“Here, he’s about to knock me over if I don’t let him speak to you…”
“Hello?” came a small voice on the phone.
“Hey there, buddy,” I said, as cheerfully as possible. “It’s your dad.”
“Hi, dad! I miss you!” he said.
His childlike innocence warmed my heart. It felt good to hear that he had missed me.
“I miss you, too,” I admitted. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes, everything is great, Dad. Grandma got me this really cool new phone and it lets you video chat. Can I call you on it so that we can talk man to man?”
I had to stifle laughter at the thought of my little boy calling himself a man.
“Of course, son,” I said.
I gave him my phone number and told him that I would wait for him to call.
My heart started to beat fast again and I was beginning to sweat. The last time that he’d seen me had not gone very well. In fact, it ended in him screaming and crying, begging to get away from me.
I knew that he was young and I looked scary, but I had to admit that it also hurt my heart to know that my own son couldn’t stand the sight of me. I was glad he actually wanted to see me now.
When the call came through to my phone and his picture popped up on the screen, I held the phone back a little so that he couldn’t see my whole face. I hoped I wouldn’t scare him too badly all over again. I didn’t know if I could bear that.
“There you are, Daddy,” he said, smiling brightly. “Daddy? Where are you? I can’t really see you.”
I slowly moved the phone so that my face came into view.
“There’s my daddy,” he said proudly. I almost burst into tears seeing his happy, smiling face staring back at mine. “Good to see you, Dad.”
We chatted for a while longer. He was so excited to show me all his new toys and give me a tour of the house, while holding up the phone so I could see everything on my end. He told me that he wished that I could come visit him and I didn’t really give him an answer.
His favorite TV show came on and he quickly handed the phone off to my mother and ran off after saying a quick goodbye.
“He’s so happy to talk to you, Darren. This is wonderful.”
“It really is,” I agreed. “He wasn’t scared.”
“Of course not,” my mom said. “I don’t think he was ever scared to see your scars. It was just that he was only used to seeing his mother, and it was a strange situation for him, so any new face would be scary.”
I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thank you for taking care of him for me, Mom. I really appreciate it. You’re doing a great job. He seems really happy.”
“No problem,” she said. “He’s a joy. But, any time you want to take over, be my guest. I already raised you, and wasn’t really in the market for a new baby.”
“I know,” I told her, feeling guilty.
I probably shouldn’t have left Bryant with her, but it was all I could think of to do. And he was clearly in good hands. At least I was getting my act together to change the circumstances, and that was the best I could do. With Hope’s help.
“It seems like you’re in a better place,” my mom continued. “You seem happier, more relaxed. Anything you want to share with me?”
My mother always had excellent intuition, especially when it came to me. I wanted to tell her what was going on, but decided that that was a conversation that should be had at another time.
“No, I just have a new outlook on things and am just going with the flow of life,” I told her.
It was partially true. I just left out the part about Hope and the new baby being the cause of his new lease on life.
“Well, I’m glad to hear it. And it’s really good to hear from you. I think that you being so upbeat is the reason why Bryant isn’t afraid to talk to you. He has been wanting to, but then when he heard your voice, he really wanted to.”
I chuckled, glad to hear it.
“I mean it,” she insisted. “You seem like a… normal person. I’m sorry if that sounds harsh, son, but you know what I mean. Say, I would love it if we could come up and see you sometime. I’d love to see what this new mansion slash cabin of yours looks like, and I know Bryant would be excited to see his dad. Do you think that we could do that?”
“I don’t see why not,” I mused.
In the past, this idea would have scared me. But now, I was warming up to it. Perhaps my mom knew what was best for everyone.
It actually might be a great way for me to tell my mother what was going on and give her a chance to meet Hope. I hoped that Hope would be pregnant by then. I know that my mom would be happy to find out that I was having another grandchild for her. Plus, I think that she would really like Hope.
We said our goodbyes and hung up. I was very grateful to my mom for all her help. I didn’t know what I would do without her. Likewise, I was beginning to wonder what I would do without Hope.
My head was filled with life and hope, and, dare I think it?, I wondered, the beginning of love.
Was it possible to love someone I had just met? Someone with whom I had contracted to not fall in love with, and instead to just create a baby with?
Our arrangement was supposed to be purely a business one. But, personally, I could not be happier. I had a feeling it was possible to have love at first sight, or even, love at first hope. For both my relationship with Hope, and for the baby we were trying to make together.
Everything was finally falling into place just the way that I had always hoped that it would. For a minute, I just wanted to relax and celebrate that milestone at which I never thought I would have arrived.
Chapter 26 – Hope
“Did you say something?”
That was the fifth time that Darren’s head had popped around the corner with some loud outburst or nervous request. It was unsettling, to say the least. And on top of that, he seemed jittery and fidgety. It was starting to make me feel nervous.
“No, Darren. I didn’t say anything. I’m just sitting here, reading my book. Still. Are you okay?”
