Dominick's Secret Baby

by Iris Parker

  "Oh thank goodness, I was so worried!" she cried out, looking thoroughly alarmed. "You weren't answering your phone, and your curtains were still closed. I assumed the worst!"

  I shook my head, trying not to laugh when I saw what the landlady was carrying. A paper bag in one hand, and my spare key in the other. She'd never used it before, but always teetered on the brink between discretion and intrusion. Today, however, the look on her face told me that her curiosity was unusually voracious today.

  "No, nobody was axe-murdered here today," I joked.

  "Well, of course not," Mrs. Lauer said in a matter-of-fact deadpan. "Hockey players don't use axes, they have sticks!"

  Well, at least she was getting right to the point. It was endearing, in an obnoxious sort of way. Or maybe it was obnoxious in an endearing sort of way, it was always hard to say with Mrs. Lauer.

  "It's the first week of vacation, and I went to bed late," I explained, offering as little as I could in the way of explanation. I didn't mention how tired the pregnancy made me, or how once again I'd been plagued with vivid images that kept me from sleeping peacefully.

  "He did leave pretty late, didn't he?" Mrs. Later asked with a wink, stepping inside the house.

  "Yes, he did. And no, I'm not going to talk about it," I said with a laugh. As pushy as she was acting, we were still friends and I knew she was ultimately harmless.

  "Not even a whisper? Not even for a bribe of cookies?" the older lady asked, chirpy and chipper as she shook the paper bag. She opened it up, and the warm smell of homemade baked goods wafted out enticingly.

  "Afraid not," I said, walking into the kitchen where I began heating up some water.

  "Awww, not even a little? Like, say, about what a handsome young man he is?" she pleaded, taking out two bags of herbal tea and placing them in mugs for us. My face felt warm as I pictured Dominick, admitting to myself that he was a handsome man.

  No, he was more than handsome. He was hot.

  Smoking. Freaking. Hot.

  More than that, though, was his presence. He seemed larger than life, like he took up more than his share of space in the house and my mind.

  Also my dreams, I thought, remembering again the endless string of fantasies that had followed me last night from the moment he left to the moment I finally woke up. No matter how mortified I was to remember the way I'd shamelessly hit on him, my mind kept returning to that moment—and the hypothetical consequences—again and again.

  And again.

  And, well, again.

  Mrs. Lauer's gaze was locked onto me as she studied my face, her lips curled up into a smile. "Well, maybe that part doesn't need to be discussed. We both have eyes, you know."

  "Right," I said weakly, running my hand through the tangle of my hair in a vain attempt to distract myself. The fact remained that Dominick was Ali's brand new dad, and that was never going to change. Romantic partnerships failed more often than not, and getting involved with Dominick meant putting his relationship with Ali at risk. It was a chance I couldn't take, and so I needed to forget all about how good I felt whenever he was nearby.

  The phone rang, and I rushed over to it so quickly that I practically left a puff of cartoon smoke in my wake.

  "Hello?" Dominick's low, manly voice resonated through the little speaker, and immediately my skin erupted into shivers and bumps.

  "Hey," I replied, my own voice hoarse with sleep and a renewed burst of the arousal I'd felt last night. Suddenly I was very glad for cell phones, because otherwise I probably would've started unconsciously twisting my finger through the cord under the watchful gaze of Mrs. Lauer.

  "Just calling to check on you," he said.

  "Ali's doing great," I answered, assuming he misspoke.

  "I'm really glad to hear that, but it's not what I asked," he clarified. "How are you?"

  "I'm, uh…fine," I said, swallowing hard. Fine, except for the fact you kept me up all night doing progressively depraved things with me. "Why do you ask?"

  "Well, you kind of took a pounding yesterday," he said, and I wondered how he long he'd been able to read my mind.

  "Oh!" I said a moment later, as my brain finally caught up to my libido. "You mean the sunburn."

  "And the sting, yeah."

  "They're both doing much better, thanks for asking. Sorry. I'm a bit slow this morning, still pretty tired. Remind me not to eat so much pizza before bed again, please. Crazy dreams," I joked.

