by Ash, Nikki
She stirs awake, rolls over onto her back, stretches briefly, and wipes the sleep out of her eyes. She is absolutely beautiful inside and out, and I know I want her to be mine. She looks down and sees her dress up and frowns before grabbing a sheet and pulling it up and over her causing me to frown.
She looks at my reaction and giggles. “Don’t pout.” She goes to give me a kiss but hesitates and backs up unsure. She doesn’t feel comfortable being the one to initiate anything because of the times I have rejected her. I want to tell her it’s ok but the truth is I don’t know if it is. I don’t know how I feel about not being the one in control. Last night I almost made love to her but then I had a flashback of a time I was with another woman and I stopped. I don’t want anything Hayley and I do to be tainted with my past.
I lean forward and kiss her. The kiss starts to build, becoming more intense when her phone rings ruining the moment. I give her one last chaste kiss on her cheek before heading to the bathroom.
“I’m going to take a shower. Wanna grab breakfast?”
“Sure, let me just call Kayla back. It’s probably about Marco since they kept him overnight.”
After I get out of the shower, I grab a towel to dry off and head back out through Hayley’s room to go get dressed and put my walking boot back on. She is talking to someone on the phone but stops when she sees me. In the past, a woman eyeing me made me feel sick. I used to hate the thought of another woman using me for sex, but when Hayley does it, I don’t get the same feeling I used to get. I want her to look at me. I want her to want me. It’s a foreign concept but one I welcome.
I give her a small smile and head back to my room. After getting dressed, I hear her shower running so I grab my cellphone to see if I have any missed calls or emails. I notice an email from Jarred Harms, the prosecutor assigned to my case letting me know we need to meet to go over my testimony before we go to court. They have scheduled a court date. He also lets me know two of the men they caught are only being tried with aggravated assault and after they filed an appeal were granted bail. The other two men are being charged with rape and attempted murder so they will remain in jail until their hearings. I reply letting him know I can come by next week sometime. I also make note to get an alarm system installed in here. With Hector and Santos around and now the other two guys out on bail, it worries me to have Hayley and Marco out of my sight.
There’s a knock at the door and when I open it, it’s a young man holding an envelope.
“Are you Caleb Michaels?”
“Yes.”
“Sign here, please.” I sign, take the envelope from him, and open it up. It’s the court documents pertaining to Gloria’s lawsuit letting me know I have thirty days to respond or give up my rights to the clubs. I knew these would be arriving soon but it still pisses me off. I would burn those clubs to the ground before giving her ownership of them.
“What’s wrong?” Hayley comes out in tight black jeans that mold to her curves and a loose off the shoulder cream sweater making me want to kiss her exposed skin. Her hair is wet from her shower and pulled into some sort of side looking braid thing. She looks just as gorgeous as she did last night in a completely different way.
“Gloria is suing me for the clubs. I need to hire an attorney.” I sit down on the couch and she walks over to sit down next to me. “Do you want the clubs?”
I have given this question a lot of thought so I already know my answer. “Yeah, I do. Liz and I looked over the books and they turn a nice profit. While Gloria has done some shady shit behind the scenes, I have met a lot of the staff and many of these women and men need this job. I can put an end to the illegal shit she has going on and can make a steady income from these clubs. I would need to hire a new manager for the club in Boulder since I don’t want to have to fly out there often and I don’t trust Gloria, as well as find a manager for the one here once I am healed and start training again but I think it would be good.”
“Then you should do it. I will have to check out these strip clubs once they reopen. Why don’t we have my family over for dinner and I can ask my sister what she thinks since she is an attorney. Maybe she can even represent you.”
“That would be great, thanks.” I grab her hips and pull her onto my lap. Now that I have had a taste of this woman I can’t get enough.
“Was that Kayla on the phone?” I ask while situating her on me so she’s sitting with her legs on each side of me facing me.
“Yes, she dropped Marco off at school. He loves spending time with Chloe. I am so glad Kayla and Bentley are getting approved to adopt her.”
“They are good people. So are you. You choosing to bring Marco home making the choice to adopt him is one of the most selfless acts I have witnessed. Providing him this home, a room to call his own, clothes, food… You are amazing.”
She nuzzles her face into my shoulder shaking her head. I pull her back up to look at her. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, it’s just sometimes it doesn’t feel selfless. Sometimes it feels like I need Marco more than he needs me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Before he moved in here I felt so alone.” She shrugs and continues. “I’m not exactly young, Caleb. I am in my thirties. I spent so many years focusing on school I never got serious with a guy, and with my younger sister getting engaged I realized maybe having my own kids won’t be possible. Adopting Marco means creating my own family. Even if I meet someone one day; taking the time to get to know him, getting married, and him wanting kids, it could be years. What if I’m too old by then and can’t have my own kids?”
I think about everything she just said and a gut-wrenching feeling of jealousy consumes me. The thought of her meeting another man and getting married makes my hands tighten on her hips. I want to be that man. I want to be part of that family she just described. I don’t, however, want to scare her with too much too soon. Shit, these thoughts are scaring me!
