Warning Track (35 page)

Parker sighed and said, “You don’t have to work, you know.” It wasn’t the first time Parker had mentioned not working to her. Ever since their first real date on the boat, where they made love for the first time, Parker kept suggesting that she didn’t need a job, and Margo wasn’t sure if he was only saying that because he jokingly wanted her as his sex slave, or if he actually wanted to take care of her. Either way, she was keeping her job, because she loved what she did and the future was always a question mark.
 

She did start looking for jobs in Atlanta because the possibility of finding a job that she liked near the man that she loved would be ideal. She had yet to tell Parker that she loved him because she didn’t want to come across too clingy, present day excluded, but she loved the man. She loved the man in college when he was merely a boy on the baseball team who happened to be best friends with Margo’s best friend.
 

“I do have to work. Who’s going to buy all the new panties I need, since you keep insisting upon ripping mine apart?”

“No need for underwear when you can go commando. Your ass is a fucking wonder of the world, why confine it?”

Margo rolled her eyes and pushed away from Parker. “Pathetic,” she teased. “I guess I’ll see you in a couple of days.”

“You don’t have to be to the airport right away. Why don’t we have a quickie in my car?”

“Keep dreaming, Kirbs. I’m not about to fuck you in your car when there are paparazzi waiting around the corner to get a picture of my girly bits flying around.”

They were standing outside of Parker’s car in his garage, denying the inevitable of him driving her to the airport. Her bags were packed and in his trunk, but they just stood outside the car, holding each other.
 

“I don’t see any cameramen in here. Come on, give me a piece of that juicy ass.”

Margo shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest, while giving him the look of, “You’re not getting anything, buddy.”

“The only thing that stance is doing for you is pushing your tits practically out of that low cut tank top of yours, making me hornier than fuck.”

Exasperated, Margo threw her hands up in the air and tried to get around the infuriating man.
 

“Don’t think I won’t take you out to get to the airport.”

“Fine,” Parker dragged out and opened the door for her. When he got in on his side, he said, “It concerns me that you want to be rid of me so fast.”

“You know that’s not the truth,” Margo said in all sincerity, while grabbing Parker’s hand.
 

He brought their joined hands to his mouth and kissed hers.
 

“I applied to a job out here and got an interview,” Margo all but blurted out of the blue.

Parker was in the middle of starting his car, when he turned in his seat and looked at her with the biggest smile on his face. “Are you serious?”

Margo nodded and said, “Yeah, the interview is tomorrow actually. A phone interview. If all goes well, I might be moving to Atlanta and you would have to help me find a place to live.”

Parker pulled Margo onto his lap as he scooted his chair back so the steering wheel didn’t impale her back.
 

“Fucking Christ. How come you didn’t tell me earlier?” he was stroking her face as if she was going to break right in front of him.
 

“I didn’t want to jinx it.”

“Fuck that. Jesus, I think my heart is about to pound out of my chest. You would move here?”

“Of course,” Margo said shyly. “If it meant being near you, then yes.”

Parker pulled Margo into his chest and wrapped his strong arms around her, not allowing her any wiggle room.
 

“You don’t know how much you just made my day, Mo. Fuck, I’m so damn happy.”

“Let’s not get too excited. I don’t have the job yet.”

“Who gives a fuck? You can move in with me and find one if you don’t get this one.”

Margo pulled away and looked Parker in the eyes, was he serious? She wasn’t much of a mooch and hated the thought of taking advantage of Parker, but she despised being apart from him. If he was willing, then she was ready to accept. She just hoped that she could provide for herself as well, because there were too many mooching mamas out there, as Margo and Lexi liked to call them. They’d seen some of their guy friends be taken down one by one by mooching mamas. She didn’t want to fall into that category.

“One thing at a time,” Margo said, as she placed a kiss on his lips.

Margo got back in her seat as Parker rolled down his window and shouted, “My girl is going to move in with me!”

Margo laughed and swatted Parker’s arm. “Stop that, you’re acting like a moron.”

He just grinned at her and pulled out of the parking lot. They spent the rest of the trip holding hands and arguing about who would get the master bedroom in Parker’s two-bedroom apartment. Parker didn’t think it was too funny that Margo kept calling them roommates, but Margo thought it was hilarious to see Parker’s feathers get ruffled. When it came to Parker, he could get anything he wanted from Margo because she was so head over heels in love with him that she would do anything to make him happy.

**Lucy**

“Are you coming in?” Lucy asked, as she stood at her front door, waiting for Connor to enter. The look on his face was less than comforting to Lucy; it almost looked like he was being tormented.
 

“I don’t think so.” He shook his head and looked down at the ground, not being able to look Lucy in the eyes.
 

A lump formed in Lucy’s throat at Connor’s rejection. She thought that maybe the horrible tragedy that happened to Jane would bring her and Connor back together, or at least to the point that they would be able to talk and not be awkward around each other, but that wasn’t happening. They were going on close to two weeks of not talking much, just exchanging pleasantries.
 

“I came over to make sure you were doing alright and to see if you needed anything. I was going to head to the grocery store, so I thought I’d pick up some things for you if you needed them.” Connor stood in the hallway outside of Lucy’s apartment, not really looking at her.

“Connor, look at me,” Lucy pleaded.
 

Slowly, Connor lifted his gaze so he was looking Lucy directly in the eyes. Normally when he looked at her, his eyes sparkled just at the mere sight of her, but now all that came through was sadness. It burned her heart to think that she made him so sad.
 

