Crown's Chance at Love

by Mayra Statham

  The lights go out in the living room, and I looked up towards the kitchen. Completely blown away at what is standing there.

  Sabrina is walking towards me smiling brightly, her eyes completely filled with mischief as she holds a cake with white frosting and brightly colored sprinkles with a ton of candles. The kids are at her side wearing PJ’s holding presents, as they all start to sing happy birthday.

  In the future when I think back on my life, I would know that was the moment I knew without a doubt I was not only in love with her, but the kids too.

  ***

  Sabrina

  We caught him completely off guard. Loving the priceless expression on his face when we had walked into the living room singing Happy Birthday to him, made me wish I would have taken a picture of the moment. I promised the kids they could have cake for breakfast, and they went back to bed after Mike opened the gifts each of them had picked out. They were small simple little tokens of affection, but the kids had made it a point of wanting to buy him birthday presents when I had brought up the fact his birthday was today.

  I sat next to him, as he opened his gifts. A funny coffee mug from Mark. A really cool leather matted frame from Penny. A book about football that Chris said Mike absolutely needed. Watching how they interacted with Mike affected me in so many ways. One of those was that I pretty proud of myself for not having burst into tears.

  They genuinely liked Mike, and from what I could tell he liked them. He always made sure to include them when we hung out. He made sure to ask them about their days, what activities they were in, and then would follow up asking how things had gone, showing the kids that he had really been paying attention.

  “Come here,” he says smiling big, once the kids had gone back to bed.

  I scooted closer to him and he pulled me on to him, sitting me on his lap, holding me close to him.

  “How did you know?” he asked still looking surprised and completely off guard, and I loved it. I loved ruffling him up.

  “Better question would be is why didn’t you tell me?” I answered back smiling.

  “Honestly? I forgot. My friend John called me today.”

  “The one in London?” I asked and he nodded smiling at me. He had mentioned John to me when he told me about all the crazy antics they had done in their college days. John was also the only man in the planning committee for the Gala and he had requested a video chat meeting where he had shamelessly flirted, making me laugh hysterically.

  “Robin told me about it earlier this week when I was over at your office for a meeting,” I confessed.

  “You didn’t have to do all this though babe,” he said, his eyes bright and happy as he smiled big for me, making my heart flip.

  “I know, we wanted too.”

  “Thank you. I seriously…” he clears his throat, “you don’t know what this means to me.” His voice was a little hoarse with emotion.

  I could tell it meant alot to him, and he was a little embarrassed as to how much it had got to him. I wrapped my arms around him, burying my nose in his neck. I breathed in deep, the spiciness from his cologne enveloping me like a safety net. I felt his arms hold me back tightly. Mentally noting I needed to send Robin a huge thank you card for telling me Mike was turning forty.

  “So forty huh?” I whispered into his neck.

  “Yup. You’re dating an old guy… you okay with that?” he pulled back a little as he looked at me. His fingers played with the ends of my hair, I couldn’t help but smile.

  “Definitely. Older men are sexy.” He chuckled and I couldn’t help but kiss him.

  His mouth was sweet from the tiny bit of frosting he licked off with his finger earlier. I licked his lower lip and heard him groan.

  “So what are you looking forward to this year?” I whispered against his lips, his eyes warm.

  “More of this,” he said smiling and I laughed, moving my head away from our kiss. Kissing Mike is dangerous. One moment to another it goes from sweet to completely passionate and the kids were still not completely asleep so I stopped it. Giving us space, I looked up at his face as I sat on his lap.

  “You sure you are okay with meeting Emmi and Dan tomorrow?” I asked a little worried that I was somehow pushing or moving him too fast.

  “Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?” he asked curiously and I only shrugged.

  “I just want to make sure I’m not pushing you into something you aren’t ready for or anything.”

  “Babe… “ he started to say, his eyes full of emotions.

  “Mom!” Chris’ voice yelled out for me, and I sighed.

