Brad

“C’mon, baby, you have no choice. You’re mine to do with as I wish. You have no more power. You’re my bitch.” She sneers.

“You know that’s not how it is anymore, Candy,” I growl in return, baring my teeth.

“Really? Really, Bradford? You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. I own you. You don’t want your little secret to get out do you? If I recall correctly, that’s the precise reason why I own you and you will do whatever I say.” She flips her stringy, bleached-blonde hair and turns to open the fridge in the tiny galley kitchen of her apartment.

“What do you want, Can?” I feel like my blood is boiling. I regret ever meeting her, ever thinking that what we had was any semblance of love, of genuine feelings at all. What the fuck was I thinking? Finally, I see her for the ugly being that she is. I was blinded at first, but now I see.

“That Jacob guy. I want him.”

“Why? What are you going to do to him?”

“I’m going to make him mine,” she says with her back to me.

“What’s that mean?”

“It means exactly what I just said. He’s going to be mine.”

“You can’t blackmail him into being with you. He doesn’t even know you,” I refute.

“That’s neither here nor there. You will orchestrate a meet-up and from there, I will get my way.”

“You think Jacob Maddox will fall in love with you? You’re delusional.” I shake my head and as I fist my hands.

“It worked with you, didn’t it?

“Jacob isn’t wired like I am; he’s different. He won’t commit to anyone.”

“Again, neither here nor there. You said the same thing and now look at you.” She shakes her head in annoyance.

“You have no idea what your play is, do you?”

“That’s none of your fucking business, puppet. I want you to make another trip here with him and soon. I want you to bring him to the club. I’ll let you fuck any of my friends if you do.”

“Not interested.”

“Bullshit, you aren’t. If you bring him, I’ll let you fuck me with one of my friends.”

“I’m done fucking you.”

“No, puppet, you’re not. Remember who owns you. If I want to use your dick as a pogo stick, I fucking will. If I want you to spank me and fuck me raw, you fucking will. If I want to suck your cock, I fucking will. Speaking of which, unzip your pants.”

“Seriously?”

“Do you want me, baby?”

“You know the answer to that,” I bark at her as she approaches me, removing her tank top. Her fake breasts are spilling out of her glittery pink push-up bra. She pulls her over-dyed hair into a ponytail and pushes me back against the couch as she straddles my lap, fumbling around for my waistline.

My cock isn’t obeying my inner commands to heel; instead, he perks the fuck up, which pisses me off even more.

“Who owns you, baby?” she asks as she pulls my cock out of my pants. She leans up on her knees, situates herself over my lap and then impales herself on me.

My hands fly to her skinny hips as she uses me. I grind my teeth, forbidding myself to enjoy this, but my body sends signals to my mind that deny me my wishes, as I lean my head back in the chair and let her use me however she wants.

My mind and my body need to get on the same page. Next time, I’ll try harder.

* * *

I wake up in a sweat and lift myself off the bed. I clench my fists and growl into the dark room. Shaking my head, I try to clear away those thoughts from the past, thoughts I don’t need to think about. Because right now everything is good. I’ve got Mika in my life, so the last thing I need is the specter of Candy haunting our relationship. There’s still a small part of me that is scared shitless that Mika’s going to fuck me over and take me for all I have, but I know that is false. My whole being is sure that she’s genuine, despite my reservations. She wouldn’t have introduced me to her kid if she wasn’t.

“Are you all right?” a voice asks from the bed.

I had forgotten Mika had stayed the night. The last few days, she had been so busy at work, plus she didn’t want Jared thinking he had a new daddy, so she had been sleeping at her house. But tonight, Jared is with his father so I’d had Mika all to myself.

It’s different being in a real relationship. Never thought that would really happen. The pseudo-relationship I had with Candy was a huge mistake from the start. And now, I’m not just in a relationship with Mika, but potentially her son too. I’ve seen him a few times during the past week at her place. I’ve made them dinner a few times, and we’ve watched a movie together. I should be terrified of this addition to our new relationship, but I really like Mika and I’m not going to ditch her just because she has a kid. Hell, my mom was a single parent for a chunk of my life, so I get it.

“Yeah, I just had a bad dream.” I say, shaking my head again and crawling back under the covers. I lay back down, bend my arm behind my head, and focus my eyes on the ceiling. Mika scoots closer to me and drapes her arm across my torso.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asks quietly.