  "Yeah," Dominick agreed, his voice gruff in a way that was easy to pretend might be possessive. "Me too."

  "Well, that settles it, then," I said. "No more pizza ever again."

  Ali whipped around in her seat to look at me, her face frankly horrified. Her mouth opened wide, her silent scream of MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!! plain.

  I shook my head and turned around, once again face to face with Mrs. Lauer. She was winking and nodding furiously, dropping suggestive hints the size of atomic bombs.

  Oh boy, I thought, turning yet again and walking towards the back door. Looking out the window, I smiled at the incredible transformation Dominick had initiated. It was a nice, wholesome scene, one that helped me forget—

  And that spot is where he almost kissed you and you tried to drag him off to your bedroom, my mind intruded. Biting my lip, I turned one last time and rested my back against the door. Mrs. Lauer was still staring at me, but it would have to do.

  "So…think you might be able to come—" I began, interrupted by yelling voices on the other end of the line.

  "Just a minute!" Dominick called back to them loudly. "Sorry," he said to me. "Today's a crazy busy day. Workouts and practice and a million other things I'd really rather forget about."

  "You mean you don't like your job?" I whispered.

  "No, I love it. There's just other stuff I'd rather be doing today."

  Before I could embarrass myself by asking what other stuff was, there was more yelling. Dominick quickly continued, his voice now hurried.

  "Actually, I was wondering if you'd like to come with me to the splash fountain at Boston Common, tomorrow afternoon. They have kids, ice cream, live music. I thought Ali would really be into the whole thing."

  I nodded along, sure he was right. Ali would probably love it.

  So would I, which was a problem.

  Still, I couldn't decently prevent Ali from spending time with her father just because I liked the man too much. Keenly aware of how little time Dominick had left on this call, I blurted out my answer before I could change my mind.

  "Sure, why not?" I said quickly.

  "Great!" he said enthusiastically. "I'll meet you by the fountain at two o'clock, so Ali has time to visit her grandpa first. Sound good?"

  "Sounds perfect," I said. We finalized the details, planning to hit the wading pond first before going out to eat afterwards. With a quick exchange of parting pleasantries, Dominick hung up the phone just before his teammates tried physically dragging him to the rink.

  I put the phone away, beaming brightly to myself. Tomorrow sounded like it would be a great day, and I couldn't wait to tell Ali. Between the trip to the fountain and the small pool we bought yesterday, I'd need to spend some time today buying a bathing suit.

  I wonder if he likes one- or two- piece suits, I mused to myself, as I walking back to the kitchen with an electric spring in my step.

  This was a fantastic idea.

  "Hot date tomorrow?" Mrs. Lauer asked.

  "What? No, don't be silly," I said, pouring the now-heated water into our mugs and dunking the tea bags. "Just a little get-together with a friend. Nothing unusual."

  "Mmhmm," Mrs. Lauer said.

  "What?" I repeated.

  The woman shook her head, politely clearing her throat and avoiding looking at me.

  "My mistake. Probably just the summer heat, then," she quipped with a half-smile. I looked up at myself on the nearby mirror, and suddenly the electricity I'd felt earlier made more sense. My cheeks were so red they looked like two ripe tomat
oes. A small cry of surprise escaped my lips and Mrs. Lauer giggled, which only made me blush harder. I looked down at my hands. My fingers were sweaty and shaking a little, and the truth dawned on me. All this was something I hadn't felt in a long time.

  Raw sexual heat.

  A fantastic idea? Scratch that.

  This was an absolutely terrible idea.

  Helena

  If Mrs. Lauer referring to today as a hot date hadn't been enough to make me reconsider it, my dreams that night certainly would have.

  And if my dreams weren't enough, the way I kept catching myself throughout the day would've been. I'd been in an unusually good mood the entire time, save for those dark moments when reality sank in and I realized why I was in a good mood. Because I was excited to see Dominick, because I enjoyed being around him.

