Rex

Later in The Evening

Standing here with this little guy in my arms, I can’t believe that I’m actually feeling excited. Even though we’ve been preparing for the past month, buying a crib and most of the essentials, part of me was still resisting the idea of taking on this responsibility. But now, standing here gazing into his clear blue eyes, I have no reservations. This is my boy.

“I can’t believe she gave birth and immediately turned over custody,” my mother comments, seeming mystified by how smoothly everything went.

“Jessica never wanted a kid,” I explain in a hushed voice. “She only wanted to extort money from me. After we discovered the fertility clinic that she used, she knew she was screwed. I let her think this whole time that she was going to have to raise the kid on her own and face charges in federal court. So when I offered to drop the charges and give her fifty grand if she turned over full custody, she jumped at the chance.”

“We had many talks about this child, and she had me convinced that she actually cared about him,” she says with a puzzled look. “I guess I didn’t want to believe that the mother of my first grandchild is a sociopath.”

“I know.” I turn my son to face her. “But she did produce a beautiful baby boy. I’ll make sure he’s raised right so he doesn’t turn out like her. I turned out okay, in spite of my mother,” I tease.

“Very funny. At least you didn’t get involved with that Kathy Summers girl. That woman makes Jessica look like a catch. I finally told her that I wouldn’t be able to help her. She would spend the whole hour badgering me about you,” she declares with obvious exasperation. “I’ve never seen anyone so fixated on someone.”

“Hey, what can I say? Chicks dig me.” I give her a wink before going back to gazing at my new son.

“I want to show you something,” she says, reaching for her purse and pulling out several old photographs. “These are all from the first few days after you were born.” She holds them in front of me, showing them one by one. “He is the spitting image of you. He’s even got the same wild dark hair that you had.”

“I know. The instant I looked in his eyes, I knew that I had made the right choice.” I lean forward, giving him a kiss on the forehead. “It feels good, but I’m a little worried about taking him home tomorrow. I don’t have a clue what to do next.”

“I thought you were reading those books I brought home,” Felicia says, coming through the door after stopping home to grab us some fresh clothes. “Oh, my God, he’s a little darling!” Her face lights up upon seeing his for the first time. “Oh, my God… such a sweetie. Can I hold him?”

“Of course.” I smile and pass the little bundle to her. “His eyes lit up when he saw you.”

“So did yours,” Mother adds, giving me a nudge. “I’ll leave the three of you to get acquainted. I’ll be back in the morning. And don’t worry. By the looks of it, both Felicia and I will be eager to help you raise this little guy. He’s so precious.” She leans in, giving him a kiss.

“I’ve never seen Mom so affectionate,” I whisper after she exits the room. “I think this is going to be good for her. She’s been wanting to scale back her practice, but Dad is never around. This guy will be a good distraction for her.”

“He is just a sweetie,” she says, unable to take her eyes off him.

“His eyes literally twinkle every time you say something,” I tell her, having noticed it from the moment she walked in the room. “He already adores you.” A warmth I’ve never known fills my heart watching the two of them interacting. After a judge makes it official, I will have sole custody of this little guy, and I want Felicia to be his legal mother. Even though we’ve only dated for a few months, I’ve known from the beginning that she’s the one. The things we’ve gone through together have only reinforced the fact that we have a strong bond that will survive the test of time. A small lump forms in my throat, so I swallow to suppress it. “I want you to be Michael’s mother,” I whisper, tears instantly popping from the corners of my eyes.

“Michael?” she asks, the rest of my statement not really sinking in.

“Yes, Michael Rex. I’ve always liked the name, and I didn’t want to strap him with the stigma of being Rex Junior.”

“I love it.” She looks down upon him with complete adoration. “You know I’ll help you any way I can.”

“I know, but what I’m saying is that I want us to be a family.” I place my fingers beneath her chin and turn her gaze toward me. I give her a soft kiss before continuing my thoughts. “I know this is a lot for both of us to take in right now, but will you marry me?”

“Oh, my God! Yes! Are you sure?” she asks, going through a whole range of emotions in a matter of seconds. “I mean, you aren’t just freaking out at the thought of raising a kid, are you?”