“Just some bad memories. I have a shrink appointment next week, so my subconscious is likely dredging up all the scenarios that I’ll be asked about.”

“If you ever want to talk about any of it, I’m here,” she says.

“Appreciate it,” I reply, kissing the top of her head. She snuggles in closer to me, wrapping her leg over mine and humming contentedly.

* * *

“I think enough time has passed, maybe I can arrange something?” Beth says, as she picks at a muffin crumb on the coffee house table.

“I think that would be great, but I don’t want to saddle you with the responsibility of getting us all in the same room.”

“Why not? If I don’t, no one will.” She shrugs.

“While that may be true, it could come back to haunt you if it doesn’t work out. I’m not willing to cause any friction there for you.”

“Listen, there was enough friction four years ago to last a lifetime. We all got through it, came out on top of it and hopefully, this will put any remaining animosity to bed.”

“And again, I would be the cause of said friction.”

“But now, you’re trying to redeem yourself. You just need the chance to tell them what you told me. Maybe when the truth comes out, there will be different feelings.” She takes a sip of her drink.

“Or complete hatred.”

“You won’t know until you try. Where’s the Bradford that I used to know? The cocky asshole who didn’t give two shits?”

“He went to jail and had a lot of time to think about his past transgressions. And it’s Brad now. I stopped using Bradford. I’m no longer the entitled prick I used to pretend to be.”

“So why not show them the new you?”

Mika

Things have been moving smoothly with Brad. He comes over a few nights a week and hangs out with Jared and me. He cooks us food that doesn’t come out of a cardboard box and occasionally tries to get me to assist him in the kitchen. When Jared is home with me, we make it a point not to have many sleepovers, though when it does I push Brad out at the crack of dawn, which I will confess has happened twice since he’s met Jared.

Jared seems to like Brad, at least as much as any five-year-old can. Brad engages with him and in return Jared makes fun of him and tries to wrestle with him while we’re sitting around. When Jared is with Derek, I sleep over at Brad’s house.

Brad went to a therapist last week and immediately, immediately lighter, as he described the experience. He was supposed to come over tonight, but cancelled our plans for a meeting he got called to.

So here I stand in my kitchen, staring at the microwave as the timer counts down on one of the frozen dinners I had stashed in the back of the freezer. It’s seconds from ready when my front door opens and closes.

“Hey. No company tonight?” Reed asks, as he sits in a chair at my dinette.

“Not tonight,” I reply, barely paying him any attention.

The microwave goes off and I quickly open the door, almost burning myself as I remove the plastic dish and lightly toss it onto the counter. Reed snickers.

“You two have been hanging out a lot lately. So, what exactly is happening there?” he probes.

“We’re two adults, enjoying one another’s company” I say, grabbing a fork out of the utensil drawer to my side.

“Getting your freak on, and such? Does Derek know about Brad?”

“I haven’t mentioned it to him, but it’s not like he tells me all about whichever nurse he’s fucking each week. But I’m pretty sure that Jared has mentioned something to him, because he’s been short in his responses to me.”

“Do you know if he’s bringing them around the boy?”

“Jare has mentioned a few, but it’s none of my business. I cannot control what happens in his home, just as he cannot control what happens in mine.” I shrug, then resume blowing on my meal.

“If this thing with Brad is serious, you should consider mentioning it to Derek. I mean, Brad has a criminal record. Granted, his record doesn’t include any violent crime, but you never know how someone will perceive a record in general. Not to mention that he will be around Jared. These are things that a parent wants to know. ”

“Way to be a kill joy.”

“I’m just being realistic. So, are you guys serious? You’ve been seeing him for a little over a month, he’s met Jared, and he feeds you. Those are major milestones”

“Was this entire conversation a means for you to figure out where we are in our relationship?”

“Perhaps.” He smiles.

“We are dating. We aren’t dating anyone else. Wait, can’t you just ask him all this when you guys meet?”

“I’m working on his completing his file. We’re almost done with his requirements.”

“So, then do you guys talk about me?”

“”Bro code, sis.”

“You suck.” I stick out my tongue as I bring my dinner to the table and sit across from him.

“Is he treating you right? That’s all I care about, you know that.”

“He is. He’s also started seeing a therapist to help with some of the stuff in his past.”

“MmmmHmm.” Reed nods. I know he likely already knows that, but I’m showing him that Brad and I discuss these things just like any other couple.

