Bella drew back, suspicious. “Stefan, you know he’s going to try and talk you into breaking up with me. Or talk about terminating our baby.”
“Which is exactly why I want to talk to him,” I reassure her. “Bella, he said he’d make it worth my while. Now, if he’s got his head out of his ass, then maybe there’s a way for me to get good work. Health insurance, a decent paycheck—think about it. And it’s just to talk. If he’s an asshole, I’m out of there.”
Bella smiled, though I could see the uncertainty in her eyes. "Good." She returned my kiss, albeit hesitantly, and I resisted the urge to grab and squeeze her ass. I didn't want to get hard before going to see my dad.
“I'll be back as soon as possible,” I told her as I broke away and made my way to the door. “Keep those clothes on until I get home.” I let the hunger I felt for her sexy body drip into my voice.
“I will,” Bella promised, sounding breathless at the promise of what was to come. “And if my mom calls?”
I stop for a second, then turn back, giving her a grin. “I trust you. Tell her I said hi.”
“I'm offering you a job as my right hand man at the company,” my dad offered, sitting back in his office chair with an audible creak.
I was sitting across from him inside a mobile trailer that he often used for a make-shift office whenever he moved between construction sites. Considering the problems that he got up to with his laptop in this office, I wondered why the hell he kept it. But now wasn’t the time to focus on that.
His teams of employees were hard at work outside, building some sort of mom and pop motel that was a quarter of the way done. Some of them had greeted me with enthusiasm when I arrived on site, wondering where I’d been. They missed my presence since I’d been such a hard worker and easy to get along with.
I didn’t really say why I’d stopped showing up at work, just that I had some things I had to take care of. They got the point that it was something I didn’t want to share, and they pointed me to Dad’s trailer.
Things hadn’t started well. No sooner had I gotten inside than my dad began immediately making offers to me, hoping that I would be desperate enough to accept.
“Or, I can totally forgive the money I wasted on your last semester and pay for you to go back to school, where you can still pursue your sports career.”
I shook my head. “I don’t need money to go back to school. I already have a scholarship offer from Coach Carter back at South State.”
My dad gaped at me incredulously. “You have an offer like that and you haven’t taken it?”
“No.”
“What the hell is wrong with you, boy?” my father demanded. “Being a professional athlete has always been your dream. Why would you turn down a second chance?”
I clenched my jaw. “You know why. I might, just maybe, be able to juggle being a father and a college student. There’s no way in hell that I can be a good father, a student, and a sports player.”
“And? Though I’ve never seen a future in sports for myself, I knew you were different. I’ve seen you play. You are absolutely amazing. You could be the next big thing, Stefan.”
My dad was totally stroking my ego. On one hand, I dismissed what he was saying outright, but a part of me, my egomaniac side, was sucking up his lavish praise.
Coach Carter’s words replayed in my head.
We need you, Stefan. I’ve never seen a kid play as well as you.
I shifted in my seat and glanced at my dad’s cell that he had sitting in front of him. I wondered if it was the same cellphone he used to text Veronica dirty messages. “I just don’t see how you can expect me to do what you want. We're talking about your grandchild, for crying out loud.”
“I'm looking at the bigger picture, Stefan. You're my primary concern. You guys still have a chance to set things right. I think you should forget about Bella, forget about having a baby. I mean, why is it so hard for you to understand? You two can’t be together. I think you are both just young and confused. Give it some time, and you'll see. You’ll grow out of it.” My dad leaned forward in his chair. “Come work for me or go do the sports thing. I don’t care. Just don’t have that baby.”
My dad had some nerve. What did he expect me to do? Just abandon Bella after I promised her that I would be there for her? If I accepted my dad’s offer to work with him, or Coach Carter’s, I would be abandoning Bella.
“Stefan, most guys your age would jump at the chance to get out of a situation such as this.”
“Most guys my age don’t love the girl they have sex with either.”
