by Ash Johnson
Blake looks pissed. I grip onto his shoulders, giving him a small shake to get his attention. “Are you sure you want to take her to school? I need to change all of the information at her school from our apartment to this address so I don’t miss report cards and things like that anyway.”
He nods. “Yeah, I can take her. Why don’t you just set your alarm clock for half an hour earlier and do it before you go into the diner today? Go get your sexy ass some sleep, and I will see you when you get off.”
He leans in and kisses me sweetly a few more times before slapping me on the ass and giving me a small push toward the stairs.
“Have a good day, dear,” I tease him.
“Sweet dreams, babe,” he says back.
Hopefully, I’ll dream of him. Those would be sweet dreams indeed.
Chapter 26
Blake
The ride to Alex’s school was a quiet one filled with glares from the passenger seat. When I pull up in front of the school, Alex tries to jump out, but not before I tell her to have a great day. I get a big middle finger as a response. Damn teenage girls.
I am so tempted to call Harlow just to hear the sound of her voice on my way to work, but I keep myself from doing so because she needs to get some sleep—and also because I’d feel like a giant pussy wanting to talk to my girl all the time. So instead I switch on some classic rock and blast it through the speakers for the rest of my drive.
The meeting with my mother the other day still pisses me off, so I take a second to reflect on what I have accomplished. My gym, Endgame, has been doing very well for itself. I have fifteen to twenty big-name MMA fighters training here at all times. We also teach self-defense classes for men and women and different forms of martial arts to kids.
I am a physical therapist to every one of the fighters and even some that don’t train at my gym, so I have reliable customers but don’t have to rely on PT as my only form of income.
I smile to myself and enter the building, happy when the sounds of fighters sparring in the cage hit my ears. As soon as I reach the mats, I find that Zane is in the ring, and Jay is his sparring partner. I head over to talk to them both before I head to the office to do some paperwork.
“Hey, guys, how’s it hangin’?”
They both stop swinging at each other and spin my way. Zane nods at me, then moves to the corner of the cage to grab a drink of water. Jay approaches me, his chest heaving with exertion.
“Hey, man,” he wheezes and threads his gloved hands into the chain link cage.
“Jesus, Jay, you need to start exercising more or tell Ada to quit feeding you so well. You sound like you’re ready to fucking keel over.” I laugh.
“Shut the hell up. I’m still in shape, just not the shape I was in when I fought,” he says as he rubs at his stomach. Jay quit fighting pro when I got hurt in a fight and couldn’t compete anymore, but he says it’s because he and Ada found out they were going to be parents. I know my eye injury freaked him the hell out, especially with a baby on the way, and I was glad that he had his dad’s construction business to fall back on, but at the time it made me feel guilty as hell that I was the reason he quit.
“Yeah, yeah. What are you doing here this early? Didn’t have any job sites to visit today?”
“There is one, but Dad keeps forgetting he’s retired and just shows up, so this morning I let him have it and came to spar with Zane. How are things going with you and that chick?” he asks as he steps out of the cage and moves closer.
“Harlow. Yeah, things are great. She just moved in a few days ago.” Jay’s brows shoot up to his hairline.
“You moved her in already? Don’t you think that’s moving a bit too fast?” I give him a “what the fuck” glare because he and Ada were living together with a baby on the way within two months of meeting.
He must get what I’m not saying, because he chuckles and puts his hands up in the air. “Yeah I know, I’m not one to talk, but you’ve gone from picking up a different chick at the bar every weekend to a serious relationship where she’s moving in with you. What’s up?”
I sigh and hope I can explain this well enough without sounding like a huge pussy. “Well, I just got tired of the hump and dump scene, you know? I never got to have a serious conversation with any of them, because they wanted to just fuck and move on, too. Plus, almost all of our friends have wives or girlfriends and don’t want to go out to a bar anymore. It just seemed like it was time to grow up like the rest of you guys.”
