Love Hurts (6 page)

“She works late most nights,” I explained. “We’re living together.”

“What?” Ian almost spat out his beer. “Are you serious?”

“Yep.” I had no shame.

“And your best bros haven’t met her?” Johnny asked. “She could be psycho or something. How could you do this without our approval first?”

“I think I can make my own big boy decisions,” I said sarcastically. “But thanks anyway.”

“If this girl is as important as you say she is, we should meet her,” Ian said. “What’s she doing now? Invite her.”

That didn’t sound like a bad idea. “Don’t embarrass me.”

“We’re telling her about all the skeletons in your closet,” Johnny threatened.

“Too bad she already knows them all,” I said.

“We’ll see about that.” Johnny drank his beer again.

I pulled out my phone and texted her.
My boys want to meet you.

When?

Now.

I’m sorry. I have plans with Cortland…he’s going through a hard time.

I was slightly annoyed but I understood her devotion to him. He really was a wreck.
It’s fine. We can reschedule.

Ask them if we can go out tomorrow.

Okay. I will. Where are you guys going?

Dinner.

Ask him to walk you home
.

If you knew Cortland better, you would know he would that anyway.

Then give him my gratitude
. I put my phone back in my pocket.

“She coming?” Johnny asked.

“No,” I said sadly. “She already has plans. She apologized and asked if we could reschedule.”

“Fine,” Ian said in annoyance. “We’ll reschedule. I need to see this girl who has you so pussy-whipped.”

“You’d have to see her pussy to understand why,” I said.

Johnny shrugged. “I’m down for that.”

I glared at him.

“Kidding,” he said with a smile.

“So, she’s the real deal?” Ian asked. “Like, marriage and shit real?”

“Yes,” I said. I knew my friends thought I was a pussy.

“Damn, she must be a supermodel,” Ian said.

My friends were superficial. And I admit I used to be too. “To me she is.”

“Are you going to propose soon?”

“No,” I said. “We’ve only been together for a few months. I’m really happy with her but I don’t want to rush it. I really love what we have.”

“That’s code for you don’t know if she would say yes,” Johnny teased.

Actually, that was true.
“I guess I’ll find out eventually.”

“She got any cute friends?” Ian asked.

“Actually, all of her friends are really beautiful.”

Johnny rubbed his hands together greedily. “Yes.”

“But most of them aren’t single. They are married or engaged.”

Ian cringed. “Damn.”

“Wait,” Johnny said. “You said most. Who’s single?”

Technically Monnique was, but she wasn’t…in a way.
“Her name is Monnique.”

“Monnique,” Johnny said slowly. “I like that name. Bring her around and introduce us.”

Uh…I didn’t know about that. Cortland was pretty sprung on her. “She just got out of a relationship. She’s not dating material.”

“That’s fine with me,” Johnny said.

“I can’t do that,” I said.

Johnny glared at me. “Share the wealth. At least tell me what she looks like.”

“Actually, I have a picture.” I opened my phone and looked through the pictures. I took a lot at Mike’s engagement party. “Here.” I handed it to them.

“Which one is she?” Johnny asked.

“Hazel is the blonde one. Monnique is the other.”

Ian’s eyes widened. “Dude, that girl is ridiculously hot. What is she? She’s like Native American and Mexican.”

“Brazilian,” I answered.

“Dude, hook me up,” Ian blurted.

“I can’t. Her ex is Hazel’s best friend. I can’t do that to him,” I said.

“What if we just bumped into her on accident…?” Johnny asked.

These guys were not going to give up.

Johnny looked at the phone again. “That’s Hazel?”

“Yeah,” I answered.

“Wow. She’s cute too,” Johnny said.

I glared at him.

“Hey, I kept that PG,” Johnny said.

I snatched the phone back. “You two are dogs.”

Ian barked like a dog. “Arf arf.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m sure Monnique will like that.”

“I know what the girls like,” Ian said confidently.

I stuffed my phone back into my pocket.

“Flynn?”

I turned to the person who approached our table. My eyes widened when I saw Zahara. What are the odds of that? “Hey.”

She wore a yellow dress that accentuated her skin perfectly. The two colors contrasted well. A white gold necklace was around her neck. “What are you up to?”

“Oh. My boys and I were just drinking.”

She smiled, her white teeth showing. “Jasmine and I are doing the same.”

