by Brent, Amy
“Ugh, I don’t even remember Tyler’s high school years. What a terrible mother I was.”
“No! You weren’t terrible! Stop it. You were struggling, battling, warring inside your head,” Ana said.
“How long do you think they’re going to ramble at one another?” my father asked.
“I don’t know. How long does it take for that pain medication to wear off?” I asked.
“Can I have a popsicle?” Brody asked.
“You look so beautiful!” my mother exclaimed.
“Oh, this is going to be fun,” I sighed.
“Should I break it up, or should you?” my father asked.
“Go spend some time with your grandson. I’ve got this.”
I walked over to the two women and cradled them next to me. They were crying and doting on one another as their words became muddled. I held back my laughter as I set them both on the couch, watching as Ana ran her fingers through my mother's hair and my mother petted her face.
“I hope my hair looks this good white one day,” Ana said.
“You have so many curves! I never had curves! My boobs barely exist!” my mother said.
“And that’s my cue to leave. Are you guys thirsty, or—?”
“Water,” they said in unison.
“Coming right up,” I said.
I laughed with my father in the kitchen as Brody ate his popsicle at the kitchen table. The entire day was spent with two drugged-up women dozing off and waking up on the couch together. I’d never heard my mother compliment someone so much in my life, and every time she squealed at something Ana did, it caused me to chuckle.
Maybe this was the start of them mending their relationship.
“Hey, Brody,” my father said.
“Yeah, Grandpa?”
“Want to go help me scout some dinner? I figured we could bring something back to the house and eat it while we watch another movie.”
“All right! What are we going to eat?”
“Anything you want,” I said.
“Oh, oh, oh. Can we have cheeseburgers?” Brody asked.
“If that’s what you want, that’s what you’ll get,” my father said.
“I’ll stay here with Thelma and Louise while you pick up food,” I said.
“Record it for me?” my father asked.
I nodded my head and laughed as he took Brody’s hand and headed for the door. Watching my father walk away with my son brought a warmth to my heart that I couldn't explain. But when they left, my ears filled with the sounds of my mother and Ana talking.
And I couldn’t believe what they were talking about.
“I didn’t do it to hurt him, or you guys. I did it because I just knew Tyler would give up Harvard if he knew I was pregnant. I couldn't let him do that,” Ana said.
“I know you couldn’t. I know you thought you were doing the right thing. No one can fault you for that, sweetheart,” my mother said.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you guys. I didn’t mean to hurt your son. I love your son, Mrs. Browning. I love him so much.”
My mother took Ana in her arms as she cried into my mother’s neck. And as my mother comforted Ana, I knew then and there what I had to do. Ana was made for this family. And I knew I was made for hers. Despite every obstacle and every deceit and every lie and every uncertainty, I knew she was the woman I was destined to be with, spend my life with, create a family with.
I wanted her in my life for the rest of my days.
“Do you think he loves me?” Ana asked.
My mother pressed a silent kiss to the top of Ana’s head.
“I don’t think he’s ever loved anyone else,” my mother said.
And she was right. I hadn’t. I had loved no other woman but Ana, and that would never change.
Not even if the world was on fire.
Ana
Six Weeks Later
“Did you tell Brody another bedtime story?” I asked.
“I did,” Tyler said.
“Which one did you tell him this time?”
“I made up one on the spot. It was about a little girl and a little boy who grew up next to one another.”
“What happened to them in the story?”
“They grew up and fell in love.”
“Sounds familiar,” I said, grinning.
“I was hoping it would,” he said.
“Did your mom get off to rehab okay?”
“She did. My father called after he dropped her off a while ago.”
“You know you didn’t have to go with me to my appointment, right? You could’ve been with your mother.”
“Trust me, she understood. They both did. Though I think she wants you to stop by once she’s allowed to have visitors.”
“When is that?”
“Two weeks into the program, or something like that. I’ll check with Dad tomorrow.”
“Let me know when you find out. I’d love to stop by and sit with her.”
“She’s really enjoyed you dropping by the house with Brody,” he said.
“I’ve enjoyed it too. Your parents really are nice people.”
“How did your doctor’s appointment go? You never did tell me.”
“I told you it went well.”
“But you didn’t tell me what they did.”
I shifted myself closer underneath Tyler’s arm as I drew in a deep breath.
“Well, my stitches are all dissolved and healed. It’s just a topical scab that needs to fall off now. I can finally take showers again, so that’s fabulous news.”
“That’s good. I know you were getting frustrated with sponge baths.”
“No more pain medication needed, which is also good. I’ve been cleared to drive, so you can stop playing chauffeur.”
“But I love driving you around, especially listening to you ramble on about brown cows and shaking them for chocolate milk.”
“I hate you,” I said flatly.
“That one was my favorite, by far,” he said.
I shoved him playfully before the two of us fell to the cushions of the couch.
“What else happened?” he asked as he hovered over me.
“They drew blood to make sure my hormones are settling well and that there’s no under-the-radar infection happening. But everything came back fine. No pain, no fever. According to everything that came back today, I’m completely healed.”
“Good,” he said.
