One Night Baby - A Romance Compilation

by Tia Siren

  “So, you got me here,” I said. “What next?”

  “Scott, I’m sorry,” she said. “I couldn’t talk my father down, but I did try. I didn’t answer your calls because I felt so bad about what happened. It was my fault that you got fired, and I couldn’t even stand up and face you.”

  She was genuinely sorry, but my pride took over before I could stop it.

  “No need to apologize,” I said. “I was aware of what I was doing. I did it all just to see what it would be like to fuck the boss’s daughter and get some of that stuck-up ass.”

  “You don’t mean that,” she said, looking down.

  “You know what’s funny about it?” I said, laughing. “I fucked up big time and let you ruin my life. You ruined my job, my future goals, my aspirations, and you took away a pension I was really close to collecting, and I’m only thirty years old. I let you take all that away from me, and for what? To get some ass I could have had anywhere? Nah, you ruined me, Cassie, and I don’t need your half-ass, guilt-ridden apology.”

  “Fuck you, Scott,” she said with sass. “You are the one who couldn’t control your urges. If you had just left me alone in that cab that day, nothing would have ever happened. Maybe I was wrong; maybe none of this is my fault after all. Maybe you are just another piece-of-shit guy who wants to blame your inability to make your life into something better on anyone but yourself. Go ahead and blame me. You’ll still be staring at that blank paycheck every fucking week because you wanted to act like a bigshot and screw your boss’s daughter.”

  “Right.” I laughed. “You are such a bitch. Really, you don’t want to take credit for your part in anything because you’ve never had to before. Daddy always did everything for you. What are you doing here anyway? Go back to your privileged life, finish your internship that you didn’t work for, and go back to school. I’m sure there are a bunch of rich fucking dickheads with a real bright future who would want to take you in. You can spend your life running someone else’s company and being some dude’s trophy wife because that is what you people do.”

  “You know what?” she said with tears in her eyes. “I came here to tell you something, something really important, but it is very clear I was wrong about you. My father was right: you are no good for me, and you don’t deserve for a second to be in my life.”

  “I guess you should go then,” I said.

  “I guess so,” she replied, turning around.

  I shook my head and made my way inside, slamming the door behind me. I didn’t even watch her leave, I was so pissed off. She had said exactly what I knew she was thinking all along, that I wasn’t good enough for her. Fuck that, and fuck her.

  Chapter 22

  Cassie

  There were no two ways about it. My heart was utterly and totally broken. I had never in my life had someone talk to me that way, much less degrade me in such a manner. I really thought Scott cared about me, that he truly had feelings for me, but from what he said, he was no different than Carl or anyone else. That Thursday morning, I got up before my father and headed over to Whitney’s place. Her parents were gone on vacation, and she knew I’d had a rough night the evening before. I had been so distraught that I’d just told her I would come over in the morning and talk to her about it. When I got there, she was waiting at the door, smiling and holding her arms out.

  “God,” I said, laying my head on her shoulder. “My life has taken a serious turn.”

  “You wouldn’t be my best friend if you didn’t have something exciting going on in your life,” she said and chuckled, rubbing my back. “Come on in. There are donuts, coffee, and if you really prefer, we can break out the ice cream.”

  “At seven in the morning?” I sniffled, lifting my head and walking inside.

  “Hey, there are no time restrictions on a broken heart,” she replied.

  I sat down at the table and just stared at my plate, my mind moving in slow motion. I had cried so much the night before that my head was pounding and my eyes were swollen. Whitney poured me a glass of orange juice and cup of coffee and sat down across the table from me. I reached over and grabbed a chocolate donut and pulled at it, putting small pieces in my mouth.

  “So, tell me what happened,” she said. “You got to his place. You were going to tell him, and then what? You were crying so hard I couldn’t understand you last night.”

