by MF Isaacs
I grab the beer and he continues to carry the pizza. Once in the kitchen I cut straight to the chase. “We need to talk before we eat. Let’s head out on the back deck.” I pointed to the sliding door, hoping we wouldn’t wake up Natalie.
“Where’s Natalie?” For two seconds I wanted to tell him, none of your business. The shift in my feelings for him and what he’s doing or trying to do hits me quickly.
“She’s busy.” I indicate for him to take a seat and I sit across from him. “Listen. This isn’t easy for me, so I’m just going to rip the band-aid off. You can’t stay here. If you need a place to stay tonight, Amy McMann has offered you a room at their house.” I watched him as he took in my words, clearly they weren’t what he expected. “Natalie is my world, she is my number one. When you are around, you’ve been manipulating things to interrupt that. I’ve told you before that when we were with girls it was never about you or them for that matter; it was always just about me getting off. Now, it is all about Natalie and you do not fit into it. I realize that isn’t what you want to hear and for that, I’m sorry. I hope you can find your person. I hope you can be honest with yourself enough to open your heart and mind to find what you really want. Jimmy, look at me.” I waited for him to look at me. “I am not what you want. You know why?” He shook his head. “Because I don’t want you in return. When you find your person, they won’t run from you like I’ve done. Find someone who is willing to fight for you. Right now, I am fighting for Natalie.”
I could see the disappointment in his eyes, but I could also tell that my words were heard. For the first time, it wasn’t just words to him, he was finally understanding them. “I hear you man. I’m sorry. Damn, I bet Natalie hates me. I should head out, if I leave now I can make it home before it’s too late.”
“Give her time. I can call Amy if you want to stay there. We’ve planned for you to be here for the wedding and if you don’t have anything else going on we could use an extra body to help us get ready. It’s up to you.” I wait for him to decide.
“Okay. It’s not like I have anything else to do. I can help with practice the next couple of days too, if you want. I forget how much I like working with kids that age.” This is the friend that I’ve missed. I just hope he continues to understand that I’m not interested in him and that will never change.
He grabbed a piece of pizza while I called Amy back to let her know Jimmy would be over in a bit. She told me that he was welcome to stay until after the wedding if he wanted. I reassured her that I would extend the offer to him. Two pieces of pizza later he was on his way out the door. I thanked him for finally understanding how things are.
It was still early when he left so rather than climb into bed, I cracked a beer and watched sports center. When I finally got up to head to bed I was shocked to see that I’d polished off more pizza and beer than I thought. I wasn’t drunk, but probably would have been if I hadn’t eaten half the damn pizza.
I didn’t bother brushing my teeth, I just stripped down to my boxers and climbed into bed. I tried to be quiet, but wasn’t successful. Natalie rolled over and opened her eyes just as I settled into bed. With the lights out, I didn’t notice the redness around her eyes, but I couldn’t miss their puffiness or the tears that rolled down her cheek.
“Baby why are you crying? Come here, let me hold you.” She didn’t move, her eyes narrowed and I could feel her fire building. “What is it?” I sat up and turned the bedside light on so I could see her.
“Where’s Jimmy?” My stomach dropped, the reality of her having hurt feelings yet again because of Jimmy makes me want to kick my own ass.
“He’s not here. Come here and let me hold you. I need to talk to you but I want to have you in my arms when I do.” I sat against the head board and pulled her until she was straddling my lap. “I am sure you are sick of hearing me apologize to you because of him. I can tell you with 100% certainty that this is the last time. I finally saw today what you’ve been seeing. Top that with a very frank conversation with Amy, I understand that I have not done a good job of putting you first when he is around. I also hadn’t done a good job closing the door for him. I had unintentionally let him dangle, I didn’t cross any lines with him but I didn’t make it clear enough that I would never cross those lines. Natalie, look at me,” I used my finger on her chin to lift her gaze to meet mine, as soon as we were eye to eye I continued, “I was very clear with him tonight. I closed the door and for the first time he not only listened, he heard me. We, you and me, are not going to struggle because of him. Got it?” I kissed the tip of her nose, knowing if I kissed her mouth I wouldn’t be satisfied without hearing a response from her.
“I hear you. So, you closed the door but then had to sit out there and get drunk?” I laughed, which wasn’t the right thing to do. I loved that she is putting me in my place.
“I didn’t want to wake you up. Every time I came in here to check on you, you were snoring. I hadn’t planned to drink as much as I did. I’m sorry I probably smell like pizza and beer.” I hugged her while continuing to chuckle.
“You have pizza?”
I just grabbed the whole pizza box and a couple bottles of water. For the next hour, we sat up in bed eating pizza and talking about the wedding. We agreed she would ask Hannah and Sierra to stand up with us and I would ask Calvin and Kyler. Not once did I feel bad about not having Jimmy stand up with us and that felt amazing.
That night we fell asleep spooning together, my hand instinctively resting on her lower abdomen where my babies are busy growing.
