Dad's Best Friend: A Billionaire and Virgin Secret Baby Romance by Amy Brent (33)

She gestures at me over his head, and I send a grin her way before meeting my son’s eyes as he turns back to look at me, pouting.

“You wouldn’t refuse, right Dad?” he says quietly, but seems absolutely sure of that.

I can’t hide my grin from him for long. “That’s tomorrow. Today I want us to do something different.”

He has a peculiar expression on his face, a mix of disappointment, piqued interest and suspicion as he peers at me.

“What are we doing today?”

“Just a trip! You’ll find out when we go. Would you like April to come with us?”

“Can she?”

“Of course!”

I wink at April as he shouts in excitement. Then I’m served breakfast, and we all settle down especially because all I can think to do is eat right now. April and I will have to wait until we’re alone. Most likely when Nick’s in bed. That’s when I’ll make my move. She was wet and I know that she wants me as much as I want her, fuck I could take her right now if Nick wasn’t sitting at the table and Rosetta wasn’t at the other end, cleaning as usual.

Nick makes a mess, April is there to pick up a towel and wipe the mess for him. She doesn’t even scold him and he sits patiently waiting for her to clean him. Breakfast was over too quickly, Nick’s the first to finish. He didn’t like that he had to wait for the two of us to be done, too.

“But it’s not fair,” he whines. “I wanna go now!”

I shake a finger at him. “We’re going by car, so it’s not like you can walk. You can stand to wait a little bit, Nick. Why don’t you sit down to wait?” I suggest.

“Why don’t you tell me where we’re going instead?”

I roll my eyes with a chuckle. “You know I’m not going to fall for that, son. You’ll have to try a lot harder.”

He sighs and slumps his shoulders, ducking his head and looking up at me from under his lashes with a pout. I just watch him, amused. April giggles at our antics, and I glance at her out of the corner of my eye with a grin.

Once we’re all done—Nick jumps up with excitement as we leave the kitchen.

“Thanks Rosetta, we’ll be back later.”

“Okay, have a good time.”

Nick shouts out, “We will do.”

April says, “Thanks for breakfast, it was fantastic.”

And then we all head down the hallway when Olivia comes down the stairs, but April and I freeze.

“Hey, Mom,” he says as he collides with her.

She just holds him close with a chuckle. “Morning, Nick. How did you sleep?”

“Great!” he jumps back out of her embrace so he can beam up at her. “But I was over at my friend’s place and we had a lot of fun there. Can you come with us when we go next time?”

She arcs her eyebrow at me, so I clarify. “The house down the beach that’s rented out a lot because the owners don’t use it so often.”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to make it,” she says, regretfully.

Nick looks disappointed even as I narrow my eyes at her. Nick didn’t tell her when, but she’s already decided that she can’t go.

Then he brightens up again as if he has an idea.

“Can you go with us now? Dad says we’re going on a trip, but he won’t tell me what it is, that it’s a surprise, but I bet it’ll be fun.”

I purse my lips, not entirely okay with the plan.

Olivia sighs, and smiles sadly. “I’m afraid I can't come with you guys today either,” she apologizes. “Why don’t you guys go ahead and have fun, though, huh? Just you and your dad.”

He’s disappointed again, but he does perk up a bit when he says, “We’re going with April, too, Mom. She’s actually really nice.”

Olivia’s eyes widen slightly before narrowing on April. I move so I’m standing in front of April and meet her look head on. She just huffs and rolls her eyes.

“Well, whatever,” she says, suddenly dismissive. “I need to leave now, so I’ll see you again when I get back, okay?”

“Fine,” he mutters, clearly not okay with it, but he doesn’t complain.

“Can you give Mom a hug before she goes?” Olivia asks sweetly, crouching down with her arms held wide open.

Nick hugs her back, though not with the same excitement he threw himself at her with before. She ruffles his hair, throws us a glare and a wave. I’m relieved that she doesn’t come along, but then I look down at Nick and wonder if I’ll ever stop thinking about myself when it comes to spending less time with Olivia and more with our son.

Chapter Seventeen

Noah

We leave not long after Olivia does, her tires squealing on the driveway as she drives off in her car.

There’s a garage to the side of the house where all the family cars are kept. I unlock the Mercedes with the key fob, and Nick opens the door to the back seat and climbs in. I walk around to open the door for April, then move to my own side.

“You okay there, Nick?”

I can see he doesn’t need help with his booster seat though; he’s already buckling the seatbelt by himself. It’s been sometime since I’ve had to help him, and I feel a bit of nostalgia that washes away when I turn to April. She’s already buckled up and watching me with eyebrows arched, waiting.

“So, where are we really going? You can tell me, can't you?”

She winks at me and crosses her legs. Damn! It’s as if she’s flirting with me and it’s driving me wild.

“Hey! That’s not fair!”

The indignant shout came from the backseat, and I can’t help but grin at how annoyed my little boy sounds.

“But she’s a grown up. zOf course, I can tell her where we’re going before I tell you.”

Nick crosses his arms over his chest and puffs out his cheeks, his glare shifting from one of us to the other. Then his eyes narrow on me, and I get the message loud and clear. He won’t speak to me if I tell her where we’re going beforehand, I smile, but then I decide that I don’t want any animosity. We’re getting on so well and I don’t want anything to spoil it.

“Don’t worry, I’m not telling. You’ll both have to figure it out.”

Not that it would take long anyway. It’s been some time since I last visited it, but I know the way and I know it’s not all that far from where we are.

I buckle my own seatbelt and start the car. Everyone’s ready as I back out of the garage and my eyes keep shifting towards April’s breast. Which makes me hesitate for a minute.

“Does anyone need to go back inside for something?”

I ease the car down the front of the house. I glance at April. “Do you have your phone and anything else that you might need?” She smiles and her bright blue eyes sends my cock going into overtime. Damn! How am I going to last the whole day without touching her again?

“Nick, do you need the bathroom?”

“I’m fine, Dad. I went before we had breakfast.”

“All right, then,” I say decisively, aiming the car down the drive. “We’re off.”

Nick whines in the back seat. “Just tell me,” he demands, and I glance at him through the rearview mirror to find he’s glaring at me.

I chuckle at his antics. If it’s something he enjoys, then he likes it. But if he hates it knowing that he has to wait, just seems to annoy him even more.

“How about we listen to some music,” April suggests, turning her head to me, she mouths, “To drown out the noise in the back.”

I laugh as I check the mirror in time to see him get distracted as he looks out of the window.

“Actually put on the CD, there’s a sing-song disc in there that Nick likes, we used to always sing along whenever we went on a trip.”

I can see him nodding his head at the back, but he’s too frustrated and impatient. I know that he gets that from me. I’m not the most patient man in the world. April follows my instructions, and the music starts playing. Nick’s bad mood melts away almost instantly, and he starts to sing along to the ‘Wheels on the Bus’, one of his favorite’s.

I sing along, and so does April. She even turns in the seat, seatbelt firmly in place, to meet Nick’s eyes as they sing. I spend the drive discreetly checking out the both of them.

It’s not long before we arrive at the zoo, I hear Nick’s gasp as he looks outside the window and notices where we are. There’s a parking lot right across from the entrance, and the big sign right above it is hard to miss.

“It’s the zoo!” Nick exclaims, voice part excitement, part wonder.

The last time I brought him here was over a year ago, but he’s always held a fascination with animals.

“Do you like the surprise?”

I don’t need him to tell me. I unbuckle my seatbelt and turn around to look at him. He has his hands and face pressed against the window, even with the seatbelt pulling on his chest, leaving him in an awkward position.

He’s so preoccupied, so instead of trying to talk to him again, I get out of the car and circle around to his side. I knock on the glass to get his attention, and once he backs off, I open the door and let him take his time getting out. Then April opens her own door and climbs out.

Nick gets out of the car and reaches for April’s hand. I smile as I lock the car with the key fob, then lead us forward. Nick is still awed, and I’m wondering when he’s going to start jumping and being noisy again.

I can’t believe the way that he’s so relaxed around her, it’s as if she calms him without even trying. We get to the gate and I pay, once we enter the zoo it doesn’t take long for Nick to be fascinated with absolutely everything!

“Whoa!” Nick exclaims as he doesn’t know which way to turn. One minute, it’s left then right. That's when I realize that he’s not the only one. April’s acting just as eager about our trip as he is at the moment.

“I take it that it’s a long time since you’ve been to the zoo, April?”

She has a sad look on her face, “I don’t remember ever going to the zoo.”

I laugh, thinking that she must be joking, “Not even for a school trip or anything?”

“No.”

April doesn’t want to talk about it, it’s written on her face as she let’s Nick drag her to the right one minute and then the left. We just got here and the idea was to have fun. We can leave the misery for when we bump into Olivia again. So, I quickly focus on my main task for the day. To have some fun.

“Where do you guys want to go first?”

Nicks flashes a smile up at me, then to April.

“Can we start with the monkeys first? I really want to see the monkeys!”

April grins down at him. “Of course!” then she turns to me. “Do you know the way?”

I glance around, trying to remember the layout of this place. There are signs that lead to where the animals are, and I pick a direction I remember until I see it.

“It’s that way,” I say, pointing to the sign, then the way the sign points to.

I reach for Nick’s other hand, and he happily relinquishes it, tugging both of us after him wherever he wants to go. I get to see them both glow at the scenery, and I think it’s the best view ever.

I remind Nick, as he let’s go of our hands once in a while. “No getting too close to the bars, or fence, or trying to hand the animals food unless it’s from the zoo and we’re allowed to feed them with staff present. Also, keep next to April or me. We’re the adults here so we have to look after you, and you need to let us.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he says dismissively, shooting a glance at me before pulling us along faster. “I know all that already, Dad, I’m not going to do anything silly.”

“It’s still good to know, though,” April says, giving him a stern look. “This is my first time here, so I’m going to be following the rules, too.”

Nick just shrugs, then shakes off our hands once the monkeys come into view, running off towards the cages making the same sounds as the monkeys.

“What did I just say?” I call out to him, but he doesn’t stop.

I stop for a minute to see her staring at me. I was expecting her to tell Nick off, but I can see that she has something else on her mind and if I wasn’t worried about Nick. I would let her know that I’m thinking the same thing too. We’ll have to wait to pick up where we left off last night after Nick’s in bed, but the way that he’s using all his energy up at the moment. I can tell that it won’t be long, until he completely passes out once we’re in the car.

Chapter Eighteen

Noah

Inside the zoo, there’s an area away from most of the animal cages and enclosures where there are benches and food stands for visiting guests. April and I sit on a bench, munching on hot dogs and watching Nick, who’s sitting on the grass just a little in front of us. He wants to be close to the birds that fly above the area.

I can feel her body heat, so I wrap my arm around her shoulder. I freeze the second I realize what I’m doing and look down at her. But she doesn’t seem to mind, looking up at me from under her lashes and leaning her body into the touch.

My own body’s reaction is instant, and I have to look away and focus on something else so I don’t embarrass myself in public. I can't remember the last time I had this strong of a reaction to a woman before, and I think back to the one kiss we shared longing for more.

“So,” I say to distract myself. “You said you’ve never been to a zoo before. What’s your first experience been like?”

“Yep, I’m definitely having fun.”

I grin down at her. “Well, we would love to have you, any time.”

We’re eating slowly, I’m too busy focused on wanting to take her that I don’t feel like eating food. Only her. Nick’s with the birds as he quickly finishes eating and then he jumps up after they fly away saying, “Can we go now?

I stand, holding my hand out to April to help her up. She doesn’t hesitate, and she doesn’t let go of my hand either. Nick again leads the way to the next animal he wants to meet, pausing only for directions.

April’s walking closer to me than before, and my eyes keep straying to her lips, her body. More than once, I catch her checking me out, too, and every time I feel the flames in my body burn a little hotter.

I’m kind of impatient to get back home now, and of course, that’s when the day feels like it’s dragging on for way too long. I’m out of practice in the dating scene, but I can recognize flirting, especially the way that our eyes lock on each other.

I’m happy when the day comes to the end. We finish looking around the zoo and it’s clear that Nick’s getting tired.

“But Dad!” he says in a loud whine. “I haven’t looked at all of the animals yet.”

“Yes, we have and it’s getting late.”

“Dad!” he yells starting to cause a scene. I know that April wants to say something, but before she has a chance to do it. I firmly say, “If you’re a good boy we can come back. If you question me one more time then we won’t.”

He grumbles, but he nods and trudges all the way to the car. I’m a little exasperated at his behavior, but it’s more indulgent than annoyed, April doesn’t say anything it’s as if she has something else on her mind.

When we get home, Nick was sleeping in the car. I’m tempted to put him straight to bed, but think that he needs to eat something first.

“Dad..” he mumbles and then I think about the fact that skipping one meal’s not going to hurt him and he feels as if he’s completely exhausted himself.

“Maybe it’s better if he goes to bed?”

April says as she tries to lift up one of his arm’s and then it flops on my back. I nod and then I climb up the stairs and walk down the hallway. Nick’s room is a little farther down from my own.

I glance at April, who’s biting her lip and looking up and down the hall. She meets my eyes for a moment before looking away, but it’s long enough for me to see my own need reflected in her gaze. I wonder if she even realizes she’s followed me until we stop at Nick’s door.

April is quick to open the door for me, turning on the light as we step into the room. I carry Nick over to the bed. I grab his pjs from behind his pillow and struggle to put his clothes on. I deliberate for a second about waking him up to pee, but as he hardly moves as I put on his clothes, I decide that he hasn’t wet the bed in the last couple of years. If he needs to pee then he’ll get up and go to the bathroom. April pulls back the sheets so I can put him in. I smile at her as I lay him down gently then pull the covers over him and carefully tuck him in. I leave him with a peck on the forehead.

We make our way carefully to the door, and I spare him a last glance as I turn off the lights. There’s a night light on his nightstand by the bed in case he gets scared, something we got for the room so he could acclimate to it easier. I close the door behind me and leave him to his sleep.

Once we’re in the hall, I don’t look at April, because I don’t think I can without doing something about the heat in my body out there in the hallway. The house may sound silent, but I’d hate to learn the hard way that we aren’t actually alone. It’s a legitimate worry.

April follows beside me silently as we make our way to my room. I open the door for her to walk inside, then follow her, and turn to close the door. I pause with my hand pressed against the door once I lock it, and take a deep breath before turning around to meet April’s eyes.

The burning look in them has me taking another deep breath for restraint.

“Hey,” I say softly.

April smiles, just barely, but the upturn of her lips is definitely there. “Hi.”

Just like that, I can't stand the space between us. I close it, a little eagerly because I can see April’s eyes widen, but she doesn’t back away from me. Instead, she sways forward, as I lean down, and our lips meet in a kiss.

It starts out soft, as our first kiss. I don’t waste time as I lick on her bottom lip. Her mouth opens and I let my tongue slide between her parted lips. April groans, melting against me as her arms go around my shoulders.

I can feel her soft, supple body pressed against me. My hands gently touch her by the waist, then with a little more strength, slide around to her back to press her body harder against mine. April moans some more, and I mirror the sound as our tongues tangle. We don’t break the kiss until we both desperately need to breathe.

When I catch sight of April’s expression, I groan, the sound low and almost pained. I’ve seen her blushing plenty of times, but it’s somehow different this time. Maybe it’s the need in her eyes, or having her body pressed against me. Coupled with her lips, wet and a little puffed from the kiss, she looks absolutely seductive.

“What’s wrong?” she murmurs, and our faces are still close enough that I can feel the puff of her breath against my mouth.

I can tell the question is an innocent one, like she doesn’t know what she’s doing to me. I groan again, impatience making me duck my head down. Only she’s still catching her breath, so I place my lips against her neck instead.

“Fuck, April,” I breathe against her skin. “Were you always this seductive, or have I just not been noticed this whole time?”

I kiss up the side of her neck to just beneath her ear, and take her earlobe between my teeth for a light tug. Then I’m kissing down her neck again. April just tilts her head back for me as she gives a low throaty laugh.

“Look who’s talking,” she mutters, pressing closer to me.

I pull back from her neck with a harsh breath to press my lips against hers again. Her mouth parts against mine before I seek permission, her tongue sliding out to collide with mine, and I wrap an arm around her waist, my other hand sliding up her back to the nape of her neck, holding her there as I kiss her roughly.

“Should we be doing this?” she gasps as we pull back from kissing again.

I can't get enough of her, though, so I lace the hand at her nape through her hair and use it to tug her head back further, so I can kiss a straight line down her throat from her chin to the hollow where her collarbones meet, and nip along the soft skin there. April is practically curved in half over my arm, and she’s breathing in quick gasps.

