Distracted: An Everyday Heroes Novel (The Everyday Heroes World)

by Michelle Fernandez

  Once we arrived at Union Station, we take an Uber to his townhouse to drop our overnight bags and drive away in the Mustang he still has from high school. Spencer has been tight-lipped, even after all the guesses Lily spewed out. But Spencer kept his cool.

  We drive thirty minutes or so to our final destination. That’s when Lily’s face brightens, followed by a series of screams and squeals when the enormous sign comes into full view.

  Disneyland.

  The moment we park in the large lot and without preamble, I reach over and grip his handsome face in my palms and kiss him. On the mouth.

  “What ever happened to taking it slow?” he asks as he looks over at Lily in the back seat, who is looking at us and giggling.

  “I think you just won her little heart,” I say.

  “I hope so,” he beseeches.

  “Do you see the look on her face?” I add as we watch her squirm in the backseat like a jumping bean. “She is beside herself.”

  “Are you done smooching?” Lily pipes up. “We have to go. Come on, Mommy!”

  Spencer exits the car and grabs a backpack and the wheelchair from the trunk. He scoops Lily from the backseat and squats down to be eye level with her. “You ready?”

  “Yup!” Lily grabs my hands and Spencer pushes her from behind.

  We shuffle through the crowded park. Spencer points to the right, where there is a line of kids taking pictures and getting an autograph from the very large mouse. “So, do you want to go on rides first? Or do you want to meet Mickey Mouse?”

  “I want to do it all!” Lily says with excitement. With the autograph book Spencer bought her at the gift shop near the entrance, she points to Mickey, and we wheel her to the end of the line.

  “Thank you for doing this,” I say and kiss Spencer’s cheek.

  “You don’t have to thank me. I want to put a smile on my little girl’s face.”

  “And you’ve put a smile on my face too,” I say, and he has. “I can’t stop smiling. I have a feeling my cheeks will be sore tomorrow.”

  “I know another way I can make your cheeks go sore.”

  “Shush.” I swat his chest playfully and hope Lily didn’t hear him. “You’re such a perv.”

  “You like me like this.” He licks his lips as his arms swoop behind me, and he pulls me close so I’m flush against his body. Spencer leans closer to my ear and lowers his voice. “And I’ve been told I have great stamina by a particular brunette.”

  And that he does. I need to keep my emotions in check. This is not the time or place. We are at Disneyland, for crying out loud.

  We move up, stepping closer to the Disney icon. I clear my throat as I press my hands on his chest and look into his eyes. I need him to know how much I appreciate today and what he’s been doing to immerse himself into our lives. “Seriously, Spencer. Thank you for this.”

  He cups my face, and his eyes fill with adoration. “I know how much today means to you. And I want you to know that it means more to me than you know. I know all those years you thought I was a complete jackass, and to be honest, I was. But both of you are important to me, and I just want you to trust me again. Trust that I won’t betray you, I will protect your heart, and that I will love you. I don’t deserve this second chance, but somebody up there”—his eyes look up to the sky—“loves me.”

  “And somebody down here loves you too.”

  The day was full of rides, from the teacups to shows, and lots of food. I flip through Lily’s autograph book. “We got every character and I think she even had the janitor sign her book too.” I laugh as Spencer enters the living room after tucking Lily into bed.

  “She’s amazing.” He heads toward the kitchen and pulls out two beers from the refrigerator. “We’ve got ourselves a smart little girl,” Spencer says as he settles next to me on the couch and hands me a bottle.

  “Is she all tucked in?” I ask, tossing the book on the coffee table in front of us.

  “She was out before I turned off the light.” Spencer takes a swig, then clears his throat. “But not until I spoke to her about us.”

  “What did you talk about?” I ask.

  “Oh, nothing . . . just some daddy-daughter bonding stuff.” He kisses my cheek.

  “This is all so foreign to me.” My eyes roam around the living room. The space is simple and sparse. Several boxes line the wall as if he hadn’t unpacked, but he’s got the essentials up. A large flatscreen television mounted above the fireplace, sports memorabilia on the bookshelves, a comfy sofa, and an oversized recliner.

