Two Wolves For Lizette

by Jessica Miller

  “Okay then, come on,” I said, and then forced myself off of the bed to get dressed. I felt all languid and like I just received the best internal massage ever…which I did. Miles and I hurried to get back to my house so that I could relieve the babysitter. It wasn’t too late when we got back, only a few hours past the time I said I would home. Caleb was fast asleep thankfully, Miles insisted he pay the babysitter since he was at fault for her ‘overtime.’ I pretty much lost the debate as soon as he handed her the money and sent her on her way.

  “Now we get to go and cuddle,” Miles said after she left and I laughed as I followed him back to the bedroom.

  *****

  Miles

  Early the next morning both Christina and I were woken up by knocking on the front door. She looked at the window in her room in confusion and then looked at the clock that read five a.m.

  “Who would be here so early?”

  “Maybe the…babysitter left something important?” her voice was just as groggy and confused as mine.

  “I’ll go see,” I said and then got out of bed before she could, I didn’t bother looking for my shirt, as long as I had pants on. I walked out to the front of the house to answer the door before whoever it was could wake up Caleb. When I opened it I found the guy standing there to be familiar looking and it took me a minute to make the connection. He had the same color hair as Caleb, same facial features too, of course more matured and angular, but the same. Neal was tall too and broad shouldered, he was probably an athlete at the college he and Christina went to together. He was dressed in designer everything and well…I would know. From his Armani jeans and top, to his fancy ass Gucci loafers.

  “You…you’re Miles Anderson,” was the first thing he said, his clear eyes wide with shock. He had a slight English accent, which was weird.

  “You have to be Caleb’s dad…Neal?” I asked and he nodded.

  “Who is…it…” Christina emerged from the bedroom in her fuzzy robe and slippers. She looked like she was staring at a ghost and Neal became understandably uncomfortable. He shifted his weight a few times before he even said anything. Maybe it was because I was standing in between them, shirtless and all…but whatever.

  “Christina…it’s—um, it’s good to see you,” he finally said something after a long silence and as soon as he did Christina crossed her arms over her chest.

  “What are you doing here? I thought you were off in England somewhere?” she said. I could see she was getting angry really quick.

  “I came back…I know this is abrupt and completely out of the blue, but can we talk?” he asked in earnest and Christina began to shake her head in frustration.

  “I have nothing to say to you Neal and I don’t know if I even want to hear anything you have to say. I think you wasted a trip,” she said and I took that as a cue to begin shutting the door. But Neal stepped forward so that I couldn’t shut the door in his face, like I wanted.

  “Look I know I haven’t been here for you or for Caleb, but I want to change that, I want to make things right and…at least be in his life again.” The tone in Neal’s voice conveyed remorse and he seemed to be saying the right things, but none of that reached the guy’s eyes. It’s like he was calculating her expression to see which words would at least get him past the door. He didn’t seem sincere at all.

  “Neal you had years to do that…why now? What’s the big break through?” she asked him and he exhaled heavily.

  “I came to the realization that…I don’t want Caleb growing up without a dad…without his dad,” he added after glancing at me. “Can you at least hear me out please?” he asked her again and she sighed heavily.

  “Fine, I’ll hear you out.” She said and then motioned outside. I was about to follow them out, but Christina glanced at me and motioned for me to stay. I gave Neal a long hard look and he gave me a confused one before I quietly closed the door. When I turned around though, Caleb was standing right there in the middle of the living room.

  “Who is mommy talking to?” he asked me, though I could tell from looking at him that he knew. He knew his dad was outside. I walked over to Caleb and picked him up. He hugged me around the neck and let me walk him to the kitchen.

  “Don’t worry about that just yet. We’ll see what your mom has to say when she comes back,” I said and he simply nodded. When I set him down at the breakfast bar in the kitchen he looked up at me curiously.

  “Isn’t it too early for breakfast?”

  I couldn’t help but chuckle a little.

  “Actually it just might be. When do you usually wake up for school?”