“Why not?” I murmur, sucking on one of her collarbones, my chest rumbling in pleasure as I hear her whimper.

“I-I don’t know,” she stutters, her short nails digging into my shoulders.

It’s not enough for me, and I pull away. I release her before taking one of her hands and tugging her over to the bed. I push her to sit down, and her eyes widen a little when I push her thighs apart and sink to the floor in the space created between them.

I sit back on my heels and pick up her feet, one at a time, pulling off her shoes and gently rubbing her feet. She sighs at the treatment. I rise up on my knees again, and reach behind her, holding her gaze as my hand finds the zipper of her dress and pulls it down.

She reaches around her back to undo the clasp of her bra, and I watch her breasts as they’re revealed to me, not seeing where she tosses her bra.

Before she can move again, I’m leaning forward to take one of her nipples in my mouth. I suck lightly, then a little harder, gauging her reaction. Breathy sighs turn into long, low moans that shoot desire through my body. I move to her other nipple and give it the same attention. Her hands are holding tightly onto my shoulders, as if she’s afraid I would pull away.

But then she pushes me away after a few moments of alternating between one nipple and the other. She glares down at me, frustration clear on her face.

“I want you,” she says bluntly. “So stop playing around and fuck me already.”

I grin at her as I stand up. Her hands are on my belt before I can move to take it off myself. I work the buttons of my shirt as I let her do her thing, slipping it off my shoulders. April has my belt off, and she lets it fall on the floor as her hands undo my fly, then tug on my pants so they’re down to my thighs. Her eyes are on my erection, and I hiss as she breathes hot air on the head of my dick. Then she holds the waistband of my boxers and carefully pulls them down, my dick bobbing in the air once it’s released.

She doesn’t do anything immediately, just stares, and I reach with my hand to ruffle her hair.

She grins up at me, taking hold of my cock with one hand, the other holding my balls in her palm.

I growl down at her, but it changes to a groan as she leans forward, tongue out, touching the tip to the head of my cock. Her hands massage me slightly as her tongue licks all over the head, getting it wet. Then she leans further, her hand around my cock sliding down to the base so she can take me in her mouth, wrapping her lips tight and pulling back with a hard suck.

Then she’s moves away, so I bark, “You’re not going anywhere!”

I see the cheeky look in her eyes and then she slides her body backwards so she could lie on the bed properly.

I reach for my nightstand, quickly rummaging for what I want, before my eyes are back on her, in time to see her pull off her panties and toss them off the side of the bed. I look down at my half undressed state, leaning down to take off my shoes and socks, then my pants and my briefs. April parts her legs for me as I crawl on the bed, and I stop with my thighs on either side of her hips, and she throws her legs over mine.

“I want to put it on,” she offers, pushing with her elbows so she sits upright, taking the condom out of my hand.

I watch as she pulls the rubber out of the packet, then she’s sliding it onto my dick. I can tell she’s a little clumsy, and I wonder if it’s because of the angle or lack of experience. She strokes her hands up and down with a tight grip once she has the condom on properly, then she lies back on the bed.

Her hands don’t let go of me, though, and I watch as she spreads her pussy with one hand, then rubs the head of my cock against herself with the other.

“That’s it, baby!”

I move my hips as I watch her use me to pleasure herself. Then she presses two of her fingers inside herself, and I take the bottom of one of her thighs in my hand, just to have something to grip. Her fingers pull out, and she replaces them with my cock.

I’m holding my breath as I slide slowly into her. She moves her hand out of the way and I groan a little when I bottom out. I lean forward, pressing my other fist to the bed beside her shoulder to brace my body over hers.

My thrusts start out slow as I pull my dick out until only the tip is left in her, then slide slowly until she takes all of me. I get faster, my thrusts more shallow as I pick up my pace. April is moaning under me, and she has her hands on her breasts, playing with herself.

I watch her from where our bodies are joined to where she’s playing with herself. I can feel the sweat sliding down my chest as I pick up my speed up a little more. April is moving her hips against mine, trying to match my thrusts. I can feel warmth pooling low in my abdomen, and I lean down with a low grunt to press my lips against hers. The kiss is sloppy and wet, our lips and tongues sliding together.

One of April’s arms wraps around my neck as I feel a trembling start in her body, letting me know she’s close. I switch my thrusts to fast, shallow jabs, and her body jerks a little as a startled sound leaves her throat, muffled in the kiss. She bites down on my lip as her insides convulse on my cock, then pulls her teeth off, her head tilting back and crying out as she comes. I press my face against her neck, pumping my hips once, twice.

When my orgasm wrings me out, I reach down to hold the end of the condom and pull out of her, then slide to the side before flopping on the bed so I don’t crush her. I throw the condom off the side of the bed, then reach for her and tug her into my arms.

Her body stretches sensually against mine as she meets my eyes with a sultry look in her own and I know that she wants more, but she doesn’t have to worry, because I’ll be giving her plenty.

Chapter Nineteen

April

I wake up, and I have to blink my eyes to remember where I am. Our rooms are a little different from each other, and after waking up in mine for the past few nights, I can tell this isn’t mine. Which leaves only one option.

I’m in Noah’s room. In his bed, but alone. He must have woken up already.

I sit up in the lush, warm bed and feel an ache in my body. Between my thighs especially, and I can feel my face flush as thoughts of us having sex over and over again enter my mind.

I slide off the bed thinking about us taking a shower together, but I can't hear the shower, so he’s not in the bathroom. I look around the room to see where we’d thrown our things around. My legs wobble a little as I walk over to the seating area opposite the foot of the bed. I feel a little dizzy, too, but even though I’m achy and sore all over, it’s the good kind, and I find myself grinning. Noah and I had sex last night. Not just once, but three times.

I wonder if we can do it again tonight.

My clutch purse is on the couch. Then I look at the rest of the room, and I can feel my face warm up in a blush. Wherever Noah had gone, he hadn't bothered to clean up the room. Our clothes were still tossed all over the place, and suddenly feeling shy, I rush to collect all my clothes and use them to hide my nudity.

I hesitate a little before going to my own room. I want to see Noah, to talk to him. Insecurity makes me want to hear from him that last night wasn’t a mistake, or us just getting caught up in the moment. He was flirting with me at the zoo.

I head back to my room for a shower and a change of clothes. I want to hurry up and find Noah so we can talk. I take a quick, hot shower, then head for my suitcase in the closet. I want to wear something that’ll appeal to him. He paid extra attention to my breasts and my hips, so I pick something that shows the most cleavage and molds my body’s curves.

I walk out of my room to an empty hallway, and head down the stairs. I almost skip down them, then underneath to the back hallway as I head to the kitchen. I’m stopped short when I don’t see anyone there.

If he got up early, and is with Nick, then they would have eaten a while ago, but he could have left a note or something, I start to panic until I see Rosetta.

“Hi Rosetta, do you know where Nick and Noah are?” She shakes her head, “They both left early this morning, so I’m not sure. The only message that Mr. Nick left for me was to make sure that you had breakfast.”

She laughs, “But it’s closer to lunch now. Do you want me to prepare something for you?”

I can’t believe that the whole morning’s gone and he never woke me up. I take a few deep breaths as I think about the fact that I’m being paranoid.

I realize that she’s still waiting for an answer from me, so I just nod my head.

“Anything in particular that you’ll like?”

I shake my head wondering if there’s double meaning in all of this, that’s when Rosetta can probably sense that something’s wrong and says, “Nick woke up pretty early this morning. You had a full day at the zoo and he didn’t have dinner, so he was really hungry.”

“Oh!”

Of course, we were too busy thinking about getting it on last night. That we didn’t really try and feed Nick. Besides he was half-dead when we brought him back. He fell asleep at the back of the car mumbling, ‘Monky’s, monky’s come here.

I realize that I’m being silly and say to her, “Sure, whatever you cook. I’m sure that it’s going to be delicious. You really need to teach me.”

We start walking towards the kitchen and she hesitates for a minute as she says, “This is the happiest that I’ve seen Mr. Noah and Nick since they’ve been coming here over the last couple of years.”

I stop to look at her brown eyes and wonder if she’s letting me know that I’ve been good for them. She nods her head, confirming exactly what I’m thinking as I’m just about to ask her the question. I move to sit at the counter as I wait. I look around the kitchen, and I realize it’s my first time really looking at it. I’m always distracted when I come in here because I’m usually with someone. The kitchen is large, more than four times the size of my mom’s kitchen. The rich really seem to live in a whole different world. For Noah and Nick, this sort of thing is normal. But none of my friends and family could ever think that way.

Rosetta sets a plate of food in front of me not long after, with glass of water and asks if I want something else to drink. I shake my head as the only thing on my mind is the appetite that I worked with Noah last night.

“It’s my grandma’s receipe, it has secret ingredients that she only passed to me,” she winks and the I can’t help but ask the question.

“What’s it called?”

“It's chicken enchiladas, I hope that you're not allergic to cheese or have a gluten allergy. I should have asked you before,” she says probably wondering whether to take it away and give me something else.

“Have no fear. I can eat anything, but I can tell that I’m going to enjoy this.”

She smiles, “Enjoy the meal. If you want more, I have some that I prepared earlier. I just need to heat them up for you.”

As I take my first bite and the cream cheese melts in my mouth. I know that I don’t have to finish the first one to know that I want more. I open my eyes and instantly I sigh, “Oh yes, please.”

She nods her head and then heads to the refrigerator and starts to get another one out. Every bite is succulent and the chicken tastes so soft. I’m not really much of a drinker and I just woke up, I’m sure that this will go nicely with a glass of wine. Right now, I’m just happy to be eating her grandma’s secret recipe.

***

After I finish eating and wish that I’ll learn to stop stuffing myself one too many times on this trip. I head out of the kitchen and thank Rosetta endlessly for lunch. I start to venture out of the house and that’s when I see both Noah walking towards me and Nick running as if his life depends on it.

“Hey, guys. Had an early morning?”

Nick throws his arms around my waist to hug me.

“Morning, April,” he chirps when he pulls back to grin up at me. “You slept for a long time and I wanted to go see my friends. We came back because it’s lunch time.”

“You could have stayed. I’m sure your friends would want to keep you longer.”

“I wanted to see you. Besides, Dad says I can go back after I eat. Anyway, do you wanna see what I’ drew this morning? Mom saw it and she said I’m really good.”

At the mention of Olivia, I wrinkle my nose. I look up to meet Noah’s eyes who’s in front of me. I feel like a little school girl with a major crush on one of the cool guys as I look up to him and smile, “Hi.”

Then Nick’s tugging at my arm and then I’m back to reality as I ask, “Where’s your mom?”

“Oh, she left again today. She didn’t say where. I told her she could come with me and Dad but she said she would be busy the whole day.”

He’s disappointed, but then I’m relieved that I don’t have to put up with her.

“I’ll go bring my sketch book and my colors!” he suddenly shouts then runs off, heading for the stairs as he gives up with me moving from my spot.

His eyes run down my body before he meets my eyes, and I feel my body shiver like it was a physical caress. He takes a step closer to me, before glancing towards the stairs. I do the same. There’s no one there, but we both know Nick’s coming down any minute.

I don’t know exactly what is between Noah and I. Seeing the way he looks at me assures me that there’s something, but I don’t want to confuse his kid. After some hesitation, Noah makes his move. He steps quickly over to me, hands on my hips pulling me to him for a quick, hard kiss. It ends too soon, as he backs away and heads towards the stairs. I want to follow him and kiss him, the short contact already having me panting and wanting more.

“Hi,” he says softly, “Did you have a good sleep?”

His voice doesn’t mirror the look in his eyes, though. The short contact is enough to get him hot as well, and I glance down at his crotch to see a slight bulge. I want to drag him to the bedroom and get down on my knees, but we can’t especially when Nick’s going to be coming down at any moment to show his drawings.

When I look back up, trying to distract myself from his rising cock. I shake my head as I move away from him saying, “I slept like a baby. I’m a bit sore,” I say as wince a bit and I can see a smirk on his face as if he’s claiming my pain as his own.

“Don’t worry it was all in the name of pleasure.”

He pulls me closer towards him, “I know. I could tell by the way that you were screaming the place down. I’m surprised that you didn’t wake-up the whole of the Hamptons.”

I playfully hit him and ask, “Why didn’t you wake me up this morning? I could have gone with you.”

The look on his eyes only intensifies more, something I’m not sure is even possible, and I sway a little on my feet. The urge to be closer to him grows stronger.

“Would you like to go with us when we head back?” Noah offers.

It’s probably to distract us both and I take the bait. I open my mouth, about to say yes, when I have a change of heart in the last second.

Noah needs time to spend time with Nick. Even though they wouldn’t be alone, it’s probably best if I wasn’t there to mess with their family bonding. Noah looks relaxed and Nick’s obviously disappointed that his mom isn’t there for him, again.

“Actually, I was thinking about exploring the area.”

I move closer towards him, and he wraps his arms around me, “If we keep going like this then I may have to take you back upstairs and make you scream some more.”

“April!” Nick shouts out from the top of the stairs, so Noah and I move away from each other.

“Look at what I did this morning.”

“Be careful!”

I surprise myself that I’m being so protective about the little man. He manages to make it down without hurting himself, I feel so proud as I look at the picture that he’s showing me.

“I know exactly what it is!”

He smiles, “Tell me what you think I painted?”

“Well, this looks like the sky, sea,” I point to the top and the bottom, “And I think that this is the sandcastle that you made yesterday.”

He laughs, “I did it yesterday and today.”

We’re all admiring the picture and Nicks’s hasn’t stopped talking about his picture. The one that he’s painted and the one that he’s going to paint next. I blink wondering if this is our reality or the family that I wanted to hate, is starting to be the one that I’m starting to love. I know that as much as I think that I should go out for the day. The week’s fast and approaching, but there’s another week. I can go out then. It doesn’t need to be today, because for some reason I don’t think that I could leave them. Even if I tried.

***

The last few days have been great spending time with Nick and Noah, but as we sit down to breakfast, I decide that I want to spend the day alone. I know that the two weeks is coming to an end and I’m getting attached. Big time. I still haven’t met Noah’s mom and Olivia’s continuously disappearing. It’s as if she’s enjoying the benefits of the house, rather than spending time with her son, which was the point of the whole trip.

“It’s not as if you need my permission…,” Noah says, giving me a strange look. “You can do whatever you want, April.”

I nod. I wasn’t asking for permission, but he does deserve to know when I leave on my own. After all we came here together, I think that it’s disrespectful for me to go alone without talking to him first. Especially seeing as we’re all getting along so well.

“Will you be okay here? Will Olivia be around or are you looking after Nick yourself today?”

“I honestly don’t know what she’s doing. She’s here to spend time with him, but she rarely does. Even if she comes back, I don’t think she’ll be joining us at the beach.”

I’d seen her there just once, but she was just soaking up the sun and as curious as I was to see Tom. The boyfriend that looks like Noah. It’s been over a week and it doesn’t look like he’s coming to stay and no one knows why.

“I’ll be fine with Nick by myself and besides Rosetta’s around and I haven’t got work to think about.”

He sits down on the sofa for a minute and sighs, “Do you know how you’ll be getting around?”

I open my mouth, about to say something, but then I realise that I haven’t got a clue. I could call for a cab, but I really don’t have the money to splash around and I need to call the bank to tell them that I’m still sick. I’ve worked there for four years without a sick day, the only problem is at this rate I’ll be going back to work with a tan. The idea was to go out and have a sense of adventure, I know that if Noah drops me, I’ll probably change my mind and ask him to stay with me all day.

That’s not the adventure that I was thinking about embarking on, when I got up this morning. There’s only one thing on Nick’s mind and that’s playing with his friends. They’ve really hit it off and he’s happy to spend an hour or so with them each day.

“I could lend you my car,” he offers as he starts to eat his fruit salad. One thing I’ve noticed about him. He’s a creature of habit, once in a while he does something completely different, but his meals are so damn healthy. He makes me feel guilty as I look at his plate at times compared to my own, especially with my greasy fry-up that I tend to have in the mornings. With our night sessions, I need something to keep me going through the day. A fruit salad only tends to last me an hour or two and then I’m hungry all over again.

“Are you sure?” I say hesitantly.

He doesn’t look like he’s joking, but he must be. I’m not sure if I want to accept. What if I get a scratch on it? What would I tell him?

“Of course. It’s fine. I won’t be using it today anyway, and there are other cars in the garage I can use if the need arises.”

I remember seeing the extra cars. It’s hard to imagine having so many cars. This is a second home to him. The cars in the garage aren’t even ones that he uses back in the city. My dad had a car and he made sure that once he left home, he took it with him. Mom’s never really wanted to drive, I got my permit because I had it in my head that it’ll be useful to drive, but once I moved to the city, I’ve hardly done it.

