Chapter Twenty-Three

Hadley

Later that night, after the party had wound down to just us and a handful of people, Blake and I broke the news to Cat and Zane. Cat was sad I was moving but thrilled that Blake and I were finally committing to each other.

Zane gave me a shoulder squeeze and muttered something that sounded like, “Good job.” Even though he had the Midas touch, the guy wasn’t much for words.

While Cat and Mr. Brass reminisced about how Mr. Brass tricked her into nearly sending him into a diabetic coma, I watched Hunter slowly kill a fifth of bourbon.

Leaning back, so that only Blake and Wayne could hear, I asked, “Is Hunter going to be okay?”

“I don’t know,” Blake responded before letting out a deep and somewhat disgusted sounding sigh. “He came today because he thought Lena would be here. I keep waiting for him to wake the hell up and realize she’s a lost cause.”

“You know what they say,” Wayne murmured. “The best way to get over someone is to get under someone else.” He gazed longingly over at Hunter. “That man could get over, under, and on top of me. Hell, for him, I’d put on a wig and pretend my name was Waynette.” Blake laughed but I felt sorry for Hunter. He was obviously hurting.

It wasn’t until Hunter’s head precariously began to bob and weave that Blake called it a night. “Now’s your chance to cop a feel,” he told Wayne as they both stood and made their way over to a now snoring Hunter.

“Thanks, but it’s not as much fun if he’s unconscious. Where are we taking him?” Wayne asked.

“Hey, babe, are you cool with him sleeping it off at your place?” Blake tossed over his shoulder at me. I told him yes and off they went.

Ten minutes later, they were back and we said our goodbyes.

Two days later, I broke the news to my dad. I’d held off telling him for fear of disappointing him. Never, in my wildest dreams did I think he’d be excited, but the man was over the moon about becoming a grandpa.

“Are you happy?” he asked.

“More than I ever thought was possible,” I told him.

“I’ve honestly got to say that I’m quite shocked it’s you and not Tilly. You mentioned moving in together. What happens when the baby comes? Can he provide for you? Are there any plans for marriage?” He was worried for me. God, I loved my dad.

“We’re figuring things out as they come, Dad. Blake is the best man and I really and truly love him. He can more than provide for us and maybe one day, when the time is right, we’ll get married,” I calmly explained, hoping that I could make him understand.

Releasing a gush of pent up air, he said, “Talk about putting the cart before the horse. You went ahead and put the whole damn wagon train.” I couldn’t help but laugh. He wasn’t wrong. Blake and I had done everything backwards but it was right for us and that’s what mattered.

The very next night I came home from work to discover that my things were no longer there. At first, I was angry. The audacity of the man to take it upon himself to move my things! I was on the verge of calling him when it hit me that I now didn’t have to spend the weekend packing. I hated packing. Blake and I were moving in together anyway. I should be thanking him. As I stared around the place I’d spent the past two months in, I realized that I should stop fighting the inevitable and just give in.

I arrived at Blake’s, or should I say our place, to find Blake sitting on the living room sofa watching television. His arm came around me as I dropped down beside him.

“Good night at work?” he asked, giving me a light peck on the lips.

“I used to be able to stay up for days before getting tired,” I grumped. His warm hand rubbed over my belly and I sighed.

“Maybe you should consider taking a leave,” he suggested, then noticing my glare, added, “Just until after the baby comes.”

“Funny, I was thinking that instead of taking maternity leave, I would just take the baby with me to work. She could sit in her bucket while I cooked and I could whip out my tits every three hours to feed her. It makes perfect sense when you think about it.”

“Yeah? I’m not real fond of that idea,” he muttered.

“Really? I thought it was kind of ingenious, myself,” I replied in a blunt, dry tone. I felt his eyes on me.

“I sense some hostility, here. Would you care to share?” he asked.

With a slight turn of my head, I stared into the eyes I loved more than anything in this world and slowly broke it down for him. “Share is the operative word in that sentence, Blake. The next time you decide to do something monumental, such as move me out of my apartment, I would appreciate it if you shared the news with me first. That’s what couples do.”

“I’m all about sharing, but here’s the thing. I’ve been trying to get you to move in with me for the past month. First it was give me a month. Then two weeks. Then a week. Then we fought and there went another week. I love you, Hadley. I’m not wasting one more second without you. If you’re not good with this then—” I shut him up with my mouth, which, of course, led to other things. I may have made my point, but Blake had definitely won the battle.

A week to the day after Blake moved me in with him, we found the perfect home. It had four bedrooms, three and a half baths, and the most amazing kitchen I’d ever seen. We called it our dream cottage. Not only did it sit on a wooded lot that was just over an acre, but it was perfectly located between both bars. It took three weeks for inspections and such before we finally closed on it and the house was officially ours.

The morning before we were due to move, I was sitting on the floor in a tank top and panties, drinking a cup of tea and packing our last few boxes when Blake rolled in from a run. He’d been quiet the past few days and I was getting kind of worried that he was having buyer’s remorse. I waited for him to grab a bottle of water and settle on the sofa before crawling through the sea of boxes and parking my ass on his lap.

