Unveil Me (The Jaded Series Book 3) (15 page)

The frown on Ally’s face is quickly replaced by a breathtaking smile, and I want nothing more than to kiss Jase senseless for causing it.

Before handing the Skittles over, Jase says, “You have to ask your mom if you can have them first.”

Ally nods vigorously and turns to her mom. “Can I, Mom?” she asks hopefully.

Gazing at her daughter with affection, she pats her cheek and says, “Let’s wait and ask the doctor before you eat any, okay?”

“Okay.” She turns back to Jase. “Thank you!”

“You’re very welcome, sweetie,” Jase says, and stands up.

Brent walks over, and I introduce him and Becky to Jase. All four of us sit and talk for a while about nothing in particular, trying to avoid the elephant in the room. Ally needs as much normal as she can get. She entertains us with silly little stories, making us all laugh and eat up her attention.

After a while, Ally’s eyes start to droop. Leaning down, I place a kiss on Ally’s forehead. “Get some rest, Skittles. We’ll be back later today, okay?”

“Love you, Uncle Andy,” she mumbles, already half-asleep.

“Love you too, Ally,” I tell her, my voice thick.

I let Becky and Brent know that Jase and I will be staying in a hotel close by, in case they need anything or something happens. I’ve already cleared the time off with Jaxon. He understood my need to be close to Ally. Not to mention, I’m under doctor’s orders to not work for the next three days.

Becky and Brent walk us to the door. I turn to them before walking out.

“I’ve told the rest of my friends. I know they’re anxious to meet Ally and you two. If she’s up for it later, would it be okay for me to bring them by?”

Becky comes up to me and engulfs me in her arms, squeezing the life out of me.

She has tears sliding down her face when she pulls back. After quickly wiping them away, she says, “Yes, please bring them. We want to meet all of your friends. We’ve heard so much about them it feels like I already know them. And I know Ally will love meeting your friends as well.”

Stepping up beside his wife, Brent reaches out to shake my hand. “Your friends are our friends, Andrew. You’ve done so much for us and there’s no way we could ever thank you.”

I nod, knowing I would do it all over again.

After Jase gets a tearful hug from Becky and a handshake from Brent, we leave the hospital. I have to force myself to walk forward and not turn around and go back, but I know there’s nothing else we can do right now. We all have to hope and pray everything turns out okay.

Andrew

Jase and I are in the Waffle House down the road from the hospital having lunch while we wait on our crew to get here. I called them a couple of hours ago to see if they wanted to meet Ally. Just as I expected, they were excited about the idea. They should be here soon.

A sense of relief washes through me at the thought of no longer keeping Ally a secret. I hated lying to my friends. The guilt ate at me every day. But now I have to deal with the feelings of not having Ally with me all the time. When I first agreed to donate sperm to Becky and Brent, I was happy to help them. I still am happy that I helped them. I wouldn’t change that for anything. But once she came along, I immediately fell in love with her and wanted her for my own. I know she’ll never truly be mine to raise, but I can’t help but wish she was. She’s not really my daughter, but I still refer to her as such.

I was able to keep the feelings at bay when everyone back in Jaded Hollow didn’t know about her, because it was easy to distract myself. In order to keep up appearances, I
had
to distract myself. Now that everyone knows, those feelings have free rein. It helps some knowing I can see her anytime I want. Becky and Brent know my feelings, as I’ve never kept them secret. They understand and give me free rein to see Ally as much as I want. They know I would never try to take Ally away or jeopardize her happiness. She’s where she should be.

Mom came by earlier after visiting the hospital. She stayed in the same hotel Jase and I did, but decided to head home. She works at the only pediatric clinic in Jaded Hollow and couldn’t afford to take time off work. She did say she’ll be back every day after work, and if she was needed for anything else to let her know.

“I have a question,” Jase says, interrupting my thoughts.

He’s leaning back in his seat with an arm casually thrown over the back. His hair is in a low ponytail with a few strands loose. I watched this morning as he pulled it back without care. I like that he doesn’t care if every hair isn’t in place.

“What’s up?” I ask, and pick up my lukewarm coffee.