Nick’s head sways from left-to-right as if he’s watching a tennis match. He doesn’t say anything as he eats his cereal and occasionally when his dad’s not looking has a couple of bites of his French toast. I’m sure that Noah knows that he’s doing it, but he’s letting him off. Just once! A big difference from before when there was no discipline and it would have been all the time.

“I’ll get you the keys after breakfast,” he says. At my hesitant look, he says, “It’s fine. I trust you, April.”

I feel a warmth in my chest. It’s not the same giddiness as before; it’s something much more intense.

Noah trusts me.

I want to ask him why he feels that way?

I know that we’ve been together each and every night and during the day we’re with Nick. Acting like a family unit and I need to tell myself that it’s not real. The unit should be Nick, Noah and Olivia. I’ve been hired, but then I can’t help get lost in it all. Especially with the way that Nick makes me feel. It’s if I’m constantly on cloud nine and there’s no way of getting back down.

“Why do you keep looking at me that way?” Noah asks, but then he’s turns into parental mode and snaps, “Nick if you don’t finish your cereal then you can’t play with Amy and John. Okay?”

He sighs, “But dad, I just don’t feel like eating cereal today. It’s getting boring. Every single day.”

“Then pick a different cereal. No one’s asking you to eat the same thing every day.”

“Well, I never see you eat cereal!”

Noah puts his foot down, “No. So, tomorrow like me, you’ll eat fruit salad.”

I can tell that he’s getting agitated, he’s put his spoon down and there’s a stare war going on between them and no doubt I know who’s going to win, it’s going to be Noah and Nick must sense that too because he says, “Sorry dad. Okay I’ll finish my cereal. After that, can I have another French toast please?”

Rosetta comes over and says, “If you finish it, I’ll make you fresh new ones. If it’s okay with Mr. Noah?”

With all eyes on him, Noah says, “Sure. You can have another one, when you finish your cereal.”

I laugh as I watch Nick not only finish his cereal, but scoop out all the milk too. He lifts his bowl up and beams, “Done.”

Noah nods his head and says, “Good boy.”

He doesn’t hesitate in getting off his seat and rushing to Rosetta, as he puts the bowl in the sink, “I’m ready for my French toast.”

She beams, “It’s a good job that I started making it then.”

It’s as if he’s found a pot of gold as he heads back to his chair and with his mini fork and knife, he eagerly waits for his French toast. I finish my breakfast and I’m waiting for Noah to finish thinking that if I don’t go with him now. Then I may change my mind about borrowing a car.

“You ready?”

I just nod my head, maybe the idea of driving a brand new car is kind of exciting. I don’t know if I’ll ever have the chance to do it again, so I may as well take the opportunity to do it right now. As we head to the garage, Noah reaches into his pocket, pulling out his car key with the fob attached. He holds it out to me, and I hold my hand out tentatively to receive it.

“Are you really sure,” I ask again. I want to make sure that he’s not just saying it and that he’s comfortable with lending me a car. As soon as we get into the garage and he switches on the lights, a wave of nerves enter my mind about having an accident.

“It’s a car. It’s not …”

He stops and shakes his head, then gives me a peck on my temple before backing off.

“Just don’t stay out too late and come back safely, okay?”

I nod wondering what he was going to say, but not wanting to reveal what’s on his mind. Damn! I hate unspoken silences, but I feel shy about making a big deal about it and glance down. The peck on my temple is nothing like the kiss from before; it’s intimate, and I’m not sure how to react to it. My heart is beating hard and fast in my chest, and my lips tremble a little, wanting to curve into a smile.

“Okay, Dad. I finished my cereal. Three French toasts as well, can we go now please?” Nick says as he bursts into the garage.

I laugh as I was having dirty thoughts of Noah taking me on top of the Merc. I suddenly changed my mind about leaving and can’t think of anything better but then just saying with him.

Then Nick hugs and clings me, “April stay safe please.”

I give Noah a quiz look wondering why he would think that I wouldn’t stay safe. Sometimes he really does surprise me. I wonder what’s going on in that little mind of his. He pulls away so fast I don’t even get time to put my arms around him.

“Bye, April,” he calls over his shoulder as he runs inside again. It’s as if he has sparks on the bottom of his feet and he can’t stay still for a minute. Noah smiles at me before following after him.

My heart’s pounding and I feel a little lightheaded. I clench my hands tight around the key Noah handed to me. The key to his car. A lesser woman might have been tempted to steal it, but I know better. He didn’t even seem worried that I could cause any kind of damage to his car. He didn’t even ask how long I’ve had my permit. It’s as if he really does trust me.

I’m still standing by the car. I could have left by now, but looking at the dark windows at the back and the sleekness of the car sets in a different set of nerves. I can't remember the last time I was even in a driver’s seat, and suddenly I’m feeling excited.

This isn’t a joy ride, though, I try to chide myself, but it isn’t working.

I’m holding the keys in one hand and my purse in the other. I take a deep breath thinking now or never and then I head inside and over to the black Mercedes. I look at the key fob and hit the button to unlock it, then reach for the driver’s side door and slide inside.

The seats are as luxurious as always, but it feels like something is a little different. Almost like the seat is softer. I know it’s just my imagination, though. I close the car door behind me, take my time putting on my seat belt, and check the mirrors. I’m ticking off in my mind what I remember of driving. I feel a little guilty and wonder if I’d mentioned to Noah my lacking in experience with driving, if he would still have lent me his cars.

It should be fine, I encourage myself. It’s just a short trip. And besides, driving is like riding a bike, right? Once done, never forgotten.

I move my purse from my lap to the space between the front seats. Then I slide the key into the ignition and turn it. The car starts the engine hisses quietly. Nothing like the loud roar my dad’s car used to make. I run through my head all the gears and pedals, and take the car out of park.

I grin as the car starts to move. I know better than to press hard on the pedal, thankfully, but the car still speeds up when I push softly on the gas to drive. I wind my way down the drive, keeping my eyes ahead, and when I get to the gates, they slide open automatically. I grin, and I have a feeling the look is a little manic.

I’m getting a little carried away, I realize as I drive. I’m no longer thinking about being hired to be Noah’s escort. He said that he trusts me more than once, maybe I’m not the only one. I’m only going window shopping, but I’m already counting the minutes until I come back. Not only to Noah, but Nick too. Maybe I should spend longer out in town, because my mind’s playing tricks on me. I’m no longer thinking of being his fake girlfriend, but his girlfriend for real.

Chapter Twenty

Noah

I had a good time today with Nick, but it felt strange not having April around and while I was talking to Nancy about April that I miss her. A little too much, it’s as if the day wasn’t complete without her. I picked up my cell a few times thinking that I’ll call to check up on her. She said that she wanted to explore and do it alone. So, the last thing she needed was for me to be checking up on her.

“But Dad,” he complains, “I could have stayed longer, right? They wouldn’t have minded, and Nancy would have just brought me back.”

“We’re spending the whole day together, aren’t we?” I ask, looking down at him with a mock sorrowful expression.

“Then you could have stayed back with me, couldn’t you?”

I roll my eyes at his tenacity. I made the decision to come back without asking him, but I am still the dad.

“Nick, remember what I said. My word goes and you need to learn to listen. Okay?”

He nods his head as if he’s starting to understand what I’m saying, but between the pout and the shrug I can tell that he’s still annoyed. I’m not giving in to him. Not like before. We’ve reached a new era and I want it to stay that way.

We stop by the back deck to shake off the sand before I slide open the doors so we can get inside. Almost at the same time, Olivia is coming down the stairs, and when our eyes meet, I feel my lips draw tight.

I don’t see April in the house, and without checking if the car is in the garage or not, I don't know if she’s back. As long as Olivia didn’t see her and try to do something to her, then I’m fine with that.

“Olivia,” I say with thinly veiled hostility. “Where have you been?”

I honestly couldn’t care less, but I decide that the holiday’s coming to an end and I may as well be civil to her even if it’s a passing comment. She doesn’t answer me and is going to carry on walking by, but she’s stopped by Nick running up to her.

“Mom!” he calls happily, flinging himself at her and laughing. I almost want to growl at the image. “I thought you wouldn’t be back until really late. Can you spend some time with me now?”

She smiles down at him and brushes his hair away from his face. “Sure, honey. Why don’t you go bring the present I brought you and show me some more drawings. You did make more, right?”

He nods quickly. “Yeah! I’ve drawn lots since yesterday. April helped me.”

I narrow my eyes at her. I don’t know what her problem is with April, or if it’s with me and she’s just taking it out on April. Either way, I’m sick of her attitude.

“That’s nice honey,” she murmurs, and I don’t even try to hold back my scoff of derision. She shoots me a warning look, then smiles down at Nick.

“Go ahead and bring your stuff, okay? I’ll be waiting right here.”

Then her nose wrinkles a little when he steps back and she spits out, “What’s wrong with your clothes? Why do they look so wet and dirty?”

Nick turns and shoots me a frantic look. I can tell he’s panicking a little because he doesn’t want to disappoint her. I hate that she has that much control over my son’s emotions, but hating it won’t make it go away.

“We were out on the beach, playing with some of his friends.”

She frowns, flitting her eyes between the two of us. “He has friends here?”

I don’t even bother explaining to her. She met Nancy and her family around the same time I did, but I’m not surprised she doesn’t remember them. To her, they’re probably inconsequential, so she doesn’t think much of their existence at all. I decide to take up her bad habit and just answer the questions that I feel like answering.

“Nick was telling you all about it this morning. Don’t you remember?” I reminded her. She probably wasn’t listening. “It doesn’t matter now. They’ve been playing since morning, so of course he’s a little dirty.”

Olivia’s eyes fall to her dress, where he touched her, and she brushes away some stray sand that was now on her dress. I can tell that she’s restraining herself from shouting at him for getting her dress dirty. I won’t let her. The last thing I want is to start a shouting match with Nick in the middle again after he’s had such a fun day.

“It’s fine,” she says, her voice and smile strained. But thankfully Nick is too young to notice, because he relaxes almost instantly. “Just go take a shower and change, then come downstairs, all right? I’ll be waiting right here for you.”

“Okay!” he shouts as he takes off at a run.

He leaves me alone with Olivia, and I watch as her face twists some more, still trying to brush off dirt from her dress. There’s no dirt I can see, and I assume she’s just being overly dramatic.

“Well, there’s no need to change now,” she mutters in irritation. “If he comes back with the paints, I’ll just get even more dirty.”

I give her the stink eye. “If you’d only gotten the colored pencils instead of the paint, then you wouldn’t have needed to worry about that.”

She waves her hand as if there’s a mosquito in front of her.

“Doesn’t matter, I can just replace it later. And I didn’t think he would start making a mess withcit.”

I sigh in exasperation and pinch the bridge on my nose as I take measured breaths, calling for patience. He did it all the time when he’s left alone. He’s only five, he’s curious and wants to try new things. That’s what all kids do, but then I won’t waste my time explaining this to her. I walk into the kitchen thinking that she’ll go in the opposite direction, the place that she loves to spend most of her time in the living room and leave me alone.

Instead she decides to follow me into the kitchen.

Great!

“So, where’s this girlfriend of yours? Didn’t you take her with you?”

I’m about to grab some juice, but then I debate if I should get something stronger and then that fucking headache starts again as I see her smile. I almost want to tell her that we’ve been spending so much time together that my cock needs a fucking break.

“April went out,” I’m trying to be courteous and be nice. But, it’s so fucking hard with Olivia. Especially when she brings with her the headache from hell.

Her eyebrow arch. “Oh? Out where?” she asks, tone challenging.

I roll my eyes. “It doesn’t matter. She wanted to shop for something, and I gave her the car. She probably wants to have a look around, too. She’ll come back when she feels like it.”

Olivia’s eyes widen, and I can tell she’s caught off guard. Then she looks angry again, I’d never done anything like that with her. She had her own car when I met her, and I bought her the one she currently has after we had Nick. I can tell that it eats at her that April gets a privilege she never got, and my face is probably smug, but I do manage to refrain from gloating.

“I can't believe you let her go off with your car,” she says with a curl of disgust to her lips. “What if she runs off with it?”

I grab a glass thinking that if I don’t get away from Olivia, I’ll be going to get a stronger drink and I don’t want to drink. It’s only recently that I’ve started again. The last few days, I haven’t thought about drinking. But now. With Olivia by my fucking side, it enters my mind like a runaway train.

“She won’t,” I say wondering why I’m fucking answering to her. It’s none of her fucking business.

April was surprised, too, and I didn’t realize until I offered her my car that I had a lot of trust in her. The car has a tracker, but I didn’t even think about April stealing it until Olivia just brought it up. The only thing that worried me was her driving skills. If she would be confident enough to drive the Mercedes, because it’s big and a bit of a beast for inexperienced drivers. I’d taken my cousin a couple of times when he was getting his permit and he always struggled with it.

I know that April’s too damn sensible to take it if she couldn’t handle it. Thats’ what I like about her. I just roll my eyes and move away from her.

Just don’t fucking follow me!

“Tom’s going to leave, and it’s all your fault.”

I blink, a little startled by the abrupt change in topic. Then I frown thinking that I’ve been here for a week and not seen the man once.

“I haven’t seen him once. Is he even here?”

“Of course, he’s here. But you’ve been too busy with that woman to even notice.”

I shake my head and nearly tip my juice on the floor as I’m half-way between the living room and the kitchen.

“Why the fuck would I want to spend time with Tom? He’s your boyfriend. You already wasted one of my night’s looking for him.”

I glare at her, even knowing I don’t want to talk anymore, because I’m getting angry. Nick could come down any minute and I need to get as far away from her as possible. I head out to the decking. Seeing as she’s decided to be my stalker tonight.

“Whatever I did to chase him off, you deserve it. He didn’t live here, but you’ve been spending all your time with him, right? He’s the reason you keep running off and not spending any time with your son.”

She scowls at me and crosses her arms over her chest, not answering. But I can guess from her silence that I’m not wrong.

“What is it to you, anyway?”

My eyebrows shoot up in mock surprise. “Really, Olivia? The only reason you’re even here is to spend time with Nick. Remember what his therapist said? You haven’t done that since you got here, not enough.”

“I’ll be spending time with him now, won’t I?” she says defensively. “I don’t have anything else to do. And your precious April isn’t here to interfere, either.”

I glare at the scathing way she says April’s name. Not to mention that I hate she thinks it makes it all better now that she wants to spend time with Nick, because ‘she doesn’t have anything else to do.’ I glance towards the stairs, glad that she told him to shower and get changed before coming back, or he would have definitely heard part of our conversation.

“April has done more with our son than you have, Olivia. He’s not a big fan of strangers, but April managed to get him to warm up to her.”

Olivia scowls, clearly not liking that. “She’s probably brainwashing him or something,” she says insistently. “There’s no way he would be nice to her otherwise.”

I sigh, feeling all my anger at her just drain away and leave me tired. “Just leave, Olivia, please.”

Her eyes grow wide. “What?”

“You heard me, leave.”

“But—but I want to spend some time with my son. Our son—”

“Funny how you seem to remember him when it’s convenient for you. Don’t worry about Nick, I’ll tell him something important came up and you had to run again. It’s not like he doesn’t expect it.”

I firm my lips. I’ll have to come up with something creative to get him to forget that she left him yet again. Then I would have to find some way to tell him that Olivia won’t be coming back, because enough is enough. I’m going to get a lawyer and just cut her fucking visitation rights. Mom said that I was being too generous giving her that. Olivia’s poison and the quicker she’s out of our lives the better.

“What happens when he cries?” she asks, challenging me.

“Then I’ll keep him distracted, and when she comes back, April will help me.”

Olivia scoffs, and she’s suddenly smiling that not-so-nice smile again. “And that’s somehow supposed to be better? I don’t trust that woman around my son.”

I frown at her. “I’ve told you already, April has—”

“Enough of what your precious April has done,” she says, cutting me off. “You don’t know everything that she’s done, Noah. I wonder if you even know the woman at all.”

“What the hell are you—” But again, she cuts me off.

“I saw her smacking Nick, you know. Is that really the kind of woman you want to leave with our kid? She’s not safe around him.”

I stare at Olivia, gaping in shock. April, smacking Nick? I just can't picture it. He acts so naturally around her, if a little suspicious and almost cold at times, but I’ve certainly seen his behavior towards her improve. So, what the hell is Olivia getting at?

