Fool Me Once

by Brittany Crowley

  “I’m excited to have you there.” Carter leans further towards me and places his lips at my ear. “We have several hours before I need to be at the venue.”

  “Is that so?” I giggle.

  “What do you think we should do?”

  “Hmm.” I tap my chin a few times before Carter turns my face and results in my lips meeting his.

  “I’ve missed your lips. Is it possible to pack them in my suitcase and take them home with me when I leave?”

  “Only if I can have your ass.” I swat his shoulder and laugh. “Hey, if we’re exchanging body parts…”

  “Perv.”

  Carter wraps his hands around my stomach and the nervous excitement swarms back in. Being back in his arms makes the shock of the morning seem okay. Like everything’s going to turn out the way it should be.

  After being stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic, which I don’t mind, we get to make-out and cop a feelski or two, we finally pull up to his house.

  I’m so happy to see it’s a modestly sized house right on the beach. Firstly, it reminds me of back home with the ocean and number two, it’s not a gaudy mansion I’d have to smile through and say I love. It almost reminds me of my mom’s place. Big enough to enjoy the fruits of your labor, but small enough that I’d be able to clean and maintain it.

  My views on the house change the second I step through the doorway. Its evident Carter didn’t decorate this place. I know, I know, how can I tell? It’s not him. The white sterile décor that leaks from room to impersonal room doesn’t scream Carter at all.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “Nothing. Where should I put my stuff?” I can’t meet his eyes. No way am I telling him being at his house is the equivalent of being at a doctor’s office.

  I feel a tug on the waistband of my shorts when he stops me from moving away from him.

  “I told you, you’re a shit liar.”

  “Your house surprised me is all.”

  “In a bad way, I can tell.”

  I take a deep breath and turn in his arms. “It’s just so impersonal when you seem so full of life. I don’t see any pictures or knickknacks. Where are all your personal touches? All the stuff you bring back from traveling?”

  “Yeah, yeah. Honestly, I just bought this place before I went on the shoot and met you. I’m hoping to get a decorator out here while I’m back for a while. It’s very…”

  “White? I’m not saying it’s bad,” I laugh. “Okay that’s a lie, but I love this house and its potential. Especially it being on the water. I’m sure you’ll have it in ship shape before you know it.”

  “I want this place to feel like home for you when you come out to visit me too. How about we make time to hit the store and grab some girly shit. I’m glad you’re so upfront with me, I hate secrets.”

  I laugh, but his statement has my heart racing. He wants me to always be upfront with him, but I’m keeping a pretty big secret. Omitting isn’t lying, but I want to tell him when the timing is right. After telling him, I pretty much hated the inside of his house is not the right moment.

  “How about you go put on a swimsuit, and we’ll lay by the beach, so I can pretend like I’m not ogling your tits behind my shades.”

  “Only if you don’t mind that I’ll be doing the same.” I plant a kiss to his nose and head to…I don’t even know where. “Hey, where’s your bedroom?” I laugh.

  “Well my dear, why don’t I give you the grand tour of Chez Larue.”

  “Lead the way tour guide.”

  He briefly gives me a tour then leaves me by myself in his bedroom telling me if he watches me change, we’ll never leave the bedroom. I told him I was completely on board for that kind of activity, but he seemed set on wanting to show me the ocean. Part of me thinks he wants me to love it here as much as I love it back home.

  And then the answer smacks me right in the face. I have to sit on the bed as the epiphany nails me without any warning. I would move my whole life for him. Pick up and pack up my belongings, leave my mother and friends behind to chase my boyfriend across the country.

  Oh wow. This is one-part exciting and two parts scary.

  Does this mean I love Carter? It must. Why else would I be willing to give everything up? I could run my company out here and ship it back to my mom and all the vendors that carry it. I could finally branch out and start selling on the West coast.

  There’s a knock on the door and Carter peeks his head in. “Ready to go?”

