Teach Me Love

by S. Moose

  We both laugh and drink more of our wine. I love getting to know Hayden and spending time with her. It’s nice to have another friend who understands me and does not judge.

  “So,” she winks at me. “How are things with Jacob?”

  My face turns bright red and my body betrays me. We see each other all the time and things are wonderful but a part of me still holds onto a piece of my heart. I cannot give him my whole heart for the fear he will leave me haunts my thoughts. Jacob is perfect but sometimes I think he may be too perfect. “He’s amazing Hayden,” I let out a sigh and feel my heart beating a million times a second. “He’s so attentive and we have the most amazing times together. I’m just scared though.” I look down and play with my newly manicured nails.

  “Sweetie, don’t be scared. Jacob’s a great guy and yes he has a past but who doesn’t? Logan used to be a major playboy but when we met, things changed. He changed for our love. Jacob is doing the same thing.” Hayden takes my hand and gives me a reassuring squeeze.

  We finish up at the spa and leave feeling happy and relaxed. All of a sudden, I feel someone behind me. I turn around and see the same woman from the bar.

  “Oh shit,” Hayden mutters.

  Madison.

  She comes up to me and there’s fire in her eyes. “So you’re the one who is responsible for taking away my Jacob!”

  “Oh listen here you hussy,” Hayden starts to yell. I hold her back and give her a look. I need to take care of her.

  “Madison right?”

  “Don’t play stupid you know who I am!”

  “Didn’t Jacob break it off with you?”

  She points her finger in my face and comes close to me. Oh what the hell! “Listen here you home wrecker! Jacob is mine! It’ll be best if you run along and let him come back to me. I mean,” she steps back and looks me up and down. “I do look way better than you.”

  “Oh no she didn’t,” Hayden yells.

  There’s a sudden surge of anger and I get back in her face. I won’t back down. “Madison, get a life! Jacob was never yours to begin with! You’re a crazy bitch! Hayden come on.” I turn around and start to walk away when Madison pushes me and nearly makes me fall. I regain my balance and walk up to her. Without saying anything, I bring my hand high in the air and bring it down right across her face. I take her face in my hands and look at her. “Don’t you ever touch me again do I make myself clear?”

  Madison looks away from me and I hear Hayden laughing hysterically behind me. I push her away and smile knowing that I can finally stand up for myself and I won’t be pushed around. Hayden puts her arm around my shoulders and we walk back to the car.

  On the ride back home, Hayden can’t stop talking about what I did to Madison. We laugh the whole ride back. When she parks the car in my driveway, we see Lucas and Mila in the front yard playing while the guys are drinking beers on the front porch. Picture perfect.

  We both get out of the car and Hayden starts cheering. “So guess what? Ms. Abigail Anderson is a feisty one!”

  Jacob and Logan put down their beers and walk towards us. “What happened?” Logan asks with amusement in his eyes.

  Hayden walks into Logan’s arms and Jacob takes me in his. “Well after our perfect spa day, we walk out and see Jacob’s crazy ex Madison.”

  I hear Jacob groaning as he holds me tighter. I turn my face to his and smile. “Keep listening,”

  “Madison gets all crazy but then Abigail slaps her across the face and puts her in her place!”

  Logan bursts out laughing and Jacob’s expression is priceless. He’s speechless and I hold him tighter. “She started it,” I explain to them. “She pushed me and then I slapped her.”

  “Damn well now I know not to mess with you,” Logan laughs.

  Lucas and Mila come running our way screaming that they’re hungry.

  “Alright let’s go inside!” Logan and Hayden follow the kids inside.

  “We’ll be in soon,” Jacob calls out to them. He turns me in his arms and brings his lips to mine. Oh how I miss those lips. There’s a need and a desire to his kiss. He holds me tightly around my waist and dips me backwards.

  I push him away and laugh, “Jacob!”

  “Alright, alright. I missed you today you know.”

  “I missed you too.”

  I take his hand and walk back into the house. “Hey,” he starts to say. “No more hitting people please?”

  I give him a grin, “Then tell your whore’s to leave me alone and let them know you’re off the market mister.”