“I’m warning you right now, Noah. If you keep leaving Nick alone with her, I’m taking you to court. I don’t know how you managed to win the custody battle in the first place, because children should be with their mothers. But if anything happens to him because you’re putting your dick first? Then I’m taking him away from you.”

My first instinct is to argue back, pushing everything else to the side. I still don’t see April hitting my son, no matter what Olivia says. But before either of us can say anymore, Nick is coming down the stairs holding his sketchbook and coloring pencils. I move away from her to the decking. I’ll talk to April and see if there’s some truth to it. I doubt it, but now Olivia’s said it, I won’t be able to get it out of my mind.

Chapter Twenty One

April

I drive back through the gates of the house, and I can't help but marvel at the whole thing again. I have the things that I managed to get a couple of things. Not much, but I really wanted to get something for Nick and Jessica too. A little taste of the Hamptons.

I think of what it would be like if I’d grown up in the kind of environment Noah did, but it’s hard to imagine. My life came nowhere close to the one he had, but I had been happy. If only my dad hadn't ruined it….

The car winds down the drive, and I head over to the garage. The door is closed, the gates and door opens once the car comes close enough. I drive inside and park the car where I found it. Then I grab my things and step outside of the car, locking it with the key fob before I leave the garage.

The house isn’t quiet, though I can't quite place the sound coming from the living room. It’s something like a loud thump, and it makes me curious enough to keep my things in my arms as I go to investigate, though I’d prefer to go unload in my room and maybe relax. In the next second, I’m so glad I didn’t ignore the sound and head up the stairs, because I walk to the space behind the curving staircase, and my eyes widen as I see Nick.

“Nick, what are you doing?” I say in a panic, putting my things under the right staircase and turning back to stare at him.

He gives me a flat look. “What does it look like?”

It doesn’t look like anything good, is what I want to say, but I see him crouch, and I lose my voice for a moment. There’s a stool beside the sofa and Nick is standing on a stool, looking like he’s about to jump onto the couch. It’s not all that bad, in and of itself, but there is a distance between them that really doesn’t look safe.

“Nick, will you stop!” I shout, finally finding my voice when it looks like he’s about to jump.

He doesn’t listen to me, and I catch my breath as he’s airborne for a moment, already rushing forward to catch him, just in case. My heart feels like it’s going to jump out of my chest, the panic has it beating so fast.

Luckily, he doesn’t fall. He lands a little haphazardly on the couch, but I can tell it’s not the landing he imagined. He grimaces a little as I stand by, breathing out heavily in relief and putting a hand to my chest to try and calm my heart down. But I don’t think I can be calm. I know kids try to play games, and this was less messy than playing with his paints, but if he managed to hurt himself….

I look around, wondering where everybody is. But where’s Noah and Olivia. Well, Olivia’s always doing a disappearing act, but Noah’s been really good lately. I can’t understand it. Nick’s only five and staying with a mom that doesn’t give a toss about him.

“Why on earth would you do that?” I ask, my voice low and trembling. “Do you have any idea what could have happened? You could have gotten yourself hurt.”

He just shrugs as he gets off the couch. “Nothing happened, though, right?”

I frown at him. “Yeah, this time. So, you got lucky. What if, the next time, you’re not as lucky? If you break something, or hurt yourself—”

“Why don’t I try it out?” he says, cutting me off.

My eyes widen, because I don’t know what to say. Maybe it’s because I’m so out of sorts, because I can picture in my head all the ways things could have gone horribly wrong.

Then I narrow my eyes. “What do you mean try—?”

I cut myself off this time, because he’s moving back to the stool and climbing on again. He looks like he’s about to jump, and there goes my heart about to leap out of my chest.

“Nick, are you even listening to me!” I say in reprimand, but it really looks like he isn’t. “Would you stop that this instant!”

Nick sticks his tongue out at me. “Why the hell should I? You’re not my friend, and I don’t have to take orders from you.”

I sigh in exasperation, even as I grimace at his language. I imagine it’s an influence from his parents, and I wonder if they know of this part of their son’s vocabulary.

But the hostility I can feel from him… I really thought that we were getting along well, but the boy in front of me isn’t the same as the boy that jumped me for a hug before I went out on my trip. So, what happened?

Why is Nick acting up?

I made it back late, too late for them to go out and leave Nick by himself. Did Olivia even come back, or was she going to disappear till late again? They’re both being irresponsible parents and I want to find them and try knocking some sense into them.

“Would you please stop?” I try asking nicely, my eyes flitting around until they land on his sketch book. It’s still open with pencils laid on top of it. Clearly, before he started jumping all over the place, he had been drawing. “Why don’t we try drawing together again? We didn’t draw all the animals from the zoo, and there were others I could draw now if you’d like, if you don’t mind seeing them on my phone. You love all animals, don’t you?”

I can tell my voice is getting a little desperate near the end, but I am determined to stop him from jumping again. He might not mean to injure himself, but it’s bound to happen. It’s a wonder he even jumped the distance between the stool and the couch safely once. I call it luck, and I don’t think he can be so lucky again. Though he might have been going it for a while before I came back, and I realize, he probably was.

He looks like he’s about to jump again, no matter what I say, and I rush forward to grab him before he can do it.

“Oh no, you don’t!”

He sees me coming and tries to back away, foolishly considering he’s a bit of a distance from the ground. Luckily, I get there in time to stop him from accidentally injuring himself. But instead of being grateful, he starts to struggle.

“Let go of me!” he shouts, and the sound echoes. “I said let go of me already! I hate you!”

All I can do is tighten my lips at the declaration. The best thing I can probably do is put him down, but because of the way he’s moving I’m afraid to even try, because he might fall and hurt himself still.

“Would you stop squirming, you little brat!” I growl at him. “Stop and I’ll set you down already. I said stop!”

But he doesn’t stop. Instead, he hits me in the side with his elbow, and I gasp in pain as I let go. He falls, and even in pain I can feel the panic growing in my chest. He falls on his butt, then he scrambles to his feet and backs away from me.

He has an expression on his face not unlike the one he had when he was throwing sand on me. Only his glare is fiercer, his face redder than before.

“Why don’t you just leave! I don’t want you here!”

I rub my sore side and glare at him. “Where is all this coming from?”

“I just don’t want you here. I can look after myself,” he sobs and then stands up as if he’s fallen down from the top of the house. He limps slightly and I want to ask if he’s hurt himself, but I can tell that whatever happened, has left him not wanting me around again. The only difference is this time, I know how to handle him. Not like last time.

“Really? Do you call what I found you doing ‘taking care of yourself’? Nick, you could have been seriously hurt, do you realize that? If you slipped on your stool while trying to jump, if you didn’t jump far enough. Even if you made it and you slipped and fell to the floor, do you want to feel pain?”

He shakes his head. “I wouldn’t have fallen. I haven’t yet. Get out of the way and I’ll show you.”

Like hell! I just barely manage to not say those words out loud, but I’m gritting my teeth in annoyance.

“Stop being so difficult or I’m going to give you a smack!”

I warn him while waving my hand at him. He’s not my son, so I wouldn’t go as far as that. I can see the look in his eyes. One of shock, he thinks that I’m going to do it, but I can’t. Something’s triggered his behavior and most likely it has something to do with Olivia.

“Do you see?” Olivia shouts out behind me. I hadn't realized someone else was in the room. “See? I told you that she was violent towards Nick. Did you listen to me? No, of course you didn’t. Because you just know everything, don’t you, Noah?”

I turn around, realizing it’s actually Noah and Olivia.

“April, what do you think you’re doing?”

The tone of voice Noah uses isn’t one I’ve heard from him before. He no longer looks shocked, but I find the sudden blank look on his face even more unsettling.

“I was just—”

“Did I just hear you say you were going to smack my son?”

I grit my teeth in frustration. “Look, he was doing something he shouldn’t, jumping on the seats. He could have hurt himself and he wouldn’t listen to me when I told him to stop. He just needs a little discipline. I wouldn’t smack him. I was trying to buy time until you came.”

He’s still looking at me and I plead, “I thought that you were drinking again and Olivia’s never around.”

Nick isn’t mine, and I don’t have the right to tell him how to raise his own son. Still, he’s acting a little unfair, like I committed a crime, just looking out for his kid. The look on his face, in his eyes, makes something in my chest crack. This is the final straw for me.

“Fine,” I mutter. Why did I think things would end well at all? I really should have just left earlier and I can tell that Noah’s not on my side about this one. “I’ll leave in the morning.”

Noah doesn’t even look fazed, and I can feel the crack growing wider.

“Good,” Olivia smiles as I walk past her. This is a wake-up call, because not only did Noah not defend me, but he set-up this whole scene to get me to smack Nick. I can’t believe that Olivia hasn’t been around and that’s no big deal.

Whatever happened to the words that he said when I was leaving, he said that he trusted me. Just like everything in this house, it’s dysfunctional and the rich do whatever they please. Like leaving their son and using them as a tool to trap the ‘fake girlfriend.’

Thank goodness I’m not staying another week, but then again if that was the case, then why do the tears not stop rolling as I enter my room and slump down on the bed.

Chapter Twenty Two

Noah

I’m on the alone on the beach, sitting down on the sand, thinking that Olivia’s a fucking disease. One that as much as I want to take her to court and stop her visitation rights, she has a way of always provoking me. Setting up a trap to prove Olivia right was pathetic!

I knew it at the time, but I still went along with it. I felt ashamed of what I’d done when April was about to smack Nick. She was just looking out for him, but there’s something else that’s really bugging me. April’s been hired to be my girlfriend, but somewhere in the midst of it all we’ve been playing a couple and it hasn’t been for show. That’s the real reason that I went along with it, thinking that after the holiday’s over at least we can say that we split-up for a good reason. But it was the wrong way to do it.

I couldn’t stay in the house after April left for her room. She hasn’t had dinner, but I have a feeling she won’t be leaving her room for anything tonight. And when she leaves tomorrow….

Would I ever see her again?

Are we acting like this, because we’re in the Hamptons and this is why everything feels like a fantasy. One that we’ve both been playing along with, but it’s not our realtiy. Once she leaves, I’ll send the money for the two weeks. Because I can dream, and the sex between us was good, but the only relationship between us is a business one, and I needed to put that into perspective.

I sigh as I head back to the house. I was so mad about April that I left the house without thinking, and I couldn’t stand listening to Olivia gloat for another second. I walk slowly up the lawn to the house. The back door is still open from when I left, and I sigh as I walk inside. I’m quiet, and I hear Olivia talking, but there’s no other voice. No doubt she’s on the phone as usual. I swear that she needs to have an implant at the side of the ear. She’s only happy when she’s on the phone talking to one of her girlfriend’s.

They’re like Olivia.

They dress the way she does, and act as if the world owes them everything even though they’ve never worked a day in their lives.

“My plan finally worked,” she’s gloating and then she shrieks, “I got rid of the girlfriend. I was worried for a bit that they were too close. Especially with my child. But, no doubt Stephanie. I’m a genius.”

She pauses as she listens intensively and I think about Stephanie. Her friend that’s had more divorces than I have fingers.

“Oh no, there’s no way he’s forgiving her. If there’s one thing Noah can’t stand is anyone hurting his precious Nick. The woman is gone, or will be by tomorrow morning, anyway…”

She’s still talking, but I’m done listening. I feel uncomfortable about eavesdropping anymore knowing that this was Olivia’s grand plan to get rid of April.

If only she knew the truth!

I stop in my tracks as I shake my head and just happen to hear what Olivia’s saying,

“Nick…? Yeah, using him was the best idea, he’s the only thing that Noah reacts to anymore. If only his parents had been here I would have had the girl kicked out that much sooner. I honestly don’t know where he picked her up from but the woman has no class at all.”

She used Nick…and why is she talking about him as if he’s a thing. Not her own son.

Olivia is always soft and loving towards Nick—it’s why he loves her and wants her to stick around so much, even though I can't stand her, and I can't say no to him.

The reality that Olivia doesn’t love Nick hits hard like a tidal wave. She’s talking about Nick as if he’s a thing, I turn to walk up the stairs, going to be the bedroom. Trying to decipher between whether I should go back to mine or April’s?

‘The only thing!’

The words keep repeating over and over again in my mind. As I reach the top of the stairs I realise that I’ve been a fool. April told me from the start that the only reason Olivia’s doing all this is to get back to me.

Mom warned me, but I didn’t want to believe it at the time that Olivia had got pregnant to trap me. Part of me knew it at the time, but not once did I think that Olivia didn’t like Nick at all. Now, she’s just confirmed that not only does she not like him, but she doesn’t even love him. She uses him as a tool to get to me.

Why have I been so fucking blind!

I open the door to my room and realize that I need to make a fucking change. One that involves April, because I’m going to be a man and fucking not only ask her to stay, but beg her to stay. I don’t want my son around Olivia, she’s evil and fucking poison. Her visitation rights have just been provoked. I’ll explain it to Nick when he’s older, but he needs people that love him to be in his life. Not a mother that thinks of him as a fucking thing.

Chapter Twenty Three

April

I’m sitting on my bed, in my room, staring off into space because I have nothing to do. It’s late, and while I could call Jessica, I don’t want to bother her. It feels as if the only time I do call her is when I have a problem.

I don’t have anything to read, and unlike Nick’s room, mine isn’t outfitted with a TV set. I don’t feel sleepy, so that isn’t an option either.

Earlier I was worried about Nick’s safety, but Noah was right on one thing, it’s not my right to discipline him. I’m not his mom, or related to him in any way. I interfered, but there should have been some limit to my interference, shouldn’t there?

Noah’s a good dad, but why did he set up the trap. Earlier he told me that he trusted me, how did it all disappear in the space of a few hours?

I’ve had time to sit and stew, though, most of my negative emotions are getting swept away. Earlier I was angry that Noah had set-up a trap to prove that I was going to hit Nick. He shouldn’t have done that, it was wrong to use him like that.

But the thing that bugs me the most.

The part that keeps replying in my mind is the fact that it’s all my fault for getting carried away and imagining all kinds of romantic bullshit that doesn’t exist between us. He’s going to pay me at the end of all this and that will be it between us. It has me feeling so low about myself, because I wonder if sleeping with him was part of the package.

Did he think that I’ll do it eventually?

It never entered my mind until I saw his dark eyes and then I let my emotions run away with me.

Damn!

A knock on my door startles me. I look towards the door that joins my room to Noah’s. He’s the only person that could possibly be on the other side of that door, but I don’t want to see him.

“April, can I talk to you?” his voice sounds a little muffled.

I’m opening my mouth and speaking before I can stop myself, because as I said earlier, I need to go. If he talks to me, I know that he’ll convince me to stay. It’s as if he has some magic potion that makes me change my mind. I don’t want to change it, I need to go for my own sanity. Any longer in this house and I’ll be the one hitting the bottle. The thing that Noah used to do whenever Olivia was around.

“So now you want to talk?” I say derisively. “I thought you wanted me out of your life, Noah. Seeing as I’m a threat to Nick.”

God! I sound so childish and the part that I said was true. The one where I’m telling myself that I’ve just been hired and there’s nothing to this relationship. Once again, seems to be washed in the sea.

“That isn’t what I want!”

The almost desperate tone behind them is what makes me pause. “It’s important, April, please. Just let me in. Hear me out, and if you still want to, I’ll call a cab for you tomorrow morning when you’re ready to leave.”

I’m an adult and I’m pretty sure I can leave on my own. But his voice is almost pleading with me, and it’s not like I don’t feel a little bit moved. Not to mention curious about what he wants to say now.

After some time of deliberation, I sigh and slump my shoulders. There’s no reason to be defensive. Noah’s a client, and I can treat him as such. At least, that’s what I’m telling myself, and I hope I don’t turn myself into a liar.

“Come in!”

There’s a short hesitation, then the door opens slowly and Noah enters room. I watch him, but I’m trying to look indifferent, as he walks inside. He takes some steps toward the bed, and I’m feeling a little weary, but he stops a good deal of distance away.

“What do you want, Noah? I’ll hear you out, but can you please hurry so I can get some sleep?”

His face twists a little at my overly polite tone, and I wonder what he expected coming here. That I would be angry and scream at him? That’s something you save for relationships, not clients. He hadn’t said anything to defend what I’ll done. Besides he’d set-up a trap for me to fail.

“I came to apologize.”

My eyebrows shoot up, because I wasn’t expecting him to say that.

“You don’t need to apologize. You were right. I’m here because you hired me and I overstepped my bounds. I was wrong.”

My voice is monotone as I say the words. I believe them, but I still don’t like it. Besides I’m convincing myself more than him. I got carried away, I was even disappointed that Nick was misbehaving again. He’s not my child and yet, I’m so damn emotionally involved that part of me hates myself for it.

