by Heidi Hunter
I came in a flash. The world faded for a second or two as pleasure rushed through my body, centered on my tiny clitoris. A moment later, he grunted and came inside me. I watched his face contort as his orgasm hit. He collapsed on top of me, our hearts beating against each other. When he pulled out a moment or two later, I hated the separation.
“I love you Steven,” I said as he laid crossways on the bed and I scooted back.
As we enjoyed cuddling with each other, someone knocked at the door. My heart sunk as I heard Thurston’s voice on the other side.
“Nikki? Open up. We need to talk.”
“Your boyfriend?” Steven asked. I nodded. “Want me to take care of it?”
I sighed. “No, I need to take care of it.”
“Did you tell him you were coming here?”
“No. I didn’t know where I was going.”
We got dressed in robes before I went over and opened the door. Thurston barged in but stopped when he saw Steven standing next to the bed.
“Oh, hello. Who are you?”
“I’m Steven. I think Nikki wants to say something to you. After she does, you’re going to leave. Do you understand me?”
Thurston turned to look at me.
“How did you find me?” I asked.
“That app I had you install on your phone tracks your location.”
“What?!” I screamed, standing up. “Are you fucking kidding me? You were spying on me?”
“Looks like I was right in doing it,” he said, nodding his head at Steven, who stepped toward him.
“No, Steven, please don’t.” I turned back to Thurston. “You need to leave. Now. I’ll be over to get my stuff sometime over the weekend. Or maybe I’ll just leave it.”
“Whatever, Nikki.”
He stormed out of the room. After the door closed, I walked over and locked it. What the hell am I doing? As I turned back around, I burst into tears. I normally was very private with my emotions, but I couldn’t hold back. Steven rushed over and put his hand on my shoulder. I threw my arms around him, pressing my face against his chest as the tears fell.
“You okay?”
“I will be. I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m crying.”
“It’s been an emotional night.”
“You got that right.”
“Are you coming back to Maine with me?”
I sighed, still unsure. “I don’t know.”
“Let’s go somewhere else. I’ve not traveled in a while. Name a place on the planet, and I’ll take you. Hell, tell me you want to go to the moon, and I’ll buy a fucking rocket and take you there as soon as I can.”
I laughed. All of the reasons I’d fallen in love with Steven in the first place rushed back to me. Everything made a little more sense. I’d been running from my fears instead of facing them. And from what I’d learned on my road trip, not being honest with yourself was the worst thing you could do, especially if you loved someone.
“Let’s go to Paris. I know it’s a cliché, but I’ve always wanted to see it.”
He smiled at me then hugged me tighter. “We can leave tonight or tomorrow if you want.”
“Let’s leave tomorrow. I want to spend more time with you.”
“Okay.”
We made love again. After, we called room service and had one of everything on the menu. He even managed to have half a pound of high-quality weed delivered to us after midnight. I was happy for the moment, but even better, I could see myself being happy with Steve the billionaire in the future. A week away from his children would be tough, but it would give us time to catch up and see if we were truly right for each other.
Seven
Nikki Returns to Maine
A month after I got back to Maine with Steven and moved in with him, I found out I was pregnant. The children were downstairs playing as I sat in the master bathroom and stared at the pregnancy test. What the fuck am I going to do? Questions flew through my mind as I tried to decide what to do. I took a deep breath and buried the small piece of plastic in the trash can.
Part of me was afraid to tell Steven because he might not want me anymore. At forty-three years old and with two kids of his own from a previous relationship, would he really want another one from me? I walked into the master bedroom and sat down in a recliner. The children were being watched by someone else, giving me way too much time.
I ran all the possible decisions through my mind and came up with two real options. First, I could tell Steven and hope he was okay with it. The other option was something I’d told myself many times I wouldn’t consider, but it was there in my thoughts – abortion. If I acted quickly, I could get the procedure done without anyone having to know.
After everything I’d been through since I left Maine and Steven behind, all I wanted was to be happy and settle down. The adventures I’d been on were fun and exciting, but I couldn’t see myself being a party girl the rest of my life. Are you really considering leaving a billionaire again? Are you stupid? I scolded myself, wishing I had someone to talk to about all the emotions rushing through my body.
Maryanne had been my closest friend, but after what had happened between her and Steven, I never wanted to speak to her again. Well, I did, but I couldn’t bring myself to make the call. And she would never reach out to me. That left me alone with my thoughts because I couldn’t tell the man who impregnated me about an abortion if I wanted to keep it secret.
You shouldn’t keep it a secret from him, I told myself. Then, the next second, I was ready to take it to my grave so I didn’t waste another chance with the billionaire. Beyond his money, he made me feel comfortable, safe and secure. At the end of the day, that’s all I desired – the same thing as everyone else. Why are happiness and love so not compatible most of the time?
