Forever Entwined

by M. C. Decker

  I chuckled before answering her question, “No, he’s still here.”

  “Wow. Still there, huh? It must be going better than expected. Is he still assembling the crib? We can come over and help if he’s having trouble. I remember how much trouble Greg had with Shawn’s. The directions are all in Swahili or something.”

  “No, actually, he didn’t even get to the crib,” I said, pausing.

  “What the hell have you two been doing then? Oh my god!! You’re back together aren’t you! I haven’t been the only one getting her station serviced today!” she screamed.

  “Yeah, actually, that’s why I called. Bentley asked me to marry him.”

  “About damn time he pulled his head out of his ass,” she said. “I’m so happy for you two!”

  I swallowed back the tears that were threatening. “Ireland, you said yes, right?” Katie asked, hesitantly.

  “Yeah, I did,” I said, unable to hold the tears back.

  “Then why are you crying? What’s the matter?”

  “I don’t—I don’t know. I’m just scared I guess. What if I lose him again, Katie? I think it would kill me. I think I need to tell him we did this too soon. I think I need to tell him no.”

  “Ireland Erin O’Brien, you listen to me carefully. Are you listening,” she questioned.

  “Yes, I’m listening,” I said, nodding my head as if she could actually see me.

  “You will NOT tell him no. This is what you’ve wanted for your entire life. You’re just scared and I get that, I really do, but you need to put on your big girl boots and buck up, Buttercup.”

  “Always such a way with words,” I chuckled. “But, you’re right, Katie. Thank you.”

  “I knew you’d see it my way. Now, back to how this conversation was supposed to go . . . You’re getting married!”

  “I’m getting married!” I screamed, finally feeling excited about what was to come—my future with Bentley.

  “Does this mean I get to plan a bachelorette party?” Katie asked.

  “You are most definitely not planning a bachelorette party. Your crazy adventures almost got us killed,” I chuckled into the phone.

  I couldn’t see her face, but I knew her expression looked as if I’d just sat on her puppy. I’d seen it enough during the past two decades to know. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, feigning innocence. “Don’t you remember my bachelorette party in Daytona? That was all me!”

  “Yeah, I remember it very well. I also remember you getting drunk off your ass and chasing after some guy in a Walmart parking lot.”

  “So? What’s your point? He was cute and had more vodka,” she said

  “Did you forget the conversion van he was driving? You could have gotten us sold into human trafficking, or I don’t know—killed!”

  “Ehh, we’re fine.”

  Just then Bentley walked out of the bathroom with nothing but a towel slung around his waist and water droplets still trickling down his sculpted chest.

  “I couldn’t wait for you any longer. My fingers were turning into prunes. Is everything OK?” he asked, not noticing the phone in my hand.

  “One sec,” I mouthed, pointing toward the phone.

  “Katie, I have to go. We’ll finish this conversation later, but don’t go getting any wild ideas until you run them by me first, OK.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Way to ruin all my fun,” she chuckled.

  “I’ll talk to you soon. Love you.”

  “Love you, too,” she said, before disconnecting the call.

  “What was that all about?” Bentley asked, crawling back into bed, hovering over me.

  “Just Katie and her wild ideas,” I said, reaching out to grab his shoulders.

  “I have a few wild ideas of my own,” Bentley said, pulling the sheet down to expose my already bare breasts.

  “And, they start right here,” he added, as his mouth latched onto my overly-sensitive nipple. He gently sucked before releasing pressure as he began swirling his tongue around in circles, causing me to squirm beneath him.

  “Oh god. Please don’t stop,” I said, reaching toward Bentley’s hips to unknot the towel that was wrapped around him. The towel fell to the bed, letting his already erect cock spring free. I ran my hands around his velvety length while using my thumb to tease the bulging tip.

  “As great as that feels, Shamrock. I want to be buried deep inside your pussy,” he breathed into my ear.