What I don’t tell him is that I became jealous of all of my committed friends because they had someone to run to, someone to love and confide in, and I was still on my own. I wanted the kind of commitment that my friends were making with girlfriends and wives but knew that the girl I picked had to be special. I wouldn’t lock myself down with a girl who was too quick to jump in my bed for a good fuck or for money. I wanted something on a deeper level, and I’ve finally found that with Harlow.
Jay nods as he listens to me and proceses it all before he speaks. “So you and this Harlow chick must have gotten pretty close then.”
“Yeah, we have. She works a lot, and by ‘a lot’ I mean she has two full-time jobs and a third job on the weekends, but we’ve been doing great so far. She and her little sister had to move in with me because of some problem they had with their last apartment, but I’m hoping they stay.” I’m not sure why I didn’t tell him the truth about why Harlow and Alex had to leave their apartment. I tell Jay everything. Maybe I just wanted to paint them both in the best light possible in front of my best friend.
“How old is her little sister?”
“She’s fourteen going on twenty-five. She’s a bit crazy, even by our standards,” I tell him truthfully.
“Yikes.”
“Yeah, I know. We’re working on bringing down the crazy and getting her to act her age, but it could take a bit longer than we think.”
After a few seconds of silence, Jay nods. “Well, buddy, if you’re happy, then I’m happy for you. We’ll have to find a time when your girl is free and have you guys over for dinner or something so we can get to know her.”
I nod and we clap hands and pull each other in for a bro hug before Zane joins us.
“Hey, Doc, congrats. When’s your girl due?” Zane asks and holds his cell phone up in the air like that would explain what the hell he’s talking about.
Jay and I share a confused glance before we turn back to Zane. “What the fuck are you talking about man?”
“The baby. Saw it on the gym’s page that you and your lady have a mini Doc on the way. Just wanted to tell you congratulations.” Zane shrugs and puts his phone back into his work out bag before getting back in the cage and bouncing around to warm up his muscles again.
“What the fuck, Blake?” Jay mumbles, stepping a little closer so Zane doesn’t hear what we’re saying.
I shake my head and try to make sense of what I’ve just heard. Then, everything clicks and my shoulders tense in anger.
“Fucking Heaven.”
Jay’s face shifts from confused to almost as pissed off as I feel. “Get that shit straightened out before it causes a problem with Harlow.”
“I got you.” I nod sharply before moving toward the office to take care of this once and for all.
I go straight to the computer and pull up the gym’s social networking page and my blood pressure instantly rises. Heaven has posted a picture of her bullshit ultrasound with the caption “Owner Blake Maynard is going to be a daddy soon! We’re so excited!” She’s also changed her own photo to a picture of her torso, appearing slightly rounder, but it’s almost obvious she has a pillow or sweater shoved under her shirt because it’s lumpy in certain areas.
I have shifted from pissed to absolutely fucking fuming. This bitch has escalated from trying to get me to commit to her to fucking with my business. If the other guys here know that I have to deal with this crazy bitch on a daily basis, they may drop the gym and go somewhere else.
/> I pull my cell phone out and bring up her number. A few rings in, she answers. “Hi, Daddy, what are you up to?” she croons at me.
“Who the fuck are you calling ‘Daddy,’ Heaven? I know you aren’t talking to me, because you weren’t pregnant last time I saw you.”
“Of course I’m talking to you, Blake. Deny it or not, I’m pregnant with your baby, and you need to get on board with it, or we’ll have a rocky start to this parenting thing. I want us to be on the same page here.”
I bite my lip a bit too hard; I can taste blood as soon as she finishes talking. This bitch has one too many screws loose and must not have the tools to tighten them. There’s one way to get the truth out of her, once and for all, so I’ll do it to keep Heaven out of my life.
