by Nikki Ash
She grabs Micaela from her car seat and plops her inside the stroller as I attempt to adjust myself.
“Okay, all ready!” Notice she doesn’t ask me if I’m ready; she just says she is as she grabs two water bottles from the car and places them in the cup holders while I check out Micaela in her seat all buckled in. She looks adorably tiny in the huge stroller, but she’s smiling and ready to rock and roll just like her mom.
I bend down to stretch and make sure my shoe laces are tied tight and notice my hands are shaking. Taking a deep breath, I stand and nod. “Okay, I’m ready.”
We start off slow, neither of us saying a word, eventually picking up speed. I focus on the trail in front of me, occasionally stealing a glance at Bella, and she focuses on running. I recognize the area where we kissed when we get to it and smirk before I pretend to trip. I fall to the ground and roll a few feet.
Bella parks the stroller and crouches down next to me. “Oh no! Marco, are you okay?” When she hears my laughter spill out, she slaps me in the chest. “You scared me!”
“Don’t you recognize this place?” I look around. “It’s where you conned me into kissing you.” I laugh harder when she glares at me.
“I didn’t con you! I really did fall!”
“And so did I… for you.” I waggle my brows and give her a wink. Her face breaks out into a wide grin and she throws her head back in laughter.
“You are so damn cheesy, Marco!” she says once she’s caught her breath.
“I think I might need some mouth-to-mouth, Belles. I’m seriously hurt.” I roll over dramatically and she giggles.
“And how will giving you mouth-to-mouth help you?” Her one brow quirks up.
“Don’t parents say that kisses make the boo-boos all better?”
“Umm… yeah… but I’m pretty sure they mean to kiss the actual boo-boo.”
“My mouth is hurting, Belles. It’s suffering emotional pain from being neglected. It misses you.”
Bella rolls her eyes trying to fight a smile, but when I sit up onto my elbow, her eyes go wide. “Kiss me, Belles,” I whisper. And I am shocked as shit when she does.
She leans in and our lips meet. At first, it’s a soft kiss as I let Bella guide us, but then she grabs the back of my neck and kisses me with such passion I almost come in my pants. I feel her tongue seek entrance, my lips parting to give her access and that’s when things heat up even more. Her tongue swirls around with mine and she tastes so damn good.
I sit up without breaking our kiss, and she climbs up onto my lap. My hand goes to her ponytail, and wrapping my hand around her mane, I pull her face closer to mine. She lets out a soft groan and starts to grind down on my cock. That’s when we hear a cooing sound coming from our daughter in her stroller only a couple feet away—snapping us back to where we are. Bella climbs off me, her breathing erratic, and I stand up needing to adjust myself.
Micaela’s coos get louder by the second, until she’s screeching for attention causing us to laugh.
Once we finish our run, we head home to shower and change before dropping Micaela off with my parents so we can go to my meeting. I’m nervous as hell about Bella attending one of my meetings. What if being there makes her realize she is living with a recovering drug addict? It’s one thing to know it, but it’s another thing to sit in a meeting, surrounded by other recovering addicts. These meetings will most likely always be a part of my life.
We get to the meeting, arriving only a few minutes before it starts. We have a seat in the back and listen as the speaker talks. Bella moves her hand toward mine, entwining our fingers together and places both of our hands in her lap. When the speaker calls my name to give me my six-month key tag, I stand up and walk over to the podium. I don’t usually say much, but with Bella sitting in the back smiling at me, I feel like I need to say something.
“Thank you.” I feel myself getting choked up, so I take a calming breath before continuing to speak. “My mother was an addict. I swore I would never become my mother. One day I woke up and realized I had in fact become my mother. Only looking back, I see I never became her. She refused to get help. She refused to get clean. I am not my mother. I am me and every day I will fight to stay clean for my daughter, my family, and most importantly for myself.”
After the meeting ends, we pick up Micaela and head home. Other than congratulating me, Bella doesn’t bring up the meeting. After putting Micaela to bed, we end up on the couch watching more episodes of The O.C.