  “I’m sorry. I’ll be right back” he nodded kissing me fast as I got off his lap and walked upstairs. I seriously needed to plan a date night with Mike. Maybe my parents could take the kids for a weekend. That way we could have an uninterrupted conversation. Liar, maybe that way you can get into his pants, my bad girl yelled in my head and I smiled.

  Mike

  Saturday morning came and left, yet my nerves were on edge. I was meeting Sabrina’s friends today. From our conversations, I knew Emmi and Dan were extremely important to her. Dan and Emmi have three boys of their own, all around Sabrina’s children’s age, which is one of the many reasons they were so close.

  They literally lived walking distance from one another. Sabrina had mentioned she had struck gold when she had bought her house . They carpooled to school. Mark and Danny, Emmi’s oldest, played baseball on the same team. They had a set of twin boys, Ty and Jason, that were a little older than Chris.

  Arriving to their house around one, the sun is shining bright and its a hot afternoon. The kids rush into the house as Sabrina walks beside me holding my hand as we close in on Emmi’s two story restored Victorian house, I had followed her over in my car from her house.

  Looking up at the beautiful home she tells me that this had been Dan’s baby. He had bought the old house and completely fixed it up restoring it to its former glory. Looking up at the two story house, it truly was beautiful.

  “It’s beautiful isn’t it?” She asks standing beside me, looking up at me almost as if she can read my thoughts.

  “It is.”

  Soft dove gray walls, all the trim in a bright white, a wrap around porch on the left hand side of the home and even four steps in the front. Pristine landscaping. The house is beautiful.

  “I can almost guarantee he is going to pull out a photo album and show you before and afters of this place. Dan did such an incredible job, he is really proud of it,” she tells me smiling.

  “What made him decide to get a fixer upper?” I ask curiously.

  “Emmi had always wanted a Victorian home, and they wanted to stay in Pasadena. With the housing market high, when he found this place he jumped on it without talking to her about it. Emmi was so mad when she saw it,” she laughs, her eyes bright as she remembers the past.

  “I seriously think she stopped talking to him for like a week. Anyhow, after that blew over Sean helped him on the weekends for the first six months. Then he got his job offer and we moved to Berkeley,” she says her voice getting softer after mentioning Sean, almost as if she isn’t sure if she should have or not.

  “After it was all done, it inspired him to create his own contractor/ landscaping business. He has done pretty wonderfully for himself. You should have seen the backyard he created for the house we had in Berkeley. The kids loved playing out there. He even created a space for me to garden.” she smiles brightly at me.

  I smile at her, listening to her tell me about the life she had before coming out here, but I‘m dying on the inside. Guilt is eating at me. It reminds me of what she had lost because I had been an idiot that morning. Breathing in deep I try to let go of those feelings and I look at her and smile. We go in with the kids heading straight to the backyard.

  Completely caught off guard, the backyard was breath taking. Beautiful greenery surrounding a crystal blue pool and hot tub. Then to the side a red brick built in BBQ area with a full on pizza
oven, sink, what looked to be a mini fridge. A griller’s dream. A man’s BBQ.

  “Fall in love with that huh?” Sabrina whispers into my ear, the coconut of her shampoo filling my nose, I look at her and smile.

  Emmi comes over to us smiling. The kids left running into the house with her kids. She is an attractive woman. Tall, probably about 5’10”, thin, almost a dancer’s body. Her long jet black hair hitting mid-back; her jade green eyes are happy and bright.

  “Hi!” she says her voice a little raspy.

  “Hi. I’m Mike, nice to meet you,” I say extending my hand and both her and Sabrina laugh. She comes over ignoring my extended hand and leans in for a hug.

  “I’m Emmi. I’m a hugger. Nice to meet you. Sabrina has told me so much about you I feel like I know you,” she says slightly glancing over at Sabrina whose cheeks turn a pretty shade of pink.

  “Good. She’s told me a lot about you too. Thank you for having me over, this is for you,” I say handing her the two bottles of wine I had brought her.

  “Oh well you bring this, you can come over anytime sweetheart,” she says winking and I chuckle.

  “Make yourselves at home. Let me go tell Dan you guys are here.”

