He knew he was in his own bed. He remembered Sam got him there and helped him undress. He also remembered how she ran a wet cloth over his body to relieve some of the stench caused by the alcohol and the remembrance of it made him smile to himself.
Her gentle ministrations made quite an impression on him. Adam could never recall a time or a place when someone who was not his mother tended to him tenderly like that. He felt cared for and...
He shook his head trying to shake off the last trace of sleep. He was fully aware of everything that happened after that. Warmth surging through him, Adam turned to his side, bracing his head with his hand, elbows propped on the bed to fix a
“Are you ready, Axel,” Leigh asked her son, combing her fingers on her hair. “Yes, mommy.” Axel smiled innocently at her, jumped out of the bed, and raced out of the room through the hallway until he reached the stairs. “Careful, Axel,” Leigh called out, her feet going faster to catch up to her agile son. Axel stopped, little hands holding to the handrail, and called out to her. “Hurry up, mommy. I want my ice cream and maybe we can play?” He bargained. Leigh stopped in mid-track. A thought struck her. Axel resembled Rocky a lot especially when he was about Axel’s age - precocious and cheeky. She bit her lip at the sudden onslaught of guilt from the lie she had created spanning five years, sure Rocky would hate her when her secret got out. A little hand touching her hand alerted her. She looked down to see Axel’s puzzled look on her. “Something wrong, mommy?” Her sweet son asked worriedly. Leigh crouched down on the floor to meet her son’s inquiring gaze. “Do you want to meet y
“Finally, I got a hold of you. Why are you not answering my call?” Leigh demanded when her call finally pushed through, allowing her to talk to Adam. Adam sighed. He wanted to throw the question back at her, but he was downright satisfied and happy and was in no mood to initiate an argument with Leigh especially since Sam was with him. Besides, Leigh ditching him was a blessing in disguise. If she had not done that, he wouldn't have had the chance to spend the evening and much of this morning with Sam. Adam thought about what transpired last night and the event succeeding it and felt an unexplainable warmth in his chest. “Adam? Are you with me? Are you angry?” Leigh sounded uncomfortable asking the last question but felt she must out of respect for a dear friend. But Adam did not notice nor appreciate her efforts. Instead, he cut her off. “Sorry. I am busy.” Adam was trying to dismiss the call, feeling guilty that he had to be rude, but Leigh would not take the hint. She
Adam pressed his hand on the doorbell. No answer. He pressed again and waited for a few minutes, but still, no one came to the door.He looked at the time, it was past nine in the evening.He took out his phone and dialed her number, but her phone was off.“Where are you?”He asked the empty hallway, rubbing his head in frustration.He was in Michaels Enterprises earlier to fetch Sam but she didn’t show up. The receptionist, who recognized him immediately assumed she was picking Leigh up and was quick to tell Leigh about him.“Adam! What a surprise!” Leigh’s pleasure could be seen on her face when she came down to the lobby to meet him. She looked unrepentant, but that was okay. He was not there for her anyway.Leigh invited him to her office and on the way, Leigh was babbling. He knew she was nervous so he stopped her. He put a
Tears formed instantly in Rocky’s eyes.“Hey, Rocky, why are you crying?” The sweet voice interrupted his chaotic thoughts.Axel reached out a hand to wipe his cheeks with his little fingers.To Rocky, it was the most innocent of acts, but it touched him to the core. The realization that he is a father runs deep.For years, he felt cheated and disappointed that Leigh did not turn out pregnant, and now this? It was like being sucker-punched. He could feel warmth spreading through his body. The feeling was glorious, intoxicating even. He could not define exactly what the feeling was because it was a cacophony of emotions - but he was joyous knowing his union with Leigh produced a child!He wanted to shout! He could feel his chest expanding in pride.This mature, cheeky child was his son!“My son!”An elated Rocky wrapped Axel&rsq
Adam punched the wall in his frustration.He ran after Sam right after he saw her running away, leaving the courtside seat he had reserved for them, but his teammates held him back. “What is wrong with you, Fowler? Concentrate on the game, not on anything else!” his coach barked at him, irritated at his lack of attention to the game.He fought with the teammates holding him back. "Do not be stubborn. The team needs you." His coach's words brought him back to his senses.He stopped struggling, and his teammates let him go. Once free, he immediately retreated to the bleachers to call Sam, disappointed when he heard Kade answer her phone.He gritted his teeth in suppressed anger.“What are you doing with Sam?” He could not help the jealousy from oozing out of his voice.In his mind, he could very well picture Kade’s mocking face, addi
Leigh draws out a deep breath before meeting Rocky’s gaze challengingly.Rocky was sitting on his chair, hands laced under his head while he looked at her with that same intense smoky gaze that had her insides turn into mush.Another minute of being around him, and she would have been a puddle in his eyes.She knew all it took was one stare for her to submit to everything he would have demanded of her. That was how weak she goes where Rocky is concerned. He could toss her around without her batting an eyelash.“Fine. You win. Spend time with your son. Be his father.” She said, giving up.
When their food arrived, Axel quickly stuffed his mouth, alternating between taking a big bite out of his burger and munching on fries, then taking a slurp of his shakes.Rocky watched his son devour his food, amazed at his enormous appetite.“For such a small kid, you sure gobble a lot of food.” He commented before wiping the corners of his son’s mouth with a tissue.Axel did not complain. He continued eating, unaware of the awed expression he was getting from his adult companion.Rocky gave up all pretense of eating and just watched his son, fascinated with every move he made.Leigh, on the other hand, concentrated on her food. She did not know how to make small talk. They were seated across from each other, and their table was filled with food, but no one was eating except Axel. Rocky's attention was all on Axel, giving Leigh a wide berth to study Rocky.She watched the father and son
Leigh feels torn. Half her mind listened to Adam talk and explain while the other half kept tabs on the father and son, who looked like they were having a very serious conversation not too far away.She wondered what they were talking about.“Have you heard from Sam?” She heard Adam say.Reluctantly, Leigh pulled her eyes and attention away from Rocky and their son to address Adam’s concern.“No.’ She said before turning her attention back to the two.“They seemed pretty tight,” Adam said again.“Hmm?” S