CHAPTER NINE
MARNIE
MY FEET POUND ON THE pavement. My insides shake with each step. Nausea starts to churn, and my mouth waters. I snap my hand to my mouth and dart down a small alley. I vomit all my meager breakfast on the brick building.
“Does it ever end?” I ask the empty alley, and I inhale a couple of deep breaths. I swipe my mouth with my sleeve and spit out the disgusting taste in my mouth. Two weeks ago, I found out I was pregnant, and this morning sickness—which is horse shit, because it happens all the time—has yet to abate. After the initial shock of it all, the denial and wailing, I came to grips that Z is the father, and he deserves to know. He should have a choice of being present or not, but I’m hoping he does because I need all the help I can get.
I lean against the cool building, allowing the despair to build again. How could I let this happen? With a stranger, no less, with somebody who only goes by “Z.”
I allow myself to break down until the tears dry, and I lift my head up to stare down the main street. The Meat Market is two buildings down. I must do this as it’s no longer just me. I turn the corner and head in the direction of the market.
I halt in my steps when I reach the door. I stare up at the large sign. The butterflies are working overtime now. I glance up and down the street, making sure nobody sees me. Then, I wrap my hands around my still-flat belly and head in.
The door opens with a swoosh, and with that, the odor of raw meat and blood assaults me. My stomach instantly revolts, and I cover my mouth with my hand and swallow the waves of bile.
“Ma’am, can I help you?” a man asks from behind the counter. I watch as he wraps meat of some sort in parchment paper, then places it in the display.
I try to respond through my gagging. “Um—” gulp, “I need to speak with the butcher.” My eyes stay glued to the man, not wanting to visualize the raw meat I know is everywhere.
He thumbs behind him. “Straight back and next to the freezer. Door with his name on it. Can’t miss it.”
I mumble a thank you and quickly walk toward the back. I make it there with little incident and spot the freezer, and right next to it, is a door with the name “Jason” on it.
I knock twice and wait. A muffled, “yeah,” answers me. I slowly open the door and step into a small room with a dark desk holding a lap top, plants, and picture of a young boy and an elderly man.
The man coughs, grabbing my attention. “Can I help you?” he asks, raising a brow to me.
“Um…yes, I need to speak with the man who goes by Z.’“ I nibble on my lip and twirl a button on my shirt.
“Okay?” He looks bewildered, but continues, “May I ask why?”
“I just need to talk to him. Is there a way I can get a hold of him, a number or something? Please, it’s very important I speak with him,” I plead, emotion choking out my words.
His eyes soften, seeing my distress. “All right, I’ll give him a call. Maybe he’ll be able to meet us here. Can I have your name?”
I motion my hand to the chair, and he nods his acquiescence. I slowly ease myself into the folding chair, my purse clutched against my tender breasts. “My name is Marnie, Marnie Novak.” Jason’s eyes widen as he freezes with his hand hovering over his phone.
“I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you right. Can you repeat your name?”
More clearly, I repeat, “Marnie Novak.”
“Oh shit!” he whispers as if something clicks in his brain.
I pause at the curse word and shift skittishly in my chair.
“I’m sorry, do I know you?” I gaze at him intently, scouring my memory for him.
He quickly answers, “No, we’ve never met.” Jason dials on his cell phone, and I hear the echo of the phone ringing.
“Z, I need you in my office now,” he orders over the phone. Jason nods and glances up to me. “No, best in person—” He nods, grunts a few times, and replies, “Two minutes out, okay, see you then.” Jason presses the end button and places his phone back on his desk.
He returns his attention to me. “He’ll be here in two minutes. Can I get you anything, some water?”
I smile for the first time today. “Yes, water sounds heavenly right now.” Jason gets up, and I can’t help but admire the strong body that’s moving around the desk.
He opens the door. “I’ll be back in just a second.” He quietly closes the door behind him. I ease back against the chair, allowing the muscles of my back to release. I need to think of a game plan. How am I going tell this “Z” about his impending fatherhood? Wait, what if he doesn’t want it, or even worse, what if he does but not with me? My breathing and heart rate picks up as I sway from the returning nausea. Muffled male voices come through the door. I can make out Jason’s voice, but the other one, I don’t recognize. They start to escalate in volume, and the door handle jiggles as two men stumble into the room.
I jump out of my chair with a screech, protectively placing my hand on my belly. Jason is the first to correct himself quickly, “Here you go.” He places the cup into my still-shaking hand.
“Tha—” I lose my voice when I turn my attention on the second man who is standing stock-still with wide cobalt blue eyes fixated on me. Those eyes pull me in, and a sense of déjà vu takes over. I know those blue eyes. I’ve loved those eyes for most of my adult life.
The room closes in on me as I slowly move away from the two men. “You’re Z?” I whisper. He nods sharply.