  “Yeah because Mark, Penny, and Chris weren’t a clue?” a deep voice says from behind us. I turn and see a tall, lanky blonde haired, brown eyed guy walking towards us smiling. Heading straight to Sabrina hugging her.

  “Hey honey,” he says his blue eyes smiling, Sabrina smiles back at him.

  “Hey Dan. This is my friend Mike Crown, Mike, this is Dan Richards,” she says and I extend my hand out. I notice his smile slightly falters, but quickly recovers.

  “Hey nice to meet you. All Sabrina and Emmi talk about is you,” he says laughing and Emmi smacks him on the shoulder, making me chuckle.

  “Nice to meet you. This is an incredible place.”

  “Thanks dude. Follow me, I’ll give you the ten cent tour.”

  Dan showed me around the house, which was incredible.

  He had been very focused on detail and craftsmanship when he had fixed up the house. He told me about how Emmi had hated living in a construction site for almost two years, but that it had been worth it.

  Heading to the back yard where Emmi and Sabrina are watching the kids in the swimming pool as the munch on appetizers I realize that I had worried unnecessarily about meeting them.

  Dan and Emmi were both funny and laid back. I’d catch Emmi staring at Sabrina and I at moments with a happy smile on her face, as if she approved of her friend dating me. Dan was a typical guy, a little aloof, but completely head over heels in love with his wife, and didn’t care about showing it. He adored her.

  You could tell by the way he looked at her. The way that he would find any reason to touch her. It was sweet to see that after having been married for so long. They looked as in love as newlyweds. They were easy going and laid back. They seemed to like having me around, I thought to myself with a small smile on my face.

  I helped Dan grill up burgers and hot dogs on the master griller’s wet dream. Dan told me how this had been his own design. Sure enough he pulled out a photo album of all the work he had done on the house. When I first laid eyes on what the house had been when he purchased it, I looked at them almost expecting them to say they were joking around. But sure enough the place had been a dump and Emmi had had every reason to be pissed when she had found out what a dump Dan had bought. But his hard work and determination had paid off. The album full of pictures of demolition that had been done, painting, all up until the house was completely done beyond impressive.

  We ate as the kids played in the house. Emmi asked me about work and what my days were like. Dan talked about sports. Sabrina held my hand around them as we talked and ate, and I had caught both Emmi and Dan glance at us with smiles on their faces. Everything was going pretty smoothly. Up until the gate opened up and HE walked in.

  Now I don’t know why the idea of Nick rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe because he was so close to Sabrina. Maybe because the kids talked so highly about him. Maybe because he stayed there often. I knew I had no real reason to not like him, so I tried to keep an open mind.

  Nick surprised Emmi and Sabrina with a last minute visit. He had called after having arrived at Sabrina’s home, letting himself in with his own key. He settled into her guest room where he usually stayed. I knew I was being petty and probably a little jealous. She isn’t my girlfriend. WE are just getting to know one another. There is nothing I can stake a claim to yet.

  But something in me is extremely primal when it comes to her. Like the need to make everyone around me know that she is with me. That she’s mine. But I can’t. Not yet. Maybe not ever. I’m not even sure what I am doing with her, if I am being honest. Plus there was the whole “I’ve been lying to her” thing that was like a dark cloud overhead. But knowing that Nick was going to be staying there had rubbed me the wrong way.

  Watching him swagger in, rubbed me the wrong way. Seeing him in person bothered me too. Taking in how tall he is, dark slightly shaggy hair, dark eyes, unshaven scruffy face, long lean body that says he swims or runs. I had sat up straighter when I caught him walking in. Searching for her with my eyes. Something about the way she looked at me always calmed me, settled me. But she wasn’t looking at me. Yet she wasn’t looking at him either.

  No she hadn’t been paying one ounce of attention to either of us. Instead she had been talking to Chris and Ty. I can’t make out what they are talking about but she is laughing and smiling. Watching her smile reach her eyes completely, the way Chris looks at his mom, makes my heart feel as if its doing a flip. That’s when I catch her attention. Her eyes meeting mine, she flirtatiously winks at me, and damn if I didn’t feel that straight in my heart. I glance over to him and catch him look at how she had reacted to me, scowling the entire time. I couldn’t help but smile back at her.

