by E. L. Todd
“What is it…?”
“There’s something I forgot to tell you. Don’t be mad.”
Just a second ago I was high on my own joy. But that suddenly disappeared when I heard those words. “I don’t like the sound of that, Con.”
“While you were asleep—”
“Did you tell her yet?” Macy’s loud voice erupted from the living room, high and shrill.
My eyes popped open and I actually growled. “Conrad Michael Preston, what the hell is she doing here?”
Conrad adopted a guilty look. His lips pressed tightly together and he cringed. “She needed a place to stay…so I told her she could crash here.”
***
“Get your shit and leave.” I pointed at the door with one hand on my hip.
Macy remained on the couch, her lazy ass not moving an inch. “Mom kicked me out.”
“As she should have,” I snapped. “You’re twenty-five years old. Grow up.”
“I’m supposed to get a job and an apartment in two seconds?” she snapped. “She should have at least given me some warning.”
“You’ve been living there for three years. That’s a pretty long warning.”
“Conrad said I could stay here so I’m good.”
“But I live here too.” And I was marrying him. “And I don’t want you here.”
“Come on,” she said. “This place is a goddamn mansion. It’s not like you don’t have the room.”
“That’s beside the point.” I stomped my foot and didn’t care about how messy I looked. I wore Conrad’s sweatpants and t-shirt, and my hair hadn’t been brushed in hours. “Conrad and I just got engaged. We don’t want to live with anyone.”
“I don’t want to live with you either, but that’s how it has to be.”
“Whoa, excuse me? No, it’s not how it has to be. Get out of my house.”
“It’s not your house, gold digger.”
I didn’t care that I was weak and had a scar along my hip. I was going to rip her apart, starting with her throat. Just when I lunged for her Conrad wrapped his arms around my ribs and held me back. “Let’s talk about this like adults.”
“Conrad already said I could stay here.”
“And he can change his mind.”
“Look, there’s nowhere else for me to go,” Macy argued. “So you’re stuck with me.”
“Don’t you have any friends?” I snapped.
“None that will take me.”
I twisted out of Conrad’s grasp. “I want her out of here. Make her leave.”
Conrad gave me that same guilty look—and that told me everything I needed to know. “How about we let her stay here for a few weeks until she gets back on her feet?”
“Hell. No.”
“If my sister needed somewhere to stay, she’d always have a place here.”
“That’s different. Trinity isn’t an annoying pain in the ass.”
He chuckled. “You obviously don’t know her that well.”
“Conrad, I don’t want her here. I’ve had to put up with her bullshit all my life. She mooched off Mom forever and now she’s going to mooch off of us. I want it just to be the two of us. I want to walk around in my own home naked. And I definitely want to see you walk around naked.”
That last comment distracted him enough to smile. “Well…that’s an excellent point—”
“So let’s get rid of her.”
Conrad quickly came back to reality. “She can stay in a bedroom upstairs.”
“What?” Macy blurted. “This place has an upstairs too?” She peered into the hallway like she’d be able to see it.
“It’s not like we’ll be right next door to each other,” Conrad said. “It’s just temporary. It’ll be fine.”
I couldn’t believe I was losing this argument with my own fiancé. “You’re supposed to not want my family to stay there.” That’s what another man would want.
“Well, your family is my family—at least very soon.”
My eyes softened.
“It won’t be forever. Let her get on her feet without panicking for a place to live.”
“But what if she never leaves?”
“That won’t happen, Lexie.”
“Uh, I think my mom will tell you otherwise.”
“Come on. The most important thing in this world is family. We can do this.”
Maybe he didn’t understand just how annoying she was. Or maybe he forgot that she tried to seduce him just to ruin my life. “I have a feeling I’m going to regret this…”
“It’ll be fine, baby.”
I turned back to Macy and wanted to scream. “Ugh.”
“That means I can stay?” She grinned from ear-to-ear.
“Unfortunately…”
“Great.” She kicked off her shoes and rested her clown feet on the coffee table. “What’s for dinner?”
I turned to Conrad and gave him a mirthless glare. “That’s your cue.”
Chapter Twelve
Slade
“My belly is getting so big.” Trinity lay on the bed underneath me, only wearing a bra. Her tits had become a little bigger with her pregnancy, and she was becoming more self-conscious about her body. “You probably can’t even see anything because it’s in the way.”
“I can definitely see everything.” She wasn’t even that big. That was the funny part. I grabbed my hard dick by the base and pointed it at her entrance. “You’re sexy, baby.”
“Am not.” She closed her legs and looked away.
I hated it when she acted this way. She made it seem like she was some ugly troll. “Would I lie to you?”
“Yes. You would tell your fat wife that she isn’t fat.”
“You aren’t fat!” I actually wanted to strangle my own wife. “You’re pregnant. Totally different.”
“I still have an enormous belly.”
“With our baby inside of it.” I leaned down and kissed the skin of her stomach. Knowing our little girl was inside her was the biggest turn on ever. Somehow, I was more attracted to her when she was pregnant. Knowing I was the man responsible for her condition fed my ego.