“Honestly, I am a little freaked out, but no.” I run my fingers along her cheek. “I’ve always had a strong feeling that you are my match, and seeing him with you just confirmed it. I’m hoping we can keep it simple, maybe get married on a beach somewhere?”

“That’s what I’ve always wanted,” she replies, her eyes turning glassy. “As long as my mom is there, I don’t really care if we have any other guests.”

“I love you.” I lean in, giving her a more meaningful kiss, and immediately, little Michael begins to fuss. “So this is how it’s going to be?” I ask my little man, causing Felicia to giggle. “I think our sex life just got a whole lot more complicated.”

“It’ll be worth it,” she assures me with a sparkle in her eye and a rosy flush in her cheeks. I know she’s probably a bit overwhelmed at the moment, but I couldn’t wait to ask her. In the moment, everything just seemed perfect, like there would never be a better time to do it. Now I’ll have to go out and find her the perfect engagement ring. This is getting to be a very expensive week, and its only Monday.

Felicia

My entire body tingles at the thought of Rex and me getting married and raising this little cutie together. It’s only been half an hour since I met him, but I’m already in love. Each time he struggles to open those little blue eyes, he seems to smile at me. It’s the kind of thing that can melt any woman’s heart. I’m glad that Jessica chose not to see him after the delivery. There’s no way I would be able to give him up if he were mine. He’s completely adorable.

I hear my phone ringing, so I hand Michael back to Rex before retrieving it from my purse. I glance down and its Becca. Thinking back to the conversation I had with Kip earlier, I decide to let it go to voicemail. “Becca’s calling, so I’m sure she wants to ream me a new one for telling Kip that she fakes orgasms to get men to buy her stuff.”

“That was low,” he replies, raising an eyebrow. “You haven’t been faking it, have you? Just so I’d buy you that BMW.”

“You’re hilarious!” I whack him on the ass, trying not to startle the baby. “Before you, I didn’t even know how to orgasm, much less fake one.” I look him straight in the eyes. “I’ve never faked one,” I add, a result of his continued suspicious grin.

“I know you haven’t been faking it.” He laughs. “I’ve seen enough of them to know if you were faking.”

“Are you sure?” I ask, unable to resist introducing a bit of doubt. He’s always so confident about his sexual prowess that it might be okay to make him wonder just a bit. “By the way, a new toy came in last week that you need to try out. It’s called the Crazy Boy Extreme.”

“That sounds like it’s a little out of my league,” he replies with a cringe. “Is it one of Felix’s badass cousins or something?”

“Pretty much, but it has ten power settings so you can start out slowly,” I reply, trying to make it sound benign. “They say it will literally blow your mind.”

“I’m sure it will blow something, but we probably shouldn’t be talking about this with my newborn son in the room.” He looks down at the boy with a funny look on his face. “It just feels wrong.”

“Yeah, as if he’ll recall this conversation one day.” I laugh out loud.

“With all the technology out there, I wouldn’t doubt it.” He cocks an eyebrow. “Do you want to know what was going on the day you were born? Put on this device, and we’ll retrieve everything for you,” he says, putting his hand over Michael’s head. “What the hell? My parents were talking about sex toys! What the hell was wrong with them?”

Both of us are laughing when a nurse walks into the room. “It’s nice to see y’all bonding, but it’s time for me to take this little one and check his vitals. We need to run a couple of quick tests too in order to make sure everything is working the way it should be.”

“Sounds good,” Rex says, handing over the little guy. “He’s such a good boy. He only fussed once.”

“Yeah, he seems to be a calm one,” the nurse agrees. “Some kids come into this world kicking and screaming, but this one has been quiet as a mouse so far.”

“He’ll probably make up for it once you get him home,” I interject, causing the nurse to roar with laughter.

“Don’t you know it, girl. Once those quiet ones get their voices, they often make up for lost time!” She pats the little guy on the butt as she exits the room. “I’ll bring him back in a little while, so just make yourself comfortable. There’s coffee and soda around the corner if you need anything.”

“Are you sure you’re ready for all of this?” I ask, slipping my arms around Rex’s waist.