He brought his lips to kiss mine, and I cupped the back of his head. Oh, how I’d missed him. I’d missed his touch and his warm embrace. He broke the kiss and smiled as his forehead fell to mine. I slid my hand through his soft hair, taking in the beauty of his bright green eyes.
“I think Brody enjoyed dinner a little too much tonight,” I said.
“That boy has a serious thing for Italian—like his mother,” Tyler said.
“Hey. Noodles are awesome. No one can fault anyone for that.”
“I guess he has to have something of yours since he looks so much like me.”
“Ha, ha, ha,” I said sarcastically.
“But do you know what he does have of yours?”
“What?” I asked.
“He has your kindness.”
I smoothed my hand over Tyler’s cheek as his breath pulsed against my face. Every part of me wanted to kiss him, have him, drag him to my room and hold him close to me. So many missed moments between us over the past six weeks. So many missed moments of passion because of my recuperation.
I was ready for him, and I wouldn't let another moment pass us by.
“Ana?”
“Yes, Tyler?”
“There’s something that’s been on my mind for a while now.”
“What is it?” I asked.
He sat up, taking my body with him as he pulled me into his chest. I straddled his lap on the couch and threaded my arms around his neck, taking in the feel of his hands on my hips. He squeezed me, allowed his eyes to roam my curves. I felt beautiful in his lap
, and I had to resist the urge to fall right into his pillowy lips.
“Tyler, you can talk to me. You know that, right?” I asked.
“I do. I know. It’s just—well, we’ve been through a lot these past couple months, so I want to make sure I don't screw this up.”
“Screw what up?”
“Ana, when I left for Harvard—when I left you behind—my heart ached. And the closer I got to my school, the more it hurt. Over the past eight years, there wasn’t a single woman who came into my life. Not a single woman I entertained for any reason.”
I massaged his shoulders as he drew in a deep breath.
“I couldn't, because I knew I had met the woman for me, and I’d fought with her and left her behind. I never forgave myself for it. I told myself that when I got my degree and got some experience underneath me, I’d open up a practice in L.A. and come back for you.”
“You what?” I asked.
“Yeah. The dream was never to have my own business, Ana. It was to have you. And then I found you in that bar with Kristi. I knew I couldn't let you go. I couldn't let you get away again. Then life happened and Brody happened and things with my mother happened, and I never got the chance to tell you any of it. To tell you that the reason I came back wasn’t for my family or for my business. It was for you, Ana.”
“Oh, Tyler,” I whispered.
“I love you, Ana, more than I’ve ever loved anyone or anything on this planet. And now that I’m with you, I don’t ever want to let you go. Never again. I want us to be a family. I want to be in Brody’s life, in your life—forever if you’ll have me.”
Tears crested my eyes as I crashed my lips into his. He fisted my hair, drawing my body closer as my head fell to the side. I ground against him, feeling his cock rise to the occasion underneath my body. My hands worked his shirt off. I fumbled with his belt and pulled it from the loops of his pants. He pulled my dress over my head as we frantically undressed one another before lying naked in the darkness of my living room.
“Forever doesn’t sound like long enough,” I said breathlessly.
“I love you, Ana, more than words can describe.”
“I love you too, Tyler, so, so much.”
He scooped me into his arms before he carried me up the stairs. We left our clothes behind, scooting silently by Brody’s bedroom. My back fell onto the sheets of my bed as Tyler backtracked, shutting the door and locking it behind him.
Then he turned his carnal sights on me.
His dark green stare hovered over mine as he crawled on top of me. My legs parted for him, my pussy dripping with juices. His light brown hair framed his face. I liked Tyler’s hair a little longer, just long enough for me to fist and control his movements with. I brought his lips back to mine as his muscles blanketed my body. My excess molded to him, my tits pressing deep into his chest.
I needed him more than life itself, and I wasn’t going to stop until I had him—all of him.
He fell between my legs and lapped at my slit. I felt him part my pussy folds with his thumbs as he devoured my essence. My clit jumped for him. My legs wrapped around his head. I rolled and rocked, the bed moving with our movements as his finger slid into my wet heat. I moaned out into the room. My back arched and my tits grew harder. My legs shook around his face as he filled me with another finger, crooking it and massaging my walls with his touch.
“Oh, Tyler. Don’t stop. Fill me up, baby. Fill me up.”
His pinky traced the outline of my puckered asshole, and electricity buzzed through my body. I tensed with ecstasy as he slowly sank into me. Never in my life had I felt so full, so beautiful, so wanted and so full of passion. I curled my hands into his hair, drowned him in my hips, flooded his cheeks with fluids as his tongue dove into my clit.
“Mm, you taste divine,” he murmured.
That was enough to throw me over the edge.
My back bowed like a tightly strung violin. My toes curled as my eyes screwed shut. Silver stars burst in the darkness as he flattened his tongue over my clit, his fingers pumping with my rhythmic jumps. I couldn't speak, couldn't breathe, couldn’t call out his name even though my body craved to do it.
When my back dropped to the bed and his fingers pulled out, the only thing I could do was gasp for air. Until his lips fell to mine once again.