“Marnie,” he whispers, with his eyes still fixed to me
Tears well as emotion clogs my throat. A cold sweat breaks across my forehead and pressure builds in my ears. “You’re Z.” I glance to him and watch the mirrored devastated look in his eyes. He closes them and nods.
“You’re Z,” I whisper again, panic restraining my voice, but I hope the answer will be different the second time.
“Yes, Marnie, it’s me,” he answers. My breaths are now nothing more than pants, and I can’t get my eyes to focus on him anymore. I creep back until my back hits the wall and blackness overtakes me.
ZAYNE
I kick the chair out of the way and reach her as her eyes roll back in her head and she topples over. When I met Jason outside, his eyes were wild, and he looked like he ran a mile. I had barely gotten out of the car when he yanked on my wrist, rambling on about a blast from the past and something about shitting my pants. Well, he got one thing right, and I’m gently easing my past to the floor.
I glance back to Jason. “Open the door, get some air in here,” I order while I unbutton Marnie’s blouse and grab a stack of paper from the desk and fan her face. I examine her chest, noting how her white tank under her blouse hugs her considerable breasts, much larger breasts than the last time I saw her. Her familiar scent of lilac haunts me, and the memories of that night two months ago come full-force.
I bring my attention back to her face, happy to see some coloring back, and I replace the papers. I caress her cheek with my knuckles. “Marnie, please wake up.” I brush a few stray strands of hair back. I never, in my wildest dreams, thought that I’d ever see her again after we graduated high school. But with some twisted fate, not only did I get an earth-shattering night with her, but she’s laying in my arms again, and I’m scared to death.
A few minutes later, her eyes flutter open. Unfocused green stares through me, “Zayne?” she asks, her voice husky. I nod quickly and slowly sit her up.
“Hi, Marnie.” I can’t help the grin that’s spreading across my face. I peek up to Jason. “Hand me her water, please?” Jason hands me the cup, and I give it to her.
“Slowly now, just take some sips.” She does as I instructed then hands it back to me.
“You’re Z,” she states. I nod. “You’re a prostitute.”
“I prefer male escort and companion, but yes, at times, I do have sex with the women,” I close my eyes, and, with hesitation add, “and get paid for it.” Might as was well lay it all out to her. Hopefully, she’ll give me a chance. She’s still just as beautiful as she was in high school, even more enchanting since that night.
Her eyes dart wildly between Jason and me, the puzzle pieces clicking together. She points a finger at Jason. “So…you’re like his pimp.”
Before I let Jason answer, I palm both her cheeks and redirect her attention back to me. “Marnie, why are you here?”
Her eyes well with tears, making the green a deeper shade. “Need to tell Z…I mean you, something.” She twists and grabs her purse, unzips it, and pulls out a picture. She stares at it, and a lone tear falls.
“Marnie, what is it? Tell me?” I quietly order her, my stomach tensing up. She unfolds her hands and a sonogram picture of a little grape lays in the middle.
“I’m pregnant,” her voice is barely above a whisper.
“Holy…wow,” Jason stammers.
I grab the picture from her hand and run my finger along the glossy silhouette that will become a baby.
“It’s mine,” I mumble, unable to tear my gaze away from my child. But out of the corner of my eye, I see her nod and break down. Again, I catch her in my arms, and her hand locks on my arm, squeezing it.
I glance up to Jason. “Hey, can you give us a minute?” He walks out the room at my request. I cradle her deeper into me. “I haven’t slept with anyone since that night with you. I wasn’t even going to take the date that Jason offered me, because I was done with everything. Done with the nameless fucks. Done with the fake life I was leading. Done with it all. But with a little help from Jack Daniels, Jason, my cocksucker cousin, weaseled one more out of me.” A chuckle escapes through Marnie’s crying. She pulls away from me, her face blotchy and puffy, but a small smile is there. God, I still love her.
I smile back and continue, “Then one night, I walk into a restaurant, find a stunning angel waiting for me at the bar, and I thought to myself, if only I could meet her outside of being an escort. I mean, what are the chances that I meet the love of my life there.”
“I don’t even know you now. All I remember of you is from high school, and we have both grown,” she tells me. Fresh tears well up again and slip down her cheeks.
I take her hand, entwine it with mine, and lay it on her belly where, just below, our child is growing. “Never doubt that I ever stopped loving you. You are it for me Marnie. Past, present, and future.” Her head pops up, bewilderment written on her face. I whisper again, “I love you.”
She nods vehemently. “I never stopped loving you, too. Even when I was married to Tyler, I always wondered what my life would be like if I had married you.”
I grin lopsided at her. “Well, we have about seven months to get reacquainted with each other. We already know that we set the bed on fire. So, what do you say? So far, everything we’ve done together is ass-backwards, but the end result is everything I’ve ever wanted. Let’s give us a chance, to be the family we envisioned when we were eighteen years old.”
She hesitates for a second, and I realize I’m sweating bullets, until she pulls my face into her hands and crashes her lips to mine.
“Yes.”
THE END…FOR NOW.