“Agree. If you don’t love her, then you should have stuck around like a man.”
I wondered if that was what his parents had done. Maybe that was why there were no other siblings.
“Oh, Griffin. Look at the mess your life has turned out to be: a failed relationship, two children out of wedlock, and well…” Her eyes flickered to mine, but she held her tongue. “We want what’s best for you, that’s all.”
I smiled. My hand slid over his thigh and squeezed. “You do know your son is actually pretty amazing. He has a great job, lots of friends, and a wife who hasn’t cheated or trapped him into anything. He’s done wonders for himself and has not lived off Mummy and daddy’s money. You two can sit and go on about what he hasn’t achieved, but you don’t know him. If you did, then you’d see what a loving and caring man he is. You also would have come to the wedding… but you’ll never get that chance, and you certainly won’t be around for any future grandchildren we give you.” Standing, I tugged on his hand. “If you’ll excuse us. We’re tired. I suggest you don’t come in that room anytime soon; I won’t be stopping.” I informed them and walked off before they had a chance to speak back to me.
Screw them. They were horrible.
***
“You won’t be stopping?” Griffin laughed, flopping down on the bed and wrapping his hand around his growing cock. A soft groan escaped his mouth. He was fully erect, stroking himself. Oh, hot.
Nodding, I unclipped my bra and made my way towards him. “Slow, not rough or hard. I’m going to make love to you with my mouth, and then I’ll straddle your hips.”
I was in the mood to make love, not fuck. I wanted him to feel just how much I loved and needed him... through my body. I wanted him to feel that he was the only man I adored.
His eyes were drowsy with lust. His head fell back, only giving me a nod.
It was a making love kind of night.
***
Who on earth wakes up at five am to go fishing?
Jesus, I was exhausted, and that was the last thing I wanted to go and do. The men had other ideas, though. It was actually odd. Last night’s conversation had not been mentioned, and his mother was making breakfast. I thought they had a cook, but here she was, making waffles, eggs, and bacon.
Was this how the rich did things? Fought, forgot all about it, and then moved on to the next day as if nothing happened? At least they had not mentioned Karen’s name. Any day that went without the mention of her was a brilliant day in my eyes.
“Bacon?”
I looked up from the paper to where Theresa stood, holding a plate with food on it.
“No, thanks.” I don’t trust you one bit, and I’d rather stick to the fruit that I watched her cut up. “Not really a big breakfast person.”
“She usually just has coffee, and that’s it.” Griffin reached over and took the plate from his mother’s hands. “But thanks. I’ll eat this.”
I gave him an odd look and just shrugged. How could he not see that this was all really weird and kind of creepy? His parents were acting like well-loving parents.
Surely, they could not keep this act up when we went out to sea.
But they did. They were polite, kind, and caring. Even Griffin had noticed it eventually after I pointed it out once or twice. Actually, he only noticed when his mother asked about my job and if I was searching for another. When I mentioned taking a year off, she did not even bat an eye. I did not tell her that her son practically forced me into it so we could spend the year trying to fall pregnant. She seemed a little okay with that. That was when Griffin had noticed something was up.
“Alright, what’s going on?” he asked, throwing his line back out into the ocean.
“What do you mean?” Paul asked, baffled.
Griffin turned and looked from his father to his mother. “You’re asking Ayla all these questions and being interested in her all of a sudden. Something’s up.”
“We can’t be interested in our daughter-in-law?” Theresa asked with a small smile.
“Not without an agenda,” he replied back. “What are you two doing?”
Paul sighed and shook his head. “Nothing. We’re… we’re trying.”
“To do what?” Griffin asked back, running a hand through his hair as he picked up the can of beer and took a mouthful. His eyes widened mid-sip. Swallowing, he laughed. “You’re trying to actually be parents?”
Oh, dear lord. They are bipolar.
“Umm, how about I take over for you?” I suggested, reaching for his rod.