He doesn’t speak right away, but instead looks at me with his brows pulled down, like he’s contemplating whether or not he should ask. This makes me curious. What could have him so undecided?

“How did you donate your sperm to Becky and Brent?” he asks, throwing me for a loop. This is one question I didn’t expect him to ask. I knew it would come up eventually, but not yet.

“The one girl I had sex with?” He nods at my reminder. “That was her.”

Jase’s eyes flash with surprise. “And Brent was okay with you having sex with his wife? Why not do the whole artificial thing they do nowadays?”

“This was before Brent’s promotion. He was just an assembly line worker and the pay was terrible. They couldn’t afford artificial insemination. It was their only choice at the time. They struggled with the decision, thinking Brent would never be at ease with his wife sleeping with another man, but also refusing to give in. They had been let down so many times before and when they found out Brent was sterile, they were devastated. It took them years to get up the courage to ask me. They said I was the only one they felt comfortable enough asking, because of my sexual preference. They knew I would never develop feelings for her, or her me.”

That was one conversation that I never thought I would have. To say it was uncomfortable is an understatement. Not so much on my part but on theirs. I’ve always been open about my sexuality. Talking about sex comes naturally to me. It’s a part of human nature. What’s to be embarrassed about?

At first I was worried Brent wouldn’t be able to cope with the thought of Becky having sex with me, but he was adamant he would be fine.

“What did…” Jase’s voice is hoarse and he stops to clear it before continuing, “How did it happen?”

I don’t know if Jase is uncomfortable with this part of the conversation or slightly turned on. He doesn’t seem like the embarrassed type, so I’m thinking it’s the latter. My dick twitches, which surprises me because of the current situation. Jase does that. When I’m with him my mind is occupied with other things, making the bad disappear.

“Does that turn you on, baby, thinking about me and a woman?” I ask in a low voice.

“Anything to do with you and sex turns me on.”

I quirk my lips up when his eyes heat. His ass is mine tonight when we get to the hotel. He better prepare himself for the fucking of a lifetime. We’ve had sex every night since the first time I took him. It may sound ridiculous, but I think I’m going through Jase withdrawal.

Getting back to the question at hand, I tell him, “It was all very sterile feeling mostly. Becky and I both knew what we were there for. It was nothing more or nothing less than that.”

“And Brent? Where was he? In the living room while y’all got it on in the bedroom?”

“Actually, yes, he was. We all debated whether he should be in the room with us, but decided against it. It would have made it weirder having him there. We weren’t in there long, both wanting to get it over with. I left afterward and didn’t hear from them for a few weeks. Later Becky told me that Brent withdrew a bit from her, but they eventually worked through it. I understood his need for time and space. It couldn’t have been easy knowing his wife slept with another man.”

Jase doesn’t say anything for a few seconds, processing my words.

“And she got pregnant the first time?”

“Yes. Come to find out, Becky is very fertile, which was good because I don’t think she or Brent would have been able to go through that again. It took a few months, and it was extremely awkward in the beginning, but they were so grateful it worked they welcomed me to be a part of the pregnancy and Ally’s life.”

Jase turns quiet again before saying softly, “She’s beautiful, Andrew.”

I smile at him, glad he feels that way. Ally and Jase are the two most important people in my life. I would love for them to get to know each other.

“Thank you,” I say, and straighten in my seat. “Now, I have a question for you. The Skittles. How did you know about them?”

He laughs and says, “Your tattoo kind of gives it away. You also call her Skittles. Not to mention all the Skittles packages you have in your glove box. I’ve never seen you eat them yourself, so I knew they were for someone else. Ally was the only logical person.”

I’m pleased he recognized the Skittles for what they are. I got the tattoo a year ago in honor of Ally. She was tickled pink when I showed her. Becky, of course, teared up. It was two years ago that I started calling Ally by that nickname. Again, she loved it.

My phone starts vibrating, and I pick it up off the table. It’s a text from Chris, letting us know they are five minutes away from the hospital.

“Come on. That was Chris. They’ll be at the hospital soon.” I take a last swallow of my now cold coffee and get up. I pay the bill while Jase brings the car around to the front.