“Whatever,” she said. “I don’t want to have sex anymore.”
Normally, I’d just crawl on top of her and make it happen anyway. I’d pin her hands to the mattress and take her. Within seconds, she would melt like always. But after everything that happened I couldn’t do stuff like that. “Okay.” I moved to the spot beside her on the bed and laid back, my dick still hard. After a few minutes my mind would stop thinking about sex and my hard-on would go away. I’d just have to be patient.
Trinity sat in awkward silence. She knew she denied me something I really wanted for an unfair reason. “I’m sorry. I’m not sure why I’m acting this way.”
“Your body is going through some extreme changes. It’s perfectly okay to feel uncomfortable.”
“But I know it’s unfair to you.”
“Who cares? You’re the queen of this marriage. What you want, you get. End of story.”
“Slade…”
“I couldn’t carry a baby around all day, every day. I’d go crazy.” I turned on my side and rubbed her stomach. “You’re such a small person so I know you’re getting uncomfortable. But just a few more months and little Olympia will be here.”
“You’re so good to me.” She rested her hand on mine.
“I put you through a lot of heartache. Don’t forget.”
“But I have forgotten. It was a lifetime ago.”
She ran her fingers over my knuckles and looked into my eyes. Her blonde hair was in sexy curls, and her brilliant blue eyes were glowing brighter than normal. If only she could see just how desirable she was in my eyes. She’d never have another doubt about her appearance.
“Make love to me.”
My dick had never softened so I was ready to go. “You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
Thank god. “Alright.” I moved on top of her and positioned myself at her
entrance, playing it cool so she didn’t understand just how much I wanted this. I needed to get some every morning and every night. If not, my whole schedule was off.
I slipped inside her, stretching her apart and feeling all her wetness. Somehow, it felt even better every time we made love. Or perhaps my love for her was just ever growing.
Her hands went to my hips and held on tightly.
I fell into the overwhelming haze of lovemaking. Reality faded away and I went into some kind of trance. When our eyes were locked and our bodies moved together time seemed to stop. It was just us—and no one else.
***
I opened the door to see Cayson on the other side. “Hey, bro.”
“Bro?” Both of his eyebrows rose. “When did you start calling me that?”
“I don’t know…now?”
He walked inside and held up The New York Times. “Look what I got.”
“You know, they publish that every day.”
He rolled his eyes then turned the pages until he found the special interest section. “Look at this article I found.”
I read the headline. Slade Sisco Changes the Music Industry. The story talked about the music video I made with Trinity, and how that video changed the perception of beauty in a world where anorexia was the biggest trend. “Wow…I didn’t even know people knew who I was yet.”
“Now they do.” Cayson clapped me on the shoulder. “I’m proud of you, man.”
“I can’t believe it…”
“Why not?” Cayson asked. “You knew people were going to love that video.”
“Yeah, but…I didn’t expect that kind of attention.”
Cayson pulled out his phone then looked up the video on YouTube. “Dude, it’s been viewed fifty million times…didn’t it just debut last week?”
“Yeah.” I snatched his phone and looked at the screen. “Holy shit. That’s insane.”
“Unbelievable.”
“This is crazy. I wasn’t expecting this kind of reaction at all.”
“You deserve it, man.” He walked to the fridge and grabbed two beers. “Is Trinity here?”
“Still at work.”
He twisted off the caps and took a drink. “You’re going to be huge, Slade. The world is changing—at least for you.”
I set down the newspaper, still in a daze.
“When does the album go live?”
“Two weeks,” I answered.
“Right around the corner.”
“Yeah…” I glanced at the paper again, unable to believe my name was in the title. “Don will probably call me the second he sees this.”
“He’ll flip.”
“And he’ll be grateful he put up with all my shit.”
“Make sure you don’t forget me when you’re crazy famous.”
“Like I ever would.” It didn’t matter how much things changed. I’d never forget who mattered most.
“So, your life is going pretty well. Anything else interesting?”
“Well, Trinity is getting big.”
Cayson gave me a strange look.
“I mean, her stomach,” I corrected. “She’s getting uncomfortable.”
“Oh, I see,” he said. “Skye was really tense toward the end.”
“And I feel bad that I find it so sexy…” I still didn’t understand what it was. When she was pregnant, it revved my engine even more.
“I know what you mean. Skye and I are trying again, and I’m excited to knock her up.”
“You guys are trying for another one?” I blurted.
“Yep.” He nodded with a grin on his face.
“Congrats, man. War Chief needs a brother.”
“I hope we have a girl this time. You know, one of each.”
“She can be best friends with Olympia.”
“That would be cute.”
“Happy for you, man.” I clapped his shoulder.
“Thanks. It’s an exciting time.”
“You want to get a beer or something? A burger?”
“Both.”
***
“I feel weird having sex with Trinity.”
“What?” Cayson said with a mouth full of food. “Why would you say that?”
