“Yes.” I managed to say in between the tears. Not tears of sadness anymore. Tears of happiness. He was back, we were together, we were having a baby, and now we were getting married. Life was good after all.
CHAPTER 13
Three years later
Miguel and I have been married for almost three years now. Our little boy is two and is the light of our world. Miguel continues to surprise me all the time. He’s kept his promises and went to visit his mother and sister once a year, but during the past year, he has made three other trips back home as well. Every time he returns, the sadness in his eyes grows a little deeper. I ask about the trips, but I feel like he’s pacifying me with his answers. “My mom needed my help,” “I gave my word to go back and help a family friend,” and “I was worried about my sister and wanted to check on her.” Although interesting, I don’t know what the real story is. He went ten years without seeing them. When he finally returned for his father’s death, he came home with two broken ribs, a bruised kidney, a black eye, busted lip, and stitches. Yet, now he was more committed to go than ever.
So far, I’ve refused to go with him to visit them. The fear of facing his brother again, or anyone else similar to him in the family, holds me back. But lately I’ve been reconsidering it. Not only to understand what he was going through, but to make a stand for our family and show that we are together and nothing would change that. Maybe soon I’d find the courage.
After our night together in the hospital, we waited a few weeks to get married. I didn’t want to have a ceremony after I was showing. So once his stitches were removed, his bruises were healed, and my morning sickness had passed, we decided to move forward with our plans. Since it was only Joan on my side and no family on his who would attend, we had decided to elope. Miguel and I took a flight to the Bahamas and were married on the beach. We spent a week after our wedding exploring the island, holding each other in the sun, and happily planning for our family.
Six months later, our little boy was born. I never doubt Miguel’s love for me or Josiah. I just feel like he is shutting me out of something important that he’s dealing with. I’ve tried to ask and those are the few times I’ve ever seen him upset with me. So for the time being, I’ve left it alone. We have bigger things to worry about right now anyhow.
Josiah has to go to a specialist for his back. He has scoliosis. It isn’t anything you’d notice simply from looking at him, but if he didn’t get it fixed now, while he’s young, then it would grow significantly worse. With a father who used to be an orthopedic surgeon, it is of the utmost importance to find a skilled and reputable doctor who will perform the surgery to correct it.
Tomorrow we’ll fly to Dallas to speak to a previous colleague of Miguel’s. We already know what to expect. There will be a primary surgery where the vertebrae are fused together. And if needed, they will add rods or screws to strengthen the bone. A bone graft will also be done near his pelvis to harvest bone tissue that will be transplanted in/around the site in the backbone to help the bones regenerate. Once the surgery is finished, Josiah will be able to do small daily activities within a couple weeks. About 6 months to a year later, he should be fully healed and able to do anything he wants. Doing the surgery while he’s young will decrease the amount of recovery time and makes it easier for the body to accept. As with any surgeries, there are risks, but they are minimal. The biggest obstacle right now, is finding a doctor that meets Miguel’s criteria.
The flower shop is doing great. I work three days a week and Joan works the other three. We split the schedule and responsibilities so that both of us could stay home with our kids more. Joan is having another baby in two months and will need the time at home with her children. I didn’t want to work full time when I had a family. I wanted to spend as much time with my son while he is young as I could. So decreasing my hours was never a question, it was a must.
Miguel still teaches at the university, but has also taken on a few speaking opportunities across the nation as well. He occasionally leaves for one or two days, but spends every other evening and weekend home with us. He’s made it possible for me to stay home with Josiah every day if I chose, but the flower shop is a link to my parents that I’m not ready to relinquish yet. I know they’re not actually there, but the memories of them being there and the hope that they’re proud of me keep it going.
Joan and I don’t see each other as frequently anymore, especially since Miguel and I bought a home on the other side of town. It’s only a fifteen-minute drive, but that’s like hours compared to how close we lived before. Other than being further away, it’s the home of my dreams. It’s a beautiful four bedroom, two bath, brick house that sits on over two acres. We have a fenced in backyard, a pool, and we plan on getting a dog after Josiah’s surgery.
