Chapter Five
Chad
I felt as if I was in a maze. I was just walking around not having a clue what end of the park I should wait at. Olivia wasn’t happy about me going to the park, but when I told her that I would only be an hour and that would give her some chill time, she didn’t hesitate in saying bye to us. I wondered what was up with her.
My baby sister used to be fun, and then after being dumped by Brent the moment she told him that she was pregnant, she was hurt. So deeply hurt that I thought that the minute Joshua came out and was in her life, that hurt would go away. I could see by the way that she was behaving that it wasn’t that simple.
Fucking bastard!
Shit, I wasn’t a fucking angel when it came to women. But I was clear about my intentions. One night. And that was all I could give them. I knew that some of them agreed, hoping that they could change my mind. They never did, but now I knew I was crossing a line. One that I didn’t know if it was a good idea.
I wasn't honest with Ivy. Shit, I was lying about being a dad and thinking about getting Joshua into a good pre-school as justification for doing it. I took a deep breath as I saw her standing by the jungle gym. When I read it, I thought that it was another park. I didn’t realize that it was part of this park. I needed to learn a lot about parks, babies and all the other shit that came with it. I thought that I’d work on the stroller one day and for today it was all about the baby carrier.
I had to tell Ivy the truth. Fuck, I was breaking my golden rule of being straight with women. She had changed, she wasn’t in the hot green dress that she wore to the pre-school. She was in some skimpy halter top and jeans. So fucking tight that all I wanted to do was squeeze her butt cheeks. Judging by some of the dads in the park, I could tell that I wasn’t the only one that was thinking about doing this, she was attracting attention.
I walked up to her quickly, Joshua was asleep as usual. Good thing he wasn’t Kylie and Noah’s kid. Otherwise, they would have him at the clinic at least three times a day.
I felt flustered as I approached her, at first I thought that it was the brisk walk that I took to come by her side before one of the pervert dad’s tried to hit on her. But then as I drew closer and smelled her floral fragrance, I realized that it was her that had made me feel this way. She was hot. Smoking hot and she was so damn sexy that I found myself saying exactly what was on my mind.
“How come you’re single?”
She laughed while flicking her hair, a motion that I assumed she did when she was nervous. She did it when I asked for her number and again just now when I was very direct.
“Do you always say exactly what you think?”
I nodded, thinking that she was avoiding the question. She was nervous about answering.
“I thought that maybe the kids could play in the sand pit. Hazel’s nearly stretching from the stroller to get in there.”
“Sure, but only if you answer my question.”
I drew closer towards her, the only thing in my way was Joshua in his carrier. Next time, I’ll bring a stroller. Now, I feel trapped, which is why I always think of them as being straight jackets.
“Well, Hazel’s dad didn’t want to know.”
I sighed, “Sounds like Olivia.”
“Who?”
I nodded, “My sister. As soon as she found out that she was pregnant, then her boyfriend of five years dropped her like a bad smell. The bastard was okay with living with her and fucking her. But when it came to the responsibility of bringing up their child, it was too much for him.”
“So, Joshua has a little cousin?”
Shit, I said too much. And on cue, Joshua started to whimper and I had an excuse to change the subject. Why the fuck didn’t I think before I even started speaking? Sometimes I was a prick. I would have to tell her, especially if we were going to look at pre-schools. This thing could get out of hand. Olivia was right. I hated when my little sister was right about something and I was so fucking wrong about playing out this whole fake daddy shit. It sounded right in my head, but right now it felt completely wrong.
Joshua’s whimpers turned into screams as I tried to calm him down. I was patting him on his back, which just seemed to upset him even more. I spun him around which he liked every time we were at home and I did it. He giggles or attempts to laugh. Now, nothing but tears and screams. Even Ivy tried to get him to settle down by gently rocking him and singing to him.
“I think that the day’s been too much for him. I’ll call you. We can do it another day.”
