Fair Play (16 page)

And just like that, Hawaii is back on but if you ask Nick, it was never a question.

Later that evening after several rounds of Candy Land, watching Scarlet swim in the back yard, and yes even, a little Netflix without the chill, Nick tucks me into bed for the second night in a row.

It’s early, but I’m tired and grateful to be between the cool sheets in my comfy bed.

“Your phone is charging on your nightstand. I lost mine somewhere last night. If you call Bridgette, which I was supposed to tell you to do, could you ask her if she found it?”

“Sure, I don’t know why I didn’t think to at least text her that I’m okay. She’s probably worried, and I know she feels guilty.”

“She called the hospital last night. I talked to her while you had your scan and yes, she feels responsible.”

“I’ll text her before I go to sleep.”

He reaches over to get my phone and places it on my belly.

“You should do that now then. I’m afraid you'll shut your eyes before I get out of your room.”

“Okay, Papa Bear.”

“You keep calling me that, and I’ll have to put you over my knee like Scarlet when she’s naughty.”

“You wanna put that in writing?”

“If I have to, to get you to quit calling me that then yes, I do.”

“I’m sorry, I’ll quit, promise.” I make an X over my heart and bat my eyelashes.

He blows a puff of air from his nose, “You’re forgiven, I suppose.”

“Hey, what’s your middle name? I don’t think I ever asked you.”

“Emmett, what’s yours?”

No way, it’s not possible, but how many people have the middle name Emmett? I’m almost afraid to admit that mine is Quinn. What if he’s my Emmett?

“I don’t have one.” I can’t believe that lie just tumbled from my lips. I panicked. Eventually, he’s going to find out, and then what am I going to say?

“Really? I’ve never known anyone without a middle name.”

“Well, now you do.” My heart is pounding so hard that he could see it if I didn’t have the comforter pulled up and tucked around me.

“Okay, Téa no middle name Brown, I’m going to tuck in another beautiful girl across the hall now.”

“Should I be jealous?” I ask purposely to see how he reacts to the identical phrasing I use with Emmett online.

He is quiet for a moment while he chooses his words.

“No, she’s pretty good at sharing.”

Oh my God, it is him. I can’t believe it. I’m having the same conversation I had with Emmett the other day because Emmett is Nick.

This is crazy. It’s the sort of thing that only happens in the chick flicks that Theresa always drags me to.

I can’t bring myself to call him out. What if he’s upset that I’ve been carrying on with another man? I mean, the other man is him, but I didn’t know that.

Then it occurs to me that I have the same right to be ticked off that he’s been messing around with another woman. And sexting her, me, whoever!

Holy shit, he was getting off today with her today, before our date. It wasn’t really Emmett, or it was, or, aw hell, I am so damn confused.

I have to keep my cool until he goes to bed. Then I’ll test out my theory when I text Emmett.

“That’s good. Sharing is important.”

The room is charged with an awkward silence before he stands to leave. He senses something’s up but without my middle name, he’s still in the dark.

“I’ll see you in the morning. If you need anything, you know where I’ll be.”

“Thank you, for everything.”

“You’re welcome for everything.”

Nick

That woman is acting weird, and I know it’s not just my imagination. The conversation we just had sounded an awful lot like the one I had with Quinn a few days ago. It was almost like I was talking to the same person.

No, she wouldn’t, would she? Could Téa be Quinn? She told me she didn’t have a middle name, but she acted squirrely when she said it.

I enter Scarlet’s room and find her already tucked in and ready to go.

“What’s this?” I open my arms wide and look around the room.

“What, Daddy?”

“You’re all tucked in and ready to go to sleep. I think I wandered into the wrong room.” I turn to leave, and she pops up. “No! It’s me, it’s Letty, this is my room,” she says, giggling.

“Oh, I see. So, you do need tucking in after all?”

“Yes please.”

She plops down on the mattress again, and I pull up her covers and tuck them in around her body.

“I stay here tonight.”

“You will? I’m glad to hear it, but why have you changed your mind?”

“I like to sleep with you cuz you’re lonely, but now you got Téa, so you’re okay.”

She smiles a sweet heavenly smile, and I wonder if she’s serious. Has she been sneaking in to sleep with me all these years to keep me company? And here I thought she was afraid of the dark.

“That’s a selfless thing to do for your Daddy, honey, but you don’t have to worry about me being lonely. I thought you were sleeping with me because you were lonely.”

She swats at the air between us, “No way, Daddy. I have lots of friends.” She points to the shelves of stuffed animals and dolls next to her bed.

“Indeed you do. But just so you know, Téa is sleeping in her own bed tonight, she only slept with me last night in case she woke up frightened after her fall.”

