And while most things in life can’t be forced,
Others are just meant to be…
Mya had tears in her eyes as I sang of my everlasting love for her and what she meant to me. My gift to her wasn’t rubies or diamonds or anything materialistic, what I’d wanted to give her was a memory of the day that I committed to giving her my heart; my life. When I’d finished the song I leaned over my guitar and held her chin.
“You once told me that I didn’t have to love you back and that was the greatest gift anyone has ever given to me. You taught me what unconditional love is, and I want you to know that.”
I kissed her softly and her tongue poked into my mouth right before I broke the kiss. Mya pouted and I sniggered but carried on where I’d left off.
“And because I didn’t have to love you back, that was probably the best pick-up line ever because you made me do just that.”
Smirking wickedly, Mya wiggled her eyebrows and her smirk morphed into a grin.
“Ah-ha, busted, but it worked.”
I grabbed her wrist and pulled her over onto her side. I slipped the guitar strap over my head and onto the floor before twisting back and nestled on top of her with my arms cocooning her head. I brushed a stray strand of hair away from her eyes, placed my forehead on hers and hardly believed my luck as I looked into her eyes.
“So Mrs. Cunningham… to my knowledge I’ve never slept with a married woman before, are their vaginas the same as single girls’?”
Mya chuckled, “Hmm, good question I think you should definitely investigate that or is investigative journalism beyond your scope of capability?”
I chuckled at her playfulness.
“You should know better than to challenge me, Wife. I think I need to teach you just how thorough my investigative skills can be.”
Mya’s laugh died on her lips as a moan escaped her when my mouth went to investigate the sweet spot on her neck.
Chapter 43 ~ Alternative medicine
“So, Mrs. Cunningham, I hope this isn’t the once or twice a month thing I’ve heard that happens to couples when they get married.”
Mya grinned at me but was trying to keep her face straight.
“Well we have to factor in headaches and tiredness, Jack. That’s a married woman’s right you know, to have headaches I mean.”
I smirked wickedly and pulled my boxer briefs down freeing my thick, hard erection and gestured down at it with my head.
“You’ve heard of alternative medicines, right?”
She howled with laughter and I began to tickle her until she was breathless and tried to continue with my explanation by holding my solid aching length in my hand. Mya glanced down at it and reached out, dragging her thumb across the head of it and I drew in a sharp breath and grinned.
“Now, I know you may think you are well acquainted with this, but there is a lot I have yet to teach you about it.” I tried for a serious look but I could feel my lips curve into a smile.
“Research has shown that this is the world’s biggest secret cure for headaches, Mya. It can be taken orally or via other orifices. And, if it is applied as per those instructions, it’s guaranteed to cure even the worst migraine. It has even been known to have self-lubricating qualities for easy application in tight or hard to reach places,” I said playfully.
Mya chuckled enjoying the banter and shook her head staring first at my dick then at me.
“You said all of that with real conviction there.” I raised my brow as if surprised by her comment.
“Indeed. And, did you know its healing properties have all the effects of a full body massage if applied in the right way,” I replied, biting back a grin as I stared down at her face, the smile she gave me would have melted the hardest of men’s hearts.
She giggled, watched my face for a few seconds without speaking then rolled her eyes up in thought.
“Oh you know what, Jack? I think I feel my first headache coming on. What do you say? Should we see whether that dangly thing really is an alternative medicine. For research purposes of course?”
Mya’s beaming smile momentarily took my breath away. Seeing her eyes glitter with amusement, I reached down and stroked her wet entrance with my fingertips. As soon as I did her smile became more salacious, the glitter faded from her eyes and was replaced with lust.
I should have taken my time with her but I just couldn’t wait any longer to be inside her. We were consummating what we’d verbalised, and when Mya opened herself to me and wrapped her legs around my waist, I could tell she was in no mood to wait either.