  If this was a date, I needed to cancel it.

  Except that it wasn't a date, not really. As much as Mrs. Lauer—and my own body, apparently—seemed to believe otherwise, the truth was that the trip to the spray pool was just a family outing. Just me and my daughter, with her father tagging along as well. There was no way I could cancel that, not without disappointing Ali and raising uncomfortable questions with Dominick.

  So really, I had to do this. Besides, I was a grown adult capable of controlling my own feelings. Whatever happened at the fountain, I could handle myself.

  At least that's what I'd kept telling myself. All day, all night, and all morning. It worked remarkably well, right up until the point where I saw Dominick and everything fell apart.

  Or maybe fell apart was the wrong term. Shook apart from the spasms might've been more accurate, or maybe just clenched.

  Whatever words I used, the fact remained that one sight of Dominick had sent me into a spiral of complex feelings that made me incredibly glad we'd chosen a public place while also thoroughly disappointed that we were in public.

  He was dressed in a pair of swim trunks and little else. He'd already cast off his shirt, leaving his deliciously tanned and golden skin exposed, highlighting the rich purple of his shorts. The colors were tied together by the green and blue of his eyes, drawing even more attention to his chiseled face than usual.

  "Dom!" Ali yelled, rushing over to give him a giant hug.

  I wanted to do exactly the same thing.

  Dominick grabbed Ali and lifted her up, spinning her in his arms while returning her gesture with enthusiasm. "Ali!" he beamed at her, smiling from ear to ear. The warm, friendly gesture was enough to diffuse some of the tension that had been building inside of me for a moment.

  "Can I get some ice cream?" Ali asked after Dominick put her down. Both of us nodded to her, and with an excited yay she turned towards a nearby vendor.

  "Wait a second," Dom, and Ali froze. "Get some for me, too, would you? And your mom, if she wants any."

  Ali wrinkled her nose, shoving a hand into her pocket and fishing out the five dollars I'd given her for the day.

  "I'll pay, silly," he said, taking out some money of his own. After getting a little nod from me, he handed Ali a twenty and she bounced away happily.

  "That was nice of you," I said. "Thanks for treating us."

  "Well, it's pretty hot here," Dominick said, his piercing eyes locking onto me and giving a look that made me shiver beneath the blazing sun. "You look great, by the way," he said, his tone suddenly quite different as he looked over my new swimsuit.

  "Thanks," I managed to say without too much sputtering.

  I'd driven myself crazy in the department store yesterday, agonizing over half a dozen different cuts and styles before finally deciding. I'd always worn single piece swimsuits before, the kind that covered everything and then some. By comparison, the two-piece bikini I'd chosen made me feel virtually naked.

  In the dressing room, I'd convinced myself that the thick halter-style top and skirted bottom were relatively modest, and that was true. From where I stood near the fountain, I could see numerous women wearing much worse.

  But Dominick wasn't looking at any of them.

  He was staring at me.

  If I was being honest with myself, it was exactly the reaction I'd been hoping for when I bought the suit. As his gaze scanned down my body greedily, it also felt like the perfect example of be careful what you wish for. Dominick paused over my exposed stomach, eyes flitting back up to mine.

  Does he see it? I wondered, suddenly quite worried. Back at the store, my pregnancy had been the perfect justification for buying the suit. If it didn't cover my belly, I wouldn't risk outgrowing it before the end of summer. Now, however, it seemed incredibly stupid to put the tiny bump on display like this.

  I still wasn't quite ready to tell him, and had no idea how I would even if I could. Thanks for mowing the lawn, here's some lemonade, by the way I'm pregnant with your second child, isn't that funny, hahaha? Every scenario I imagined felt like a worse idea than the last.

  Of course, letting him figure it out on his own because I wanted to dress up for him? Not really a better idea.

  I was just about to blurt out a tearful I'm sorry and then go hide under a rock for a few years, when Dominick spoke first.

  "Helena?" he whispered, leaning in close to my ear to whisper.

  "Y—yes?" I answered back, bracing myself for a disaster.

