Evie

 

I didn’t know what my parents’ relationship was like before my mother died. I had never gotten to meet her, after all, and so the only references that I had to parental relationships came from bad sitcoms from the nineties and my friends.

 

My high school best friend, Carter, had the most loving parents in the world. It made me sad to realize that it had been so long since I’d seen any of them. but I could remember how much they cared for Carter and how much they stood up for him, and ultimately, how much they loved not only him, but each other. It was never a fantasy of mine to be a parent like my father was—controlling, distant, and often manipulative—even if he thought that he was doing the right thing. He was my father and a good man underneath the way he was, however he was ambitious, and that ambition always outweighed anything else that was going on in my life.

 

No …I wanted to be like Carter’s parents—a wife to my husband, mother to my children. I wanted at least three. Three always seemed like a nice, well-rounded number to me. I would work and take care of them, of course, and my husband would help and do the same. I loved how Carter’s parents were equals, not the imbalanced, archaic way that my father’s peers ran their own personal lives, with the women nearly subservient and in their husband’s shadows.

 

As I got ready for my date with Tony, it made me laugh to realize how backward I was doing all of this. Wasn’t I supposed to have gone on the date before the sex? Before the baby? Before all of this? Wasn’t I supposed to know the father of my child was before I conceived?

 

I ran my hand over my belly. Earlier in the week, I had been able to go out with one of the many girls Allan was trying to get his hands on,. I needed clothes and, initially, I was just going to get some comfortable things for around the compound and perhaps start looking into maternity clothes. Ellia, however, had had other ideas, and while I had gotten things that I needed, I had left downtown with more …sexy things than anticipated.

 

“You’re running with Tony,” she’d told me gleefully. “You got to look the part.”

 

In the low-cut, emerald-green top I was wearing, my breasts were full and prominent. The jeans were nice and tight, showing off curves and ass that even I hadn’t realized that I had. The front of the shirt was flowy, but still showed off my figure without being too tight—though I didn’t have a belly, really, to speak of, it was starting to poke out.

 

Yeah. This should have been phase one, not phase wherever the hell I found myself. Oddly enough, it was exciting. I felt jitters in my stomach as I brushed the curls of my hair into perfect place and stared at myself in the mirror one last time before smiling at myself.

 

“Perfect.”

 

I slid on a pair of flats—which was honestly becoming my favorite thing about being at Tony’s; I would always be in these god-awful heels when it came to what my father wanted me to wear—and headed out into the hall. I was sharing the wing with Tony, and while we’d had sex, I felt like it was best if we slept in different rooms. It wasn’t something that I explicitly stated, but it was pretty obvious when I wasn’t trekking to his room every night.

 

That didn’t mean I wasn’t curious about what it would be like to sleep with him, however.

 

I knocked on Tony’s closed door, nudging it open to peek in.

 

“Tony?” I called. “Are you ready?”

 

“Yeah, just a second.”

 

His voice came from the adjoined bathroom in his bedroom, and I smiled a little. I leaned against the wall outside of his room, waiting. Again, the jitters fluttered in my stomach and I realized … for the first time …

 

This was a date I was going on that I had set up and agreed to all on my own, without my father’s input or approval. I wondered what he would say if he knew that Tony was taking me on dates.

 

Well, it’s only one date, and you have no idea how it’s going to go, and you two are just trying to get to know each other because you’re pregnant. Don’t get ahead of yourself.

 

When Tony came out, I was pulled, blessedly, from my thoughts. I was stricken, though, by how good he looked.

 

He wasn’t suit-and-tied dressed up, which I hadn’t expected because he had told me to go sexy-casual. But his button-up shirt was tight in the right places and not buttoned all the way up, showing off part of his chest. Short sleeves let me see his arms and, oh, I would always be reminded every time that they were bare just how cut Tony really was, and just how strong, thick, and masculine he was. Nothing like the kind of men my father set me up with.

 

I was satisfied to see that he was doing the same amount of staring right back at me, eyes moving up and down my body. It was nice to know that, even pregnant, I was still appealing, even if only for now, while I didn’t have a large, pregnant belly.

 

He smiled at me and held his arm out. I took it and we headed downstairs.

 

“You know, you look … really Goddamn good,” he said. I laughed.