Handing it over without hesitation, he went back to the conversation at hand. “You think one day is going to make up for all the shit you’ve said to me over the years? You implied Ayla was a…”
Yes, I could remember the hooker reference very well.
“I don’t understand. Why now?” Griffin continued.
“You got married.” His mother’s sob changed everything. “We missed out on our son’s wedding.”
Griffin swallowed hard. “That’s not my fault.”
“But maybe you could…” She paused, flashing a hopeful smile at her son.
Shaking his head, he came back for the rod. “No. We were married the way we wanted to marry. I won’t have another wedding just for the sake of you and Dad. You lost that moment. It’s on video if you’d like to watch, but other than that, I won’t have another wedding for your sake.”
Ooh, harsh. But I guess they needed to hear that from him.
At that moment, I wanted to apologise, but I stopped myself. What did I need to say that for? I was not sorry; it was not our fault. They were to blame, and in this case, they lost out. Not us.
“You’re going to have more children?” His mother just did not quit it. “I thought you’d had a vasectomy?”
I let out a soft giggle, unable to hold off laughing. “You wanted to get the snip?” I asked, and he shot me a glare.
“I didn’t get that done, Mum,” he said sighing heavily. “Ayla and I will have kids, eventually.”
“There’s going to be a huge age gap between a baby and the boys, how will you handle that?” she asked, holding her hands in defence. “I’m not judging, just asking.”
“It won’t be an issue. The baby will need a friend. Have to get working on another one afterwards,” he answered, giving me a wink.
Oh, the stars. My heart was happy. He wanted more than one. Two, perhaps? Oh, this man was seriously making my ovaries swoon like nothing else. Two little babies with him? It would be perfect.
We had fish for dinner that evening. His mother even knocked on the bedroom door after we went upstairs for a nap that we did not take. Maybe they were having a midlife crisis. The next day, it was the same. We went for a look around his hometown: to a café where his parents wanted us to have lunch, then to a market. His parents were being loving and caring until we went home, and we were both left baffled, extremely puzzled by the events of what had happened.
“Did they just plan on stopping by? To visit sometime?” I asked, walking into our kitchen like a headless chook. I was really confused by their actions. “I mean, she yelled about us getting it on, and then she was nice.”
He smiled, nodding. “Way too nice. Let’s just not think about them. Want to watch a movie?”
“When have we ever just watched a movie?” I asked, raising a brow, then giggled as he could not tell me a time where we just laid and watched something without it leading to more. “Alright, let’s watch a movie, and no fooling around.”
That did not work. We fooled around and forgot all about the movie.
***
When Friday rolled around, we were both nervous for the boys to come stay. It did not feel like before. It felt like the calm before a huge, torturous storm. Karen pulled up in the drive, and I stayed inside as Griffin walked out onto the balcony and waited for them to come up to him. He was not going anywhere near her.
They looked dirty and unclean. Their hair needed a cut, and their clothes,
draggy.
She just sat in her white two thousand ford falcon and eyeballed him—no kisses goodbye to the boys, no getting out to help them with their bags. They did it all on their own.
“Hey.” He greeted Toby first with a hug and a kiss on the forehead. “How are you both?”
“Mum said she’s getting us at lunchtime, Sunday.”
Griffin frowned. “No. Seven pm is when you’ll be dropped back home.”
“Why?” Mack asked quite rudely. “She said she’ll come here.”
“You boys hungry?” I asked, trying to steer the conversation in another direction. “I made cake.” No, I brought a cake.
Toby shrugged and dodged me when I went to hug him. “Ayla, can you bring it down to my room?” he asked, taking off down the hallway.
Ayla. I had gone back to being just Ayla to them. Not mum, just Ayla. “No,” I told him. “We don’t eat in the bedrooms.”
“You suck!” he shouted, and then the door slammed.
My eyes met Griffins, and he took off down the hallway. “Hey, get back out here and apologise now. You don’t speak to her like that, and you sure as hell don’t come here and act that way.”
