Chapter 4
Sage
I slept like the dead.
For five hours straight, all I did was sleep.
No dreams, no nightmares. Just sleep.
It. Was. Heaven.
I was still lying in bed trying to get the motivation to move my ass when my phone dinged next to my head.
On the way up.
Dammit. I had spent all the time Sam was gone sleeping. Getting out of bed. I texted back. I was going to have to talk Molly into taking Sam again so I could get some stuff done around the house. Mary and Dale watched Sam for me, but it was only when I needed to work and the daycare was closed. It felt weird to ask them to watch him so I could get some cleaning done or go shopping.
I slipped on a pair of yoga pants and changed my shirt right before Sam pounded on the front door. “Momma, open up! We’re home.”
And now the whole apartment building knew Sam and Molly were home. “Coming,” I hollered back. I held a pair of fuzzy, warm socks in my hand, and jumped on one foot down the hallway trying to pull them on.
I swung open the door, standing on one foot like a flamingo, and came face to face with Roman with Sam on his shoulders.
“Roman carried me all the way up the stairs, momma. He’s a super strong, ninja!” Sam exclaimed.
What in the hell was going on? Molly had left with Sam, and now Roman was standing on my doorstep.
“Ah, that’s good, baby.” I peeked around Roman. “Um, where is Molly?”
“She was worn out after the trampoline park. Kellan took her home, and I volunteered to bring Sam home.”
I looked up at Roman. “Oh.”
A smirk spread across his lips, and I would have killed to know what was going through his mind right then.
“Let us in, momma! Roman made me a ninja today, and my next class is Tuesday.”
I dumbly stepped to the side, trying to register what Sam had just said.
Roman ducked through the doorway with Sam on his shoulders, then swung him down to the floor. “Why don’t you let me and your momma talk about being a ninja while you play with your toys, little dude.”
Sam gave him a thumbs up and scurried down the hallway behind him. “Yes, sir,” he called.
“Sir?” I mumbled. What happened to my kid?
“Uh, you think we could talk?”
I turned back to look at Roman. “The last time we talked, we ended up in bed.”
A smile spread across his lips. “I promise that won’t happen this time.”
“I guess that’s the best I can get out of you, isn’t it?”
He shrugged and looked around. “You have a nice place.”
It wasn’t that nice. It was passable as livable, and that was about it. “It’s a roof over our heads.”
He moved into the living room and sprawled out on my couch.
Roman Yeck sitting in my living room.
Something I never thought would happen.
“So, I hung out with Sam today. He’s a pretty great kid.”
“Um, thanks. I have to agree with you.”
“Really smart, too.”
He was. He sure as heck didn’t get it from me, though. He got that from his dad. “He is. His grandma works with him a lot.”
“He mentioned her. Taught him how to count to twenty.”
“Yeah.” I didn’t know what to say. Talking about Mary with Roman didn’t seem right. Hell, talking about Sam with Roman didn’t feel right.
“We also did some karate today, too.”
“That’s what he meant when he said you made him a ninja.”
“Well, I showed him the way of the ninja,” Roman laughed.
“Thank you for taking the time to show him. I’m sure it’s all I’m going to hear about tonight.”
He ran his fingers through his hair and sat forward. “About that. I thought maybe he could come to classes.”
“For what?”
“Um, to learn karate?”
“Why?” What in the hell was going on?
“Well, because I went over a few basics with him today, and he did really good. I think it would be a good thing for him to learn.”
“I’ll have to think about it.” I had already thought about it. It wasn’t going to happen because I didn’t have the time or money to invest in karate. I knew just from hanging out with Kellan and Molly that doing karate was not some small thing. It was a lifestyle. An expensive lifestyle.
“Sam really wants to do it.”
I rolled my eyes and sat down in the recliner. I had slept all day, but I was still tired. The baby was sucking all of the energy out of me. “Well, Sam is four, and I decide what he is and isn’t going to do.” My eyes roamed over Roman, and I sighed. Damn if the man wasn’t drop dead gorgeous. Out of all of the karate hotties, Roman was the one who made my panties burst into flames with just one look.
“What do you have against him doing karate?”
I pinned him with my gaze. “Him doing karate isn’t the problem. Finding the money and time to do it is a problem. Especially when I pop Roman Jr. out, I’m barely going to have time to pee, let alone cart Sam around for karate.”
“You already named the baby?” he asked, shocked. “It’s a boy?”
Oh, sweet Jesus. “No, I didn’t name the baby, Roman. And I don’t know what it is because it’s barely the size of an apple right now.”
He looked down at my stomach. “Is that why I can’t tell you are pregnant?”
“You wanna see the stick I peed on?” If this jackass didn’t think I was pregnant, I was gonna kick him square in the balls.
He sat back, shocked. “What? Why?”
“Because you just asked why you can’t see I’m pregnant.”
“That’s because I know nothing about being pregnant. I’m gonna have questions, Sage, and while you may think they are dumb questions, I don’t know the answer.”
