“Oh, you’ll need a date for that day, Joe!” Yvette chirped in.“Or do you already have one?”“Uhm. Yes.”No, you don’t.“Allison,” I lied, and I saw Moira’s smile drop.“But she’s not my girlfriend,” I was quick to add, as if that mattered. I wasn’t going to ask Allison. I wasn’t going to ask anyone, because I’d rather go by myself so I could leave with someone new and exciting, and slightly drunk. In weddings there was champaign. And champagne and horny women... Do the math. You were almost guaranteed to get a hole in one.Yvette and Moira exchanged looks that I chose to ignore. I just hoped they left it with that and didn’t try to set me up somehow. But I was paranoid throughout the whole meal, and so relieved when it was time to go, that if I had a tail, I’d be wagging it like a helicopter.“Have you ever been here before?” Moira asked, but I shook my head. Her eyes were devouring our surroundings and mirrored the energy of the music inside. The place was three different clubs in o
My apartment was dark when I came home, but I could still see some of my roommates’ belongings here and there. Jake’s t-shirt folded on the armrest of the couch. His battery charger on the kitchen table. Martina’s adorable bunny slippers...God, she drove me crazy when she sat on the couch with crossed legs, and made it dangle at the tip of her toes while she slowly rocked her ankle. She was completely unaware of the effect it had on me of course. It was simply something she did it when she relaxed in front of the TV. Here the other day she’d even put on a delicate gold chain with a ladybug charm on it, around her ankle, and I had to leave the room.“You want her. That’s not alright, bro! She’s your son’s wife!”Gray’s words kept ringing in the back of my mind, while all kinds of thoughts crashed against each other inside my skull.“Fuck... Where’s that card?” I mumbled to myself. And while I reheated some of the Chili con Carne Catherine had made, I ransacked the drawers in my home o
“Oh, fuck it,” I grumbled to myself. Then I took off my t-shirt and used that instead.After double checking that the car didn’t start, I went through the whole list. Battery, starter motor, fuse box, crank sensor and fuel system. Everything seemed to be working fine. The car was running a little low on oil, but not enough to cause troubles. Then I checked the spark plugs.“Bingo,” I said to myself, wiped my sweaty forehead and shut the hood. I’d text Jake about what kind of plugs he had to buy, and to show the text to the clerk to make sure he got the right ones. He wasn’t that into cars to know.I looked up at my apartment and spotted Catherine in the window spying on me. The moment she knew she was busted, she disappeared behind the curtain for a few seconds, before she peeked out again with an embarrassed smile and waved her hand. She was cute.The heat was almost unbearable now, and the sun made it even worse. There was no use in postponing it anymore. I had to go back inside. So
“Nothing I did was good enough. If it wasn’t Bree, it was her dad that picked on me. My clothes were distasteful. My job wasn’t fancy enough. My car wasn’t expensive enough, and yada-yada. You know the kind.”Catherine nodded with the most sympathetic glance ever.“After eleven years of hell, I finally mustered up enough courage to file for a divorce. I was scared shitless that her dad would hire a hitman or have someone to beat me up, but for some reason he didn’t. And later I found out what that reason was.”I laughed sadly.“She’d found another man. Actually, she’d been seeing him behind my back for almost two years, and he was immediately accepted by her parents. He probably had the right relatives, job or car. I don’t know. But at least he made it easier for me to leave, and for that I was grateful.”Catherine smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. They were big and compassionate.“You know... When Jake told me that he’d found a girl and that you were going to get married, I was c
“So, did you see something interesting?” I asked, curious about what she liked the most. Then I got a bit insecure when she looked at me for several seconds without answering. Maybe she had to think through it all. I didn’t blame her. She’d seen a lot in just a few hours.“The mirror maze and the aquarium seem fun. I’d definitely like to go there. The sea lions were cute, too. And I’ve always wanted to go on a sailboat.”I smiled at her. I’d definitely give Jake a hint. Hopefully he’d take her out on a date and a nice dinner. She truly deserved that.“Thank you,” she said and gave me a vague smile. Her eyes told me the rest.“I’m gonna take a shower now, if that’s okay?”“You don’t have to ask, Bambi. You should feel like home. Do what you want.”She smiled a little wider, probably because of the way I addressed her.“Thank you,” she said again, and I winked at her. Then I walked into the kitchen to grab myself something to drink. An ice-cold beer would taste perfect now. And after ta
“But I haven’t seen him since this morning, Marty! How can I...”“You should have come home at five like you promised! I even made dinner for you while I waited for you to show up. A dinner I ended up eating alone. And you didn’t even pick up the damn phone when I called. Where the hell were you?”Great. Now I felt even worse for going over to Allison.“I was on my way home!”“And it took seven hours extra?! It’s way past midnight, Jake! It only takes one to get to Fairfield where you were!”“I know that. We just... We had a lot of fun and lost track of time, that’s all.”Catherine groaned and said something I couldn’t hear, and the curious part of me wanted to crack the door open so I could hear better. Then I felt bad for eavesdropping, and instead took note of how easily people could hear what was going on inside my apartment. Jake and Catherine were yelling quite loud, but still. You never know what kind of people who were lurking outside.“I told you to come with us, Marty. But y