I take a few bites of my meal as we sit in silence.

“Just be careful. He’s told me how he was before he went to jail. While he may say that he’s not that guy anymore, that guy could still lurk beneath.”

“Thanks for looking out for me Reed, but I’m a big girl. Thank you anyway.”

“If you’re a big girl, then you should be eating real meals not this crap.” Reed taps the table in front of my plastic dish as I shove a large bite in my mouth of cheesy noodle goodness.

Which is good, but obviously does not taste as delicious as Brad’s cooking.

* * *

My tablet is pressed against my chest as I walk down the busy hallway. I’ve made my rounds, I’ve charted and I’ve already taken my lunch. The afternoons always tend to drag on unless I get to scrub in on a surgery. Today, luckily, was one of those days. I’m in the surgery suite after a minimally invasive procedure, double checking the sterile field, or rather, the now non-sterile field, as the patient is being wheeled out into the recovery room.

I re-wash my hands and remove my gown and cap before grabbing my tablet and making notes. Then I leave the surgery suite and head to the locker room. I grab my phone and it vibrates in my hand notifying me of a missed message.

Derek: There is a discussion that we need to have, are you available this evening to discuss?

So formal. Also so Derek.

Me: I will be home 2nite around 4, U can come by anytime.

I see the bubbles pop up on the screen indicating that he’s messaging me back.

Derek: What time does J go to bed? I would rather not have this conversation with him present.

Me: 8

Derek: Perfect. I’ll stop by then. CU

What on Earth could this be about? I look at my watch; only one more hour before I’m done for the day.

I pick up Jared from after-school care and we go out to pizza before heading home. As I’m kissing him goodnight, I hear a knock on the door downstairs.

Talk about punctual.

I take my time answering the door. When I open the door, Derek waltzes past me into the living room and sits on the couch. I sit opposite him in the recliner and wait for him to speak. He looks around and then smiles.

“Your boyfriend isn’t here?” he asks.

“No, not tonight. Why do you ask.”

“I was hoping to meet him. After all, he’s been spending time with my son.”

“I didn’t think that I needed to introduce you guys.”

“I would have appreciated it if you would have told me that you were dating a felon.” My jaw goes slack. I’m shocked this is what we’re talking about.

“He’s not a violent felon,” I defend.

“It doesn’t matter whether or not he was a violent person or not. I pulled his background. He was in jail for years.”

“First, you have no right. Second, his crime wasn’t violent. And three, he was only in jail for three years.”

“Point is, your boyfriend was in jail, and I’m not talking the overnight drunk tank. He was in prison. I do not want him around our son.”

I stand up, towering over him with my hands on my hips as I look down at him. The anger is vibrating off of me.

“You have no right to tell me who I can spend time with.”

“I do if he’s going to be around my son.”

“You know damn well that this isn’t something you can control. Just like if you were to bring a bimbo home, I cannot control that.”

“Bimbos aren’t my thing.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, interns or residents,” I sneer.

“Just because you and I didn’t work out—” he starts.

“We were nothing, Derek. You and I were just fucking. We were horny, that’s it. There was never an us. Nothing was there to work out,” I say harshly.

“I don’t want him around Jared,” Derek says, clenching his jaw.

“You don’t have a say in the matter,” I retort.

“I don’t want to have to take you to court.”

“Seriously? Derek, you’re going to go there?”

“Like I said, he’s a felon. I. Do. Not. Want. My. Son. Around. Him!” He enunciates each word like a stab to my heart.

“Fuck you. Fuck you, Derek. Get out of my house,” I say, barely holding it together, fighting off the tears that are trying to breach my eyes.

“This isn’t the last of this discussion.” He stands, straightens his tie and walks towards the door.

“If you’re threatening me with court, Derek, you can speak to my fucking lawyer.”

The door opens and Derek walks out without closing it. As he steps down the porch stairs, I grab the door and slam it then slink down the door to the floor in tears. Knowing that I could have handled that better, that I didn’t have to react but could have listened and responded calmly.

“Mommy? You okay?” Jared asks from the bottom step.

I hold my arms out to him and he runs into them. I lean my cheek against his head and sigh.

“It’s gonne be Jare. It’s gonna be. I’m sorry you got woken up.”

“You know what makes me happy when I’m sad, mommy?”

“What’s that?”

“Cookies, you should have a cookie.”