by Hazel Parker
“Look,” Ben breathed, “she’s awake.”
I smiled, “She does that.”
“It’s amazing,” Ben said in awe as his daughter’s big eyes fixed on him.
He rubbed her tummy under the blanket she was wrapped in and Zoe let out a string of giggles much more easily than she ever did with me.
“Sucker,” I said with affection. “She’s already got you wrapped around her finger.”
Ben looked over at me snuggled under the covers and smiled a rueful open faced smile, “Well,” he said, “I think that was always going to be a given.”
I protested, “Hey! I am not going to be the bad guy in this partnership. Promise me I get to be fun mom too.”
Ben laughed and kissed Zoe on the head, “Oh, don’t worry; Zoe will know her mom is the most fun. I can teach her never to drink by telling her how you used to choke on whiskey in bars and wind up with strange, strange men in your life.”
I snorted with laughter, “Oh, really, are you going to hold my past against me? Two can play that game. I will teach her to play by the rules lest she nearly lose her career and future to a handsome professor who likes to throw rules out the window.”
Ben stopped suddenly and covered Zoe’s ears, “Don’t let her hear that; she has to know the only way is to be a good girl.”
I laughed again, wanting to throw a pillow at him like I used to, but this time he held our daughter in his arms as a shield, “Hypocrite!”
Ben defended himself with a lazy smile as he rocked Zoe in his arms, “Aren’t all good parent’s hypocrites? We don’t want our kids to repeat our mistakes.”
I looked at Zoe and at Ben, “Perhaps we should teach her that sometimes mistakes lead to something great.”
Ben smiled at me and the three of us shared a moment as a family. “The best mistakes,” he said, “are all right here in this room.”
Something hit me then and I clutched the duvet to my breasts, “Ben! Speaking of mistakes. We didn’t use protection again.”
Ben smiled at me, “I didn’t care about it. Zoe is so perfect, I thought what would be would be. Why not run full tilt at our family? There’s always room for more.”
I fell back into the bed and ran a hand over my stomach, wondering if new life was being created. This time, though, the new life wouldn’t be a secret. Not that that my secret baby had turned out so bad after all, I thought with a happy look around at my family.
THE END
Country Club Affair
Camden moved through the room like she had a hundred times before. It seemed like nothing had changed. The old-world glamour of the stately looking décor, the women outfitted in lovely dresses, the smell of cigar smoke wafting in from the veranda: it was all like she left it. She loved this place and the memories it held. She used to come to this country club almost every weekend with her parents, but it seemed like the grandeur of this place shone even brighter now in her absence.
It felt like ages since she had been here, though it had only been two years. So much had changed in that time, though. When she was last here it was with the naivety of youth on her side, the carefree attitude that only exists when you have no real burdens. When she was here last she didn’t realize she wouldn’t be back, didn’t realize she would be leaving behind so many regrets.
The dining room was filling up, patrons filing in after having finished their round of golf. Camden made her way across the room to her parents table. The jovial smile slid from her father’s face as she approached the table and sat. He turned his attention from her, back to Mr. Weston. She could feel the cold radiating off of him from where she sat; he was still upset with her. Still disowned her. She wouldn’t have come tonight if she realized he still felt that way. Her mother had convinced her on the phone that he missed her, that he wanted her to come to the club tonight.
Camden sighed. She should have guessed her father wouldn’t have bent so easily. When she left, he told her he would never forgive her. He was a man of his word, too. From beside her, Camden’s mom leaned over and patted her hand.
“Don’t look so fretful, dear. Aren’t you having a good time?” Her mother looked at her with kind eyes and Camden couldn’t help but smile at her. She loved her mother and had missed her. She couldn’t count the number of times she wished she could call her mother and ask her advice or opinion. Tonight was a gift. The first crack in the stone wall they had thrown in her face.
Her family had been surprised when she told them she was pregnant, but they were supportive. When she wouldn’t tell them who the father was, though, they had shut her out. They couldn’t understand why she didn’t want his money, his ring, his future. At the very least his child support. She could have raised her baby with the same luxuries she had grown accustomed to, if only she would be reasonable. And if she wasn’t going to use the father’s money to raise her child, she wasn’t going to be able to use theirs, either. But she had made her choice and she wasn’t going to back down.
“I’m having a lovely time, mother. It feels good to be here again.”
Her mother smiled and nodded her head. It was her mother who had called, who had convinced her father to reserve an extra spot at their table, who wanted to see her grandchild. Isla was already a year and a half old and had no one in the world but Camden. No matter how cold her father was being, she didn’t want to rob her mother of that opportunity. She didn’t want to rob Isla of that opportunity.
“Good, I was hoping you would feel that way. You always loved this place. When you were little, you would beg to come with us, and cry if ever you weren’t able. It seemed fitting to meet here, and I wanted us to meet on neutral territory. So we all felt comfortable.”