“I need to show you how a queen should be treated, and make sure you know that you should never settle for the second best.”She finally freed my finger from the grip of her teeth, and I let my index and middle finger stroke down her chin, and further down her neck. Then over her collarbones and down between her breasts, and I kept holding her gaze to make sure I would pick up on even the tiniest sign that could tell me she felt uncomfortable. But her eyes were fiery, and her lips were moist and parted, nonverbally telling me she wanted more.“May I show you?”She swallowed a moan when my fingers dipped lower, and took the trip down her abs.“Yes,” she whispered, and her eyes wandered to my lips. Then they closed when I finally reached between her legs and stroked my fingers where I knew she wanted it the most.“You’re beautiful.”I circled the contours of her pussy over her night shorts, and watched her spontaneous reaction. Her jaw slacked, her knees buckled, and she gripped my tank
“Hello, Satan.”“What do you want?” Bree barked.“Why did you cancel Martina’s order?”She laughed overbearingly.“Oh, that... Those flowers were hideous. Who wants to have Lilies of the Valley at their wedding?”My jaw dropped. The audacity!“You canceled the flowers, too?” I asked in disbelief.“Uhm, yeah? Someone has to take charge around here when you don’t. As always, you’re too busy screwing around to be useful at all.”“Me? How about leaving it to Martina? She’s the bride.”Once again, that mean chortle.“Yeah, right... She doesn’t have a clue what she’s doing. She even admitted so, and that’s why she asked for help.”“Help, yes. To pick out the napkins and arrange who should sit next to each other at the reception. Not you turning into the wedding planner from hell!”“Like you would know anything about that? You didn’t even help at your own wedding. You barely participated at all. And when you finally showed, you were hungover and disgusting. If it wasn’t for dad literally thr
“Where are you taking me?” she asked, and it was like she was glowing when she spoke.“Wait and see,” I said, staying secretive. It wasn’t much I could arrange on such a short notice. I mean, just this morning I’d gone from taking my son, or whatever I should call him, to the police station, to finding my girlfriend at a totally unexpected place, then finding out that she was pregnant, to the point where I actually started to get accustomed to the fact that the child was mine. That’s quite a leap in one day. But I still managed to get a table at one of the nicer places in the city, and I hoped it was good enough for our first date.Oh, my God. You’re actually nervous, Aaron. You’ve never been nervous about taking out a woman before. With one hand on the wheel and the other resting on Martina’s thigh, with her tender palm on top of mine, I took us to the right place and parked. Then, with the same courtesy, I made her laugh again as I helped her out of the car, simply because I loved
“But, Marty...”“No! You don’t want to talk about what happened at the police station, and I don’t want to talk about that. Are we clear?”He nodded silently and seemed sadder than ever. Good. He deserved to feel bad about it.“Now, let’s get to business and get this over with.”So that’s what we did. After about one and a half hour everything was sorted out in peace, and I finally had the paper in my hand. The divorce was final, and I didn’t regret it one tiny bit. I wished Jake good luck with his life, and especially the part about him coming out as bisexual. I knew he needed that. When his grandfather did what he did to me because of a failed marriage, then I didn’t dare to think about what he’d do to Rocco.Barely five minutes after he’d left, there was another knock on the door. I hadn’t ordered any room service, so I immediately assumed it was Jake who had forgotten something.“I thought you were in a hurry to get to the airp...” I started to say but lost my vocabulary the secon
I read her note over and over again and wandered restlessly around until my phone finally rang.“Bambi! Oh, my God! Are you alright?” I exclaimed the moment I picked up.“Yeah...”“How’s your mom? Is it serious?”I felt confused as to why she was so reluctant to answer. Did I do anything wrong? Is that why she left? Maybe she was jealous of Sarah and couldn’t keep up her façade anymore? But that wasn’t a problem anymore. As soon as she confirmed that her mother was okay, I blurted out:“I’m not the father!”She was silent on the other end, but I could clearly envision her beautiful smile.“The kid, who was pretty adorable by the way, was way too white to be mine. She was blonde with milky-white skin, maybe even lighter than Sarah herself, and so far from my darker Caucasian genes. I don’t even need to read the result of the paternity test. She’s definitely not mine.”I felt the relief flush through me, just like it did at the hospital when I first saw her. I would never forget Allison
I turned to her and noticed that she looked extremely uncomfortable. She kept staring at Allison’s huge belly and scratched her arm.Seriously. How much larger can she get without popping?“Uhm. Wednesday. Are you coming?”“No.”Catherine gave me a glare. She obviously wanted me to go.“Are you sure?” Sarah tried, but I rolled my eyes.“Yep.”Then Catherine pulled me aside and scolded me with her eyes.“That was rude, Aaron!” she whisper-yelled.“She obviously wants you there, and your baby will only be born once. You’ll regret not going later.”Then she noticed that Sarah was about to leave and called out to her.“He’ll be there! What time?”“10:30!”Catherine gave her a thumbs up, and even I could see how relieved Sarah was. Maybe I was a bit too arrogant towards her, but I didn’t really care. Okay, maybe a little bit.“I’m sorry,” I muttered when Catherine didn’t say anything for a while.“I know I’m an ass sometimes, and...”“An ass? Do you know how mean that was?” she exclaimed.