“So, today’s run was good, huh?” She thinks she so damn sly.
“Yeah, it was good.”
“And you don’t feel any pain?”
“Nope.”
“So, you might want to join me at the gym tomorrow?”
“Nope.”
She whips her head to me and scowls. “Why not?”
“One, I don’t have anyone to train me. Two, your dad isn’t going to let me into that gym. And three, your dad isn’t going to let me into that gym.”
“Really? You had to mention that twice?”
“Hell yes, because it’s worth two reasons. I can’t believe your father hasn’t come here while you aren’t home and killed me yet.”
“Whatever, Marco.” She rolls her eyes. “Sometimes you are such a baby.”
“Baby?” I ask as she stands up.
“Yes, baby. I’m going to go take a shower. Feel free to continue your pouting and boo-hoo session while I’m gone. Then maybe once it’s out of your system you can go to the gym and talk to my dad. You agreed to that fight. You can’t just back out now. That’s not who you are. I saw you tonight at that meeting. You are a fighter.”
She walks down the hallway toward her bathroom and I can’t help but watch as her ass sways. Fuck, what I would give to get a hold of that sweet ass. For a minute, I sit and ponder and then decide to see if she’ll let me join her in the shower.
When I get to the shower, I second guess myself. What if she thinks I’m trying to use her? But we did almost fuck right there in Red Rock park today, and I know she was just as into it as I was.
Fuck it. I swing open the door and the visual in front of me has my dick twitching. Bella is naked and sitting on top of the counter next to the sink with the baby monitor next to her. The water is going, but she’s making no effort to get in.
“Took you long enough.” What the hell?
“You were waiting for me?” I smirk, suddenly feeling more confident.
“Well, I was hoping.” I close the distance between us, my shirt coming off along the way.
“And what if I didn’t come in here?”
Bella shrugs and then smirks. “I guess I would have had to handle it myself.”
“Handle what?” I ask slowly. Please say what I think you’re going to say.
“This…” She makes a show of wetting her pointer and middle finger with her mouth. And then opening her legs wide, she brings her fingers down, spreading the lips of her pussy and visibly massaging her clit. A soft moan comes out of her and I know she’s hitting the spot that will have her coming quickly. But there’s no way in hell I’m letting her finish without me.
Bridging the gap between us, I grab her hand to still it, and I grip the back of her head as I kiss her hard. She tastes like the tea she drank during dinner, cold and sweet. She lets me kiss her, but as soon as the kiss stops and my mouth starts to work its way down, she grabs my chin gently and says, “Nuh-uh. Not yet.” She shakes her head.
“What’s wrong?”
“Before anything happens, we need to settle a couple of things first.” I stand back up and, with her legs wide open, stand between them, my hands resting on her toned creamy thighs, my eyes meeting hers, giving her my full attention.
“Okay. Lay it on me.”
“No more lying about shit. No more hiding shit. No more leaving without telling me. Either Micaela and I come first or I’ll be the one leaving. I need to be your partner and that means we handle all this shit together.”
/> “That’s a whole lot of shit,” I joke, but then I get serious knowing she is being serious. “I know it’s going to take some time to prove it to you, but I promise no more lying and hiding shit. You and Micaela will always come first. We’re a team.” I lean forward and give her a soft kiss on her lips. “I won’t take this chance you’re giving me for granted.”
“You better not,” she warns. Her hands go to my chest, rubbing down my torso. “Don’t make me regret this, Marco.” She leans forward and gives my chest a light kiss before sitting back.
My lips move to the corner of her mouth as I brush my lips across hers. “You won’t,” I say with conviction, my lips pressing against hers a little harder, before I move down to her jaw, trailing gentle kisses along the way—down her neck toward her collarbone. When my lips move to her luscious tits, Bella shivers as I lick each of her perfect pink nipples.
“Fuck, Bella.” I plant one more wet kiss on each of them before I continue my journey downward, kneeling in front of her. With her legs already open and ready, I give the top of her mound an open-mouthed kiss then I move to her clit to give it a kiss as well.