“Yeah…good…” His voice trailed off and he turned to face the wall.
It was almost pitiful the way that he just seemed to be coming undone.
I knew that it was because of his son’s visit that was coming up. This had been something that he had been wanting for a long time and he was worried about it going perfectly. I wished that I could do something to help him calm down.
“Hey, wanna do something fun?” I asked, not even sure what I was going to suggest.
“Okay,” he answered, hesitantly. “What did you have in mind?”
I got up and walked past him, out of the room that I had picked to be mine. It was on the opposite side of the house where he spent most of his time. I figured it might be a good idea to try to give him as much space as possible.
I understood why he wanted me to be in the house, but that didn’t mean that I had to be right on top of him all of the time. Even though I had reasoned that way when I picked this room, it was funny how he spent a lot of his time in the wing of the house where I would be. And I spent a lot of time in his bedroom— even a lot of nights.
Now, I went to his bedroom and walked in. It was huge with massive vaulted ceilings. I always loved walking in here. It was very cozy, rustic. I walked into the bathroom and had to catch my breath. The soft track lighting was the perfect accent to the tan marble floor. There were stairs leading up to a Jacuzzi bathtub. It looked very classy.
“Why don’t we take a bath together and see where it goes from there,” I suggested.
He had followed me into the bathroom and was watching me with wonder. When he heard my suggestion, his face immediately got serious and I could tell that he was a little excited.
As the water began to fill the tub, I undressed.
“Take off your clothes and join me, will you?” I said, turning to him.
He only nodded, staring at my body from head to toe
. He quickly undressed.
The water in the tub was so soothing. I felt all tension leave my body the minute I put my toe in the water. Darren joined me, sitting on the opposite side of the tub.
“Come closer,” I said, beckoning to him.
He hit a button and the jets started, making rippling waves churn all over the tub.
I leaned over toward Darren and started to kiss his cheek and neck. His body felt welcoming pressed against mine surrounded by the warmth of the water. He responded by grabbing my butt and pulling me into him. I could feel his dick getting harder as I floated against him in the tub. We started kissing, our tongues dancing in and out of each other’s mouths.
He grabbed my hips and pulled me onto him with such ease. His dick gently slipped inside of me. He moved me easily in the water up and down on his dick, staring directly at me. The way that he held me and moved into me made me know that he was enjoying it.
I circled my hips and arched my back, making a churning of my own as we made love amidst the bubbles of the Jacuzzi. It wasn’t long before he was coming, making me cum hard at the same time.
We got out of the tub and dried off, dawning fluffy white robes that he had on the walls. He had it set up like a spa and it definitely was rejuvenating.
We lay in bed, holding hands and kissing each other intermittently for the rest of the day. Neither one of us really said anything to each other. We simply enjoyed each other’s company.
He had calmed down and it seemed that he wasn’t nervous like he was before. That made me feel good, knowing that I could have some sort of calming effect on him.
I was beginning to surprise myself with how much I loved being a paid captive in his house. It almost felt like I could stay here forever.
Chapter 27 – Darren
Each day that passed was another day closer to my son, Bryant, coming to visit. I didn’t feel anxious about it anymore like I did at first. A large part of the reason for that had to do with Hope.
I think that she had a way of distracting me and making it so that I focused on her. She definitely was a nice distraction. Another reason was that I realized that there was not a whole lot that I could do other than see how things turned out.
What I did decide, though, was that I wanted to do my best to make my house as welcoming for my son as possible. So, I decided to head into the city to pick up a few last minute things that I would need.
This was a huge deal because it had been years since I had been in the town. I had always sent Eve to the store to pick up the things that I needed.
I supposed that I could have sent Hope, but now that she was living with me and we were sleeping together, that just didn’t seem right somehow. And besides, I really hoped that she would be getting pregnant soon, so I didn’t want her to leave and risk jeopardizing the chances of anything happening. So, I decided that I would be the one to go.
Driving down the winding road leading into town, I couldn’t help but think back to when I had first moved to town. I felt so unwelcome and rejected. I figured that that would just be the way that my life was here, so it was time that I faced it and accepted it.
And besides, there is a store with such delicious chocolates that I knew I had to get some for my son. I didn’t know a lot of kids who didn’t like chocolate and this gourmet chocolate was the best that I’d ever had.
When I got to the shop, I expected everything to come to a stop. It didn’t. In fact, even though the shop was fairly full, no one even acknowledged me.
There was one lady, however, who smiled sweetly when I walked in, but was engulfed in a conversation with her friend. I thought that I heard them whispering when I passed.
“Is that the guy who lives in the house up in the mountains?”
“No. That can’t be him. They say that that guy’s face is so badly disfigured that he barely looks human. This guy’s only got a little scar.”
It made me laugh a little at the way that they talked, in hushed tones, about me. It also made me wonder where these stories had come from about me.
