Doctor's Baby - BWWM Romance (Doctor's Love Book 3) (4 page)

Chapter 7

Meeka tried to push the inevitable discussion out of her mind while she went through her day. When it was time to go to the park, she almost didn’t go. She knew that she shouldn’t meet with Johnny, but she rationalized that it was just to talk. It was not like they were going to do anything.

She did go and she even put on a little makeup. It was just to look more presentable. Meeka was walking Carter for a while and she was starting to think that maybe he had decided not to come after all. Sitting down at one of the many benches scattered throughout the park, Meeka picked up her son and held him against her as he watched the people walking in the park. It was just beautiful and even without an adult companion, Meeka enjoyed the fresh air.

“Meeka.”

“Hey, Johnny, how are you? I was wondering if you were going to make it today.”

“Sorry I was running late. “

Johnny actually had  to build up his nerves before he left the house. He was afraid that he was going to get aroused and didn’t want to scare her off. While he knew that she was attracted to him and he hoped that one day they might be together again, he did not want to scare her away like he had before. He tried not to give away why he was late as she looked at him strangely for a moment.

Meeka did not have to guess, as Johnny never had been good with hiding his feelings, whether they were good or bad. Her eyes flicked down to his pant front and she remembered how large he was. The look seemed to make him jerk in his pants, though she tried to tell herself that she had imagined it.

“Don’t worry about it. We all have those days.”

“What about those years?”

“Come on, Meeka, you know how I feel about you, don’t you?”

“I think so. But you know I'm married, Johnny.”

“But are you happy?”

Meeka paused for a moment. She shouldn’t have, but the question caught her off guard. While it was something that she had been asking herself lately, it was strange to hear it spoken out loud. To actually hear the words of the question made her rethink her answer. She should have just said yes though, because she accidently gave him a hope that she shouldn’t have.

“Yes, Johnny.”

“You hesitated.”

“I was shocked by the question.”

Meeka pulled Carter off of her shoulder and laid the sleeping baby in the stroller. After a few moments, she pulled her gaze from her sleeping son and looked over to Johnny. Her eyes passed over his hard body and remembered how good he had looked naked. His cock was becoming more prominent and Meeka licked her lips nervously.

“I'm happy, but I think all marriages have…issues.”

She didn’t want to say problems, but it was what it was. They were having issues and she knew it was natural, but when her and Rick fought, it did not seem natural at all. It was unnatural not to be with him and she felt horrible that they were not meshing very well lately.

“So have you found yourself someone special yet?”

Meeka was trying to stop the conversation from going back to them. He shook his head and tried to pull his gaze from her.

“Would you like to get some lunch, Meeka? I remember you were always hungry at work.”

***

“Some things never change. So how is everybody doing?”

Meeka was happy to get the subject off of the awkwardness that they had gotten into. He was the perfect gentlemen the rest of the afternoon and Meeka did not leave the restaurant until her son was up and fussing. She bid him farewell outside of the establishment. She moved in to kiss him on the cheek, but their lips met and she pulled back in a rush.

“Uh sorry, Meeka, but damn I miss those soft lips of yours.”

“Be good, Johnny. You're talking to a married woman.”

“I know, but it's hard to forget when you weren’t. You're hard to forget.”

They agreed to meet in a couple of days and she hoped that he could keep his mind out of the gutter next time. Even with his randy eyes, he was still a really sweet guy and it was good to catch up. It was good to have someone else to talk to besides Rick and the kids. She waved one last time as she looked back, the smile on her face genuine.

***

Candace moved back behind her menu at Mack’s. She immediately recognized the dark woman as the head doctor’s wife. She had just started at the hospital a few months ago, but everyone knew Rick, thus every woman envied Meeka. The petite blonde could not believe that anyone would cheat on such a nice guy and the chaste kiss was not so innocent in her eyes. She snapped a picture of the two as they pulled away and started to walk in the other direction. Candace was going to have to tell Rick the bad news and she would be there to take his mind off of her. The last thought brought a smile to her hopeful face.

Chapter 8

“Hey, baby. How was your day?”

Rick’s face was in a scowl when he looked at her and then his eyes glanced at Malik at the table doing his homework. He snapped his mouth shut and said nothing as he sat down at the table-. Meeka knew not to pry, though she wondered what had him so upset. She figured that he must have had a bad day at work and didn’t want to mention something in front of the kids.