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I was trying to finish dinner since it was almost four and Josiah would be waking up from his nap any minute. After checking the timer on the oven, I retrieved the items from the fridge to make a salad. Miguel would be home shortly after Josiah woke up and I wanted to surprise him by making his favorite meal tonight, lasagna and garlic bread. This was always one of my favorite times each day. The smile when he walks in, the eagerness to see Josie and I, and hearing all about his day. Even after three years, it never got old.
Just as I began cutting the lettuce, I heard little Josie chatting away through the baby monitor. He’d woken up and was talking to his teddy bears again. He was definitely one of the most talkative little boys I knew. Never mind if you couldn’t understand everything he said, you could always tell when it was important. He’d get the same look in his eyes as his father had, scrunching his eyebrows together, and talking in gibberish like he was preaching.
“Ma, ma, ma, ma.” I heard Josie repeating my name through the monitor.
Quickly wiping my hands off, I left the kitchen and walked toward the stairs. Just as I was about to take the first step up, I heard the front door opening. Turning to see who was coming in (like I didn’t already know) I stopped to watch. He was wearing his standard dark dress pants, a white dress shirt today, and by now his coat and tie had been thrown into the back seat of his car and his shirt halfway unbuttoned.
“Well, hi, you’re home early.” I said as I watched Miguel bend down to remove his shoes.
Briefly looking up at me, he smiled, then yanked his socks off immediately. He still hated those things. With a mischievous look in his eyes, he came over and lifted me off my feet, embracing me in his muscular arms.
“I missed you, what can I say?”
Giving me a sweet, little kiss, his eyes twinkled with happiness as he sighed and lowered me to my feet, softly kissing my forehead as I slid down his body.
“Ma, ma, ma, ma.”
We both looked at each other and pointed.
It was a game we played to see who was going to go get the baby. We both knew it would be him, especially after he came home from work. He was always anxious to hurry home and hold his little boy. But we still played the game just to laugh at ourselves.
“Oh yeah, I win!” I laughed, doing a little happy dance in front of him.
“That’s completely unfair. I was distracted!”
“Really? Distracted by what? Your socks?”
“No, by the most beautiful woman in America!” He reached out to grab my waist just as Josie began making monkey sounding noises upstairs.
“I know, I’m going. Just one more kiss first.”
Leaning forward, I gave him what he asked for. “You are insatiable.”
“I believe that’s what I tell you every night, Mrs. Sandviel.” Chuckling, he turned and hopped up the stairs two at a time.
Returning to the kitchen, I paused and listened to the two over the monitor.
“Were you a good boy for mommy today?”
“Gaahhh, gee, dah, dah, car, dah.”
“Yes, daddy went in the car today.”
I heard rustling movements and knew he was picking Josie up f
rom the crib and hugging him.
“How’s your superman back today? You ready to go flying yet?”
Laughter and squeals shrieked through the speaker as I pictured Miguel spinning him around in his arms. Shaking my head at the absurd cuteness of it all, I turned the monitor off and finished making the salad.
Twenty minutes later, the salad was done and dinner was waiting on the table. I called for Miguel, but he didn’t come so I set out to find where the two were hiding. After checking the living room and bedroom, I finally found them sitting on the floor in the toy room surrounded by little hot wheel cars.
“Dinner’s ready you two. That is, if you can pull yourselves away from the mega race your building.”
“I’m starving. I didn’t eat lunch today so I hope you made enough.”
He always said that, then ate like crazy every night, regardless of if he had lunch or not. I never figured out how it was possible for him to maintain his sculpted body and eat like he did every day. The only satisfaction I had was telling him that one day his metabolism would slow down and he’d end up with a pot belly.
“Well, come on down and get it. There’s plenty.”