“It doesn’t seem like dad is feeling very comfortable.”
“Oh, you know him. It takes a lot to make him change his mind. Just wait until after dinner; he’ll be in a better mood then.” She gave Camden’s hand another pat before turning back to the Westons.
The Westons had been their regular dinner companions for as long as they had been coming to the country club. Camden’s father was an accountant, and by anyone else’s standards he wouldn’t have met the criteria to join the club. The Westons, however, had been clients of his and good friends. They had sponsored his application and they had kept up their friendship all these years.
Her father was always so proud of his status here. The club was a means of making better connections, better wages, a better life for his family. Camden supposed that’s why he was so mad when things ended up the way they had. He worked hard all his life to give Camden the opportunities she had available to her, only for her to ruin them. Then not salvage her reputation by trying to marry the man.
As supper service began and she was once again faced with her father’s icy stare, Camden wasn’t so sure her mother had been right. It would take a lot more than a porterhouse steak and a good cigar to change her father’s mind.
*****
Dinner had gone without incident. Of course, Camden’s father didn’t even so much as glance in her direction, but that was to be expected. After the meal was finished, the men had excused themselves to the veranda for a cigar and a drink. Once the men were gone, the ladies crowded their chairs together and started in on their usual gossip. Camden stayed and listened for a while, but then she too excused herself. The hallways and corners of this place held too many memories, and she didn’t know when she would be invited back.
As though drawn, Camden made her way through the room, past the tall, oak doors, and into the empty hallway beyond. The intricate tapestries and paintings that hung in the hall reminded her of hours spent roaming these halls, exploring. Growing up in a middle-class home for most of her life, this place represented a whole other world, one in which she was eager to be engrossed.
Ahead, Camden could see the light filtering in from her favorite spot, a little nook tucked around the far side of the grand staircase. It was a private alcove, a small niche left over from a renovation
that took out the old, servants’ staircase to enlarge the kitchen facilities.
The awkward space was just big enough for a small bookcase filled with old volumes, a worn, leather club chair, and a small window overlooking the gardens. When she was young, Camden would sit back there and pretend she lived in this grand place, the alcove transforming into her very own room in the house. As she got older, she found the privacy of the spot good for many other things.
Rounding the far end of the broad stairs, Camden smiled at the sight of it. It looked exactly the same as the last time she seen it. She placed her hands on the window ledge and peered out. She closed her eyes and inhaled the rich scent of leather and wood polish, the faint smell of roses filtering in beyond the glass.
She tilted her head at the vaguely familiar scent of pine and spice that began to settle around her, just seconds before she felt strong arms envelop her from behind. A warm body pressed against her back, hands on either side of hers. Camden’s heartbeat quickened, her body knowing exactly who pressed against her.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you here tonight, Cam,” Vaughn whispered against her neck. “It’s been a while.”
Camden shivered under the whisper of his breath against her skin, the press of his lips to her neck.
“It has. I didn’t think you would be here tonight.”
“Yet you came to our spot,” he said between peppered kisses on her neck.
“So did you.”
A low chuckle reverberated against Camden’s skin, sending tremors through her. Vaughn always had that effect on her. Camden could feel the scrape of his teeth on her shoulder and his hands curving around her hips. His palms explored her backside, trailing lower until they met the hem of her dress. Dragging her dress up over her hips, his fingers edged down between her thighs.
Camden shivered at his lightest touch, worming against him. A finger slipped between the silk of her panties and her skin. Camden took in a sharp breath as Vaughn’s exploring finger slipped onto her clit. She bucked into him at the pulse of pleasure that surged through her. Camden arched forward, her nipples pressing against the cold glass, easing the ache.
He nestled his hard ridge into her and he urged her legs to spread wider. “Can you feel how happy I am to see you? I came around the corner and saw you standing here and my cock damn near jumped out of my pants.”
Camden pushed back into him, wet heat pooling between her legs. The hand he had on her hip caressed over her ribs and up to palm her breast. Through her dress, Vaughn teased the hardened bud. The nip of his fingers was mimicked by a nip of his teeth against her ear lobe.
He moved his hand from her breast, and from behind her Camden could hear the scrape of Vaughn’s zipper. Anticipation welled within her. With his finger still at her tight bundle of nerves, Vaughn moved the scrap of silk to the side. The tip of his cock rubbed against her wet heat. Camden leaned into the window ledge, pushing her backside into the sweet rhythm of his strokes. Vaughn growled his approval, plunging into her. Camden stifled a moan as he filled her, tightening around the familiar rub.
As Vaughn began to drive into her, Camden could feel herself being consumed by the pressure of his hand at her clit, the feeling of his cock filling her repeatedly. The rasp of their breathing seemed loud in the hushed nook, and Camden held back another moan, instead settling for pushing back against his driving force. She smiled at the strangled sound that came from Vaughn. She loved driving him crazy, pushing him to lose control when they could get caught if they did.