NATALIE
I woke to the distinct feeling of being poked in the ass with morning wood. It was natural instinct for me to push my ass back into him, the small subtle rotation of my hips caused his hand to drift lower. My nipples pebbled, and suddenly, I wish we’d slept naked instead of being clothed. No words were spoken but his lips were busy kissing up and down my neck, the closer he got to the spot behind my ear the bigger rotation my hips made.
His fingers found my clit even through my panties. Enjoying the freedom to move my leg without a cast I hooked my leg backward over his hip. He liked that idea and spoke for the first time. “Lose the panties Babe.” I made quick work of following his request. As soon as I was naked from the waist down he rolled to his back and pulled me with him. Reverse cowgirl gave him a perfect view of my ass. He couldn’t keep his hands to himself. I pulled my tank top off, allowing him a full view of my naked back side. I lifted myself up enough to guide him to my opening. I wasn’t gentle when I slammed myself down his full length. As soon as he was rooted deep, I leaned forward slightly with my hands on his thighs and bounced my ass as I rode him hard.
He took great pleasure in grabbing a cheek in each hand. His thumbs brushed against my asshole several times. That sensation alone had my rhythm faltering, but it did nothing to decrease my pleasure. I was so wet with arousal, Curtis simply ran his fingers along my spread pussy lips for lube. When his fingers were wet, he slowly pressed his fingers one by one into my ass. I lost count of the number of orgasms that pulsed through my body. I know if he’d had the choice, we would have stayed right there. Instead, his one beep warning for his upcoming alarm caused him to drive himself as deep as he could go. Spurt after spurt, he filled me with his orgasm.
We showered together and I made his lunch while he got dressed. I saw him off to work, knowing that we only had two more days.
***
I was still tired as all hell but that didn’t stop me from looking forward to finding lingerie and a wedding gift for Curtis. Hannah and Sierra volunteered to help me shop, which just confirmed for me that I wanted them to be standing up with us at our wedding.
Thankfully, Sierra drove. I’d been in the car while Hannah drove; since the accident and now being pregnant I don’t think I’m willing to risk being her passenger anymore. I wasn’t prepared with a cool present or card that asked them to be a bridesmaid, instead it was just me poking my head between the driver and passenger se
ats as we drove to the lingerie store.
“Will you two be bridesmaids?” They both laughed, which confused me and made me a little nervous that they would say no. I looked back and forth between them waiting and hoping for them to say yes.
“Of course, we will. Sorry, I know it’s not nice to laugh. It’s just funny because on the way to pick you up, Hannah said if you didn’t ask us we were going to pull some pranks. Nothing major but mostly because you’re pregnant with my nieces.” Sierra laughed at Hannah’s outrage that she was thrown under the bus.
Three hours later, I had spent more money than I expected. Hannah should have earned commission at the lingerie store. If she had said, “I have this one” one more time I would have been convinced that she owns the whole store. According to her, I needed two panties to every bra I bought. That way if Curtis decided to rip a pair, I’d still have a matching set. Her explanations opened a window into her and Steve’s private life.
I don’t know what Curtis is expecting in terms of a wedding gift. The reality is, I don’t feel right using his credit card to buy him a gift. My mom said she was going to transfer some money to my account; she said it was money they planned to use for the wedding. Internet service was sketchy so I couldn’t verify whether she had done it. Without that money, I knew I had less than $100 in my account. I had to get creative if I wanted to give him anything at all.
There was a tourist type t-shirt shop across the street from the lingerie store. With limited funds and not a lot of time I told the girls I was going to check it out. They went the opposite direction in hopes of finding dresses.
I instantly found two t-shirts I wanted to get him. The first one said, “The Man Behind the Bump” and had the two thumbs tilted back. The second one said, “Mission Accomplished” with stick figure man and pregnant woman. As soon as I set them on the counter the saleswoman let me know they had a few others in the back. She pulled out one that said, “Be Nice To Me My Wife Is Pregnant.” I added it to my pile before asking her how long it would take to add “with Twins” to the last one. She got giddy and pulled the notebook out with pre-made designs. I picked two more “Real Men make Twins” and “I Make Twins What is Your Super Power?” Of course, I visited with the lady as she pressed on the pre-made designs, when she heard that we were getting married she suggested I get him the “Taken” t-shirt as well. My gifts weren’t expensive, she gave me a discount for buying so many, but they were funny and had meaning behind them.
I found Hannah and Sierra two doors down at a greeting card store. This wasn’t your everyday greeting card store either, this one was clearly coming from the theory that love is love. The products were on the verge of pornographic in nature. I believe most of their stuff could be reported on social media. I had a great time picking out a card for each t-shirt. I figured I may not have spent a lot of money on his wedding present, but I could put a lot of thought into them. I could see a massive gift wrapping section behind the checkout counter. I commissioned the store to individually wrap each shirt which they did while I carefully selected a card for each package.
With our mission completed, I just wanted to see Curtis. Obviously, he had been on my mind while reading all the erotic cards. He only had about an hour left of practice, so I had Sierra drop me off at the field.
