“Well . . . that’s the thing. We weren’t, it was just a front. He made me swear to never say a word of this to you guys. He didn’t want you to know, so you wouldn’t worry.” It seemed that my lie was getting easier to tell as I expanded on the half-true story, every piece of the false puzzle falling into place right where I needed it. I still hated it as I was getting myself deeper and deeper. “And that’s why I ran into the airport like that . . . because I knew Max was going to be getting back on that plane and going somewhere dangerous when he really needs help.”
“Oh my god.” My mom looked at her husband, her expression fearful. “Jesus, Jerry I had no idea Max was struggling with this.”
“Neither did I,” Jerry replied, obviously shaken. He looked back to me. “Was there anything else you’ve seen from Max?”
I thought for a moment. “Um . . . no, not that I can think of.” My words trailed off. I knew I needed to stop with all the lies before they got even more ridiculous, it’d just make stuff harder in the end.
Jerry and my mother stood there in silence, not saying another word.
Chapter 14
The sound of the front door opening caused me to jump up from the couch, my heart pounding in my chest. Earlier, I’d dozed off watching reality TV, waiting for Max to come back home. Our parents had long since retired to their bedroom for the night, having grown tired of waiting for Max’s return. Besides, Jerry had to work in the morning.
“Max?” I asked as I went rushing over to the front door. “Max, where were you?”
Max stumbled into the foyer, falling to the floor. I rushed to his side and kneeled down. Instantly, I crinkled my nose at the smell of hard liquor.
He looked up at me, eyeing me with bloodshot eyes. His shirt, which was open at the chest, was ruffled and had stains all over it. “Where’d you think I was?” he slurred.
“Sandy’s,” I said as a statement of a fact.
“I don’t need any help. I’m fine.”
“Max please don’t,” I pleaded. “Just let me help you up to your room.”
I was surprised when he didn’t offer any resistance. Helping him to his feet, I let him drape his arm over my shoulder. It took some effort going up the stairs, but we finally made it to his room.
Once inside, I led him over to the bed where he collapsed onto it with a sigh.
“You didn’t have to go out and do that, Max,” I told him sternly. I didn’t have room to talk, but I couldn’t help myself.
Max propped himself up on his elbows and tried to look at me. “Yeah I did,” he said wiping at his eyes. “I needed to blow off some steam. Clear my head. Forget about everything for a little bit.”
His words were slurred, but he still seemed to be all there mentally. I had to wonder if what I had done to keep him with me, would instead cost me everything. “I think I’ll go now,” I said weakly. The bad thing about it all was, it was only going to get worse from here on out.
I made my way to the door, but Max called out before I could leave.
“Wait.” I froze, my hand on the doorknob.
“I want to talk.”
I turned back around. “But you’re drunk,” I protested. “I agree we need to talk, but we should wait until you sober up.”
“Give me an hour and a cup of coffee, and I’ll be good.”
I stood there for a couple of moments, undecided.
“You owe me.” He added.
I wanted to run from the room, find my bed, jump in and hide under the cover, away from all the problems that I’d created. I almost did it too, Max was drunk anyway and there was probably little useful conversation we could have, but then I decided against it.
“Okay,” I said finally.
* * *
“I told them you had PTSD,” I said to Max about an hour later. I was perched on the foot of his bed, Indian style, while he sat up against his board rest, his shirt off. Even with the situation I was in, it was hard not to stare at his well-defined abs as he breathed in and out.
Max stared at me. His eyes were still a bit red, but he was far more focused than when he’d stumbled into the house. “Tell me you’re joking.”
I looked away, feeling cowardly. “Unfortunately not.”
Smacking his hand against the headboard, Max hissed, “Jesus Christ, Nikki, what’s wrong with you!”
“Well what else could I tell them?” I demanded, my anxiety and pulse rising. “They know that something was up. I mean there had to be something serious going on for you to come back out of that airport. I’m not good at thinking on my feet like that so I just said something.”
The scowl that took over Max’s face made my stomach twist into a knot.
“It’s better than telling them I’m . . .” I gulped as my words trailed off, hoping that the scowling Max didn’t fly off into a rage.
But surprisingly he didn’t and he grew silent for several minutes, his scowl morphing into a thoughtful expression. “You’re right,” he said a minute later. “I guess telling them that was better than telling them the truth. For now anyway.”
Inwardly, I sighed with relief.
“Still a shitty lie, though,” Max rebutted. “But I would have been hard pressed coming up with an explanation if I were in your shoes.”
I was amazed that Max could even put himself in my position.
“Max,” I said, my voice aching with emotion. “I’m sorry. Sorry for everything. I didn’t mean for it to wind up this way, you’ve got to believe me.” Tears streamed down my cheeks as I tried to hold back forceful sobs.
I knew I didn’t deserve his sympathy, but Max still managed to look sorry for me anyway. The bed creaked as Max crawled over to me and pulled me into his arms. “It’s okay,” he cooed stroking me. “I forgive you.”
I jerked my head up in shock. “You do?”
Max nodded. “I thought about you while I was out at Sandy’s and I thought to myself, would Nikki ever really try to hurt me? and I know that you wouldn’t. I knew then that you cared so strongly about me and were overcome with so much emotion that you lost yourself.”