  Repositioning his weight, Bentley straddled me using his knee to spread my legs apart before positioning himself at my entrance.

  He entered me slowly, taking his time, filling me to the hilt. I could tell that he wanted to savor this moment between us.

  “I love how your body responds to me every time, Ireland,” he said between nips. I began to quiver and felt my orgasm building deep within my core.

  “Bentley, harder. Please,” I begged. “I need to come. Please let me come.”

  “You’re so fucking sexy when you beg,” he said, as he pumped into me with more force. I knew he would be coming with me in just a matter of minutes. Feeling my own release, I heard him moan my name. I was seeing flashes of light and convulsing with pleasure, as I felt Bentley come unhinged inside me.

  Bentley rolled off to my side and we both lay in bed for several minutes until our breathing began to even out.

  “I think you need another shower,” I giggled.

  “Are you actually going to join me this time?” he questioned.

  “Yes, how could I possibly say no after that?” I questioned with a smirk.

  “I think we should get married tomorrow,” Bentley suggested, as we enjoyed our piping hot pepperoni pizza along with bread sticks and cream cheese. OK, maybe I was the only one enjoying the bread sticks and cream cheese. But, if I must say so myself, they were delicious.

  After our round in bed earlier, Bentley fully pleasured me in the shower as well. By the time we were finished it was nearing ten o’clock and most restaurants near my house had already closed. When Bentley suggested pizza along with bread sticks and cream cheese, it was music to my ears. Yep, this man was definitely a keeper.

  “Tomorrow?” I questioned, nearly choking on a piece of pepperoni. “Don’t you think tomorrow is a little too soon? Besides, I’m pretty sure Katie would kill me. You should’ve heard her on the phone earlier. She already has big plans—big.”

  “I just don’t see a point in waiting. Don’t you think it would be better if we were living together before Lexi comes?” Hearing Bentley refer to our daughter by the name we’d chosen for her made my heart swell.

  “I mean I guess I didn’t look at it that way. Where do you want to live?” I asked, hesitantly.

  “It doesn’t matter to me. I’m happy moving in here if you don’t want to move in with me. I probably have less so it would no doubt be easier, and I know you like living close to work.”

  “But what about Tanner? I only have the one extra bedroom here.”

  “There’s plenty of room in the basement. I’m sure we can hang some drywall and make him a room down there. He’d love it.”

  “Well, OK. I guess it’s settled then. We’re going to be roommates?”

  “We’re going to be roommates,” he said, kissing me on the nose. “I hope you don’t hate me after a week of living with me.”

  “I could never hate you, James Bentley Roberts.”

  “I hope you’re saying that after you fall in the toilet for the first time after I forget to put the seat down,” he laughed.

  “You wouldn’t dare!”

  “I’m a man, Shamrock. It happens,” he shrugged.

  “Well you better make sure that it doesn’t happen,” I laughed, nudging him in the chest.

  “I’ll try my best,” he said with a wink.

  “So, we’re really doing this?” I questioned, gathering up the dinner dishes.

  “We’re really doing this. And, I can’t think of anything that would make me happier. Well excep
t for maybe getting you to agree to marry me tomorrow.”

  “Not tomorrow. But, maybe the week after next?” I suggested. “It’ll give you time to get your stuff moved over here. I hate to say I don’t think I’ll be much help,” I added, pointing toward my very rotund belly.

  “Are you sure? We don’t have to rush it if you’d rather wait until Lexi is born. And, I don’t need your help moving a few boxes. Your only job for the next month is to protect our girl.”

  I smiled at his words, before responding. “No, I’m OK with it. It’s not like I have any family or friends besides Katie and Greg. We can just get married at the courthouse if that’s what you want. I’d hate to disappoint Rita, though.”

  “Mom will be fine with it. She’s just going to be excited that you’ll finally be her daughter-in-law. I think she’s been waiting for this for as long as I’ve been.

  “Speaking of which, I should probably give her a call and give her the good news. She was so disappointed in me when I went back to Staci. My own mother wouldn’t even return my phone calls.”