Noah steps closer to the bed, the intensity in his eyes suddenly increased.

“I don’t like how you handled Nick, no matter what he was doing, but I wasn’t fair in the situation. I know that. I made a mistake, and I want to tell you that I am really sorry about everything.”

I frown at him, because out of nowhere I have the feeling that we’re not quite talking about the same thing.

“What do you mean?”

His lips tighten. “I just… had this realization a short while ago. I went out to the beach to try and clear my head, and when I came back, Olivia was talking on the phone. She didn’t know I was there, and I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but…”

He goes silent, looking troubled, and I’m curious about the conversation that led him to my bedroom. He’s not saying anything, so I ask him.

“What did you hear?” I say softly, letting my guard down a little bit.

“She used my son to try and get rid of you. I don’t know why, and I don’t know the details, but she wanted you gone and Nick was conveniently used as a thing to do that.”

I frown to myself, feeling a little angry, the emotion directed at Olivia this time. What kind of woman just uses her own son that way? And why did she want me out of the house that bad?

“I don’t know all the details,” Noah continues, “But I realized that everything that’s been happening is because of Olivia, and it has nothing to do with you. Yes, my son was a little wary of you in the beginning. But that’s changed over the last few days, if not for Olivia’s interference, he would have accepted you a lot sooner, and he wouldn’t have treated you the way he did. So, I’m also sorry on behalf of my son, for what he’s done to you.”

I purse my lips. Something in me eases a little bit now that he’s apologized, but not by much.

“It’s fine, Noah. I was only hired to do a job. You’re paying me, so you really don’t need to apologize.”

He sighs, as if he’s admitting defeat.

“Look, I shouldn’t have let her trap you like that. That was wrong. In hindsight I was no better than her for even thinking of letting Nick jump on the sofa so that you’ll find him like that. I’ll pay you for the two weeks. You don’t have to worry about that. But..”

He clears his throat and says, “Please sleep on it. Just don’t make your mind up right now if you want to go. But if you still decide that you want to go, I’ll help you get back home. I can even take Nick to stay with his friends while I drive you back, if you’d like. Just consider staying, please, April.”

I hesitate for a moment before I give a small nod, and the smile on his face is instant.

“I’ll deal with Olivia, so if you stay, she won’t be around anymore.”

I shake my head, “Look Olivia’s not the problem. You went out of your way to trick me. It’s as if you wanted me to fail.”

He sits beside me, “I did. Because I was foolish and thinking about how it’ll all end once the two weeks are up. I was trying to put things into perspective and it was wrong. You didn’t deserve it. I never should have done it. I want you to stay and I want this to be more than a job.”

He lifts up his hands, “That’s too much to take in one night.”

He shakes his head, not giving me a chance to reply.

“Just think about it,” he kisses me on the forehead, before I even have a chance to reply. He smiles as he reaches the door, “Good night April.”

I watch him close it and whisper, “Good night Noah.”

Thinking that I can’t sleep. It’s been a while since we slept in separate rooms and I miss his touch already.

Chapter Twenty Four

Noah

I wake up earlier than usual, thinking that it’s the first time in the last few days since I’ve slept alone. The crazy part was I didn’t feel the need to get something strong to help me sleep. Even though it felt weird, not putting my arms around April.

I knew that it wouldn’t be appropriate to go into her room and expect her to sleep with me. Not after the way that I behaved. I head to the bathroom to have a quick shower and wait for April to appear.

As far as I know, she’s still using the door that connects our rooms, but just in case, I leave my door slightly open so I’ll see if she passes through the hallway.

I don’t know if she forgave me. What I do know is that her indifferent attitude had hurt a bit, and if I just let her go and end things between us as they are, I’ll regret it. It’s silly just sitting here and waiting, but I feel as if so much is riding on it.

I should have said something more.

Anything to convince her.

Because, if she leaves, I know that I’ll never see her again. That’s something that I can’t live with right now. That’s when the door opens and April walks through, already dressed for the day, and not dragging her suitcase behind her.

“Good Morning, April,” I say as I stand up slowly as if I’m in court and this is a trial. I want to know the verdict and judging by the expression on her face, it can swing either way.

She meets my eyes for a second, before her gaze wanders away. “Morning.”

I sigh thinking that she never said ‘Good morning.’

She steps out of her room and then moves towards the door to lead to the hallway. I wait for her to step out before I close my door. We head for the stairs, but April is keeping a distance between us and I know that things aren’t perfect, but at least she’s not telling me that she’s leaving. Well, not yet anyway.

“Does this mean that you’re staying?” I ask impatiently as we descend the stairs to fill the awkward silence.

April gives a jerky shrug. “I haven’t decided anything yet, it’s still early.”

I grit my teeth in frustration. Does she want me to beg her some more so she could stay? Or is she just truly fed up of me, and the real reason that she hasn’t left yet is because I begged her to reconsider leaving again. I suppose I should be grateful that she chose to stay at all, but it’s not enough.

Olivia’s there, in the lounge area under the left staircase. I frown at her, wondering what she’s still doing here. She sees April and I and for once she’s not frowning. It’s the complete opposite, she has a cheerful grin on her face as she’s wearing a bikini, which leaves nothing to the imagination.

“Oh, so there’s the happy couple! I was starting to think you guys had slept in,” she claps her hand. Hold on, was she sitting there waiting for us?

I narrow my eyes at her. “Why are you still here?”

She shrugs. “Was I supposed to leave?” Olivia asks innocently as she puts her hand on her hips.

I glare at her more harshly, wanting to tell her, in no uncertain terms, to just leave. It’s still early enough that he hasn’t woken up yet, so all she has to do is pack up her bags.

She picks up the glass she has set on the coffee table in front of her. It’s a wine glass, filled with red wine. Not any bottle, but my mom’s favourite the Domaine de la Romanee, but that doesn’t bother me. What does is the fact that she’s still here.

“Isn’t it a little early for drinking, Olivia?” I ask as I follow her to the living room.

It doesn’t faze her, though. “There’s nothing wrong with having a glass of wine. Besides, I already had something to eat, so it’s not like I’m drinking on an empty stomach, and it’s only the one glass.”

I glance over at April out the corner of my eye, and she’s not even looking at Olivia. I wonder if she’s even frustrated with Olivia at all. I figured she would be, but she’s acting as indifferent as she did yesterday.

“Oh!” Olivia says suddenly. “When is April dear leaving, hm? If you’d like, I can call a cab for her right now, I’d even pay for it. Or would you like to eat first and then leave, April?”

Her voice sounds pleasant, but both April and I know the words aren’t meant in a nice way. She means it as an insult, and when I glance at April, I realize it’s getting to her. Her expression doesn’t change much, but her hands do fist at her sides, and I could tell they tremble a little.

“April hasn’t decided she’s leaving yet,” I say for her when she doesn’t reply to Olivia. “She’s still my guest here so show her some respect, would you?”

Olivia’s face sours almost immediately. “What, she’s still staying? Why the hell would she stay here. The two of you are over, aren’t you?”

I glance at April, hoping that she’ll answer the question for Olivia. After all, the choice in her hands, but she says nothing and sits down on the sofa. I wonder if she’s playing the role of a girlfriend or taking me up on my offer to be my real girlfriend?

“Look, Noah, we both know how this is going to go,” Olivia says, her tone serious, then she drains her glass of wine and stand up, crossing her arms over her chest. “We both know you’re just not suited to relationships. You focus way too much on work and forget all about your home life. I put up with you for years before I asked for a divorce; do you really think precious little April will be any different? That she would last anywhere near as long as I did?”

“Are you sure that you’ve only had one glass? I can see that you’re fucking delusional. You never asked for a divorce. I wanted one, before you even said you were pregnant and then after that, I fucking demanded it!”

She blinks at me, then arcs an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“I know that the reason Nick’s been acting up is because of your emotional blackmail, Olivia. You were careless yesterday. I heard you when you on the phone to Stephanie. The pair of you can figure out how to get as many times as you like before 40. I’m sure TV studios would love to film you, but there’s one thing that you’re not understanding Olivia,” I grab the glass from her before she even thinks about taking another sip of it. She needs to hear me loud and clear.

“I don’t want you in my house. Drinking my mother’s wine. Touching me. Or my son..because I want you out of my house. Or I’ll call the fucking police!”

She doesn’t even try to deny it, pursing her lips, but she doesn’t say anything at all, and I sigh in my impatience.

She grabs the glass from me, “You’ve got some nerve, you know that?” she mutters. “Do you seriously think I give a damn about any of this? Don’t think so highly of yourself, Mr. Hotshot Lawyer. I only had the stupid kid to trap you. Of course, I used him. It’s only because of me that he exists, right? So why can't I use him?”

I grit my teeth, and take a step toward her before thinking better of it and stopping. If I get close, I just might hurt her, and I wouldn’t put it past her to go to the police and make some outrageous claims to give me trouble.

“I’ll take you to court and make sure that your visitation rights are revoked.”

She shakes her head, “If you do that, then you’re going to have to pay me.”

I don’t even know what April’s doing, I’m so fucking mad that I need Olivia to leave and I don't want Nick to hear a word of this. Not for one second. If Olivia drinks anymore, she’s so fucking vile. She’ll go to his room and tell him what’s happened. She’s like venom. Why the fuck did I marry her?

“What?”

I ask in my confusion as I scratch my head, wondering if we’re speaking the same language.

“The only reason I opted for visitation rights was to get alimony. I didn’t want custody. I just need to keep up my appearances and I could do with a new breast lift.”

April laughs, “I think that they’re high up enough. I’m surprised that you don’t need to push them down so you can see straight ahead!”

Then she walks out of the room. Her comment surprises me.

“You want me out of your life. You need to pay!”

She hands me the glass and blurts out, “I’m sick of this, anyway. Have my luggage sent to my place.”

Then she storms out of the room and I follow her to make sure that once and for all she’s leaving. She picks up her keys on the side table and then strides into the car. She parked it out front, which is good and then she doesn’t even worry about putting clothes on.

I shake my head as I shut the door and smile, thinking at last I’m free. I sigh a breath of relief as I realize that for the first time since I’ve been in the same room as Olivia, I didn’t have a headache. Maybe now that she’s out of my life, they’ll finally stop.

Chapter Twenty Five

April

After hearing Olivia's outburst, I had to leave the living room. I couldn't stay and hear her rants any longer. I knew that Nick would be up by now. I knocked on the door, and sure enough, he was awake, just lying in bed. I told him that we'd get ready and go down the beach to see his friends. I haven’t told him about Olivia or Noah arguing downstairs because this kid's been through enough already. Just as I came into his room, I heard the front door slam and then Noah laughing. I can’t believe that she treats Nick that way.

She only had him to trap Noah.

How sad?

I smile at him, as he says, “I can’t believe that you’re here to take me there. Does dad know?”

I nod my head thinking that by the time Nick gets ready, has his cereal, then I’ll tell Noah. I hope that he comes along too. We’ll see. For now, I feel protective over Nick. Olivia may be a bitch and not want her son, but I know one thing for sure, he loves her. That’s the real sad part of this whole equation.

As I hold his hand and we enter the bathroom.

“Remember you have to brush every part of your teeth. The front, and the back”

He laughs, “I do it every day. I know how to brush my teeth.”

Then I watch as he independently gets his toothbrush and starts applying the paste to it. He’s not a bad little boy, just a confused one, one that’s been through so much at such a young age.

“Guess what I’m going to do with you today?”

He’s just about to put the toothbrush in his mouth when he smiles, “What?”

“I’m going to help you build the biggest sandcastle in Hamptons.”

He laughs, “Really?”

I smile, “Yes, you wait and see.”

He’s just about to put the toothbrush in his mouth when he beams.

“I just can’t wait!”

Neither can I. Because I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to enjoy my time here and when it’s all done, maybe just maybe I’ll consider being Noah’s girlfriend. But, it’s going to be tough because not only has he touched my heart but so has his son.

***

We’re halfway to Nancy’s and Noah hasn’t spoken to me since he came down for breakfast. It’s as if he has so many things going through his mind and I wonder if one of them is guilt. We can’t go to Nancy’s like this, Nick’s ahead of us always running and trying to get there quicker.

‘You guys walk too slowly!’

He always says and then runs ahead, but today I need to talk to Noah. We need to set some ground rules if this is really going to work.

“You didn’t want me here before, though,” I say carefully. “Are you sure you want me to stay?”

In truth, even I’m still not sure I’m staying, but after the things Olivia said, I feel the need to be around Nick. There’s something wrong with a woman that only sees her child as something to use, simply because she gave birth to him. I really wanted to hit her, but I’d been so frozen with my anger and once again I put myself in place to know that this isn’t my home and Nick’s not my child. That’s the worst part. He’s hers.

“I know I’ve said and done a lot of bad things to you, and I’m sorry.”

I look down at him, surprised at the sudden maturity. He glances up to meet my eyes, before quickly ducking his head down again.

“Just… don’t leave? I hope you stay, but you’d probably leave, right?”

He says out of desperation and I want him to know that I’m here for Nick. As for us, it’s so damn complicated, because we come from different worlds.

I think back to Olivia’s comment, about Noah being all about work. I know that it’s not entirely true, because I haven’t seen Noah work once since we’ve been here. He’s a lawyer, and it’s a demanding job, so it would make sense that he gets busy.

“I’m staying, because that little boy needs to know that his mom’s not going to be around anymore and it’ll be too much for him to see me leave at the same time.”

“Oh?”

I avoid his stare as I continue, “But you and I? I mean we’re from two different worlds. You’re rich. You have this big house and money. Money that I’ll never have in a million years. I don’t even have a college degree and you’re a big shot lawyer with his own firm. There’s a million reasons why we can’t be together and I just don’t know if it’s realistic to even try,” I feel as if I’ve just talked myself out of a relationship. The first one in my life and I don’t want to be a part of it, because I’m scared. I feel as if he has everything to offer and I have nothing.

“So, because of money, we shouldn’t be together?”

He looks down and scuffs his foot against the sand, kicks some of it up in the air.

“You’ve said that you’re sorry, and I’m kind of sorry for getting carried away with it all.”

He grabs my arm, “What?” “Well, I was acting as if I belong and that I was your girlfriend. I’m not. You hired me to pretend to be your girlfriend for the holiday. I shouldn’t have…”

“What? Told Nick off when he was wrong? You shouldn’t have hated whenever Olivia was around? And you shouldn't have spent the last few nights in my bed?”

He’s throwing so many questions at me, that I feel as if he’s shooting a gun at me and every question feels like a shot as I knock my head back whenever he asks them.

He wraps his arms around me, “I don’t know much about you. But I do know one thing. I like the way you make me feel. Sure, you weren’t the only one that got carried away. I did too, but you know one thing?”

I shake my head as his hand cups my face, it’s so soft that I feel as if we’re the only ones here right now. Nothing else seems to matter.

“I don’t want it to stop. I want you stay and then I want us to get to know each other better.”

He bends down to kiss me and I whisper, “My parents they’re separated.”

He nods, “I know you told me.”

I did tell him bits, but I didn’t tell him the full story about how they became separated.

“My dad didn’t want a family. He hated the idea of having kids. He thought of Ben and I as a burden and for that reason when it got too much he left. That’s why when Olivia was talking it really hit home. She’s a female version of him.”

“I see. Sorry to put you through that again.”

I smile, “It’s not your fault.” His body’s so close to mine and I can feel his bulge growing as the wetness does in between my legs.

“I want you April.”

I sigh as I close my eyes, “I feel the same way.”

The next thing I know is his lips are on mine. It is so strong and intoxicating as he crushes his face against mine. I moan in response as his tongue explores my mouth greedily. Then his fingers start to move from my back to the nape of my neck as if he’s trying to make us into one. I’m struggling to kiss him back, but I can’t deny the passion between us. It’s as if he’s trying to possess me and then I hear a scream.

One that brings us back down to reality as Nick yells, “You two! You’re not supposed to do that here. Yuck!”

Noah pulls back and growls, “We’ll save it for the bedroom later.”

I try and open my eyes to blink, but I find it so hard, because as usual Noah’s taken not only my breath away but all my senses too.

Chapter Twenty Six

Noah

I’m waiting outside on the back deck as April comes back up the back lawn. She’s wearing one of those loose dresses that don’t let me see as much of her body as I like. I meet her eyes as she climbs up the steps onto the deck, and I arch my eyebrows in surprise at the determination in them.

She doesn’t stop as she nears me, instead taking my hand and tugging me behind her as she goes back inside the house. I follow her, feeling a little confused. Olivia’s gone, and Nick’s playing with Nancy and the kids.

