Chapter 16 - Carter

I left the office with her words playing through my mind. His name was Mason and he was my son.

I knew that I didn’t want Vivian to lose her job but I needed time to think about things before I made a final decision. I needed space and I went to the gym and worked out for an hour as I made a plan.

I thought about what my dad told me and considered both lies. Both were awful and while the lie about my son seemed to be so much worse, in theory, Vivian had been hurt badly when she read that text. We both lied and had both been hurt, but did it mean that it was over between us? I loved Vivian and knew now that I had for years. I wanted to know and love my son at the very least.

I left the gym and showered before going to my SUV in the parking garage. I didn’t drive it often but I needed the room today and some privacy. I had a lot of errands to run. I went to the best toy store that I knew and walked through the aisles. I knew that Vivian didn’t have a huge apartment so I only spent a few hundred dollars before carrying the bags to my car. I loaded them in the truck and drove to another store to make a purchase for Vivian. I wanted to impress her and show her that I loved her. I wanted to make things right.

My last stop was for Thai food since that was her favorite. It always had been. I took the big bag of food and headed to her place in Brooklyn. I managed to get into the building as another tenant was leaving and knocked on her door, blood pounding through my veins as I waited.

The door opened and Vivian stared at me in silence. She looked like she’d been crying all day and she searched my face before she looked down at the bags at my feet. “What are you doing here?”

“Where is he?” I asked as she looked back into the apartment.

“He’s in his room right now.”

“I want to be a part of your lives, Vivian. I know that I left earlier but I needed to think and this is what I came up with.” I handed her the huge bouquet of flowers and gestured at the bags at my feet. Vivian took the flowers with a shocked look on her face.

“Our lives?” Her voice was low and I nodded. I saw movement behind her. It was Mason. He walked forward to stare at the bags around my feet.

“What’s all this stuff?” he asked in a shy voice as he looked over the bags and then at me. “Who are you?”

“This is my friend, Carter,” Vivian spoke quickly and I looked at her. “Meet Mason.”

We shook hands as he kept looking from me to his mother. She invited me in and she and Mason helped me with the bags. We went into the small living room and started opening the bags. I showed him the things that I had bought for him while Vivian was watching us. He looked at the toys with wide eyes. I helped him get them out of the packages. “Why did you bring me this?” he asked me with a questioning gaze. “It’s not my birthday or Christmas.”

“I just stopped by the store and thought you might like some of this stuff. When is your birthday?” I asked him.

“October eighteenth,” he told me as I grinned at him. “I have to wait for a few months.”

“You have this stuff to tide you over,” I gestured to the toys as he started to play with a toy that you put together. I looked at Vivian. “Are you guys hungry? I brought food. Thai, your favorite.” Vivian shot me a shy smile.

“Yes, I’m hungry!” Mason abandoned the toys and ran towards the kitchen as I dropped my head back and laughed. I already loved this kid. I watched as his beautiful mother led him to the kitchen to get him a plate.

I went after them and put the bag on the counter. Vivian spooned food onto Mason’s plate and put it on the table for him. “Thank you for all of this,” she said, giving me a grateful look as we fixed our plates too, speaking in low voices.

“He’s a great kid, Viv. And I’m not just saying that because he’s mine. You did an amazing job.” I smiled at her as she blinked. “I want to take care of both of you.”

“I’m sorry. I kept him from you and your family.” Her voice was low and she stared at the counter for a moment.

“We’ll talk about it later. Let’s eat first,” I suggested and we took our plates to the small table. I asked Mason all about school and his favorite activities. I found out that Vivian raised him to be a hockey fan. I asked him if he’d like to see some games with me and he nodded with wide eyes. I told him that we could even meet the players some time and he stared at Vivian.

“Can we. Mom?” She nodded and gave me a soft smile before we cleaned up the dishes. Vivian gave Mason his bath while I waited in the living room. I ended up reading to him in his bed, watching his eyes blink slowly as he fought sleep.