“Well we had a good day at the park. Malik will be starting at his old school on Monday, so he is really excited about that.”

Rick nodded, though his scowl deepened. Meeka was starting to worry that there was something going on and she asked him to help her in the kitchen. He declined and instead helped Malik finish his homework before dinner. Meeka went into the kitchen alone and had a weird feeling come over her as she got the plates out. Something was definitely wrong and she wondered what it was.

***

“Do you want to take a bath with me and get dirty?”

Meeka smiled, but Rick was not in an amused mood. Meeka’s smile faltered, not sure why he was so upset. He was mad about something.

“What’s wrong, Rick?”

“Nothing. How was your day? Busy?”

The words were spit out and sounded sarcastic. Her thoughts went to Johnny for a second, but she pushed that out of her mind.

“It kind of was. Had to get stuff done. Cleaned, cooked, ran errands, took Carter to the park, had lunch and that was about it. How was your day?”

“I worked, like I was supposed to.”

“What does that mean? Am I not doing something you think I'm supposed to be doing?”

Meeka was catching his anger like it was contagious. She did not like where it was going and she started to feel like it was because she wasn’t working.

“You were the one that told me not to work.”

“I don’t want you working.”

“So what is all this about then?”

Meeka motioned in front of her with her arms. He was standing over her and his eyes blazed. She could see the vein in his neck throbbing and his temple jumped like he was gritting his teeth. Meeka had never seen him mad like that at her and he started to make her nervous.

“Did you see anybody today? Any old friends?”

The last word was spit out and his eyes nearly glowed with emotion. Her mind revisited her first thought about Johnny and had the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. It would have been better if she had mentioned it or just turned around and walked away when she had seen him at the park. The accusation in his eyes reminded her that she had done nothing wrong and did not deserve that look on his face.

“I ran into Johnny yesterday and then we had lunch today. I guess that is what you are all steaming about I take it?”

“How can you be so nonchalant about it?”

“What, that I had lunch with someone I used to work with? It was in public and all very innocent, Rick.”

“You did more than work with him, Meeka and you know it. How about I have lunch with Marla?”

“Go ahead and see what happens. Marla tried to split us up. There is a big difference there. Johnny and me were together when we split up.”

“Johnny huh?”

Meeka sighed and rolled onto her back, staring up at the ceiling fan. She noticed it needed to be cleaned, while Rick circled around her like prey.

“So you're done talking about this?”

“No, Rick, but what do you want me to say?”

“Say something for Christ’s sake. You can’t just be seen with one of your ex-boyfriends and think that nothing needs to be said.”

“I would hardly call him an ex-boyfriend, Rick, we went out one time. He was a friend for a lot longer than that. I miss my old friends. I don’t know anyone here.”

Rick sighed and sat down next to her. Meeka sat up and looked at him. He was not so mad as before, but he was sad.

“Out of all the people, did it have to be him?”

“I saw him at the park. It was not like I searched him out.”

“No, but you knew it would hurt me, didn’t you?”

“No, I thought you wouldn’t know and didn’t see a point in telling you for you to get all mad like this.”

“So you just kept it from me?”

“To save your feelings.”

Meeka wished she could have sucked the words back up. It was not the right thing to say and Rick’s eyes darkened further.

“I can’t believe you, Meeka. You can be so damn cold sometimes.”

“Why should it be such a big deal? You're supposed to trust me and not freak out. I knew you were going to freak out and there is no reason to. If you saw us, you should have just come over, instead of this.”

“If I would have seen you, Johnny would be at my E.R. I got the news from one of the nurses from work. Do you know how embarrassing that was?”

“Oh so it is an image thing? And when did you turn into Rocky?”

“When someone is sniffing around something that is mine.”

“Something? Are you serious?”

Meeka was getting more and more upset. Sometimes he was just too damn dominant and drove her crazy. He seemed to forget that she was doing just fine without him. It wasn’t true, but that is what she told herself. Her anger was only in her eyes and her voice was level and even.

“I think I'm going to sleep in the kids’ room. Good night, Rick.”

His hand on her arm stopped her from leaving. She looked at him with a deadly look and he released her immediately.

“This is not finished, Meeka.”

“Oh, I think it is.”

