Bittersweet Trust (5 page)

“Yup, that’s me,” I announce, standing. Instead of Jenna coming, Corey stands and follows me and the nurse. Our first stop is to take my weight and height.

“Still short as hell,” Corey mumbles. I elbow him in the side, telling him to shut up.

The nurse takes us down the long hall and into one of the rooms where she takes all my vitals and hands me a gown. I groan inwardly, knowing what’s going to take place.

“That looks sexy,” Corey says, raising his eyebrows at me as he looks up at me over the parenting magazine he’s pretending to read.

“Thanks, asshole, I think you would look better in it.” So much for not talking to him. I pull the curtain back and pull off my boots and yoga pants. I contemplate leaving my panties on, but know it’s a hopeless cause. Just when I think I’ve got everything under control, I realize I can’t tie the string in the back of the gown.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Corey must hear my struggle because he pulls back the curtain to see what I’m doing.

“Need help?” he asks. His voice is smooth and sweet, and I feel my insides begin to melt. That imaginary string that pulls us toward one another is pulling really fucking hard on my end.

“Yes,” I reply weakly. He steps from behind the curtain and touches the skin on the back of my neck. The touch sends a warmth tingling through me, and I want so badly to lean into his touch, to let his fingers trail across my skin and mark me to make me his again.

He brushes the hair from my neck and presses up against my rear firmly. “You’re beautiful, Mimi. I love that my baby is growing inside of you. I love that I made you this way. More than anything, I love that you still melt under my touch,” he whispers seductively into my ear. There’s no point in hiding what’s plain to see. His hand slips under the gown as he places his hand on my stomach, rubbing small circles over our baby.

I let out a loud sigh, allowing myself to relish in the moment for a quick second, to allow his touch and love to flow through me like an electrical current.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Corey apologizes, his teeth nibbling on my ear lobe. I feel wetness pooling between my legs. We cannot do this here; I cannot do this with him. Suddenly, reality hits me, and I pull away faster than intended.

His hand reaches out to steady me, but I smack it away. I twirl around as we stare at one another for a long second. One of us is trying to pull the other back in while the other is trying to run.

“Stop trying to run,” he says gruffly. His hands thread into his hair, frustration evident in his body features as I watch his muscles tense.

“Stop trying to corner me,” I reply softly.

“Corner you?” he laughs sinisterly. I ignore his comment, praying the doctor comes in soon. Corey takes one determined step, then another, until he’s directly in front of me. He’s showing me what cornering me is.

“This is me cornering you. Do you want me to corner you, Mimi? You want me to push your sweet back against that wall and let you ride my face? You want me to fuck you nicely and sweetly? You can run all you want, take all the time you need, but two things are true: One, that baby is mine, and I will care for him or her; and two, that pussy is mine, only mine. I can practically hear it begging for me…” His fingers trail up the gown, landing on my thigh. He’s so close… I want him. Fuck, I want him! I can feel my legs spreading all on their own. His dirty words and promises screwing with my mind.

His finger slides up and lands right at my entrance. He teases it slowly, and just as I’m about to spread my legs and let the beast feast on me, the door to the room opens and in walks the doctor. Corey pulls back instantly, not looking one bit flustered. Ass-fucking-hole.

I, on the other hand, am red faced and practically have I-want-to-be-fucked written all over my face. The doctor shakes Corey’s hand before taking mine. The doctor doesn’t say anything about what he almost walked in on even though he can probably tell.

“Congratulations! You’re pregnant! I suspect this is the daddy?” Doctor Clive asks, gesturing to Corey. I nod my head in affirmation. I can’t get my wits together fast enough to speak.

“It says here you have no idea when you conceived, that you missed your period in December. From that, we will use this chart and base it off of your missed period date.” Dr. Clive pulls out a circular chart that looks similar to a birth control packet. Ha. Coincidence? I think not.