  There are a few pictures on the wall, including one that I’m surprised he still has. It’s from my high school graduation. Spencer’s arm is over my shoulders and my smile is big because he’s kissing my cheek. He drove me to his family’s cabin that night after Callie’s graduation party. Spencer wanted to be alone with me, and that’s when we saw our very first shooting star.

  I made my wish.

  To be more than just family.

  Now we are a family.

  “What is it, sweetheart?” he asks, tucking my hair behind my ear.

  The way he’s looking at me and the tenderness of his touch abolishes any fear I have over our future together.

  “We really are a family, aren’t we?”

  “Of course. Come here,” he says as he opens his arms. Without hesitation, I scoot into his embrace. “I know you may not want to hear this, but I need to tell you about Tanya.”

  I go stiff, remembering the first time I spoke to her. I know nothing about her, yet I’m jealous of her for being Spencer’s wife. I take a deep breath and allow myself to listen.

  “Okay,” I say softly. “What about her?”

  “I don’t want to conjure up the past, but I feel as if I need to tell you what happened six years ago.”

  “Callie told me everything,” I explain.

  He presses his lips on my temple. “No, Sabrina. Cal told you her side. Now I need to tell mine.” He takes in a deep breath before he speaks. What will he tell me that I don’t know? Spencer was with Tanya, and then we had sex during a vulnerable time. In the meantime, he had no idea she was pregnant and did the noble thing and married her.

  “It all started with Rebecca.”

  “Rebecca?” I ask. “I don’t understand. That was a long time ago.”

  Silence fills the room, and I’m wondering why he brought up Rebecca’s name.

  Spencer looks away at a Certificate of Completion mounted on the wall, then turns back to me. “I joined the police force because of her. I did it to solve Rebecca’s murder.”

  “Why are you telling me this?”

  “If we are going to have a future together, I need to tell you about my past. I let you believe I was having the time of my life, and I was, until my injury. That’s when everything went south for me. I’m not proud of who I was, but it’s the reason for who I am now.”

  As I listen to him telling me the details of his pain medication addiction, the fights with Rebecca that escalated, and the night that led to her death, it breaks my heart to see the turmoil in his eyes.

  I can’t imagine the guilt he harbored for feeling responsible. The night she was found murdered was the night they had fought over his addiction, and she flushed his medication down the toilet. Spencer kicked her out of their apartment, and she never returned.

  “I was so high on my meds that I don’t even remember everything I told her . . . I was an asshole to her.” His pain is palpable as he takes a breath before he speaks again. “Then Tanya moved in next door and somehow brought me back to the living.”

  “She helped you,” I say.

  Spencer nods. “Yes. Our friendship grew and turned physical. But when I saw you at your parent’s gravesite that night, all those pent-up feelings came back again. I knew what I had to do. When I got back to LA, I ended it with Tanya by telling her I loved you. That’s when she revealed she was pregnant, and I knew I couldn’t leave her.”

  “Spencer, I had no ide
a,” I say, cupping his face with my hand and giving him the solace he needs.

  “How could you?” he says, giving me a sad smile. “Every day that I was with her, I fought the urge to call you.”

  “And why didn’t you?”

  “Well, you changed your number, and I didn’t want to ask Callie for it.” He looks down at our linked fingers. “I thought of you all the time and Tanya knew that. She begged me to keep my distance only because she knew how much you meant to me.”

  “You made me think badly of you.”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m so sorry. I should have let you explain,” I tell him.

  “It’s not your fault.”

  “But it was. I was so angry, and I felt betrayed. I shouldn’t have kept Lily away from you either. I wish I were . . .”

  “You were what? Forgiving for how I treated you?” His voice cracks as he closes his eyes. “I married someone I didn’t love, and you were pregnant with Lily. I’m the one who fucked up and have a lot to atone for.”

  “You are a good man, Spencer Hayes.”

