CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Jake
Present Day…
As soon as my alarm went off at six the next morning, I automatically checked Google alerts for my name. Yep. The damn bastards had already uploaded the pictures from Central Park, and the damn thing had gone viral.
Billionaire Playboy’s Hidden Secret Exposed
There were pictures of Jagger riding on my shoulders, my arm wrapped around Skye, holding her close. Pictures of me kissing Skye while Jagg looked up at us, a huge grin on his face.
Damn.
It was a celebrity gossip site call Celeb Dirt that figured out who Skye was. I clicked the video wondering for the thousandth time how I ever became a celebrity in the first place.
The site’s “anchor” smiled into the camera, her bright pink lips stretched wide. “In breaking news, Celeb Dirt has learned exclusively that billionaire playboy and former Navy SEAL, Jake Truman, had a love child several years ago, and it’s rumored that he abandoned the boy and his mother until just recently. Stay tuned for more dirt after this important message.”
I gritted my teeth as a thirty second video for a dating site promised that they’d find your perfect soul mate after you answered a few questions. Then the talking head was back. Beside her, my picture flashed up on the screen. She basically recapped what she’d already said before continuing with…
“From what Celeb Dirt has exclusively learned, Skye Crawford, Jake’s childhood friend, is the mother of his child.” Skye’s yearbook picture flashed up next. She was going to kill me. “their son, Jagger Crawford…” She winked at the camera. “Cool name, huh? The boy appears to be five or six years old and is a doppelganger of his incredibly sexy and handsome father.”
A closeup of Jagg riding my shoulders proved that, yes, he looked just like me. The assholes hadn’t even had the decency to blur his features.
“Plus, a source close to the mother has exclusively confirmed that Jake Truman has appeared at her apartment, which she shares with her cousin, several times of late. The source seems to think that Jake may not have known about the child.” She tapped her pink lips with her finger. “So, you dirty listeners you, what do you think? Did Jake abandon his love child, or has he been blindsided by a gold digger out to get a chunk of his billions? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.”
Fuck.
Because I was apparently a glutton for punishment, I scrolled down to the comments.
How could he not know? Rich bastard probably dropped a load and walked away. That comment was from Sexynuts-892. I growled at his cartoon picture.
He’s a baby killer so he’ll get what he deserves. #bringourtroopshomebeforetheykillmorebabies
She’s hot. I’d knock her up too.
Bad parenting! Children should not ride on an adult’s shoulders. It’s a concussion or broken neck waiting to happen. Think people! Think! #callchildservices
I hit the power button on my phone, stopping the craziness before I tossed the innocent device against the wall. Hashtag iPhones matter, you sick fucks.
I glanced at the time and jumped into the shower, pouring too much shampoo on top of my head and getting soap in my eyes. I nearly fell on my ass getting out and instead did a split, almost causing my balls to rip in half.
Looking in the foggy mirror, I gave myself a pep talk. “It’s okay. You’ve gotten all the bad shit over with early. The rest of the day will be perfect.”
***
Well, holy shit.
I drove the Bentayga, thinking it would be a fun change of pace. We might even drive up to the mountains for a picnic if Jagg wasn’t too tired after we circled Lady Liberty, so the SUV worked better. Cars were still my downfall. I loved them and this baby was fine.
What I hadn’t expected was a shitload of paparazzi in front of Skye’s building. Dammit, that was fast. I cruised on by, pulling my ballcap down low. Once I turned the corner, I hit her number.
“Don’t open your door.”
There was a second of hesitation. “What? Why?” I heard her footsteps on the wood floor.
“I’m serious, Skye. Do not open the door.”
“I’m not. I’m going to peek out of the curtains and… holy shit.”
My sentiments exactly.
“Here’s what we’re going to do. I’ve driven around to the back of your building and don’t see anyone back here. You and Jagg come out the back door, run to the trees to the right, and I’ll pick you up there.”
“This is ridiculous.”
“You’re absolutely correct.” Then I asked the question I didn’t want to ask. “Want to cancel?”
Another hesitation, then, “No. Jagg would be devastated. We’ll meet you at the trees.”
I found myself grinning. “I think I might have heard you say that before.”
“Oh shut up.”
I laughed. “Do I get that ass tonight?” I was beginning to like this little joke because I never expected her to say yes and really mean it. This was how it was before. We’d tease each other over something stupid, run the joke into the ground, then joke about something else.
She huffed, but I could almost hear her smile. “I thought you were going to get it last night.”
Damn paparazzi. We all had been upset and tired, and Jagger had turned into an evil monster before we’d gotten halfway through the pizza. So I hadn’t stayed, and what I wanted to do to her took time.
“So tonight is good?” I pressed, just for the fun of it.
“Why, exactly, is this important to you again?”
Why indeed. To watch her face between pleasure and pain. See how far I could push her. How much she trusted me.
“Like I said before, I want everything about you.”
“You gonna pee on me and mark your territory afterwards?” Was her voice a little stiff? I wasn’t sure but the playfulness of a moment ago seemed to dim.
I laughed. “Should I? Has that Brad dude been sniffing around again?”
She blew out a breath that caused static to come across the line. “No. I told him about you and that I needed to focus on our new, um, dynamic.”
I frowned. “Is that what you told him? We have a dynamic?”
“Well, yes.”
“Then I’m absolutely going to pee on you.”
She giggled, a beautiful, soft tinkling sound, and my balls tightened. “So you don’t think that put him off?”