I couldn’t believe it. It was a miracle. Max was trying to see reason.
“Now, don’t go thinking I’m okay with what you did,” Max reminded me. “Because I’m not. I just understand why you were upset.”
Relief swept through me. “Thank you,” I cried into his chest, swinging my arms around his neck and sobbing. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” The feel of his skin on my arms burned, causing sparks of electricity to flow up and down my skin.
Max coughed. “Damn Nikki, you’re choking me.”
I quickly pulled back, wiping at my tears of joy. “Oh sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Max twisted his lips appearing to think. “But now I have a lot of crap I’m going to have to deal with. Thanks to you telling our folks that I’m bat-shit crazy, I’m going to have to fend off their offers to help on top of everything else.”
I bit my lower lip. “I’m sorry,” I apologized again. “I truly could think of no other lie to tell them in the moment.”
Max waved away my worries. “That’s the least of the problems anyway. I’m going to have to talk to my commanding officer and see if I can somehow get out of my enlistment.”
The dread feeling that had gone away came back, twisting my stomach. “You think you’ll be able to get out of it? Without any consequences, I mean.”
Max looked doubtful. “I don’t know, I’ll have to see come tomorrow but . . . I have to tell you something.”
My heart jumped in my chest. What was this? Did Max have a secret now?
“What?” I dared asked.
Max stared at me for a long time, causing my pulse to increase with each second that passed. “It might still be good for me to go . . . if they’ll have me.”
“Huh?” The room began to spin around me, and my ears began to ring. It felt like my whole world came crashing down all over again. Here Max was, forgiving me, telling me that he w
as going to let my actions slide, only to crush my hopes and dreams by revealing that all my efforts to keep him home had been for naught.
“If you’re not actually pregnant,” Max quickly added when my face crumpled into a broken mask. “Have you taken a home test? If not, I need you to go get a test just to make sure.”
Chapter 15
I was a nervous wreck the next day. Though I knew in my heart I was pregnant as I had all the classic signs, taking a test would confirm it without a doubt, and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t actually done it yet. I think I was mostly afraid that if I really wasn’t pregnant, I would have screwed up Max’s plans all for nothing. The thought terrified me.
“Nikki, can you watch over the food until I get back?” my mother asked as I stepped into the kitchen. The aroma of meat, pasta and baking bread wafted to my nostrils, making my stomach growl. I was extra hungry and hadn’t eaten anything all day. “We’re out of the special dressing that Jerry likes, and I need to run to the store and get some.”
I’d just got back from the drug store with a pregnancy test stuffed inside my purse to find mom cooking dinner. The plan was to take the test and then show Max the results when he returned from an emergency meeting he was having with some military official.
“I was just at the store, Mom,” I replied, feeling a little bit nervous because of what I had in my purse. “I could’ve gotten it for you.”
My mom, who was wearing an apron over a faded red dress, stared at me. “How the heck was I supposed to know that? I never even saw you leave the house, I was too busy cooking.” She peered at me. “Is Max back yet?”
I wiped at the sweat that was beginning to beat my brow. She had it sweltering in the kitchen, but I was also probably sweating because I was nervous. “No. He should back any minute, though. He said the meeting wouldn’t be long.”
She shook her head. “I’m so worried about that boy. I hope he doesn’t get into deep trouble for what he did.”
“I think he’ll be alright, at least I hope. But anyway, I’m sorry about not checking in with you before I left,” I apologized. After all the trouble I’d caused for Max, I was trying my best to be as polite and helpful as I could to everyone around me. “Would you like me to go back out and get what you need?”
She waved me away. “No, that’s alright. There are a few other things that I need to grab that you won’t want to be bothered with.”
“Well, what is it? I’ll get it,” I insisted.
“It’s okay, baby,” My mom assured me. “I just need you to watch over the food until I get back.”
I knew she must have been getting something top-secret, maybe something involving her sex life with Jerry, that she didn’t want me to know about so I dropped the issue. “Okay, Mom.”
She beamed at me, victorious. “Thanks, honey.” Untying her apron, she walked over to the stove and turned a knob. I’m going to turn this up on high but I’ll need you to turn it down . . .” She looked at the time on the overhang microwave. “In about ten minutes. Can you do that?”
“Absolutely.”
“Excellent. Be back in about thirty minutes, right before Jerry gets home.”
My mom gave me a quick peck on the cheek and scurried out of the house.
“She must really have something up her sleeve,” I muttered.
Going over to the microwave, I set the timer for ten minutes. After, I made my way to the living room and sat down my purse. Grabbing the remote, I turned on the TV and turned to the sports channel, Max and Jerry loved watching sports after they ate.
With how tense things had gotten between Max and his father, I was hoping a little male bonding would help out. I was just about to make my way upstairs and take the pregnancy test when Max arrived back home.
“Max,” I greeted him, my heart beginning to pound in my chest. “How did everything go?”
He looked sexy as hell, dressed in tight fitting jeans and a black, short-sleeved t-shirt that showed off his powerful biceps. His strong jawline looked as smooth as a baby’s bottom from his early-morning shave.