  “I cared for Tanya and stayed with her out of obligation, but she was never your replacement. You and Lily are not an obligation to me. The moment I stepped onto your porch a few weeks ago, I was still in love with you. When I lost you all those years ago, I lost myself. I’m me again when I’m with you. Then the moment I saw Lily, with her blue eyes and my nose, deep down, I knew.”

  “She definitely has your eyes,” I say.

  Spencer caresses my cheek with his knuckles, and our foreheads touch. “Thank you for coming back into my life and giving me a second chance. I love you, Buttercup.”

  He leans closer, his lips meeting mine. A tender kiss packed with so much passion. I feel it, not just in my heart but deep in my core.

  “I love you too.”

  Spencer

  Being vulnerable is a man’s worst fear. Sabrina has stripped off the armor I have worn for so long, and I’m okay with it. She has always been the one that can do this to me. Be myself. My mind has been going in circles as I lie here, remembering all the baggage I unloaded on her last night.

  Sabrina is wrapped in my arms with her back to my front, completely naked and sound asleep. Her dark brown hair blankets the pillow, and her soft skin is warm against mine. The morning sun spills through the blinds. She looks like an angel. I can’t get enough of her, and I don’t think I ever will.

  After we made love last night, I stayed up watching her sleep. Sabrina was the girl who was off-limits. She was the girl that I teased and made fun of when we were kids. She’s the girl I dared so many times and prayed she’d take the forfeit so that I got a chance to see if she’d kiss me.

  I was such an idiot to let so much time pass. I was an even bigger ass to have never rectified the Tanya issue with Sabrina. I look up to the ceiling and silently thank Lilliana for having me at the reading. It was Lilliana’s way of getting my foot in the door and back in Sabrina’s life. I guess that woman liked me after all.

  My heart aches just thinking about how much I missed Sabrina and how I never want to be away from her again. How did I get by without having her in my life? After a day like yesterday, watching Sabrina and my daughter, it was clear by the picture they painted.

  I need them in my life.

  Sabrina stirs, her eyes slowly flutter open, and I kiss her shoulder. “Hey, sweetheart. How’d you sleep?”

  “Mmm, too good,” she says groggily over her shoulder. “And you?”

  “As long as I wake up next to you, it will always be good.” I press my lips to the back of her head.

  She flips over to face me, kisses my chest, and looks up at me through thick brown lashes. Fucking Christ, she’s so damn beautiful. Bedhead and all.

  “I love waking up with you,” she says.

  I run my fingers through her hair. “Oh, yeah? I can give you another reason why you love waking up next to me.” My arms tighten around her.

  “I feel your reason already, Spencer Hayes,” she muses as her hand glides down my chest and her fingers wrap around my hard dick.

  “All ready for you, baby.” I touch her lips with mine.

  I will never get enough of this woman.

  This woman is my undoing, and this woman I would do anything for.

  “I love your kisses,” she whispers against my lips.

  “Do you love it when I do this?” My lips glide alongside her delicate jawline. Just below her ear, I use my tongue to lick that sensitive spot. I love the moan she releases.

  “Yes.” Her voice is soft.

  “And what I’m about to do now, I know you’ll love, but you need to be very quiet. No screaming or Lily will hear you.”

  “Is that a challenge?” She raises a brow. “I can keep my voice down.”

  Sabrina screamed a few times last night, and thankfully, Lily sleeps like a log. But now that it’s the early morning, I’m not sure what time she’ll wake, and I need to be quick in making Sabrina feel good . . . and win this challenge.

  “Game on, sweetheart. I officially dare you not to scream,” I provoke, stifling a chuckle. She can’t do it, I know her.

  “That’s it?”

  “Yup. Just one dare,” I say as a matter of fact.

  “Well, this is a different side of you. You’ve always done a this, that, or forfeit dare.”

  I tap her nose. “Like you said, we are no longer kids. I can’t believe you never picked up on how every time I hoped you’d go for the forfeit kiss.”

  “And be called a chicken? No way, Jose.”

  “And since I got the kiss and I have you naked, all I dare you is not to scream.”

  “And if I succeed?”

