Pretty Hurts (9 page)

“Have to make sure you’re ready for all the things I want to do to you.”

“T-tease.”

He slams his fingers home, and I scream. “Oh no, darling, I promise to deliver. On my own time.” Pulling his fingers free, he sucks them into his mouth. “So sweet.” He palms my ass and squeezes hard, delivering a slap. The sting spreads heat throughout my body. “Let’s take this in the bedroom.” His commanding voice has me walking toward the hallway as my juices drip onto my upper thighs. He presses on the small of my back. “On your knees with your ass in the air.”

I climb onto the bed and scramble onto all fours. He grips my thighs and tugs me to the edge, burying his face in my ass. He tongue darts out and flicks my clit once, twice, and he plunges into my heat. I grip the sheets as I move my hips, riding his tongue.

He pulls away.

“No,” I beg.

He thrusts two fingers and circles my puckered hole with his tongue. The dual sensations have me panting and shaking. My orgasm hits me like a meteor from the sky, and I go off, squirting as I shatter.

“Oh yeah, baby, give me that sweetness.” He nips my ass and helps me back up onto my knees. I hear the sound of his clothing hitting the ground. When he pats my pussy with his dick, I place my face against the soft sheets, so ready to feel him move inside of me. He slips his cock between my wet lips and pushes back and forth, tapping my clit with each pass.

“Edgar,” I moan.

“You ready for me, Efia?”

“God, yes.”

He slips the tip in and works his way inside inch by inch, stretching me with a pleasurable pain. I pant as I feel him skin to skin fully for the first time. It’s more than sex; it’s a coming together of souls on a cosmic level. After he feeds me his length, he bends to kiss his way down my spine.

“Love you, Efia.”

“I love you, too,” I whisper as he pulls out and slides back in. Time slows as we move together. The pace quickens. His balls slap my ass as our bodies come together. I wrap my arms around his neck as he drives inside me, hitting a spot that has me damn near drifting in and out of consciousness.

“Yes. Oh, fuck yes, Edgar. Please. I need to come.”

“Gonna come for me, darling?” His gravelly tone in my right ear has me teetering on the edge.

“Oh, yes.”

He moves his hand down to stroke my clit, and I clamp down on his dick, coating him with my cream as I convulse.

“Ah, shit,” he hisses, and gives me the geyser of warm liquid I love a few seconds later. Spent, we collapse on the bed and I listen to his heart beating against my back before he pulls out and moves us to the center of the bed. I suck down air, greedy to fill my burning lungs as waves of pleasure continue to flow through my body.

“Hey.”

Turning my head to face him, I give him a slow smile.

“You doing okay?”

“Not even the word for it.”

He chuckles and kisses me sweetly. “I’ll be right back.”

I’m halfway to sleep when he returns. “Spread your legs.” He wipes me clean with a warm washcloth, and I know this is the man I’m going to spend my forever with. He disappears briefly, and we crawl under the covers.

“I love you, Edgar.”

“Love you, too, darling.” He pulls me close, and I relax into his warmth, drifting off at peace and completely in sync with my man.

***

Edgar

I gather the pile of mail from the box and laugh. The last thing I wanted to do after finally having sex with my woman was leave her side, so I’d spent the week living from her house until my selection of clothing was depleted and I had to come home. Thanks to the marvels of the digital age, I didn’t even have to be here to pay my bills.

I take the bundle to the table and begin to sort. I roll my eyes at the flyers and loan offers. Nope. I tear them into tiny pieces and move on. An official letter catches my eye.
Texas Department of Health?
I rip the paper open.
Acknowledgement of paternity for Betty Lucille Bird?
My stomach churns. According to this piece of paper I have an eight-month-old daughter with Marilyn.

Sweat coats my forehead. I sway as I grow lightheaded. Suddenly her insistence that we have a child makes sense.
Jesus Christ, was she already pregnant when she left?
Dread rolls over me like a dark storm cloud. I never wanted this. We were always so careful.
How did this happen? When? Why wouldn’t she tell me?
I push back from the chair, unable to think straight as I pace the tile floor.
Why now? I just got my shit together.

Oh my God, Efia. She doesn’t want kids.
I have to talk to someone about this. I can’t bring this to my mother, she’ll freak. Right now, Efia is out of the question. I grab the phone and call up Addler.

“Hey, man, what’s up?”

“Can you come over right now?”

“Whoa, you okay?” Addler asks.

“You know what, bro? I’m really not.” My voice cracks and I take a deep breath to keep from losing my shit over the phone.

“Calm down, man. I was heading home, but I’ll come to your place. Give me fifteen minutes,” Addler says.

“Thank you.”

I hang up and go to the bar in the kitchen. Beer isn’t going to fit the bill. I pour myself a half a cup of Scotch and continue to pace as I try to make the calculations. She’d have to have been at least three months along when she moved out.
Who does this?
Suddenly my life has become a television drama. I don’t want to be a father. There’s a reason why I opted out. I spent so much of my life sacrificing for others. I’m not ready to do it again. My hand trembles.
I may have to.