  “I got there and he turned into a monster,” I said, “a complete and total asshole. He told me it was my fault for ruining his life and he never cared about me. He just wanted to fuck the boss’s daughter. From there we just argued until I finally left without telling him about the baby.”

  “What a dick,” Whitney said, shaking her head. “He really did seem like such a nice guy when I met him.”

  “To me too,” I said. “That’s what I don’t understand. He isn’t even like that with the other guys. In fact, he always got picked on at work for being the guy who didn’t jump into their vulgar conversations. He and Carl, the creepy guy from work, the one who told my father, they wanted to kill each other because Scott hated the kind of man he was. I don’t understand where yesterday came from.”

  “Maybe he is hurt,” Whitney said. “Maybe he didn’t mean those things but was lashing out. I mean, the guy did get fired from a job he had been at for over a decade.”

  “That doesn’t mean he had to say such horrible things to me,” I said, starting to cry again. “I was there to tell him he was going to be a father for God’s sake.”

  “You’re right. He shouldn’t have said those things, even if he didn’t know about the baby,” Whitney replied. “Guys are weird like that, you know? They finally find themselves in a place where they are happy and in love, and then if it doesn’t work out, they turn into these vile beasts that will take your weaknesses and exploit them just to hurt you.”

  “I wasn’t the nicest person back to him,” I said. “I couldn’t help myself. The things he was saying were terrible. That crossed with the hormones flowing through my body. I’m surprised I didn’t breathe fire and set him ablaze.”

  Whitney chuckled. “I’m picturing that right now. I can totally see that happening with you.”

  “But now he won’t ever talk to me again,” I said, starting to cry all over again.

  “Hey, hey,” Whitney said, coming over to my side and sitting down next to me. “Everything is going to be okay. We are going to figure all of this out, okay? You are not alone in this, and you don’t need some dickhead who is treating you like shit to be there for you. It is his loss in this situation, completely and totally his loss.”

  “But he is the father,” I sobbed. “I can’t keep the baby from him. What will I say when my child asks about his father?”

  “I don’t know,” Whitney said, hugging me tightly. “But we can deal with that when the time comes.”

  “I don’t know what the next steps are,” I said, wiping my eyes on my sleeve. “This is something I never expected to happen. Where do I even go from here?”

  “We will figure that out together,” Whitney said, handing me a tissue. “This isn’t the end of the world, Cassie. Women, single women, have babies every day. They raise babies every day without the help of a man in their life. You have one thing that so many don’t, and that is support. Regardless of how your family feels about what happened, they will help you support that child. That is one stress you don’t have to think about. The rest of it we can take step by step.”

  “God,” I said, leaning my head back. “Why is it always me?”

  Whitney laughed. “What are you talking about? You never have drama like this. You are the responsible girl who does what you are told.”

  “And this is what happens when I stray out into the real world.” I groaned. “Maybe my father is right. Maybe I should herd along with the other sheep, letting him make my decisions. It looks like when I get the chance, the first thing I do is go completely nuts and end up single and pregnant.”

  “I won’t lie,” W
hitney said, chuckling. “When you do something, you go for the gold. That’s for damn sure. You leave no stone unturned and you bring back the entire prize.”

  “Prize.” I scoffed. “My prize is a living, breathing human being I am supposed to keep alive and well. I can’t even make choices for myself without royally screwing it up somehow. This poor child is going to be doomed.”

  “No.” Whitney hugged me again. “You are the sweetest and kindest woman I have ever met. You have a heart of gold, and you always want to help others. You are going to be an amazing mother to this baby. There is no doubt in my mind that once this all settles in and you learn to accept it, you will blossom into a woman who was made to be a mom. Trust me, you don’t give yourself enough credit, so I will tell you every single chance I get how awesome you are.”

  “When I started the summer, do you know what I did?” I asked.

  “What?”