  Jacob pulls my hand and places it on my heart. “Abigail you have my heart and no one else matters.”

  Chapter 19

  Jacob

  Summer is here and it’s nice to see a carefree Abigail. We enjoy our time together and on the weekends, we go out and enjoy the park, the beach, the museum, going out for lunch or dinner and doing things like a family. Slowly, my belongings have been making their way to Abigail’s. Heather moved out and into her own place so it isn’t uncomfortable being over there. Lucas has been clinging on to me and has been making his way into the bed with us when he has nightmares. Waking up to the both of them and seeing their smile warms my heart. I still can’t talk to her about Katherine. Hayden thinks I should but I can’t seem to find a good time to bring her up and let her know what happened the night of the accident. There have been nights when I would wake up in sweat and think I’m looking at Katherine until I realize it’s Abigail. I still think about Katherine but not as much as before.

  It is the night before Lucas’s birthday. The cool July air comes through the windows in the living room as we are setting everything up for his circus themed birthday party. Abigail, Hayden and Heather are outside on the deck putting together the lights and balloons. Logan, Father and myself are putting together the bags for the kids as Mother is finishing up the blue frosted chocolate cake; Lucas’s favorite color. Surprisingly, with all the noise we are making, Lucas and Mila are still sound asleep in his room. Logan and Father joke around about the bags as I look outside and watch Abigail. She’s wearing cotton shorts with a white fitting tank top. Her hair is pulled back in a pony tail. I can’t stop admiring her and think about the times we’ve had together; it’s been nothing but amazing.

  “Son, are you going to help us or keep eye fucking your woman?”

  Abruptly I turn my head and look at my Father. Logan falls on the ground holding his stomach and laughing. My mouth drops as I replay in my head what he said. “Father, I um, ah. Everything is fine.” I look down and put together the gift bags. I hear Mother in the kitchen laughing and feel embarrassed I got caught staring at her. “Logan, get up! It’s not funny anymore.”

  He takes his time getting up from the floor and slaps my shoulder. “Eye fucking,” he laughs again before going into the kitchen.

  “Alright, I think everything is all set!” Abigail exclaims. She has her hands together with a beaming smile, “Thank you all so much for your help. I know Lucas will love it!” I walk over to her and wrap my arm around her waist. I give her a kiss on the side of her head. “It’s getting late. If you would like to sleep over please do. We have plenty of room.”

  “Oh thank you darling. It is getting late.” Mother says as she makes her way over. She touches Abigail’s face and smiles, “Thank you for bringing such joy into our lives.”

  They look at one another for a moment longer, “Thank you for accepting Lucas and I.”

  “Oh my darling girl. We love the both of you.”

  “Don’t ever think we don’t love you guys,” Hayden pitches in.

  “Thank you everyone, really.” I let her go as she gives Mother and Hayden a hug. My parents make their way upstairs to Heather’s old room. “Hayden are you guys sleeping over too?”

  Hayden looks at Logan before answering, “No sweetie I think we’re going to head home. Is it okay if Mila stays over?”

  “Yeah of course! I’ll see you in the morning?”

&nbs
p; “Yes you will!” Hayden gives Abigail a hug following Logan.

  We say our good nights to them before closing the door and making sure everything is secure. “Come here beautiful.” I give her a kiss on the lips as we hold each other in the middle of the living room.

  “Thank you so much for everything today Jacob.” She looks into my eyes as her hands stroke my neck. I lean in and kiss the tip of her nose.

  “No problem sweetheart. Everything will be great.” She flashes me her gorgeous smile. Damn this woman can bring me to my knees.

  We make our way upstairs to the bedroom and make sweet and gentle love before falling asleep in each other’s arms.

  The music is playing and Katherine’s singing. She takes my hand and kisses it. “I’m so excited for tonight Jacob! Where are you taking me?”

  “Be patient,” I laugh.

  Katherine lets out a sigh and rests her head on my shoulder. “I love you Jacob.”

