LATCH (16 page)

I wake to the smell of bacon and it reminds me of when I was a kid. Every Sunday morning my mom and dad used to cook breakfast; the smell would wake me up just like today.

As I roll over, I am surprised to see Latch still asleep next to me. His arm is draped on his pillow around his head. If he is still sleeping, then his grandmother must be home. I shake him awake and he looks down at me alarmed.

“What’s wrong?” he asks.

“I think your grandma is home.”

He blinks a few times – his tired eyes are so damn sexy – then he takes in a big breath of air pulling my body close to him. “Yup, smells like it.”

Inside I am nervous, considering that Darrell’s mom and sister have hated me from day one. I don’t have a good track record with women of the family. Plus, she is the most important person to Latch. He kisses the top of my shoulder and then runs his hand over my stomach and asks, “How are you feeling?”

“Better,” I respond, thankful that my stomach has settled. Gradually, he slides his hand down my stomach ’til he’s over my sex, where he spreads open my pussy and plays with my clit. As wonderful as the feeling is, I cannot help but worry that the first time I’d meet his grandma would be during us fucking around, which is exactly where this is going to go if I don’t stop it, so I close my legs around his hand and he can’t move anymore.

Then before I know it, I am on my back with Latch hovering above me. He’s naked, his rock hard cock bobs above my chest as his eyes blaze with desire. “Did you just stop me?” he asks.

I nod, trying not to laugh at how serious he is being. He has both of my wrists in one of his hands and I love how he can make all of my worries disappear just by being his fun self. Again he touches me, but this time he slides two fingers inside. “Don’t ever make me stop.”

“Mmmmhhh,” I moan.

“Understand?”

“Yeah,” I barely can get the word out as he moves in and out of my pussy, the simple pleasure from just his hand is so great that I bite my bottom lip to stay quiet. “That’s it, take it like a good girl.”

“Latch, time to get up,” his grandmother calls from outside of the room and we both freeze.

My eyes get wide as the fear of meeting her like this takes over. “Breakfast is about ready.”

“Thanks, Grandma, we’re coming,” he calls out with his fingers still inside of me.

“See? That’s what I was talking about!” I scold him in a quiet tone and smack his thigh.

“Well, she didn’t see a thing, so you have nothing to worry about.” After stroking his fingers a few more times, he takes them out from inside of me, and sticks both of them in his mouth, sucking off the wetness from my pussy as he hops out of bed. Then sliding on a pair of shorts, he asks me over his shoulder, “Well, are you coming to breakfast or not?”

I roll my eyes and pull on my pajamas then rush to the bathroom to tame my hair and brush my teeth. He walks in and smacks me on the ass, kissing me on the cheek. After Darrell came here yesterday, we both agreed to let it go. Which is a hard thing to do as the fear seems to always be in the back of my mind, but looking at Latch’s smile, I find the serenity that I need to push forward. He will keep me safe, just like he did last night.

“I’ll meet you downstairs.”

“What? You can’t wait for me?”

“Why? I’m hungry and you’re getting all done up.”

I look at the pink lipstick in my hand and set it down. Grabbing a hair tie from inside my makeup bag, I pull my long hair back in a ponytail. Latch is watching me through the mirror.

“I’m ready.”

“Are you nervous?” he asks as we walk out of the bedroom.

I nod and he laughs, walking down the stairs that lead into the kitchen as he holds my hand.
Really? I tell him that I’m nervous and all he can do to calm me down is to laugh at me?

“Morning. What’s so funny?” his grandmother asks and a gorgeous, older, spunky woman comes into view. She’s dressed in hot pink capris with her gray hair braided over one shoulder and her flowery cardigan looks like she stole it off someone from the cruise ship.

“Abby’s nervous,” Latch says, kissing his grandma on the cheek, and I about slap him on the back of his head.

She smiles, looking at the two of us. “Well, you have nothing to be nervous for, my dear. I don’t bite. And from what Latch tells me, he thinks the world of you, so…so do I.”