The door flung back open, and Toby glared up at his father. “So?”
“So?” Griffin was just as taken by that as I was. “How about you go outside then come back in once you’re in a better mood?”
“Fuck,” he muttered underneath his breath, storming down the floorboards as he stomped past me, nudging my in the side as he did so.
Griffin went after him. “Watch your mouth, Toby.”
This was not the Toby we had said goodbye to a couple weeks ago. He was moody, arrogant, and was just rude. Mack was still standing there, unmoving on his spot, until his gaze met mine and he looked away immediately.
“Are you hungry?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No.”
The front door opened and closed shut quieter. Toby reappeared and came towards me. “Sorry.”
“That’s okay,” I said, unsure what the hell was going on. It was just as crazy as Griffin’s parent’s behaviour. “Do you have any homework that you need doing?”
“No.”
“He does,” Mack told on him. “He’s just lying.”
“Well, get it out, and you can do it,” Griffin told them. “Would you boys like to get out and ride the bikes later?”
They shrugged and with a sad look about them, walked over to the kitchen and propped themselves up at the bench. Something was definitely wrong with them. They were not the kids I had known. Then again, they could be going through a tough time with the change of moving in permanently with Karen and only seeing their Dad twice a fortnight.
Griffins hand squeezed my shoulder. His voice was quiet, but I could tell he was just as confused as I was. “It’ll be okay.”
“How do you know?” I asked, looking up at him.
There was that look about him, determined and sure of himself. “I’m going to get to the bottom of this.”
He walked over, and I followed cautiously. He stood on the opposite side of the bench to them, peering at each of them carefully. “What’s going on?” he asked in a low voice. It was almost scary.
Mack looked up, shaking his head. “Homework.”
“Not what I meant.” Griffin warned. “What is going on? And do not lie to me.”
Toby looked down at the kitchen counter and shrugged as well. “We’re not allowed to tell you.”
“Bullshit. Tell me now, or you’ll be doing chores all weekend.” He threatened. “There’s a chook pen needing to be built. I’ll have you both out there working your asses off, and then you can sweep up the leaves out of all the rocks from the storm the other night.”
That was a job we were both putting off.
“Mack, you know you won’t be in trouble if you just tell us the truth.” I urged softly.
“Yes, we will.” His eyes began to water. “She said she would throw all my books away.”
Griffin and I both shared another look. She was using the kids in her own wicked game. It was sick.
Griffin’s hand slammed on the counter with so much force, it made us all jump. “Tell me what is going on right fucking now, or you’ll really be in for it,” he said through gritted teeth, the threat cutting us like glass.
Mack burst into tears and shook his head as Toby finally spoke up and told the truth. “She told us to be naughty, so you would hit us and then we wouldn’t have to come back here.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“What do you mean, hit you? I’d never lay a finger on you.”
Talk about throwing a spanner in the works. Neither one of us saw that coming. Griffin looked as if someone had told him his parents had been killed. He was distraught, struggling to come up with words.
I had Mack in my arms as he sobbed. He could not stop crying. Something had happened, and my heart was telling me something was really wrong. He glanced up, rubbing his eyes as he spoke with a shaky voice. “I can’t tell you. You’ll get mad.”
“Mad? Why would I be mad?” he asked, much calmer. His pacing stopped, and he joined us in the living room. “You boys need to start talking. You’re confusing me.”
Toby sat still, silent as Mack cried even harder. In the whole time Griffin and I had been living together, not once had I seen these boys cry. It was devastating, and my heart ached for him.
“Sweetheart, what’s the matter?” I asked, softly.
“You know…” He sniffled back. “Can’t you tell him? Please don’t make me say it.”
My heart was hammering like a drum. Oh, shit. She knew, and now his dad was about to know.
“Griffin, umm…” How the hell was I going to bring this up? I could not do it. I just could not tell him. It was not for me to reveal. “Mack, you have to tell your dad.”