“Hell, no. That just set him up for a challenge. Dynamic, my ass.”
The adorable giggles continued. “Then what would you call it, Mr. Billionaire Playboy?”
Well, damn. I had zero ideas.
Jagger saved me with a, “When are we leaving?” whine. I hoped the mood was temporary because I didn’t know if it was good parenting to cajole him out of his bad tempers or not. Maybe I should contact the perfect mom from the blog comments. Or read a book. Or a hundred.
I listened to her tell him to collect his things, then heard footsteps stomp through the apartment at a run. I smiled. Imagining him punch the air. His toothless grin. And Skye smiling at him with so much love, a little irritation under the surface.
Last night, we’d both sat him down and gave him a stern talking to about running away and how he must never do that again.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his head hanging down. “I got distracted by the ice cream. I have an addiction, you know.”
How could anyone stay mad at that? Not me.
So I got to give him another bath, read him another book, then I kissed Skye softly and left like I was supposed to. I didn’t want her to think I was using her or expected sex every time we were together.
With that said, I hoped we could have sex tonight.
“We’re coming out in one minute,” she said into the phone, “stand by, mission control.” I laughed then adjusted my cock in my shorts. Just listening to her voice made me horny, almost like I was that teenage boy again.
Then I saw them, both in super stealth mode, making exaggerated tiptoe steps across the lawn. When they got to the SUV, Jagger was practically jumping up and down.
“Did you see me, Daddy? Did ya? I was sneaky like a cat.”
I offered him my fist and he bumped, doing the little explodey noise again. “I sure did, buddy. You were so sneaky, I almost didn’t see you.”
His eyes grew big. “Really?”
“Yep, you’re a natural. It was impressive.”
I opened the car door. “This car is awesome. Is it yours too? Do you like it better or worster than the convertible one because I think I like it better. What’s it called?”
“It’s a Bentley Bentayga, and one thing you’ll learn about me is that I love cars.”
Skye rolled her eyes. “The faster the better.”
“Hey, I’ve calmed down a lot.”
Her eyebrow shot up. “And you call this Bentley calming down? It cost, what, two hundred grand?”
I lifted a shoulder. “Give or take.”
It was actually two-forty, but I wasn’t going to tell her that. This baby was worth every cent.
“Does it go fast? How fast does it go?”
And we were off with the millions of questions that lasted until we pulled into Battery Park. On the ferry, I kept one hand on Jagger all the time, mental pictures of him falling into the harbor creating layers and layers of anxiety.
“I. Can’t. Breathe.”
I released my tight grip around his waist. “Sorry, buddy. Just didn’t want you to fall off.”
“I can swim, remember.”
“Yeah, you were great at the beach. We’ll have to hit the pool someday soon. I’ll show you some SEAL tricks.”
“Like what?”
“Well, how to hold your breath for a long time. How to create a flotation device from your clothes.”
“How to fight off sharks and octopuses?”
I laughed. “Sure, we can talk about that too.”
“Have you ever seen a shark, like, up close?”
“Yep. Had to fight one off one time.”
His jaw sagged. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Nope. SEALs are in the water a lot, so the chances are good that we’ll run into one or two in our careers.”
Jagg’s arms grew tighter around my neck as he peered down into the water. “How did you fight him off?”
“Fingers in the gills.” I made a claw with my hand, then jammed it into his belly and started tickling him, making him squeal in delight.
He was still panting when he asked, “Did you tickle him to death?”
Skye slipped her arms around me, and I leaned down to kiss the top of her head. I was beginning to like this whole family thing… a lot.
“It’s amazing all the places you’ve been and things you’ve seen,” she said, then blushed. “I mean… the good stuff. There had to have been some good places too, right?”
Still holding tight to my son, I wrapped an arm around his mother. “Yeah, good places.” Then I remembered. “Have you been to France yet? I know it was on that dream board thing you had.”
She looked out onto the water and simply shook her head. Shit. I’m an idiot. She had a kid to raise. My kid to raise. Of course she probably didn’t go to France. I wracked my brain to remember the other things on that board.
“What about scuba diving?”
Another negative shake.
“Sky diving?”
Nope.
She finally looked over at me. “I got to feed elephants and hold a sloth and koala bear. They were on my board.”
I smiled down on her, but a well of sadness tried to force it down. I hugged her against me tighter, and vowed that someday, I’d make sure she did everything on that damn board.
But that was for another day. Today, we had a statue to see. A picnic to eat. Jokes to tell and temper tantrums to throw.
We did it all. In spades.
The sky was going dim by the time we made our way back to Skye’s apartment with a very grumpy Jagger in the back seat. I drove by the front to see if the paps were still there. They were, so I pulled around back. I’d need to start looking for them a new place with better security. Maybe a drive-in parking garage.
If Skye would let me.
She’d already turned down the offer of a car. Money. A credit card. She did relent and told me I could start researching gymnastics and karate classes for Jagg. When I told my son about it, he did a flip on the floor, then bounced up and karate chopped me in the neck.
“I don’t need no stinkin’ classes.” Then he kicked me in the shin and hurt his toe. “Okay, maybe just one,” he relented as he jumped around on one foot, making a complete spectacle of himself.
He was a mess. And I loved it.
Loved him.
Loved Skye.
Loved her more than I did back when we were kids.
Which made it even more heartbreaking when I kissed her and left that night. She asked me to stay. She held onto me so tight. But I couldn’t, and there weren’t enough words for me to explain why.