Chasing Butterflies (21 page)

My son nodded. It sounded as though Lenny had been prepping her son for this eventual knowledge.

“Odin is that kind of dad. He wasn’t the dad who helped Mommy give you life.”

“Who is?”

Her small finger pointed at me. The boy’s neck craned back to look at me.

“Is that why he has the same eyes as me?”

She choked out an unintelligible word but nodded.

“You’re my dad.”

I knelt down to meet him man to man. “Yes, I’m your dad.” And I didn’t need a blood test to confirm that. He looked like my brother and me as kids.

“What’s going on here?” I glanced up to see Shell. “Oh my God, your face,” she said, pointing out the obvious with her finger in Lenny’s direction. Then Shell turned glacial eyes at me. “You didn’t, did you? I will so have your ass. You know I’m from around here. What you didn’t know was that my brother is a cop and my dad is a lawyer.”

“It wasn’t him,” Lenny choked out. Her voice sounded like walking over gravel.

“What are you doing, Shell? Why are you here?”

She held up a finger before she punched in some numbers on her phone. “Greg, get your ass over here, now!”

“Language,” Brie admonished.

Chance had made it over to Brie’s side, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

“First, I’m here because you left your hoodie on the bus.” Shell tossed it at me as Lenny’s eyes found mine, and I shouldn’t have felt guilty. “Second, my brother’s coming over so he can arrest whatever asshole did this.”

In less than fifteen minutes, the cops and the rest of my roommates stood with us as Lenny gave a statement to Shell’s brother.

“I wanted first crack at him, Shell,” I whispered a few feet away.

“I know you did. I saw your eyes. You would have done something stupid to mess up the case. If you fought, he could claim his bruised knuckles happened in the fight with you. That asshole needs to go down. So calm yourself.”

Everything she said made sense, and I respected Shelly more in that moment than I ever had.

“So,” she began. “That’s your son.”

I nodded.

“Well, at least I didn’t lose you to just any girl. A baby momma is a respectable person to lose to.”

“Shell—”

“You don’t have to explain. I see how you look at her. I want that one day. Now go be there with her.”

The cops were walking away. Shell’s brother, Greg, was just saying something final to Lenny. Shell left me in favor of Ashton and Sawyer, who were tossing a ball to Mason. I moved toward Lenny.

“Take her to the hospital, Brie,” Greg said as I walked up.

Brie nodded.

Chance said, “I’ll go with you.”

“Me too,” I declared.

Lenny’s eyes shot over at me. “Please stay with Mason.” I glanced over at my friends. “I know they are having fun, but I don’t know them. And I trust you.”

The fact that she trusted me was a win. But somehow I nodded, still feeling helpless. I couldn’t kick Ox’s ass, and I couldn’t be there for Lenny. I would be there for my son. The resilient little boy didn’t seem fazed that his whole world had changed. He was more interested in playing ball. What did that say about Ox as a father?

“I could bring him with me,” I offered.

She shook her head. “He’s seen enough. He needs to get ready for bed soon.” The sun that had been low in the sky when we arrived was long gone. “I managed to pack him a bag while Ox was in the bathroom before I headed out. Everything he needs is here.”

The bag she held seemed so small. What did kids need? Was he potty-trained? Did he need a special diet? But she trusted me, and I needed her not to worry. So I didn’t ask. I figured Mason might be able to answer some of my questions. If not, I would call my stepmom. Maybe she could help.

“Don’t worry, he’ll be fine,” Shell said, coming up behind me.

The jealousy I
expected didn’t come. I was too sore and tired to worry about Shelly playing house with Kelley. Mason would be safe, I chanted in my head as Brie drove to the hospital.

“That asshole better hope he stays in jail overnight. Otherwise, I’m going with Kelley to show him what it feels like to be helpless,” Chance said.

“You’re not helping,” Brie complained.

“I am. He’s not going to stop until he gets his ears, nose, and throat test.”

Even I was baffled by his statement, but Brie asked the question before I did. “I’m almost afraid to ask, but what test are you talking about?”

“You know, the test they’ll run on him after Kelley uses his fist to give the guy a nose job that will most likely send his front teeth into the back of his throat and cause his ears to ring. They’ll need to test to make sure everything is still functional after that.”

I almost laughed, but my face hurt too much. Lucky for me, my time at the hospital was limited to only a couple of hours. They had to run tests to see if I had a concussion, along with X-rays. The humiliation came when Greg showed up with a forensic photographer from the county to catalog my injuries. Another round of questions and after I’d given my official statement, I was sent home with the knowledge that Ox was in custody.

I didn’t go back to the apartment. Brie dropped me off at Kelley’s. They’d called ahead, and I learned Mason was asleep. But I needed to see him more than going back to the hell hole and getting a change of clothes for myself.

One of Kelley’s roommates let me in.

“Lenny, your son is funny as hell.”

“Thanks, Ashton.” I thought that was his name.

“I hope you’re staying the night. I promised the little man we would finish our game in the morning.”

“Yeah, okay.”

I didn’t want to brush him off, but I needed to go see my son was safe.

“He’s in Kelley’s room,” Ashton called out. “It’s the first door on the right down that way.”

He pointed upstairs. I let out a sigh of relief when I entered Kelley’s room and saw Mason curled on the bed fast asleep. I leaned down and listened to his soft breath before kissing his forehead. Then I left the room in search of Kelley.

“Are you looking for him?”

I turned and saw Chance hadn’t gone with Brie. I’d left them in the car when we arrived. I nodded.

“He’s in the shower,” he added with a smirk on his face.

There was a challenge in his eye, and I took it. I followed the sound of running water to a closed door. I held the knob a second before I talked myself into turning it. And lucky me, it opened.