I decided to call Thurston in Indiana. Even if I didn’t tell him what I was facing, I owed him an explanation for leaving him behind. Will he mind if I call? Would he even answer? I pulled my phone out, tapped my contact list, and swiped with my finger until I found his name and face. His photo brought back a lot of memories for me, but none of them compared with what Steven provided for me.
Reluctantly, I pressed the call button and pressed the phone to my ear. As it rang, I tried to think of what I was going to say. It would be important to keep it natural and emphasize the apology first. Calling the man I’d left behind was probably a bad idea, but without Maryanne in my life, he was the closest friend I could call. You really need to make some more friends, I thought.
After the third ring, he answered. “Hello?” he snapped, short, quick, and to the point.
“Hey, Thurston. It’s Nikki…”
“I know who it is. I’m not a fucking idiot.” He paused. “Well, I am, but that doesn’t matter. Live and learn. What’s up?”
“I’m sorry, Thurston. I was just confused. I’m still not sure what to think.”
“Then come back. Let’s work this out.” His voice had completely changed in tone.
“I can’t do that right now,” I said, starting out the large window to the acres of land outside.
“Why not?”
“I can’t explain it,” I said, which was the truth.
“He’s rich and old. I get it.”
“Thurston, it’s not like that at all. I actually love him.”
“Sure.”
By the tone of his voice, I deduced he didn’t believe me in the least.
“If you need me to forgive you, fine. I forgive you. Water under the bridge.”
“I just needed someone to talk to me.”
“Why don’t you talk to your boyfriend?” he snapped again.
“Thurston, don’t be like that, please. I can’t talk about this with him.”
“Why not?”
“Because it involves him. I just need someone to listen, okay?”
Did I make another bad decision calling him? I wondered.
“Why would I listen to anything you say? We were doing great and then all of
a sudden you moved out. I threw away all the crap you left here, by the way.”
“Cool.” I didn’t have the heart to tell him Steven was a billionaire.
“Really? That’s all you have to say for yourself?”
I sighed. “I obviously made a mistake calling you. I’m sorry.”
Right after I disconnected the call, his face showed back up on the display of the phone. I tapped and swiped a few times and blocked his number. Thurston was out of my cell and out of my life. When Steven got home, I tried my hardest to hide my true feelings for him. It was going to take me a little while to tell him, but I was pretty sure I would tell him about the baby before making any decisions.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
The next day, the wrath of the geek I’d left back in Fort Wayne, Indiana reached out to touch me online. Thurston had liked and commented on every single post I’d written on Facebook in the last two weeks. I deleted him as a friend. When he continued sending friend requests, I spent an hour figuring out how to block him completely – on that social media website.
I never really used Twitter, Instagram or any of those other sites, but I had a suspicion Thurston might try to lash out at me online. When I typed my name in Google and hit the search button, I was overwhelmed with page after page mentioning my full name and phone number. Right about that time, my phone started ringing and wouldn’t stop. Every time I declined a call, another came in.
And the text messages! A lot of crude men were sending me pictures of their pathetic penises. I could only imagine where Thurston had posted my phone number and other information. He didn’t know where I lived…yet. I wouldn’t put it past him to find the information somehow. There’s no way in hell Steven is not going to see this online, I thought as I sat at a desk with my laptop in the master bedroom.
When I looked out a window and saw where I was at, I was overwhelmed by emotions. I put my head in my hands with my elbows on the desk and cried. As the tears flowed, everything I’d been through recently flooded my mind. I stopped crying almost right after I started. Maybe it’s my damn hormones, but I’m all over the map. I sniffed and stood up.
Downstairs, I found the children and played with them for an hour or two. Even with Steven gone all day at work, I never felt alone in the big house. Why he worked when he already had billions I’d never understand. The kids’ laughter lifted my mood a little. I still dreaded having to tell their dad they might have a brother or sister on the way.
I was pretty sure he would react in a positive and supportive way, but if I’d learned anything over the last year it was that you can never really tell about people until you get closer to them. In my case, I’d gotten way too close to the wrong characters. My past is my past. I need to start thinking about the rest of my life and not just tomorrow. The responsible and adult thoughts scared me.
Steven walked into the living room that evening looking tired and stressed. I was on the floor with the children playing with a giant sized 3D puzzle. I stood up, still unsure of whether or not I should tell him the news. The children complained at first, but they giggled when I threw my arms around my billionaire. He pulled back a little to study my face.
“Everything okay?”
“We need to talk,” I said quietly.
“Uh oh.” A frown fell over his face.
“It’s not bad. At least I don’t think…” I broke away from him. “Can we go upstairs and talk?”
The children’s nanny watched as Steven and I headed upstairs. We were both quiet on the way up. Once we reached the master bedroom, I shut the door behind us and locked it.
“Again, uh oh?” He tilted his head to the side.
I watched his face closely to study his reaction. “I’m pregnant.”
His eyes widened in surprise as a smile spread across all his features. He rushed forward and wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight. I was a bit overwhelmed, but I didn’t resist.