Once he was asleep, I made my way to the living room and found Vivian curled up on the couch in leggings and a worn t-shirt. She asked me how it went. “He likes to fight sleep, doesn’t he?” I asked as she nodded with a chuckle. “It went well. He likes to be read to.”

“Yes, he does.” She smiled sweetly as she looked at me. “Do you hate me?”

“I was angry once I realized that he was mine. I won’t lie. Why didn’t you tell me?” She took a deep breath.

“I knew that you wanted to leave our hometown to make it big. I found out that I was pregnant after you left and I thought long and hard about what I was going to do. I decided not to tell you because I didn’t want you to come back to me just because of the baby. I didn’t want you to sacrifice your dreams for me. I was afraid you’d never love me once you realized what you’d have to give up for us. I knew that if I really loved you, I’d have to let you go, let you live your dreams.” Vivian shrugged as a sad look crossed her face. “I never forgot you though. I thought about you so much. I loved you even when I let you go.”

“And my parents? Didn’t they ever see him?” I asked as she scrunched up her face.

“I made sure of it. I didn’t want to hurt them in the process of all of this and I wish that I could take it all back now. I am so sorry.” She glanced at me.

“I forgive you. I did leave town like my ass was on fire. All I could think about was my goals. I was an idiot for leaving you.” I thought about the text message and gazed at her. “I lied as well. I never meant for you to see Shane’s message. To be honest, you stopped being a bet weeks ago. I didn’t set us on a timer or even care about the deal I made with him. I did some stupid shit before you, Vivian. But you changed everything.” I slipped my arm around her and pulled her close to me.

“You really had a fuck list of women?” she asked. I winced and nodded.

“I didn’t care about anything but quick sex and money. I hate saying that but it’s true. I just kept moving so fast and not caring about anything.” I kissed her softly. “Once you walked back into my life, I realized that you were the one thing I regretted losing the most.”

“I am?” Her voice was soft as I nodded.

“I love you, Vivian. I want to make this right with us and get to know Mason. We can take time to let him get to know me and tell him who I am. I know that it’s just been the two of you for a long time.” She smiled and a tear slid down her cheek.

“I love you, Carter. I’ve waited years to tell you that.” She leaned up to kiss me and I let the heat flow easily between us. I knew that I couldn’t live without her in my life. I slipped my tongue into her mouth as she moaned into mine.

Once we got started, I knew that I needed to be inside of her. I slipped my hands over her clothed body and we kissed hungrily. My hands kneaded her ass as she straddled me. Vivian pulled away reluctantly, looking over at the hallway. “I’d like to take this to my bedroom. There are a door and time to stop before he sees it.” She blushed. “I’ve never done this with him in the house before.”

“Never?” I asked as she shook her head. “Do you mean in the same house or in general?”

“I didn’t date after he was born. I was busy.” She shrugged and I cupped her face for another kiss. I loved that I was the last man that she was with, then and now. I wanted it to stay that way and we got caught up in a heated kiss all over again as she whimpered into my mouth.

“I love you,” I told her as I lifted her body and carried her to her room. I closed the door gently, locking it behind me as I carried her to the bed. We kissed as I pressed her down into the mattress, our tongues dancing together hungrily. I undressed her, kissing her body all over as I memorized her scent and taste.

She came the first time on my tongue as she whispered my name. The next time, she was riding my cock slowly as she bent down to kiss me, her pussy wrapped tightly around me. Vivian was tight and wet as she moved and I clutched her ass as I felt myself edging closer to a release.

We came within seconds of each other, keeping quiet as we kissed slowly. I never felt this way with a woman and I held her close as she recovered, asking her if I could stay the night.

I got up the next morning to make them breakfast. Mason seemed happy to see me. Once he was off to school, I told Vivian that she was welcome to come back to work if she wanted to. We could work together for a while and see what panned out, but I would love her no matter what.

She told me she loved me as well and I kissed her against the fridge, asking her if she wanted to go back to bed and make some noise this time.