Steam filled the room as I watched Kelley’s shadow behind the opaque curtain. He didn’t move from his position under the spray and hadn’t seemed to notice I’d come in. I shouldn’t have peeked, but I did only to be disappointed when I found him standing fully dressed under the water.

“Kelley,” I gasped.

He turned eyes cloaked in shadows on me. Then his arm snaked out, and I was yanked into the shower. Before I could process what was happening, he turned us so that water rained down on me.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

Kelley didn’t speak. He fisted his hand in my soggy clothing and pulled me closer. He leaned in and nuzzled at my neck.

“I need you, Len,” he growled.

I needed him too. So I nodded. Then we were helping each other out of our wet clothes. They plopped down on the tiles in a dripping mess. But none of that mattered. He pressed gentle kisses on my eyes and nose and brushed his lips over mine. He whispered, “Were you safe with him?”

He wasn’t talking about safety, but rather protection of the small square foil kind. But the last thing I wanted to do was think about what sex was like with Ox. Still, I answered, “Always.”

“Good, because I don’t have a condom, and I can’t wait.”

Gingerly he lifted me up and his mouth was on my bare breast, sucking as my body hummed with lust and burned with fire.

“What about you?” I managed before he tested my wetness with his finger.

“Always, except with you.”

My back pressed into the cool tiles, which didn’t bother me in the least. He slid me further up until I felt the tip of him at my entrance. “Now,” I begged.

Too slowly, I rode the happy trail down his length. It seemed to take forever as he stretched me in ways I hadn’t been stretched since we were last together.

“God, Lenny, you’re so fucking tight.”

The better to grip you with my dear
, the inappropriate change of the nursery rhyme made me giggle out loud when there was nothing funny. I was drunk on joy because the moment was everything I’d hoped it to be with Kelley.

His eyes laser focused on mine made me feel special in a way I’d never felt before. My stomach dropped and flipped over a few times in excitement. I’d never thought I’d be with him again. It felt like coming home.

“If you’re laughing, I’m not doing something right.”

I bit his ear, making him laugh. “See, some things are funny. But believe me, I’m so fucking glad to be here with you.”

Then he moved and all talk disappeared. Each movement hit every magic button inside me. He rolled his hips, keeping my happy clit even happier.

“I’m close,” I called out automatically and bit my lip, not wanting to think of Ox and his requirements.

Kelley didn’t know or didn’t care. He sped up and his thrusts became more frantic until we were both moaning and groaning out our pleasure.

After catching our breaths, he pulled back. “I hope you’re on the pill, otherwise I’m sure I got you pregnant.”

Somehow we made it back to Kelley’s room. I fell asleep with Mason curled in the middle of the bed and us on either side of him, our fingers twinned together. When I woke, the clock read it was too early to be up, and I was alone.

Making my way downstairs, voices grew clearer the closer I got.

“You know how to make breakfast?” Mason asked.

“Yes, we men need to know how to cook for ourselves,” Kelley answered.

“My…”

“It’s okay for you to call him Dad,” Kelley said.

“He hurt Mommy a lot. I’m glad he’s not my dad. What’s his name?”

“Odin.”

“That’s a funny name.”

I didn’t yet see Kelley as I paused on the stairs, but I could imagine him shrugging.

“He never cooked. Mommy always did.”

“Your mom is sleeping. So if you want breakfast, I guess I’ll have to do.”

“Okay, Dad.”

And just like that, my tough three-year-old accepted his new father as easily as changing a channel on the TV. And I guessed some kids were like that. I was sure he would pepper Kelley with a million questions. And part of me wanted to sit on the stairs and listen to it all. Instead, I turned back, not wanting to interfere with their bonding moment. On the way back up, I lamented on the fact that Mason had seen Ox hurt me. Unfortunately, I couldn’t take that back. I could only hope in the years to come, Mason’s young mind would forget those awful moments. However, the best thing about this whole ordeal was how easily Kelley had taken on the role of father.

Midmorning, Kelley entered the room. “Hey.”

“Where’s Mason?” I asked automatically.

He held up a hand. “Slow down, Mom. I just left him outside with Sawyer and Ashton. They’re tossing a ball around, trying to teach him to catch. I thought it might be a good time for us to talk.”

The talk
. His seriousness freaked me out.

“You’re not going back to live in that apartment.”

It wasn’t a question. Still, I balked. “We can’t stay here.”

“Why not?”

“We can’t. What, are we all going to sleep here on your bed every night? Do you know how long it took me to get Mason to sleep on his own?” I shook my head. “Besides, we’re not together.”

I’d said it, hoping he would contradict me. It was a passive move on my part, but my nerves were frayed.

“We aren’t together, yet. But he’s my son. You’re both my responsibility.”

I bit my lip to stop it from trembling. I’d wanted last night to mean something. And apparently it only had for me. But I took a deep breath and tried a different tact.

“I’m not your responsibility.”

“Fine, you go and Mason can stay with me.”

My jaw dropped. “No way!”

He wasn’t taking my son away from me, which was part of the reason I hadn’t told him right away. It might have been selfish, but I wanted to know my rights and Kelley’s as well.

“Then stop playing games. You have to know by now how I feel about you. But I’m still so fucking mad. I need time. But I also need you both safe. I have some money saved up. I can probably pay a couple of months’ rent somewhere for the both of you until I can get a job.”

“Job, you can’t get a job if you’re on a sports scholarship.” That much I knew.

“I know. I also know I’m a dad now. I won’t be like my father and let you support our kid. I will do my part.”

We were at an impasse, because there was no way I would let Kelley give up his future for us.