Not that Leila wasn't giving up anything; she was allowing someone to split her time with her child, when she'd been used to having him in her life full time, and vice versa, but on my end, it was a major adjustment to back away from the bar on two of our busiest nights of the week. In hindsight, her idea of slowly progressing to three days a week was a wise choice. It gave me time to train someone as a general manager; someone I could trust wouldn't run my business into the ground while I was away from the bar.
I took stock of the employees that were already working at the bar, I wanted someone who was familiar with our policies, and had the best interest of my business in mind. After analyzing and assessing the capabilities of the staff that were currently employed at the time, and discussing the option with Hailey, she and I agreed that Georgia would be the best fit. I had my doubts at first, and Hailey would have been my first choice, but neither of us I wanted to miss out on time with Andrew. Hailey was a part of my life, and needed to be a part of Andrew's as well. Hailey assured me that Georgia wouldn't let us down, and she proved to be right. Just as Hailey and I had slowly gained responsibly for Andrew, Georgia was given time to adjust to her new position as well. Once that was a done deal, Hailey and I were able to step away from our daily duties with confidence while we spent time with Andrew.
We also made the decision to promote Joe to staff manager and his first order of business was to find a shooter girl to replace Georgia, a couple of part-time bar tenders to take some of the pressure off of himself, and we honestly needed to add another waitress. Bringing in Ashes To Ashes as our house band was probably the smartest decision I had made for the bar. Our sales had nearly tripled since I'd taken it over. We had become the new hot spot, and it didn't look like things were going to slow down anytime soon. To my amazement, considering all the changes that had taken place over the last several months, you'd think this place had been operating like a well-oiled machine since opening day.
Hailey had completed her courses at the university, but decided to forgo pursuing a career in psychology for the time being. The bar was important to each of us, and not solely as a source of income. We had seen each other for the first time in that bar, touched each other for the first time, shared laughter and pain together, and with others that worked with us in that bar. It was more than a business to us, it was like a second home.
Hailey's fingers skimmed through my hair, as I lay my head in her lap, breaking me from my thoughts of the many changes that have taken place in the last several months.
Looking to the bedside clock, then up to her eager eyes, I said bluntly, "We've got fifteen minutes at best."
She nodded her understanding, and we both stripped in record time. Indulging in some morning delight had become somewhat of a rarity, and foreplay had gone straight out the window. Well, on weekends anyway.
I took a moment to peruse Hailey's decadent body, essentially wasting precious time, but like a moth to a flame, she mesmerized me. I don't think I'd ever get sick of this view.
She settled herself on her back, stared at me expectantly, and ushered her hand in the universal sign for let's-get-on-with-it.
I shook my head back and forth, my heated gaze meeting her perplexed one. I beckoned her to me, crooking my forefinger, and she willingly obliged my command. She'd fast learned to appreciate the submissive side of herself, not only putting her faith and trust into my hands, but savoring it.
To her relief, there were no canes, whips, or the likes involved. I wanted her to submit to me, I wanted to dominate her; I didn't want to mar the body I so desperately craved day and night. I could be a sadistic fuck when I wanted to be, but I could never hurt her; I wasn't a monster for Christ's sake. She was more than fine with some fuzzy handcuffs, blindfolding, and more often than not, a reddened ass, I was beginning to suspect she would purposely defy me, in order for the act to be warranted. I couldn't care less at this point, her smart mouth was one of the first things I'd fallen in love with, and we both seemed to enjoy the sting of a good spanking. I'd be a fucking idiot to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Hailey sat up, got onto her hands and knees and began to crawl towards me like a panther stalking its prey, all the while giving me her best coy look, feigning innocence. It was all an act; she knew I was putty in her hands when she looked at me in that way.
I quickly grabbed her under her arms, lifted us both to stand from the mattress, and spun her to face away from me. The feeling of her back pressed against my chest, as my hardened cock rested at her lower back, had me aching for release. I took a precious few moments to sweep her long locks over her shoulder and savor the flavor of her sweet skin as I trailed my tongue along her neck. She moaned her appreciation and stood still as a statue, as I'd instructed her to do many times before, unless told otherwise.
I skimmed my fingers down her ribs as I sat on the edge of the bed. Resting my hands in the dip of her waist, I abruptly tightened my grip and pulled to her to me, lowering her hot, wet, pussy onto my dick. She gasped, and we sat still for a brief moment as I reached around and began to massage her clit gently. She propped her hands on her knees and her head fell forward as I wrapped my other arm around her and began to lift her up and down my shaft. We groaned in unison with every thrust and I soon felt the familiar tightening and throbbing around my cock. The temperature around my dick spiked and I knew she was ready- thank fuck, because there was no way I was going to last much longer.
Rather than crying out my name, she panted through her orgasm, and I buried my face in her neck to muffle the sound of my own. In the past, I had always figured after people had children, they rarely had sex...I mean you can't just let kids listen to the equivalent of a porno emitting through the bedroom door. It's now dawned on me that they simply learn to hold it in; and trust me, it takes practice.