“Fine, Heaven. I’m going to call a gynecologist and set up an appointment for as soon as possible. You and I are going to go get an ultrasound done, and if there is a baby that is far enough along to be mine, we will get a DNA test done to make sure it is mine. Then, and only then, will we discuss a future between the two of us. Until then you will not post anything about me being a father on my gym’s network page, you will not call me, and you will not come around my house and harass me or my girlfriend. I’ll text you and let you know when the appointment is.”
“Girlfriend? Are you talking about that bitch who’s driving your c—”
I cut off her little tirade. She has no reason to act like I’m hurting her in this situation, and she certainly has no right to call Harlow a bitch. “Shut the fuck up Heaven. We’ll get this doctor’s appointment taken care of, and I don’t want to see or hear from you until then. Understood?”
There is hesitation and slight panic in her voice. “Uh, okay. Looking forward to getting to see our baby,” then hangs up on me.
I spend the next two and a half hours trying to get some work done but not accomplishing much because I’m so pissed off at Heaven and the shit she’s trying to pin on me. When I think Harlow might be awake and getting ready for work, I call her.
Three rings in, she answers. “Hey, Blake, how’s it going?”
Her voice sounds a bit hoarse and nasally. “Hey, babe, are you feeling okay? You sound like you’re getting sick.”
“Yeah, I might just be coming down with a small cold. My sinuses are a bit stuffed, and I have a tiny cough, but I’ll be alright.”
“Are you sure? Can you just take the day off from the diner and try to get better?”
“No, I don’t have the funds to be able to take the day off. I’ll be okay. I took some vitamins and have some cough drops.”
I know better than to try and offer her some money. It would either offend her or piss her off and send her away, so I change the subject. “Get enough sleep this morning?”
“Yeah, I did. What’s the matter? You sound like something is bugging you?” I don’t know how she knows something is wrong without even seeing me. It’s like she’s got a direct line to my soul and can feel what I’m feeling.
I huff and think about unloading everything that’s happened with Heaven but then realize she doesn’t need to hear this shit. She has enough on her plate with all of the money she owes and her out of control sister. Just adding the stress of a crazy stalker woman on top of everything else might be too much. Once we get to the doctor and confirm that Heaven’s not pregnant but just a crazy bitch, I won’t have to worry about it anymore either. “It’s nothing, babe. I just want to forget about it.”
“Are you sure? I’m just about to leave and I can stop by the gym after I leave Alex’s school. I should have a few minutes before I have to head to the diner.” God, she’s freaking awesome. She doesn’t sound like she’s pretending to care but like she genuinely cares about what’s bugging me.
“No, it’s cool. We can talk about it tonight before you have to leave for the vet.”
I hear the front door shut through the phone, and before I can change the subject and think of happier things to talk about, she gasps.
“Harlow? What’s the matter, baby?” I ask, shooting out of my office chair and getting ready to bolt out of the gym in case she needs me.
“Holy crap. Someone spray painted your BMW, Blake.”
“What?” Who the hell would do that? My temper resurfaces when Heaven’s face pops into my head. “What do you mean someone spray painted the car?”
“Well, the word ‘bitch’ is in red on the driver’s side door and ‘gold digging whore’ is on the back hatch.”
Fuck. I know Heaven is the one who did this, but I can’t prove it, so there is no way I can call the cops and report her ass. I rub my forehead in frustration as I try to think about what to do. I can’t have Harlow driving around my car with the word “bitch” written on it.
“Okay, babe, I’m sorry but you’re going to have to drive the BMW or call a cab to the diner today, because I can’t leave work until a bit later; but you can take the Hummer to the vet tonight, and I’ll take the BMW into the shop to get it repainted and find a rental.”
“I’m not comfortable driving the Hummer, Blake. That thing is enormous. I can just take this for now and then run it into the shop in the morning after I get off at the vet’s, if that’s okay with you.”
