most important thing in my life. I should have married you. I should have made a family with you.” His hands came together and rested against his lips as he sat in front of the camera, staring at himself on the computer screen. Tears welled in his eyes, and he lowered his hands and sniffed. “I love you, Charlotte. If I ever see you again, I’ll make sure that I tell you that.”

  When Neil knocked on the door, Torpedo didn’t get up and start barking. He stayed beside me, knowing I was upset, knowing my tears were the equivalent to his whine. I patted him on the head before I got to my feet. My heels tapped against the hardwood floor of the entryway before I opened it.

  He stood in jeans and a deep green shirt, looking me up and down the moment he saw me. For a second, he didn’t notice my wet eyes. He only noticed the way I looked in that little black dress. When he focused his eyes on my face, he took a deep breath. “Baby, are you—”

  “I just watched your video.” My hand went to his arm, and I gently tugged him inside before I shut the door behind him. My back was to the door, and I looked up at him, seeing his stoic expression, he couldn’t infer how I would feel about what I watched. “I don’t want to go to dinner, Neil.”

  He couldn’t hide his disappointment, like my decision devastated him. He rubbed the back of his neck then looked at the floor. “It’s okay if you aren’t ready. I can wait—”

  “I want to bring our son home.” Tears fell from my eyes and down my cheeks. “I want us to be together every day, to put our son to bed down the hall. I want to wake up next to you every day. I don’t want to do the date thing…we’re past that.”

  He inhaled a deep breath, his eyes turning emotional.

  I moved into him and circled my arms around his neck, bringing our bodies closer together.

  His arms were around my waist immediately, and he tugged me close. He didn’t wait for me to make the first move, as if he couldn’t be patient any longer, as if he was tired of the slow burn. He lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me. It was slow at first, a gentle contact between our lips, a landing so smooth it was like the union of two clouds. But then he kissed me harder…and harder…backing me up into the door so he could keep me pinned in one spot.

  My fingers slid into his short hair, and I tilted my head back to keep kissing him, to let him devour my mouth, to eat my lips as well as my soul. I moaned into his mouth, feeling that cosmic rush that never happened with anyone else. My heart beat like it might give out. My mind was no longer my own. I fell headfirst into the passion, the chemistry, the lustful love.

  He gave me his tongue then moaned into my mouth. “Baby…”

  I lifted my leg and hooked it around his waist, feeling his hard length in his jeans right away.

  He ground against me slightly, causing another moan. “Baby, if you aren’t ready, you’re gonna have to slow me down.” He turned his head to the other side and kissed me again, pulling my bottom lip into his mouth before he released me.

  “I don’t want to slow down.”

  He paused to look at me, his hand sliding up my thigh and farther underneath my dress, pushing it up to my hips. He pressed against me harder, his lips trailing to my neck so he could kiss me everywhere, fist my hair, and keep me in the right position to taste me, to give a gentle bite to my collarbone.

  My eyes closed as my fingers slid up his back, inching his shirt higher until it came over his head. Our kisses continued, but I snuck a look at his hard body, seeing that chiseled physique, those hard pecs, and sexy abs.

  I moved to his jeans next and got them loose. My mind and body were gone, ready for this, ready to accept him back into my heart…and my bed. I yanked off his boxers and let his clothes fall.

  Lost in an embrace of hot kisses, hands dragging across body parts, mutual moans, more clothes fell. Heels were kicked away, shoes were removed, and then I was naked against the door, Neil’s naked body pressed to mine.

  Oh my god, this was real.

  He paused to look at me, his breathing deep and loud, his eyes possessive. His hands gripped my hips and lifted me so he could hold me against the front door, his hard dick pressed between our aching bodies. “You want to make another baby?”

  Everything moved so fast, but it didn’t move fast enough at the same time. We’d been on pause for so long, but once the play button had been pressed, everything sped up quickly, trying to catch up to the present.

  “I’m on the pill…”

  “Then stop taking it.” He guided himself inside me, moving into my wet tightness, groaning as he felt every inch of my slowly surround him. He sank deeper until there was nowhere to go, until he was fully inside, fully locked in place where he belonged.

  I breathed against his mouth and moaned as I felt him fill me entirely, feeling exactly as he did before he left, like there had never been anyone else. My nails dug into his neck, his scalp, and I winced because his large size was a little pa
inful.

  He held me against the door and remained still, processing all the pleasure he felt around his dick, being inside a woman for the first time in years. He closed his eyes and held me there, like there was nothing he could do, a simple thrust was too much.

  “I’ll stop taking it.” I wanted another baby with his man, wanted as many as we could have, to spend our lives together, to be like Vic and Stacy, to just be together…on Earth.

  He kissed me before he started to move, thrusting with my back to the door, his strong arms holding me without consequence. Then he shivered as he released inside me, like it hit him with no warning. He moaned loudly against my mouth, grunting like a man, filling me with his load.

  Watching him snap so easily was hot…and romantic. My fingers dug into his hair and watched his expression as he finished, watched his jaw tighten, his cheeks flush with heat. I could feel him throb between my legs, feel that warm weight.

  He breathed hard once he finished, closing his eyes for a second, but he was still hard inside me, still ready to keep going. “Sorry…it’s been a long time.”

  “I like it.” I cupped his face and kissed him, bringing the heat back to our embrace, making him thrust inside me again, burying himself as he pushed me against the door over and over.

  He made love to me in the entryway, the house filling with the sounds of our moans, of the reconnection of our souls. Like no time had passed at all, we were reunited once more, deep in love and happy.

  We lay in my bed together, the door closed so Torpedo couldn’t take up the whole bed. I was on my side looking at him, looking into his warm eyes in the dark bedroom.

  His fingers moved down my arm then over my hip before rising back again. His eyes were on me like he never wanted to look away. His features were relaxed, as if he’d been clenched since the moment he returned to Earth, but now he found peace, let down his guard. “This was better than dinner anyway.”

  I smiled. “It was, wasn’t it? But I am hungry.”

  “We can order a pizza.”

  “I was thinking we get Taco Bell and some Slurpees.”