My dad’s face twisted with disgust. “You can’t really believe what you’re saying.” My dad paused to take a deep breath. “Look, we’re just going in circles here. I’m giving you a way out of this situation. Take it. Convince Bella. Her mother will help her through the entire process.”
Anger coursed through me. I was mad because I felt like I was finally standing up and becoming the man they’ve always said they wanted me to be, and my parents wanted to kill the life Bella and I had created. To kill the man I was becoming.
“Sorry, Dad,” I said finally. “I can’t—I won’t—do it. And this will be the last time we talk about the issue, so don’t bother calling me anymore unless it’s to give me and Bella your blessing.”
My father balled his hand into a fist and slammed it against the table, his face red with rage. “You stubborn little shit!” he yelled. “You’re ruining everything that I have worked so hard for!”
I rose to my feet, holding back the violent urge to jump across my dad’s desk. “This is the last time we’ll discuss this issue,” I said with a face blank of emotion, and then I turned and walked out of his office.
The last I heard was my dad yelling, “You’re making a mistake, Stefan!”
Maybe. But I’d make a bigger mistake in doing what he wanted.
Chapter 37
Bella
"What did he say?" I asked when Stefan returned later that day.
I was in the midst of dusting the furniture, still dressed in those shorts that always got him going. It helped me deal with the stress of everything, keeping the apartment clean, and I knew Stefan liked it when I cleaned up in skimpy outfits. Besides, his eyes roaming over me reassured me and helped me feel sexy.
“What I expected,” he said, walking over and flopping down on the couch. He looked exhausted, and I could understand why. “I'm ruining my life, your life, his and Evelyn's, and I'm going to regret it, blah, blah, blah. That shit.”
I set down my duster on the armrest of the love seat and stared at him. There was something he wasn’t telling me, and I knew the best way to get him to talk was to just wait him out. Stefan was still getting used to sharing all his thoughts with me, and he shifted around a little before I raised an eyebrow. “And?”
“And he wants to get me to come work at his company again, this time as his right hand man, or return to school to resume my sports career.”
Sports career. It was something that had been on my mind too, honestly. “I see.”
Stefan slid over on the sofa, pulling me into his arms with a shake of his head and a smile. “Don't worry, I told him no, of course. I mainly went to let him know in no uncertain terms that I'm going to be with you no matter what.”
“Okay.”
Stefan pulled back and held me at arm’s length. “Is something wrong?”
I shrugged, for the first time in a while feeling like I was the one with something to hide. “No, everything is fine.”
“Come on, Bella,” he growled, obviously frustrated. “Don't give me that. Something is wrong. Now tell me what it is.”
I put a hand on my stomach, trying to find the words. “Stefan, you know I love you, and I know you’ve said that you don’t want to go back to sports if it means leaving me—leaving us—but I feel like I’m denying you your chance at greatness. Dammit, Stefan, you’re not meant to be some working class schlump! You’re Stefan Livingston, godd
ammit, and that means you’re special!”
Stefan blinked, stunned at the heat in my voice, and when he spoke again, it was almost as if he sounded amused. “Special, huh? If there’s any reason that I’m special, Bella, it’s because of you. Any idiot with good hand-eye coordination and enough dedication can make it to professional lacrosse. It’s not like the fucking NBA. If I’m going to be special, though, I want to be a special man. And that means I take care of you, like a man.”
“I want you to be both,” I whisper, shaking my head. “I want you to have it all.”
I let Stefan gather me into his arms, where he kissed my neck tenderly before whispering in my ear. “With you, Bella, I do have it all. We’ll make it, I promise you.”
“Together?” I asked, and he nodded, his breath tickling my ear and making me hot inside.
“Together. Now, I’ve got an idea. Would you like to go out to eat?" Stefan asked.
"I thought we were supposed to be conserving money until you got a job?" I asked, trying to keep my mind from just asking him to take me right there on the love seat. Sex is good, but I didn’t need to have an orgasm from him every time stress entered my life.