“No. How could anyone be ready for this?” he replies, shaking his head. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not excited about it. It’s a life I never expected for myself, and now that it’s happening, I can’t believe I could’ve missed out on it. Holding that little guy in my arms for the first time is something I’m never going to forget.”

“I can’t wait until we have one together,” I tell him, pulling him close and slowly swaying my hips. Even though Michael is a beautiful little boy, part of me can’t help but wish that I were his biological mother.

“Me too.” He pulls back, looking directly into my eyes. “I know you’re going to be an incredible mother, and I’m going to be there for our kids too. That’s why I like what we’re doing. We don’t need to be in the office every day. Sally and Barb can handle the day-to-day operations, so you and I can focus on finding great new products.”

“I’m glad you’re excited about all of this, because I am too.” A little chill travels down my spine at the thought of having a family of my own. “Oh, crap, I have to call Mom. She’s going to die when I tell her everything that’s going on.” I excuse myself, wanting to have a private conversation in one of the family rooms. I click to make a call and see that Becca has left me a message. Ignoring it, I click Mom’s number, excited to tell her the most recent developments.

“I was just about to call you,” she says in a rather callous tone.

“Why? What’s up?” I retreat to a quiet corner in the next room.

“Kip Taylor sent me a text this afternoon with a link to a very disturbing video,” she says, causing my heart to literally skip a beat. “Please tell me that you and Rex aren’t going into porn.” Her voice cracks a bit toward the end, revealing just how upset she is over it.

“No! Mom, it was the combination of three martinis and being dragged onto stage by two friends of ours,” I explain, shame washing through me from head to toe. “We didn’t know they were broadcasting it. We got caught up in the moment. It will never happen again.”

“It was bad enough when you two got caught having sex outside, but this is beyond anything I would ever fathom. I didn’t raise you this way.” I can tell it’s taking all of her strength to keep from breaking down. “I think you’d better end this thing with Rex. He’s obviously a terrible influence on you.”

“It’s not his fault. It was just a stupid decision on both of our parts,” I try to explain, completely deflated by the way this conversation is going. “I have to go right now, but I’ll stop over tomorrow so we can sit down and talk about things. Believe me, this will be the last video you ever see of me.”

“Kip said everyone in the locker room has been enjoying it.” She scoffs. “I don’t know why I ever liked him.”

“Probably because he’s rich, good looking, and he told you how young you looked the first time he met you,” I reply, knowing that comment instantly won her heart. “Kip always knew how to turn on the charm when he wanted something.”

“I think Rex gave me a similar compliment the first time I met him,” she replies. “And at the time, I had just gone through surgery and looked like hell.”

“Yeah, I remember that, but I think he really meant it.” I giggle at the recollection of overhearing the two of them. “Rex really does think a lot of you.”

“I’m glad for that, but you’re the one who’s really important to me,” she replies, her voice quavering again. “I don’t think I could handle it if anything happened to you.”

“I know. I’m sorry,” I reply, not really knowing what else to say. “I’ve done some crazy things this summer, but I promise you I’m not on drugs or anything. I discovered my sexuality and went a little crazy. I’m only twenty-three,” I add, knowing that it’s not really a good excuse for going crazy in a sex club. “Are you going to be around tomorrow? I would like to stop by and see you.”

“Why don’t you stop over Wednesday afternoon? I’ll be around all day,” she says, sounding a bit calmer. “I just don’t want to get a call someday hearing that something has happened to you.”

“I know. Everything is going to settle down from here on out. You’ll see,” I assure her, having decided to wait to tell her in person about Rex’s son being born and his proposal. Since Mom was suggesting he’s the source of my indiscretions, the timing couldn’t have been more off. “I’ll see you Wednesday afternoon.”

My stomach does a flip-flop as I hang up the call and try to calm down before rejoining Rex. I’ve never liked letting people down, especially my mom. My heart just aches at the thought of her opening another video of me doing something like that. Kip is the one who dumped me, so why does he have to continue to be such an asshole? I guess that’s just who he is. I wipe my eyes and head back toward the bonding room. It’s time to focus on the positives. This is a very special day, and I’m not going to let that asshole ruin it. I also have a special surprise for both Rex and his little son. I can’t wait to see his reaction.