 

“Thanks. I couldn’t tell with the way that you were staring at me.”

 

“Don’t make fun of me. I’m only a man and I like what I like.”

 

“Well take it all in, because you get to have this all night,” I said, before I could stop myself and before I really thought about my words.

 

“Is that a promise?” he asked me, amused. “Because I would totally take you up on the offer.”

 

# # #

 

Our drive into town consisted of blaring music, Tony and I singing at the top of our lungs, and me realizing that I really, really, enjoyed fast cars.

 

He drove us out, zipping and zooming along the highway, out of our city and into the next one over. He figured, apparently, that that would help minimize the risk of someone we knew personally recognizing us. He didn’t want to be cooped up in the house and didn’t want to force me to be the same, but also didn’t want to make too many waves—I could appreciate that.

 

While our city was large and certainly had places to party, the next over was literally a party city. Lights shined upward into the night sky and music blared from every direction. People went from one club to another to another, and I was honestly awed; this wasn’t something that I had ever done before—certainly not on a date.

 

Tony parked us in a private garage. He got out and came over to my door, holding his arm out as he let me out.

 

“So, what do you want to do first?”

 

I looked around. There was so much. How was I supposed to choose? I looked back to him, smiling.

 

“Surprise me.”

 

He grinned at me and led us down the sidewalk, weaving in and out of the bustling city foot traffic. I took in everything—the lights, the sounds, and the smells of the food being cooked by the street vendors. There was the hint of alcohol in the air, too, and I was tempted to ask if we could stop at a bar before the realization hit me.

 

“So, you know I can’t drink, right?” It was a thought that occurred to me as he steered us into a club with thumping, loud music with reverberating bass.

 

Tony laughed.

 

“Babe, I make it a point to make sure that my dates can have fun with me without the booze—I mean it’s a bonus, but still. Nah. We’re gonna dance and you can show me more of those sweet moves of yours.”

 

There were so many people in the club, it would have been suffocating if it weren’t for the fact that Tony kept his hands on me the entire time. He stood behind me with his hands on my hips and his body pressed to my back. He rocked to the beat of the music as we bobbed and weaved onto the dancefloor, and he pulled me back a little harder so my ass was ground against his crotch as we found a place and stayed there.

 

I’d never been clubbing—at least not unless you counted the couple of times that Carter and I sneaked into the gay bar he liked going to. I wasn’t sure if that did count; it wasn’t like he was actually my date and it wasn’t like I picked up anyone there, either. But it was fun.

 

This, though.

 

Tony’s hands on me.

 

His face in my neck.

 

His body pressed to mine.

 

I found an easy rhythm with the music, rocking and rolling my hips against him. It wasn’t intentionally sexual, even though I felt the stir of his cock against my ass. But it was …fun. Exhilarating. I put my hands on his and guided them up to touch me freely over my belly and just under the rise of my breasts before I moved them down, teasingly preventing him from touching.

 

“Ah, so mean.”

 

I chuckled and wiggled my ass against him.

 

“I’m being nice, aren’t I?”

 

He nipped playfully at my neck, and I shuddered. I turned around, looping my arms around his neck, and ground up against him that way.

 

“So,” I said, raising my voice a little so he could hear me even with the heavy bass of the music playing. “You always take your dates here?”

 

He smirked. “I’ve never been on a date.”

 

I raised my brow.

 

“How is that even possible?”

 

He laughed.

 

“Because, Evie. I pick up girls from bars, and maybe I’ll take them home. Usually, we find a nice place to, ah, work out our tensions, and then we part ways. But actually planning on bringing a girl out in public? Never.”

 

I tilted my head. My lips quirked into a little smirk. “So, I’m your first date, then?”

 

Tony rolled his eyes, but looked away, embarrassed.

 

“Listen,” he said. “I do things a little backwards sometimes it seems. You can’t fault me for liking tail and chasing it, okay?”

 

I leaned up, nudging his head to me so I could tug on his lower lip.

 

“Honestly,” I said. “I’d probably have done the same if I was ever given the chance. Just. Like. You know. Casual sex. Fucking whoever, no strings.”

 

“You’ve never just gone to a bar looking for cock?” That seemed to surprise him.