Twenty minutes later, we’re all walking up to Ally’s room. Grabbing the handle, I pull the door open to find Ally in bed watching
Sponge Bob
. Becky is in the chair beside the bed, reading, and Brent’s sitting on a chair on his laptop. I texted Becky an hour ago to let her know we’d be there soon.

Something seems off with the group though. I don’t know if it’s because they’re getting ready to meet the daughter I’ve kept hidden, or something else is going on. Chris is jumpy and keeps frowning at her brother, Jaxon’s features and body movements are stiff, and he’s keeping a tighter hold on Bailey than usual, and Bailey, the poor girl, looks worried about something. Mac’s quiet and seemingly distracted, while Mia has a scowl on her face. She’s hasn’t said a word as we make our way to Ally’s room.

Jase notices too. We look at each other, wondering what has the others so disoriented.

When I stop at Ally’s door, I turn to them and ask, “Alright, what’s going on?”

Nobody says anything for a moment, just looks around at each other. Finally, Mac says, “Nothing you need to worry about right now. We’ll talk later.”

“Has something happened?” Jase asks, mirroring my own thoughts and concerns.

He takes a step toward Chris, who quickly looks up at Mac. After a second, she turns back to Jase, smiles, and says, “Everything’s fine. Let’s go meet Ally and we’ll let you know later.”

He takes a moment to contemplate pressing the issue, but eventually Jase nods.

I let the issue go myself for now, but later they’ll tell me what the fuck is going on.

When we walk in the door, Becky and Brent get up from their seats to meet us.

“Becky and Brent, I’d like you to meet my friends, Mia, Mac, Jaxon, Bailey, and Chris.” I point to each as I say their names.

They all say hello, but I notice Mia standing off to the side, keeping away from the gathering. I know she’s still hurting from my deception and I hope she holds no ill feelings toward Becky and Brent. Her eyes keep wandering to the bed. I notice them going soft. Out of all my friends, I knew Mia would hurt the most. She and I have always been close.

After making sure it’s okay with Becky and Brent, I grab Mia’s hand. “Come meet Ally.”

Her hand squeezes mine tight, and I feel a slight tremble as I lead her over to the bed. Ally’s lying there looking at Mia, unsure. She can tell something’s off.

“Hey, Skittles, I’ve got someone here who wants to meet you. Actually, I’ve got a bunch of people here.”

She nods, but keeps her eyes on Mia, who is watching her in return. Emotions clog my throat when I see Mia swallow. Her eyes don’t stray from Ally’s, but I know she’s taking in her haggard appearance.

After a few short seconds, Mia speaks hoarsely. “Hi, Ally, I’m Mia.”

“Hello, Mia,” Ally says in a small voice. “Uncle Andy told me about you. He said you were his best friend.”

I hear a gasp from Mia when Ally calls me Uncle Andy. When I look at her, shock is clearly written on her face, before it’s quickly replaced with understanding, and then sadness. Tears glisten in her eyes.

“Are you okay?” Ally asks, pulling our attention back to her. “Are you gonna cry?”

Mia lets out a strangled laugh before composing herself. Taking Ally’s hand in hers, she tells her, “No, baby, I’m not going to cry. I’m just so happy to finally meet you.”

“Okay, good. I know Mama, Daddy, and Gramma cry a lot because I’m sick. I don’t want people to cry anymore. It makes me sad, too.”

Fuck! This is hard.

My heart breaks at her words, and I know Mia’s does as well. I can see her force the tears away. Becky steps up on the other side of the bed. I know she’s holding back tears, too. I feel a hand at my back and know it’s Jase.

“Honey, we’re just all worried about you,” Becky says, laying her hand on Ally’s cheek. “We love you and want you to get better.”

“I know Momma, but God’s watching me. The angel told me I’ll be okay.”

We all stand there in stunned silence, not sure what to say. The others gather closer around the bed.

Finally, Brent steps up, takes his wife’s hand, and asks Ally croakily, “What angel?”

Ally smiles so big her cheeks puff up and you see her teeth. “The one in my dream. I was playing in the sandbox at the playground and she came and played with me. She told me God was keeping me safe and to not worry. He was going to make me better again.”