“According to this, September 15th is your due date. Our next steps are to do a pap smear and run some bloodwork to make sure everything is okay and looks normal.”

Twenty minutes, one pap smear, and a blood draw later, I’m ready for a drink. Damn, I can’t even have one.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Corey asks behind the curtain as I pull on my yoga pants. I roll my eyes, holding back the urge to smack him upside the head.

“Nope, not at all. Felt wonderful,” I reply, sarcasm dripping from my words.

He pulls the curtain back, looking at me smugly. I just want this day and time with him to be over.

“You know we are project partners, and we have to parent together. I think we should work on fixing whatever it is between us. I’m not good at anything but fucking up, so believe me when I say I know how big of a dick I am.”

Wow, abrupt subject change, anyone? I’m already over this conversation.

“This,” I gesture to our baby, “is the result of a good time. Apologizing for being an asshole means nothing to me; lots of people apologize and say they’re sorry but aren’t. Words are easy to say. Your actions will prove if you’re really sorry. I want to see results. Try, Corey. Try, just for once, to be someone whom you aren’t running from and be the man you once told me I needed.” I feel myself growing weak. When it comes to Corey, he is the one and only thing that is my weakness. Most people choose to be addicted to coffee, shoes, or even books. I choose Corey Alan Winchester, but at the end of the day, my addiction could be the death of me.

As the realization of what I said dawns on him, he grips at his hair again, his gaze hitting the ceiling tiles.

“Mimi, give me until June. Give me until then to prove that I love you and our baby, that we can be together, that I haven’t fucked up my whole life… Give me the chance no one else has. Don’t go out with Delwood…. “

“His name is Declan,” I interrupt.

“Whatever. It doesn’t matter. Just give me a chance. Please,” he says faintly, crossing his arms over his chest. My eyes are glued to his muscles, his taunt and very lickable muscles. I need to stop staring. Hormones, Mimi, get ‘em in check or he’ll have you flat on your back in no time.

“Okay… I will give you one chance to prove to me what love is, to show me what it’s like. Woo me, Corey,” I say, smiling at him.

“Oh, I’ll woo you…” he replies, guiding me out of the room. For one tiny second, everything seems normal. But then my mind can’t help but slip from the present to wondering when the shoe will fall. How long before something bad happens?

Corey

I can’t believe I am going to be a dad. Mimi is due in September, and it is finally starting to sink in that I need to get my shit together. I pace around the living room of my apartment. What can I do to prove to her that I am all in? I know words will never be enough. I said some of the most hurtful things ever to her; I ruined her when I took our precious, fragile love and cracked it into a million pieces. I don’t even know what to do to make it better. All I know is that I can’t let her walk out of my life.

I will have her back, even if I have to beg and plead. If I have to go to her on hands and knees, I will. I will do whatever I have to do in order to redeem myself.

I take a quick shower and jump into bed, ready to settle my mind after the long day I had. As the thunder rolls in, I find it has a calming effect on me. Eventually, my already heavy eyes close as I fall into a deep sleep.

“You’re an asshole, you know that, right?” Mimi screamed at my back as I walked away from her. Between her and Jenna, I couldn’t decide who I hated more.

“If you’re just now figuring that out, you haven’t paid one ounce of attention to anything I’ve been doing,” I spat at her.

I knew Mimi too well to know that she wouldn’t let the conversation end with me having the last say.

“All you do is insult her, harass her, and torment her! What do you even get from that? Do you get off on her pain or the hate that you know she has for you? My honest opinion? I think you’re nothing but a coward.” I could practically feel the anger radiating off of her. Her words hit a nerve within me, but I wouldn’t ever let her know. I turned around, trekking over to her.

“What the fuck are you doing at my party if you hate me so much?” I questioned, getting right in her face. No one questioned me without having a reason. Girl or guy, if you had something to say, you best say it to my face.

