ADRIANI felt something soft against my body as I turned to my side.Someone's soft and warm skin.Who-...I opened my eyes fully and nearly gasped as I looked at Maggie lying next to me...naked.Okay, not fully naked. She still had her underwear on, but still. What a beautiful sight! What happened last night? Did we have sex? I couldn't remember anything, and my head still felt heavy.I thought about holding her again and going back to sleep for a few more minutes but changed my mind."Maggie, wake up," I said and tapped her gently."Mmm...what..." she mumbled, then turned the other way. Her hair sprawled all over her face and neck. I wanted to run my fingers through them all day."Maggie, what are you doing here lying down half naked in my bed? Are you trying to seduce me?" I chuckled softly.Her eyes snapped open. "You are awake," she said."Yes, but back to my question. What are you doing here in your underwear?"Her eyes turned wide. "What do you mean? You begged me to stay with
MEGHANI was beyond horrified and embarrassed being caught by Chase like this. What was going through his head right now? He must think I'm a slut and would want to break up with me.I took a long shower to buy myself some time. I didn't know how to explain things to him. I made a mistake by sleeping with Adrian once, but I didn't imagine Chase be understanding about it. There was no way I was going to class now. I needed to sort everything out with Chase first.After I got done getting ready, I went to the living room and found him waiting for me."Took you long enough," Chase said grimly.I hung my head low to hide my heated cheeks. I didn't know where to start. Should I start from the beginning and tell him everything? What was the point anyway?"S...sorry...I just...I guess I was stalling. I don't know what to say or how to explain things," I murmured."I see. Well, should I believe you when you say you didn't have sex with him last night?" he asked curtly.I nodded frantically. "
ADRIAN"Let's go, Chase. I'm ready to go now. Why are we just standing around?" Meghan grabbed Chase's hand and urged him to get in the car.I looked at the big man who was glaring at me. "Who's your new friend?""This is Bronson, my bodyguard," Chase said without blinking.A bodyguard? Is this guy serious?"What do you need a bodyguard for? Can't protect Maggie by yourself?" I said in a mocking tone."Come on, Adrian. Don't start. Can we just go, Chase?" Maggie said. I could tell she was worried. Probably worried about me starting a fight. And then, of course, she'd put all the blame on me.I smiled to myself. She was nervous about the situation, poor thing. "Yeah, go ahead and have fun, guys. I won't keep you," I hissed. "Get her home by morning.""I'll bring her back when she is ready," Chase said, leading Maggie into the car.I guess seeing us together in bed wasn't enough for Chase to break up with Maggie. He was really hung up on her, huh? I wondered why.Sure, Maggie was beauti
MEGHANThe music was loud.I was starting to regret coming here because my head throbbed, and I didn't feel like dancing at all. I was never a fan of dance clubs."Are you having fun?" Chase screamed over the music."Um...yea, but do you think we can head home soon?" I said."Already? We just got here. This is supposed to be the hottest club in town! You know it's not easy to get in. Especially when you are under twenty one but see how easy it was for us?" Chase bragged."Yes, that's great, but this music is giving me a headache. Maybe I caught whatever Adrian had," I said.Chase's face turned dark at the mention of Adrian. "I sure hope not.""I just don't feel good, so how about we head home early? I'm sorry for being a bummer, but maybe we can try...""Come on, I'll take you somewhere quieter," Chase said and grabbed my hand. Then, before I could say anything else, he pulled me away from the dance floor and led me back to the club somewhere."Wait, Chase, where are we going?" I said
ADRIAN"How are we supposed to get in?" I asked after staring at the bouncers, turning away half the crowd."What do you mean? We are sexy beasts. They would carry us inside," Luke commented.I couldn't help but laugh. Luke's overconfident attitude annoyed and amused me at the same time. "As much as I'd like to believe that, it's not the case," I said grimly."You are no fun. Oh well. I guess we will have to figure it out ourselves." Luke said."Think fast. I am tired of standing around outside the club," I barked.Luke looked at me, then grinned. "Let's ask those girls out over there. They can distract the bouncers, and we will sneak in."I winced. "And how are we going to convince them to do that for us? They don't even know us!" It's not like we could just walk up to them and beg them to help us. I still had some pride left.Luke shrugged. "I don't know...let's talk to them first."We walked up to the group of girls to strike up a conversation. The girls were friendlier than I thou
CHASEThe look on Adrian's face told me he didn't like what was coming from my mouth. But that's just too bad, dude. I meant everything I said. I am not planning on leaving this place without Meghan. I knew she wanted to leave with me. She was just not ready to realize it yet.No worries, I knew how to convince her.I decided to make some arrangements. I called Bronson down to the hotel lobby so we could have a meeting to discuss my expectations."What's going on, Chase?" Bronson asked after he came."I need you to do me a favor," I said.Bronson raised his eyebrows. This wasn't the first time I asked him to do things for me. His job was to follow my father's orders, but he followed mine too since I was next in line to be his boss. "What do you need me to do?""First, I need you to keep a close eye on Adrian Reed. Get someone to follow him around and watch his every move," I said grimly."I see. What do you have against this guy? And why are you still here wasting your time? Your fath
