The Perfect Bastard

by LK Collins

  I squint down the lane and try to shut out the noise of other balls crashing against pins. One glance to my left and then one to my right gives me the all clear. I lob the ball down the lane, putting my signature spin on it. It curves right, and then banks left, slicing every single pin down. I know Chandler is fuming. He is the one who taught me to bowl like this.

  I scream and jump as Maisy and Rianna crash into me. We all hug, celebrating our sweet victory.

  “How’d you guys like that?” I rub it in, and they both grumble. I’m not sure how I bowled three strikes on my last frame, but I did, so we win fair and square. Almost as if we planned it, Maisy, Rianna, and I all hold our hands out with our palms up. Reluctantly, Roan and Chandler pull their wallets out and hand us each a twenty. I take my two and give one to each of the girls.

  “Wow, thank you, Mia,” Maisy says and gives me a hug. I glance at Roan as Rianna hugs me, too. Maybe telling them about Roan and me won’t be as hard as we think it’ll be.

  “We’re gonna use the restroom,” they say and skip off, giddy as can be.

  Roan finishes the last of his beer then pulls me down next to him. “You’re so gonna pay for this later,” he whispers into my ear. The closeness of his lips to my body makes me shiver. Chandler has his nose in his phone, and like usual, it makes him oblivious to the world around him. But when he glances up and sees Roan and me this close, he says, “Oh fuck, would you two stop that? Isn’t it bad enough that I’ve had to watch you eye fuck each other all night?”

  I giggle, and Roan kisses my forehead before looking in the direction the girls went in to be sure they aren’t coming out.

  “It’s been fun, but I’m out of here.” Chandler is back to looking at his phone as he says it.

  “Oh, come on,” I holler after him, and he flips us off.

  “What’s his deal?” I ask Roan, knowing I’ll need to move out of his arms at any second.

  “He’s pissed at me.”

  “Why? I thought everything was kosher?”

  “We were, but when I came to your office today and . . . you know.” I do know, and even now, my heart is kicking up a rapid beat just thinking about it. “I missed a really important meeting. We’ll likely lose the deal because of it.”

  “Why did you miss it?” I ask him.

  “It slipped my mind. I was so focused on you and where you were that I totally forgot.”

  “Why, Roan? Don’t you trust me?”

  “I absolutely do, but I know how men can be. He was confused at one time, what’s to say he doesn’t go there again? And I know you’d tell him no, but what if he didn’t take no for an answer.”

  “Clearly, you have no idea how into you I am.”

  “Why don’t you tell me?” He raises his eyebrows, and I want to fuck him right here, right now.

  “I wouldn’t have gone to lunch with him if I thought for a second he was into me. He’s moved on and is happy. And for me, I don’t want to be with anyone else—ever—except for you, Roan.”

  “Thank you. For so long, I was convinced that Georgia fucked me up too badly to ever be in another relationship, but you made me see that she didn’t. Thank you for that.”

  I want to kiss him so badly, but I can’t. From across the room, we spot the girls coming toward us and scoot apart.

  “Are we still grabbing ice cream?” Maisy asks us, and Roan tells her with a huge smile on his face, “If you’re paying.”

  “No way, we earned that money.”

  “Ha!” He laughs so loudly that both his girls beam back at him. “I think you mean Mia earned you both that money.”

  “Whatever!” They say in unison and begin to walk out. Roan and I follow them, and when we are halfway to the door, he swats my ass hard, I about yelp from the sting.

  The ice cream place is next door to the bowling alley, and as we look over the menu, Maisy sidles up next to me. “What are you getting?”

  “I’m not a big ice cream person.”

  All three of them look at me as if I just said the meanest words they’d ever heard.

  “We can’t hang out with you then,” Roan jokes, and I frown, nod, and pretend to leave. Rianna stops me by yanking my arm.

  “Then you’ve never had ice cream from Charlie’s. The stuff from here is amazing. Any flavor, I promise will have you hooked.”

  I turn to Roan. “What are you having?”

  “Mint chocolate chip.” His answer is instant as if there is not another flavor he’d consider.

  “What should I get?”

  “I’d say we could share, but . . . ”

  But we can’t. Then the employee asks me, “What can I get for you, ma’am?”

  “I’ll have what she’s having.” And I point to Maisy.

  “We’ll make that two garbage cans,” he says.

  Garbage can? What in the world did I order?

  “You’re gonna love it,” she says reassuringly, but I’m skeptical.

  Like a gentleman, Roan pays for the order. I don’t even know what mine is, so I turn to Maisy, who is already devouring hers, and I ask, “What is in this?”

  “It’s basically every candy bar you can think of, crushed up inside vanilla ice cream,” Rianna says.

  “Try it,” Roan tells me, and I do. As I take my first bite, my mouth goes into flavor overload. I swear every taste bud is enjoying a different sensation. From Reese’s to Milky Way, to Almond Joy and Snickers, this is by far the best ice cream I’ve ever had.

  “You like it?” Maisy asks me.

  “I love it!”