“Cool.” She and I usually exchanged a few words but never went into detail about our lives or anything else. We only said hi and bye. That’s it. Now I waited for her to walk away.

“Flynn’s girlfriend
and her friends are hot as shit and he won’t introduce us to them,” Johnny blurted. He was already drunk.

“Girlfriend?” Her eyebrows furrowed.

I rolled my eyes. “They won’t leave me alone about this.”

“You have a girlfriend?” She seemed shocked.

“Yeah, we’ve been dating for about three months.” I’m not sure why I needed to explain that to her.

“Oh.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “The last I heard you weren’t seeing anyone
…”

Ian glared at me. “Because he’s kept her a secret. We haven’t even met her yet.”

“She’s not a secret,” I snapped. “Our schedules just haven’t lined up.”

“But her Brazilian friend is single, hot, and trying to get over her ex,” Johnny said. “And he still won’t help a brother out.”

Zahara wasn’t listening to them. “Is it serious?”

Why was she so interested? I’ve never shown any interest in anyone she was seeing. I’ve never even asked her about it. It was none of my business. Like I said, we were friendly, not friends.
“We live together.”

“Oh.” She didn’t overtly react but a small explosion happened in her eyes. After being with her for three years, I understood her reactions on an innate level. It was hard for her to hide from me. I wasn’t exactly sure what she was thinking, but I knew the revelation was displeasing to her.

Johnny and Ian kept glancing back and forth between us, watching our reactions to each other. I felt like I was on a soap opera.

“Do you love her…?”

That was a stupid question. “I wouldn’t be living with her if I didn’t…”
Seriously, what the hell was going on?
She and I had been nothing but distant friends for years. Now she cared about my personal life? I knew she wasn’t ignorant to the fact that I slept around. And she was the one who ultimately ended the relationship. Why would she care?

“Yeah.” Sh
e shook her head in embarrassment. “I guess that was a stupid question.”

A little…

“Um…I’ll let you get back to…whatever you were doing.” Without saying goodbye, she walked out. Her friend watched her leave the bar, a confused look on her face.

“What the hell was that?” I asked.

“You really don’t know?” Johnny looked smug. “Now look who’s dumb.”

I still wasn’t following.

“She’s totally pissed that you’re in a serious relationship with someone else,” Ian said. “She wants you to be heartbroken over her forever.”

“But we’ve been broken up for years,” I said.

“That doesn’t matter,” Johnny said. “When you were sleeping around she knew you were still hurting over her, but now you’re happy and committed to this new girl. She doesn’t like being replaced.”

This all sounded far-fetched. But her behavior was odd. “Meaning?”

Ian clanked his glass against mine. “She wants you back.”

5

Sean

I bought more pregnancy sticks on the way home. The cashier recognized me from last time. She probably thought I was a scared husband who wasn’t ready for a baby. Little did she know it was exactly the opposite.

When I walked inside, the smell of the kitchen came to my nose. Every evening, she had dinner ready by the time I walked through the door. The house was clean, and my wife wore a catfish apron. It was exactly what I wanted, a housewife to come to every night. Technically, she worked and took care of her own editing company, but I was glad she stayed home. It worked out for both of us. She kept her independence and I got to keep my wife at home. It was a win-win.

I took off my jacket and loosened my tie. I hated wearing it.

“Hubby, is that you?” Scarlet called from the kitchen.

Hubby. I liked that name
. “Yes.”

She came out of the kitchen wearing the catfish apron.

I eyed it. “Are you trying to turn me on?”

“This
is definitely not how I would go about it.”

My hand circled her waist. “How about your take off this dress but leave the apron on…?”

“Sean Preston, you’re a sick bastard.”

“What?” I said with a laugh. “I like it when you wear it.”

“There’s nothing sexy about it.”

“You make it sexy.
”

“Well, that’s
a nice compliment.” She gave me a gentle kiss and pulled away.

“Do you need to pee?”

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Excuse me?”

I picked up the bag. “Pregnancy tests,” I explained.

She rolled her eyes. “Sean, stop bugging me to take one every day. It’ll happen when it’s meant to.”

“But I don’t get it. I’ve been fucking you like crazy.”

“You can’t force it.”

“Pee on the stick then we’ll go upstairs and try again.”

“Was that supposed to turn me on?” she asked sarcastically.

“I’ll turn you on.” I grabbed her by the arm and pulled her upstairs.

“Sean, I’m sore.” She tore her arm away. “I need a break.”

