by Tamika Brown
“Of course, man. We have a good time together, and the sex is… Man, the sex is mind-blowing,” he admitted. “If I didn’t know that’s all it was about, I could definitely fall for her. I mean she’s successful, beautiful, and sexy as hell and the sex…” he chuckled. “Like I said.”
“I just hope you know what you’re getting into because she’s ferocious from what I can tell.” He looked at his friend with concern.
“Don’t worry about me, I can handle her,” Bryce said confidently.
Calen laughed. “Those are the exact same words she said to me. Just be careful, man, that’s all I’m sayin’.”
“Appreciate the concern, but there’s no need for it. Really,” he reassured.
“Okay. It does feel good to see you with your hands full for a change. She’s not the typical woman you’d go for,” Calen pointed out.
“Yeah, I know. I actually believe that’s what it is. She’s not like any other woman I’ve been with. I don’t think she’s even my type, but she’s a challenge. I’m pretty sure it’s the challenge.” He chuckled, but Calen could see something else behind those brave words.
He knew his friend, his brother. There was something more to it. He had not observed the two of them together except when they were on the dance floor. They seemed to mesh really well to him, but still, he was concerned. He would watch them just to make sure Bryce knew what he was getting into.
Their drinks arrived, then the ladies a few seconds later.
When all four were seated, the conversation turned to the baby.
“So, Calen how does it feel now that you are about to become a father?” Bryce asked. “Are you going to the next appointment?”
“Man, I don’t even know what to say about it. It’s like it hasn’t really sunk in yet.” He took a sip of his drink. The whole while, Calen kept his hand near her stomach, occasionally rubbing it, not wanting to miss the chance of feeling his son kick his hand. “As far as appointments go, I’m sure I will be able to make the next one. We have plenty of leave time. I plan on spending mine here.”
There was chatter and laughter all around as the four friends enjoyed each other’s company.
Every once in awhile, Bryce would sneak a kiss from Tela. They constantly caressed each other and held hands as the night went on. Calen began to notice how they watched each other and confirmed if there was something in the makings. By the look and grin on Shayla’s face, he would say there was.
She too noticed the looks of endearment they were giving each other. “So, what about you, Bryce? Will you spend your leave here as well? Or are you flying back to base?”
Before Bryce could answer, Calen’s cell screeched, and he answered as everyone else continued to talk.
“Calen,” he spoke without checking the caller I.D. His expression morphed from gleeful and relaxed to stern as he said, “Yes, sir. Yes, sir, he’s here, too. Okay, sir. We’ll be there tomorrow. Thank you, sir.”
He slowly hung up.
All the laughter and conversation stopped at the table at the seriousness of Calen’s voice.
Bryce regarded Calen, and they both began to rise from the table.
Tela and Shayla stared at both the men.
Calen spoke first. “We’ve been summoned back to the base. We have to be on the next plane out of Denver headed to North Carolina.” Calen stared deeply into Shayla’s eyes, and his hand went gently to her face. “I don’t want to leave you, not now, not after everything we’ve been through these past few days to find each other again.” He reached down, lifted her chin, and kissed her lips softly. “Don’t cry now, I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Do you know when?” Concern was present on her face.
“I’m pretty sure I’ll be back before the baby is born. I can’t say for certain. It depends on what we have to do,” he said. “I’ll call when I can. I love you. Take care of my boy.”
He glanced toward his friend and believed he was making the same promises to Tela; he would be back as soon as he could.
Calen found this highly unusual for Bryce, to be making promises like that, but it was also intriguing. He didn’t know about all that but decided he would talk to him about it later.
When Bryce was ready, they both kissed the women one more time, paid the bartender for the drinks and the meal, and headed for the elevators.
24
Shayla
The whole day had been so perfect. Shayla could finally stop hiding. She had the man she loved, and he knew about their baby. They even made mind-altering love, like when they first met.
So, why did she feel like her life was doing a downward spiral? Because, she just had to say goodbye to him, again, without knowing when he would return.
Shayla and Tela remained in the bar until the two men got off the elevator to turn in their keys, then asked for the car to be pulled around so they could head back to the airport.
“Well, can we at least drive you boys to the airport or follow you there to see you off?” Tela asked.
“No, baby, that’s not necessary.” Bryce gave her a hug for the offer. “It’s fine. You two don’t need to end the evening on account of us leaving. Stay and have a little fun. People watch. Just don’t worry.”
“Besides,” Calen interjected, “We promise as soon as the plane lands in North Carolina we’ll be in touch.” He made his way to Shayla and moved toward the door and outside to wait for the valet.
The girls gave them farewell hugs and kisses. So many of them it was as if they would never see these men again. As the car pulled around, she pushed that thought far back into the bottom of her mind. One glance at Tela, and she knew her best friend was doing the same thing.
They stood on the curb and watched as the car pulled into traffic.
Shay was devastated; she clung to her friend as if she had no strength left to stand on her own.
She felt her best friend’s arm around her shoulders. “You want me to drive you home?”
