by Jamie Knight
In a flurry of hands, we undressed each other. I pushed myself into her, our bodies meeting in a crescendo of pleasure. Scarlett and I were connecting on a deeper level, the love that I was allowing to grow inside of me pulsing through my every movement. Scarlett surrounded me in every sense of the phrase. Her body, her scent, her essence — I was consumed by her.
“Noah!”
I kept a steady rhythm. Scarlett wrapped her leg around my body, pulling me deeper. It felt like we were becoming more attuned to one another—ready to move forward.
I fucked her. I made love to her. I was falling in love with her.
Scarlett’s arms wrapped around my back, scratching me. I continued pounding my pelvis into her, my shaft driving in and out of her pussy. We climaxed together, holding onto one another for dear life. When it was all over, I fell onto the bed next to her, bringing Scarlett into a tight embrace. I felt her warmth seeping into me and looked at her beautiful face as she fell asleep.
Chapter Thirteen - Scarlett
Two Months Later
It was crazy. One day, it was like a switch flipped in Noah’s head. He was happier, brighter, talking about his feelings and emotions. Ever since the night he invited me to his bedroom, it had felt like we were a real couple. Nothing was really discussed, but I started spending every night in his bedroom, and we got more comfortable showing affection around Livvy. Things were just looking up.
One morning, I woke up, and Noah was already out of bed. I heard the shower going, so I guessed he was in the bathroom. I could use a wash, so I got out of bed and quietly snuck into the bathroom. I could hear him moving around in the shower. I was getting excited thinking about climbing in there with him. I took off the small amount of clothes I had on before carefully pulling the curtain back, to avoid too much water escaping, and hopping in.
“Hello.”
Noah hadn’t turned to look at me when I stepped into the shower with him. He looked over his shoulder when he heard my greeting, smiling. Looked like he was playing hard to get. I rested my hands on the small of his back, bringing them up until I reached his shoulders. Wrapping my arms around his torso, so I could caress his chest, I gently ran my fingers over his wet skin.
“How did you sleep?”
“Perfectly,” I sighed, resting my head on his back.
Noah decided to turn around then, so I had to step back a little. We looked at one another for a few seconds before he pressed down on the top of my head, getting me down on my knees. His erect cock was at eye level. I licked my lips before wrapping them around his head, pushing my mouth forward. The shaft was smooth and thick, throbbing slightly in my mouth. I bobbed my head back and forth, Noah’s dick sliding in and out of my mouth.
Hollowing my cheeks, I sucked on his dick as well, wiping my tongue on the head to lap up some of the cum leaking out. I kept going until he came in my mouth, I swallowed as much as I could. Whatever leaked out of my mouth was washed away by the water. When the stream stopped, I got back on my feet and gave Noah a big kiss.
His body pressed into mine, and I could feel that he was still aroused.
I broke the kiss to look down, smirking. “We should probably do something about that,” I motioned with my eyes.
“We probably should.”
Hope had Livvy, so Noah and I were able to keep the morning leisurely. Hope would take Olivia every now and then, so Noah and I could spend some alone time together. Noah had left the bathroom, and I was sitting on the toilet, taking a pregnancy test. I had already gotten my period twice these past couple of months. It was starting to get to me. Noah wasn’t pressuring me or anything. In fact, he seemed really chill about the whole thing, but the thought still lingered in the back of my mind.
Enough time had passed, and I checked the test.
Negative.
My heart sank. I knew it wasn’t my fault, but I was still feeling the weight of the bad news. I washed my hands and went back to the bedroom, falling onto the bed. Noah looked over at me.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah… the test came back negative is all.”
Noah reached out for my hand, and I let him take it. “Are you sad?”
“A little but mostly frustrated. I just thought I’d be pregnant by now, and I’m just… frustrated. I don’t know how else to say it.”
He kissed my head. “No, no. I understand. I’d love for it to happen too, but you don’t have to worry because I’m here for you, and it’ll happen in good time. I’m sure. Let’s just enjoy the now.”
It was so strange seeing how much Noah had changed. He was calmer, and he had a great way of grounding me.
“It’ll happen when it happens,” I whispered to myself.
***
It was a few hours later, and Hope was on her way to drop Olivia off. Noah and I spent the day lounging around and simply enjoying one another. I took his advice to heart. Having a baby wasn’t the crux of our relationship anymore.
“You know what might be a good idea?” I asked him.
Noah and I were sitting in the living room, waiting for Hope to drop off Olivia.
“What?”
“Maybe sending Livvy to school. I know it isn’t something you were planning on doing, but—”
He smiled. “Yeah, I think she would like that.”
“Really?”
I hadn’t expected him to agree so quickly. Things had changed immensely over the past two months, but it was still surprising.
“You were right when you said Livvy needs to be around more people her age. I was actually looking into a few in the area, just to see what was out there.”
Well, who knew?
Just then, the doorbell rang. We were both about to go and answer it, but my phone went off.