Putting his hands up in the air, Josie made grunting noises, asking daddy to pick him up. He could walk just fine, but when daddy was home, he knew he could get what he wanted…usually.
“Clean up your cars first, then daddy will pick you up.”
Josie threw his car down, crossing his chubby little arms over his chest, and staring down at it. Yes, the terrible two’s had begun.
“Come on, I’ll help you.” Miguel grabbed the bucket and made a game out of putting the cars away.
The two of them quickly finished the job and Miguel lifted him high up into the air, setting him on his shoulders. As I led the way downstairs, I listened to Miguel as he sang and walked to the kitchen. His voice was like a hundred different hands, stroking and arousing every nerve in my body. Sometimes I think he did it on purpose, just to turn me on.
After he buckled Josie into his highchair, singing softly the entire time, we each took our usual seats on opposite sides of our boy. Closing my eyes, and squeezing my legs together to remove the sudden throb between them, I focused on getting Josie’s plate ready. We had a full dining room, but unless we had company, we rarely used it. The kitchen seemed much cozier. Plus, there was a ceramic floor that was easy to clean up Josie’s messes.
Josie enjoyed his favorite, macaroni and cheese, while Miguel and I ate the lasagna and talked about our day. Mine was pretty simple at home so he told me all about the new semester of biology he was teaching. I loved listening to what he did all day. Even after a few years had passed, he still fascinated me.
After dinner we made our way to the family room and relaxed on the couch together while Josie played with his toys and watched SpongeBob. Lying on my back, legs stretched across the couch, my head was lying in Miguel’s lap as I looked up at his mesmerizing face. Lightly drifting his fingers through my hair, he stared absently at the wall. When I looked closer, I noticed his jaw beginning to clench and unclench.
“What are you thinking about?” I asked tentatively.
“Nothing really, just worried about tomorrow. I suppose no doctor will ever be good enough to operate on my son, but I know I have to choose one.”
“Don’t worry, it’ll all work out. I’ll use my psychic powers, you’ll use your mad scientist’s skills, and we’ll find us a winner.” Using humor to lighten his mood usually seemed to work, but this time he was further away, somewhere unreachable. “Seriously, honey, don’t worry about it tonight. We can’t do anything about it right now anyhow. Worry about it tomorrow while we’re there. Just enjoy us tonight.”
Miguel looked down at me, delicately rubbing his finger along the edge of my face, around the curve of my jaw, and lightly tracing my lips. Before he had a chance to move away, I kissed his fingertip, softly sucking it into my mouth, and halting his progression.
Easing his finger from my mouth, he slid the wetness across my lips, tracing the tender flesh a second time. “Leave it to you to put it all into perspective.” He grinned and leaned down to kiss me.
We were instantly rewarded with a hit on our heads from a giggling little boy and a large, foam bowling pin.
“I guess he agrees with you, his dad is hard-headed.” Miguel rubbed his head and feigned injury.
Laughing, I twisted my body so I could wrap my arms around him and pull my head into his abs for a quick hug. Leaning back, I looked up at him and whispered, “Yes, but I like your hard head very much.”
His eyes widened in surprise from the meaning of my comment. “Do you now?” His lips curved into a naughty little grin as he reached down and slid his hand between my legs. My back was toward Josie and Miguel was taking advantage of the opportunity to tease me.
Rubbing my core through my jeans, he leaned down and whispered, “And my hard head has a few places it would like to be inside of right now.”
I clenched my legs around his hand, freezing him in place. Biting my lip, I looked directly in his eyes, warning him to behave and begging him to continue. He slowly worked his fingers loose, rubbing me a few more times. Gripping his back, I closed my eyes, quickly becoming lost to his erotic touch.
Sighing, a bit too loudly considering our audience, he abruptly stood and walked over to Josie. Before I had a chance to protest his leaving me, he reached down, picking the baby up and laughing.
“Time for your bath little man. Mommy and Daddy have a date we have to get to!”