Her gray eyes sparkle. “Like with the slide, I hit my head, and you said no sleep?”

She fell off of a very tall slide when she was two years old, and she still remembers it like it was yesterday. I was worried that she had a concussion, and I wouldn’t let her sleep.

“Yes, just like that.”

“You’re a good daddy.”

“You’re a wonderful girl.” I kiss her on the nose and click off the lamp next to her bed.

“Nightlight, Daddy, don’t forget.”

“I would never.” I snap on one of many nightlights scattered around her room. This one is a pink unicorn, her favorite.

“Thank you.”

“Night Letty. I love you.”

“Love you too.” Her eyes are closing before I reach the door. Ben wore her out this morning, and then she swam all afternoon, showing off her swimming skills to Téa.

I glance across the hall into Téa’s room on my way to bed. She’s on her side with her eyes closed, sleeping softly. Perfect. I can text Quinn … shit. I don’t have my phone. I’ll use my laptop and message her through the dating app. I have to know what’s going on. How great would it be to have both women be Téa?

I’ve been torn between both women all week and maybe for no reason.

I grab my laptop off the dresser and close my door. With my back against the headboard, I open it up and send Quinn a message.

Me -- How was your date?

It would be an insensitive question if I knew Quinn was Téa. But since I’m not supposed to know that she was attacked, it would be a natural question to ask after our last conversation.

Our last conversation wasn’t much of a conversation. It was sexting, here in my house, with another woman. I knew that was a bad idea, but I couldn’t help myself when she said she was in the shower. My mind went a million places at once and to be honest, I was thinking of Téa when I was talking to Quinn.

I’m not getting a response, so I peel off my shirt and toss it into the chair next to my bed. I lay down and roll to my side when I see tiny hearts begin to fill the screen, indicating a message is being typed.

Her --
Not so great
.

Me --
Uh, oh. Did he trade his gold crown in for one of thorns?

Her --
No, he was a perfect gentleman. He helped me out of a sticky situation. If he hadn’t, I might not be here.

Me --
OMG, I hope you’re all right.

Her --
Yes, I’m fine now.

Me --
I’m glad. I’d ask what happened, but I imagine you don’t want to talk about it if it was that serious.

Her --
You’d be right, thanks for not asking. What are you up to tonight? How was your lazy day yesterday?

Me --
Lazy, yours?

Her --
I worked for a while and went to my friend's party. Oh yeah, I also had a rendezvous with a hot guy via text in the shower. Can’t forget that.

Me --
No, you can’t. That reminds me, have you given any thought to meeting in person? I feel like I know you, I’d like to meet you.

Her --
Yes, I’ve given it some thought.

Me --
And? You’re killing me, Red.

Her --
There’s one thing I want to know first.

Me --
Anything, you name it.

Her --
Your first name.

If this isn’t Téa, it’s got to be one of the biggest coincidences in my life.

Well, here goes.

Me --
Nicolas.

I press send and lie back, holding my breath.

And hold it.

And hold it.

I’m about to message her back to check on her when the door to my bedroom cracks open.

“Nick?”

“Yeah?” I manage to say, the oxygen burning in my lungs screaming to escape.

“Can I come in?”

I exhale and answer, “Sure.”

She opens the door, holding her phone. Only the glow of her screen lights her face, and it’s clear to me that this is Téa Quinn Brown.

“You do have a middle name,” I say, rolling onto my back.

She gasps and lifts her hand to cover her mouth.

“I think we have quite a coincidence on our hands, don’t you?”

Her hand is still covering her mouth when she nods up and down.

“Come here.”

She glances down at her screen out of habit. I type the words “Come here” into our chat box, and she jumps when she reads them, as if that is the final confirmation she needed.

“It’s you.”

Since she doesn’t seem to be able to come to me, I go to her.

“And it’s you. What are the chances of this happening, Téa Quinn Brown?” I feather my fingers along her jaw, careful not to touch a bruise or a cut.

“I don’t know, Nicolas Emmett Wood, a million to one?”

“That must mean we are meant to be together. Maybe the universe thought that we were so dense it made doubly sure by bringing us together online and in person.”

“So we are a one-in-a-million couple?”

I brush her hair off of her shoulder and lean down to place a kiss somewhere I know won’t hurt. She shivers when my mouth touches the skin in the dip of her collarbone. That sweet exotic smell of jasmine and a spice that I can never quite place invades my nose when I breathe in her scent, a scent almost as unique as she is.