I held Hailey to me, pulling her into me as close as I could, and moved my hands up to fondle her breasts as she came down from her high.
I heard the door to the guest bedroom creak open. We'd turned it into a Monsters, Inc. themed room, since Andrew seemed to enjoy watching the movie on an endless loop. I'm sure I could quote nearly the entire dialogue at this point. I had mere seconds before Andrew would bark out my name and summon me to immediately appear before him.
I haphazardly lifted Hailey from my lap, instantly feeling a wanton need to pull her back down onto me, and stood behind her as Andrew belted out, "Dad! Where you be in? Dad! Where's you be in?" I don't think I'll ever tire of my impatient little buddy saying my name- Dad; it's surreal. I quit calling Chuck my dad a lot later than he deserved. I won't ever let it come to that between Andrew and me.
The kid was picking up vocabulary more and more each day. Hailey had warned me from day one those little guys are like sponges at this age, and that I needed to clean up my dirty mouth when he visited- not an easy feat when I've been dropping the F-bomb about a hundred times a day for the last fifteen years.
I leaned my chin on Hailey's shoulder and breathed into her ear, "Duty calls," before I cracked her a good one on the ass.
"Ow!" she shouted. I rolled my eyes; she loved it- she knew it, I knew it, and she sure as hell knew she was playing with fire.
Hailey and I both quickly gathered our scattered clothing, pulling on the articles in record time as Andrew began smacking his hand on the outside of our bedroom door.
"Dad!" he shouted.
"Hang on bud," I yelled through the door, looking back to Hailey to check if she was fully clothed. She nodded, giving me the go ahead.
I opened the door as Andrew promptly bypassed me, running for Hailey and latching onto her legs as he rubbed his eyes and mumbled, "I want Mama."
I prepared for an ensuing fit. It wouldn't be the first time he asked for his mother when we had him. "Mama's with Craig, buddy," I tried to reassure him, patting his back. Craig (a.k.a. Captain) and Leila had been seeing each other for a few months now. When he was on stage, his presence seemed almost menacing, but I'd seen him inter
act with Andrew before- underneath his tough exterior lay a softy who just so happened to have a lolli-pop in his pocket at all times, at the ready for Andrew.
"Hailey bees mine Mama, too," Andrew rasped out, his voice not quite adjusted to morning.
Hailey shrugged and ran her fingers through Andrew's feathery soft hair. He'd begun to call Hailey 'Mama' in recent weeks, interchanging the two. We'd talked to Leila about it, not wanting her to be upset, and willing to correct him if she didn't like the idea, but we had all agreed he was very young, impressionable, and rather than chastising him for either being confused, or comfortable with calling Hailey 'Mama', we would simply let nature take its course. He always referred to Leila as 'Mama', so we highly doubted that would ever change. The most important thing was that we all, so many of us, loved him, and he knew it.
I had had a small window of time with my mother, and I would give anything to have her back for just one more day. She was the only person in my life that mattered to me right up until the day she died. She truly was the only one that loved me then. People that truly love him in ways he won't fully be able to understand until he's older surround Andrew, and he'll never experience what it feels like not to be loved- not as long as I'm breathing.
Epilogue
Hailey
It's Saturday, our day to have Andrew- but it's Valentine's Day, and we'd offered to bring in the DJ, give the band the night off, and let Leila take one of our nights in exchange for being able to celebrate our first Valentine's Day together.
Over the phone, she'd said sarcastically, "Hmm...let me see- spend Valentine's Day with my cranky two-year old, or spend the evening jamming out with my man candy. That's a tough one." I could envision her rolling her eyes.
Kellan and I looked across the breakfast bar with disappointment reflected in each other's eyes, a long moment of silence stretching between the three of us before Leila broke into our thoughts. "Jesus, you two are a couple of sad saps. I'll get Joanne to come by your place and stay with him till you get home."
Kellan and I both smiled our appreciation as Kellan said, "Thanks, Leila. That's really great of you." He quickly clicked off the call as we went to dress for what I hoped would be a romantic evening together.
When we'd arrived at the bar, the band was setting up and we walked up to the stage to let Leila know how much we appreciated her generosity.
Kellan approached her, saying, "Thanks again, Leila. You didn't have to do this for us. What does Joanne charge per hour, or night, or whatever?"
Leila waved her hand at us dismissively, saying, "You guys can make it up to us next month."
Kellan and I looked at each other perplexed before Leila shoved her hand between Kellan and me, revealing the hugest diamond I've ever seen- well, that wasn't on TV or something.
Kellan and I gawked at the stone as if it might begin to speak.
Kellan snapped his eyes to Leila, blurting out, "What the hell is this?"
Before she could answer, Captain sidled up behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and explained, "It's official- I'm off the market." He looked around the room conspiratorially before Leila slapped his arm playfully.
A smile lit up Kellan's face as he said, "Dude, that's awesome, man. Congrats," while he simultaneously proffered his hand to shake Captain's. Captain disengaged himself from Leila, coming around her to take Kellan's hand as they brought each other in for a manly hug.
"That was fast," Kellan jibed.