“Because the baby is in there. Won’t I poke it in the head or something? Or worse, the eye?”
Cayson pressed his lips tightly together like he was trying not to spit everything out. “Dude, that won’t happen.”
“Why not? I have a pretty big dick.”
“It’s just not how it works.”
“But the baby is growing in the vagina. And that’s where I’m sticking my dick.”
“Seriously? Do I need to draw it out for you?” He grabbed a pen from his pocket and started to scribble on a napkin.
“No. I know where everything is. That’s the problem.”
“The baby grows in the uterus,” Cayson explained slowly. “Not the vagina.”
“Aren’t they the same thing?”
“Definitely not.”
“But they’re at least right next to each other?”
“Think of it this way,” he explained. “There’s a small tube separating the vagina from the uterus. So unless you get your dick in that tube you’re good.” He drew a quick sketch.
I eyed it carefully before I tilted my head, hoping that would make it clearer.
“Dude, you graduated from Harvard.”
“In art history,” I snapped. “Not in anatomy.”
“It should still stop you from saying stupid shit.”
“Look, we both know I’m going to say stupid shit for the rest of my life.”
Cayson crumpled up the paper. “I’m telling people that when they interview me.”
“Who’s interviewing you?”
“You know, when newspapers and magazines start asking for exclusives about you. Where you grew up and what you were like, stuff like that.”
I had a hard time picturing anything like that. “Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it.” My phone vibrated in my pocket and I dug it out in the hope it would be Trinity. Instead, it was Don Murray. “Yo. What’s up?”
“What are you doing tomorrow afternoon?”
Since Trinity was at work, pretty much nothing. “I’m free. Why?”
A smile was in his voice. “Good. Because you’re going to be on the Jimmy Fallon Show.”
***
“Dad.” I bypassed the line and walked right up to the counter. He was taking money from a customer who just got some ink done on his bicep. “You’ll never guess what happened. I—”
“Slade, can’t you see I’m busy?” He didn’t look at me as he made change and handed it over.
“But—”
“I can help who’s next.” He waved the next customer in line. “So, what are you looking for? Anything specific in mind?”
“Dad, this is really important.”
He hid his irritation from the guy standing at the counter. “I’m so sorry about this. Just give me a second.” He turned to me, clearly agitated. “Is this life or death?”
“Well…no.”
“Then it can wait until I’m done.”
Ugh. Normally, when I came in here Dad wasn’t doing anything. I walked behind the counter and took a seat, my arms across my chest.
Dad finished helping the line of people before he turned back to me. “Slade, I don’t walk into your office and expect you to only pay attention to me. Wait until I’m finished helping the people who pay my bills.”
“But this is a big deal.” I jumped to my feet, feeling my heart explode with excitement.
“What’s up?” Dad fell into the chair across from me, his ankle resting on the opposite knee. He wore a dark blue hoodie that was as old as I am, and his dark jeans were barely intact.
Now that I had his full attention I blurted everything out as quickly as possible. “I’m going to be on the Jimmy Fallon Show tomorrow night.”
It took him two seconds to process what I said before he could r
eact. “Say what?”
“You know, the Jimmy Fallon Show. He took over for—”
“I know the show. I watch it every night.”
“Can you believe it?”
He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “I don’t even know what to say…this is huge. How did Don pull this off?”
“My music video with Trinity went viral. Everyone is really interested in it.”
“That’s crazy.” He shook his head in disbelief. “That’s so great, son. I’m sorry I’m not more excited. I just can’t wrap my mind around this. Your album isn’t even out yet.”
“I’m trying not to freak out. What do I say? What do I do? I’ve never been interviewed like this before.”
“One thing is for sure, you’ll be fine.” Dad rubbed his palms together, what he usually did when he was thinking about something at an intimate level. “You’re great with people and attention.”
“Really?” I thought I was annoying most of the time.
“Yeah. You’re humble, considerate, and funny. Just be yourself and you’ll be fine.”
“Be myself?” I asked incredulously. “You’re sure about that?”
“Absolutely. Who’s idea was it to have Trinity in the video?”
“Well…mine,” I said with a shrug.
“See?” he said. “You make great decisions—because they come from your heart.”
“But you’ll come with me anyway?”
He stopped moving his hands together and stared at me with a startled expression. “You want me to come with you to the recording?”
“Duh.” How was I supposed to pull this off without my pop? “How else am I going to be able to do this?”
“I just assumed you would have a publicist, agent, or someone else by your side.”
“Well, they’ll probably be there. But it’s not the same thing. They aren’t you.”
He rubbed his palms together again, this time slowly. “I’m touched.”
“Why?” I asked. “You’re my best friend—besides Cayson.” Cayson was jealous when Arsen and I were spending time together, but he would never be jealous of my dad. He was close with his dad too.
“I can’t wait,” he said. “So proud of you.”
I would never get tired of hearing him say that. “Thanks.”
“What does Trinity think of all this?”