Chapter 9

Their romantic night was a bust and Meeka woke up in her eldest son’s bed. It was not that she was curled almost into a pretzel in the small bed, but that Rick was not with her in it. She could feel the loss and she wished it had gone differently. She wished that she had walked away from Johnny that day in the park. He was a friend, but not worth losing Rick.

Meeka decided that she would go talk to him. She didn’t have to pick up the kids until that afternoon, so there was still time to salvage their day. Creeping into the bedroom, she stopped when she saw that the door was closed. That threw her off, but not nearly as much as when she opened the door and found the room empty. The bed had not been slept in and there was a note on the night stand.

“Meeka,

I took an extra shift last night and I will take another one today. I should be home tonight.

Rick”

Meeka read it again and she felt her eyes start to water. She could not believe that he had left and picked up extra shifts on his days off. They barely saw each other as it was and she felt like it was all going downhill. The bad feeling was back in her stomach and she wished she hadn’t left the room. Meeka knew that she was in the wrong and as much as she wanted to blame him for being jealous, she shouldn’t have made him feel that way. Though on the other hand, she was torn because she hadn’t done anything wrong. How was she supposed to be responsible for his feelings?

She sighed to herself, conflicted. Meeka decided not to call him and let him cool down, as that is what she would have needed if she was as mad as he apparently was. She took a long bath and decided to go over to her mother’s early for lunch. If nothing else, her mother would be able to give her some of her no-holds-barred advice that she needed so terribly bad right then.

***

“Hey, Momma. How was the visit?”

“Whew, I sometimes forget how hard having young ones was. Malik has been big for so long, but oh I miss it. You and your brother were about that far apart and oh my, what I wouldn’t give to turn back the clock sometimes. Having grandbabies is almost as good, but then I have to give them back.”

“Well you can always have them another day if you want to. Me and Rick are having some issues that needed to be ironed out.”

“Oh, well where is he?”

“At work, he took a couple extra shifts because we got into it.”

“About what?”

Meeka sent a questioning look to her mom.

“They are in the living room with your father, though I think Carter is down for his nap. He just ate. What did you guys get into it about?”

“Johnny.”

“Bringing up old stuff again huh? I thought you guys were passed that.”

“We were. I had lunch with Johnny a couple of times and someone saw us and went back to him…”

“Meeka!”

“What?”

She did not like the look on her mother’s face. It had almost as much accusation in it as Rick had the night before. Another sigh before she sat down at the kitchen table. It was becoming apparent that she was not as right as she thought she was. Her mother never pulled any punches.

“You shouldn’t have done that. I hope you're not thinking about leaving your husband for that restaurant manager. You know, your husband, the doctor.”

“Mom, it's not all about money. I wouldn’t care if my husband had a minimum wage job. Besides, it's not even like that. We are just friends.”

“Baby, men and women are not friends.”

Meeka snorted. She had heard the argument before.

“You know that is not true. You have never been friends with a man before and done nothing with him?”

“I didn’t say that, but one of the people always wants more.”

“Well I just want to be friends with him. It really was innocent.”

“Yeah, but he wants more, doesn’t he?”

“Of course.”

Meeka was shocked at the answer, but she knew it was true. Being around Johnny was a big ego boost to her, just because of the way he looked at her and the desire in his eyes. She was also still attracted to him, but she was not tempted to go further. She loved Rick and their life together. Meeka met her mother’s gaze and she just looked at her like, “see?”

“I can’t help it if he likes me. He knows I’m married.”

“But you went and had lunch with him anyways. I’m sorry Meeka, but I think I'm taking Rick’s side on this one. You know you did wrong.”

“I guess I just don’t see it like that.”

“Well you should because he does. Let me keep the babies for another night and you go make up with your husband. You guys are too good together to be having all this drama between you two. If you love each other, make it work.”

If only it was that easy, Meeka thought. There was the whole pride thing to get over and the fact that she really did not see her wrongdoing.

“Thank you, Momma. I guess I will go do some shopping, get something nice to wear.”

“There you go, now you are thinking, child. Fill that man’s stomach and wear something red, he will be over his issues quickly.”

Her mother laughed and looked off as if she was remembering a similar time. Her parents had been married for over thirty years and she had done something right to make it all work out.

“You always have the best advice, Mom.”

“You knew it yourself, Meeka, though sometimes you have to hear it out loud.”