“I’m here sticking up for my best friend, your ex-girlfriend, the one you constantly call a slut. You do know what a slut is, right?” she asked. Before I could reply, she was speaking again.

“In case you don’t, why don’t you take a fine look in the mirror? You might see someone who looks gorgeous, but that won’t get you anywhere. You, yourself, are a slut and your attitude sucks. All together that makes you a shitty person.”

She doesn’t stumble over her words or avoid eye contact with me. She brought herself to my level without even trying. I could tell by the way she was standing and looking at me, that she was bound and determined to make me pay.

I smiled, because I was a sick fuck like that. Of course, her body pulled away from mine the instant I leaned into her and said, “It doesn’t matter what you think of me, Mimi. As long as I get up every day in the morning and am happy with myself, I could care less what you fucking think.”

If it weren’t for Jenna. I wouldn’t have ever had to put up with Mimi. She was gorgeous in her own way, but she was a lion. Girls hated her, and guys wanted to fuck her. I wanted to fuck her, and given the off chance that she wasn’t really a bitch, I would.

She leaned into me, her eyes gazing at my lips. I could tell she wanted me. Since the incident with my father, Mimi and I had a push and pull game going on. She would push me to my furthest, and I would pull back.

“But you do, Corey. You care. You can sit here and pretend like it doesn’t hurt you to degrade someone who has had nothing to do with your father’s affair, but it does.”

The moment my mind registered what she said, I was seething. Not many people knew about what my father had done yet, and I wanted to know how Mimi found out. I gripped her by the arm hard, pulling her body into mine. Her scent surrounded me as a small gasp left her lips.

“How the fuck do you know about my father?” I demanded. There was no trying to lie about it or cover it up. If Mimi knew something, it was possible that everyone would know in a matter of hours. She leaned into me closer, our lips almost touching, our eyes meeting, and I held my breath… She was beautiful; that was one thing I would give her.

“I know because I’m Mimi-fucking-Jones, and Mimi-fucking-Jones knows all.” A sly smile tugged at her lips as she pried herself from my hold. I had five seconds to do something to teach her that she wouldn’t win, that she wouldn’t always get the last say. I grabbed her arm, spinning her around before she could get away and pressed my lips to hers.

A gasp left her mouth, filling mine with her sweet air. We molded together firmly, and suddenly it wasn’t just a game of who was in control, it was a real kiss. Her hands grasped my shoulders and mine wove into her hair. I felt her walls coming back up as she pulled away.

A look of anger was on her face, but a fiery passion was burning in her eyes.

“Don’t touch me again,” she ordered with venom in her voice before she turned and walked away. Yeah, she had another thing coming if she thought I wouldn’t be touching her again. One kiss would never be enough.

I am wrenched from my sweet dream by the blaring of my phone. I growl before opening my eyes. Honestly, who in their right mind would be trying to call or text me at this time?

I roll over and pick up the phone, fully intent on ripping someone a new asshole. Jenna’s name runs across the screen and a fear rips through me. What if something happened to Mimi?

“Hello,” I say, trying to hide the worry from my voice. A sigh sounds on the other end of the phone.

“I need you to come down here and babysit Mimi. She hasn’t been eating or showering, and I honestly think it would be best if you came and stayed with her for a little awhile.” I know Jenna is being sincere. How will Mimi react to this, though? Will she think I am moving in for the kill? I won’t lie - I want her so badly even though I know she isn’t ready yet.

“Is that really…” My voice is cut off by Jenna’s.

“Yes, it is. I think it’s the best damn idea ever. It’s time for you two to come together. You being away from her causes her more stress. I don’t care what kind of defense mechanism she puts up, Corey, look past it, look deep inside her because she’s in there barely keeping herself above water.”

Her words cause something to stir within me, something that scares me more than anything. Is Mimi really drowning in her sorrows? Did I hurt her so deeply that she can’t handle it? My heart starts racing. I know I have to make things right, but I can’t figure out how.