"Shotgun wedding," Captain deadpanned.
Kellan chuckled, shifting his eyes to Leila as his lips quirked, adding, "Yeah, seriously though, you better watch this one, man." He waggled his finger towards Leila, continuing, "Don't let her use your fucking toothbrush, man, unless you want to be changing shitty diapers in the next nine months."
Leila's lips slid into a sly smile as Captain said, "Six."
"Six what?" Kellan said as he continued to stare at Leila with a friendly smile.
Realization dawned on me as my hand flew to my mouth. "Oh. My. God," I said behind my hand as my eyes grew wide.
"What?" Kellan looked to each of us perplexed.
"Little Man's gettin' some company here in a few months," Captain said. (Little Man is his nickname for Andrew.)
Kellan stared at Captain as if he'd grown a second head. I looked at Captain with a tight smile on my face as I elbowed Kellan in the ribs.
"Ow!" he barked out, looking at me with indignation. "The fuck did you do that for?"
I motioned my head towards Leila and Captain, saying, "You should congratulate them, Kellan."
"I did," he said simply.
Captain piped up, "Seriously, Kellan- shotgun wedding."
Leila in turn elbowed Captain in the ribs, blurting out with irritation, "Will you quit calling it that- people are gonna think I'm some sort of slut." Kellan's brows rose before she addressed him, "I swear to God, Kellan, if you say one smart-ass remark, I'm going to knee you in the balls!"
As Kellan continued to stare in disbelief, Captain explained in a hushed tone, as if Leila and I weren't standing directly next to him, "The doc assures me she'll become human again after the baby is born."
Leila flipped him off and walked away. He shrugged and Kellan rubbed his forehead before saying, "Wow. You sure you're ready for this, man?"
Captain gave Kellan a knowing look, replying, "You of all people should know it doesn't matter if you're ready, or not; you do the right fucking thing."
"Yeah, I mean no doubt, dude. I'm just sayin', you know you don't have to..." he ushered towards Leila. "I mean, you know...if you don't love her, it's not carved in stone."
I lowered my head and placed my hand over my eyes. Sometimes Kellan just didn't know when to keep his big mouth shut. He was obviously born without a filter from his brain to his mouth.
"What's not to love?" Captain smiled broadly. "We fight like cats and dogs and she's a wildcat in bed," he winked at me before clapping Kellan on the shoulder. "You feel me on that, right brother?"
I placed my hands over my ears, yelling, "T.M.I." as I turned and walked quickly away, while Kellan and Captain shared a good laugh.
As I stood gabbing with Georgia about the plans she and Eve had made to get away next weekend, Kellan approached me from behind, interrupting us to grab my hand, and asked Georgia, "Mind if I borrow this beauty for a few minutes?" He didn't give her time to answer as he dragged me towards the dance floor.
Leila tapped the microphone and Kellan nodded at her, before she spoke into it with her raspy voice, "We have a special request, folks." She winked at him as she continued, "This goes out to a very special couple, Kellan and Hailey. May you fight hard, and fuck harder." A round of applause and whistles filtered through the bar as I shielded my eyes in embarrassment.
Kellan pulled me into him and tipped my chin to look into each other's eyes. The band struck up a few chords, and I tilted my head to the side, asking, "What's this?"
We began to sway slowly, and as Leila began to sing, I immediately recognized the tune. "Trouble (Stripped)" by Halsey.
"I love this song!" I exclaimed as Kellan peered down at me adoringly.
"Yeah, I thought it kinda...suits us," he said introspectively.
I laid my head against his chest, listening to the beat of his heart as the lyrics of the slow, sultry ballad echoed the long journey Kellan and I had travelled to get here.
"Kellan?" I spoke softly against his shirt.
"Princess?" he returned as he whispered into my hair.
"You love me, right?"
He pulled me away from himself, looking deep into my soul, as he replied, "With every breath I take, I love you more and more."
Tears sprang in my eyes as I said, "Don't ever stop, ok?"
A wicked gleam sparked in his eyes and a sly smile spread across his lips as he answered, "Baby, you couldn't pay me to."
The End
Acknowledgements
I want to thank my family and friends for supportin
g me during the process of bringing this wonderful story to life, a story I hold very near and dear to my heart, and one that I am sad to see come to end, while at the same time, ecstatic that I am able to bring to you.
I also want to thank my dedicated fans for waiting so patiently (others, not so patiently- you know who you are *wink*), as my book came along slowly, making multiple detours along the way, due in part by some serious consideration as to the best plot development, and also facing some of the worst health and family issues I've ever encountered. I sincerely pray all of my readers feel that Rekindled was worth the wait.
As you read the first couple of chapters, I realize some of you may have wanted to kill me for murdering poor Jordan. Believe me, I mourned his loss, too. Sadly, I knew while writing Burned he wouldn't be a part of Rekindled. However, as Kellan so eloquently put it in Jordan's Eulogy, Jordan impacted the lives of everyone that knew him. I believe he played an integral part in the union of Hailey and Kellan.
Fire and Ice: Rekindled (The Fire and Ice Series Book 2) Page 18