  “I sat in my dorm on that last day before the driver came to pick me up to take me to the airport, and I made a list of all my future goals,” I said. “And on that list was a family. A couple of kids, a husband, a dog named Spot, the whole nine yards. Never in there did I write that I wanted to be a single mom, that I wanted a man who didn’t want me. I had my plan, Whitney. It was written in stone, and I’m sure it was written the day my mother told my father she was pregnant with me.”

  “Yeah, well, we all have plans like that. That’s part of being young and a dreamer,” she said. “But life is funny that way. It doesn’t give a rat’s ass about your plans. It does what it wants.”

  “Why in the world did it want me to think I was so in love and then have the guy turn out to be a complete and total asshole?”

  “I don’t know,” Whitney said, “but there are a million other girls out there asking the same question because, let’s face it, guys are all fucking assholes. I mean look at our dads. They’re assholes. Where in our childhood did we decide to completely ignore that fact and think there were actually good guys out there? I blame our mothers, and those damn Disney movies. Happily ever after my ass.”

  I giggled. “I’m sure there is someone out there who would think your ass was a happily ever after.”

  “Not that I appreciate the reference, but at this point I am just happy to see a smile out of you,” she said. “And plenty of men out there think this ass is all they need, but they can’t have it.”

  “I need to be that way,” I said, sitting up straight. “Fuck men.”

  “That’s right,” Whitney said.

  “And screw them for thinking they run the world,” I said.

  “Amen,” she said.

  “I don’t need a man in my life to be a good mother. I can do this all on my own,” I said.

  “Mmhm.”

  “But I forgot one little thing,” I said, sinking back into my chair. “Actually, two things now that I think about it.”

  “What’s that?”

  “The fact that I love Scott, and then there’s the whole thing where eventually I will have to tell my father.” I grimaced.

  “Eek,” Whitney said. “I do not envy you on the father part. Your dad is crazy protective of you.”

  “What if I just don’t tell him?” I said. “I go to school, don’t come back for Christmas, and when I do come back, I have the baby in my arms. He won’t be able to turn us away, right?”

  “Your father has a team of security just to make sure you are okay at school. I think that might come up when they give their reports,” Whitney said. “I can see it now. They are briefing your father on how you are doing and include the fact that the baby is growing well. He might die right then and there.”

  “Oh, my God.” I laughed. “He might. There is a good likelihood of that happening. Do they make cards for this?” I asked, groaning. “Surprise, Dad! I got knocked up in a club closet. See you at Thanksgiving!”

  “No, but I am seeing a serious future in the greeting card business for you,” she said. “I bet you would sell out so fast. Your motto could be something like, ‘Ruining families since 2018.’”

  “Will you tell him?”

  “Hell no,” she said. “I like my head on my shoulders.”

  “Ugh,” I said, rubbing my face.

  “Listen, sweetie,” she said, taking my hand. “This is not the end of the world, I promise you. Your father loves you, and though he may freak out at first and say some rough things, he will never kick you out of his life. In the end, he will learn to accept it because he has to. He is not going to have any choice in the matter.”

  “I know,” I said. “And Scott?”

  “Well, Scott is going to be his own person, and I think if you can tell him, that is great. Put the ball in his court,” she said. “But if you can’t, then you have that right too. It’s tough. I know it. But you are a strong girl, and you are going to make it through this. In the end, you are going to realize it was never as bad as you thought.”

  “Thank you, Whitney,” I said, leaning on her shoulder. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”

  Chapter 23

  Scott

  It was early Thursday evening and there was a bit of time before I went out Ubering for the night. I sat down and pulled up the old business plan I had started to create. I went through each line, scaling the company down by a massive amount. I couldn’t believe I had actually thought I would be able to accomplish something as big as I had originally set out to do. I’d had some serious goals before everything came tumbling down around me, but back then they really didn’t feel that big. Maybe it was because every plan I had was now scrubbed and I felt like things would never turn around for me.