“Wait,” he pulled back. “You don’t sound so happy about it.”
I frowned. “That’s it. I don’t know if it is a good thing or not?”
“Are you serious? This is great news.”
“Is it? I mean, our relationship is still healing, and…”
“Shhh.” He put a finger to his lips. “It’s okay.”
As he hugged me, a sense of relief washed over my body. Next time tell him sooner, silly, I scolded myself.
“You’re okay with me being pregnant, then?”
“Okay? Just okay? I’m excited. This is wonderful.”
“I’m going to be fat and ugly.”
“Nonsense,” he said sternly, touching my cheek with his hand. “You’ll always be beautiful to me.”
I sighed.
“What’s wrong? Why are you still upset?”
“I think I made a mistake.”
“What happened?”
“I called Thurston because I just needed someone to listen to me.”
“How did that go for you?”
“Terrible. He’s been stalking me online and posting my phone number and some other shit.”
“Hold on a minute.”
He retrieved his cell phone from his inside suit jacket pocket. After pressing a button, he put it to his ear. I couldn’t hear the people on the other side, but all he said was, “Thurston. Shut it down.”
“What was that all about?” I asked after he put his phone away.
“Oh, some people I employ. They’re going to make sure he stops harassing you and undoes anything he’s done online disparaging you. In the meantime, we can get your phone number switched if you want.”
“I blocked Thurston, but I’ve been getting calls all day.”
“Do you need the old number for any reason?”
I thought a moment. “No.”
“Great. We’ll get it changed tomorrow. Or tonight if you want. With as much as I pay Verizon every month, they jump when I give them a call.”
“We can do it tomorrow. I turned it off.”
“That’s why you didn’t answer me,” he said.
“You called?”
“I sent a text message a few hours ago about going out to dinner tonight. There’s something I wanted to talk to you about too.”
“Uh oh?”
He smiled. “No, it’s good. I think.”
I threw my arms around him again. He was so powerful, wise and so many other things. Why I’d run from him in the first place escaped me.
“I’m sorry I left,” I said with my head pressed against his chest.
“It’s okay. Really.”
He broke free from my grasp and got down on one knee in front of me. As he looked up at me, he whipped out a small jewelry box. When he lifted the lid, I thought I was going to pass out. My hands rushed to my mouth, covering it as I tried to process the shock.
“Nikki, would you do the honor of marrying me?”
My head nodded, but I couldn’t speak. I hugged him again, never waiting to let go.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
After dinner that night, we put George and Anne in their rooms, hoping they would sleep soundly. If not, the nanny could take care of them. I wanted some time alone with my billionaire. He was so supportive and genuinely seemed excited at the idea of me bearing him another child. The rest of my life appeared mapped out for me, but for once I didn’t mind so much.
Once we changed into our pajamas, we got under the covers together to continue talking. Unlike all the other guys I’d been with recently, Steven was interested in what I had to say. As we laid next to each other in his huge bed, I tried to come up with a good way to try to explain to him all the emotions rushing through my body.
“Are you excited?”
“Fuck yeah,” I said.
He smiled. “Good. Do you want a small wedding or a large one?”
“I don’t know. What do you want? I mean, you could go really ginormous.”
“I could, but that’s not really me.”
I gave him a quick p
eck on the lips, causing his eyes to light up. When I rested my head on his chest, I placed my hand on his abs. They were so muscular. Yet another thing to love about this man, the one you ran away from for some reason. Part of my didn’t think I deserved to be in bed with a billionaire, but it was a small part. I was mostly happy with our relationship and where it was headed.
“I’m glad you’re happy about the baby,” I said quietly. “I was a little worried?”
“What? Why?” He ran his fingers through my hair, comforting me.
“I don’t know. I’m a mess. It’s probably the hormones.”
“Might be. We’ll need to get you into a doctor. I know someone perfect.”
“Why are you so good to me?” I asked.
“I love you, Nikki. I’ve loved you for a while now.”
“Yeah, but why?”
“I don’t think I could explain that if I tried.”
“What am I going to do after we get married?”
“Anything you heart desires.”
I thought about his statement, what it really meant. With him there were no limits – at least not many.
“Do you want me to get a job?”
“Not if you don’t want to have a job.”
“Won’t people call me a gold digger?”
“You’re not the type of person who cares what others think, are you?”
“No. You’re right.”
He was so correct. Each and every fear that appeared in my mind was shot down quickly. All that was left was a bright future for both of us. Peace fell over me for the first time in years. Steven offered a sense of security, which was more attractive than Xander the artist and Thurston the geek. Neither of the other two could give me what I needed – not completely.
As I traced a circle on his stomach with my finger, I suddenly wanted him. My hand slipped under the waist band of his pajama bottoms and grasped his cock. He didn’t stop me as I tugged at it. Suddenly overwhelmed by desire, I scooted down his body some. A moment later, I was close enough to pull it out and study it closely.
