One Simple Step (Journey Series) (18 page)

Her eyebrows knitted together as she scowled at me. “Don’t act like I didn’t try to get ahold of you, Nick. You’re the one that avoided my calls.”

“Because I didn’t want to deal with your shit,” I said, raising my voice above the noise of the restaurant. I lowered it quickly when I saw several heads snap our way. All I needed now was for Ally or Danny to come back over to see what the hell was going on. “Something like this, you should have tried harder. You know where I work, you know where my parents live, and the fact is, you probably didn’t really want me to call you back.”

“That’s not true, Nick. I didn’t have to contact you, I could’ve had the baby, put it up for adoption without mentioning a father, and you would’ve never had a clue. I did the right thing by telling you, so please just sign the papers.”

“How considerate of you, Kara,” I responded sarcastically, my fingers tapping away at the table to try and release some of the nerves that continued to build the more we spoke. “And why don’t you want to keep the baby? Is it not convenient enough for you?”

She frowned, and played with her straw to avoid my eyes. “Jared won’t stay with me if I keep the baby,” she mumbled. If you’re that ashamed to say it, maybe you’re not doing the right thing. Just an idea there.

“Wow, Kara, just wow. So, let me get this straight. There’s a baby growing inside of you, a baby that we created, whether it was a mistake or not, and because your new ‘boyfriend’ doesn’t want it, you’re just going to give it away? Even though you’re plenty old enough, have a decent job, and I know you’re good with kids. Does that about sum it up?”

“Whatever, Nick. I don’t need you to judge my decisions. Your opinion doesn’t matter to me anymore. So, just sign the papers and we can be done for good. You’ll never have to see me again.”

She nudged the pen back towards me, and I felt like throwing the thing across the room. Instead, I shoved my chair back, and jumped to my feet, leaning down so I was face to face with her. “I’m not signing anything right now, Kara. You actually have to give me time to process this whole thing. I can’t just give up my kid without thinking about it like some people.”

“So, what are you gonna do now?” Danny asked, pushing a much-needed beer towards me after I finished explaining to him how I found out about Kara. It wasn’t something I liked re-living, but it felt good to get it out there, and some of the weight that had been holding me down lifted off my chest.

“I have no clue, dude.” I rubbed a hand over my face, wishing that the answer would come easily to me, but I knew there was nothing easy about it. “I told Kara I won’t sign the papers, but I have no idea what that actually means. She hasn’t answered back yet. She’s probably pissed that she’s not getting her way.”

“You’re probably right.” Danny smirked and shook his head. “When are you gonna tell Ally?”

That was the million-dollar question.

I had no clue how and when to tell Ally. A comment that she made in Indiana to her mom was really weighing heavily on my decision regarding when to have this discussion. We hadn’t really talked about having kids, but I knew that I wanted to someday. I just didn’t realize how soon that someday would come. And according to what I overheard, Ally may not want kids at all. What if I decided to raise this kid? What if Ally wanted nothing to do with me if I had a kid? The list of what-ifs was endless.

I grabbed my phone quickly out of my pocket when I heard a text alert. I knew I should have wanted it to be Kara answering back, but I needed a little more time to think about what I was actually going to do. So, when I saw that it was Ally, I couldn’t help but grin. For now, our little bubble would remain unbroken, but I had a feeling this high that we were on was going to be popped very soon.

Ally

I couldn’t get back to Nick fast enough. It was a little weird to have this feeling. I mean, we had just spent every second of three days in a row together. Was I a little obsessive? Probably, but I didn’t care. Plus, it didn’t help that Nick refused to do anything under my parents’ roof. I was honestly surprised he hadn’t insisted on separate beds, something my parents hadn’t even done.

And while I hated going without sex for that long with Nick, I loved that he was that respectful when it came to my parents. It said a lot about the person that he was.

“Hey, Rem.” I waved at her when I stepped into the apartment and she mouthed “hi” at me, pointing at the phone that was attached to her ear.

I could only guess who she was talking to. She and Ben were constantly on the phone since his trip down here. I suggested that she could come along with Nick and me when we went to Indiana, but it was too short of a notice for her work schedule. I could definitely tell she had been bummed, but Ben mentioned something about coming down for a surprise trip soon, so I thought that would boost her up a little bit.