  “Yup,” I say cheerfully jumping off the bed as I follow him through the house and out the back doors. He has those gorgeous oversized sliding doors that open the length of the house like on those HGTV shows. It’s a sight to behold, and the ocean just beyond it is even more spectacular.

  “Holy crap. What a view.”

  “Come on, I have some chairs set up for us.”

  I don’t know what I’m expecting when I walk out, but a completely deserted beach isn’t it. For some reason, I imagined a bunch of people, like when you go to a public beach. Silly, I know, but this is rare to find back home. Complete aloneness. The only sound being the waves crashing on the shore.

  “There’s no one here.” I point out the obvious.

  “Nope, I own quite a big chunk of this beach. I wanted to make sure no one could bother me when I’m home. Sometimes it becomes too much, and I don’t want to share any part of my home with strangers, even my beach.”

  His statement reminds me of the stares at the airport. I can totally understand his need for privacy.

  “What you’re saying is, I can do this…” I untie the strings of my bikini top and drop the fabric to the sand. “And not have to worry about someone seeing.”

  “You should worry Lex, I’m still here.” He gives me a devilish grin and starts to stalk towards me.

  I try to run, but I’m laughing so hard it’s easy for Carter to catch up with me. When he reaches me, his arm sweeps my legs, and then I’m flying through the air and into his arms. He places me on a blanket a few feet away, and his mouth travels down my chest, kissing all the exposed skin he can get his mouth on.

  “Do you have any idea how much I’ve fantasized about these?” He cups my breasts and groans. “God, they’re perfect.” He sucks a nipple into his mouth making me arch my back in the process.

  Maybe it’s the pregnancy, but boy does Carter’s touch feel out of this world. Like I could come from the sheer act of my nipple being tugged into his mouth. I nearly die when his hand slips into my tiny bikini bottoms.

  “Touch me, Carter. Please.”

  “Always so polite.” His fingers start to circle my clit, and a moment later I couldn’t tell you my own name.

  “You’re so responsive. I can’t wait to get my cock in there.” He kisses me while slipping his swim trunks down his hips. When he pulls out a condom, I hold his hand still.

  “We don’t need it,” I pant and try to direct him inside me, needing to feel him bare.

  “Whoa, babe. It’ll only take a second.” I want to blurt out he doesn’t need it, that he’s already done the damn thing, but this is also not the moment.

  When he slides inside of me, I feel a sense of peace. Carter is slowly becoming everything to me, home is where he is.

  “What?” he questions.

  “Huh?” I ask, grabbing onto his ass and trying to make him move.

  “You just said home is with me.”

  Ah shit. Why the hell did I say that out loud? I guess I’ll see if the idea freaks him out.

  “Because you are. Being apart so long makes me realize how much I need you in my life.”

  “I need you too, Lex.” He entwines our fingers and really gets into it. His hips are slamming into mine, his dick’s hitting this insanely sensitive spot deep inside me and I know I’m so close to reaching my climax.

  It’s like a scene from a movie. Moments like this in life aren’t real. People don’t have sex on the beach and actually, enjoy it… or so I’ve heard. You alwa
ys hear about sand in areas you’d rather not have it, water crashing around you to the point of almost drowning or a killer sunburn.

  “That was perfect,” I say snuggling into his chest after we’ve finished.

  “Agreed.” Carter rolls off of me and onto his back. His hands block the sun out of his face when he places them over his eyes.

  Soon I’ll tell him. Tonight’s his show which I’m sure will be fantastic.

  I’ll tell him after.

  Chapter 11

  No. No, no, no, no, no.

  This cannot be happening right now.

  Where’s the nearest exit?

  “The rules are simple. To see how much these two lovebirds know about each other, they have to take a shot for every question they get wrong.”