Josie clapped his hands for bath time and I wanted to join in and clap mine for “date time.” Instead, I decided to tease him a little more to insure he thought about me while he was upstairs. With Josie’s back toward me, I lowered my hand and began rubbing myself over my jeans, repeating the actions Miguel had done moments before. Arching my back, I opened my mouth in a silent moan, allowing my desires to play across my face.
“Okay, then, off we go to…” Miguel froze, staring at me playing with myself.
I started undoing the button on my jeans, forcing him pick up his pace to leave.
“We have to get out of here now, little guy,” he whispered to Josie. “Mommy’s driving daddy crazy over there.”
Josie giggled and looked back at me to wave as they left to go take their bath.
Laughing at the two of them, I fixed my pants and began picking up the toys left behind. Contemplating different ways to repay Miguel for teasing me, I quickly became aroused by my own thoughts. Bedtime suddenly sounded better than ever. I finished collecting the toys and hurried upstairs to help Miguel.
An hour and a half later, we finished putting Josie to bed. Miguel kissed him goodnight and we quietly walked out of his room. Just as he was about to shut the door, I sprinted away from him and toward our bedroom.
Once I was halfway there, I began peeling my clothes off, one piece at a time, and throwing them into the air. Hearing his laughter, I glanced over my shoulder to see him stepping over the articles I’d thrown behind me. By the time I got to our room, my top half was naked and my jeans were almost off.
Struggling to remove the uncooperative items from my legs, I didn’t notice he had caught up to me until his hands were gripping my hips, pulling me back to him.
“Mmm, I can help with those.” His voice sent shivers up my back.
Sliding his hands down my backside, to my thighs, down my calves, he grabbed the pants tangled around my ankles. I lifted each foot, helping him remove my jeans, and taking my panties with them as well.
“I haven’t seen you strip for me in a long time.” He breathed against my thighs.
Bringing his hands back up to my sides, he led me from behind, directing me toward our bed.
“What can I say, I missed you.” I giggled as I repeated his words from earlier.
Without warning, he picked me up and tossed me onto the bed. It was the same bed he had at his condo. I loved it so much I didn’t want to get a ne
w one when we had moved. When it came to being tossed across it, it definitely proved helpful that it was larger than a standard king.
I didn’t waste any time. I spread my legs and started playing with myself, this time without my jeans obstructing my touch. I wasn’t usually that courageous, but I wanted to see how turned on I could get him. I wanted to erase any worries he had earlier. And I wanted to finish what he had started on the couch. By the look on his face when I slowly slid my finger inside, I’d say it was working better than I had planned.
“Oh. My. God. Mel.” His mouth gaping open, he stood motionless at the foot of the bed, staring down at me.
I slid my fingers out, gently gliding them across the slick flesh between my legs, making sure he saw every movement I made.
“You like that?” I whispered.
He breathed heavily, “Oh, yeah.”
He ripped his belt open, jerking his pants and underwear off in one fluid motion. Climbing up on the bed, he settled onto his knees between my legs and pressed gently on the inside of my thighs, asking me to spread them wider. Granting his wish, I continued touching myself as I watched him take his hardened length into his hand, lightly stroking himself between my legs.
The scent of our bodies, of lust and pheromones, grew heavy in the air, awakening every cell in my body. I tried to keep my eyes on him, on how he maneuvered his hand along his sensitive area, but the more I concentrated, the more I feared I’d come apart just watching him.
My hands became useless, unable to continue when what I really needed was so very close to me. Lifting my gaze to his face, I observed how his normally chocolate brown eyes were dark and dilated, reflecting my own desires.
Heeding our struggle, Miguel leaned over me, ceasing all movements between us. Our chests almost wheezing as we strove to catch our breath. Bringing his body lower, his broad crown settled outside my entrance, creating a frenzy of urgency deep inside.
Twisted Truths & Leveled Lies Page 13