Gently I make my way down her chest and kneel in front of her, sliding her phone from her hand and laying it facedown on the floor. I lift up the hem of her lacy tank top and kiss her navel where a small diamond rose hangs from her belly ring. Her belly quivers under my touch. Her breathing comes in short, quick pants.

I slide my hands around her hips, always conscious of her injuries, and her fingers find their way into my hair.

“Nick,” she whispers breathlessly. I stop and tilt my head back to look into her eyes.

“I need to go to bed.”

I bow my head and press my forehead against her stomach and inhale a cleansing breath. She wants me to put her back to bed. She’s probably thinking about me sexting another woman this afternoon. If she would only believe that it was her I was visualizing … wait, it was her I saw in my mind. Everything she ever said to me was true, she described everything about her appearance to a tee, minus the tattoos and piercings, and the person I was falling for online is still her.

We’re both guilty of waiting to see which relationship turned out best, and we were both honest about our intentions upfront. But if she needs space, I’ll give it to her because I don’t want to lose her.

I stand and scoop her up to carry her back to bed. When I open my bedroom door, she lays her hand on my cheek.

“Not my bed. Yours, dummy.”

I cock my neck back and raise my eyebrows.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, I just found my one in a million, I don’t want to sleep without him.”

Her one in a million, I am this gorgeous creature’s one in a million. There are times when life unexpectedly snatches something precious away, and other times it quietly offers you a gift so valuable you never fully know its worth.

Mariah’s death will always be a mystery that I don’t understand, but Téa’s arrival in my life will not go unnoticed or unappreciated. 

I softly close the door with my foot and carry her to my bed. She sucks in a quick gasp when she rests her head against the pillow, and I know she’s uncomfortable.

“I’m okay. My head is still tender on the back where it hit the tiles on the shower wall.”

I stand over her and follow the sliver of moonlight that trails down her body. Her beautiful long blackand-red hair fans out over the pillow, her amber eyes glow, and the artwork that adorns her skin peeks out from under her tank top and panties, begging to be seen.

I press my knee onto the mattress and swing my other leg over her, hovering on my knees, not touching her.

‘I won’t hurt you. I’m going to make you feel good.”

Her arms slide above her head, and the act of submission makes my cock twitch. I hook my fingers into the sides of her black boy shorts, which sadly are missing a superhero, and slide them down a millimeter at a time, savoring the first time seeing her bare.

She is like living art with tattoos of flowers, small delicate script that I can’t read in the dark, and my favorite so far, a fuzzy white bunny lounging along the top her mound holding a pocket watch that says YOU’RE LATE.

“This …” I say, dragging the tip of my finger along the rabbit’s back.

“I like.”

She smiles, “You didn’t see that at the hospital?”

“No, I tried very hard not to look.”

She pokes her lip out like Scarlet so often does, and I defend myself. “It wasn’t the right time. It’s much better this way, believe me. I do have a question, though.”

“What’s that?”

“What am I late for?”

She slides her feet up, causing me to sit back on my heels and the bunny to disappear. She smiles down at me again and drops her knees open wide unabashedly, offering me a perfect view of her glistening pussy.

I’ve never been so fucking turned on in my life. The confidence she exudes is such a thrill I can barely contain myself but for her sake, I have to.

I turn my head away, close my eyes, and smile a fool’s smile.

“What’s the matter, bunny got your tongue? You better hurry. You’re late, remember?”

I return my eyes to hers and narrow them in a
challenge accepted
glare.

“Fashionably late and yeah, that bunny’s going to have my tongue all right.”

I run my hands along the inside of her thighs and bend to kiss the crazy bunny guarding what I’m about to make my own. Her back arches off the bed when my tongue touches her flesh, and the moan that slips from her lips tests my restraint.

I kiss my way to her clit and although it shouldn’t surprise me, it does when I find it pierced. A tiny rose sits on the top of her clit, and a small silver stud is positioned below it. I’ve seen a few piercings like this, but none were as done as beautifully as hers.

I drag my tongue along her crease and around her rose jewel until she’s coming unglued, arching her back off the mattress. I’m sure she’s close when she suddenly sits up and scoots away with an agility I didn’t think she was capable of in her condition.

“I want you inside of me the first time I come for you.”

I turn my head to the side and look at her out of the corner of my eye. “Didn’t you come this afternoon in the shower for me?”

Her eyes dart to my right and she tugs on her bottom lip with her teeth, telling me she wasn’t an active participant in our afternoon tryst.

Her knees fall together. I’m losing her.  I hold up a finger. “Wait right here, don’t move.”

I leave her on the bed and pad across the room to lock the door before heading to the bathroom for a condom. I’m only about fifty percent okay with this. I know she’s hurting, and I don’t know if I can be gentle with her.