“Hell no; you aren’t driving around with those words on the car any longer than you have to. If you aren’t comfortable with the Hummer, I can take you into work tonight and then pick you up in the morning if you need me to, but that BMW is getting in and fixed as soon as fucking possible.”
“Okay, okay. Settle down before the vein in your forehead explodes,” she teases, trying to calm me down, which only works a little bit. “We’ll get it worked out. I can take the Hummer tonight, if that’s okay with you. I don’t want you missing out on any more sleep than you need to because of me,” she says and starts coughing again.
I blow out a breath and close my eyes, hoping to calm down a bit more. I realize my best bet is to get off the phone with her before something else happens that pisses me off even more. “Alright, babe, go get your shit at Alex’s school done and have a great day at work. I’m sorry about the car.”
“Why are you sorry? Did you spray paint those words on it?”
“Well no, but—” I don’t get another word in before she cuts me off.
“But nothing, Blake. You didn’t do it, so you have nothing to apologize for, okay?”
I shake my head and feel one side of my mouth tip up at her sweetness. “Alright, babe, then I’ll see you later tonight, okay?”
“Okay. And calm down before you have an aneurism, please. It’s not that big of a deal.” The smile in her voice tells me that it isn’t that big of a deal to her.
“I’ll try. Get feeling better, babe. See ya soon.”
She says goodbye and hangs up. I sit back down in my chair and take a page out of the book of Harlow. There’s nothing I can do about everything right now besides making an appointment for Heaven and getting a time to get the BMW into the shop in the morning, so I need to calm the fuck down.
I take a deep breath and scoot closer to my computer, searching for gynecologists in my area so I can get this shit over with.
Chapter 27
Harlow
Driving to Alex’s school in an expensive car with terrible words spray painted onto the sides is more than a little bit uncomfortable. The honks and stares I get from other drivers are super awkward, as if I am the things that are poorly written in red paint.
I get in and out of Alex’s middle school as quickly as I can and ignore the confused stare on the secretary’s face when I ask for a form to update all contact information. I figure she must have seen the car on a video camera or something before I came in and is wondering what kind of parental figure I am for Alex.
Once I make it to the diner, I park the BMW around the back of the building where not many people will see it. I don’t want to be asked any questions that I don’t have an answer for. I have no idea who would do that to Blake’s car and if they were doing it
because of me or him.
My first few hours into my shift go slowly but smoothly. With all of my side work done and only two tables full, it gives me time to sit; and then I notice that I’m really sick. If I’m busy and moving around, it’s very easy to deny that I’m ill, and I get over it quicker, but finally acknowledging I’m not feeling well knocks me on my ass.
I have to keep escaping to the back office, away from any of the food, to suffer through major coughing fits that my cough drops aren’t fixing. I can also feel a chill coming over my body, even though I know it’s not cold in the building.
Even with these super fun symptoms threatening to knock me down, I have to hide them and keep working. I definitely can’t afford to take a few days off all of my jobs in order to feel better. Hopefully, I’ll stay busy and this will blow over quickly.
***
Three days later I still feel like crap, but I still can’t take any time off. My tips at the diner suffered greatly this week, because I was very weak and neglected my tables in favor of keeping myself from coughing up a lung around people’s food. Blake made sure to get the BMW into the shop and had it fixed in a few hours, so I only had to drive his behemoth of a Hummer once.
Luckily, things at the vet were slow all week, and I tried to catch up on sleep when Dr. Tim wasn’t around; and working the strip club last night was fine, because I had to force myself to keep busy. Today at the diner is another story altogether, though. I almost passed out while bringing a table their lunch and have been coughing so hard that I’ve started throwing up.
I came home from the diner and passed out before my head even hit the pillow. It only feels like I’ve been asleep for five minutes when someone lightly shakes my shoulder.
“Harlow. Harlow, baby, wake up,” Blake whispers next to my ear.
I stir but have a hard time keeping my eyes open. It feels like it takes forever but I open them to find a very concerned Blake hovering over me.