I follow her up the stairs and to my bedroom, and she surprises me once we’re inside, suddenly turning around to grab onto my shoulders. She pushes me into the door as she presses her body up against mine and kisses me. There’s nothing soft about the kiss, either; she’s nipping and biting on my lips, until I open them, then her tongue slides in my mouth to explore. I let her dominate me, and it’s not because of shock, although there is plenty of that. Earlier she was telling me that she didn’t think that we should be together. She was talking to me about all the reasons that it wouldn’t work and now I sense that she’s changed her mind.

We’re both panting when we pull back from the kiss and hold our gazes as we take some seconds to relax our breathing.

“Does that mean you’re willing to give it a go?”

April chuckles, pulling away from me and taking my hand to tug me over to the bed before turning back to me and meeting my gaze.

“What do you think?” She starts tugging at my shirt.

“I changed my mind about leaving today. I accepted your apology.”

She tilts her head to the side as if she’s thinking about something else that she could have left out.

“Oh, and I want us to try. Because I can’t think of anything else but being with you right now.”

She has one of her hands down my pants, stroking my dick through my boxers. I didn’t even realize that she had my belt unbuckled. Then she slides down to her knees, and I watch in fascination as she undoes one, then the other shoe, and I lift my feet so she can pull them off, followed by my socks. Then she’s tugging down on my pants and boxers, and I lifting my legs one at a time so she can pull them off. Instead of standing up once she has me naked, she leans in and takes the head of my cock in her mouth and starts to suck gently.

“April,” I growl her name in warning.

I’m getting a kick out of her being in charge, because it’s so different from the softer side of her. If she doesn’t get a move on, I know I’m going to come before we’re both ready for it.

She pulls on my cock, reluctantly, and I take her hand, pulling her up. I push lightly on her shoulder to make her turn around, then unzip her dress and push it off her shoulders, pressing my lips against the nape of her neck. I slide the kisses down along one shoulder as I unclasp her bra, then pull away to let the straps fall off her shoulders again. I reach around her waist to give her breasts a squeeze, then pull back. I slide my fingers through the sides of her panties, and pull them down while kissing her spine, until they’re completely away from her body and onto the floor.

I give her some room so she can step out of the pile of her clothes. I catch her with an arm beneath her knees, another behind her back, as I lift her into my arms and carry her over to the bed.

“I love it when you carry me.” she says with a giggle and then I lay her on the bed like a delicate flower.

She yelps, falling into the soft bedding and bouncing a little before settling. I reach into my nightstand for a condom, and put it on before following her onto the bed.

April catches me off guard as she pushes me, rolling me over so I’m on my back, then climbing on top of me. I groan, my hands reaching for her hips to grip on as she sits on my erection.

“Fuck, do you know what it does to me when you do that?” I growl up at her.

She stares down at me with an innocent look, “Show me!”

And then she starts to grind her hips against mine. I growl in annoyance at the rubber between us as she rubs her pussy up and down my cock. She’s hot, but I can't feel how wet she is the way I’d like to. When I don’t think I can take any more, I push gently at her hips, and she gets the hint, lifting a little on her knees with her hands pressing against my chest to keep her balanced.

I reach down between our bodies to grab my cock around the base, giving a couple of strokes, then hold myself up for April. She looks down as she lowers a little, but not enough to take me in. I rub the head of my dick against her pussy.

“Arh, Noah,” April purrs with her head thrown back as she circles her hips above me. The tip of my cock slides into her pussy and I move my hand away as she stops stalling. We’re both seconds away from begging for it when she slams down on me, hard, letting out a short scream.

“Do you like it like that?”

I growl as I know that she’s about to lose control. She’s no longer purring or even moaning, but screaming at the top of her lungs. Just as she did the first night we made love.

She doesn’t hold still for long, her hips moves as she bounces on my cock. I refuse to lay there passively, my hands moving back to her hips, not interrupting with her rhythm, I plant my feet on the bed and thrust my hips up to fuck her from below.

“Don’t stop!”

I shift angles and cup her ass and put my fingers inside her ass.

“I bet no man’s ever fucked you like this?”

She’s too busy screaming to even respond, but I love driving her wild. I know that she’s feeling pleasure that no man can give to her and then she’s trying to catch her breath as her voice trembles, “No.”

Fuck, I can’t hold back any longer as I feel myself being brought to the edge, but I don’t want to do it alone. I want her to come again too. I think that she’s already done it once, but that’s never enough.

“Come with me, April! I want to feel you tighten around me. I want to explode in you.”

“Yes. God, yes!” she screams as I start to pick up my rhythm as our bodies rock together in unison. There’s a connection, stronger than I’ve ever felt before as she flops in my arms and I take her to the point that always makes her scream like a hooker in a brothel. But, she’s not faking it, that’s the part that I love about April in the bedroom. I bury myself deeper inside of her as I want more of her and then it’s all over. I can’t even try and hold on any longer as we both fall breathless on to the bed.

We take our time to catch our breaths, and I reach down to pull off the condom and toss it off the side of the bed. There’s some moments of silence, and I across, wondering if April’s asleep, to find her watching me.

I smile and press a peck to her forehead and press her against me. There’s something about her body that’s so damn soft that it feels better than any silk sheet. I want to have her with me all the time. It’s as if she can read my mind as she says, “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Good, because I have no intention of letting you go.”

She smiles, “We can’t get too comfortable. We have to get Nick soon.”

I lift her up onto me and say, “You need to get on the pill, because I don’t have enough condoms to do all the things that I intend to do with you this week.”

“But we need to get Nick.”

“Not tonight. Nancy said that he could stay.”

She gently hits me, “Did you plan this? Did you know that I’ll say yes.”

I laugh, “I had a feeling, I thought that if you even tried to leave I would hold you prisoner until you agreed to be a part of our lives.”

She lifts an eyebrow, probably wondering if I’m being serious or not. I don't say anything as I press her lips against mine. She’s staying, that’s all that matters and I have no intention of letting someone so precious out of my life. Not when she means so much to me and Noah too.

Epilogue

April

Life has completely taken a U-turn for the better for once in my life. As soon as we came back from the Hamptons, Noah not only gave me the money, but he paid for Ben to go to college.

I didn’t have to quit working at the bank. It didn’t help that Olivia’s a socialite. One that loves spending a bit too much time on social media. She posted photos of me, with the title, ‘The Skank that my Ex’s dating!’ and guess what? One of her followers just happened to be one of the girls in the bank.

Or maybe there were more of them. Either way, I managed to get the sack from the moment I turned up at the bank. I’d lied, and I should have been embarrassed or even ashamed of the way that I’d acted, but I was on such a high that for the first time in my life I didn’t care.

It wasn’t about the money that I had sitting in my account. Or the fact that my boyfriend’s rich. It’s to do with the idea that I’ve fallen head over heels in love with a man. Not just any ordinary man as Jessica likes to point out, Joe Manganiello's twin brother.

“Are you going to sit down and daydream all day long or are you going to get to work?”

Jessica shouts out at me as I sit at my desk.

“No, I’m going to get to work, because Noah’s taking me out to dinner tonight.”

She laughs, “He takes you out every night. No wonder our business isn’t booming.”

I flick a pen in her direction, and she moves out of the way.

“We only started three months ago, and we need things to build slowly.”

Our programmer, Roger shouts out, “Yes ladies. But I still need you to get more ladies on board. So far there’s only ten on the site, it’s not exactly going to be booming if you only have ten on the site!”

Jessica and I roll our eyes at the same time. We have a small office. So, small that it’s room with the three of us in it. Seeing as we couldn’t afford anything else in the city and we didn’t want to be working from the apartment. Besides, it’s too small to do that.

I throw my head back, but then I hear Jessica laughing so then I sit up.

“What’s wrong?”

She laughs, “Oh, Olivia. She’s always up to something.”

Jessica decided to follow her on Twitter, claiming that she offers light entertainment. She would think that, seeing as she’s never met her in real life. I shiver whenever I hear her name. I know that Noah paid her loads to stay away from Nick. It was hard for him, but we’re getting through it, and Noah’s lucky that he has a supportive family that helped him out financially too. His dad even sold a couple of their family homes, so I know that the payout must be enormous and when I asked Noah. He just said, ‘You don’t want to know how much.’

And he’s right. Whatever the figure is, would just upset me even more.

“She’s in Russia with some billionaire. I bet she’s run out of money.”

“How is that even possible?”

Jessica shakes her head, “After that disastrous breast job that she had and it wasn’t even just her breasts. It’s as if she did plastic surgery on every part of her body and most of it went wrong. She’s spent thousands on corrective surgery.”

I lift up my hand and say, “I don’t want to know. Look you came up with this idea when I was staying in the Hamptons when Noah first hired me. Now think. How are we going to get more women to sign-up? That’s the only way our business is going to grow.”

Roger shouts out, “Students.”

Jessica stands up, “Excuse me?”

“College students, they’re always desperate for money. I read an article that some of them even go as far as selling their virginity.”

Both Jessica and I look at each other, “Is that a thing?”

We laugh, waiting for Roger to comment. But judging by the severe look on his face I can tell that he’s serious, then again he never smiles.

“Right, so we need to get a way to get college students to sign up. And I have a brother in college. Guess where I’m going tomorrow?”

Jessica beams, “And I’m going with you.”

As she comes by my side and we high-five each other.

“Yes, we’ll go to campus tomorrow and Find Me A Fake is not only going to have ten ladies on the website.”

Roger says as he comes and high-fives us both, “It’ll have a hundred!”

We laugh, and I can’t wait to tell Noah. He’ll think that it’s a fantastic business. Maybe he can help with the contract side of things; he advised when we were setting it all up saying it was a crazy idea. Ben, his best friend, said that there’s a market for it, but then he needed Jessica’s number to discuss it in more detail. I’m sure that they’re an item, but for now, they’re keeping it quiet. I hope they are because I’ve never seen my best friend so happy and it’ll be nice for her to be in love and happy just like me at the moment.

Extended Epilogue

April

It’s as if my life has gone from one extreme to the next all in the space of a year. I’m no longer a bank teller. I’m living in a penthouse apartment on the Upper East side with my boyfriend, and I'm in the process of legally adopting Nick. Sometimes, I have to pinch myself, because none of it feels real. It’s as if I’m looking into a magic mirror and wishing that this was my life, but knowing that it could never be possible.

As for Finding Me A Fake, well it’s doing much better than expected and in a couple of months, we’ll be able to celebrate the first year of going live. For three months, we only had ten girls on the site, now we have over one hundred, and it’s growing like crazy. We have a strict no sex rule for the girls. We're not running a prostitution site; we're just getting men and women together under a mutual contract that both parties sign. The idea is only to hire a fake girlfriend, fiancee or even a wife. We’re thinking of setting men on there too. I think that could be a thing, but Jessica’s not keen. She says that we need to be established in one core business before we embark on diversifying the whole thing. Noah kind of agrees with her about that part.

I must admit apart from looking at the finance side of things; I’m not as experienced in the business domain because she’s been on a couple of business courses and Roger even has a little team. One programmer who works with him part-time and the other is a college student. He says that they’re the best, they know everything about what’s going on at the moment. Jessica and I know one thing for sure, the three of them are all geeks. It’s as if they speak a different language to us. They never smile unless they’ve written a new piece of code which is ‘awesome!’ That's the only time that they get excited, if it's to do with technology, nothing else seems to interest them. Even developing a site full of sexy young girls.

College students are signing up like crazy, Jessica says that we could go statewide and open up more stores. There’s just one problem, I have a baby on the way and the last thing I want to do is be on the road in the foreseeable future. I can’t believe that what she thought of a company like this after I went to the Hamptons hired as an escort. I never had aspirations or dreams to be anything other than to do what I needed to do in order to get by.

Now, I’ve had a taste of the other side; it doesn’t seem enough. I just end up wanting more.

I never thought of myself as an entrepreneur, but I must admit that I’m liking it. No loving it, the idea of taking risks and coming up with new ideas has been such an adrenaline rush that I get excited about going to work and even thrive on trying new things. Something that I never used to want to do when I worked in the bank. Maybe, because I never got the chance to do it. Everything about working there was so mundane.

“How long are you going to be looking in the mirror?”

Noah asks as he tries to put his hand around my waist. It’s pretty difficult seeing as I feel as if I’m carrying two babies, not just one.

“Until our baby comes out and Finding Me A Fake is on the stock market and there are offices state-wide, and I have a Personal Assistant and.…”

He kisses me on the cheek, “Business, business, is that all you ever think about?”

I shake my head, “Law, law, law is that all you ever think about? Besides, I never complain when you talk about work.”

“That’s because I never bring it home!”

Noah thinks that he’s a smart. “Well that’s going to be a very long time then.”

I shake my head, “Don’t you remember the antenatal classes. Just because it’s the due date. Doesn’t mean the baby’s going to come out on that day.”

“Well, the first time I didn’t have this sort of experience. Olivia booked her date at the hospital to have a C-section and then Nick was born. She wanted to do it that way; she said that it was better for the baby. She used to tell me things all the time, and I used to believe them. Thinking that she’s a woman and she knows about this stuff.”

I have a bad taste in my mouth whenever her name is mentioned, and the last thing I want to do is spoil the mood today.

“Can we not talk about her today?”

He laughs, “You did bring her up. Anyway, she’s out of our lives for good as the final paperwork came through. No more trying to get back at us through Nick and no more asking for money. I had to sell a few things, but I think that it’ll be worth it.”

“The first time around your dad had to sell a couple of houses.”

He frowns, “Don’t remind me. He’s been good about it. He never held it against me; he just said that we all need to work together to get this problem solved.”

Sounds like Noah’s dad, Henry. He’s always looking at how to solve things, but then Gina, his mom, says that he wasn’t always that way. Retirement has changed him for the better. It’s weird that Gina’s a socialite too, but she’s so different to Olivia. She doesn’t tend to look at people as if they’re a piece of dirt. I thought that being a part of his family was going to be hard, but everyone’s welcomed me with open arms.

I just have a feeling that Olivia’s never going to be out of our lives. She always has a habit of popping up. The good thing is Nick’s stopped asking about her. Something that he used to do all the time. Now, it’s as if he’s accepted the idea that his mom is never going to be in his life.

That’s part of the reason that I love the idea of him being able to think of me as his mom. Sometimes, he even calls me, but there’s no pressure for him to do that. But I don’t want him to be jealous or that he’s not part of our world once the baby comes.

“The last I heard she’s converted to a Muslim and is living in Saudi Arabia to some Arab after getting corrective surgery,” Noah shrugs as he let’s go of me.

I think that my ears are deceiving me, “Well we all knew that was going to happen, she stopped posting on Twitter, and even Instagram after the plastic surgery that she had was botched up so badly.”

Olivia’s like a disease that there’s no cure for, as much as we didn’t want to talk about her. We always end up doing so.

He laughs, “Well, now she’s walking around all covered up and no one gets to see her. Apart from her husband, but that’s his problem. He has to deal with the ugliness not only on the outside but the inside too.”

He claps his hands together and says, “Now, are we going to Ben’s graduation or what?”

“Yes, yes, but do you think that I look too fat in this dress. Maybe I should have gone for pants and a shirt instead.”

I turn sideways something that I try not to do, but I always end up doing it thinking that the sooner this little one comes out, the better.

“You look beautiful. I love your swollen ankles, double chin,” he cups my face, “And best of all your more than ample breasts.”

I don’t even give him a chance to cup them as I smack his hand away. I know that he’s teasing me and I bought this dress months ago. I saw it in the window of a boutique downtown. It had just opened, and I said to myself, that’s the dress I’m going to wear to my brother’s graduation. I never knew that I was pregnant at the time or that I should have bought a few sizes bigger at the time for today, but nevertheless I wanted to wear it. When I bought it, it covered my knees, now it’s up to my butt, and I’m wearing it with some pants. The doctor says that I’ve hardly put on any weight. I find that hard to believe seeing as I feel as if I’m carrying double my original weight.

“I need to go to the bathroom again.”

He nods, “That’s normal.”

“Not like today. I’ve been around four times already, and it’s only noon. I’m not going to drink another thing because I don’t want us to be stopping every minute so that I can use the bathroom.”

Before he can say another word, Nick runs into our bedroom, something that he’s been doing a lot lately. Noah thinks that he’s feeling insecure about the baby. I’m trying to involve him as much as possible, by going shopping for baby things and even getting him to choose the baby’s names. But, I don’t think Pikachu if it’s a boy and Elsa if it’s a girl are options that we’re considering at the moment.

“Daddy, can we go to the beach today?”