“It smells good in here,” Max replied, ignoring my question.
“Mom’s cooking dinner,” I said. “She just left out to go get the special dressing that your dad loves so much.”
And probably a few other things as well, I thought. “Good, I’m absolutely starving.” Max walked over and flopped down on the couch.
I placed my hands on my hips. “Well?” I demanded.
“Well, what?”
“What happened?”
“Luckily my paperwork hasn’t been put in the system yet. I explained my situation about my girlfriend possibly being pregnant. My CO was pretty understanding, and I’m supposed to call him back in a couple hours.”
“Okay.”
Max looked at me. “Did you get it?”
Instantly, I knew what he was talking about and I slowly nodded.
“Then what are you waiting for?” Max’s voice was filled with anxiousness.
I swallowed. “I’m telling you now, I’m pregnant. The test is going to be useless.”
“How can you know that if you never took one?”
“Because I know.”
Max shook his head. “That’s not good enough, Nikki, and you know it. I need to know for sure.”
I was really upset about how much Max was emphasizing that he would only stay if he knew I was pregnant. That’s how I get myself into this mess to begin with, I thought. Wanting Max to stay so badly that I lost all rational thought.
“Fine,” I said finally, trying to keep the frustration out of my voice. “I’ll take the damn test.” I know I should’ve been falling on my knees to do as Max wanted, but in truth I dreaded taking the test, fearing that I might’ve been wrong all this time.
I grabbed my purse and fished out the box. Then I got up to go to the bathroom down the hall. Filled with dread, I turned and made my way to the bathroom. Once inside, I took a deep breath and opened it.
“God help me if I’ve been wrong,” I muttered.
The whole process was only a few minutes, but it felt like an eternity waiting for the results to show up.
When the results came up, I gasped with relief.
I was pregnant.
Chapter 16
“What were the results?” Max asked immediately when I stepped back into the living room.
“Just like I said. I’m pregnant.”
Max was silent for a moment. “Let me see.”
I had to admit, Max’s response hurt. “You don’t trust me?” I know I had my nerve asking such a question given all that I’d done, but it still bothered me.
“I shouldn’t, but I do. I just need to see it for myself.”
“Okay, I’ll show you.” I took him back in the bathroom and showed him the pregnancy test.
“Those two lines mean that it’s positive,” I told him pointing at the screen.
His eyes were wide as he stared at the pregnancy test. “See? I wasn’t lying. I’d never lie about something like that.”
Max shook his head. “Alright. Well, that confirms it. I’m staying.”
A rush of relief swept through my body.
“I just don’t know what we’re going to do about it now, though. We have so much to worry about. Our parents think I’m a basket case, and you’re pregnant with my child. When this all is over, I might really be crazy.”
I wanted badly to comfort Max, wanted to assure him that everything would be okay.
“We’ll think of something,” I said, pulling him in close. Though Max wasn’t staying totally for me, I was still happy.
I kissed him hard on the lips. “Thank you,” I whispered. “Thank you for forgiving me for my terrible mistake and staying for our baby.” The words our baby made me feel incredibly light and fuzzy inside, probably my hormones at work.
I pulled away, turning to throw the pregnancy test away, but Max grabbed me by the arm and the small device flew out of my hand and into th
e sink.
I gazed at Max with surprise as he pulled me back close, pressing his hard body up against mine. I felt his huge bulge pressing up against his thigh. He pressed me up against the counter, and smashed his lips into mine, forcing his tongue into my mouth. I reached down and grabbed his ass, feeling the hard, firm muscles beneath his jeans. “This is one good thing about staying home,” he said in between passionate kisses and twisting tongues, “I can fuck you whenever I want.”
“Not quite whenever, but close enough” I managed to get out.
His lips quickly found my neck as his hands roamed all over my body. I threw back my head, moaning in his ears, my hands moving up his powerful back.
Grabbing me by the ass, Max picked me up and sat me down on the counter. Kissing me again, he ran his hands down to my thighs and then up my skirt. Deftly, he pulled my soaked panties aside and stroked at my throbbing nub.
I groaned, my head going back against the mirror above the counter.
I’d had enough, no more playing around. I needed a release. “Give it to me,” I begged. “Give me that big dick.”
Max began unbuttoning his pants. He grabbed my thighs, spreading them out wide. He was just about to penetrate me when a loud sound went off.
Max winced as the smoke alarm was going off. “What the hell?”
“Oh shit!” I cried, suddenly remembering. “The food.”
Pushing Max away, I slid off the counter and rushed into the kitchen, horrified. Smoke was everywhere. Coughing, I quickly turned everything off and turned on the microwave fan.
Meanwhile. Max rushed out of the bathroom and disabled the fire alarm.
“God, that thing was fucking annoying,” he complained after he got the damn thing to turn off. “Is the food okay?”
“I doubt it,” I said, coughing and fanning in front of me, I could hardly see. “Mom is going to kill me.”
Max gazed at me, and even through the smoke I could tell it was with longing. “How long did you say she was going to be gone?”
Homecoming: A Secret Baby Romance Page 5