I didn’t wait for her to reply as I walked away. I felt like a chump telling her about being a dad in the first place. I hurried up to the car, panicking about what could have upset Joshua too much. Call me fucking paranoid, but the moment I opened the jeep and strapped him in his seat, he stopped. I picked him up thinking that maybe we could go back to the park and I could give Ivy some bullshit story about what I’d said earlier. It was too late, Joshua started to cry again. I wondered if he knew that his uncle was full of crap before he was even old enough to start walking. I knew one thing for sure, I had to take him home and when I arranged our next play date, I’d make sure that I told Ivy the truth.
***
I couldn’t believe that I was getting excited to go on a play date. Shit, babies did mess with men’s mind. They couldn’t talk, not even walk, but they had a way of making grown men lose their minds. I sat on the bench waiting for Ivy. I wanted to leap off it and push Joshua’s stroller as far away from here as possible when I saw who was coming from the same direction.
“Noah, what the hell are you doing here?”
I tried to whisper, but I could see that he was confused, he wasn’t the only one as Ivy joined by my side.
“Hey, Chad,” she smiled at me. Then there was that awkward moment. The time that passes when she wants to be introduced to Noah, and I just want him to get the fuck out of here.
“Chad? You never come to the park man. Good to see that you’re hanging out with Joshua.”
His eyes darted to Ivy, still waiting for an introduction and all I could think was, go away, Noah. You’re going to fuck up my little charade. After the last few days of texting and speaking to Ivy, I decided against telling her just yet. I could tell that she liked me and I felt the same about her. Besides, I did promise myself that within two weeks I would tell her the truth and the two weeks wasn’t up yet.
“Noah, don’t you need to get out of here.”
“Chad, are you okay?”
Ivy asked as she rested her hand on my arm. Fuck! I was sweating like a sinner in church and I never did that. I was the calm and collective one. Not the fucking mess that I was at the moment, which meant that I liked Ivy. Fucking liked her a bit too much. This was our second date at the park, and I hadn’t even attempted to kiss her. I was enjoying time with my cousin and a bit too much time with her.
I nodded my head and then Noah dragged me to the side.
“One minute. I just need to talk to my friend.”
He didn’t give her a chance to reply as he took his stroller and then headed towards the swings.
“Chad, you’re not doing what I think you’re doing, are you?”
He knew me too well. I could bullshit him and tell him that I wasn’t doing it, but we both knew that it would be a lie.
“I like this girl..”
“So you fucking lie to her Chad? Tell her that you’re a daddy when you don’t even like kids?”
I waved my hand in the air as if he was talking shit.
“I talk about Richard or Martin talks about his kids and you make that face.”
“What face?” I asked him.
“The one that you’re doing now. You asked me what I was doing in the damn park. What the hell do you think I’m doing in the park with my son? Only someone who doesn’t have a kid would ask such a dumb question.”
I started to panic, “You think she knows?”
He shook his head, “With the way that she was looking at you as if you were a prized toy, she doesn’t have a fucking clue. What I’m saying is, this isn’t right!”
Where had I heard that before?
I shrugged, “I’ll tell her within a couple of weeks.”
He patted me on the back as he left, “You better if you like her. And judging the by the way that she’s looking at you, she likes you. You don’t want to fuck it up. Believe me. Cause this type of shit; women don’t forget in a hurry.”
I nodded knowing that he was right. I should do it now, but I hadn’t even been able to go on an official date with Ivy. I would wait for that time to do it. If I did it now, she wouldn’t forgive me. I just had to get the timing right. And the park wasn’t the right time.
Chapter Six
Ivy
I was sitting at my desk debating whether to go to lunch or not. I couldn’t be bothered; today had just been one of the most boring days in the history of working for Smith & Jones. It was as if I didn’t think that it could get any worse and for some reason it did today. It was as if it was waiting for me to make it better somehow. I’d been reading this stupid book, ‘Cleaning,' it talked about how to get rid of the things that were making you unhappy and focus on how to make your life better. The problem was that I had a house, a steady job, and a beautiful baby. I’d never been in a relationship, and I’d never craved for one. I wondered if that was the reason for my sadness. I just knew that I woke up in the morning and I acted like a robot. Everything was mundane, and there was no change to my boring routine.