  After we made love on the beach, Carter took me out for a quiet dinner before we got ready for his show. I wasn’t sure how an improv style show would translate in front of an audience, but they had me in stitches for the first half hour. They tell funny stories of each other, show some videos on a jumbotron, and interact a ton with the audience. I understand how they’ve become so popular. They have this dynamic about them that draws you in. They’re so in tune with each other, there’s never a dull moment.

  Until now.

  I can tell Carter didn’t know about this, or maybe he did. His face isn’t really giving anything away, and when I try to express to him how much I don’t want to be up here on stage, he shrugs his shoulders and winks at me.

  The bastard’s in on it. How could he not clue me in on outing our relationship to the entire world? I should take it as a good sign that he’s doing this, willing to share me with the world. That he’s comfortable enough pulling me up on stage as his girlfriend.

  But alcohol.

  They could have literally done any other skit, and I would be ecstatic.

  Carter doesn’t know it yet, but along with outing our relationship he’s about to make this pregnancy public because I can’t drink in front of these people. I can’t drink at all for the next several months until the little bambino flies out of my vagina and into my arms.

  This just means I have to get all of the questions right. This is absolutely the worst time to tell Carter I’m pregnant with his baby. Live in front of thousands of screaming fans.

  Seriously, how do I get myself in these situations?

  “First question,” Benji announces as Andy walks out from backstage with a tray full of shots.

  “How many questions are you asking us?” I ask in a panic.

  “Don’t worry about it doll. Like I said, the first question goes to Lex…”

  I make through several rounds answering the questions correctly. Thank god I pay attention to small details and listen better than I thought I did. I should be a little down that Carter gets a ton wrong, but I’m more focused on my questions.

  Then it happens.

  “Lex, how old was Carter when he lost his virginity?”

  I stare at Carter dumbfounded, completely pissed off this never came up in conversation. This question shouldn’t count because I have no freaking clue!

  “Oh, I think we’ve stumped her,” Andy laughs. “Guess they never had the sex talk.”

  Carter smiles, apology in his eyes when he hands me a shot. “Hey, I’m at least five in,” he laughs. “It’s time to catch up.”

  I cover the microphone they pinned to my shirt and whisper, “Carter, I can’t take this.”

  “Oh, it seems Carter’s girl has some stage fright. Let’s help her out.” Benji starts chanting shot, shot, shot, and the crowd follows suit. They even play Lil Jon’s song over the speakers as everyone sings along.

  “Listen, I really can’t take this.” I’m pleading with my eyes for them to understand and the guys can’t figure out what my problem is.

  “Geez Lex, it’s not like you’re pregnant. It’s only a shot.” Benji hits the nail on the head, and my face turns red as a beet.

  My eyes bulge, and the guys must pick up on my reaction because the shot’s taken from my hand and Andy’s explaining to the crowd how I’m not feeling well.

  But the crowd doesn’t buy it.

  Someone yells something about Carter knocking me up and soon the whole venue is cheering their congratulations towards him. He’s frozen on stage like he doesn’t know how to react, still in his seat with his eyes fixated on my stomach. Its unnerving and my instant reaction is to cover my midsection by wrapping my arms around myself.

  The guys quickly pull him from the chair and clap his back a few times yelling out their congratulations while looking frazzled themselves. There’s no sense in hiding it, everyone knows. Except the guys look like they’re trying to keep a bomb from going off with their gentle tones and encouragement towards Carter.

  They continue on with the show, but Carter’s off. Extremely off. I can tell he’s mulling my non-announcement over and I can’t get a sense of how he’s feeling.

  Finally, the show’s done, and the guys come off stage shirtless and drenched in sweat. Carter walks by me towards the dressing room without saying a word.

  Andy approaches me cautiously. “Listen, you caught him off guard…”

  I cut Andy off. “I caught him off guard? You guys made me go on stage! I was planning on telling him after the show. Shit, Andy, I only found out this morning.”

  “He doesn’t like change. Carter needs some time to process and figure out what to do.”

  “What to do,” I repeat.