 

I laughed. “Tony, you’ve met my father. Do you honestly think I was given an opportunity? You were the first man that I—” I stopped there, embarrassed. Tony raised a brow, squeezed my hips a little, and rutted against me, urging me on.

 

“The first man who ever …go on,” he said, not even bothering to hide his grin.

 

I rolled my eyes. “You were the first guy that I’ve ever just, you know—didn’t meet through my father and fucked casually in an alley, no-strings. A one-night kind of deal,” I said.

 

Tony grinned down at me.

 

I nudged him. “What?”

 

“So, basically, what you’re saying is that we’re each other’s firsts—in some capacity. Romantic.”

 

I snorted. “Oh yeah, totally romantic.”

 

We continued to dance after that. I let my fingers play through his hair, and he spent his time touching me in any way that he could. That fluttery, jittery feeling in my stomach was soon replaced with a content, happy feeling. This was nice. Exciting. Different.

 

After a few sets, I was a little sweaty and needed to pee. I leaned up and kissed Tony.

 

“Hey, I’ll be right back,” I said. “Gonna go to the bathroom.”

 

He tugged me back before I could leave, stealing another kiss from me.

 

“Don’t be too long.”

 

“I’ll try not to.”

 

I moved in and out of the other dancers on the floor, making my way back to the bathroom faster than I expected. When I got back, I would ask if we could take a break so I could get some water; I was feeling the thirst and didn’t want to burn out. I was having so much fun with Tony and didn’t want the night to end too abruptly.

 

Which …surprised me. Usually on dates, I couldn’t wait to get away from them. I wanted to make them as short and sweet as possible. Even with men who I was compatible enough with that the sex was good, I tried to limit how much time was spent with them. I didn’t want this night to end—there was no pressure or fuss—just me and Tony having fun.

 

I hadn’t realized how much I had been craving that until it was right in front of me.

 

I did my business quickly and finished up, heading back out into the club. The song had changed into something even more upbeat and bass heavy. I bumped and swayed to the beat as I looked for Tony in the crowd when someone took hold of me.

 

“Hey pretty thing.”

 

I turned around, putting distance between myself and the man. He was good looking—but I wasn’t here with him.

 

“Hey, sorry, I’m with someone,” I said politely as I turned around. He took my arm and pulled me back to him.

 

“You don’t look like you’re with no one,” he said. “You look like you’re all alone, in fact. Let me keep you company, cutie.”

 

He brought me closer to him, and I could smell the alcohol on his breath, like he’d brushed his teeth in whiskey. I frowned, putting my hands to his chest.

 

“I said no. I’m with someone.” I was firm in my tone and looked the man in the eyes, letting him know that I wasn’t interested in the slightest and that he could damn well be on his way and leave me alone. He just continued to smile down at me though.

 

“Aw, come on, don’t be that way. I wanna have some fun. It’s my birthday—”

 

“Go have fun with someone who cares, then.” I wasn’t usually so rude with people in these situations, but this man was giving me little choice in the matter. I wasn’t in the mood for some stranger to put his hands on me.

 

This didn’t seem to please the man. His grip got harder, and I gasped as he forced me against him and he started to dance.

 

“Listen, babe, I don’t want to take no for an answer and since it’s my birthday, I think you should—”

 

“Aye, is there a problem here?”

 

I audibly let out a sigh of relief. Tony was back. I pushed the man away from me and rubbed my arms as I moved away and Tony got between the two of us.

 

“Ah, dude, no problem. The girl and I were just dancing—”

 

“Looks to me like she wasn’t much in the mood for dancing with you. Beat it.”

 

The man looked between Tony and I, brow raised. He gave an ugly sneer.

 

“Aw, come on. I just wanted a birthday dance. And she has such a sweet, little, tight body. Can you blame me—”

 

Tony stepped towards the man. I thought that he might hit him. His fists were clenched at his sides, but he never raised them. He did, however, get in the man’s face. It was then that I realized that Tony was definitely a few inches taller than the man—and the man realized that, too.

 

“I said,” he nearly growled out, “to back the fuck off. She doesn’t want to dance with you, got it?”

 

The man stared Tony down, and then flicked his eyes to me. I wasn’t sure, but I thought I saw something flash in his eyes. He gave me another nasty glare and smirked at Tony.