Shayla didn’t trust her voice. She shook her head. She didn’t feel like going to an empty house, not after it had been filled with the sounds of love and laughter all afternoon.
“I’ll drive you to your mom’s, then. They’re going to be okay.” But there was a tremble in the normally calm and smooth voice of her best friend, revealing she was as devastated as Shayla.
When they arrived at the Blackwell’s, her parents had just finished eating their dinner.
Shayla used her old key to let her and Tela in the house. Shayla went right to her old room, without speaking to anyone, and closed the door, leaving her friend to explain things to her parents.
She and Tela had been friends for a long time. At one point, her mom thought Tela was a bad influence on Shayla, that she was the wrong type of girl for Shayla to hang around, but she began to think differently when Tela helped Shay get over an eating disorder, bulimia, when they were in high school.
Once her parents knew about Shayla’s illness, they immediately got her the help she needed. Since then, her mom and Tela had come to an understanding. So, Shayla knew that she could trust her friend to give voice to her worries when Shayla could not.
Shayla laid on her daybed her parents bought her when she was in the ninth grade. She looked around her room trying to dry her tears, wondering why her parents never changed her room after she had moved on to college.
She remembered those times when all she cared about was going skating, the mall, and to Tela’s house. Oh, there were plenty of boys to choose from, but nothing ever got too serious back then. You went to the movies, made-out, went home, then talked on the phone until you fell asleep on one other.
She could actually laugh about it now. Laugh about how her friends made a list of the boys they wanted to go out with. Shayla was never one to act on the list; she wasn’t that bold, not like Tela. Life back then wasn’t that complicated.
This was complicated, and never in a million years, when she was younger or an adult, would she have t
hought she’d be in a situation like this. As a matter-of-fact, until she went on vacation and met Calen, her life wasn’t that involved.
The tears started flowing all over again. She wanted him back. They just made things right again. She was starting to feel as though Calen finding out about her pregnancy was all worth it because they were going to be together. She never imagined she would feel so strongly about someone.
She had been extremely content to do presentations, make her company money, and in turn make money. Now, here she was lying in a bed at her parents’ home crying like she was back in high school. And over a man no less. She was pregnant, and the man she loved was God knows where. She felt alone and scared.
There was a small tap on her bedroom door. She already knew who it was. She didn’t need to tell her mother to come in. She would come in, anyway.
The woman slowly crept her way to the bed as if she didn’t want to disturb her sleeping baby, but just peek in on her, sat down gently on the bed, and grabbed Shayla’s hand. “Honey, are you sleeping?”
“No, Mom. Just crying my eyes out.” She sniffed.
“Oh, honey, Tela told me what happened. Are you going to be okay?” She had that concerned look on her face again, like she did when Shayla was a little girl and cried because she didn’t have any friends at school.
“No, I don’t believe so. I just reconciled with my son’s father, and they just took him away, again. What’s supposed to happen to us, now, Mom?”
“I don’t know baby, but you have to keep going and make sure this baby’s healthy and that you are healthy, too. The worst thing you can do is get depressed over this. Robert has a very important job. You know, given the choice, there is no doubt in my mind he would’ve stayed here. He didn’t have any other choice.” She patted Shayla’s hand in reassurance. “When he gets a chance, he’ll call you. I don’t know much about him, but for him to come all this way to find you, he must really love you. And that’s what you need to hold on to.”
Shayla began to rise up off the bed and wipe her eyes. “You’re right. He did come all this way to find me. And he does love me.” She felt a renewed air about herself and her situation with Calen. She began to smile.
“Now, get to that bathroom and get some water on your face. Tela’s waiting in the kitchen, and you can tell me all about Robert. Now, go.”
Shayla smiled and remembered all those times her mother came into the room and talked her out of her depression by just using plain ol’ logic and common sense.
She headed for the bathroom as her mother left her room.
Shayla gazed at herself in the full-length mirror, hanging on the back of her bathroom door. She smiled to herself and looked at her protruding belly through puffy eyes. She rubbed her stomach and spoke to the baby. “All right, baby, we’ll make it through this. Daddy loves us very much. And he’s going to be here to see you when you enter into this world.”
Reassured, if only for a brief moment, she went to the sink and washed her face. When she finished, she sucked in a deep breath and walked out of her room.
She walked past the living room and backtracked to kiss her father on the top of his head.
“What was that for?” he asked.
“For being there,” she said gleefully, gave her father a hug around his neck, and moved on to the kitchen.
Tela stood and smiled at the change in her friend. “Well, you look better. I was prepared to spend the night handing you tissues to wipe your tears and blow your nose.”
Shayla smiled. “I appreciate that, even though I know you’d hate doing it.” Shayla walked over to her friend and gave her a hug.
Tela grinned. “I much prefer to spend tonight celebrating you and Calen reuniting. And maybe gossip about Bryce a little, too, over a glass of wine and a movie on HBO.”
Shayla returned her hug wholeheartedly.
“You okay?” Tela asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I was just upset because we were just getting started again. You heard, he was planning on going with me to the next appointment.”