Hugging me tightly inside her I began to slowly thrust deeper, sinking to the hilt then drawing back until her nails raked painfully down my back and her hips began to undulate frantically under me, as she chased to the edge of that heady pleasure. It didn’t take much for her to orgasm and when she did she clung to me tightly as her head rolled back into the mattress. I had never seen anything more erotic than her in that moment and to think that she was all mine made me come hard.
When I’d finished pulsing inside her, I wrapped my arms tightly around her as we lay in silence and in no time Mya’s laboured breathing became slow and steady as she fell asleep. I stayed inside her for as long as possible but eventually we separated and it was a while before I dropped off because my mind refused to shut down.
It was our day of commitment, where Mya and I became everything to each other, emotionally, legally and physically. There was a time when I thought I’d never get married and that my life was going to be work, women and play. I haven’t been wrong about that. My work is important to me and I have the good fortune to be able to do most of it from home. That allows me to spend time with my women, Ava and Mya. As for the play, Mya and I have our two B’s: the band and the bedroom. Both are purely for our personal pleasure.
Meeting Mya had been the most tremendous thing that had ever happened to me. When I go out alone women still approach me, but there’s no room for anyone else. I might only be an ordinary man, but I have a good life. I just happen to have extraordinary friends. It doesn’t impress me that Lily is a rock star. I kind of expected that, or something similar, because I always knew she was destined for great things. I am proud of her and a little in awe, impressed at the changes in her confidence. Alfie, Ellie, Dave and the rest, they are all extraordinary people either through fame or on a more personal level to me, but they are all just people behind closed doors.
Me, I am just Jack Cunningham, a guy who had some aspirations to be a journalist and the thought that if I could combine it with my love of music all the better. I achieved that, so in a sense I am successful in my own non-earth shattering way.
I wouldn’t swap what I have with Mya and Ava for the life that Rick, Lily or Alfie have, because I am my own man and I’m anonymous. I can walk down the street without being accosted and pawed, or made to feel like I’m constantly on show. I can spend time with my family when I want instead of when other people tell me I can. Those guys lost all of their privacy and in turn their freedom in order to share their craft. I suppose I understand their drive in a way, because I gave up mine as well when I chose to find out if Ava belonged with me, but that was a no brainer.
Ava’s presence and Mya’s love makes me feel complete and the way Mya and I took to parenthood was worth all our efforts of pursuing responsibility for Ava. We’re a few years ahead of ourselves in terms of our whirlwind romance and marriage, but since I’d decided to share my life with Mya, she in turn came into Ava’s life and I’ve never felt a moment’s fear.
It was only one year ago that I thought Rosie was the love of my life and I had lost her. Broken hearted, I left on assignment to follow a band and write some articles about how they got by day-to-day while on tour. Never in a million years did I think I’d meet and fall in love with the real love of my life on that tour and that I would do it as quickly as I had with Mya. And if I’m being honest, given her age, it scared the hell out of me how much I wanted her.
A linchpin is the pin that’s vital for holding everything together and my life is as it is now because of Mya and the love she has shown me. She is my linchpin, the glue that holds us all together, my new best friend and my teacher. Mya has taught me that it’s okay to make mistakes, it’s how you move forward that matters the most.
Thinking of the commitment we made caused an internal struggle, I could understand Mya’s want for something private and just for ourselves, but a part of me wants to do the right thing and tell our parents. Sneaking around didn’t sit well with me and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to keep it a secret for long. I wondered what the fall out was going to be from it until I finally fell asleep.
I woke with a start about three hours later and wondered why I hadn’t heard Ava over the baby monitor; then I remembered, she was at Dave’s and I relaxed back on the bed. Mya turned over, stretched and peered up at me.
“All right, what’s going on in there? What’s the long sigh about?”
Inhaling deeply I released the air from my lungs slowly and sighed again.
“Being married and Ava being at Dave’s place.”
Mya smirked knowingly, “Well you are too late about the first point. I’m legally entitled to some of your cash now, so no use trying to shake me off, Jack.”