 

“Whatever. It’s not like the club isn’t full of a bunch of bitches, you know.”

 

The man walked off. Tony watched him until he disappeared into the crowd. Good riddance.

 

I sighed and shook my head. What the hell was that all about?

 

“Sorry about that,” Tony said. “I should have been over here watching you or something.”

 

I laughed, and Tony looked at me, confused.

 

“What’s so funny?”

 

“You can’t watch me all the time, Tony. It’s fine. I promise. Nothing bad really happened, but gross dudes in the club are probably a thing. Though …” I slid close to him, falling into the beat of the music as I ground up against him again. “It was really, really hot watching you stand up for me like that.”

 

# # #

 

We stayed at the club for about an hour and a half, or maybe two hours. We had idle chatter between dances, but mostly we just enjoyed each other’s company. When I mentioned being hungry, Tony said we could go out and see what kind of street vendors and food trucks were outside. There was a huge selection—anything from street tacos to burgers to Mediterranean fare to pizza. I had never had vendor food, which was insane given that I lived in a big city, but my father had always considered the street food to be ‘below’ us.

 

I decided to settle on Mediterranean, specifically a gyro place that smelled like utter heaven. Tony and I walked down the street with our gyros in hand, munching away happily and eating.

 

“This is—oh my God—so good,” I moaned out. I was hardly proper in the way I ate, stuffing my face full. Tony laughed.

 

“Damn, girl, you sure do pack away.”

 

“In my defense, I am eating for two.”

 

Tony gave a snort to that, looking down at my stomach as he did.

 

“Ah, fair enough, fair enough. That baby is hungry, apparently, despite the fact it’s, what? The size of a sea monkey?”

 

“Not even that yet. It’s tiny. Super tiny.”

 

“Hmm.”

 

I looked up to him. He seemed deep in thought. I nudged him.

 

“What’s on your mind?”

 

“Well. It’s kinda weird, you know? Like, we’re going to have a son or daughter? Have you thought about names?”

 

Oh.

 

I took another bite of my gyro. I had, if we were being perfectly honest.

 

“When my father first sent me off, that’s how I would spend a good part of my day,” I said. “I had the television, but he cut me completely off of everything else. No computer, no phone—nothing. So I would sit and think and make up all these baby names, depending on if it was a boy or a girl …names that would go with either, just to make it easier.” I laughed. “You? Have you thought of any?”

 

“Honestly …nah,” he admitted sheepishly. “Everything’s been moving fast. Mostly I was trying to focus on getting you back, and then it’s been non-stop … shit.” He shrugged. “I mean, I also never really thought about being a father, either. I figured it wouldn’t come until—”

 

“Later.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

We lapsed into a silence then. Still stuck on the idea of baby names, I looked up to Tony.

 

“So, what do you think about Anthony?”

 

He looked at me, confused. “Who’s Anthony?”

 

I laughed. “No one, silly. I meant as a baby name. Come on. We can bounce ideas off each other. Isn’t that what parents do? We’re trying to do this thing right, aren’t we?”

 

Tony tilted his head. “Oh. Huh. I suppose you’re right.” He pondered a bit. “Anthony is nice. Alexander?”

 

“Hm … Holden?”

 

“…Holden?”

 

“It’s a nice, aristocratic name!” I defended.

 

Tony laughed. “Ah, yes, our child, the aristocrat. Hm. What about Cliff?”

 

“Sounds too casual. Donovan?”

 

“I knew a Donovan once and hated him.”

 

“Marco?”

 

“Polo?”

 

“Tony!”

 

“That’s my name—”

 

I shoved at him playfully. We went back and forth on this, calling out random names and switching between boy names and girl names and everything in between. We didn’t actually choose a set of names then, but it was still nice. It still felt like something normal, despite the fact that, up until this point, there hadn’t been a lot that was normal between the two of us.

 

By the time it was time to go home, Tony and I had walked up and down the main road once, stopping by a couple more clubs to dance. My feet were aching when we got back to the car and I was grateful to be able to sit. I leaned my head back against the seat and dozed.

 

“Evie… hey. Hey. We’re home.”

 

I blinked my eyes awake, seeing that we were, in fact, back at the complex. I stretched before I got out and, I think to Tony’s surprise, wrapped myself around him as we walked up into the house.