“Oh.” I faced her, feeling like shit. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“It’s not a big deal,” she said. “But I…me and my lady parts need a break.”

I was an insensitive jerk. “Baby, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she said quickly. “It’s really not a big deal. I’ll be ready to go at it again tomorrow.”

I pulled her close to me and kissed her forehead. “Then it’s time for a back massage.”

“A back massage? You’re the one who worked all day.”

“You work too.”

“I sit at a desk all day and make dinner after Olga leaves. Not really.”

“But you make me the happiest guy in the world. And you deserve to be rewarded for that.”

“Well, I don’t do much.”

“Because you’re a natural.” I pulled her into our bedroom the
n undressed her. After she was on her stomach, I rubbed her shoulders and back. I immediately got hard at the sight of her back and ass. But I didn’t make a move.

She moaned quietly while I rubbed her. That wasn’t helping. “Sean?”

“I prefer hubby.”

“Please stop buying pregnancy tests. You’re putting too much pressure on me…”

My hands stilled.

“I already feel horrible that I lost our baby, and not being able to get pregnant again makes me feel worse.”

I lay beside her and turned her so she faced me. “I’m sorry. I was being insensitive.”

She rested her hand against my chest but didn’t speak.

“Baby, I love you for you. I want to have a baby, but if it doesn’t happen for us, that’s okay.”

“But I know how much you want one…”

“I want you more,” I said firmly. “I’ve been going overboard with this whole thing and I’m sorry. Honestly, if it doesn’t happen for us, I’m okay with that. But I’m not okay with losing you. So, please don’t feel bad. I’ll be better on my end.”

“Okay.” She pressed her face close to mine and released the breath she was holding. “I really do want to have a baby.”

“I know you do.” I ran my fingers through her hair while I stared at her face. “Next time we make love, it’ll be for us.”

“Really?”

I nodded.

“That will be nice.”

“I’ll even pull out just to prove it.”

She cringed. “I’d rather you come inside me. It feels better anyway.”

“Good. I prefer it too.” I held my wife for a long time until her stomach rumbled. “Hungry?”

“You know me.”

“Let’s eat dinner.”

We walked back downstairs and sat down together. She made fish with greens. She’d been eating healthier since we started trying to conceive. It worked out better for me anyway. I tried to retain my size and weight as much as possible. I knew my wife liked my body.

“Have you heard from your parents?” she asked.

“No. I barely spoke to them at Mike’s party, and that was because they were shoving their tongues down each other’s throats the entire time.”

She smiled. “How cute.”

“I need to go over there and talk to them.”

“About what?”

“Mom’s sickness.
They’ve had their honeymoon and now we need to talk about this as a family.”

“I’m sure Andrew is taking care of it.”

“It’s still a family decision.”

She didn’t argue with me. She took small bites of her food and chewed quietly. Her tits looked nice in her dress and I kept staring at them. It was hard not to. But since we couldn’t have sex, I controlled myself. I was just torturing myself.

“Sean?”

“Hmm?”

“Stop staring at my rack.”

I smirked. “You shouldn’t dress like that then.”

“I can wear whatever I want in my own home.”

I growled at her and finished my food.

“Growl at me again and I won’t let you tit fuck me after dinner.”

That caught my attention.
I stayed absolutely silent so I would be rewarded.

“That’s better,” she said with a smirk.

I was sprung on my wife, and when she let me play with her titties, I was pathetic and weak. But I loved those damn things. She had me wrapped around her finger, strong and tight. But I was okay with that.

Scarlet and I drove to my parents’ house then pulled out in front.

“Did you call first?”

“Yes.”

“So they know we’re coming?” she asked.

“He didn’t answer…”

“We should just leave them alone.”

“No. They’ve had weeks to do…whatever they are doing.”

“We’ve been married
for over six months and we still get it on like rabbits.”

“Not the same thing,” I said with a cringe. “I know my mom said her tumor is fine and not harmless, but how do we really know that?”

“Is Mike coming?”

“No. I don’t want to bum him out. H
e’s been really happy since he got engaged.”

“I don’t blame him,” she said.

“Let’s just knock and see what happens.”

She sighed. “Fine. But if your dad answers the door naked, I’m taking a peek.”

I glared at her. “Sometimes I can’t tell if you’re into my dad or not.”

She shrugged. “I guess you’ll never really know.”

“Preston whore…” I mumbled.

“What was that?” she demanded.