Spreading her pussy lips open, I push my tongue into her tight hole and begin tongue-fucking her. I’m addicted to everything about this woman. Her taste. Her touch. Her mouth. Her mind. There’s nothing in the world I wouldn’t do to be able to have her for the rest of my life. I can’t fuck this up again.
Bella’s breathing builds up and soon she’s panting. “Marco, please,” she begs.
I glide my tongue back up to her clit to give it the attention it needs, getting lost in her pussy until she’s moaning my name as she comes all over my tongue.
Without giving herself a chance to come down from her orgasm, she pushes me away and I’m scared she’s regretting letting me in. But then she drops to her knees, taking my shorts down with her, and before I can protest, she takes my cock into her mouth completely. It hits the back of her throat and she gags slightly.
“Jesus, Belles.” My words coming out like prayer. She grips my shaft tightly in her hand as she sucks and pumps my cock until I’m about to come. “Bella, I’m going to come,” I warn her. This is the first time she’s ever had her mouth on my cock and I never stood a chance at lasting.
She pulls her mouth off my shaft but continues to stroke it. Her eyes lock with mine, her lips plump and swollen from sucking me off. My orgasm shoots through me as I come all over her tits. The sight of her covered in my seed has my dick pulsing, wanting more. I stand in front of her, entranced. She gives me a small smile then leans forward slightly, giving the head of my dick an open-mouthed kiss. Holy fucking shit.
I can’t take it anymore. I pull her up and drag us both into the shower. The water is still hot, and as she stands under it, I watch my cum on her tits wash away. But before it all disappears, she swipes some up with her fingers and sticks it in her mouth. “It doesn’t taste that bad. Kind of salty.” She sucks her fingers for a few more seconds. “Maybe next time I’ll get a better taste.”
I feel myself smile wide at her antics. I love Bella like this. Bold. Sure of herself. She’s a spitfire. I don’t ever want to take that away from her again. I don’t ever want to be the reason she’s not like this.
I pull her close to me and kiss her with purpose. “I love you, Belles. So damn much.”
She gasps, her eyes going wide. She opens her mouth, but I cover it with my mouth before she can speak. I kiss her for several long seconds before I break the kiss. “You don’t need to say it back. I haven’t earned those words from you yet. But I will, baby.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Bella
After we finish in the shower, Marco wraps a towel around the both of us and guides me into his room, throwing one of his shirts at me.
“Stay the night with me.”
I agree and pull his shirt on over my body then crawl into his bed, setting the baby monitor on the nightstand. Marco pulls on a pair of briefs then lies down next to me. He pulls my body slightly onto his, my head resting on his chest and my legs tangled in his. Being in Marco’s arms feels good. I lie quietly and think about our past, what we’ve been through to get to this moment. I think about the promises he made tonight. About his words. I love you. I think about the future and find myself praying all those words were the beginning of something special. Maybe this time we’ll get it right.
I fall asleep thinking about babies, houses, UFC fights, and I love yous with the hope of forever.
Micaela only wakes up once in the middle of the night to eat. The older she gets, the longer she goes between feedings. I feed her, change her diaper, and rock her back to sleep. I’ve just stepped out of Micaela’s room and am heading back toward my room when I see Marco standing in the doorway. His eyes are hooded, looking only half awake.
“I thought you left.”
“I was feeding Micaela.” Since I prefer to breastfeed when I’m home, I don’t usually wake Marco up when I get up to feed. I only recently moved Micaela to her room and into her crib. Her bassinet was getting to be too small.
Marco grabs my shirt and pulls me to him, kissing me lazily. His lips move from mine and he trails feather-light kisses down my neck, sending shivers down my spine.
“Sleep with me, Belles,” he murmurs. “Sleep in my bed. Let’s make it ours, please.”
