He looks past me then back to me with a nod. “Go.” He kisses my cheek and I do just that. I start to run out the door without glancing back, not even until I reach the apartment which stops me in my tracks. Because Creed’s leaning against the door looking sexy as hell with his forehead scrunched, his eyes narrowed as he waits for me seeming very impatient and pissed off.
“I knew you’d go the minute I wasn’t there. I was right.” He pushes off from where he was standing and straightens. He makes me feel small. “What changed in the time I fell asleep until waking up, because the last thing I recall was you screaming my name. And I didn’t hear any complaints, Elicea.” He says my name and I have to remember not to give in to him, that just because he puts me in a trance, I know I’m strong enough to break it.
I shake my head and try to reach my door handle, but he blocks it with his body, so I have to look up to him.
“Things can change in an instant, and I don’t owe you anything.”
He shakes his head tsking at me. “You do. You do owe me something.”
Stepping close to him, I look up so we’re eye to eye. “I don’t owe you! Now move.”
He watches me not moving, then takes a step to the side slowly letting me pass, unlocking the door. With shaky hands, he leans in and whispers into my ear, his breath heavy on my neck, “I will find out, Elicea, and when I do I’ll be coming for you.”
“I hope you do.”
His eyebrows pinch together at my words as I shut the door on his face.
Heart heavy and beating fast, I fall to the floor in front of me. And stay there until I’m cold and my body’s sore.
What have I gotten myself into?“How long do you plan on keeping it from him? I mean, it is his, right?” Tracey asks me as I start to get ready for my next shift. I slept the whole day once I got home. Only waking, thanks to Tracey, in time to get up and get dressed.
“Yes, it’s his. I don’t know, as you can see I haven’t even planned my own life very well, how am I supposed to raise a child?.”
“You need to tell him, even if you think he won’t want it. You need to tell him,” she reiterates.
I nod, knowing she’s right. But that’s easier said than done. How do I say, ‘Hey you impregnated me and we’re already complicated together so let’s add another complication.’
Shit!
Actually I don’t think this child will be a complication, I’m waiting for that happy phase to come. The one mothers tell you about how excited they are being pregnant, I want that badly. Maybe I will have that once I tell him, maybe not.
“I’ll do it soon.”
Her hand reaches out and touches my belly, and I shoo her hand away, hitting it and she laughs. “You’re going to start showing soon, I can already see a slight bump.”
I look down at my stomach. It’s still the same but there’s a slight bump where my jeans sit on my hips.
“Everyone touches pregnant bellies. How are you going to cope with that?”
I grimace at the thought of strange hands rubbing my belly. “I’ll deal, or not, either way, I’ll make it work.”
“Do you want to move in with me?” I take a deep breath, and smile at her. Tracey’s apartment was her parents’, and they left it to her when they went traveling.
“Thank you, but no. I need to work this out myself.”
“Or you don’t, you know it takes two to tangle.” I laugh at her. “On the plus side, Falcon gave you a lot of money.” I look at her shocked as she pulls out the envelopes from the guys from my birthday. Reaching for Falcon’s, I notice thousands of dollars in there.
“I want friends like yours, you should lie and celebrate your birthday again. It will pay all your bills.”
She lays all of them on the table. I see my name on one and I know whose writing that is straight away. Picking it up, I open it with shaky hands. Inside is some sort of document, on it is my address and my name. Plus, his. My mouth hangs open when I read it again to just make sure what it says is real. It can’t be, can it?
“What? What does it say? I didn’t open that one.” She pulls it from my hands and reads it herself. “Holy shit on a stick, he bought your apartment and gifted it to you,” she says clearly looking as stunned as I feel.
“It’s got to be false, right? How can he buy it? I didn’t even know it was up for sale.”