“I’m sweaty,” he announced, as if I couldn’t tell.

“You’re sexy,” I corrected before licking a bead of sweat from the side of his neck. “You’re also worrying me,” I added before lapping up a second sweat droplet. I could feel him growing hard beneath me.

Tilting his head to the side, his deep voice asked, “Worrying you how?”

Slowly, I licked my way up his neck to his ear, where I whispered, “I’m worried that you’re having second thoughts.” His head suddenly turned, which placed his lips right in line with mine.

“Never,” he said, staring deep into my eyes. Then, slanting his head, he gave me one of his earthshattering kisses. While devouring my mouth, he bucked his hips up just enough for me to feel every hard inch of him. Breaking the kiss, he murmured, “See what you do to me?” against my lips.

“Yes,” I panted as I brazenly ground my core against his erection like a cat in heat.

“No one but you, baby,” he whispered before capturing my lips in another panty melting kiss. God. God. God! I loved him. Here I was trying to make sure we were alright and with two kisses he had me hot, very bothered, and practically begging for it.

After a minute or so of kissing and grinding on each other, Blake jerked his head back and in a sexy growl said, “God, I want to fuck you.” Those were the same words he’d said to me the first night we’d slept together. Just the memory made me smile. Never, in a million years, did I expect for us to end up here. With a slight tilt of my torso, I gained enough room between us to maneuver my tank up and over my head. With an appreciative groan, Blake lowered his head and gave each of my nipples some much-needed attention. Then, with a tilt of his pelvis, he lifted me into the air, hooked his thumbs in the waistband of his running shorts, and stripped them down his legs. His hands slid into the sides of my panties. “Off,” he ordered, but before I had the chance to even move, he had them halfway down my body. After kicking them the rest of the way off, I resumed my straddle and lifted up onto my knees. A hiss escaped from his lips as I wrapped my fingers around his erection and slowly guided it to my entrance. We both groaned as I started to lower myself down.

When he was as deep as he could get, I brought my eyes to his and said, “Speak Spanish to me.” I’m not sure what made me do it. It just popped into my head and then spouted from my mouth.

His mouth broke into a breathtaking smile. With his hands on my hips, he slowly began to rock back and forth. “You want me to speak Spanish?” he asked.

“C’mon. Give me one word.” I gasped when he lifted me up. At the exact same time he jerked me back down, he thrust deep, filling me to the hilt.

“I don’t speak Spanish, babe,” he panted as he gave it to me again.

“You look like a conquistador and conquistadors speak... Spanish,” I groaned as I felt the stirrings of an orgasm start to pool at the base of my spine.

“Fuck,” he panted, “I can’t remember the rest.

“Something about tetas and coños,” I gushed and gasped as his fingers found purchase on my sensitive nipples. “Don’t stop!” Right as I shouted the words, a shadow fell across the front door, blocking out the sunlight.

My head turned right as Blake shouted, “Fuck! I’m coming!” By the time I saw her standing there, it was too late. Like a tsunami, the orgasm hit.

“Fuuuuuuck!” I screamed in both ecstasy and horror at the realization that Blake’s mother was now standing in our open doorway. The moment the bliss passed, I dropped back to his chest and buried my head in his neck.

Oblivious to the fact that his mother had just seen us having sex, Blake pulled me in tight, and adding insult to injury, growled, “Christ, I fucking love your pussy!”

“Your mom,” I whispered against his neck.

“Huh?” he asked. Instead of repeating myself, I stuck my hand out and pointed in her direction. Seconds later, I felt him tense beneath me.

“Mom?” I heard him ask.

“Surprise! I...uh...guess I should have called,” she quietly replied.

“Hi, Mrs. Haines,” I said, still hiding in Blake’s neck.

“Hadley, it’s good to see you again. I didn’t expect to find you...here,” she stiffly replied, and I wanted to curl up and die.

“What’s that?” I heard a man’s voice ask. Oh God! Seriously? Cat’s dad was here, too?

“Could you both give us a second?” Blake growled. I could tell he was getting angry.

“We’ll just be outside,” his mother replied.

“Is that a naked girl on his lap?” Hal asked right before the door closed and their voices were cut off.

“Please tell me that didn’t just happen?” I whispered. When I felt Blake’s body shake with laughter, I jerked my head up and hissed, “This isn’t funny, Blake!”

“I know,” he replied on a howl. While he sat there laughing like a loon, I vaulted from his lap and sprinted for the bedroom.

Blake was in and out of the room before I’d even finished my shower. After twenty or so minutes of procrastinating, I straightened my shoulders and went to face the firing squad.

“Oh, my heavens above!” his mother shrieked when she saw me. I froze on the spot, wondering if it was a happy shriek or if she was about to kneecap me. In a flash she was in front of me. “Thank you, Jesus! You’ve answered my prayers,” she said with her eyes pointed to the ceiling. I glanced over at Blake and couldn’t help but smile when he winked at me.