“I can’t,” I blurt out without even thinking. “I can’t make anything ours yet.” I’m suddenly scared. I went to bed wanting this, hoping for this, but as Marco stands in front of me, asking me in a roundabout way to make us official, I find myself starting to freak out. I want this—him—too badly. What if he leaves again? What if he walks away from Micaela and me. What if he changes his mind? How many times can I pick up the pieces of my broken heart and try to put it back together? I can’t chance waking up in his bed and him being gone again.
“Because you don’t trust me.” He doesn’t ask because he already knows.
“I’m sorry. I know you made promises tonight, but those are just words. I need to see the actions. The last time I woke up in your bed, you were gone.”
He shakes his head. “No, I get it. We’ll take things slow.”
I give him an appreciative smile and thank him for understanding before going back to my own room. I lie down on the cold sheets wishing I was lying in another bed wrapped up in the warmth of Marco, but knowing I’m doing the right thing. If Marco is serious about us, he’ll be there in the morning and every day following until I am ready to turn whatever is his and mine into ours.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Bella
“Morning!” I yell to my dad. It’s been a few weeks since I tricked Marco into going jogging. I was hoping he would come and talk to my dad about training here again, but it’s clear he’s going to be stubborn and I’m going to have to take matters into my own hands. I love going jogging with Marco, but there’s only a few months until this fight he’s in denial of, and I am not about to let him make a fool out of himself.
“Morning, sweetie. Your mom wants to know if you want to come over for dinner tonight.” My dad has become an expert at pretending Marco doesn’t exist. Marco hasn’t stepped foot inside the gym or my parents’ place and he usually visits his parents or his sister when I visit mine.
Well, I’m done with all that. They’re acting immature and it stops now. “Sure, I’m bringing Marco with me.” My dad’s smile fades. “And you are going to talk to him.” His jaw visibly clenches.
“I have nothing to say to him.” My dad says it like a warning, but I ignore him. There was a time Marco was like a son to my dad and I’m not going to let them continue their crap.
“Yes, you do. You are going to forgive him.”
“Like hell, I am!”
“You are going to forgive him,” I repeat, ignoring his protests. “Because he didn’t do anything to you. Everything that has happened between Marco and me, is just that. Between Marco and me.”
“He got you pregnan
t!”
“It takes two. Remember that time you knocked up my mom.”
“He left you.”
“You left her! You walked away without exchanging numbers! We were never together. As soon as he found out about the baby, he got his shit together.” I know it’s a low blow, but c’mon. He and my mom’s relationship wasn’t always perfect.
“He left you, again!”
“His friend had a heart attack. He should have told me he was leaving, but I’ve forgiven him. I’m giving him another chance.”
“Are you back together?”
“Not completely. We are taking things slow.” Apparently real slow… like as slow as molasses, so slow we might be going backward. So slow, he hasn’t touched me since the night in the bathroom. I just might have to force myself on him soon. Maybe I can explain to him slow means still moving forward.
“Damn it, Bella. He’s going to hurt you again.”
“Did you hurt mom again?”
He sighs in defeat. “You’re my little girl.”
“I’m twenty-one and an adult. Please make things right with Marco. He needs a place to train.”
“I’m not training him. I’m only here to train you.”
“Just make it right. Let him know he can come here to train.”
“Fine,” he huffs. “I’ll talk with him tonight.”
“Thank you.”
After we’re done training for the day, I shoot off a text to Caleb. Our parents have remained friends through all this craziness, keeping it separate from their friendship, but they’ve made it a point not to discuss fighting or the gym regarding Marco. Caleb has said on several occasions he understands where my dad is coming from and respects how he feels toward Marco.
Me: My dad is going to let Marco train at the gym but he needs a trainer.
Caleb: I’ll handle it. Thank you.
I get home from the gym and the house is empty. Marco had texted me earlier letting me know he was meeting his mom for lunch, so he’s probably with her. I noticed some clothes he folded still on the coffee table and smile. He has been absolutely amazing since we moved in together. He cooks and cleans and does the laundry. He takes such precious care of Micaela, especially since I started trusting him to keep her while I’m training. He made me promises and I’m giving him the chance to show me he can back them up. The truth is we work well as a team.