He bends down to talk to him something that the doctor says is essential in communicating with Nick. He said eye contact would make him feel that he’s being respected and there will be a change in Nick’s attitude. Ever since we left Hamptons, he’s been a different boy. Even the school has commented on his change, and it makes not only Nick feel proud, but me too.

“No, we have to go to Uncle Ben’s graduation and then maybe tomorrow we can go to the beach. Okay?”

He stands looking at his dad, and I know that if I don’t leave the room any minute, he’ll turn around and ask me. Since I’ve been pregnant, I’ve found it hard to say no to him. ‘Yes,' seems to slip from my lips a bit too easily.

I waddle to the bathroom and then close the door. I can hear Noah still talking and trying to reason with him, but I have a feeling that it’s landing on deaf ears. Everything takes so much longer now. Peeing. Walking and even just thinking. It’s as if I have completely lost my mind and I’m trapped in someone else’s body. I know what I want to do, it just takes a lot longer to do it.

After I finish in the bathroom, I walk out and have one last look around my room. The place that we used to come every weekend, but since I’ve been heavily pregnant, we tend to come here a lot less and I miss it.

I’m surprised to see Noah still in the room, I thought that he'd left, “This is where it all began.”

I laugh, “It did indeed.”

He nods, “You ready?”

I smile at him, thinking that he’s been so stressed lately with work and the never-ending case. The one that seems to drain him every time he works on it. It’s been over a year and with the trial starting it doesn’t seem to be getting any better. If anything, only worse.

I take his arm and says, “Ready Mr. Blake.”

We head down the stairs, and I see Jessica holding Nick’s hand, ready to leave. Mom said that she'd meet us there which suits me fine, the idea of sitting in the car with her for over two hours is more than I can bear at the moment.

Ever since I introduced her to Noah, she seems to have one financial issue after another. There’s always some reason that she needs money and it’s past embarrassing at the moment. Noah says that he doesn’t mind, but it doesn’t sit right with me. Not for a second. Ben’s offered to help her out by giving her a regular sum from his salary. He’s managed to line up a job, but he’s not going to move back home. Noah cleared his student loan, so he has money in his pocket. Sometimes I feel as if my family’s just a financial burden, but Noah tells me to stop being so paranoid. But I can’t help myself at times.

“Smile, your brother’s graduating,” Jessica says as I reach the bottom of the stairs.

“Yes, and we’re going to come back and go to the beach. That’s something to smile about,” Nick says as he races out of the house and Noah tells him to slow down. Sometimes, I think that I can see steam coming out of his heels because he moves so fast.

“He should compete in the Olympics. Is it my imagination or does he get faster every month?”

Jessica laughs, “He gets faster. I don’t know how he does it.”

Noah, “Kids!”

I laugh as I constantly tease him about being an old man. Well, there’s only seven years between us. Sometimes, I don’t even think about it. But ever so often, I remember that he’s older and has more experience than all of us put together.

“Did I tell you that you look beautiful today?”

I nod my head as he helps me into the limo and I wonder why he’s feeling so sentimental today. He’s been looking at me as if I’m a delicate flower and he even made me breakfast in bed. I know that once the baby comes, these days will be gone. My breakfast time in bed will be out of the window, along with all the times that I’m enjoying at the moment. The driver, Roger tells us that he’s leaving and as the engine starts and we leave the Hamptons, Jessica blurts out, “Guess what!”

I know that look a bit too well. She has something up her sleeve. No doubt probably something to do with her love life.

“Ben?” I lift my eyebrow thinking that at long last she’s going to confess about their relationship.

She shakes her head, “Sorry?”

They’ve been playing this cat and mouth trick for months, and I know that they see each other. We all do.

I look across to see Noah and Nick playing their usual car games. No matter how many Noah looks up on the Internet, they always revert to playing ‘I spy with my little eye.’ Nick never gets bored of playing that one.

She lifts up her hand and says, “What do you mean?” Then I grab it as I see a ring. A big diamond ring on her index finger and I scream, “When?”

“Ben proposed to me last night. I’ve been dying to tell you honesty, but I didn’t know if you would think that it’s weird.”

Noah shrugs, “I knew about it from the start. I didn’t know why you didn’t want to tell April, but I respected your decision.”

I hug her as far as the seatbelt will allow me to do it and my big fat belly with the baby in it.

“I’m happy for you. I don’t care if it’s Ben or any other guy. I just want you to be happy. Just like me. But promise me one thing?”

She pulls back and asks, “What?”

“No more secrets. We never had any before, and I would hate for us to have anymore.”

She laughs, “That’s a deal that I have no intention of breaking.”

“I want to know how he did it?”

Noah continues to play with Nick. I don’t mind that we’re not married or that he doesn’t talk about it. I know that he had messy divorce and we've had conversations about marriage. I’m not religious, and I know that what I have is good enough for me. I suppose with the way dad left mom, I’m a bit skeptical about marriage myself, but it doesn’t mean that I’m not happy for Jessica. I can see the way that her eyes are beaming that she’s ecstatic and I knew that when she was leaving the office early at times, it wasn’t always to go to her yoga class.

“Well, Ben isn't a cook. He said that he wanted to try and guess what he made?”

I’m thinking of the one thing that I know he loves to eat.

“Sushi!”

She nods her head, “So he made sushi, but I don’t think that he made it, I think he bought it. Please don’t tell him that I said that.”

She doesn’t wait for a reaction, but just keeps going on about her engagement which is nice, because feeling her excitement makes me feel as if I was her with her on the day.

“I get to his apartment. The food’s all nicely laid out. We have desert.”

She winks at me, “And then afterward, butt naked on the floor. He hands me a ring.”

“Really?”

“He took you to the bedroom and then gave you a ring?”

I whisper because it doesn’t sound right.

She taps me on the shoulder, “We were eating, and then he said what about desert-”

I lift my hand up because I’ve got the picture. I don’t need any more information about the engagement; the main thing is she’s getting married.

“Damn! You guys are getting married!”

She nods, “It’s just too exciting, isn’t it? Ben's graduating, you having a baby and our business. Things are looking up for us April. I’m just too excited.”

I sigh as I look around the limo and think that things have changed in my life for the better and it’s not a dream. But it’s my reality, and I couldn’t wish for anything more.

***

We’re seated in the garden of NYU, and we’re in the middle, so we have a good view of the graduates. There’s so many of them. I can’t believe that there are this many students graduating today and Ben’s one of them.

“Can you see him?” Noah asks, leaning towards Nick to ask me.

I narrow my eyes as I look through the crowd of graduating students. It takes me a minute, but then I see him, and I point him out.

“He’s over there, around the middle of the front line. Can you see him?”

He takes a few seconds before nodding slowly. “Yeah, I see him.”

Nick’s, sitting between the two of us. He tries a little hop in his seat before he gives up and leans back in his seat and crosses his arms over his chest with a pout.

“I can't see him,” he complains, he’s nearly seven but still small for his age. Gina says that Noah was the same and then one day he just shot up. Or so it felt as if it happened on one day.

“It’s fine, Nick,” I reassure him, raising my smartphone and zooming in on the lenses before taking several pictures of my brother.

Finally, after all the trials we’ve had with his last year of college, he gets to graduate. I’m grinning so much that I feel as if my cheeks are going to split apart.

My mom sent a text while we were on our way saying that she couldn’t make it in the end. She didn’t have enough money for the trip. I’m not even angry at her anymore. I’ve come to expect less from her because it’s just less painful that way when she acts this way. Noah sent her a couple of thousand last week; I can’t believe that she spent all that already? What is she doing with all the money? I’m racking my brain trying to figure it all out when the ceremony starts. A few speeches are made, and they’re inspirational, but the only thing on my mind is seeing Ben get his certificate and shaking Dean’s hand or whoever’s hand he shakes in the end.

“April, can I sit on your lap, so I see better?” Nick asks me, but we know that it’s not possible. So, Noah says, “Buddy come sit on mine instead of for now.”

Nick moves over and then says, “I want to see Uncle Ben when he goes up on stage.”

Noah moves to the seat Nicholas just vacated. “Is there a party planned for him after this?”

I don’t answer because I manage to take a photo of him upstage. I wave at him, hoping that he can see me.

Jessica laughs, “Don’t worry I’ve got some good shots of him—”

But before she can even finish her sentence, I grab her hand, “The baby’s coming!”

Noah sighs, “Yes, in ten days time.”

God! How many times do I have to remind him that just because we’ve been given a due date, doesn’t mean that it’s going to happen on that day.

“April’s wet herself!” Nick shouts out, and I wish that he wouldn’t say exactly what he’s thinking, but I can tell that the older he gets, that’s one thing that’s not going to change.

Jessica says, “We need to get out of here now!”

Thank God, she’s with me. My eyes dart towards Noah who’s still repeating the same thing, “That baby’s not due for another ten days.”

Everyone moves out of the way as Jessica guides me through the crowd and somehow manages to direct Roger to us at the same time. Meanwhile, I turn to see that Noah’s still on his chair.

Jessica shouts, “Noah. Get moving!”

And like a robot who’s been giving instructions on how to move. That’s exactly what he does, he moves as if he’s on speed dial with one hand holding Nick. I can’t believe that he’s in shock. I’m the one who’s having the baby.

I squeeze Jessica’s hand as I can feel the contractions and then I think about Ben. This is his day; he said that he was going to have a party with his friends afterward. He’ll worry because mom’s not there and I know that he saw me earlier. I can’t let him think that I left early. That’s when I hear his voice by my side.

“Did the little fellow decide to come early?”

I don’t even get to respond as I start to scream and the contractions are getting even worse. I can’t even remember how to walk or anything else, as I stand-up one minute I feel fine and the next I feel as if my body’s being ripped apart. But I’ve noticed that the time that it’s taken me to walk across campus to the limo, the more contractions I'm having, and I start to panic about being less in control.

This is not good!

This means that the baby’s not only coming ten days early but in a few hours or worse minutes time.

“I’m not having the baby at the back of a limo.”

That’s when someone. Maybe a doctor or something says, “It’s quicker to get her to Bellevue Hospital Center.”

Roger nods his head, and then Jessica smiles, “Don’t worry I won’t leave you.”

They help me get into the back of the limo. Jessica’s telling me to breathe. Reassuring me that it’s going to be okay. But there’s only thing on my mind apart from the baby.

“Where’s Noah?”

She shakes her head, “That man’s a mess right now. You need to concentrate on breathing, while I work out how far apart your contractions are.”

Damn!

She’s like a machine about this, because she’s so calm about it. As if she has everything in control. That’s when I hold on to the sides. I just want to push so badly at the moment, but I know that I shouldn't want to do it. Not yet, but the urge is too strong.

“I want to push. Jessica, I think the baby’s coming now.”

Roger shouts out, “Just five more minute’s and then we’ll be there.”

I shake my head at the idea of being like this for another five minutes. I don’t think that I can hold on that long. I say to her, “I don’t think that I have five minutes.”

Then I scream at the top of my lungs. The pain is so much that I know that I can’t handle it anymore. I want to push and there’s nothing to stop me doing it. I can’t control myself no matter how hard I try. The urge to push is so damn strong.

“My planner! My bag!” I think about the dream birth that I’d mapped out and it didn’t involve giving birth in the limo. It certainly didn’t entail Noah going completely cold turkey on me and being in the back seat with Jessica wondering if I’m going to give birth in the hospital or the limo?

“Why-oh-why?” I scream through the last contraction and then Roger rolls down the window and says, “We’re here.”

Noah helps me out of the limo. I’m happy to see him and even though the contraction’s so painful. Seeing him here has made it that much better. They cart me to a room. Jessica’s talking to the doctor or the nurse. I can't see who she's talking to, but she's telling them about the number of contractions and how far apart they are. I know that she's been reading up on it, because she thought that I might have the baby at work, who would have thought that I’ll have it at Ben’s graduation. Not Noah who was still counting down the days.

I feel myself go in and out of consciousness as I start having contractions. I hear different voices, and nothing seems clear at all. Until I’m in the delivery room. That part I do register slightly, and then I hear the magic words.

The one thing that I’ve been dying to do.

“Push! April.”

They don’t need to tell me twice. Noah’s by my side holding my hand and the pain comes and go, but there’s one thing I know for sure. I’m about to give birth to our baby. In a hospital, not in the limo or even worse at Ben’s graduation.

Every time they say, push. That’s exactly what I do. I can’t believe that this day is here, but I’m thankful that it’s not far away from home.

“April! I see a head!”

Noah says excitedly, and I wish that I can share his enthusiasm but right now the only thing I’m feeling is something stuck in between my pussy, that’s dying to get out. It feels so tight, but then as I push again, the pain subsides, and I know that our baby’s left, but then there’s silence.

One that worries me, about if he or she’s okay.

Noah’s jumping up and down. Now, I know where Nick gets his mannerism from as Noah one minute is by my side and the next he’s on the other end of the chair.

“Congratulations! You have a baby girl.”

Noah kisses me endlessly and smiling and crying, “Thank you April. Thank you. We’ve got a baby girl.”

I smile, but as I hear the doctor tell me that it’s not over and I need to push some more. All I can think about is how much my life’s changed, and now I’m a mother of two. I have one of each child, and this man’s turned my life around. I don’t know where I’ll be without him and one thing’s for sure. I never want to find out where, because I love him with all my heart and after I push one more time.

I sigh, “Noah I love you.”

“I love you more April and our little girl Summer.”

“You want to go with that name?”

He nods, “Summer was the time that you came into my life.

And the time that she’s born. I can’t think of another name that’s more appropriate, can you?”

He puts her in my arm’s, and we both cradle her and whisper in her ear, “Welcome Summer.”

I can’t believe that she’s here and as she opens up her eyes, I know that she’ll be loved and Nick said that he wanted a baby girl and he’s got exactly what he’s wanted. I didn’t care as long as she’s healthy and as the doctor confirms that she is, I couldn’t ask for anything more in my life.

Nothing, because I’ve got the best family in the world. I never thought it was possible, but it’s true.

Sexy Bonus Scene

April

Tonight’s our last night in the house, and I can’t believe that the two weeks has come to an end. It feels like only yesterday I came here and the day after I wanted to leave. It’s amazing how far we’ve come together as a unit. I can’t believe that Noah’s gone from hiring me, to wanting me to be part of the equation.

At first, I was scared about leaving, thinking that maybe it’s holiday fever and as soon as we get back to New York he’ll regret the decision and say that it’s all off. I feel so insecure about everything. Jessica says that I shouldn’t put too much pressure on everything and just take each step as it comes. Tomorrow I’ll be heading back to my tiny apartment and the day after to work at the bank. Noah will be going back to his penthouse apartment. Back to reality and I wish that we could stay a bit longer.

So, I decided to treat him. Make it a special night and so far, it’s ended up the complete opposite as I tried to impress him with my culinary skills.

“You didn’t like it, did you?”

I look down at my plate and what should look like a Chicken Burrito cooked from scratch, looks more like pieces of bread stuck together and not attractive at all.

Noah laughs as he puts a piece to his mouth and says, “Hmm, it tastes great.”

I take a bite and chew a couple of times, and I have to spit it out. I don’t even want to eat the rest of the three-course meal that I've made tonight. It's been a complete disaster.

“Rosetta said that it's her grandma’s recipe. I think if she tasted what I made she would be turning in her grave if she knew what I did to it.”

Noah gets up from his chair and moves to my side of the table, getting closer towards me.

“Why are you always so hard on yourself? You look stunning tonight. Sexy and good enough to eat. Better than some piece of chicken on the plate.”

“My-my, you say the sexiest things. I’m not hard on myself; it’s just that I wanted to make a nice meal for you and I couldn’t even get that right.”

Noah stops in his tracks, “This isn’t goodbye. We’ll come here for the odd weekend when we can both take vacations from work or when Nick's on holiday. Either way, you're coming back here again, we just need to figure out the logistics of it all. Stop treating it as if we’re going to go home and never see each other again. I know that you want this, and so do I. We agreed on it.”

He sounds like a lawyer. I’m talking about us being together in a relationship, and he’s talking about it as if he’s referring to the contract. The one that he signed when he said that he wanted to hire me.

“Yes, we should take it slow. One step at a time. I know all that, but I still wanted tonight to be special.”

I’m sulking a bit as I think about the fact that the last two days I’ve been sneaking around like an excited kid thinking that tonight's going to be so special. Yesterday I told him to go and see Nancy or one of his friend's in the area, just so that I could spend some cooking time with Rosetta. I even borrowed the car and went to town to buy the dress. It reminds me of when I got my driving permit. I was all excited about passing the test when it finally happened after crying tears of joy. I soon realized that I couldn't drive anywhere because I didn't have a car and then it didn't feel so exciting anymore.