“You are amazing. Marco is so lucky to have you. I love that a family to you isn’t just biology. I love that you already consider Marco your child, but don’t give up on having your own kids. Plus… you aren’t that old.” I give her a wink and she glares at me crinkling her nose at the word old.
“I’m not that old huh? How old are you?”
“Still in my twenties,” I say nonchalantly. I am only a few years younger than Hayley but it’s fun to mess with her. She slaps my chest laughing and I can’t help but give her a kiss. Her stomach growls causing us both to laugh, so we head out to get breakfast before she heads to work. On our way out, I notice the car Hayley was talking about parked a few houses down but don’t mention it to her. I don’t want to scare her. It’s the same car from the day I saw Marco talking to Hector and Santos. The third guy that was there got out of that car. He was the one dressed nicer, looking out of place.
We get to the restaurant, a little hole-in-the-wall place Hayley loves, and the waiter comes over to take our order.
“Hey Hayley, how are you?”
“I’m good. You?”
I can see the look in his eyes. He wants her. It’s obvious they know each other.
“I’m good. I haven’t seen you in here recently.”
“Things have been crazy busy. Can I get a coffee and the breakfast special?”
“Sure thing,” he says giving her a wink. Is this guy serious? Does he not see me sitting right here with her?
“I’m going to use the restroom to wash my hands.” Hayley stands up from her seat and heads toward the restrooms. Instead of taking my order, the fucker watches her ass as she walks away.
I clear my throat loudly, causing him to turn to face me. Lifting one eyebrow I glare at him. “You ready to take my order or would you like to continue to stare at my woman’s ass?” Holy fuck! Did I just call her my woman? Yes, I did because she is mine, and she sure as fuck isn’t his.
His eyes go wide realizing I caught him and he at least has the decency to look a little embarrassed.
He nods his head and scurries off to put in our orders.
When Hayley returns, instead of sitting across from her I move into the booth next to her.
“What are you doing?”
“I just want to sit next to you.” She giggles and it makes my heart soar. I love that fucking giggling. The waiter sets our drinks down and lets us know our food will be out shortly.
“The waiter has the hots for you.”
“Oh, stop it!” Hayley says, backhanding my chest playfully. “I’ve been eating here for years. He just knows me.”
“He was watching your ass while you walked away.” Hayley’s head flies back against the back of the booth and full on laughs out loud. It reminds me of the day at the gym when I saw Stephen make her laugh like that. I love that I am the one making her laugh now.
“Well I can’t stop people from watching my ass.” She chuckles.
“No but I can. It’s my ass.”
“What did you say? That you are an ass?” She laughs again.
“Very funny. I said… It’s. My. Ass. I don’t want anybody looking at it but me.”
“How very alpha of you.” Hayley laughs softly and then leans in and gives me a peck on my lips. I lean in closer wanting more. My tongue seeks entrance and she willingly grants access. As we kiss, my hand lands on her thigh and I can’t help but squeeze it tightly. I have never wanted a woman as much as I want her. Suddenly I hear a clank on the table and look up to see the waiter loudly setting our food down. My fist tightens on Hayley’s thigh and I can feel her silently shaking with laughter.
Taking her face into my hands I look her in the eyes. “Mine.” Her laughter stops but her smile remains as she nods her head yes. Damn right, this woman is mine.
After we finish breakfast, Hayley heads to work and I decide to have a chat with Jarred about the car. He lets me know that unless there is any type of physical contact there isn’t much he can do. Even if it is Hector and Santos, unless they are breaking a law there is nothing we can do. He also tells me he already has a restraining order out on the men who are out on bail requiring them to stay a thousand yards from Marco and I until the court case. Apparently, they are looking into Hector and Santos and the man they work for. His name is Antonio and he has been under surveillance for a while now but they don’t have enough evidence against him to make an arrest. At this point, all we can do is keep our eyes open and if something more happens let him know.
We decide while I am there to go over all the specifics, the questions I will be asked and how I should answer. Because they are trying all of them separately their attorneys requested extensions. Luckily, I will only have to give my recollection of the events once during my deposition. I won’t actually have to take the stand four different times unless their attorney calls me in for cross-examination.
When I leave the courthouse, I see a text from Hayley letting me know her family are all coming for brunch this coming Sunday. This will be my first-time meeting somebody’s parents, which makes me think about the fact that I don’t even really know where Hayley and I stand. That’s definitely a conversation we should have soon. I realize it’s almost three o’clock and head home to meet Marco at the bus stop since Hayley is working late.
“Hey bud! How was your day?”
“Really good! I wrote an essay in Language Arts and the teacher said I am a natural writer. Want to read it?”
“Sure.”
He pulls the essay out of his backpack and hands it to me suddenly looking nervous. I begin reading it. The topic is asking him who he looks up to. The entire essay is about me, and how he wants to be just like me. But what tugs at my heart is the fact that there is barely anything even mentioned about me as a fighter. Every example Marco gave was regarding me as a person. He writes about how much I care and how patient I am when teaching him to fight. He writes about how protective I am referring to saving him and Hayley the day in the parking lot. Then he writes about when I gave him twenty dollars to play video games and let him order anything he wanted from the kid’s menu. He even says it was one of the best days of his life. Damn, this kid is just so unbelievable. To most kids twenty bucks at an arcade is a normal occurrence, but to Marco he writes about it like he was taken to Disney Land.