She takes my hand in hers and Latch says, “See? Nothing to worry about. Abby, this is my grandma, Maris, and Grandma, this is Abby.” His nose drives him to the food. Maris looks at me with the biggest and most interested hazel eyes ever.

“You are beautiful.” I blush a shade of crimson that I never knew a woman was capable of making me turn into.

“Thank you.”

“It’s a pleasure to have you here and…” she trails off, her eyes moving to my stomach as she settles a hand over it.

The gesture catches me off guard. Thankfully, Latch comes to save the day. “Don’t scare her away.”

“Sorry, I’m just very excited to be a great-grandmother. I never thought this day would happen.” She pats my hand and then goes to the oven and pulls out a quiche. Latch kisses my cheek and sticks a piece of bacon in my mouth. “Oh my God, it’s delicious.”

“Right?” he says. “She cooks it in syrup. See? I told you everything would be okay,” he whispers into my ear.

And as I look into his eyes, I believe him. Everything that has happened up until now has been to put Latch and I together, on the path towards a future. A future that might not be ideal for some, but for me it’s the future that
I
want.

“Come on, Abby, we’re gonna be late,” I yell into the bathroom, checking my watch. It’s ten ’til one and our appointment with Dr. Rosland is at one fifteen.

She doesn’t respond and worry sets in. Normally she’d jab back at me, but the eerie silence doesn’t settle well, so I open the door to her on her knees in front of the toilet. “Oh, baby.” My heart breaks as she rests her head on the seat.

“I thought you were feeling better today.”

“I was,” she whispers rocking her head back and forth. “But I’m all out of medicine and Darrell texted me.”

Her phone is on the floor next to her and I grab it to see what he said that upset her so badly.

If you think I’m going to let you just walk away, you’re dead fucking wrong! You and that tattooed piece of shit are going to pay.

“He can’t do shit to hurt us. He can say whatever he wants, but it’s not gonna make a difference. Babe, please do not let him get into your head. It’s not healthy for you or the baby.” She nods lifting her head from the seat and I pull her against my chest. Small sobs reel through her core and it hurts so fucking bad that he’s doing this to her. I could fucking kill him…

“I don’t want you worrying, okay? Today is a good day. Let’s go and see our healthy baby, all right?”

“Okay.” She gives me a small smile that melts my heart and makes my cock twitch all at the same time. Jesus, the control that this woman has over me is un-fuckin’ real.

Standing up, I reach down to her and help her stand. “You okay?”

She nods, looking so gorgeous and I squeeze her ass. She grabs the mouthwash taking a swig and swishes it around. “Ready?” I ask, and we head out of the bathroom.

“Good luck you two,” my grandmother says, peeking up from a crossword that she is doing on the couch.

“Thanks!”

“Text me afterwards,” she stands and hugs both of us.

Walking out, Abby and I get lucky as the neighbor is getting out of a taxi so we don’t have to walk down to the main intersection to catch one. “You mind if we snag your cab?” I ask him.

“Not at all.”

“To 10
^th
Street and 5
^th
Avenue, please.”

The cabby flips the meter on and we begin the trip uptown. Abby’s hand is in mine and she is really quiet. She hasn’t said much since she and I were in the bathroom. “What’s bothering you?”

“I know we talked about letting it go, but I’m worried about what Darrell is going to do.”

“Why, because he showed up yesterday and acted tough?”

“No, because he has a lot of money and resources to ruin us.”

I roll my eyes at her. “Let him try. It doesn’t make one difference to me.”

“Come on, Latch, if it was that easy for him to find us when he didn’t even know your name, it’s only a matter of time until he figures out what you used to do for a living and he’ll use that against me when I file for divorce.”

“Do you think I care if he knows? It wasn’t a secret, and it will have no impact on your divorce, trust me.”

“But it was illegal.”

