Whatever It Takes (Bold As Love 3)

“Yeah.”

She leans forward, turns the burner off and I lead Emily back to our bed. I lift her shirt over her head and let my hands roam over the body that I know so well. I brush my lips over her jaw. Emily leans back on the bed and pulls me down with her. Her hands move over my shoulders and down my back. Her slightly sharp nails are trailing a path to my hips.

I quickly finish undressing us both. All too soon, the bacon is cold and it's time for me to go.

Practice is great. I’m energized and focused. My classes fly by and the second practice is even better than the first.

“Good job today Benson,” Coach tells me with a pat on the back.

“Thanks Coach.”

I wish I could go home, but the job calls. I work with a construction supply store getting the supplies and loading them up for the clients. The job is pretty good though. Good pay and nice people to work with. Today, we were going to go out to one of the local bars that that didn't card us and have a few beers after work.

I was relaxed and leaned back in the booth, drinking a beer. The guys all had girls in their laps and were joking around. My eyes widen slightly when I see Emily walk into the bar. She is with classmates that she met through one of her classes. Emily hasn’t noticed me yet so I observe her for a few minutes.

Leaning on the counter towards the bartender, she throws him a smile, and orders.

Excusing myself, I walk up behind Emily, wrap my arms around her and kiss her neck. She turns around in my arms and smiles at me.

“You just getting here?”

“No, I’ve been here for a bit.”

“Why are you just now coming to me?”

“I was watching you.”

She rolls her eyes and turns to Kyle. She formally introduces me to her friends. “Kyle, this is my boyfriend Jake. Jake, this is

Kyle. He’s Hannah’s best friend.” She turns towards the girls. “This is Hannah and Abella,. Girls, this is Jake.”

I shake each of their hands and then pull Emily close to me with her back against my chest. “Nice to meet you,” I tell them. I can’t help but notice how good Emily looks. While she talks with her friends, I adorn her neck with hot kisses. Sweetness giggles and tells me to stop. She turns in my arms and wraps her arms around my neck.

“Let’s go home,” she says, her eyes burning with desire.

3

Emily

I say goodbye to my friends and follow Jake home. We quickly head to our bedroom and Jake takes a condom from the nightstand drawer. His phone rings, but he ignores it. My fingertips run over his torso slowly. I enjoy the feel of his bare body as my fingers glide over it. Jake slips my shirt over my head and leans down to kiss me. His lips trail a path all over my body.

A moan easily slips through my lips as I feel Jake enter me. To feel the length of his body on me was delectable. Unlike this morning, there wasn’t an urgency. Our bodies move as if we have forever. Later, we are both exhausted. I snuggle up to Jake and promptly fall asleep.

I cradled my baby boy in my arms. He was adorable and had many of Jake’s features. I was so happy that I was finally able to meet him. We waited what seemed like forever for the birth of our baby boy. Jake gazed at the baby with love in his eyes. “Do you want to hold him,” I asked.

Jake nodded and held out his arms. I rested the baby in Jake’s arms. I’m taken away by the sight before me. My two loves are standing in front of me and my heart swells at how wonderful this is. Jake looked up at me and an evil grin consumed his face. Terror swept through me like a tsunami. The skin melted off his face leaving a skeleton. A black cloak appeared over him. It’s as if my love has transformed into a grim reaper with all the accessories as well.

I’m too scared to speak. “You don’t deserve this baby. You are the reason I am taking him away. He is going to a better place now. Say goodbye to your child for he is about to die.”

I bolt upright drenched in sweat. I look over at Jake who is sleeping peacefully. I lay back down but there is no way I can get back to sleep. This is a great way to start my birthday. Why are these nightmares still haunting me? This one is different though. This is the first time that Jake was the one who took my baby from me.

Why Jake? It makes me think that he blames me, even if it’s just a little bit. I look over at Jake and wonder how he truly feels. We haven’t really talked about it since that night I came to my senses and realized he was hurting too. My heart is still racing and I can feel the pounding in my head. Jake looks so peaceful.

I don’t want to tell him about the nightmares. I know he worries about me already and I don’t want to add to that. Tossing the sheets off of me, I silently leave the bedroom. I walk into the kitchen and feel relieved when I find my favorite ice cream in the freezer. I take out the pint and grab a spoon. In the middle of the couch I sit and eat my ice cream in the dark. The bones of my fingers are chilled but my mind isn’t recognizing the effect.

All I can see is Jake’s skinless skull and empty eye sockets staring at me. He’s holding my baby and blood is dripping on the floor. I see my baby boy open his eye lids but there aren’t any eyes behind them. They are hollow and it is a terrifying sight. Eyeballs begin to form but they were just a pearly white. Thick blood begins to seep out of his eyes as if he were crying. My baby boy’s mouth opens and in a raspy voice he says, “Why did you kill me?“

With a scream, I jolt and realize I fell asleep with the melting ice cream in my hands. I close my eyes and rest my head on the couch, but quickly reopen them. All I see is my baby boy and I can still hear that skin crawling voice.