  “Then you get my dick to finish you off in your wet hot pussy.”

  Sabrina’s tongue slides across her bottom lip, and my dick twitches at the sight.

  “And if I do scream?”

  “Then you will need to explain it to our daughter if she hears you,” I say with a cocky grin. I’m going to win this, and not only will it be enjoyable to know I’ve pleasured her, but just as equally fun to see how she’ll explain it to Lily.

  “I love you,” she says.

  “I love you more than you’ll ever know, Sabrina. And I’m going to show you how much.”

  I circle my finger over her exposed nipple above the bedsheet, and her eyes slowly close. I keep rubbing her already stiff peak as her breathing accelerates, and a soft whimper escapes.

  My mouth trails down the column of her neck. I cup her breast, feel its weight, take it in my mouth, and stroke her nipple with my tongue. Another throaty moan escapes her as my dick grows hard. I move to the other breast, giving it the same attention as I did the first, worshiping her.

  My tongue glides down her stomach, kissing her along the way, and I toss Sabrina’s legs over my shoulders. I grip her hips and she tastes like heaven. When she moans, I don’t know who gets off more, her or me. Pleasuring her is all I want to do. I give her a long slow stroke and flick her clit. I bite softly to provide her with the sensation she needs, but not too much.

  Her fingers tangle in my hair. I can’t resist looking up at her as my skillful tongue does its job, and she writhes against my face. She’s doing everything she can to hold back.

  “Spencer . . .” she pants, spreading her legs wider. “Please . . . don’t stop.”

  Never.

  I insert a finger into her heat, feeling her velvety walls. Finding her G-spot, her back bows and muscles tense.

  Here it comes.

  She’s close.

  I’m going to win this dare and pleasure her while I do it. Talk about a win-win.

  She throws a pillow over her head to muzzle her scream as she rides the crest of her orgasm.

  I wipe the wetness with the back of my hand, kiss my way back up her body, and center myself. I laugh knowing this is going to be our future, soundless sex, but oh-so-fucking-good.

  I know I have a shit-eating grin on my fac
e as Sabrina looks at me. “What’s so funny?” she asks.

  “You. Me. This.” I kiss her lips. “We have to be quiet when we do this, and by the sounds of it, it’s damn near impossible.” Without preamble, I enter her. “Look at me, Sabrina.”

  I move slowly, never disconnecting our gazes. A tear escapes, and I wonder if I hurt her as I wipe the wetness from the corner of her eye.

  “Did I hurt you?” I ask as I slowly pull out. But Sabrina’s hands hold me down.

  “No. You didn’t hurt me. Just the opposite. You mended my heart, and I’m afraid if you ever leave me . . .”

  “I’m never going to leave you, baby.” I hate how I put that doubt in her mind.

  “I want you, Spencer,” she tells me.

  “You have me, baby. And someday, I’m going to marry you, Sabrina Kent, I promise you that.”

  Another tear rolls down the side of her temple as she cups my face. “Make love to me, Spencer.”

  My lips crash onto her hers. I kiss her with reverence, and we continue to make love as our hips connect with each thrust.

  “Spencer.” Her voice sends chills down my spine.

  Everything about Sabrina I find sexy and irresistible. How in the hell did I not act on my first instinct that night she got the tattoo? She had my heart then, but I was stubborn. The others were my distraction and the only way I knew how to deny the feelings I always had for her.

  Sabrina is close to her climax. Her pussy tightens around my dick like a vice, and her nails dig into my back. She pants as a mist coats her forehead. “So close,” she whispers.

  “I can’t hold back anymore, Sabrina,” I tell her, trying my best to keep going, but it’s no use.

  Our foreheads touch after we both fall over the edge. I’m spent even as my semi-hard dick still throbs inside her. Our breathing is labored, and we stay connected, entangled in each other’s arms.

  I push her hair back. “Sounds like you have some explaining to do.”

  “Do you think we were loud?” she asks.

  “I don’t doubt it.” My head juts toward the door. “And I am going to enjoy hearing you explain it to her.”