BABY DADDY (30 page)

“But I’ll be dishonest with myself now if I don’t say deep inside I was yearning for more. I didn’t know what it was before...but when I saw you the first time, I just knew. I don’t know how it happened but everything in me recognized you.”

He grips my fingers tighter.

“I want to have someone…someone I can call my own, someone I can build my life with out in the open. I don’t want to hide anymore, Ella. I’ve paid my dues and my father is long dead and now I want to show myself, to introduce myself to the world, to be happy and proud of myself. I want to give my name to someone. To you…and our children. I want to have babies with you in the future but since you can’t wait and you want one now…”

His voice cracks a little and his eyes glisten.

“Do you think…maybe…Would you have me, Ella?”

That was tantamount to a marriage proposal and the sincerity in his eyes scares me like nothing else. I want to run away, avoid this level of intimacy. All my alarm bells are on and I’m a wreck inside, but I can’t stand hearing him like this, feeling alone, anonymous, unwanted. I don’t want him to ever think that I don’t want him. God, I do want him.

I defy my own fears and reach for him, framing his face with my palms so he would look at me.

His moist eyes undo me.

“I want you, Raiden. I want your baby. Give me your baby.”

He claims my lips and every part of my body, as well.

This time around, as he makes love to me with both reverence and passion, I willingly open my doors for him.

I let him through my walls.

Fuck it!

I feel like she’s coming around,
lowering her guard. She went with me to the MoMA, but Rowann and Misha came with us. That was a good start.

Next, we dined out at an Italian restaurant with her creative team and in-house models. She made me sit with the models and I blended in. I felt a bit peeved that she didn’t want to share a table with me but it was a progress. I promised myself I would be patient with her. She needs to get used to us being seen in public together. I know it will just be a matter of time before we’re completely free to be together.

I, on the other hand, am enjoying my life out in the open in this city where my father’s immediate relatives are part of the upper echelons. Nobody has bothered me so far and I hope it will continue this way. I hope no one will ever recognize me. But if someone does…I guess I’ll just have to own up to it. I’m done hiding.

“Babe, you want pasta tonight?” I ask her as I check her kitchen for something to cook. She’s always dined out or ordered food to be delivered to her place and I want to slowly steer her fast, single lifestyle towards the domesticated.

I’ve been cooking our dinner and breakfast the past weeks. She works so hard and is always wiped out in the evening. I want to make her feel better when she’s at home. She tried to help me in the kitchen but she’s the worst cook. I’m glad for it. I can do something for her.

“Sounds good,” she answers from the kitchen island. She’s propped up there, playing Candy Crush, cussing occasionally. She’s been tense all week and I’m glad she’s allowing herself to relax a bit this weekend.

“We’re running out of groceries, though. Wanna come with me to the supermarket?” I ask her casually as I rummage through the contents of her pantry. I hold my breath, praying…

She looks at me. I smile at him. It’s a Sunday afternoon and things have been lazy since this morning. I made sure she didn’t leave the bed much.

She smiles back. “Sure.”

I know what this means to her.

I don’t want to take this for granted. I know this is a huge step she’s taking with me.

She’s finally allowing us to go out in public together. Just the two of us. I’m overflowing with joy, especially when she allows me to hold her hand too as we walk into the supermarket.

We get a push cart and stroll along the stalls for the supplies we need. She goes over the list, picking up bottles and sachets, stacking our cart.

I’m so damn happy I can’t contain myself. I need to tell her now. I just know in my heart, now is the right time.

I stop her in a corner and kiss her. She smiles up at me dreamily.

“Babe, my real father was a king,” I tell her softly.

She stares at me, then quips, “I know.”

I stare back, stupefied. “You…know?”

“Yeah, when you showed me The Sanctuary, I knew.”

“How?”

“I heard the legend of the king who abdicated his throne to be with the woman he loves,” she whispers, her eyes twinkling with inner light. “It’s so romantic.”

I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I’ve been keeping that secret for far too long I didn’t realize how much it was weighing me down all these years.

Now, I’m free. For the very first time in my life, I feel free to be myself with a person I trust, with a person I love.

God, it feels too good I want to raise my arms and shout my joy to the heavens. I want to lift her up and whirl her around and around. But we’re in public and I don’t want to court attention towards us.

I frame her face with my hands.

“I love you, Ella.”

“I love you, too.”

I touch my forehead with hers, letting her softly uttered words sink into my soul.

I feel brand new.

No longer anonymous.

I have a name, and it’s written in her heart.

I can never ask for more.

So babe, where’s Bob?”

She laughs. “You haven’t forgotten Bob?”

“I’m very curious of my competition.”

She snorts. “I can’t believe you get insecure with your dick size. You can work in the porn industry with that thing.”

“Thank you but I’m not insecure of my size. I’m just wondering what Bob can do. C’mon, introduce me to your sweet, dependable Bob.”

She sighs in exasperation. “Over there.” She points to her side table. I get up from the bed to open the drawer, fully expecting to see an array of silicone toys that will make me feel insecure. I’m happy and content with my dick but I don’t want Ella thinking of another, real or fake.

“There’s nothing in here.”

“It’s in a white, plastic box.”

I fish out a small white box and show it to her. “This?”

“Yeah. Bring it over here.”

Moments later, I’m staring in puzzlement at a little purple gadget that looks like a round earphone, even thinner than my pinkie. It's wired to a battery pack.

“This is…Bob?” I ask in stupefaction.