  When I was done altering the numbers, I sat down with the calculator and punched them in. I went through each line meticulously, making sure not to miss a thing. When I was done, I sat back and stared at the calculator screen. Not only was I short, but I was short by a whole lot, and that was only doing the minimum with the place. I threw my pen down on the table and leaned my head back, rubbing my eyes and groaning loudly. I was pissed. Even more than that, I was livid. My dreams were unreachable at this point. There was no way I could safely make it happen. It was straight back to the drawing board, and after I had spent years of my life trying to make my dreams happen.

  I sighed and shook my head. I was going to have to postpone the store and go out and find another job. There wasn’t anything I could do about it, and being so bitter and angry wasn’t making anything better. My mother always did one thing very, very well. She let the bad stuff roll off her shoulders because it never did any good to harp on it when you could be spending that same energy changing it. I was going to have to wait. That was the reality of it, so I needed to put my head down and move on.

  I got up from the table and went outside, where I grabbed the paper from the driveway. I waved at my neighbor, an older woman who liked to sit on her front porch every morning and enjoy a cup of coffee. Those were the things I missed, enjoying the little things without all the stress and nagging. When I got inside, I spread the help wanted section out across the table and grabbed a sharpie. I scanned the retail sections, but nothing caught my eye, and nothing paid enough to be able to continue saving. I moved over to the manual labor section where there was an ad for a construction worker. It was a smaller company than the one I worked for before, but I knew their name. It was worth a shot. There didn’t seem to be anything else in the paper that morning. I circled the ad and wrote the information down, realizing I was going to have to create a resume. It had been fourteen years since I had looked for a job, and I felt slightly lost.

  All of this was my fault. Every last terrible, torturous second of it was my own doing. I could have stayed away from Cassie like I’d told everyone else to do. But no, I gave in to my primal instincts, and this was where it had gotten me. The truth was, though, after all of that, I still really missed her. I could smell her lavender shampoo on my pillow when I lay down at night, and it did nothing but make me even
crazier about everything. For a brief moment, I had actually thought I was happy. I had actually thought there was someone out there who got me, who understood the way my mind worked. I had let that cloud my judgment and I’d let her into my life. It was something I had told myself I would never do. I would never let a woman take away everything I had worked so hard for. That flew right out the window the first time I looked into those beautiful green eyes, and it had been a disaster ever since.

  I had called her a million times, and she never once picked up the phone, called me back, or even sent me a text. She let me go through everything on my own, and I didn’t understand it. If she didn’t want anything to do with me, if she really thought I wasn’t good enough for her, then why couldn’t she have just left me alone? Instead she came to my house and tried to apologize, but why? So I would know she was okay? She could have done that over the phone, and it would have saved us both a lot of heartbreak. It was baffling to me that she would drive all the way over and not tell me anything that I needed to hear. I guessed I would never know the true reason for her popping by unexpectedly, but what did it matter? She was gone, and I had made damn sure with my pride to not let her in at all.

  I didn’t know what had come over me when she’d apologized, but I had torn into her. I’d lied to her face about why I had been with her. I wasn’t the kind of guy who would sleep with someone for such a stupid reason. Nor was I the guy who would risk everything for no reason whatsoever. I felt like a prick for telling her all of those lies. She had taken it really hard. I had seen it in her dewy eyes. It was better that way though. She needed a clean break from me, because after what happened with her father, there was no way the two of us could be together. She wasn’t going to leave that lifestyle or her family, and I would never fit in with them or be welcomed. It would have been a back-and-forth disaster until, finally, it ended in even more tears and heartbreak than it already had.

  She needed to move on, and so did I. I had my life to clean up, and her father had been right. She had a bright future ahead of her and I would have slowed her down. I put the marker down on the table and let out a deep breath, feeling the anger subside and sadness take its place. I looked down at my phone and realized I was wasting valuable time sitting there. I needed to get on the road and grab some riders. I grabbed my bag of snacks and my keys, and I headed out for the evening.