“So, it sounds like your parents loved Nick,” she said after saying goodbye and tossing her phone onto the couch. I had my laptop placed on my knees, and was clicking through all of my messages that had gotten backed up. The orders were coming in left and right. I might actually have to consider finding someone to help me. Remy helped me out somewhat, but I felt guilty for asking her since she always looked so drained after work.

“I think they did. Is that what Ben said?”

“Mmhmm,” she responded, a faraway look in her eyes at just the mention of Ben. Ugh, her daydreaming about my brother wasn’t something I wanted to think about, but at least she looked like her old self again. “Do you need some help?” She pointed to my basket of ribbon, but I shook my head.

“No, I think I’m gonna put those off until tomorrow, might as well start when I have a whole day ahead of me.”

“Right,” she dragged out. “You mean, you just want to get back over to Nick’s. Don’t think you can fool me, Ally James. You can’t stay away from that boy for longer than an hour without getting all depressed.”

“Oh, whatever, I’m not that bad.”

“Don’t worry about it.” She waved a hand at me. “I think it’s cute. If Ben lived around here, I would be doing exactly the same thing. Just promise me we’ll do a girls’ night soon. I’m in definite need of one of those.”

“That sounds excellent.” I closed my laptop, and gathered up all of my bows into the basket. “I’m just gonna grab some clean clothes, and head over to Nick’s. I put a check on the counter in the kitchen for you, too.”

She rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything. She must have finally figured out that I was going to give her money for rent and utilities, whether she wanted it or not. Yeah, I wasn’t here that often, but I wasn’t going to be a freeloader. I was still using up some of her space that she could do other things with, and who knew if Nick wanted me to move in. Maybe he just needed to live on his own for a little bit. He and Kara had been together for so long, he might need his own space for a while, and if that’s what he needed, I would give it to him.

“’Kay, Remy. I’ll see ya later, then.”

I called my mom on the way over to Nick’s, just to check in and let her know that we made it back safe and then I called Leah. She hadn’t been very happy because we came on a weekend that they were out of town. I was bummed when I found that we wouldn’t be able to see her and the kids, but it was really the only weekend that worked for Nick.

“So, tell me, how was it? Did your mom grill him the whole time you were there or what?”

I paused, smiling as I heard Ava’s baby talk coming through the speaker. “Are you serious? You know my mom isn’t the grilling type, but she says she loved him. Hopefully that was for real.”

“Your mom loves everyone. I told you I needed to be the one to officially meet him. You aren’t planning another visit anytime soon, are you?”

“No, Leah.” I laughed. “Sorry, maybe you two can have a Facetime date or something, so you can get to know him. Do you want me to set that up?”

“Don’t be a brat.” Without even seeing her, I knew that had earned me an eye roll. Leah’s opinion did mean a lot to me, but it wasn’t like I was going to put my relationship on hold because she hadn’t given me a thumbs up yet.

“I was being completely serious,” I replied, putting my car into park once I came to the end of Nick’s driveway. I heard a loud snort as I slammed my door. “I’ll talk to Nick about it tonight if you want me to.”

“That’s okay, Al. I can tell you’re genuinely happy, and he seems to treat you right most of the time. Just promise me you won’t run off and get married without consulting me this time?”

“I promise,” I replied brightly, the thought of being married to Nick making me a little giddy. You would think marriage would scare me with how my first one ended, but it really didn’t. I knew that Nick and I definitely needed more time getting to know each other, to let our relationship grow, but I could see myself with him forever. It was a definite possibility.

“’Kay, I’m gonna hold you to it. I gotta go give the kids a bath. Love you, and say hi to Nick for me.”

“Love you, L.” I tucked my phone into my purse as I pulled out my keys and slid one into the lock. When Nick had first given me a key, I thought for sure he was going to ask me to move in, but he didn’t. I’m not going to lie, it hurt just a teensy bit, but I got over it really quick when he told me he expected me to use it frequently. At least he wanted me here, and that’s all that counted.