  “I love you too Katherine.” And I do love her. Tonight I’m going to ask her to be my wife and everything’s perfect. My heart is beating hard against my chest and I look over but she looks happy leaning on my shoulder and softly singing.

  We stop at a red light and I turn on the signal to indicate I want to turn left. I gently press my foot on the gas to go but then all of a sudden lights hit our face and I hear Katherine screaming. I freeze and I don’t know what to do.

  Darkness.

  “Katherine!” I wake up crying and I’m covered in sweat.

  “Jacob? Jacob!”

  I look over and it’s Abigail. Her hands are on my shoulder and arm. “Babe it’s okay. You’re okay.”

  I shake my head. “I should’ve done something. Antyhing. The car. The car was coming but I had time to move. I had time to reverse. If I. If I just didn’t freeze the accident wouldn’t happen and Katherine would be here.” I break down and Abigail brings me into her arms. She plays with my hair and whispers words of comfort.

  After a while, I place my head on her chest as she plays with my hair.

  “It’s not your fault babe. You need to let go of this guilt. There’s nothing you could’ve done.”

  I listen to her and take in what she’s saying. “I’ll always live with this guilt because I should’ve done something.”

  “No babe. It was an accident. It’ll be okay.”

  She kisses my forehead and I start to believe her. It’s been three years and I’ll always miss Katherine but Abigail’s right; it was an accident. I close my eyes and listen to Abigail’s soothing words.

  *****

  “Oof,” I groan as I look up and see Lucas on my back looking at me smiling. He’s waving his hands in the air and is wearing his birthday ribbon. Mila comes flying in the room and jumps on the bed.

  “Uncle Jacob today’s Lucas’s birthday! He’s six!” She says while jumping on the bed. “Hey! Wake up!”

  I look at the clock on the night stand and see it’s only seven in the morning. I put my head back on the pillow and groan. Lucas gets off of me and I hear Abigail loudly laughing. “Who wants chocolate chip pancakes with whip cream?”

  “Me, me!” Lucas and Mila scream.

  “Okay go downstairs and get the juice out. I’ll be right down.” The kids get off the bed and start running out of the room. Her hands play with my hair as she gives me a kiss on the head. “Morning.”

  “Argh. Why are they up?” I turn on my back and rub my eyes. “It’s so early.”

  “Jacob,” she laughs, “Get some more sleep so you’re not grouchy today.” I pull her in for a hug and start tickling her. She squeals loudly. God I love her laugh. “Jacob! Stop!” She hits my arms multiple times before I finally let her go.

  By the time I get out of bed and ready, I hear Father playing with the kids while Mother is talking about me to Abigail.

  “You know dear, I haven’t seen him smile like that in years. He’s falling for you.”

  “I-I hope so. I’m falling for him every day. He means so much to Lucas and I and we’re so lucky to have everyone in our lives.”

  Mother gives Abigail and a hug and whispers something in her ear, which I don’t hear. I stand by the kitchen and listen some more.

  “Thanks for accepting Lucas and I into your family. I know that this is new but it means a lot.”

  “Of course dear.” Mother takes Abigail’s hand and they both laugh.

  I take in a deep breath and go into the kitchen. I move around the table and balloons to give Mother a kiss and make my way to Abigail. She looks at me and brightly smiles. “Well, good morning babe.”

  I give her a kiss on the side of her head. “Morning sweetheart. Need help ladies?”

  “Let me go make sure your father doesn’t throw out his back playing.” Mother touches our arms before leaving the kitchen.

  Abigail wraps her arms around my waist and starts crying. I stroke her hair and breathe in her elegant smell, “Hey what’s wrong?”

  “I-I’m so sorry,” she laughs, holding me tightly. “I’m so emotional today.” She rests her head on my chest. “My baby turns six today and I now have you in my life. Everything is happening so fast.”

  “Do you want to slow down?” I kiss the top of her head.

  “No, not at all.”

  Who is this woman and how did I get so lucky to fall in love with her. “Me either sweetheart. Let’s go check on everyone.” I take her hand in mine as we walk into the living room.