After our long talk the night before, I wasn’t shocked or hurt to see Jimmy out on the field with him. I wasn’t interested in interrupting the practice, my only interest was having my eyes on my man. I watched with pride as he directed drills and encouraged each player. I knew he saw me sitting in the stands and I respected the fact that my presence didn’t take away from him doing his job. I was taken by surprise when Jimmy joined me while the guys scrimmaged for the last 15 minutes of practice.
“Hey Nat, mind if I join you?” I could tell he was nervous but he had enough sense to wait for me to give him the go ahead to sit with me.
“Sure, why not. How are the guys looking?” I didn’t want my relationship with Jimmy to be strained. I can understand his desire for my soon-to-be husband, I imagine it’s the same desire I have for him.
“The guys look great. There is a lot of talent on the team, I don’t know what they are playing against so my opinion might not mean shit.” He didn’t look at me as he spoke, which I took to mean he felt uncomfortable.
“Fair enough.” I kept my eyes trained on the field as the guys fought for possession of the ball.
“I am sorry. I realize it might be too little too late, but I want you to know that I really am sorry.” I think I might have pulled a muscle in my neck from jerky it quickly so I could look at him. Always one to wear my emotions on my sleeve, I am sure he saw the shock and disbelief on my face. “I know Curtis has been honest with you about our history. I know you are not the average woman, or at least you aren’t the type of woman I’ve ever met. You accepting his past without question makes you even more amazing than he is.” I make a move to correct him, but he doesn’t let me. “No wait, let me get this out before you try to say anything. I owe you the biggest apology. I am sorry I didn’t respect you and what you have with Curtis enough to stop with my attempt to get him back in my life. Back in my life in the way he used to be.” He paused allowing me to register his admission. I nodded to let him know I understood what he was saying. “I know he has picked you. I know he will never look at me the way he does you. Hell, he never has looked at me that way despite my wish that he would. I know it is time for me to be honest with myself so I can move on.”
He fell silent as he looked back out on the field. My eyes were drawn to the same place, my soon to be husband had the guys huddled around him as he coached them. I will be the first to admit Curtis is easy to love, but in that moment, I question whether Jimmy wants Curtis specifically or if it is simply just a man. I hadn’t ever put much thought into it until this minute, but I suddenly questioned if Jimmy was gay and just now coming to terms with it. My question was answered moments later when Jimmy asked one of his own.
“Do you think, do you think I will ever find someone like him?” My heart and my mind suddenly felt sympathy for him.
“If you open your heart to the possibility, you will find exactly what you need.” He wrapped his arm over my shoulder in response. In return I dropped my head against him. “You deserve to be happy, don’t settle for anything less.” With Curtis walking toward us Jimmy kissed the top of my head as he quietly thanked me.
CURTIS
I was secretly nervous when Jimmy told me he was going to go talk to Natalie. Those nerves lessened each time I snuck a glance in their direction, it was clear by their body language that their conversation was going better than I expected. I was over the moon when I turned to them after the guys left and found his arm around her. My girl isn’t the type people can touch without her allowing it, unless of course she’s drinking tequila.
Jimmy left us at the field, something about Amy inviting him to have dinner with them. I wasn’t complaining, I was looking forward to an early night with my fiancée a.k.a. baby mama. I’ve been secretly wondering if she’d be offended if I call her my baby mama or better yet babies mama. I held her hand all the way to the parking lot, the gesture seems juvenile. It didn’t matter when a group of students walked out of the building as we walked by and hooted as they asked if she was my girlfriend. I refrained from using the babies mama title, but proudly announced that she was my fiancée.
Having her here, embracing my role as coach and supporting me. It feels amazing. Seeing her connect with Jimmy is more than I ever expected. I know without a second of hesitation, that I am the luckiest bastard ever.
Rather than heading home, I took her to a small diner for dinner. She looked happy but tired and I certainly wasn’t in the mood to cook. We talked about our day in addition to her sharing about the conversation she had with Jimmy.
I jumped in a quick shower when we got home, by the time I walked out of our bathroom I found her laying on top of the covers sound asleep. I und
ressed her before getting her tucked into bed, then wasted no time climbing in with her. I had plans to just hold her for a few minutes but quickly fell asleep in my new favorite position, wrapped around her with one hand resting on my babies.
NATALIE
When his early alarm went off I felt him hurry out of bed, I’m sure he thought it would allow me to sleep for a little longer. My excitement for all that is to come had me wide awake. I watched him dress from my perch on the bed, there wasn’t a single thing about him that I didn’t find sexy. The man seriously just pulled on a pair of jeans and a Henley and I’m aroused. He noticed that I was awake when he made his way to my side of the bed, I’m guessing he was coming in to give me a kiss before leaving. “Good morning handsome man that I get to marry tomorrow.”
“Good morning my babies’ mama.” I laughed, it was clear he’d put a lot of thought into calling me that. “Sorry if I woke you up. I’m heading out for early practice. I was just trying to kiss you before I left.”