“No kiddin’, he was really excited, huh?”
“Yeah.” She laughed. It felt good to laugh. “He couldn’t keep his hands off my stomach the whole day, and he talked to the baby. Oh, and you should’ve seen his face when I told him the baby’s name. It was priceless.” She turned solemn for a moment. “I wish I’d given him at least one of the ultrasound pictures to take with him. I didn’t get the chance. Next time he visits us, the baby may be already born.”
She let out a dismal sigh, but without the tears. She was done with the tears. Even though her eyes filled up with them, she refused to let them fall.
She blinked a few times to hold them back and smiled before she went on. “I believe we’re going to make it. I love him so much, and without a doubt, I now know he loves me too. I’ve never been in a situation like this.”
“I have no doubt that you will be fine,” Tela said, nodding her reassurance. “You have a great support system around you.”
“I’ve always been in control of what goes on around me. With Calen, it’s like I don’t have a choice. My mind is all screwed up when it comes to him. I don’t like feeling that way.”
Her mother chimed in, “That’s what happens when you’re in love, honey. You don’t think with your head, but with your heart.”
“Well, all I know is I don’t like it,” Shayla said matter-of-factly. “Not one bit. I don’t like not having a say-so in what happens in my life. It seems from the time I met him, I’ve no control.”
“I think you guys are going to be great together. You really balance each other out,” said Tela. “And the no control thing goes both ways.”
“And you and Bryce are hitting it off pretty well, too,” she teased, switching the focus from her and Calen.
“Oh, Bryce. Who is that? Do spill, Tela,” said Shayla’s mom as she poured more drinks.
“There’s really not much to tell. He’s a great guy. He’s thoughtful, considerate, and gentle.” Tela had a faraway look in her eyes as she continued to tell them more about Bryce.
With wonder in her eyes, Shayla gawked at her friend. Tela never spoke of a guy like this.
“Why are you looking at me like that,” Tela asked Shayla.
“I’ve never heard you talk about a man like this. Bryce must really be good.” She chuckled.
“Oh, he’s good alright. As a matter-of-fact, he’s the best I believe I’ve ever had.”
“Tela, my mother is right here,” Shayla cried. “I can’t believe you just said that in front of my mom!”
Her mother laughed, and Shayla turned to see tears in her eyes. “Shayla, it’s okay, how do you think you got here?
“Ewww,” Shayla groaned.
“Girls, I think I’ve had enough. I’m going to bed. Tela, you’re welcome to stay if you like.” Both girls gave her a resounding goodnight and continued their conversation.
“Like I was sayin’, Bryce is great. He attended to my every need. I have never had a guy make sex all about me. I tried every trick with him, but he wasn’t havin’ it. He told me to let him do all the work. Shay, I promise you, I’ve never been whipped, but Bryce has me whipped,” she said emphatically.
Another hour went by as the two friends talked.
“So, are you staying here tonight or are you ready to go?” Tela asked.
“Yeah, I think I’m going to just stay here tonight. I have some maternity clothes Mom bought for me here, so I’m straight,” she said.
Her friend stared at her with wide eyes and mouth open. “You mean to tell me you’re gonna come out to your colleagues?” Tela sounded shocked Shayla would even put herself out there for all to see.
“Well, there’s really no reason for me to try to hide it now. I mean, Calen knows about the baby and that was really the only reason I didn’t want to tell anyone. Plus, I feel a hundred percent better since he knows. So yeah, I’m ready, and you know what else? Everyone else better get re
ady, too.”
25
Calen
Calen was extra quiet on the ride to the airport. He knew his friend was worried about him, but he wasn’t ready to discuss his feelings just yet. Of course, he was happy he and Shayla had reunited, but he had mixed feelings about leaving her, again, especially since they were having a baby.
“A baby.” He shook his head.
It was unbelievable. He was ecstatic there was a baby on the way, but he was also angry and afraid. He was still pissed with Shayla, because she kept it from him for months and probably would have continued to do so if it hadn’t been for the incident in her office, but he would try to get over all of it.
He had to if they were going to make it.
He was upset with himself for not realizing earlier she was pregnant. He berated himself because he lay beside her in bed, he felt her body on top of his, he held her close, and he still couldn’t tell. Either that, or he was truly blinded by lust.
He would prefer to believe it was the latter. He hoped he was blinded by lust and love because it was the only way he could explain why his emotions were all over the place.
Bryce brought him out of his head. “Hey man, you all right over there?”
“Uh-huh, I just have a massive amount on my plate right now, that’s all. I mean, I just found out I’m going to be a father. And it’s a boy nonetheless, and he’s named after me. Can you believe that shit?” he said amused.
“I know it must be pretty hard to leave after finding all this out. Hopefully, this mission won’t be as long, and you can get back before the birth. She’s due in a couple months, right?”
“Yeah, she’s due in early December. Our early Christmas present. When she told me the due date, I did some mental math. Just to make sure. I couldn’t trust her. She hid it for months.” He was still angry about the whole situation, but he supposed he could understand.