  “Lex, I know it sucks, but if you go in that dressing room, it might not be pretty. He tends to speak before he thinks.”

  “That’s too bad because we need to talk about this. Am I supposed to go home and wait for Carter to call me? Fuck that.” I walk to the back and find Carter’s dressing room. The doors unlocked, so I walk in and find him sitting on a couch. His elbows to his knees, head in his hands.

  “Hey, listen…”

  “How?”

  Is he serious? He wants the birds and bees talk?

  “I think you know how.”

  “Not how babies are made, Lex, how the hell did you get pregnant? I wore a condom.” He sounds a bit hysterical.

  “Condoms aren’t foolproof.”

  “They are for me.” He lifts his head and looks at me.

  “Whoa there. Are you accusing me of something?”

  “No, fuck, Lex. I don’t know what to say. I’m trying to figure out what to do with this.”

  “I know you said you would never get married… but you don’t want kids?”

  “No.”

  It’s a solid answer, and it packs a punch that’s hard to take. I’m not sure if I can take it. Sure, I was worried how he’d respond, but never did I think he’d tell me he didn’t want kids.

  “Does that mean you don’t want our baby?”

  “Yes… no… I don’t know. You blindsided me.”

  “And that’s my fault? I planned on telling you after the show when it was just the two of us.”

  “Not sure that would have made a difference, except the whole world, wouldn’t know about it.”

  “Listen, I knew this would be a surprise. We haven’t been dating that long…”

  “Like at all. Our relationship has barely begun.”

  “Okay. It’s been over three months, not four days.”

  “It takes longer than that to get to know someone.”

  That’s the moment I realize we’re on two different levels in our relationship. Here I am, completely naïve with stars in my eyes, ready to move my life across the country and it’s clear Carter doesn’t feel the same. I was so caught up in our romance I didn’t stop to think if he truly saw the same future I did.

  “I’m just gonna…” I point to the door and start to back away.

  “Lex, no. Nothing’s coming out right.” He sighs and gets off the couch. “I don’t know what to say to you.”

  “You’ve said it all,” I say as a single tear streaks down my cheek. “Message recei
ved loud and clear.”

  “Can you give me a few days?”

  “Sure thing.” I nod my head needing to get out of here. I’m about to open the door when Carter gently grabs my arm and pulls me into his body.

  “I promise. Just a few days to come to terms with this.”

  I whirl around and glare at him. “In case you didn’t know, this is happening to me too. I don’t have the luxury to run and hide or pretend it isn’t happening. Our baby’s growing inside me.” I take his hand and place it on my belly. “You can take all the time you want, but I can’t promise I’ll be here when you figure your shit out. Was this a shock for me too? Hell yeah, and you’d know that if you asked how I felt about it. I’m not sixteen, and we’re not kids. We’re grown adults, and I plan to provide for this little baby whether you’re there or not.”

  “Whoa, who said I wouldn’t be there?”

  “Have you been here for this conversation? You told me you never want kids and that we’re barely in a relationship. Do you know how much that hurts when I’m head over heels in love with you? That I’m so grateful for this baby because it’s me and you, a product of us. I just… I need to leave.”

  I turn and walk through the door finding it hard to breathe. I’m halfway down the hallway when I turn around and see Carter standing at the door of his dressing room with a complete look of torture on his face. I almost expect him to come after me, he looks like he wants to, but then Benji and Andy approach his door pulling him inside.

  Well, that’s that then.

  Completely mortified and heartbroken, I head back to Carter’s place to grab my stuff, so I can go back home. No way am I hanging around here waiting on him. I have a life to get back to, and it doesn’t revolve around him. I was foolish to think he cared as much as I did.

  Maybe these are the hormones talking but fuck any guy that can’t man up. That can’t see what the girlfriend’s going through and see beyond themselves.

  I’m not saying I want him to be there if he truly doesn’t. What I want is for Carter to be the man I know he can be. Be the father I know he has the potential to be.