“Tell me what?” he asked. “Is something wrong?” His voice was frantic. Moving from around the coffee table, he came towards us with a worried look. “Mack, you can tell me anything.”
Yeah, he might say that now, but who knows how he’ll react. “Toby..”
“I’m not leaving him alone.” Toby got up and came by his brother’s side, playing the protective role. “Don’t even think I’ll leave.”
I brushed my fingers through Mack’s hair, hoping to calm his crying. “It’s okay. I promise.” I knew it would be. “You can tell your dad.”
Pulling away, my stomach was in my mouth as Mack looked into his dad’s eyes. Griffin was crouched in front of us both, and his hands wound into fists on my thighs. “Did you steal something or break in somewhere?”
“No.”
His eyes flickered to mine then back to Mack’s as his voice went to a low dull tone. “Did you get a girl pregnant?” Oh, shit. History repeating itself.
“No!” Mack loudly assured him.
“Oh. Okay, well nothing will be as bad as that.” He breathed a sigh of relief.
“Like racing a car and getting caught?” I asked with a hint of a smile. “I could name a few others.” Karen, Karen, and a big fat Karen.
He playfully glared at me. “Point taken.” His focus went back to Mack. “Come on, son. You can tell me.”
“I…” He stuttered. “I’m… I’m gay.”
The whole room went eerily silent. You could hear the loud swallow that finally came from Griffin’s throat as he took in his words, clearly never expecting to hear such a thing from his youngest son. It was not something anyone would be expecting, I guess. Then again, some parents would have an inkling of whether or not their child is gay. Mack showed no signs other than perhaps being quiet, timid, and shy. He loved reading and was a caring soul.
To me, it did not matter. Everyone deserved the right to love whoever they wished. Nothing should stop, or try to change that.
I opened my mouth to say something, to break this uneasy silence, but no words came out. I did not have a clue what to say, and I did not want to force words from him right n
ow. Mack was shaking in my arms as his face buried into the crook of my neck.
I could imagine how he was feeling; he was absolutely shitting himself in fear that he would be disowned or worse.
I gave Griffin’s hand a small, reassuring squeeze, and he broke his trance, finally breathing a soft sigh.
Still, no words were spoken by him yet as his eyes went to mine, shooting me an accusing glare. It rocked me to the core. He was not pissed at Mack. He was pissed for being the last to know.
He knew that I knew and had not told him. Shaking his head, he simply stood up and turned around. Leaving the room, he went to the kitchen and opened up the fridge. Pulling out a six pack and tucking it underneath his arm, he then made his way outside. The backdoor closed with a quiet click.
I wanted to go after him, but I could not. He needed to do this on his own, however long it took. He had to be the one to break the ice and speak to Mack first on his own terms without me pushing him to do so.
Toby frowned, smirking. “I thought you were going to say you shagged a girl and got her pregnant.”
“Please, don’t say that.” I sighed, rubbing my temples then giving Toby a raised brow. “If anything, I’d expect that from you, not him.”
Toby snorted, sitting on the couch beside us. “I’ve never even kissed a girl, let alone boned one. I’m not that bad.” Boned, seriously?
“Your father will be relieved to know about that.” Hell, I was relieved to know he had not done any of that stuff yet. Mack’s body began to shake again, and I pulled him close, kissing the side of his head and soothing him with words. “Shh, it’s okay. Everything will be alright.
“He hates me.”
“No, he doesn’t hate you. He just needs a minute to think and calm down. I think he’s upset that he didn’t know sooner, but you told him. That’s the main thing, and now you can keep talking. Can you tell me why you’re supposed to be so naughty for us that it would cause your dad to hit you?” That did not make any sense. He would never lay a finger on them. Yeah, maybe a slap on the back of the head when they were being rude. Otherwise, it would be in a playful manner, nothing like a punishment.
Breaking Old Habits Page 25