I can’t help but get choked up and when I look over at him to tell him how much his essay means to me he looks unsure of himself. “Marco, this is the best essay I have ever read, kid. The things you wrote about me…” I have to swallow the lump in my throat to continue speaking. “Can I keep this, please?”
His face lights up. “You want to keep my essay? You like it that much?”
“It’s the nicest thing anybody has ever written about me.” I lean over and hug him hard not wanting to let go.
“How about we go surprise Hayley at work and steal her away so we can go do something fun?”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
We get to the gym and I look for the guys to say hi to while Marco runs over to a couple kids who are about to begin a class. I find Cooper, Bentley, and Kaden bullshitting near the locker rooms with Alex and Stephen and a couple other younger guys who train here as well. They are all laughing and making digs at Kaden.
“What’s up?” I ask fist bumping everyone.
“We’re all going out tonight and Kaden is acting like a little pussy not wanting to go out,” Stephen says laughing.
“Yeah,” Alex chimes in. “I get those two not wanting to go out,” he nods to Bentley and Cooper. “They are pussy whipped with kids but supposedly Kaden isn’t even getting any from Ashley because they are just friends, yet he’d rather go sit on her couch and hang out then try to catch some tail. What happened to the playboy you used to be?”
Kaden laughs it off. Only a few people know Kaden’s story and why he acts the way he does. “First of all, keep Ashley’s name out of your mouth and second, I’m getting plenty of pussy, you dick. Worry about your damn self.”
Just as he says this he looks over my shoulder like a deer caught in the headlights as Tristan comes running past us toward the class and trailing behind him is Ashley. She clearly heard his last comment.
She looks hurt but quickly smiles and laughs playing it off. “Yeah, don’t worry. Kaden hanging out with me is only slightly putting a damper on his little black book. Feel free to go out tonight. I have to work anyway.”
She walks away without saying a word and Kaden runs after her not giving a shit that they are about to argue in front of half the gym.
“What do you mean you are working tonight? I thought you only worked two days a week.”
“Well things changed. I have… bills to pay.”
“Do you need me to watch Tristan? What’s going on?”
“Nothing is going on. And no, I have a babysitter watching him but thank you.” She smiles softly at him and then stands on her tippy toes giving him a kiss on his cheek before walking away from him. Kaden doesn’t go after her this time. He just stands there with his jaw clenching. I am not sure if he’s mad at himself for the comment he stupidly made or mad at her for blowing him off and acting like she didn’t care. But either way, it’s the most emotion I have seen from him since I’ve known him.
I say bye to the guys and call Marco over to join me. We find Hayley in her office where she is typing away on the computer not realizing we are watching her. I clear my throat and she jumps.
“Geez boys! You scared me.”
“We are here to steal you,” Marco says.
Hayley laughs at the excitement in his voice.
“And where are you going to take me?”
“Caleb said to do something fun but he didn’t say what.”
“Well, ok then. I am all yours.” She shuts down her computer and we take off. While I am driving I hand her the essay Marco wrote. When she is done reading it her face is wearing a matching expression to how I feel… compl
ete love. Words don’t need to be exchanged to know how much we both love that little boy.
We pull up to GameWorks and its clear Marco and Hayley have never been here. It’s a huge state of the art arcade that also has a five-star restaurant and a bowling alley. When we enter through the doors I buy the biggest package possible that includes dinner, a ridiculous amount of credits for the video games, and a game of bowling for the three of us.
Once I hand Marco and Hayley their cards with the credits on them we walk inside. Marco stops and looks around taking it all in, and Hayley looks at me grinning wide knowing what I am up to. Marco thought the tiny arcade was so amazing; well this place blows it away. They aren’t even in the same league of arcades.
“We can play any game we want?” Marco asks in shock never having seen anything like this before.
“Anything you want, and you earn tickets that will let you pick out prizes at the end. Now lead the way, kid.”
His first stop is Air Hockey. Him and Hayley team up against me. Within minutes I am kicking their ass but they are both cracking up laughing. Hayley tries to put her arm across the goal to block the puck.
“Really? You are going to resort to cheating?” I taunt her.
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” she says leaning over the goal giving me a tiny peek at her ample cleavage.
“Ok, but when the puck bruises your arm I don’t want to hear it.” I grab the striker and line up the puck pretending like I am going to hit it across the table. Hayley’s eyes narrow and her head tilts slightly daring me to try it.
I hit the puck to the left knowing Marco will hit it and sure enough he does. He knocks the puck into my goal and they both jump up and down giving each other a high five. They lost miserably but it doesn’t stop them from cheering about Marco’s goal. Hayley walks over to me and gives me a peck on my cheek.
“I knew you wouldn’t hurt me.”
Taking her by her waist I say softly so only she can hear, “The only thing I ever want to do is bring you happiness, baby.”