I tasted myself on him and spread my legs for him as his cock throbbed at my entrance. I fisted his chiseled ass cheeks and drew him closer to me as his hand slid behind my lower back. He tilted my hips as my pussy swallowed him down. His cock pulsed against my walls as our hips sank together. He growled into my lips, and I whimpered down his throat, our sounds encased in our love for one another as he pinned my hands above my head.
“I love you,” he murmured into my lips.
Then he drew back and slammed into me as I cried out against his skin.
I buried my face in the crook of his neck, helpless to his assault. The sound of skin slapping skin filled the corners of my room as his sweat dripped onto my curves. I couldn’t kiss him enough, couldn't get him close enough. My bed rocked and creaked. The air swirling around us reeked of our sex.
I threaded my fingers through his as he peppered my neck with kisses. He nibbled on my shoulder, wrapped his lips around my nipples, sucked marks onto my skin that made my pussy jump and flutter around his thick girth.
“Ana. Oh, Ana. I feel you. Don’t hold back on me.”
“Tyler, I love you. I love you. I love you so much.”
Our bodies rolled together as one, my heels pressing into the mattress. My body molded to his as he contorted me to his will. He took me from behind. He hung me over the bed. He pressed my cheek against the wall as he took me from behind. I straddled his lap and rode his cock, kissing him and feeling our intermingled sweat dripping down my body.
But it wasn’t until we lay on our sides with my leg hooked over his waist that I felt it: that telltale stutter of his hips.
“Ana. Shit. Oh, Ana. I can’t hold back any longer.”
“Don’t. I ache for you, Tyler. Never hold back. Let me feel you. Come with me, Tyler. Fill me up.”
I panted for breath as our hips rolled against one another’s. I held on to him, my fingers curling into his skin as he fisted my hair. He bent my neck to the side and kissed my skin, causing goosebumps to trickle all over my body. I bucked faster, drenched in my sweat. I felt him pulsing and writhing as every single one of his muscles rolled and worked for my pleasure.
And like a rubber band that had been stretched one too many times, I snapped.
Crashing my lips to his, pouring my groans down his throat, I chanted his muffled name as his cock pulsed inside me, his hips stilling against my body. He fisted my ass and drew me closer with his hands. I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck as he rolled us over, cloaking me in his soaked body. His face fell to my neck, and I buried mine in his, the two of us shivering and quaking as pleasure rendered us helpless.
We collapsed against one another, heaving for air as his cock stayed sheathed within me. Our intermingled juices dripped from between my thighs as he lay there on top of me. I caressed his back while his lips streaked across my shoulder. He nibbled on my ear as I slid my toes up the backs of his legs. We couldn't stop touching one another, couldn't stop enjoying one another. We couldn't stop holding one another.
“I love you, Ana, forever and always.”
“I love you too, Tyler. I never stopped.”
It was the truth. I never had stopped loving the father of my child.
Epilogue
Tyler
Three Months Later
“Do we need anything else, Dad?”
“Let’s see. We’ve got the cups, right?” I asked.
“Yep.”
“And the Sprite for the punch?”
“Uh huh.”
“What about the miniature moisturizers for the gift bags?”
“The little red tubes?”
“Those are the ones,” I said.
> “We’ve got those.”
“Then I think that’s it.”
“Mom always forgets stuff.”
“In her defense, she’s been very busy lately. This thing with Bloomingdale’s is very big.”
“What’s it called again?” Brody asked.
“It’s called a launch party. See, your mother is going to be designing her own line of clothing for the store, and it launches tomorrow. They’re celebrating the launch tonight before the store opens in the morning.”
“Then Mom’s clothes will be in the store?” he asked.
“Exactly.”
“And this is a big thing?”
“Son, it’s a very big thing,” I said.
I drove Brody and myself to the hotel where the party was about to begin. Ana had been running around doing so many things that she had forgotten a few things on her list of items for the party.
The head designer of Bloomingdale’s kept telling her to rely more on the party coordinator they had hired specifically for this purpose, but I knew Ana wouldn't use him any more than she had to. She was a powerhouse to her core, independent and full of life.
She’d throw this party on her own unless someone chained her down and restricted her movements.
“We’re back, Kristi.”
“Oh, thank you. Thank you for running out. I need those moisturizers now. And the Sprite. People are going to start arriving soon, and I have to get the punch together and put it in the chiller,” she said.
“Can I help?” Brody asked.
“Wanna pour an entire bottle of Sprite out?”
“Yeah!”
I passed off the rest of the things we had picked up to the party planner who had become nothing but a shadow in the background. The conference room that Bloomingdale’s had booked for the party looked phenomenal. The smells of dinner drifted from the massive kitchen, and the silk tablecloths glistened underneath the dim lighting. There was a tower of champagne glasses, a chocolate fountain, a dance floor, and a DJ setting up in his booth.
They really had gone all out for this party.
I dipped into a restroom to put on my suit. Then Brody came in and I helped him with his. I had decided to put us in matching suits that would ultimately match Ana’s dress. Or at least based on what she had told me her dress looked like. I hadn’t actually seen her in it yet. But she had said it was blue and silver, so that was what I went with.