  Chapter 23

  Roan

  The cool water runs down my body, keeping my dick calm, but my mind is on Mia. Even though we snuck in a quickie after work, having to keep my distance tonight during bowling made me want her even more.

  She told me she was okay if we spent the night apart, but I don’t think I can. Once the girls are asleep, I have to go to her.

  After rinsing off one final time, I get out of the shower, dry off, and then pull on a pair of sweat pants.

  I reach for my phone to text her, but it isn’t on my nightstand where I could have sworn I left it. Figuring I must have left in in the kitchen, I toss on some clothes and am halfway down the hall when my feet stop. Rianna is leaning against the sink scrolling through my phone.

  I swallow, wanting to freak out. How dare she just take my phone, but as she looks up at me, the hurt across her face is clear. Normally, I wouldn’t mind her being on my phone, but I know she had to have seen my messages with Mia.

  “Are you really with her?”

  “Let me explain, Ria.”

  “Explain what? That you kept it from us to protect us?”

  “It’s not like that, honey.”

  “Yes, it is. You basically lied. Were you ever gonna tell us?”

  “Yes, we were, very soon.”

  “But you didn’t. And you’re the one who’s always on my case about being honest.”

  “I know, I just . . . ” I trail off, not really sure why I didn’t tell them. They’ve been through enough already in life that they would have understood. It may have taken some adjustment, but they would have been okay with it. My only foot to stand on right now is that I’m the adult in this situation, and while I do strive to understand them, I’m still the parent, and I don’t really need to explain myself to them if I don’t want to.

  “She’s like half your age, Dad.”

  “No, she isn’t, Ria. I’m thirty-two, and she’s twenty-three, that’s only nine years.”

  “Add seven more, and she’s half your age. Maisy is gonna be so hurt.”

  “She’ll understand, she likes Mia.”

  “She likes any woman that she can pretend is Mom, but what happens when you two break up? What’s that gonna do to her?”

  My phone chimes and she tosses it to me. I look at the screen to see a text from Mia, and when I look back up, Rianna is gone.

  Fuck!

  Knowing I need to be the
one to tell Maisy, I don’t bother texting Mia back. Instead, I fly down to the basement. Maisy is on the couch, and Rianna is nowhere in sight. “Where is your sister?” I ask her, but she shrugs. “Can I talk to you?”

  “Sure.” She closes her journal and sets it on the table, so I have her attention.

  I take a seat next to her, trying to figure out how to tell her. You’d think with how much I thought about this that it would be easier.

  “Are you okay?”

  I nod. “Yeah. I am. That’s kinda what I want to talk about.” God, she really does have her mother’s eyes, and I pray that she understands. “I’m seeing someone.”

  “You are?”

  “I am.”

  “Is it Mom?” My heart breaks a little more with each of the three words. But that pain is quickly replaced by anger. I still can’t fathom how Georgia could leave, especially the girls. They are both so amazing, and she for some reason couldn’t choose them over her own selfish habits.

  “It isn’t Mom, honey.”

  “Who is it?”

  “It’s Mia.”

  “Really?” Her lips stretch into a hopeful smile, and I relax a bit.

  “Yes.”

  “I thought you two were just friends.”

  “We were at first, but lately, we’ve grown to be more.”

  “Well, I like her.”

  “Me, too. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

  “It’s all right, Dad.” It was just that easy. She just smiled and said it was okay. I pull her into a tight embrace, so grateful that she understands and wish Rianna were the same.

  Chapter 24

  Mia

  “I can’t believe she got into your phone,” I tell Roan as I lie in my bed, wishing he were here with me.

  “I can, she’s at that age.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “She’s . . . angry and looking for any reason to take it out on me, or anyone for that matter.”

  “Why would she go through your phone, though?”

  “Honestly, I think she suspected something was going on. She’s been questioning me a lot when I’ve been on it, asking me who I’m texting and stuff.”

  “Kids are so smart these days.

  “Yeah, they are.”

  “How’d she take it?”

  “At first, not well at all. But I talked to her again, and I think she’s coming around.”

  “Anything I can do to help?”

  “What do you think about coming over here for breakfast tomorrow?” he asks me.

  “I’d rather you come over here now.”

  “Me, too,” he groans, and I roll from my side to my back, squeezing my legs together as I picture him next to me. The thought alone has my mouth salivating. He makes me wild, and I hope it never wears off.

  “So, are you coming?” he asks.

  “Maybe.”

  “Good, what are you wearing?” His voice is deep and seductive when he asks me.

  I glance down and tell him, “A bra and panties.”

  “Fuck. That’s it?”

  “Yup. Your favorite ones, too.”

  “Not the black lace ones?”

  “Yup.” When I wore them for him, he peeled them off with his teeth, so I assumed he approved.

  “Are you trying to kill me?” he grumbles.

  “Never.”

  “I don’t buy it. My dick is so hard that it’s . . . basically screaming.”

  “Then stroke it.”

  “Will you play with yourself?”

  I moan into the phone, my hand already between my thighs. “I’m wet for you, Roan.”

  “I bet you are. You’re so naughty.”

  “You make me naughty. God, I wish your cock was in my pussy.”