“Um, I’ll be there in a minute.”
Noah nodded and left. I got up and walked into the other room to take the call. It wasn’t a number I recognized, but I didn’t get calls often, so my guess was that it was probably important.
“Hello?”
“Is this Scarlett?”
“This is her.”
“Hi, we’re calling because your father Glenn has been admitted to Montrose Memorial Hospital. He has you as his emergency contact, and we were hoping you could get down here.”
My stomach twisted in knots. “Is he okay?”
“He should be. It looks to be alcohol poisoning. We think it would be best to have someone here to talk with him.”
“Um, yeah. I’m in the mountains right now, but I can head down today and hopefully be there in four to five hours.”
“That would be great. Thank you.”
The hospital hung up, and I leaned against the wall. I wasn’t surprised that my father landed himself in the hospital again. No matter what I tried, he wouldn’t cut down on his drinking. He always had Mom’s death weighing on him, and Kylie dying pushed him over the edge. I just wanted him to be in a better place like Noah and me. Maybe hearing about his granddaughter could snap him out of this funk. He did love Olivia, and he hadn’t seen her for two years. Perhaps I could get him to see the light.
I went back to the living room, and Olivia and Noah were already in there chatting.
“Hey, guys.”
Livvy ran over to me and hugged my legs. Noah stayed on the couch and gave me a look. He could probably see I was upset.
“Is everything okay?”
“Um, it should be. I have to head back to town. My dad had a little too much to…” I trailed off because I didn’t want Olivia to know the details of what was going on, but Noah picked up on my meaning.
“Do you want us to go with you?”
“No, it’s fine. I should take care of this myself.”
I didn’t want to leave them, but my dad needed me. I came here to get away from him, but I loved my father and wasn’t ready to give up on him yet.
Olivia looked up at me, and I could see tears in her eyes. I kne
lt down in front of her to wipe them away.
“What’s wrong, baby?”
“You’re leaving again?”
“Oh, only for a little bit. I have to go see Grandpa. He needs my help with something. I promise to come back when I’m done. And I’ll call all the time.”
She sniffled. “You promise?”
Livvy had the most serious look on her face. I knew if I broke this promise, this little girl would come after me with everything she had.
“Pinky promise.” I held out my pinky, and she wrapped her little one around mine. After, she giggled, and I pulled her into my arms so I could kiss her forehead.
“Livvy, why don’t you go put your things away?”
“Okay, Daddy.”
She grabbed her little pack and rushed off. Noah got off the couch and walked over to me.
“Are you sure you’re okay going alone?”
“Yeah, I don’t want Livvy seeing her granddad like that, and I’m sure he feels the same way.”
He frowned. “I could drop her off at Hope’s?”
“No, really. Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself.”
“But what if I want to take care of you?” He pulled me into an embrace.
I looked into Noah’s eyes and knew he meant every word of what he said. I wanted him to take care of me too, but sometimes you’ve got to do things yourself.
Leaning up, I kissed him. “I’d like that very much, and we can do just that when I get back.”
“Okay, that works for me.” He gave me another quick peck before leaving me alone.
I stood there for a few seconds and took a deep breath before going upstairs to pack. This was going to be a hard trip to make, but it was necessary.
Chapter Fourteen - Noah
It had been a few days since Scarlett left. Olivia was a little upset, but her aunt called every day, as promised. Livvy would talk her ear off for at least an hour. It was amazing what little kids could find to talk about.
Scarlett and I would also talk. I could hear in her voice that she was drained, but she put on a brave face. I didn’t want to push her about coming back since she was already feeling bad about being away, but I did miss her.
That night, Livvy was spending the night at Hope’s. Bryant had come over a couple days ago, and I wanted to keep her spirits up, so I let her go over. Since the shuffling back and forth was quite a bit given how far away we lived from everything, I decided to grab a drink with Darren before heading back home. I thought it would be nice to catch up. We met at one of the local bars and had a beer.
“Hope has been telling me things between you and Scarlett have been going pretty well.”
“I would agree with that assessment.”
We had an interesting little group that was really a circle. Since I had gotten out of my funk, I started seeing my friends again, and Hope, Darren, Scarlett, and I became a friendly tight-knit assembly.
“I’m so happy for you, man. You deserve this. I hope you don’t forget that again.”
“I’ll try not to.”
I took a sip of my beer. It was nice that I could get drinks with Darren now, and all that awkwardness that we had before just dissolved away. We went back to the way we used to be, talking and joking with one another.
“How have things been with you?
“Pretty good. Hope is pregnant again.”
“Really! Congrats!”
I was happy for my friends, but it did make me think about how stressed Scarlett was before she left. I would be overjoyed to have another kid, but if things stayed the way they were, it would also be great. I didn’t want Scarlett to put so much pressure on herself. We hadn’t really talked about it since she left. When she came back, I’d make sure to reassure her that regardless of what happened, I’d be happy.