Maybe I just needed a vacation?
All of these things were rushing through my mind when I stood up to go to the bathroom and I saw Chad standing in reception. It was as if he was my knight in shining armor to take me away from this boringness.
I walked up to him, “Hey, what are you doing here?”
He smiled, “Well, I thought that we could talk. Without babies. Just the two of us. Is it okay? I assumed that you would be getting ready to go to lunch.”
I nodded, “I was.”
I didn’t tell him that it consisted of me just sitting at my desk eating a sandwich and reading my Cleaning book. Maybe that was making me depressed? And not my actual situation.
“Cool, so you want to go for a picnic?”
Again I nodded my head, “Let me grab my purse.”
“Sure, I’ll be here.”
I had a big smile on my face. No one had ever made such an effort for me. I thought about him making the sandwiches and wanting this to be a special day. Chad was turning my boring life into something exciting. He may look like the bad boy, but he was acting far from it. The complete opposite, in fact and I liked it.
As we headed out of the office, I enveloped his arm. I could tell that I was the envy of a couple of girls in the office. I didn’t care as I swung my hips from side-to-side wishing that I didn’t have to go back to work.
“Do you ever work?”
The realization that it was a week day and that Chad never seemed to be at work, hit home.
He laughed as we walked on the street and I was following his lead.
“I’m between opportunities,” He said proudly.
“You’re unemployed? With a brand new jeep and a watch that probably costs more than my house?”
I started feeling nervous. The only men that had that type of money in Chicago were involved in drugs or top bosses of companies. Chad had just said that he wasn’t one, but he could be the other.
“My Rolex doesn’t cost that much. No, I just sold my dating app and I’m trying to figure out my next step.”
“Nice,” I said, relieved knowing that he wasn’t a drug lord or anything in the illegal sense.
“Which one?”
“Love at First Sight.”
I screamed, thinking about the times that I debated about signing up for it. A couple of my friends got married using the app. They said that it was the new dating age and the man next to me was the one that developed it. I was too impressed.
“You’re kidding right?”
He shook his head, “Why would I lie about something like that? Besides, I didn’t do it alone. My business partner helped. We went to college together. He found his wife through the app and dumped me.”
I laughed at the irony of it, but I could tell by the dark look that came on his face, that he was serious about it.
“Really?”
“Yes, so as I said, I’m between opportunities. Besides, I’m still waiting for you to tell me why a sexy, hot good looking woman like yourself is still single.”
That question, one thing about him. He didn’t seem to forget a thing.
“I was hoping that you’d forget about that.”
He shook his head, “Maybe the Starbucks picnic basket would change your mind.”
“You bought everything from Starbucks?” I said as I raised my brow.
“Not everything. The napkins were free.”
It didn’t take long for us to find a free picnic table in the park. I erased the idea that he had been busy preparing sandwiches for our picnic. It was still a sweet gesture. One that I was happy to have because the alternatives for my day were beyond staying awake for the rest of the day.
***
I couldn’t believe it. I agreed to meet him at my house. The last few days, he’d been meeting me for lunch and the only thing we didn’t do was talk about pre-schools or even think about it. He’d been hurt. He’d said it a couple of times, Joshua’s mom gave birth and then left. What kind of woman does that?
Asking Chad to come to my house was just a recipe for disaster. I didn’t even know why I said it. I did it for all the wrong reasons. If I’d told Willow, my best friend, the reason why I wanted her to babysit for me tonight, she would have refused. She would have told me that there was no way that this guy was just coming round to talk about babies. Then she would ask where I met him and told me that this was wrong.
I’d been here before.