“I can’t get in trouble unless I am caught in the act, and I don’t plan on ever going back to that life again.” She gives me a small smile, but I need more. “Will you stop getting ahead of yourself? He’s pulling at anything he can right now because he lost you and that kills him. This is what he wants; don’t let him do this to you. If he wants to hire a private investigator and then go to the cops when he finds out, let him, because nothing he can do will separate you and me.”

She blinks a few times and looks out the window deep in thought. I watch her eyes as they scan all of the buildings and the people. I can see how scared she really is.

Maybe I need to shut Darrell up in order to make him understand who he’s fuckin’ with. Because seeing Abby like this is really pissing me off. Her mind is drifting to all sorts of crazy places.

“Here you are,” the cab driver says, surprising me that we made is so quickly. I pay him and then help Abby out. The walk to the office is a short distance and before we enter the front doors to the building, I stop and ask, “Ready, beautiful?”

“Absolutely,” she responds in the reassuring way that I am used to.

Maybe it’s being here and knowing that we are about to see our child for the first time that has changed the mood, but there’s a positive vibe coming from her, which is what I need. She has her hand held tightly around mine, and I know in the back of my mind that I’ll do anything to keep her fears at bay.

“Are you excited?” I ask her.

“Yeah, you?”

“Very.”

The office is on the first floor. I’ve been here so many times to meet my grandma for lunch, but walking in, it looks completely different. I tell the receptionist who is eating her lunch at her desk, “Teracino, for Dr. Rosland.”

She looks at the computer with her eyes squinted and then Dr. Rosland peeks his head out of his office and says, “Hey, Latch, good to see you. They aren’t in the computer, Francine. Could you have them wait in room two?”

He waves to us and the woman says, “Right this way.” She opens a door for Abby and I to walk through.

Francine ushers us into the exam room and I look at Abby. “Are you sure he’s the best?” she whispers.

“I promise.”

In the hallway, I can hear Dr. Rosland and the receptionist speaking, then he knocks on the door once before coming in. “Latch,” he exclaims and I stand to shake his hand. “And you must be, Abby.” He shakes her hand and sits on a stool across from the chairs that we are in.

“Thank you for seeing us,” I tell him.

“Are you kidding me? I’d do anything for Maris.”

We all laugh and he asks her, “So, Abby, how are you feeling?”

“I’ve been better.” She pulls the empty bottle of pills from her purse that the hospital gave her. “I ran out of these. They really helped with the nausea.”

He looks at the bottle and then says, “I can get you more of them.”

“And they
are
safe for the baby?” I ask.

“Absolutely.”

“Do you know how far along you are?”

“No, I was in the hospital because the nausea was so bad, and they just told me I was pregnant and to schedule something with my OB.”

“Well, that’s why you’re here. So tell me, when was your last period?” he asks.

“Uhh, I’m not sure. My periods have always been really irregular; I can go months without one.”

“All right, I’ll start with your vitals,” he says and reluctantly she lets go of my hand when he gestures her to have a seat on the exam table. She sits there, so beautiful, as he begins the process, taking her temperature, checking her oxygen levels, and then blood pressure.

“Your blood pressure is really high, 265/110. Have you been under a lot of stress?”

She nods, feeling terrible. “Like I told you on the phone, our situation is complicated. Abby’s ex has been making things really hard on her.”

He stops what he is doing, powering up the ultrasound machine and looks her in the eye. “You have to keep your stress to a minimum. At this stage, high blood pressure can cause a lot of complications for both you and the baby. Latch, I trust that you can make sure this stress stops.”

“Definitely, Doc.”

“Good, now let’s have a look at this little one. Latch will you turn the lights off?” I stand while she unzips her jeans.

“They won’t button anymore.”

“We’ll try this way first because I know the transvaginal ultrasound can be a little uncomfortable and you’re probably far enough along if your clothes aren’t fitting.”

He squeezes some blue gel on her soft, white skin. She flinches when the cold goop touches her and he says, “Sorry, it’s a little cold.” The screen on the monitor is blank and all of our eyes are on it as he moves around over her stomach. Then he stops, and on it is a black circle with the small outline of a tiny baby inside.