I’m man enough to take care of my responsibilities, but it would kill something inside of me. She did this, knowing it was not of my choosing. Had she done it on purpose? The thought fills me with horror.
No, she wouldn’t. Would she?
At this point, I can’t even defend her. I would’ve sworn she’d never leave me with no notice, or pull a Maury on me and I’d have been dead wrong. I hear Ad’s truck in the driveway. I rush to the door, opening it before he can even knock.

“You look totally freaked out. What happened?”

I lead him to the table and hand over the paper.

He scans the document and his eyes bulge. “What the fuck, man? Is this legit?”

“I’m pretty sure it is.”

“You know what she’s doing, right? She’s trolling you, setting up a path, so that she can ask for child support. Jesus, she’s probably trying to get retro for the past eight months.”

“I think this is why she left,” I whisper.

“The fuck. Why wouldn’t she just say something to you?”

I shake my head. “I don’t pretend to understand the shit that goes on in her head these days.”

“Dude, what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know what I can do.”

“Let’s look it up on the net.”

I nod, feeling more grounded with my boy by my side.

His fingers fly over the keys of his phone. “It says you have up to twenty-five days to protest this, and demand a DNA test. That’s your next step. Do you think it could be yours?”

“I want to say yes, but at this point I don’t know and I’m not willing to put it to chance.”

“All right, so contact you lawyer, brother, and take the steps swiftly. The court likes to side with mothers on this.”

“I have to tell, Efia.”

“Yeah, man, don’t let her get caught unawares by any of this.”

“I don’t know if she’s going to stay.”

“What? Why not? You guys are sickeningly in love with one another. I’ve seen it firsthand.”

“Because she doesn’t want kids. How can I ask her to change her life plan for me?”

“Whoa. First of all, you don’t know if this is your kid, and second of all, you can’t put words in her mouth. You have to lay all your cards on the table, and see where they fall. Don’t count her out because of what Marilyn did. That bitch is determined not to die off. She’s like fucking He who shall not be named.”

I snort. “Thank you for that laugh. I needed it.”

“I’m serious, though, explain it all to Ef, and don’t jump to any conclusions.”

Thunder rumbles overhead, and I can’t help but think a storm is an appropriate end to my day.

“I will. I’m going to clean up and tell her when she gets here. I’m cooking dinner tonight. It’ll help keep me busy and sane.”

Ad clamps his hand on my shoulder. “For the record, you’d make an excellent father. However, I know that’s not what you want, so I’m hoping for your sake this isn’t your baby.”

“Thank you for understanding and not judging me, brother. I know to some people my response would seem cold.”

“No, I always understood why you opted out of parenthood. You spent your early twenties to late thirties doing that for your siblings. I saw the struggle you and your mom went through. I get it. I’m proud to have such an amazing friend in my corner. Whatever you need, I’m here for you.”

I nod, unable to talk around the lump. I swallow. “I appreciate it. Go home to your girls, man. I’m solid now.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. Efia will be here in a few more hours, so I won’t be alone either.”

“All right. Anything you need, just call.”

Rising from the table, I walk him out. I close the door, wondering if my life is truly about to take a drastic change.

I call my lawyer, explain the situation, and set up a meeting.

***

The rain is coming down in sheets when Efia knocks on the door. I open it up, and she walks in with her robot umbrella and matching rain boots.

“When it rains here it lets loose.”

“We need it,” I say as I help her climb out of her boots and place her umbrella in the brass stand by the door.

“It’s true.” She tilts her head back for a kiss. I pour all my passion into the lip lock, wondering if this will be the last chance I get to taste her before she hauls ass out of my life. I tilt my head and sip from her like she’s a fine wine. We separate for air, and she places her hand on my chest.

“Wow.”

“I missed you.”

“Is everything okay?”

I sigh. “No, it’s not.” I take her hand and lead her into the kitchen.

“Did I do something?”

“No, darling. It’s nothing you did. My past it coming back to haunt me.”

“Give it to me straight, don’t draw it out.”

I hand her the letter.

She opens it, scans the page, and gasps. “Wait. What is this?”

“Marilyn is claiming I fathered a child with her.”

“What? Is this … I mean, could it be true?”

“Technically, yes. But I don’t think so.”

“But you don’t know. So it could be.”

I nod. The pain visible on her face slices at me like a knife. “What are you going to do?”

“I talked to my lawyer as soon as I got this. He’s going to file a denial and counter with a request for DNA testing.”

“Jesus.”

“I know. I’m sorry, I never thought in a million years anything like this would happen. I wanted to let you know now, so you weren’t blindsided.” I take her trembling hands between mine. “I know neither of us wanted children, but if … if she’s mine, could we still make this work?”

She looks at me with a blank expression that makes my gut ache.
She can’t.

“I’m sorry. I-I’m just trying to process all of this right now.” She shakes her head as if to clear it. “I’ll always be here for you as a friend. But if you’re asking me if I could play step-mom, I don’t know. I can’t answer that yet without thinking this all through.”

My heart sinks into my shoes. I drop her hand and stand from the chair, toppling it onto the floor. I’m going to lose her, just like I lost Marilyn. I can’t handle that a second time. Not when this woman across from is my ideal mate.

“Edgar?”

“I can’t lose you, too, Efia.”