I grinned at her and pulled her up the bed with me until we were both sitting. I leaned against the headboard and tucked her close to me, resting her head on my chest.
“You know what I mean.”
“Your parents? You don’t want to keep secrets, right?”
Swallowing back the small lump in my throat that we’d excluded them, I nodded.
“Yeah, kinda doesn’t feel right, love.” I gruffly murmured.
“Okay, get up. We’re going to tell your and my parents that they can have their day now that we’ve had ours. Then we’re going to pick our daughter up, I’ve missed her like crazy this past…” Mya glanced at her wristwatch, “Eighteen hours and thirty five minutes.”
Once again, Mya was completely in tune with my feelings and showed me one of the many reasons I loved her so much. She was just so drama free and laid back about most things, but make no mistake, she was no pushover.
Driving up the private road to my parents’ house I wondered what kind of reaction we were going to receive. Is my mother going to wail and throw herself at my feet in distress at missing our wedding or was she going to go off at myself and Mya for being selfish?
I didn’t have to wait long before I found out. Weather-wise, it was a very grey, windy morning and we were barely through the door when Mya ran her fingers through her hair trying to comb it back into order. That’s when my mother caught sight of her wedding ring with her engagement ring.
“You’re married? You eloped and never told us?”
Hugging my mother before she became hysterical, I turned and walked her over to the sofa to sit with her and explain what and why we had done it. She choked back tears while my father stood in front of the inglenook fireplace with his hands shoved deep into trouser pockets and rocked back and forth on his heels as he digested it all.
Their reaction was muted and the opposite to the chaotic mess I was expecting, but my mother hugged Mya and said that, although she was disappointed, she understood Mya’s wishes and every girl should have the wedding they wanted. She even said she was glad Mya hadn’t just gone along with what everyone expected because it could’ve been turned into a circus. I was blown away by my mum’s understanding. My father left the room for a moment and as he walked back into the room he dug deeply into his pocket pulling out a set of keys and waggling them at me.
“Jack, it’s time you took this over now. It’s been empty for the past six months. I took the liberty of sending in some workmen to give it a neutral coat of paint, but you’ll no doubt want to decorate it to you and Mya’s tastes.”
My initial reaction was to protest, but this was something I knew my father had been waiting all of my life for so I couldn’t refuse his wedding gift of Meadland Hall. It was the home in rural Hertfordshire the Cunningham family had owned for six generations. The house wasn’t a massive place, but it was set in twenty five acres of land and it had been a terrific, safe place for me to play freely when I was younger.
“I know you have always been your own man, Jack, but as you know the house has been in trust for you since my father passed away. You’ve always known it was yours and Ava is next in line for it now. I know you have many happy memories of the place when you were growing up. Ava and Mya should spend time there now that you are a family.”
Mya’s eyebrow raised and I nodded slowly at my father, clasping my fingers closed around the keys as I stood and hugged him. Then I turned to Mya.
“Sorry, Mya, it never occurred to me that when I married I was supposed to take this place on, but I did make a mental note when Ava got all of those gifts the other week that we were starting to outgrow the apartment. Maybe we can do weekdays in London and weekends there? Ava should start to play more independently soon and she’ll need friends in both places.”
Mya sat stunned at the knowledge that we had a house. We’d never really discussed my own wealth except in terms of being able to provide for Ava, and it occurred to me that I hadn’t shared all of my assets with social services, just my apartment, investments and monetary wealth. Mum broke my train of thought by hugging Mya and congratulating us and I knew my parents were more than happy with my choice of wife. Too bad if they weren’t, I was definitely keeping her.
Chapter 44 ~ Hero
Dave was at the window with Ava in his arms when we pulled up and Mya was out of the car before I’d put on the handbrake. She took the steps up to his front door two at a time and I chuckled as I thought how alike we were. Mya had strong maternal instincts considering Ava was born to someone else. It’s a true saying ‘anyone can give birth but not everyone is a born mother’, and Mya was definitely a born mother.