And then we made love again.Yes, we made love. For the first time in my life I learned how that felt, and how different it was from fucking. And it felt so good that I cried a little bit because of that as well. I mean, when I first was at it...Whatever.“Aren’t you tired?” she asked softly in the early morning hours, while stroking a finger along my jaw.“I am,” I admitted truthfully.“Then why aren’t you sleeping?”I was silent for a little while and tried to explain it with words.“Because I’m afraid you’ll be gone when I wake up,” I said quietly.She smiled and kissed my shoulder and let her finger trail in circles on my chest.“I won’t leave, Aaron. Not unless you tell me to.”She yawned and rolled over to her back, but her arm was still wrapped around my waist, and I was hugging hers.“I need to go back to New York to work. But I won’t leave.”Then she placed her palm on my chest where my heart was.“From here.”I covered her hand with mine and squeezed it a bit. Then I brough
Mom’s startled face appeared in the doorway.“What?”“Please don’t ask,” I said weakly. If she started asking questions, I would start crying for sure, and she would worry more than she needed.“Are you sure you’ll be alright?”I smiled.“Yes. And I promise to tell you everything later.”I just hoped the news I brought back home was of the good kind. So I folded my hands, looked up and whispered:“Please, don’t let anything happen to him.”🌼🌼🌼The day went by as usual. I did my job and ignored everybody’s attempts to make a conversation. Even Dom. He seemed more concerned for each day that passed. But he had no reason to worry. I wouldn’t do anything stupid.That's not what you thought last night.I went grocery shopping, but never ate any of it. I didn’t know how to make the things Catherine did. I just remembered what was on the list she wrote and bought that. I didn’t care that the food expired, and I ended up throwing it instead. It was some sort of comfort in having it. I only
Like Anny.“Let’s turn it around for a bit. What if it was someone else? Like, hypothetically.”“What do you mean?” I asked and squinted a bit.“That it wasn’t Sarah who was pregnant, but Martina?”I just stared at him.“I’d still be gone in a heartbeat,” I growled, and tried to ignore the panic that was creeping up my back. What if both of them were pregnant? I didn’t even use a conGraywhen I fucked Martina. How the hell could I be so stupid?You know why, Aaron. She’s different. And it felt so fucking good that you want to do it again.“Man, that’s cold,” Graysaid, and pursed his lips.“Whatever,” I mumbled.“No! It isn’t whatever, Aaron! I swear, sometimes you’re the biggest asshole I know. You love her, but you refuse to admit it, and I know for sure you’d man up enough to be there for her. Hell, when you managed with Bree, you’ll handle that with no problems at all. And Sarah too.”“I don’t even know why we’re having this discussion,” I muttered.“Hey. Cheer up, man. You don’t ha
“HEY! GET BACK HERE!” I yelled after Allison, ripped the door open and ran after her. She’d almost reached the stairs.“ALLISON!”“But I thought...” she started, but I had already grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back to my apartment.“What the hell did you just say?” I said in a tone that sounded both threatening and angry. I wasn’t. I was panicking, and I wanted to scream at her and tell her she was delusional.“I’m pregnant and you’re the father. Obviously.”I snorted and combed my hands through my hair, so roughly it hurt.“Obviously? What the hell is obvious about that? We’ve used protection every single time, and you’re on the pill, dammit!”Then I paused for a moment when a sick thought made me freak out even more.“Unless... Fuck! Did you trick me? Did you save one of the condoms and... Oh, my God. That’s disgusting!”“No! Aaron! How can you even think that?” she protested.“Well, how the hell did you get pregnant, then? This has to be some sort of a sick joke.”I was fum
Eventually I realized that Catherine had somehow gotten dressed while standing behind me. Only, it wasn’t her own clothes. They were mine.Damn! This is not a good time to get horny again, Aaron. But man, she looks fine in your clothes. “You’re just like mom said! You’re a sick bastard and a lowlife!”“Me sick?” I barked back.“You’re the one puking all over the floor!”“I didn’t mean literally, idiot! You’re sick in the head! An old pig! And you’re...”“Rocco! Please stop! You don’t know what you’re saying,” Catherine said, and tried her best to calm him down. She gave him a glass of water and brought a moist cloth so she could wipe his mouth like he was a big baby, and that’s when I realized how wrong their relationship was. She was acting more like a mother to him than Bree ever did. The only difference was that they had sex.“Sit down,” she demanded, but he shoved her away.“I’m not staying here a minute longer!”“SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN!” Catherine yelled and made everyone stare