Had I been projecting too much? Had I over exaggerated my condition in hopes of warning people about how I look and made rumors circulate about myself? That would have been terrible and hilarious at the same time.
All this time I thought that I was looked at as some sort of hideous monster that no one wanted around, fit only to be locked away in a tower in the sky. Maybe I’d watched too many fantasy movies or something.
In reality, it didn’t seem like anyone looked at me like a monster at all. In fact, after leaving the shop, I walked around to some other stores just to see what else I might want to bring home. I found an action figure and a toy truck and had them wrapped.
The store clerk was very friendly and chatted with me a lot. She didn’t seem to notice or care about my scars. What had been such a huge deal to me for so long wasn’t even a blip on her radar.
She asked me where I was from and then told me about where she was from. Then, she launched into a story about how she got lost and was trying to get back home. She got so engrossed in the story, it was almost like she forgot that I was even standing there at one point.
I didn’t mind, though. It was nice just to be talking to her. It was nice the way that they all interacted with me. It made me realize that I wasn’t a monster to them. I was simply a stranger, someone that they didn’t know. And someone that they seemed curious about and interested in getting to know better.
It’s funny how your perspective can change all in an instant.
On the drive back home, I actually smiled a little at the thought of being able to come outside and drive into town without incident. I’d have to do it more often.
The good life that I had never even thought to imagine could be possible was actually happening and, so far, it was better than I’d ever imagined.
Chapter 28 – Hope
I heard the door from the garage opening, so I went back to my place in the kitchen where I stood at the stove making scrambled eggs.
I was wearing nothing but an apron. I couldn’t wait to surprise Darren with what I’d cooked up— literally— while he was in town. I could tell it was a big deal for him to venture out into public, and I wanted to celebrate his accomplishment.
“I hope that you brought your appetite, honey,” I said, scooping the eggs onto the plate and turning to place them on the table.
But it wasn’t Darren. It was my mother.
The plates flew out of my hands and landed on the floor with a crash.
“Mom! What are you doing here?”
My heart felt like it was going to explode out of my chest. I just thought for sure that it was Darren coming back. I heard him leave this morning and I wanted to be ready with a sexy surprise when he got back. I never thought that it would be my mother standing there staring at me, mouth gaping wide open, a mixture of hurt and terror in her eyes.
“Hope! What are you doing? Where are your clothes? What’s going on here?”
I instinctively covered up and said, “I can explain…”
“What’s to explain? It’s been five weeks since you’ve left home and I haven’t heard a word from you. I try to call and get no answer. I was worried. I guess that I should have been worried. I was worried for the right reason, much to my dismay. I see you’ve moved in to his house to be a common whore.”
The tears begin again. I hated that it seemed like the last few times that I saw my mother, there were tears. Her tears. And what’s worse is that they had all been caused by me, lately. I hadn’t seen her cry this much in my whole life.
“That’s not what it is at all,” I told her. “And, honestly, it hurts my feelings that you would even say it like that.”
“Well, what am I supposed to think, Hope? I come in and find you half naked in his kitchen like this is just something normal to do. Are you his whore?”
“No! I’m not anyone’s whore! Stop saying that. Please?”
“Well, you please help me make se
nse of this.”
I was going to have to say something, but I wasn’t quite sure what.
“I’m going to have his baby.”
It was the truth, but I knew that it really didn’t explain the whole situation.
“What do you mean?”
“Just that. I’m going to have his baby. I signed a contract stating that I would have a baby for him and he would pay me for it. I am just upholding my part of the contract. That’s what you got the payment for. It was when I signed the contract.”
My mother stared at me in disgust.
“So, let me get this straight. You agreed to have a baby for this man. You’re having my grandchild… for money?”
The way that she said it made it sound so dirty or cheap. I told her as much. She told me that she didn’t care.
“Mom, you have to understand that this is my life and I am going to make my own decisions.”
“I know, but I feel like you are ruining things for me. Why did you have to do this with one of my clients? And to involve my grandchild? Hope, you know how important family is to me. Why would you do this?”
“I was only trying to help,” I said. And that was the truth.
We argued back and forth for about an hour. She pleaded with me to leave and I refused. I told her the terms of the contract. She told me that she didn’t care about any contract and that she would be willing to give all the money back if I would just leave with her.
I told her that I wasn’t going to leave. She yelled at me, called me all types of names that I never thought that my mother knew, let alone would use on me. When she saw that she wasn’t getting anywhere, she left in a storm of angry tears. I didn’t want her to be hurt, but I did want to stay in Darren’s house.
Part of it was the contract and wanting to keep the terms of my agreement. I had met Wilson, Darren’s lawyer, and knew I could be sued for a lot of money if I didn’t honor the contract. But, the other part was something else.
I knew that Darren would probably let me out of the contract if I really wanted him to. But, I wanted to stay in the contract. I was really starting to have feelings for him and I didn’t want to leave before I found out where things were going to go.
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