Well, now I felt like a raging bitch. “You didn’t have younger cousins or something growing up?” Growing up, I babysat my four cousins all the time since I was the oldest. I hadn’t had any brothers or sisters, but I didn't lack experience with babies.
“I’m an only child, and I’m the youngest by far in all of my cousins.”
Well, that would explain it. I sighed and tried to rein in my bitchiness. “I won’t be able to find out if it’s a boy or girl for six weeks. I just naturally gravitate to it being a boy because I’m used to saying ‘he’ and ‘him’ with Sam.”
He nodded. “I guess that makes sense.”
I sighed and sat back in my chair. “Does any of this make sense, Roman? I mean, you and I hooked up one time, and now we’re going to be stuck with each other for the rest of our lives.”
“Stuck is the wrong word.”
I flipped my hand. “Whatever. You know what I mean.”
“I really don't know what you mean, Sage. I tried calling you after, but you dodged my phone calls and never replied to any of my texts.”
“What was there to say?” Thanks for the knocking the dust off my vagina. Oh, and the sex was fucking amazing. Yeah, I don’t think so. Silence was the best option.
“Anything. Just a simple fucking hi would have been nice.”
I turned my head to the side. I didn’t want to look at him. Acting like a flippant teenager had been my go-to whenever he tried to contact me. Was I proud of it? No. But now, I didn’t get the option to act like I didn’t know him. I was cooking up a little baby who was going to keep us in each other’s lives forever. “I thought it was just easier that way.”
“Easier to act like I don't fucking exist?”
“Can you tone down the cussing? I swear, Sam has bionic ears that can hear anything. Yesterday I opened a bag of Tootsie Rolls in the bathroom, and he heard it in his bedroom.”
He cocked his head to the side. “Do I want to know why you opened them in the bathroom?”
“Because I was about to take a bath.”
“Still not making sense, Sage.”
I scoffed and folded my hands in my lap. “I have to admit, you finding out all the joys of being a parent is going to be hilarious. I’ll let you figure out on your own why I was I was in the bathroom eating candy.”
“Pretty sure I’m about to find out a whole bunch of shit I never thought I needed to know.”
I quirked my eyebrow at him. “Do you even realize when you cuss?”
“I cursed?” he asked, bewildered.
“You said shit.”
“Well, shit. I didn’t know that.”
“You just did it again.”
“Dammit, you’re right.”
I shook my head. “You are going to have to work on that in the next seven months. Dammit is kind of iffy, too. I caught Sam telling his Star War figures the other day to get in the damn ship.”
Roman snorted. “That’s hilarious.”
“No, it’s not, Roman. He can’t go to daycare and say things like that.” Hell would rain down on me from KinderLove Daycare if Sam walked in there saying “damn this” and “damn that.”
He tried to wipe the smile off of his face, but he failed miserably. “I promise I’ll try to think about what I’m saying.”
That was probably the best I was going to get out of him. “Good. Although you aren’t really going to see him much.” He wasn’t Sam’s dad. He hadn’t signed up to be a dad to both of my kids.
“I’ll see him in class and when I pick him up.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, there, ninja. Back up the train. When you pick him up?”
“You said you don’t have time to take him to and from karate, so I can do it for you. He’ll maybe have to hang out after his class for a bit ‘til I’m done teaching other kids, but it won’t be a problem at all.”
“Roman, I never agreed with him going to karate. I don’t have the money to do that.” I barely managed to make ends meet with daycare being so damn expensive.
“No one said anything about money.”
I scoffed and shook my head. “You really expect me to believe I don’t have to pay for Sam to take karate? I’ve seen some of those karate moms, Roman. They drip diamonds, act like everyone is beneath them, and drive big ass SUVs. Last I checked, I don’t fit anything on that list.”
“That’s not true. Maybe two or three are like that, but most of them are nice and don’t shit dollar bills.”
“It doesn’t matter what they are or aren’t. I don’t have the money for it. I’m sure it’s well above what I can afford.”
“Then tell me what you can afford.”
“Have you noticed I roll my eyes a lot when you are around?”
“I notice a lot of things when you are around, but that isn’t one of them.”
And the man left me speechless. What the hell did he mean? There wasn’t much to notice about me. I felt like I was having a good day when I wore a shirt that didn’t have a food stain on it, or when Sam had matching socks to wear. Both of those things were a rarity in my life. “What exactly do you notice?” I croaked.
“That’s a conversation to have when Sam isn’t within earshot.”
I gulped. “That doesn’t happen often.”
He shrugged. “I guess we’ll see how bad you want to know.”
I shook my head. What in the hell was this man doing to me? I was in the middle of sticking it to him that he wasn't going to tell me what Sam was going to do, and then he blindsided me by saying he notices a lot about me. Geez, Louise. “Back to the karate thing. It’s not going to happen.”
“It is. I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I know when a kid has it.”
I leaned forward. “What is ‘it?’”
“The skill and talent to be amazing.”
“You saw that in him in the few hours you rolled around on the mat?” I mean, I thought Sam was going to be amazing at whatever he did, but I also knew I was his mom, and well, didn’t every mom think their kid was amazing?