“We are, but you’ve been in a bad mood lately. Today’s been a shitty day with what my dad tried to pull, and I want to do something to lift your spirits. A day out of the house will do you some good.”
It was so tempting. We hadn’t been getting out of the house much, and I know that some of my stress was because I was going stir crazy. Every phone call from my mother made me jump, even if I wasn’t answering. The hypothetical conversations would run around and around in my head for hours afterward instead. And we were getting to the point where I was pinching every penny, checking when we went to the market not for the best tasting foods or the foods that Stefan and I liked, but the foods that we wouldn’t hate and would be the cheapest. Basically, it sucked.
Stefan nuzzled my neck, which was about the only reason I wasn’t jumping up out of his lap. Let him think I needed a little more convincing. His lips and touch felt damn good. “C’mon, Bella, I can’t have you moping around like you have been these past few days. It’s starting to bring me down too.” He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer, his breath tickling my ear. “Although, if you want to wait on dinner . . .”
Immediately, I was enveloped by his body heat and I melted into his arms. My pulse began to race in my throat as I felt his cock through his jeans pressed up against my ass.
Stefan lowered his lips to my neck, setting my skin ablaze. My lips parted into a sigh in response. I couldn't believe I’d thought we could stop from jumping each other constantly. He practically oozed sex, but I wanted to not be seen as a slut. But with Stefan, who cared if I was? He was my man, I was his woman, and the way his hand felt as he started rubbing my stomach, I didn’t care if I was a slut or not.
“We can even buy a few baby clothes,” Stefan whispered in my ear, using his secret weapon, the tip of his tongue tracing the curve of my earlobe before he nibbled gently. He resumed kissing me all over my neck and shoulders, running his hands all over my body, and I felt myself moisten between my legs.
“Okay,” I cried when I could take no more. “You win. I’ll go.”
I turned my head to look into Stefan’s grinning face, trying not to laugh as he grinned at me. “I knew you would see it my way. I have ways of bending you to my will.”
He slapped me on the ass, making it wiggle a little and making us both laugh. “Now go get ready so we can get back fast. I have another surprise for you.”
“Wasn’t that great?” Stefan asked as we walked back into the apartment.
I walked over and set down several shopping bags that were filled with baby outfits and some new stretch sweatpants for me. I knew it was stupid to still feel insecure, especially with all the sex we’d been having, but I hated getting the pants. They were so unflattering and so unsexy, but I was starting to have trouble getting into my normal sized clothes. To even things out, I’d gotten a couple of short shorts that were several sizes bigger than the ones I normally wore. Stefan loved my ass, and if I had a way to show it off, I would for him.
“Yeah, I did,” I replied. “And I’m so glad I went.” Truthfully, I had the most fun since arriving at the apartment with Stefan. After all the stress I’d gone through—the Sacrifice, the school’s investigation, the harassment by the assholes at NSU, and lastly, our parents discovering our secret—it was just what I needed to relieve a bit of stress.
At the restaurant, Stefan had been the perfect gentleman, holding out the seat for me and telling me to order whatever I wanted. Over lunch, we’d reminisced over old times together and talked about our future.
After, we’d gone shopping in the mall. Once again, Stefan told me to buy whatever I wanted. When I resisted, he was adamant that I do it. He wanted me to feel better. He’d just put everything I wanted on credit. I just worried about how he was going to pay for it with dwindling resources and no job.
“I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun."
Stefan grinned at me. “I can. The first night we fucked.”
I gaped. “Stefan!”
He laughed, shrugging. “Well, it's the truth! I'll never forget that night.”
My mind wandered back to the night that started all this mess. “And neither will I,” I whispered.
“And now it's time to have more of that fun,” Stefan said huskily. He walked over to me and pulled me into his arms. His lips quickly found mine, and he moved his hands over the small of my back, dipping me slightly.