“I take it you’re happy about the baby?” I asked, trying really hard not to think about what happened earlier.

“Happy? Try ecstatic! I’m going to be a grandma!” she shouted.

“Mom, she’s not hard of hearing,” Blake muttered.

Ignoring him, she waved her hands over my belly and asked, “Can I?”

“Sure,” I answered, thinking that this was all kinds of weird.

“I’m going to spoil you rotten,” she sang in a high-pitched voice. I tried not to wince but she was just so...over the top.

“I told you,” Blake mouthed when I looked to him for help.

That night, Blake and I took his mom and stepdad to Sazerac’s. We’d taken the week off, but I was happy to check and see how my crew was faring without me. Cat and Zane joined us for a quick bite to eat before scurrying off to take care of their managerial responsibilities. Of course, that’s when Blake’s mom decided to hit us with the marriage question. My parents had both asked on separate occasions but not in front of Blake. The truth was, we hadn’t really discussed marriage. I could see the question made Blake as uncomfortable as it did me.

In an attempt to squelch it, I explained that, “All of this,” pointing to my belly, “kind of just happened. I don’t know about Blake, but I’d like to test the waters before taking such a huge step.” I could tell his mom was less than thrilled with my answer but at least she had the courtesy not to say anything more about it.

On the drive home in Blake’s brand new jet-black Forerunner, we dropped his parents at their hotel. Then Blake took me back to our place, where he made love to me.

Afterwards, as we lay basking in the glow, Blake turned to me and said, “You do know that I’m going to marry you, don’t you?”

A minute passed before I could put into words what I was thinking. “I love you more than anything, Blake, but promise me that if you do ask me to marry you, it’s because you want to spend the rest of your life with me and not because you knocked me up. Forever is a long time and I refuse to commit to it unless we’re both one hundred percent sure.” He nodded his head in understanding and that was the last that was said about it.

Blake’s parents stayed long enough to get us moved in. While his mom and I bonded over boxes, Blake and his dad did all of the heavy lifting. His mother was sweet. Blake told me she would be excited about becoming a grandmother, but she was beyond excited, try pathologically enthusiastic. If Blake thought his mother was neurotic, there was no telling what he thought of my family...

Blake

The next three months passed quickly. During which time, Hadley and I settled into the house. While she did things like bake cookies, cakes, and pies and clean every inch of the house a million times over, I had fun picking out things for the nursery. Okay, so I might have gone a little overboard. When Hadley came home and discovered I’d painted the nursery walls pink, she freaked. How was I supposed to know she didn’t like pink? She also flipped out when I went a little slap-happy with the credit card and bought everything she’d put on the baby registry. In all fairness to me, it seemed we really needed the stuff that was on the list so it made perfect sense to just buy it all.

As promised, Zane made me part owner of Whisky’s. With it came more money, but also more responsibility, which made me nervous with the baby coming. Thankfully, Hunter was there to help. Even though he remained heartbroken over Lena, he stopped getting trashed every night and really stepped up to the plate and delivered.

Our days weren’t without drama, though. Hadley’s mother met a man half her age, and in true Maureen-like fashion, she asked him to move in after only two weeks. This sent Tilly through the roof, which in turn sent Hadley through the roof. Tilly took to calling Hadley on a daily basis. When she started to toss around threats about moving to Charlotte, I finally took it upon myself to shut her down. Work had its share of drama, too. After avoiding her advances for months, Patrice finally snared Ashe. Then, in the middle of a show, they had a knockdown, drag-out fight, which resulted in them breaking up. As far as I knew, they were still split.

As Hadley got bigger, it got harder for her to get around. Wayne began calling her large Marge, which he ultimately shortened just to Marge. It infuriated me but didn’t seem to bother Hadley in the least. What surprised me the most, however, was Hadley’s blasé attitude when the doctor ordered her to stop working at her thirty-sixth week checkup. Apparently, the pressure of being on her feet for so long was causing swelling and the doctor was worried. I expected Hadley to flip out but she just smiled and took it in stride.

On October 20th, at approximately 2 a.m., Hadley’s water broke. Ten hours later, Nicola Cathryn Moreno made her grand entrance. Weighing six pounds and four ounces and measuring nineteen inches in length, she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. The moment the doctor placed our daughter in my arms, I knew our lives would never be the same.

The proudest moment of my life was when I introduced our daughter to our friends and family. Hadley Jacobs was it for me. I never thought I could be so happy. Having Nicola only magnified those feelings. As I stared down at her tiny little body, I felt nothing but love. I also felt scared shitless. I was this precious little girl’s dad and with that came one hell of a responsibility.

“What are you thinking?” Hadley asked.

Lifting my eyes from my beautiful daughter to the woman that had taken me at my worst and taught me how to be my best, I answered, “When can we do this again?”

THE END

If you enjoyed Gold Digger, check out the first chapter from Zane and Cat’s story...