“Uh-huh. So cute, isn’t he?”

I sigh in relief. I shake my head, chuckling.

“What were you expecting?”

“Nothing, baby. No wonder you bled.”

“I haven’t even had a real dick before you and you expected me to order a fucking giant dildo?”

I dive back between her legs. “I’m so happy I can fuck you a hundred times tonight.”

She laughs. “Then get started now.”

The week went by like a blur.
But I was looking forward to another weekend of relaxation with Raiden.

Relax. I can’t believe I’m actually learning to appreciate the real meaning of it. A month ago, you won’t ever catch me saying that word about myself. It’s a sacrilege to my business code.

After we finish his Wagyu steak, he suggests we drive around the city. We had a nap earlier today and we aren’t sleepy yet.

“It’s Sunday evening and the streets are not too crowded,” he says.

“Bennet is off duty,” I say, referring to my chauffeur.

“Leave that to me.”

“Do you have a driver’s license here?”

“No, my friend does.”

To my surprise, Raiden’s friend, a handsome Italian named Matteo is already waiting for us with a limo.

We get in and the car moves.

He gathers me in his arms and I lean on his chest. We talk and laugh and lapse into a comfortable silence. I’ve never had moments like this with a man, just driving downtown, enjoying the night and the silence.

The limo stops. The door opens.

A man in a chef’s garb greets us. “
Bonne Soiree, Monsieur, Mademoiselle
. We’re very happy to serve you our most special dessert.” He’s holding a covered glass tray.

Raiden accepts it. “Thank you very much.”

The chef bows graciously. “
Bon Appetit
!”

Matteo closes the door again. Raiden carefully places the tray between us and takes off the cover. “Voila!”

I stare at the two glasses of the most beautiful, most sumptuous-looking sundae I’ve ever seen. “You’ve arranged this!” I exclaim.

He grins. “Surprise!”

“This looks familiar,” I remark, studying the exquisitely prepared dessert that has caviar at the top and trimmed with edible, gold leaves.

“It’s from Serendipity.”

My eyes widen. “Is this the Golden Opulence Sundae?!”

He nods.

“My god, this looks too beautiful I don’t wanna eat it!”

“But you must eat it, babe.”

I laugh, shaking my head. “You’ve been planning this all along? I heard this takes days to order! Oh Raiden, you didn’t have to. I would have been happy with a cone from Davey’s!”

“Nah. Tonight is special.”

I touch his face, feeling overwhelmed. No man has done special things like this for me before, not this way. This is for the movies. “Thank you.”

He takes my hand and kisses my fingers. “C’mon, let’s finish this before we arrive at our destination.”

“Destination…There’s more?”

He winks at me. “That’s another surprise.”

The limo starts to move.

This sundae holds the record at Guinness as the most expensive dessert in the world, but everything in it looks more beautiful, more precious. What have I ever done to deserve this?

“Babe, eat it. It’s starting to melt.”

I giggle, feeling like a teenager on her first date.

We’ve been chatting animatedly
when the limo stops again.

“You can’t be serious,” I say when I see where we are.

We’re at the City Hall. I give him a funny look. “Okay…what’s this?”

“C’mon. You’ll love this.”

We get out of the car. “Meet us on the other side, brother,” he tells Matteo. Matteo gives us a thumbs up and speeds away.

I shake my head when I realize what he’s up to. “Oh no. Don’t tell me we’re crossing the Brooklyn Bridge?!”

He grins. “I’ve never crossed it on foot. Have you?”

“A long time ago.”

“Then you need to do it again. C’mon!”

Minutes later, we’re strolling hand in hand down the wood-planked dedicated pedestrian lane above the easy traffic on both sides. The weather is cool, the wind, light and breezy.

“I can’t believe I’m crossing the Brooklyn Bridge
with you tonight.”

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

The bridge isn’t congested tonight. Most of the people are tourists by the way they’re behaving, as if seeing the bridge for the first time, taking pictures from all angles.

“Wow. I didn’t know it looks like this now. How a decade has changed this city.”

“You’re from New York and you don’t enjoy this? If I live here, I would run this stretch every week. I bet it’s more beautiful during sunset.”

I shrug. “I left the US when I was only seventeen and settled in France for many years, remember? When I came back here, I became so busy and doing stuff like this seemed like a waste of time.” I sigh. “There are a lot of things you take for granted when you’re too busy, I guess. You fail to appreciate the beauty of your surroundings.”

He stops walking. “Here, this is the best spot. Right at the middle.”

“Okay…why are we stopping?”

He grins and fishes out something from his jacket’s pocket.

I can see where he’s going with this. I roll my eyes. “Oh shit, don’t tell me you brought a lock? That’s so cheesy!”

He chuckles but his hand remains closed. “Nothing’s cheesy when you’re in love. And you’re always jumping the gun on my surprises. C’mon. Let’s write our history on this bridge.” He guides me to the right side of the railing.

“I heard they prohibit this nowadays.”

“That’s why we’re not putting our lock on this bridge.”

He opens his palm. “I’m putting it around you.”

I gasp faintly, my hands covering my mouth. A necklace with a little lock pendant lies on his palm. “Oh Raiden…”

“It’s engraved with our initials on both sides.” He unlatches the necklace and puts it around my neck. He touches the pendant now nestled in the valley between my breasts. “When you’re afraid, just touch this, to remind you I’m always here. Your knight.”

My head remains bowed. I’m just staring at his hand resting gently on my chest. I don’t want to look at him. He will see my tears.