“Yes, Sage. I think karate would be a good thing for him.”
I sighed and blew my hair out of my face. “Fifty dollars. That’s all I can afford.”
“A month?” he asked.
“Yes.” Lord, the man probably thought I was poor. I couldn't even afford twenty-five dollars a month. The fifty I had just said was already giving me anxiety hoping that nothing broke.
Roman stood up and held out his hand to me. I put my hand in his, and he pulled me out of the chair. “Sounds good. I’ll pick him up every Tuesday and Thursday at five. Also every Saturday at ten.”
“Wait, what? How is fifty dollars enough to cover 12 classes a month?” Molly or Kellan had never told me outright how much karate cost, but I knew it was more than about five bucks a class. If it was that cheap, then everyone would be a ninja. Not me, because well, I was about as graceful as a herd of hippos.
“It’s enough, Sage. Don’t worry about it.” He moved to walk past me, and I grabbed his arm.
“Roman, stop.”
He looked down at my hand on his arm. “Touching me isn’t the smartest thing to do. I think that’s how we got into making me a DILF.”
I snatched my hand back and glared at him. “And I’m pretty sure me finding out the only reason you slept with me was because I was a MILF made you into a single DILF.”
“Touché, babe.”
“Why do I feel like we just did all of this talking, and we still don’t know what the hell we are doing?”
“Because I may not know much about having a baby, but I can tell you something this complex isn’t going to be figured out after a five-minute conversation.”
“So what do we do?” I asked quietly.
“I don’t know, Sage, but I know you shutting me out isn’t going to fix it.”
“You’re supposed to be the cocky, dumb one.”
A huge grin spread across his lips. “I guess you’re going to be in for a rude awakening, Sage. I may be cocky, but I am far from dumb.” He reached out and brushed my hair behind my ear. “It’s gonna be fun getting to know one another.”
He moved past me, down the hallway.
“Hey, where are you going?” I called, snapping out of my daze.
“Saying bye to Sam.”
Oh, well. That was nice of him.
I was tempted to follow him, but I didn’t want to look like an overprotective mom. He had, after all, spent all day with Sam.
“He was sprawled out on his bed, half asleep.” Roman strolled back down the hallway and leaned against the wall.
I glanced at the clock. “Well, he needs to stay awake for at least another hour, or he’s going to be up at the butt crack of dawn.”
“I’m sure if you drag him out of bed, you can keep him awake for a bit longer. Maybe he can show you what he learned today.”
I sighed and sat back in my chair. “Ice cream will get him out of bed.”
“Ice cream?” Sam called.
Roman busted out laughing. “I guess you were right when you said he had bionic ears.”
“He does, but it only happens when it’s something he wants.”
“I meant to ask. Are you okay?”
Huh? “Um, I’m fine.” What the hell kind of question was that?
“I was just checking. I didn’t know if you were sick or something. Molly said you needed a break, and I was just worried.”
Well, that was thoughtful. “I was just tired. I was the same way with Sam. All I wanted to do was sleep my first trimester.”
“And that’s normal?”
“It’s normal for me. I have a checkup with the doctor Friday, and she’ll go over everything.”
He ran his fingers through his hair. “You think maybe I can come along? I know I don’t know much about babies, but maybe this might be a good thing for me to go to?”
My gut instinct was to scream “no.” I knew I was going to have a vaginal exam, and I wasn’t up to having Roman there for that. But, I did need to try and not be such a bitch. I could always kick him out of the room if I was uncomfortable. “I guess if that’s something you want to do. It’s not very exciting.”
“Do we get to see the baby?” he asked.
“Yeah. Although it’s hard to make out that it’s even a baby at this stage.” I was giving him an out if he didn’t want to come. He may have just offered to come with me, so he didn’t look like a jackass.
“I’ll be there. What time do you want me to pick you?” he asked eagerly.
I looked up at him, shocked he sounded so excited to go to the doctor with me. “Um, the appointment is at ten. Molly gave me the morning off.”
“I’ll be here at nine.”
“What? Why? It only takes ten minutes to get there.”
“What if there is traffic?”
“There won’t be traffic. There’s never traffic.”
“Well, I’ll be here at nine just in case.”
I sighed and shook my head. “Whatever you want, Roman.”
He nodded. “Good. Call me if you need anything, yeah?”
He was saying all the right things. Doing what he should be.
But I was still unsure.
“Um, I’m sure I’ll be fine. I’ll see you Friday.” This was getting awkward. Everything always seemed to get awkward when I was involved.
“See you Friday.” He showed himself out, and I buried my head in my hands.
Gah. What in the hell had just happened?
Sam was going to start taking karate, and Roman was going to the doctor with me Friday.
Now my life was completely flipped upside down, there was only going to be one thing that could finish this day on a high note.
“Sam!” I called. “Come eat some ice cream with me.”
I heard his feet hit the floor in his bedroom, and he thundered down the hallway.
Life maybe messed up, but ice cream always made everything better.
At least for a little bit.
*