  “Jesus,” he hisses the word, and I rub faster, back and forth, my mind racing to the other day at my office. Roan and I have had a lot of sex in the short time we’ve been back together, but that was one of my favorites.

  “I want you.”

  “I want you,” I breathlessly respond.

  “I can feel you around me.”

  “Uh-huh.” I move quicker, imagining him stroking his large shaft. The thought makes my toes curl, and my insides burn.

  “You want my cum?” he asks, and with those four little words, my body spirals and I moan, falling into the pleasure. My hand can barely move to pull my orgasm all the way out of me as my hips buck and twist.

  When I finally settle back into my skin, I’m on my side, no longer holding on to the phone. As I bring it up to my ear, I’m rewarded with the last of his grunts.

  “I swear to God, Mia Cavalano, you’re gonna be the death of me.”

  Chapter 25

  Roan

  Mia and I are sitting at my kitchen table, waiting for the girls to wake. My palms are sweaty, and I have no clue why. This should be a happy time, a time when I’m at ease, not a nervous wreck. Now that us being together is out in the open, I have a stress weighing over me that I can’t shake. Maybe it’s because I deprived myself of what I had wanted for so long that I had forgotten what it felt like to have something for myself. Maybe it’s because I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. Either way, it’s a strange feeling.

  “Would you stop?” Mia asks me and touches the top of my knee as it uncontrollably bounces. “Everything is going to be okay.”

  “I know it will be.” I don’t really believe that, but I’m trying to get there.

  “It’s no different from when we used to hang out before they knew.”

  Yeah, except they do know, and I’m worried how Rianna is going to treat Mia and how this all is going to affect Maisy. Footsteps sound on the stairs, and I’m out of time to worry about it.

  “Morning,” I tell the girls as soon as I see their tired eyes.

  “Oh, hey,” Rianna says, followed by a mumbled good morning from Maisy.

  “She’s staying the night already,” Rianna mumbles under her breath when she sees Mia. I’m not gonna tolerate her acting like that.

  “For your information, no she didn’t. But what if she did, she’s my girlfriend, Rianna.” Maisy sits at the table with an apologetic smile on her face as she looks at Mia, and I wish I’d made things work with Mia all those years ago. It would have made things so much easier now. “Ria, please sit with us.”

  Reluctantly she does, but I do get an eye roll along the way. “I asked Mia to come over this morning so we could all go to breakfast.”

  “She’s not gonna replace, Mom,” Rianna blurts, and I go to scold her, but Mia touches my hand and stops me before the words I can never take back spill from my mouth.

  “Girls, I’m not here to take anyone’s place. I’m here because I care for your dad, and I really like the two of you as well.”

  “We like you,” Maisy says. “Isn’t that right, Ria?”

  She nods, for which I’m thankful. “Why don’t we start over then and pretend today is day one. There is nothing but a fresh, clean slate behind and ahead of us, okay?”

  To my surprise, the girls nod, and I’m shocked by how amazing Mia is.

  “My name is Mia, it’s nice to meet you.” And with those words, a new beginning starts between my girls, all three of them.

  After breakfast, Mia decided to take the girls to get their nails done, which they’d planned to do for a while. I just didn’t think I’d get roped into the whole ordeal. But here I sit, my feet soaking in a tub of hot, bubbling water. Mia reaches over and presses a button on the arm of my chair, I glance down, not noticing it until now and all my senses awaken as a back massage begins.

  That’s what these chairs are for and why women always look half asleep when they are here. I close my eyes and rest my head back.

  “You good?”

  I open one eye and give her a crooked grin.

  “See, I knew you’d love it.” The girls giggle coming over to us, and I force both my eyes open. They each have a bottle of nail polish in hand. Rianna is holding a neon yell
ow one, and Maisy has a soft pink one.

  “What’d you pick?” I ask Mia. A split second later, she shows me the black bottle of polish. I swear my cock swells a little when I see the color. I can just imagine it on her toes, matched with that sexy black lace bra and panty set that could bring a grown man to his knees.

  “You want polish?” A Vietnamese woman asks as she takes a seat on a small stool in front of my chair.

  “Who, me?” I look behind me as if she’s talking to someone else.”

  “Yes, you, honey.”

  “No.”

  “You sure? I do clear for you.”

  “No.” The girls are all laughing, and I look at the door, prepared to make a run for it.

  Chapter 26

  Mia

  “You were amazing today,” Roan tells me, closing his bedroom door. I look back at him and feel just the same. Together we conquered a moody fourteen-year-old and a sensitive twelve-year-old.

  “Take your shoes off,” he says, and I do as he asks without taking my eyes off him.

  He reaches for the hem of my shirt; the simple connection of his fingers against my stomach has my body buzzing.

  “Should we wait?” I know the girls are still up watching a movie in the basement.

  “Nope, not unless you can’t be quiet.”

  “Well, that’s always hard to do.” Which is true. When he touches me, I can’t be held responsible for the noises I make. His answer is to tug my shirt up and over my head.

  I find myself chewing on the side of my lip to try to stay quiet, and as his hands move to the front of my jeans, a small whine rolls out of me.