  “At eight o’clock,” he answered matter-of-factly.

  “Well shoot, you’re going to be tired today, do you want to try and take a nap until eight?” I asked and he shook his head.

  “I want to see my daddy,” he said in a more vulnerable tone and I took a deep breath. The whole situation was fucked up. Neal should have been there for his kid or never have come back.

  “Oh honey…you’re awake?” Christina startled us both and Caleb turned in his seat and reached for his mom. I was less than thrilled to see Neal slowly walk in behind Christina. Caleb held on to her while he silently appraised his dad, Neal looked uncomfortable, like he was trying to greet some random kid off of the street and not his own son. Even that screamed that there was something up with the guy.

  “Hey Caleb…look at you, you’ve gotten so big,” Neal said gently and Caleb nodded.

  “I grew up a lot,” he said it simply as any other five-year-old would confuse grammar, but there was a lot said in Caleb’s words.

  “I bet you did…” was all Neal said and then everyone spent an awkward moment in silence until Christina said something.

  “Well I’m going to try and get him to take a nap…Miles put a shirt on,” she said, but I caught her small smile as she walked away with Caleb. Then I was left alone with Neal.

  “So uh…I catch a few Red’s games on the telly every once in a while. You’ve got crazy skills man,” he said conversationally and I simply shrugged.

  “You’re from Chicago right? Why do you call it a telly?” I asked him and he laughed a bit nervously.

  “It’s just little common words like that you pick up when living in England.”

  I simply nodded and then stepped towards the hallway.

  “Well I’m gonna go and put on a shirt like she told me,” I said with a sarcastic grin. While I walked back to Christina’s bedroom I wondered how I would make sure Christina knew Neal wasn’t genuine.

  *****

  Christina

  Getting Caleb back to bed took forever, mostly because he had a million and one questions. ‘Is daddy staying?’ ‘Is he gonna live with us?’ ‘Are we gonna live with him?’ ‘Will he spend time with us like Miles?’ and the list went on. I tried to answer them as best I could, but honestly I just wasn’t sure. Neal claimed he just wanted to make things right so that he could be in Caleb’s life…and Neal should be in Caleb’s life. Who was I to keep a child’s father away from him? But why the sudden appearance? Especially after the way he up and left before, who was to say he wouldn’t just up and leave again when things got difficult?

  One thing I was certain of was that Caleb wanted to spend time with his dad, and missed Neal. I couldn’t keep that from him, it would be wrong. I sighed deeply after I closed Caleb’s door, it simply meant that I had to suck it up for Caleb and keep a close eye on Neal.

  “Hey can we talk for a sec?” Miles took my hand and pulled me to my bedroom to close us in.

  “What’s up?” I was uncertain what he would say, hopefully he didn’t decide that being with me had gotten that much more complicated and therefore wanted out. I really, really liked Miles. I didn’t want him to just leave.

  “I have a bad feeling about that Neal guy. I know he’s Caleb’s dad and all…but I don’t think he’s genuine,” Miles said earnestly and I sighed.

  “Well I’m on the fence about that too, but
Caleb already saw him and it’s not like I have much of a choice right now,” I said. I was already tired of the situation and Neal was still in my house.

  “Okay, so we should make sure that his intentions aren’t fucked up you know?” Miles said and I wondered for the first time how I could have ended up with such an amazing guy, who was a famous basketball player no less.

  “Miles, I love you,” I said fondly and without thinking at all.

  “I know, I love you too, that’s why we have to get to the bottom of this guy whether or not he’s Caleb’s father…” Miles trailed off in his haste as he realized what was just said between the two of us and his eyes widened just as my jaw dropped.

  “Did we mean that?” I asked him and Miles became utterly serious of an entirely different variety.

  “Well I really wouldn’t have said it so automatically if I didn’t feel it…” he said and my entire chest felt like it was too full, but in a really good way.

  “Neither would I…” I said and then Miles gave me the brightest smile and pulled me in for a searing kiss that made my toes curl.