Things were going perfectly when his cell ringtone went off.
Stefan pulled away from me, leaving me breathless, and reached inside his pocket.
“Hello? Oh, hey, Coach Carter.”
Hot and bothered, I flopped down on the coach and grabbed a magazine off the coffee table and began fanning myself, trying to get my temperature to go down.
“I don't know, Coach,” Stefan said, sending a glance my way. “I don't think I can. Really? That would be wonderful, coach," Stefan said, flashing me a thumbs-up. “I would like that very much. But you know what? I'm busy right now. I'll get back with you about a decision by next week. Okay? Cool. Talk to you then. Bye.”
Stefan hung up, turning back to me. “That was just Coach Carter calling again. I swear, that guy is not going to give up.” He gave me a look that should have had me ready to climb the walls, but instead, it made me angry. He moved toward me. “Now, where were we—”
“Why don't you just tell him no instead of leading him on all the time?” I cut him off, my tone sounding harsher than I wished.
Stefan froze. “What?”
I swallowed back an angry lump. I was sounding accusatory, but I couldn't help myself. I was filled with fear and anxiety. “Why the hell would you keep telling him that you'll get back with him when you know that you can't?”
Stefan stopped and backed up, raising his hands. “Bella, I was going to wait until after my head’s in the right space, but what he said was that I might be able to work something out where I can work and go back to school at the same time. It wouldn't be that hard. In fact, SSU offers programs for students who need work. With my athlete status, it shouldn't be hard getting some help.”
“And so all that shit you told me the other day about trying to be a good man and giving up sports—was that just bullshit?” I half yelled, not knowing where it was coming from. My body literally shook with rage. I couldn't believe I was saying these things to Stefan. I had never been so angry with him in my life, and it felt like I was losing control over my emotions. “Were you just playing me this whole time?”
Stefan looked like he'd been struck, his face going pale. “How can you act like this to me? I've done everything I can to help us, and I'll continue. Bella, I just heard the news. I didn’t say yes or no, and what the hell’s gotten into you? For God’s sake, if you tell me you don’t want me to go to SSU, I won’t go to SSU!
I’ll go down to the day labor office tomorrow and get a temp job digging ditches if I have to! I just thought it’d be a good idea to try and keep our fucking options open!”
I stood there, my chest heaving, feeling a rainbow of emotions. I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to slap, hit, bite, and fuck Stefan all at the same time. But most of all, I had a strong feeling of wanting to escape. Where was this coming from, anyway? “Are you just going to leave me in the lurch if you get a pro offer and I can’t follow?”
I didn't wait for an answer. I just I took off down the hallway, sobbing all the way to our bathroom, and slammed the door behind me.
Stefan
Watching Bella disappear into the bathroom, I stood there, confused and kicking myself. What was going on? I hadn’t told her for a thousand reasons. The main one was that I wanted to talk it over calmly with Bella when I was thinking clearly with my brain and not my dick. I was serious. I’d gladly tell Coach Carter to stuff a lax stick up his butt if there was no way I could take care of Bella. But that didn’t matter, and yelling at Bella only made things worse, a really stupid thing on my part.
I knocked on her door quietly after a few minutes, and Bella jerked the door open, her eyes wide with fear. Her shoulders tense, Bella waited as if she was expecting me to start yelling at her again. I realized how much yelling there’d been in our relationship, how much stress and how much difficulty, and I vowed to stop it, right here, right now.
I moved forward and pulled Bella into my arms, where she seemed to collapse with relief against my chest and began to sob. “I’m sorry,” I told her with as much conviction and emotion as I could muster. “I’m sorry for everything. For ignoring you, for the stress, for all of it. Bella, all I want is for you to stop being scared, because I’m not going to leave you. Not now, not when you have the baby, not ever. But I only have one thing to ask of you.”
Alpha's Baby: A Secret Baby Romance Page 22