He grabs me and pulls me up, “There are candles at the corner of the dining room and in the middle of the table. Not only that but vanilla scented candles. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it this sexy. Nick’s staying at Nancy’s and as for that dress. Seriously the last thing on my mind was food.”

I smile as he moves closer and presses his body next to mine. I’m wearing a little red dress which I saw when we went to town yesterday, and I had tonight in mind. I wanted him to be so impressed with me, that he would want me forever.

“I just wanted to please you,” I sigh as he starts to kiss the curve of my neck.

Noah’s mouth trace a path down one of my shoulders, and I want him to focus on what I’m saying to him, but I can tell that he’s already lost and I know that any moment, I’ll be the same.

I back away and he says, “If you want to please me. Then just be yourself. I love the way that you are with Nick. You’re interested in him, and it shows. I love the way that you’ve gone to all this trouble for me. I was with Olivia for nearly a decade, and I don’t remember her doing anything, but only pleasing herself. You are the woman that I wanted to be here with, not her. Even if she handed it on a plate, I would refuse it.”

He bends over the table and blows out the candles. Then he moves the dishes that were on the table, and I laugh as they crash onto the floor.

I smile, “I suppose someone will clean them up.”

He growls, “I’ll fucking do it if you let me fuck you on top of the table.”

His fingers move up towards my hips. He's a bit rough, nothing like the way that it’s been so far. It’s as if he wants to claim me and make me his.

I smile, “You did it the moment you clicked on the website to hire me as your escort. Not just for the night, but for two weeks.”

He smirks, “If I’d known that this was going to be part of the service. I would have paid ten times the amount. Not only double.”

I pout, “Only ten times?”

He removes the strap of my dress. The only thing I’ve got on underneath is my panties because the dress only has one strap and I had no intention of wearing a bra. I can see the hunger in his eyes as he looks at my body. My breasts are in full view as he removes the strap.

“A hundred times!” His hands move up to cup my breasts. Noah catches my breath as he kneads them gently, rolling my nipples between his fingers. I start to feel the veins surge and a pool of urgency between my legs.

Noah wants me as much as I want him, I can feel his excitement as his breathing becomes raspy and he’s hot and needy as I press through his pants. He's only wearing a black polo and matching pants. There's something about seeing him in black that always manages to turn me on. It makes him look all dark and mysterious, like his eyes.

I grind harder at him. I just want him to take me right now. I need to feel better about the disastrous night, and only he can do that. Noah’s hand roams my chest while the other moves towards my stomach. I open my legs wider as my clit starts to swell from his touch.

He moves away from me and then he slides a finger inside of me. Just one, that’s rubbing against my G-spot and my panties which were slightly wet, are no so damp.

“You’re so wet right now. I can slide in and out of you with ease.”

I nod because I can’t even speak right now.

“I can make you come right now.”

I start to move my hand onto his belt thinking that he’ll fuck me right now. But he says, “No, not me. Only you.”

I’m about to tell him that I want to make him feel better, but as my hands roam enjoying the power of his body. I’m drawn to the trembling bulge between his legs. I stroke him through the material, generating a deep vibration in the center of his chest.

“I want to watch you come!”

Noah’s slides a different finger inside of me, tenderly stroking my G-spot. His other hand is at the back of my neck holding me in place as I try to move. He won’t let me. I can’t believe that he’s moving my back down on the table.

“Shit, I forgot how sweet you taste. I want to taste you.”

Then before I can say anything, he moves down and rips my panties. He runs his tongue in between my legs, putting them on his shoulder and dedicating running his tongue around my swollen bud.

He stops for a second and says, “I love it when I taste your come.”

I spread my arms across the table knocking some dishes. I don’t care as I can feel my muscles tensing and getting ready to explode.

“Fuck yes!”

I know that no one’s in the house. Sometimes, I don’t want to yell, and I feel guilty about doing it afterwards. I wonder if Nick can hear me and all sorts of thoughts flood through my mind. But tonight, with it only being us. All I have to think about is Noah and what he’s doing to me right now. He makes me feel like a woman. Sometimes even a lady, but right now I feel like a whore, as I scream out louder as he pushes me to the point of no return.

“Noah! Noah!” I cry out as my body buckles, and my vision shatters as my back bounces of the wooden table. I keep spitting out animal noises. Words that I don’t even recognize, it’s almost as if I’m speaking a different language.

I manage to open my eyes and see the ceiling, but I can’t move my body. I hurt my back while going up and down on the table as I had the mother of all orgasms. It's as if everytime that I think I can't climax harder, he manages to make me do it. I’m trying to get my breath back, but I know that Noah has other ideas. He had a hard-on before he started to lick me as if there's no tomorrow. He'll want me to do him, just the same way that he did me right now.

He stands up and lifts me to face him. There’s lust in Noah’s eyes as if he sees a precious jewel and I love the way that he looks at me. It’s as if he wants to take me here and now. I feel like a lost child as he stares at me for a minute and then starts to take off my dress. It’s still hanging around my waist, and I realize that I’m the only one naked. He still has all his clothes on.

“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he says as he traces his finger over my body. “I could sit and watch you walk around naked all day and never get bored.”

I say, “You know how to make a girl feel special.” I trace my hand over his chest. Damn! He’s so tight and I love feeling his abs, he’s perfectly shaped because he eats well and in his words, treats his body like a temple.

He shakes his head, “No. Only because you are special. At least to me.”

I’m at his mercy as Noah takes complete control and makes me do things that I’ve never dreamt of doing. At times, I don’t know if it’s because of the age difference or because he’s more experienced? He just appears so confident that it frightens and excites me at the same time as a shiver runs down my spine.

I can’t think of anywhere else that I’ll rather be. His kiss is fierce, and I can taste my pussy on his tongue. It's the most erotic thing ever tasting myself on his lips. I thought that having sex on the beach was or even having a shower in the dark. It's just those little things that he does, that makes me cross the line and never regret it. I know that he’s dying to come inside me because his kiss is hungrier than before and as his hands seize my shoulders, his tongue plunders into my mouth. It drives me backward, and I nearly land back on the table, but then he holds on to me and then I wrap my arms around his neck for dear life.

Every brush of his hand is a surprise at the gentleness of his hands; I close my eyes There’s such a sensation of him sliding his fingers on me that makes me feel as if I’m coming close to the edge. I think that maybe I’m not the only one as he makes a low rumble Noah holds me as he moves his mouth down to my nipple and then the right. Sucking them softly every time he alternates between the two of them. Noah’s mouth swirls and sucks on my nipples softly. It’s just too much as everything begins to tighten inside of me. I can’t help, but release the tension inside of me, “I’m coming.” I keep repeating it until he seals his mouth over mine as my orgasm takes a hold.

That’s when everything shrinks away, and a wave of ecstasy takes over. If he weren't supporting me, my back would be against the table once again.

“Oh God!”

I scream out as I try and get my senses together, but it’s so hard as I’m trying to catch my breath.

“Noah! Just fuck me!”

He doesn’t respond as it’s as if he loves seeing how many times he can make me come. The more he does it, the more I want him to stop. I just want to make him come. So, far he hasn’t taken his clothes off, and I don’t know if he’s doing it all to torment me.

I’m completely drained but still pressed against him. As I try to capture my senses, I think about our deal.

I decide that I’m not going to be the only one that’s naked in this room.

I lift up his arms and say, “Noah, I want to make you come.”

I think of the one present that I can give him as I toss his shirt to the side.

“You love being in control don’t you?”

“No, I just want you. That’s all.”

He holds my wrists and says, “But you have me. Every single day of the week and whenever you want it all to stop, you can just walk away.”

I nod, “But I don’t want to walk away. I want us to be together, why don’t you trust me? Is it because of what happened before with Olivia. I apologized for that–”

“I can’t cook. I work as a bank teller, and I have a second job as an escort. I just want to feel confident and knowing that this isn’t it. We’ll see each other and take it from there.”

I feel pathetic as I lay my heart out to him, and then I say the one thing that I didn’t think that I’ll say. The one thing that’s bugging me.

“I’ve fallen for you Noah. The first time I’ve ever felt that way about a man who isn’t either my brother or dad and I’m scared.”

He silences me with a kiss. This time he’s a lot more tender, and I know that my feelings are mutual. I'm not being fair to myself or him. I’m putting so much pressure on us, because of my insecurities. He moves away and says, “Make me come.”

I undo his belt keeping my eyes locked on his and then I draw a trail with a kiss down his stomach and drop to my knees as I take his pants and boxers off him. He lifts up his feet as I start to take off his pants. I came to dinner wearing the dress but didn’t feel like wearing shoes, but then again he didn’t want to wear them either.

After I did that, I’m completely at his mercy as I seize his length in my hand. He’s so damn thick, and it’s as if he’s grown since the last time I held him. I can feel that he’s ready for me and he’s letting me take over and take control. I look up to make sure that he hasn’t changed his mind. If he had, then he would have stopped me by now. Instead, he simply nods and repeats, “Make me come.”

With those words, I know that I’m not going to let him down. I take him into my mouth and start to pump his base and slide my lips up and down slowly.

He’s so fleshy, and we’ve had every sexual pleasure. But I’ve never given him head. I feel like a little child in a candy store as I take my time tasting every inch of him. I just don’t want to let him down and miss a part of him as I drag my tongue along the ridge underneath as I want to ease him deeper down my throat.

He holds on to the back of my head and says, “Shit, this feels so damn good.”

He’s rubbing my head, and I love being in this position. It’s as if I’m powerless at his mercy. I have the control with my lips. I can make him come when I want to do it. And as for his cock, it tastes so good. The more I start to, but I’m controlling how he feels with my lips. I wish that I could see his face and the way that he’s rocking his hips and the voices that he’s making lets me know that I’m giving him pleasure. His fingers tighten around my hair, guiding me as I quicken my pace. I stroke him with one hand and tease every part of him.

It’s as if he can’t handle getting a taste of his own medicine, as he blurts out, “Fuck! I want to come so fucking badly!”

I lock my lips just below his crown and stroke him rapidly. He lets out a single roar and then spurts down my throat, but it feels as if it doesn’t stop and just goes on and on. I can’t believe that his come is so much. I’m tying to catch my breath and swallow it all. By the time I start, there’s some more come into my mouth. So, I wait until he’s completely finished, knock my head back and swallow it in one gulp.

His orgasm just seems to go on and on, I expect it to stop any minute, but then he jerks more and more. I toss my head back and swallow the last inch of him. He reaches out and takes me in his arms and pulls me to his feet.

“I want to fuck you.”

I laugh, thinking that he just came. There’s no way that he can have an erection straight away. But then as he pulls me close to him I realize that I’ve made the wrong presumption. His once limp dick is starting to get hard already.

“Don’t you want a rest?”

I know that I do, but I’m trying to save face.

He smirks, “Are you tired?”

“Noah, I’ve come around three or four times in a row. What do you think?”

“We need to go upstairs, or I can fuck you on the table? Or even better the stairs. You choose? I'm happy as long as it's at the back or front of your pussy.”

“You are a bad boy.”

He growls, “You have no idea. Even worse I have a dirty mind as far as you’re concerned. I just want to fuck you, and when I’m finished, I want to do it all over again.”

I’ve never climaxed like this, and the idea of swallowing a man's come usually makes me feel sick. With Noah, it’s been the complete opposite. I couldn’t think of doing anything else, but swallowing his come. I wanted to taste it so badly.

He spins me around so that my tits are on the table. “All this talking has made me even hornier. My cock’s hard and your ass is so damn tight. I’m going to take you from behind.”

It’s as if he remembers something as he backs away.

“Shit, the condoms are upstairs!”

I don’t want to stop; I’m all ready for him to take me on the table, so I say, “It’s okay. Tomorrow I’ll go to the pharmacy.”

He hesitates and says, “Are you sure?”

I nod my head as I bend over the table and hold out to the edge, letting him know that I’m ready for him. I’m so nervous because I’ve never done anal before.

“Noah, I’ve never done anal before.”

“Do you want to do it? I don’t have to if you don’t want to and I have no lube. I’ll take you from behind,” he’s gently rubbing my ass cheeks, and I can feel his cock at my entrance.

I would do anything to have him inside of me right now as my wetness starts to pour on the table that I just gave him the disaster meal.

“I want you to be comfortable with it. I’m going to take you from this side, but not anal.”

All I can mumble is, “Okay.”

As his cock enters me and I let out a long breath. I’m surprised that there’s no initial sting, it’s as if he fits inside perfectly as though he’d been there so many times before. It doesn’t hurt, and each thrust of his hips is long and hard. My body shakes every time in reaction to the impact. Every thrust strokes the bundle of nerves at my core.

“You okay?” he growls as he thrusts inside of me.

I don’t want him to stop.

“Just fuck me!”

He growls, “I don’t have any intention of doing anything else.”

I’m tense, but with every thrust, I let go as the pain turns into pleasure and my breasts rubbing against the table turns me on even more. The harder he pushes into me, the more my body adjusts to his size.

He is sending ripples of pleasure through my body as the only sound is the table rocking back and forth as it scraps against the wooden floor. He wraps one hand around my hip and then seizes my hair with another and tugs my head backward which stings my scalp.

“Oh my God!”

I scream out because there’s something raw about being fucked like this and having my body trapped roughly in this grip excites me even more.

“Yes!”

He says as he makes bestial noises as I can feel every pulse of passion and every soft edge as he continues to rock back and forth.

“I’m going to make you come so fucking hard?”

“Fuck yes!”

My muscles contract as his hardness seems to fill me up while stretching and claiming me. My moans sink lower into my throat as there’s a flooding sensation through my brain. A fire explodes as it shouts out from my toes leaving me trembling and feeling as if I can’t breathe. I’m gasping for air, and it doesn’t take long, for Noah to do the same as a rush of heat then roar escapes him while his fingers are biting into my side. Noah slams inside into me, one more time and forces my body against the bottom of the table.

Noah just keeps shouting, while at the same time I’m screaming at the top of my lungs and hoping that no one hears me. That’s until I remember that there’s no one in the house.

No Nick.

No Rosetta.

We’re alone, and we’re both naked in the dining room with plates all over the floor. He slowly comes out of me, and my body feels as if it’s missing something. I can’t believe it still wants more. It’s as if it has a mind of its own. Noah controls every part of me, and I’m no longer my person. I’m his.

Noah spins me around and traps my lips with a kiss. His hands move on to my ass, and he squeezes it, “You liked it.”

I smile, “Maybe you’re not the only bad boy. Maybe I’m a bad girl?”

He says, “I hope I wasn’t too rough?”

He strokes my back, and I want to confess something to him, but I feel so embarrassed to do it.

“I can’t believe that I’m saying this, but I enjoyed it. I loved it.”

He winks, “I know, I got that from the way you were screaming. Much louder than before.”

He scoops me in his arms and says, “I think that we both need a rest. I’m a bit tired.”

I nod my head as I wrap my arms around him, “It’s as if you’ve sucked every last bit of energy out of me. I can hardly speak.”

He kisses me gently on the lips, and I hold him tighter. I can’t believe that we’re going through the house completely naked and it’s as if we’re Tarzan and Jane. He’s come to rescue me, and I love the idea of surrendering to him. I saw how my mom did it to my dad and he destroyed her as a result of it. I suppose in hindsight this is the reason that I’ve always been reluctant to be in a relationship. But, I’m not my mom. I need to stat thinking of my life and stop thinking about what happened in their lives. I don’t even know the details. But as I close my eyes, I know that Noah’s putting me down on his bed.

Then I expect him to join me, but he doesn’t, and I’m alone, so I lift my head. He’s in the bathroom, and then he comes back again with a towel. I feel him gently wipe me down and I smile about him being so considerate. Then he comes on top of the bed and just wraps his arms around me.

He kisses the back of my head and says, “I know where I’m taking you on our first official date when we get back.”

“To the most expensive restaurant in Manhattan?”

“No.”

“Flying me to Paris?”

“No.”

“To the opera?”

“God, you’ve been watching one too many chick flicks. The one place you need to go is to culinary classes, because as much as I love you, you actually can’t cook.”

I laugh, but then I smile at his honesty. But the thing that made me laugh was the fact that he said that he loves me. That’s music to my ears. I fall asleep cupped in his arms and I can’t think of anything better but waking up the same way, the most comfortable position in the world, with the man I love.

* * *

Did you like this one?

How about one more?

This one’s called ‘Be Mine’ and is an extremely steamy taboo story. Again, this is not published anywhere else.

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Com’on, I know you love disappearing from the world you live into a super HOT and STEAMY love story - hell, we all do.

Turn the page for your steamy ‘not published anywhere’ story - Be Mine.