  “Damn I’ve never felt this way about a woman and now you…from day one you’ve turned me upside down, but in a good way,” he said and I grinned at him like a dumbstruck teenager.

  “So we love each other…” I grinned and Miles laughed, his expression equally as goofy as mine.

  “Yeah…man if the guys saw me right now they’d say I was whipped.”

  “And you’d say what?” I asked him and he shrugged, his smile bright and intimate.

  “I’d say I’m glad you’re holding the whip,” he kissed me again and then almost at the same moment we remembered the situation outside of the room. “So what have you decided about this guy? How do you wanna go about things?”

  “Well…I’ve decided to give him the benefit of the doubt for now, and just…watch him.”

  Miles nodded and he pursed his lips as he formulated his own plan.

  “Alright you do that,” was all he ended up saying and I gave him a suspicious look. “It’s a good plan, stick to it. Watch him until he fucks up,” Miles said and my suspicions only grew.

  “Miles it doesn’t count if you make him mess up in any way,” I said pointedly.

  “I won’t, don’t worry about me, just worry about Caleb,” he said and I took a deep breath. Yeah I was worried about Caleb and frankly afraid of him getting close to Neal again. “But you should know that I’m going to take Neal out with a few of the guys from the team and get him drunk and talking. Then we’ll really know,” Miles said with an evil grin before he waggled his eyebrows at me and then left the room.

  I tilted my head a little and shrugged, well it was a plan. Neal used to play football and obviously still kept up with his physique I wondered what his tolerance for alcohol was. Quickly I got ready for the day way earlier than usual and simply waited until eight o’clock rolled by to wake up Caleb. In the meantime, I watched Miles be his charming self and try to get along with Neal who wasn’t offering any resistance or suspicion. Actually it seemed like they were getting along with each other pretty easily…odd.

  *****

  Miles

  It was Sunday night and I had convinced Neal to catch the basketball game and then come out with a few of us. I explained everything to the guys and they were in on the plan. They were all for catching a deadbeat dad with ulterior motives. But even by the time Sunday came around I was on the fence. Neal had proved himself through the week, he wasn’t trying to come on to Christina. He was just all for Caleb, he didn’t try to insert himself into the day I had planned on Saturday to grill and such with Caleb and Christina. It was like he knew his place, he knew when he was welcome and never stepped out of his bounds. Plus, Neal was oddly a cool dude. Then Christina even said that he had changed from the last time she saw him.

  “Alright! Let’s get this party started!” Jameson, one of the guys from the team had a round of shots passed out to the table. We didn’t go to any club, just a regular cigar pub.

  “That win was crazy! The way you stole that ball at the last fifteen seconds and brought it back down the court for that gentle three! Man that was awesome!” Neal clapped me on the back and I shrugged a bit modestly.

  “It was a tough game, but I prayed and a miracle happened,” I said and my teammates all mocked me good naturedly though.

  “Yeah you prayed and then the lord stepped into your shoes, that’s what happened Miles,” Brown said sarcastically and then the guys got on him for being an atheist. A few more rounds of shots and a couple of cigars later our conversation had gone from teasing and joking to talking about real stuff. We weren’t going to get Neal to open up or tell the truth if any sort of questioning came out of the blue.

  “I met the little man, Caleb. He’s the coolest five-year-old I ever met,” Jameson said, he actually did meet Caleb on Saturday because he dropped by with his own family for burgers and a good time around the pool.

  “Yeah…his mom is raising him good,” Neal said and it was clear to see the guilt all over his face. “I uh…I should’ve never left him…or her. Miles you—you have a really great woman you know that?” Neal said and I nodded, it was all serious at our corner. I was starting to really realize that I was wrong about Neal.