I had a sexy red number. I treated my body like a temple. Always making sure I ate the right thing and exercised like crazy. I wished that I felt the same way about my heart. I seem to give it away as if it’s nothing and that’s the reason that I get in trouble. Maybe I should change my dress. Or even tell him that I’ve changed my mind. As I hear the doorbell ringing, I know that I was too late. We had a few days in the park, but then it felt crazy doing that with a six-month-old baby and an ten-month baby. They weren’t playing, and we weren’t talking about going to more pre-schools. Both of us have a chemistry that was so strong that no amount of fire could blow it out.
“Hey,” I said as I opened the door. His blue eyes lit up the moment they met mine.
“Hey, yourself.” He said as he moved closer and gave me a red rose.
“A flower. Wow, I wasn’t expecting anything.”
He nodded his head, “Well, I thought that I’d surprise you.”
“But what about Joshua, did you get a sitter?”
He smiled, “My sister, Olivia. She wasn’t doing anything, and she loves spending time with him. Besides, Joshua likes going there to play with his cousin.”
I shrugged, “You’re lucky. Mine loves partying and doing everything else but babysitting.”
He cleared his throat as his lips brushed my cheek. I was too afraid to ask him to come inside, so he was still on my doorstep.
“You look hot!”
He had me at Hey but telling me that I looked hot didn’t hurt. I really shouldn’t invite him inside.
“Can I come in?”
He rose an eyebrow and with the red dress that hugged my body like a second skin it was clear that I wasn’t inviting him in to talk strategy. Far from it, I wanted him to take me. And I could see by the twinkle in his eye as I closed the door that he had the same idea.
“Where’s Hazel?”
I nodded as I held on to the door handle. I didn’t know if I should just run like a chicken and leave him inside.
“At my friend’s.”
“I see. So, should we go through the list?”
For some reason, I thought that he asked me if I wanted to kiss. I closed my eyes like a teenager ready for her first kiss.
“Ivy are you okay?”
I shook my head as if I had a rude awakening; I realized then that he never said kiss as he held out his iPad.
Fuck!
Stupid me, he did come over to talk about the list of pre-schools. That was when I leaned away from the door and sighed.
I should have just come and opened it naked to tell him that I want him to seduce me. This guy’s not interested, and I’ve been kidding myself to think that he was, until he moved so quickly that I felt as if there was a gust of the wind that entered the hallway. He dropped his iPad on the side table and then pinned me against the door.
“I don’t mind staying in tonight, do you?”
He was so fucking close to my lips that I couldn’t help but close my eyes, and I knew that this time he would kiss me. There was no doubt in my mind. He wanted me as much as I wanted him and tonight there wouldn’t be any messing around. We were going to get straight to the point. I didn’t have to pick Hazel up until tomorrow, and I had a feeling by the size of his growing bulge that was pressing in between my legs, he would be keeping me busy until Saturday morning.
He pinned me against the door and drove his mouth against mine. I couldn’t believe how quickly the momentum changed. Sure, I wasn’t wearing any underwear. I invited him over for a purpose, but maybe this whole thing was going too quick. He was kissing me with a hunger that meant he had only one thing on his mind. The same thing I did when I put this dress on. I wanted Chad here not to talk about pre-schools, but to do dirty things to me. As he drove his mouth against mine and I felt the bulge that was growing in between my legs, I knew that it was a promise of what was to come.
“I only have one condom on me,” he snarled and I wanted to say something back. But I couldn’t as his bulge rubbed against my pussy.
“Isn’t one enough?”
I looked at him directly and I could see lust written all over his face. One wasn’t enough. My booty call was just that. A one minute man. He wasn’t really that good, but like a moth to a flame, I was there whenever he called. Chad had just offered me multiple orgasms in the space of a second and the idea of it should have been something that I should run away from. I should have told him that I wasn’t interested. But I couldn’t as he started to nibble on my neck.
“I’m on the pill. You don’t need to worry about condoms.”
“Good,” he growled as his nibbles turned to sucking on my neck.
I was happy that I’d invited him to come over.
I was dripping wet and as he cupped my ass, he lifted me up and moved to the living room like an expert. One that was going to take control and take me all night long.