  "I was wrong. You don't look great. You look absolutely fucking gorgeous," he said softly, careful not to let anyone else hear. "Promise you'll wear that after we fill up the pool at home."

  I giggled, lightheaded and giddy with relief.

  But not half as lightheaded and giddy as I felt when his words finally sank in.

  At home.

  I braced myself, unsure where this was going, or even where I wanted it to go. And then I whispered back the first thing that came to mind.

  "Only if you wear those shorts."

  Dominick

  Helena's eyes were wide, her jaw hanging just a little slack from shock. Her lips were parted in the most adorable way, and I wondered they tasted half as sweet as they looked. She was giggling like I'd just said the funniest thing in the world, but there was no joke in what I'd said.

  I wanted her, bad. I'd been doing everything I could to resist, to fight it off and remind myself of how stupid and irresponsible it'd be. It's not like I could replace her if things didn't work out; I could sleep with almost any woman I wanted, but there was only one woman who could be Ali's mother.

  Except, of course, I didn't want to sleep with anyone else. I was used to having a strong libido, to being a player who had no trouble finding willing women that would only share my bed for a single night. At the time I'd thought of it as the good life, but now the very idea just made me sick, a turn-off that worked better than any cold shower ever had.

  I'd been attracted to countless other women, but now all I could see in them was not Helena. Looking at the subtle curves of her stomach and the much less subtle curves of her breasts and hips, it was like all my desire had been redirected into a single girl and then doubled.

  Tripled.

  Yeah, it was a terrible idea. But the best curve she had—the soft, supple curve of her beautiful smile—made me wonder if it could work out somehow after all. We'd almost kissed once, and I wanted so badly to reclaim that moment.

  "Moooom!" Ali called as she ran back up to us, and I couldn't help but chuckle.

  Maybe I should've been more specific about which part of that moment I wanted to reclaim.

  Well, at least Ali's presence would hopefully keep my mouth from causing any more trouble today—either from saying stupid things, or doing stupid things. Besides, I'd come here today to spend the day with Ali, not to admire Helena. There would be time for more agonized torturing later, but for now at least my role seemed clear.

  It was time to act like a father, and I was going to enjoy every second of it.

  Helena

  As soon as Ali returned, the tension had broken and I managed to get a grip on myself. Dominick looked as sheepish
as I felt, and we were able to put aside our mutual attraction and instead focus on a day of wholesome family fun.

  "Guess what!" Ali called after we'd all been in the splash pond a while. Dominick and I looked down at her as she headed over, presenting us both with some sort of soggy flyer she'd found.

  "What's this?" Dominick asked.

  "Must be that new waterproof kind of paper," I said, looking at Ali. "It doesn't seem to work very well, does it?"

  "Just read it," Ali said, rolling her eyes at my joke. "Can we? Can we?"

  "No," Dominick said suddenly, startling both of us. We turned to him in surprise, and then he smiled. "We can't read it, because it's all wet."

  Ali gave us both an exasperated look, as if to say these jokes are terrible, please stop trying to be funny now.

  "Hey, you're the one who wanted a dad," I teased. "That means having to suffer through some dad jokes, I'm afraid."

  "But you already say stuff like that all the time!"

  "Yes, and now you'll hear twice as many of them," Dominick answered.

  "Let that be a lesson to you," I said, and the two of us burst into laughter while Ali looked like she was contemplating who to headbutt first. "Okay, okay, fine. We're listening. But seriously, the paper is unreadable. What'd it say?"

  To answer, Ali grabbed us both by the hands and practically dragged us out of the fountain with more strength than a girl that size had any right to have. "Here!" she said, letting us go and pointing to a stand with more flyers.

  "You could've just called for us to come over, you know," I pointed out.

  "I tried," Ali said. "But you guys seemed busy."

  "Busy?" I asked, not sure of what she could mean. "We were just playing in the pond."

  "Nuh-uh," Ali said, shaking her head. "You two were hardly playing at all. You were just staring at each other."