  Just hearing Bentley mention Staci made me want to vomit. I’d tried to ignore the time they’d spent together after his accident, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to forever. Eventually, we’d have to discuss it. I just wasn’t sure if I was ready quite yet.

  “Hey, are you OK?” Bentley asked. “You look like you’re a million miles away.”

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” I said, giving him a half smile. “It’s nothing I want to talk about right now.”

  “It’s Staci, isn’t it? I know it has to bother you that I went back to her. I guess I was just hoping we could just forget it ever happened. But, I know sweeping it under a rug isn’t fair to you. I’m an asshole for even suggesting it,” he sighed, running his fingers through his hair.”

  “I said not right now, Bentley,” I said, biting the inside of my cheek.

  His eyes darted back and forth, conflicting thoughts running through his head. I could tell he wanted to get everything out in the open right now, but he wanted to respect my wishes.

  “If that’s really what you want,” he said.

  “It is. Now let’s call your mother and tell her the good news.”

  By the time we’d been able to get Rita off the phone, it was nearing midnight. I yawned from pure exhaustion. It really had been a whirlwind of a day.

  “I never thought Mom was going to hang up the phone,” Bentley said, rubbing his eyes. “I guess we should’ve waited until morning to call her. I knew she was going to be excited, but that was an entirely new level—even for her.”

  I chuckled, “I’m glad she’s excited, and it means a lot that they both want to come up for our big day.”

  “I’m glad you’re happy, Shamrock. Now let me get both my girls to bed,” he whispered, holding his hand out to me. We walked back to the bedroom hand-in-hand, ready to begin our new life together. Everything seemed perfect, except for that one thing weighing on the back of my mind—Staci.

  Ireland

  Today was the big day—well not THE big day. Today was just the day that Bentley would be moving the rest of his things over to my place, meeting with a realtor to get his house listed, picking his folks up from the airport for our wedding, and running to the county clerk’s office to apply for our marriage license.

  Actually, putting it all into perspective—maybe it was just really his big day. The only thing I was scheduled to do was visit Dr. Rhoads for my weekly checkup. I’d wanted to run to the maternity boutique after my appointment to pick out a dress, but Rita had insisted in one of her five-hundred phone calls in the last three days that she wanted to come with me. I’d promised her I would wait for her arrival and added it to my growing list of things to do the next day. Planning a wedding in less than a week, all while moving your fiancé into your house, really was a bit taxing—especially on a woman who was literally bursting with baby.

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to go to your appointment with you?” Bentley asked, as I struggled to put on my shoes.

  “Seriously, why are my feet so damn swollen that every time I try to slip on my shoes it feels like I’ve run an entire marathon,” I whined, ignoring Bentley’s question.

  “Let me help you,” he said, kneeling down on the floor and placing my foot in his palm. He gently massaged my swollen arch and ankle before sliding my shoe firmly into place.

  “Oh god. That felt so good. Why did you stop?” I asked, as he did the same to my other foot.

  “Mmmmm,” I moaned. “Please can we just do this all day?”

  “You keep that moaning up, and we’ll be spending the rest of the day in bed,” Bentley said. “Unfortunately, you need to get to your appointment and I should get going to the airport. Unless you want me to go with you. I can probably get Greg to pick them up. You never did answer me.”

  “Oh, no. You have too much to do. Besides, I still have a few weeks to go. I should be in and out pretty quickly. You can be there with me next week,” I suggested.

  “You know I’m not missing another appointment. I wouldn’t be missing this one if you weren’t so insistent. But, since you are, I need to run. I’ll see you this evening,” he said, placing a soft kiss on the top of my head.

  The quick drive to my appointment was fairly uneventful. Somehow, I’d even managed to hit every green light from the house to the doctor’s office. I was thankful, considering how fretful I could get when I’m running behind. I didn’t want my blood pressure to spike again, and have Dr. Rhoads’ admit me back into the hospital. Since I’d been released, and things were seemingly back on track with Bentley, my home monitor revealed that my blood pressure had lowered to much more normal numbers.