MEGHAN "Chase, really. This is all too much. You already took me shopping and bought me a bunch of clothes. You don't have to pay to do my hair too!" I exclaimed when Chase dragged me inside a hair salon. I didn't understand why he was being so nice? Was it because he was trying to convince me to go back to Boston? That must be it. "But I want to treat my girl. So what's wrong with that?" he complained. "Nothing is wrong with you treating me, but all these things you are buying are too much," I said. "I don't think it is when you deserve them. Didn't you say you wanted to get your hair done?" Chase raised his eyebrows. "Yes, but I didn't want you to pay for it. I can get it done later when I have more money," I said irritably. "Alright, you don't have to do your hair now. But I have one more surprise for you," Chase smirked. I was honestly kind of worried. What did he have up his sleeves this time? He took me inside a jewelry store. I wondered if he wanted to buy me jewelry no
MEGHAN "Chase! Why would you say that? No, I am not fucking Adrian," I said curtly. I realized Chase wasn't stupid. He saw how things were with Adrian and me. I couldn't hide the attraction between us no matter how hard I tried. Technically, I wasn't lying. I only slept with Adrian once. But we did touch each other. I felt guilty about it, but now that I've decided to break up with Chase, I didn't feel as bad. Does that make me a bad person? "I know something is going on between you two. He doesn't act like your brother, he acts more like a jealous ex-boyfriend. It's creepy and inappropriate," Chase said grimly. He looked like he was trying hard not to burst into rage. "I am sorry you feel that way, Chase. But Adrian isn't creepy. I'll admit there's a certain attraction between us, though," I admitted. Maybe he will break up with me now. "Hah! So you admit it! That's fucking disgusting. You know that, right?" Chase sneered. Rage fueled inside my head. He has no right to judge Adr
ADRIAN I jumped to my left to dodge the flying piece of strawberry shortcake with cream cheese frosting. Fortunately, it missed my ear by an inch, landing on an empty chair. Phew... That was close. Whose idea was it to put a one year old in charge of a whole cake? Meghan Parker, that's who. "Am I allowed to take it away from her yet? I shot her an intense glare for the fourth time. Maggie giggled. "No, just a few more pictures." "Pictures of what?" "Our daughter!" "That's not our daughter. That's a cake slugging demon child. Look at her. She doesn't even have a face anymore. It just looks like a giant blob of frosting," I point at Olivia, who had smashed her whole face on the cake a few times while giggling like a maniac. I guess that's why they call it a 'smash cake.' I'm glad she is enjoying her party, though. "ADRIAN!" Maggie scolded me. "I'm kidding! Gosh. I love Olivia. She is my favorite daughter," I winced. "Your only daughter," Natasha remarked, then walked over to
MEGHAN It's Christmas day today, and Adrian was home again to spend it with us. After we found out I was pregnant two months ago, Adrian went back to training. I asked him not to tell our parents anything, and he agreed, begrudgingly so. I promised him I'd take care of myself and the baby in his absence. I had to keep wearing baggy clothes because I was starting to show way more. It was getting harder to hide my pregnancy from my mom and Steve. "Stop being so nervous," Adrian scolded me when I acted restless. Our parents threw a Christmas party with our friends and family, and he already threatened to reveal everything to them. "I can't help it. You said you are going to announce it to everyone. How are you going to do it? Because I don't want to do it," I said. "You will see. It's a surprise I created." Adrian grinned mischievously. I don't trust him. "Leave everything to me," he said again. "Why do you have to do this now and ruin Christmas?" I winced. "It's a great time to
ADRIANI waited outside the bathroom patiently as Maggie took her test. This was nerve-wracking, but I tried to remain calm.Everything is going to be fine.I was about to get a good job and will buy a nice house in Alaska. So, if Maggie is pregnant, we could raise our kid there.Our parents weren’t home yet, so it was just Maggie and me, thankfully.“How much longer?” I yelled.“Two more minutes.”Shit, only one minute has passed? Why did it feel like an eternity?I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard Maggie scream.“NO!”“Maggie? What’s wrong?” I asked. Maybe the test came out negative, and Maggie is disappointed?The door burst open, and Maggie came out with a frantic expression on her face. “This…this can’t be right.” She shoved the stick toward me, waving it. “This is all your fault!”I took it off her hand and smiled. Two lines…that could mean one thing.“Maggie! You are pregnant. Congratulations to us!”“What? Don’t congratulate us! This is a disaster,” she said, tears dr
MEGHAN "Adrian! Oh my god, I missed you so much!" Tiffany screamed and tried to jump into Adrian's arms, but he grabbed her shoulders, slightly pushing her away from him. "Hey, Tiff. I missed you guys too," he said casually, then winked at me as if to tell me not to get jealous. She was just a friend like Luke as far as he was concerned. "Oh, hey, Meghan. Nice dress. Seems a little tight on you, isn't it?" she said slightly. Is she trying to make a fat joke? I was annoyed already, and I'd only been here for five minutes. "Hey, guys! You made it!" Luke yelled from across the room and then made his way to us. He wrapped one arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer. "Looking hot, Maggie." "Hey, keep your hands to yourself, Lucas," Adrian barked. Tiffany giggled. "Why should he? She is his girlfriend." "Not anymore," Adrian said. Whoa, are we announcing our break up already? "What do you mean, not anymore? Did Luke break up with Maggie already?" Tiffany looked at me curiously.