Camden’s hips met him, thrust for thrust, her walls tightening down around him. Vaughn abandoned his ministrations at her clit and wrapped his arms around her waist, molding himself to her body, burying himself in her. Camden turned her head to the side, seeking his lips. Her imploring mouth was met with his, their tongues melding fiercely.
Camden began to shudder with pleasure, her moans swallowed by Vaughn. He buried himself deep into her spasming sex until he too was racked with shudders. Vaughn collapsed against her, hands coming to rest beside hers on the window ledge.
“Why did you stay away for so long?” he whispered into her hair, his breathing coming in jags.
Camden stilled. She hadn’t expected to see Vaughn tonight. She had only prepared herself to set things right with her parents; she wasn’t ready to face things with Vaughn just yet. Suddenly having sex with him just like old times didn’t seem like such a good idea.
“What did you hear? I’m sure there was some sort of gossip going around here.”
Vaughn straightened, zipping his pants and straightening her dress before coming to stand beside her.
“Some bullshit about you going to stay with an aunt. Or you decided to go away to do some more schooling. Or both. I didn’t buy either of those stories.”
Camden kept her face forward, not ready to look at him yet. She couldn’t trust herself when she looked at him. She never could say no to him; she gave him everything. In this very spot, he gave her her first kiss, she lost her virginity to him, they revealed things about themselves that no one else knew. Camden worried that Vaughn would pressure her into telling him where she went. But instead, he just looked at her, waiting.
“What about you?” Camden said into the silence.
“Me?” Vaughn said, turning to look out the window, too. He blew out a breath. “Business as usual. My Dad retired last year, so the business is officially mine.”
“You’ve been running the company for years; it must be nice to finally have that work acknowledged. That would make you the youngest CEO, right?”
“Right you are,” he said with a curt nod.
“You don’t sound as happy as I thought you would.”
“I’ve been working so hard to get there, all the while thinking that was what I wanted. I guess I just figured that any emptiness I felt would be fulfilled once I took over.”
“But it’s not?”
“You know what they say: it’s lonely at the top, money can’t buy you happiness, and all that,” he said with a self-deprecating smile.
“Vaughn Kincaid, have you become a hippie while I’ve been gone?” Camden said with mock surprise.
“I may be a lot of things, but I don’t think we have to worry about that. You were more the peace, love, and rock and roll type out of the two of us.”
Camden smiled. There was never really a ‘two of us’ between them. When they had first met ten years ago, Camden was fourteen and Vaughn was twenty, home from Yale for the summer. There was always a barrier between them. Age at first, then propriety, then status. Camden long ago gave up the idea of ever being more than Vaughn’s casual fling, his amusing doe eyed idealist. The Kincaids didn’t end up with girls like her.
Their dynamic served them both well for all those years. Vaughn had the benefit of a naive girl who worshiped him and his rank, with whom he could be free to be himself without worrying how it would affect his status, his station. Camden could taste the fantasy that she craved, pretending she fit into his life.
That all changed when she found out she was pregnant. There was no more room for pretending. Her life suddenly got very real and she had to face the fact that there was nothing holding her and Vaughn together other than a desire to fulfill each other’s fantasy. The power he held over her was thrilling when it was just about sex, but the idea of always being second class when it came to being his partner, to their child, was repugnant to her.
The sounds of the dining hall filtered into their private alcove, bringing Camden out of her thoughts and back to the reason of her visit. She couldn’t deal with her past with Vaughn right now. Not when her mind was supposed to be focused on resolving things with her parents. She turned her attention away from Vaughn.
“I should get back. I need to talk to my parents before I leave.”
“Are you sticking around afterwards?” he asked, eyes on her again.
“No. I have things to do at home.” And a babysitter I can only afford to pay for a couple of hour
s, Camden thought. She turned and made her way out of the sheltered nook. Vaughn followed behind her.
“Will you be here again next weekend?”
“I don’t imagine so.”
“You’re being awfully evasive,” Vaughn said as they passed the staircase.
“Am I?” Camden said, knowing full well it would drive Vaughn crazy not knowing what he wanted to. Vaughn wasn’t accustomed to being kept in the dark, or being told no. Camden didn’t care, though, because even if she had planned on telling him about Isla, now was not the time.
Vaughn grabbed onto her hand and stopped her mid-stride just before the doors to the dining area. She looked up at him, haughty.
“Something’s going on with you and I intend to find out what. We had a good thing going between us, then you up and vanish. When I asked your folks where you went, I just got the same, bullshit story everyone else did. When I pushed your mom, she started acting all cagey, but she still wouldn’t tell me where you were. Your phone was no longer in service, you quit your job. You just left. I think I deserve to know the truth.”