“Nothing.”

She eyed me. “I guess you aren’t getting laid tonight.”

“I said Preston wife.”

“Sure…”

We got out of the car then approached the door. After knocking and waiting, my dad answered it. I was glad to see he was fully clothed.

“Hey, Sean,” he said. “Did you need something?”

He didn’t even say hi. “Um, can we come in?”

“Oh. Sure.” He opened the door wider and we stepped inside.

I noticed how messy his hair was. “Are we interrupting anything?”

“Well, you could have called first.”

“I did,” I snapped. “You haven’t returned my calls in weeks.”

“Oh.” His cheeks blushed. “I haven’t been using the phone much…”

Gross.

“What can I help you with?” he asked.

“I want to talk about Mom’s health.”

“She’s fine,” he said immediately.

I gave him a firm look. “She has a brain tumor in her head. No, she’s not fine,” I snapped.

My dad ran his fingers through his hair. “I guess I’ve been putting it off in light of our…reunion. But you’re right. We need to talk about this.”

“Thank you,” I said. I eyed his jeans and noticed something red coming out of the pocket. After a second of staring, I understood what it was. “Dad, are those panties?”

He looked down and shoved them further into his pocket. “Oh. Sorry about that…”

I cringed. “Gross…”

Scarlet smiled. “I’m glad you and Diane are reconnecting.”

My dad smirked. “It’s been fun. We’ve got toys.”

“Dad,” I snapped. “We don’t want to hear about it.”

“But I have to listen to you talk about your sex life all the time?” he asked incredulously.

“It’s…different,” I said.

“Not really. Your mother and I are very—”

“Don’t finish that sentence, I beg you,” I said quickly.

“Fine,” he said. “I’ll get your mother.” He headed to the stairs. “Is Mike coming?”

“No,” I said. “I don’t want to drag him down right now.”

My dad nodded. “Good idea.” He walked up the landing.

I shivered in disgust. “Gross…”

“Your parents having sex is gross?” Scarlet asked.

“Disgusting,” I said vehemently.

“I think it’s cute,” she said. “They’re in love all over again.”

I grabbed her hand and pulled her to the dining room. “Let’s not talk about my parents having sex.”

“Then what do you want to talk about?”

I pulled her into the chair next to me. “You and I having sex.”

“Well, there’s nothing new there…”

“How about we take a walk on the beach tonight?” My intent was clear.

“Sex on the beach?” she asked.

“Yeah. It’ll be romantic.” I kissed her on the corner of the mouth. “And we’ll just do it for us.”

“You aren’t trying to knock me up?”

“No.” I kissed her again. “I just want to make love
to my wife—plain and simple.”

“Well, that sounds nice.”

“We can do anal just to make sure you don’t get pregnant.” I gave her a dirty look.

She shook her head while she rolled her eyes. “Okay, that’s not romantic anymore.”

“I know you like it like that…” I kissed her neck and trailed kisses to her collarbone.

“Not on the beach, I don’t.”

“Fine. Missionary will be fine.”

“Fine?” she asked with an edge.

“Magical,” I said quickly. “It will be magical.”

“That’s better.”

My parents came into the room and sat down. Judging my mom’s hair, she wasn’t just reading a book or filling out the crossword. I was glad my parents were back together, but the idea of them having sex made me want to hurl.

My dad sat beside my mom and held her hand. “So, where should we start?”

My mom shrugged. “The doctors said it was fine. It’s not cancerous.”

“Now,” I said fir
mly. “What about in a few years? As long as that thing is in your head, we can’t trust it.”

My dad gave me a firm look. “Don’t talk like that.”

“Sorry,” I said quickly.

“Maybe you should go back to the doctor and discuss your options,” Scarlet suggested.

“He said if it becomes cancerous, then we’d have to operate,” my mom said calmly. “Until then, we should leave it alone.”

My dad looked uncomfortable. “But you’re on medication
for this. I don’t want you to take it for the rest of your life. It’s not good for your body.”

“Well, I’m not going to stop,” she said immediately.

My dad rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. “I think we should see another specialist and ask for all the information.”

“Like what?” I asked.

“What the mortality rate of the surgery is, what are the side effects, what other problems will this tumor cause long term, everything,” my dad said.

“But we already discussed all of that,” my mom said.

“I want to hear it myself,” my dad said firmly. “You weren’t in the right mind last time you went. We need to do this as a family.”