“Yeah, Bryant is excited to have another sibling. He’s been loving spending all this time with Livvy. I’m thinking of taking some time off from work as well. Hope told me not to take the full nine months of her pregnancy, but I was thinking maybe I’d do a month before the baby’s born and a few after that. An extended vacation sounds nice if I’m going to be honest.”
Staying home could sometimes be for the best. I wouldn’t have been able to function at work if I kept going after Kylie’s death. But I was in a different headspace right now. I was beginning to think that maybe I should go back.
“What is it?” Darren studied my face.
“I’ve just been thinking about going back to work. Scarlett convinced me to get Livvy into a school. I know she would love being around other kids, and I’m starting to miss going into the office, building things.”
My friend nodded. “You did seem antsy. If you want to go back to work, I think that would be great for you.”
I smiled and took a sip of my beer. “I might even be able to get my old company back. I was looking into the deal, and there was a clause that the new owner had to maintain all the existing contracts if the existing contractors wanted to stay in business, so no changing rates. It looks like they broke the clause, meaning I can buy back my company.”
I had built some excellent business relationships in all the years I ran my construction company, and I wanted the people I did business with to be taken care of even if I wasn’t there. Seemed the new owner didn’t have the same spirit as me, and they were trying to jack up prices. The clause said existing contracts were to be kept for five years before any renegotiations. There was also a clause stating that the sale was up to debate within five years of the purchase date. Thank goodness I came to my senses before then.
“If you want your business, go for it.”
“That’s what I intend to do.”
Darren and I did a little salute, clinking our glasses and drinking to me getting back to business.
Chapter Fifteen - Scarlett
Two Weeks Later
My dad had been discharged from the hospital, and I had spent the past week helping him get situated back home. It looked like things had only gotten worse since I left. The house was a mess, as was he.
“Dad! Are you ready? We have to head out to your appointment in a few minutes.”
The doctor wanted to have a follow up to track my dad’s progress. They were able to get him stable-ish, but they were worried that due to his history of alcohol abuse that things could turn sideways.
“I’m coming, Scarlett. I’m ready.”
My dad came down the stairs, and we packed ourselves into the car and headed out. It was a bit of a drive to the hospital, about thirty minutes, so I put on the radio to avoid the silence. After we were on the road for about five minutes, my dad turned the volume down.
“Is everything okay, Dad?”
He shifted in his seat. “There are a few things I wanted to tell you.”
“Okay.”
“First off, I’m grateful that you’ve taken care of me this long. You shouldn’t have to take care of me, not like this.”
“It’s okay, Dad. I love you, and I want you to get better.”
Dad dropped his head. “I don’t deserve to. I wasn’t good for your mother. I wasn’t faithful. She stayed because she loved me, but I would step out again and again. It drove her to drink. I’m the reason she’s dead. I don’t know if I was a good father. I tried, but I don’t know. Then Kylie died… I don’t think I deserve to have a happy life.”
I had already known that my parents didn’t have a happy marriage. I had come to terms with what had happened, and I didn’t want my dad to entirely disregard it, but I also didn’t want him punishing himself for the rest of his life.
“I know you’ve made some mistakes in the past, Dad, and it’s always good to own up to what you’ve done, but you can’t kick yourself forever. Part of the process is healing and forgiving yourself. What happened is in the past, and if you want to have a good life, you’ve got to move forward.”
My dad was crying, so he didn’t say an
ything. He just nodded. We were arriving at the hospital, so I took that as enough for the time being.
We got checked in and were led to an examination room pretty quickly. While we were waiting for the doctor, a nurse walked in to check my dad’s vitals. While she was writing on the clipboard, she gave me a once over.
“You know, Scarlett, you are positively glowing. Is there a secret I should know about?”
“What are you talking about?”
I had been tired ever since coming to take care of my dad, and I wasn’t doing anything special. In fact, any routines I had were falling through the cracks, so I could get an extra twenty or thirty minutes of sleep.
“I don’t know. Your skin and something about you is glowing. I’m not sure how else to describe it.”
“Oh, well. Thank you.”
“Of course.” She finished up with my dad’s chart and left us alone.
There were more people coming in and out, but I was lost in thought. Glowing? Could that mean I was finally pregnant? People always say that’s what happens when you’ve got a baby growing inside you.
I’d have to pick a test, that was my first thought. After I dropped my dad off back home, I’d go to a nearby pharmacy and get one. But excitement needed to stay low. I’d already had two months’ worth of disappointment. This was just to see. Whatever the results, I’d be okay with it.
***
I was sitting in the bathroom, waiting for the timer to go off. My brain had been racing ever since the nurse made that comment. I was sitting on the toilet, tapping my foot. I hated the wait time on these tests, but what else was I supposed to do.
I distracted myself long enough, and the alarm went off. I grabbed the test from the sink and looked at it. It had two stripes. Two stripes… What did that mean? I couldn’t remember what it meant. I looked for the box. It was in the trash. I rifled through it and found the instructions.