“Please come inside and talk to me. I can’t take this any longer. I need you, I need for us to be okay. Please, just come in.” Tears started to form in her eyes as she spoke to Connor. She held out her hand, praying that he would take it and follow her into her apartment.
 

Connor nodded his head, took her hand and walked into her apartment, closing the door behind him. They both walked over to the couch and sat down. The last time they were this close was at the funeral and he was mostly just there to make sure was okay, given the fact that both Jane and Lucy were supposed to be due around the same time. After the funeral though, their lives went back to their normal awkwardness.
 

“Are you going to talk to me or are you just going to sit there and be quiet?” Lucy asked, surprised at the tone of her own voice. She didn’t mean to be nasty, but she was a little fed up with the silent treatment. Yes, she was looking at Austin at the Christmas party, but she didn’t think that warranted a complete shut out from Connor. His actions weren’t fair, at least as far as she was concerned.
 

Connor turned and looked her directly in the eyes. “If you expect me to sit here and listen to you yell at me, I have better things to do.”

“I’m not yelling at you,” Lucy said in the most even tone she could muster. “When did I yell at you?”

“Fuck it.” Connor threw his arms up in the air and got off the couch.
 

What the hell?

“Where are you going? We haven’t even talked yet.”

Connor spun around and looked her in the eyes. “Usually, when someone wants to talk, they begin the conversation, they don’t wait for the other person to start. I’m tired of always being the one who has to fix things. I’m so fucking sick of it. You’re the one who fucked up, Lucy; you should be doing the talking.”

“How did I fuck up exactly? Last thing I can remember is you running off like a child at a Christmas party.”

Yikes! Wrong thing to say, Lucy thought, as she watched rage start to pour off of Connor.
 

Running his hand over his face, Connor said, “I have been more than fucking accommodating with this whole fucked-up situation between you, me and Austin. I have dealt with his smart ass comments and low blows and haven’t torn his head off yet. I’ve been there for you every second that you’ve needed because I love you. I fucking love you!” Connor shouted as he started to pace the room. “I just don’t know how you feel about me. You say you love me, that you care for me, but then I see you staring at your baby’s father all night and getting insanely jealous when another girl starts to talk to him. What am I supposed to do with that? Just act like everything is normal? I can’t do that, Lucy. A relationship is not a one way street. I want you to love me just as much as I love you. I don’t want to have to worry about anyone else.”

Lucy’s heart broke in two as she listened to Connor go on about how she had made him feel. She by no means had feelings for Austin; those feelings were thrown away the minute Connor walked into her life. The other day at the party, she was just going through temporary insanity. She didn’t like Sloan, bitch-face, and the fact that she was just throwing herself at Austin bothered Lucy and not because she had feelings for Austin, but because if she thought about it, she didn’t want Sloan to be thrown into the little circus they’d already created.
 

Lucy stood up and placed both her hands on Connor’s chest to still him. “Connor, I’m going to tell you right now, you are the only man for me. I’m sorry that I might have made you feel differently, but ever since Winnie threw a carrot at my head, you’ve had me hooked. There’s no one else that I want and it makes me sad to think that I have caused you to think otherwise. The other night, I’m just going to chalk up to temporary insanity and the fact that I don’t like Sloan. Please, forgive me and don’t think for a second that there is another man in my life.”

“What about when the baby comes? What am I supposed to do? How much of a part do I play in this whole scenario? I’m not the father, Lucy. I’m just the boyfriend.”

“Don’t,” Lucy said, while grabbing the sides of Connor’s face to look him in the eyes. “You are more than that and you know it. You’re just as much a father to this baby as Austin is and probably even more because you’re the one who will be invested in the baby’s life. You know Austin isn’t going to be around much and one of the main reasons he still comes to the doctor appointments is to try to drive a wedge between us by pushing all of your buttons. You are important to this family, Connor. You are a part of this family.”

Connor shook his head in understanding. “Just give me a couple more days to get my head straight, alright?”

“What?” Lucy thought she was almost blown over. Why did he need more time? Didn’t he have enough time already? “Why do you need more time?”

“I need to make sure that I can be the best man that you need.”

“But you are, why can’t you see that?”

“I might be the best man to you, but I want to make sure I’m the best for myself as well. I don’t want to give you only a part of me, I want to give you all of me.”

“Why are you doubting yourself now?”

“Luce, I asked you to marry me, you said no, I wanted to live together, we still live separately, I want to be the only man in your life, but Austin is still around. This is not how I envisioned my life and I’m struggling with it. I just need some time to collect myself and adjust to everything. Alright?”

“Can’t we do that while we’re together? I miss you, Connor, more than anything.”

“I miss you too, Luce, but sometimes that isn’t enough.”

Connor slipped from her grasp and walked toward the door. Before he opened it, he turned around and said, “I love you, Lucy. If you need anything, please call me.”

Lucy was left standing in the middle of her living room, wondering why the man she loved just walked out her door instead of staying with her and working through everything. She sat on her couch and wondered if she and Connor were ever going to be able to get back to their normal relationship or if this was really the beginning of the end of what they had together. She cried into her throw pillow as she prayed that the beautiful, wonderful man that held her heart wouldn’t leave her, but instead find his way back to her.
 

**Jane**

When becoming a mom, all the specialists say that the pain of childbirth is quickly washed away once you get to hold your little bundle of joy for the first time. All the pain, the memory of pushing an elephant shit out of a pea-sized hole completely vanishes when your baby wraps its little hand around your finger…that is, except for Jane. Instead of getting the moment of complete bliss, all she can think about is giving birth to her dead daughter.