ADRIANI stared at Maggie, who looked utterly dumbfounded by my announcement. She looked almost terrified. Was the idea of moving with me that terrible? I knew she would hesitate since her mom lives here, but I thought we would get away from them. They didn't want us to be together anyway."Maggie, are you okay?" I asked after she didn't say anything for a while."I…I don't understand what you mean," she said meekly."You don't understand? What part confuses you?" I raised my eyebrow."What do you mean move in with you? Move in where?" she asked.I guess it was taking her a while to fathom what was going on."After all the training and seeing my performance, they offered me a permanent position in the fire department. So, I was thinking I should take the job and move to Alaska permanently," I explained.Maggie still looked confused. Was she not understanding what I was trying to tell her? "Move to Alaska? Permanently? Then what will happen to me?"I chuckled. This girl was really maki
MEGHAN On Saturday, I woke up feeling hungrier than ever. It was the weekend Adrian was supposed to come home, but he hadn't even called me. Loneliness wrapped around me.Our parents were working this weekend, but Adrian was only coming home for my sake, so he didn't care. But the question was why he hadn't shown up yet.I stretched under the covers, blinking when my nose caught the smell of bacon. Music blasted from the kitchen, and I slowly sat up with a smile spreading over my lips. He was home. Hurriedly, I found my pajamas and stalked out of the bedroom. The music was getting louder, and Adrian was whistling along. It made my heart pound faster and faster until he came into view.There, recently showered and only wearing a pair of boxer briefs, Adrian shook his round ass while making breakfast. "OH YEAH, YEAH!" Adrian was listening to an old Bruno Mars song. He broke a few eggs, danced, and moved along with the music, but all I could focus on was his broad back roped with m
ADRIANI punched the bag again and groaned in frustration."Take it easy, Adrian. You will hurt your knuckles," my trainer Kevin hissed at me. "What the hell is wrong with you anyway? You've been distracted and grumpy lately.""I have not been grumpy. I don't know what the hell you are talking about," I grumbled."Yeah, whatever. Just keep your head in the game, okay? You have three more months here, and then you get to go home, so no need to act out," Kevin said."I am not acting out. What the hell? Haven't I been showing how good I am at this? Haven't I been proving myself?""Yes, Adrian. You've been doing well. I'm not complaining about your effort out here. I'm just saying these past few days, you've been moody and distracted and I need you to keep your focus back on your job. So you don't mess it up.""I just don't know how to tell my girlfriend about my plans here," I decided to confide in Kevin. Since I moved here, we've become good friends, so I figured I could trust him."You
MEGHANThree months later, it looked like Adrian would finally have some free time to come and visit me. It was about time.He had been hard to reach the entire day, though, so I was grumpy while we talked on the phone. "So you will be coming home?" I asked but tried not to sound too excited about the news. Adrian hadn't earned that for ignoring my messages all day."Yes, I'm coming home to you this weekend!" I could hear the beam he wore in his voice. "Aren't you excited?"I hummed, still pretending to be hard to catch. "I don't know...""You don't know? Maggie! It feels like three long years since I last saw your face! Facetiming doesn't count! I want to touch and see you in person. Take you out on a date. Surely you must miss me?"My chest constricted. I felt terrible lying to Adrian, but I couldn't help the mood swings I had been having lately. I went from sad to happy so fast these days that I was starting to believe I needed medication. It wasn't the only change I had gone t
MEGHANOne month later,I promised myself I wouldn't cry and try to understand where he was coming from, but it still hurt to see him go."I will visit every chance I get, Maggie," he had said, kissing my forehead."But you said you'd be in intense training and won't be able to visit," I sobbed.He said nothing because what I said was true. So why was he making empty promises? It would only make things harder on me.And then he was gone, and I was all alone again.This past month felt like it went in slow motion. Adrian called me every night, and we tried to do video chats, but it wasn't the same.I missed his touch, I craved it.Mom told Adrian and me not to say anything to Steve because it might make things worse, so we kept our relationship a secret from him. Finally, Adrian promised her that we'd break up before he left for Alaska, and mom didn't question him any more. Maybe when he comes back, we'll find a different way to be together."Maggie! Luke is here!" my mom called from t