  A warm blast of hot air hit me square in the face as I pushed through the double doors opening to the office, causing me to cough. I instantly clinched my thighs together, hoping my sudden hacking fit wouldn’t cause me to start dribbling down my legs. This nearly full-term pregnancy was really starting to take its toll on my body.

  It was quite cool outside as it was nearing the end of October, and as any Michigander knew, most children would be wearing long johns under their Halloween costumes, but not me, I was still wearing a T-shirt and leggings—something else I can blame on the hormones, I suppose.

  After speaking with the receptionist, I took a seat in the fairly empty office. I was hoping the lack of patients meant today’s visit would be a quick one. I still had so many last minute details on my checklist before the wedding in just three days.

  Grabbing the latest People magazine from the side table, I happened to catch a glance of the woman sitting a few chairs to my right. She was reading an issue of Parenting magazine, and her baby bump was just starting to show. If I had to guess, she was probably just entering into her second trimester.

  My heart rate immediately quickened, and the back of my neck began to flush. I must have stared for a bit too long because the woman dropped the magazine in her lap. As she turned to look in my direction, I swallowed back the lump that had formed in my throat. I would recognize that face anywhere—Staci.

  Of course, Staci could be pregnant. I knew she would be a permanent fixture in my life because of Tanner, but it never occurred to me that she could be carrying another of Bentley’s children. Of course, she could be carrying his baby. They were sharing a house—a bed. He thought she was his wife. And, she had no intention on telling him otherwise. I didn’t even want to think about the possibility of them having sex, but I was delusional if I thought otherwise.

  So many questions were running through my head as I stared blankly at the woman sitting next to me. Why hadn’t he told me? Was he afraid I wouldn’t have accepted his marriage proposal? Did he think the stress would cause me to go into early labor? Does he even know? What if this crazy bitch hasn’t even told him?

  “May I help you, Miss?” she finally asked.

  “What are YOU doing here?” I responded snidely.

  “By the looks of things
, probably the same thing you’re doing here,” she sassed back.

  “Does Bentley even know?” I asked, not knowing if I actually wanted to hear her answer.

  “Who’s Bentley?” I have to admit that was not the question I was expecting to hear.

  Rolling my eyes at her attempt to throw me off, “Cut the crap, Staci. I’m not in the mood for your games today. I’m not letting you get to me again. I made a mistake last time, but this time, I’ll fight for what’s mine.”

  “I really am sorry, Miss, but I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else.”

  Before I had time to question her, a nurse opened the door into the waiting area, and the room quieted as everyone waited for the next name to be called.

  “Veronica, you may come on back,” the nurse said.

  “Oh, that’s me,” the woman said, getting up from her seat.

  “Wait. So you’re not Staci?” I asked, flabbergasted.

  “Nope. Always been Veronica. Staci must be my doppelgänger, or by the sounds of it—my evil twin,” she laughed.

  I think I liked Veronica. Smiling, I said, “You got that right. And, sorry for the outburst earlier. You just look so much like her. It’s crazy, really.”

  “Not a problem. But, I should get going. Nurse Ratched looks like she’s getting impatient,” she whispered, before heading back to the examination area.

  I waved a sheepish goodbye and flung my head backwards in disbelief. I’d just made a complete fool out of myself. Clearly my subconscious was telling me I needed to address this “Staci Situation.” Bentley and I needed to have a serious conversation about his most recent relationship with his ex. I just knew I couldn’t marry him in three days with this weighing on my mind.

  Rummaging through my purse, I found my cell phone near the bottom. I pulled it out so I could shoot a quick text off to Bentley.

  Ireland: I just ran into Staci’s twin at the OB’s office.

  Bentley: I don’t understand. Staci doesn’t have a sister let alone a twin.