  A few hours later there are people and children outside enjoying the July sun. The weather is perfect for a party. There are blue and green balloons all over the backyard and the deck. There’s a clown to make balloon animals and a cotton candy stand Father is running. Against Abigail’s wishes, I have a caterer for his birthday party with a special request to have blue hamburgers for Lucas. Logan and I are standing on the deck while Abigail is mingling with her friends and family. The bounce house is a big hit with the kids. Everyone is happy and seems to be in a great mood.

  I’ve met most of Abigail’s friends and when she introduced me as her boyfriend, their eyes shot right at me. At first I was a bit uncomfortable with the attention, but when her hand touched my arm, I felt relaxed. It was nice to meet everyone in her life.

  “So everything’s good big brother?” Logan asks while drinking his beer.

  I let out a laugh, “Yeah it really is.” I lower my voice. “I love her.”

  “Daddy?” Logan and I quickly look down. Lucas is standing by my leg looking up and smiling at me. “Come play.”

  Without thinking, I take Lucas’s hand. I don’t know what to think or say. I look over my shoulder as Logan is talking to Abigail and Hayden. Both women look like they are about to cry as Abigail comes running over.

  Lucas starts laughing and looks at me, “Daddy.”

  Chapter 20

  Abigail

  Lucas called Jacob “Daddy” and he’s still here. I’m not sure what to think. Hayden holds my hand and gives me a reassuring smile.

  “He’s not going anywhere honey.”

  The whole family looks at Jacob and Lucas. This is a picture perfect moment. I feel my heart growing and feel nothing but happiness.

  The party went so well. Lucas got to open all of his gifts and was excited about each one. They were interesting; anything from Lego’s to puzzles and action figures. Jacob’s parents purchased us a week vacation to Disney World. I was speechless and I couldn’t believe they did that. Lucas was so happy. He jumped up and down and gave them both a hug.

  Mila never left Lucas’s side. They played together in the bounce house and ate together on the lawn. Lucas’s friends all had a great time. Everything went well. I was happy to have my family by my side and the love of my life. Jacob was incredible, helping me with everything.

  The cleaning crew came through and took care of everything as I got Lucas ready for a sleep over at Logan’s. We’ve been waiting for a night alone with each other and I can’t wait for this.

  “Alright
all ready?” I grab the bags and head downstairs.

  “Mama and Daddy, what time are you coming to pick me up?” Lucas asks as he walks down the stairs.

  When we reach the bottom, Jacob gets down on one knee to reach his level. “Lucas we will be over to pick you up in the afternoon. Is that okay?”

  “Yes. Mila and I will have lots of fun tonight!” Lucas laughs as he peers over my shoulder to give her a smile. In the corner of my eye, I see Logan rolling his eyes.

  As we get everything ready to go, we give Lucas a hug and kiss. Lucas’s excitement reaches his eyes as he runs off to Mila. “Thanks again you guys,” I call out to Logan and Hayden.

  “No problem, have fun!” Hayden responds as Logan winks at us.

  Jacob opens the door to his Audi and I get in. He closes the door and I let out a breath. Jacob gets in the car and looks nervous.

  “Are you okay?” I ask nervously. Maybe he changed his mind.

  “Sweetheart I am more than okay. Let’s go.”

  He puts the car in reverse as we leave my house. I turn on the radio and “You Found Me” by The Fray comes on. We listen to the song while holding each other’s hand. I look over at Jacob and see him looking at me, smiling. I listen to the lyrics and sigh with content. Jacob found me and now we’re about to embark on another journey in our relationship.

  The drive is quiet. Jacob is taking a weird route back to the loft. “Babe where are you going?”

  He says nothing but smiles. Within a few minutes, we drive up long driveway. The enormous house is sitting on a hill looking down on the world. As we drive closer, it becomes clear. “Where are we?”

  Again he says nothing. He parks the car and gets out. I take off my seatbelt and wait for him to open my door. When he does, I take his hand and step out.

  The house is so beautiful. There are windows all over and is three stories. The white house has light gray shutters and white columns in the front. The gray French doors have a brass knob. There’s a welcome mat in the front. All of a sudden it hits me.