  Looking at her, all I can think about is how incredibly beautiful she is, and that I am a lucky bastard that she even wanted to spend some of her time with me. She’s wearing a pretty red sleeveless sundress that hit slightly above her knees, showing a few inches of her creamy thighs that reminded my of how soft that skin was. Her hair down in soft curls, make my hands itch to touch it. Her lips shiny from lip gloss, make my mouth water to have her mouth on me again. Pretty pink toes showing from her sexy as hell open toed nude heels, making her a couple of inches taller than usual, did incredible things to her already incredible round perky ass. No other woman has ever caught my full attention in the way that she does.

  I watch from afar as Nick goes up behind her and she smiles wide for him, hugging him close. Luckily I am far enough that I save myself the embarrassment of her hearing me silently growl. The idea of his hands on her pisses me off.

  “Hey Mike, come here,” she calls me over and I walk over to her. I catch him scowl at me as he stands up taller huffing out his chest, making me realize that he probably doesn’t like me either, which only makes me smile.

  “Mike, this is my best friend Nick. Nick meet Mike. My umm, friend, “ she says and damn if it isn’t cute how she blushes as she tries to figure out what to call me. Part of me had thought it was adorable, and the other part had wished she could call me her boyfriend. We shake hands and from the looks of it, we are both over protective of her since we are gripping the other’s hand pretty hard.

  “Nice to meet you Nick, Sabrina’s told me a lot about you,” I say to him trying to be nice. Thats’ when he fucking smirks at me.

  “Funny she hasn’t told me much about you,” he says and she gasps as she frowns at him, her dark eyes wide in shock.

  “Nick!” Emmi squeals with surprise when she sees him as she comes back to the backyard from the kitchen. Running up to him, she hugs him tightly, breaking the awkward moment.

  “Hey sweetheart. How are you?” Nick asks her and she smiles at him.

  Sabrina comes closer to me, her hand in mine, lacing her small fingers into mine. I look do
wn at our hands joined together, feeling like somehow we are meant to be. She squeezes my hand, silently apologizing for the jackass of her friend.

  Dan and all the kids come out and after everyone says hi to Nick, we all sit around the fire pit that Dan had set up. The kids make s’mores. Everyone is laughing and eating. It felt nice to be there. Once they are done with the gooey messiness, Dan sets up a movie for the kids to watch as we stay outside.

  “How was Hong Kong?” Sabrina asks Nick and he looks at her smiling.

  “Productive. Deal is all set and going. I did a little sight seeing and before heading back to Denver, I decided why the hell not stop here with my favorite two girls?” Sabrina and Emmi just smile and shake their heads and I can almost guarantee they are rolling their eyes. This guy was a total cheeseball.

  “So Mike, how did you meet Sabrina?” he asks and for a moment I wonder if Sabrina had really not mentioned me and why that was.

  “Nick, I told you,” she says to him, and if looks could kill, he would be on the ground asking for mercy. She was clearly not happy with the way he was acting.

  “It’s okay Sabrina. We bumped into one another at a Starbucks. I asked her for coffee and she hasn’t been able to get rid of me since then,” I say holding her hand as I watch his eyes go from where our hands intertwine back to glaring at me.

  “Huh.” He grunts as he takes a swing of his long neck beer, his jaw slightly twitching. I look around and notice Emmi trying not to laugh and notice Dan with the same slight smirk.

  Something told me that they had expected his reaction, but what surprised me was how shocked Sabrina seemed. Did he have feelings for her, and was she completely oblivious of it? Thankfully, Dan started talking about cars and sports and movies and the conversation went a little smoother, with everyone chiming in. Every once in a while throughout the night I glanced at Sabrina. She had seemed a little withdrawn compared to how she usually was with me, almost looked a little pissed. I just wasn’t sure who she was mad at. I squeezed her hand and she gave me a small smile.