I felt him before he even touched me. My skin prickled with excitement at just the thought, the key sitting unturned in the lock. “I thought you were out having a beer with Danny still. You didn’t need to rush over here.”

“You’re right, I didn’t need to. I wanted to,” he answered, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind. His lips dropped down to my ear, and I tipped my head to the side as he tugged lightly on it before moving further down to feather kisses first behind my ear, and then to my jaw and down my neck.

“I could have used a little alone time,” I teased as he reached around me, and unfortunately removed his lips from my body while he unlocked the front door.

“Too bad,” he replied, slamming the door shut behind us, and not even bothering to turn on the lights as he scooped me up and headed towards his bedroom. “I’ve had to wait way too long for this. Danny was pissed that I left him at Clammy’s, but he’ll get over it.”

He tossed me into the center of the bed as soon as we entered the room. I propped myself up on his pillows, watching as he took his shirt off with one pull, his dark hair becoming an even bigger mess. I loved running my fingers through it, just so I could get it to look exactly like that. His hands dropped down to his shorts next, flicking the button open and pushing them down quickly where they landed on the floor next to his shirt.

“Is someone in a little bit of a hurry?” I asked from the bed, and he peered up at me, his lips twisted into a smirk but those blue eyes were filled with anything but amusement. He looked like he wanted to devour me, and I was more than willing.

“You don’t even know,” he replied with a groan, as he slid onto the bed, hovering over my body as he gazed down at me. I grabbed onto his arm to pull myself up, softly touching my lips to his as he stroked my hair. “I think you’re a little overdressed.”

I let my head flop back against the pillow, completely in agreement as he pulled away. I watched him lick his lips when his thumb hooked into the top of my shorts, and he gave a slight tug. I lifted my hips to help him along as they slid down my legs. My underwear soon followed.

His warm hands stroked my bare legs as he worked his way back up, his lips following closely behind as he kissed every inch of my skin. He pushed my tank top up with his hands when he got there, his lips never leaving my body, as he twirled his tongue around in my belly button, causing my body to tense because he knew how sensitive I was there. “Every time,” he said, smiling against my skin, before reaching around to unhook my bra.

My hands fisted into his hair as his mouth landed on my nipple, sucking and teasing, the sensation reaching all the way to my toes as I bucked underneath him. He let it go with a pop before moving to the next, one of his hands reaching down to open my legs to tease me even more.

“You know, for someone in such a hurry, you’re definitely taking your time,” I said, my eyes squeezed shut, enjoying every second of what he was doing, but needing more all the same.

His head moved up, his nose gliding against my skin until he came to a stop. “Watching you like this is the best part,” he murmured against the crook of my neck, his tongue darting out to lick a path all the way to my jaw.

I pushed my hips against him, and he groaned, the exact effect I wanted. Apparently, it wasn’t enough because he pushed away, hovering over my body and raising his eyebrows in amusement. “Impatient much?”

It gave me the opportunity to twist out from underneath his body, and catch him by surprise so I was able to trap his body under mine. Nick liked to be in control in the bedroom, and I usually loved it, but tonight I was going to give him a taste of his own medicine.

I moved his arms above his head, narrowing my eyes at him in the darkness. “No more touching allowed…until I say so,” I added.

“Oh really?” A smile played on his lips as I straddled his body with mine. “And what are you gonna do to me if I touch you?”

I touched one finger to my lips. “I don’t know, I’ll have to think about that one.” I gave one swivel of my hips that he instantly reacted to, pushing back against me, but I quickly pulled away. “But, I think these need to go.” I pushed his boxers down, and used my feet to slide them the rest of the way off.

And then gave his body the exact same treatment he had just given mine.

I loved to drive him crazy with my mouth just like he had done to me. He gave a little laugh when my tongue darted out to lick his nipple, and I saw his hand moving slowly towards me. “Ah, ah, ah. I wouldn’t do that. I’m sure you don’t want me to tie you up because you can’t cooperate.”

“Well, actually...” He raised one eyebrow at me, and I knew he would probably like it but we would save that one for another night. I think I had about enough teasing as I could literally handle. He tucked his hands back behind his head, watching me intently with those blue eyes.