  “I came back because I can provide for them now, if she needs help with anything…I got it you know? It was the whole reason I left and I was just so focused on work that I lost sight of what I ran to England for and I was just after the money. Then it hit me, there’s no substance in a mindless pursuit of success or wealth. So I got a transfer, I came here for Caleb, you know…” Neal practically poured his heart out and I realized that he just wasn’t the type to talk about his feelings or express them too much. It’s why that whole first encounter was so off…

  “Damn man, I feel you. It’s a good thing you didn’t realize this too late. Be in your son’s life as long as you can you know?” Brown said and we all nodded, including Neal and kinda had a moment of silence.

  “And look I know that you and Christina are pretty much knit…I don’t want to mess up her happiness and what you two have at all. But I just have to tell you that I will be there for Caleb, I’m not leaving again.” Neal didn’t seem even slightly drunk when he said that, he looked me in the eye and spoke to me man to man.

  “Alright man, I feel you,” I said and Neal nodded, he sniffled only once, though actual tears didn’t fall. “We should probably get going…” I said and Neal nodded, the guys all murmured and mumbled the same sort of thing too. I was sure everyone wanted to be with their family after all that.

  Neal and I took a cab to Christina’s, it was late, but I wanted her to hear what he told me.

  “Why are we going to Christina’s?” Neal asked me and I clapped him on the shoulder.

  “You gotta show her how sincere you are about this. That’s what she’s been missing this whole time,” I said and Neal nodded, I could tell he was nervous.

  “The alcohol helps,” he said and I laughed.

  “Man admit it; you aren’t even drunk. After shot number two you started passing them to Brown,” I said and Neal smirked.

  “He can really throw them back,” he said and I laughed, Neal had no idea. Come the end of post season, Brown was a different man altogether.

  “I’ll call Christina,” I said when we pulled up to her house. I was surprised she was still awake, in any event she answered on the second ring and I told her to come outside. A few moments later she was tiptoeing onto the small front porch and glancing in between Neal and I curiously.

  “So Neal has something to convey to you…and I’d just like to say that he’s a good guy.”

  After that I let them talk and went inside to change clothes and climb into Christina’s bed. She came back about thirty minutes later and snuggled right up to me.

  “Thanks for doing that Miles…” she said and I hugged her close when I heard the emotion in her voice.

  “I don�
��t think I’ve ever…seen Neal be so humble, but he’s changed so much and now I know that’s he’s for real…he’s all in with Caleb,” she said and I kissed the top of her head. “Thank you…if it weren’t for you—well I’m pretty sure I would have let my suspicion get the best of me and things could have gone a lot differently,” she said and then looked up at me.

  “You know I care about you, I had to make sure Neal was legit,” I said and she nodded.

  “He’s sleeping on the couch by the way,” she said and I smiled.

  “We gotta get him set up on a date or two,” I said and Christina laughed.

  “You know you’re pretty much it for me,” she said and I grinned at her.

  “Right back at you baby,” I said and then pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

  THE END

  Bonus Story 13 of 40

  Protected by My Hero

  He is coming.

  I am huddled behind the largest tree I can find. I’m shivering though I know it’s not from the cold. As I crouch down as near to the ground as I can get, I see puffs of white breath float on the air in front of me. A sudden fear comes over me. It’s a strange and irrational fear, but a fear nonetheless. What if he can see my breath? What if these little puffs of air are giving me away?

  I put my hand over my mouth to keep myself from breathing. Keep myself from screaming.

  I can hear his breathing. It is dark and heavy and, though he is not near enough to me now, I know that it smells rancid.

  I didn’t mean for it to happen. No one believes me when I say that, not even my dad, but it’s the truth. I didn’t mean to fall in love with my stepbrother.

  It’s true, I’d always thought he was hot. Ever since I met him when I was only thirteen. He was a tall, well-muscled sixteen-year-old who played football. Mike had dark hair that occasionally flopped into his bright blue eyes and a smile that could melt your heart. I don’t think there was a thirteen-year-old girl alive who wouldn’t have developed a little crush on him.

  But, when my Dad married Mike’s Mom a year later, it became clear that he intended to treat me as nothing more than a little sister. He taught me how to throw a football, gave me advice on boys and even introduced me as his little stepsister to his friends while fondly ruffling my hair.