Emily looked sleep deprived and frazzled, and Dave… Well he just looked like shit. Turns out Ava had been up half the night and I smirked when I saw how much she had tested them in just one day. Dave passed her to Mya as soon as she walked through the door and threw himself heavily into an armchair.
“Jack, man I love Ava to pieces but you have to take her home right now before I have no fingernails left. She’s driven me crazy all night, babbling, talking gibberish and then she crapped all the way up her Babygro! To her neck! How can someone so tiny and angelically beautiful make shit stretch that far?”
Mya burst out laughing and Ava cooed on her lap. When I glanced at Emily, I couldn’t read her mind but I could bet she was making a note to call the family planning centre as soon as we left. To us, Ava was this amazing little human being; to them she was a constant reminder to use birth control. Dave made a great babysitter, but being a dad would be years in the making for him yet and I considered revising my will.
We drove straight to Hertfordshire after collecting Ava because I wanted to show Mya where we could potentially spend our weekends. When she saw the house she immediately fell in love with it. I had to admit that I was quite in awe myself because it had been a couple of years since I’d been there and I had taken for granted how special it was and how it must look to someone who hadn’t seen it before. It looked pretty spectacular. Or maybe that is because it was no longer just a house and was going to become a home again.
Mya gasped when we reached the start of the long stretch of private road that lead to the house. The path was outlined by willows and wild flowers; it looked like something you would find in a magazine. After five minutes of driving down the private road, the house suddenly came into view. Despite practically living here when I was a child, I was in awe of the long thatched cottage that stood before me. Its Tudor white washed walls and criss-crossing black beams were beautiful but it was the thatched roof that made the house’s appearance special. It was pretty spectacular as it almost reached the windows on the ground floor on one sid
e and the two floors on the other. Heavy oak doors with black wrought iron hinges and latches gave the house an extra feeling of grandeur.
A small stream ran close to the house, completing the picture perfect idyllic setting in front of us. Positioned on the edge of a vantage point leading down to rolling green meadows, it was picture postcard pretty and people commented on that point all the time. We were fortunate to have it. It was love at first sight for Mya and she drew in a sudden sharp breath when she saw it. After getting over her initial shock, we got out of the car and she turned to me smirking.
“Nothing special for my birthday and nothing special as a wedding gift, Jack? And we had all of this…” Mya threw her hand out in gesture at the place, her eyes flitting excitedly around the scenery again while she jiggled Ava to reposition her in her arms. “I’m glad I never knew about any of this, Jack. At least you know I married you for you and for no other reason.”
Grinning widely because I knew she really meant it, I winked and pulled her back to my front.
“Mya, when you have me you don’t need another reason. I mean come on look at me… What’s not to love? I’m a stunning, hot bodied love machine, right?”
Shaking her head she elbowed me in the ribs.
“Jack Cunningham, I have no idea what we’re going to do if we have a boy next time. I’m not sure I could cope with a junior version of you if he’s going to be as beguiling and smart mouthed as you are.”
I chuckled and smiled affectionately at Mya and then tried to imagine the time when that could happen.
“Any son of mine will have you smitten in a heartbeat, just like you were with me.”
Resting her head on my chest she sighed and I squeezed her tightly, “Seriously love, I’m not that special. I’m just Jack, the nice guy you met one day when you were lonely in a city far from home.”
Mya turned her head to look at me and Ava reached out and put her little fingers in my mouth.
“Good girl, Ava. See, even our daughter’s silencing you. To us you have never been just Jack. You are Jack Cunningham, our fearless hero, the brave guy who gets spiders out of the bath. You’re my superhero who gets up in the night with Ava so that I can sleep because I have school the next day. This is the same guy who sends me off to school with a healthy packed lunch and a love note in my bag. And you are the gorgeous guy who smiles sexily at me and waves me off holding our baby in your arms that I can’t wait to get back to.”
Just Jack: Everything laid bare Page 32
