Happenstance (12 page)

“Is that why you’re throwing like a girl?” He throws the ball
back to me, hard, but I make sure I don’t wince. He seems impressed and I’m not
about to change that. It’s just the right weather for me; a few clouds and a
light breeze. The clouds help conceal the sun so although it is warm, it’s not
unbearably hot. I grab a bottle of water from the cooler and sit down on the
table to watch as Jared plays a few more rounds of catch with Lucky. I can see
the muscles on his arm contract when he pulls back to throw the ball, the little
bit of v I see when his shirt rides up, and God that ass . . . my eyes trail up
to his face and he’s staring at me with lustful eyes. Or I should say
,
he’s staring in between my legs. I know how short my
shorts are and that sitting on this table is giving him a really good view. I
slowly open my legs a little bit wider, just a little bit, and watch his
reaction. He takes in a sharp breath.

“Don’t tempt me baby or I’ll take you on that table.”

I smile and look all around me. “Well, no one is stopping you.”

Before I can blink, he’s standing in front of me, planting
himself
right in between my legs. I gasp when he tugs on my
hair and pulls me back while he sucks on my throat and collarbone. I start to
close my eyes, getting lost in his kisses, when he speaks.

“I love you,” he says.

“What?” I ask hoarsely.

He doesn’t answer. Instead I feel his fingers slip into my shorts
as he pulls my panties aside and I can feel his bare cock against my skin.

I gasp as he enters me, smiling.

“You heard me.” And when I look into his eyes I can feel the
weight of his words down to my core. I run my fingers through his hair and pull
him down to kiss him with all the passion I feel for him. He groans before
pulling back and whispers into my mouth, “I’m not going to share you, Victoria.
You belong to me.”

I pull up my head a little to kiss him again but he grabs my hair
and pulls me back down.

“Say it. You belong to me.”

His words alone are my release and I come at that moment, just
barely making out the words, “I belong to you, Jared.”

He smiles at me and pulls himself off only to enter me again with
a swift thrust that leaves me gasping. I lean up to gently bite his neck and
give him soft kisses as he continues his assault, leaving us both breathless by
the time he finishes and lies on top of me.

“I have to find the dog,” he whispers into my ear.

“What!” I push him off of me and he laughs.

“
Relax,
I can see him from here. He’s
just exploring.” He winks and he runs away before I can smack him.

I get our lunch ready and we tie up Lucky to the bench so he can
eat his food without exploring further. I’m on a natural high. The sunshine on
my skin, my boys by my side, the happiness I feel gives me the push I need to
tell him about my past. If I’m going to be his, I need to let that go.

“I met Eric my last year of graduate school. He was studying at
the school library with a classmate of mine when I showed up with coffee.” I
start and I can see his jaw tighten so I pick at my sandwich and continue.

“Eric and I immediately hit it off and he asked for my number
that same night before I left. After a few dates, I knew I wanted to be with
him and only him. Eric was older than me by a few years but it took him a
longer time to get his degree so we ended up graduating the same year. He was
smart and ambitious; quickly getting an amazing job assisting the president of
a luxury resort in South Beach. Everything seemed to be falling into place and
I thought I had struck gold. I finished my internship at a local school and he
was also doing well, learning and advancing in his career. He proposed on our
one year anniversary, he told me all he was missing in his life was his ideal
wife.”

I feel Jared rub his thumb along my shoulders, but he doesn’t
interrupt me so I continue.

“As far as I was concerned our first year was great. We bought a
house and Eric moved up the corporate ladder. I didn’t continue on to become a
teacher because he was able to support me and wanted me to relax and take care
of things at home. But somewhere along the second year, I knew that something
was off, something was missing. He was starting to travel a lot more leaving me
home alone and when he did come home he was busy on the laptop working or going
out to hang with his friends.” I stop to take a sip of water and clear my
throat.

“I got pregnant and he freaked out. He said we were still so
young, still had a lot of other things to do in life. I wasn’t trying to
belittle his reasoning. It was an unexpected pregnancy and he made valid
points. Still, it broke my heart that he wasn’t the least bit excited. And yet,
I still thought it was just stress from the job and dismissed his outings and
neglect. Until that one night, the only night that I ever decided to follow
him. I tried to convince myself that I would just be going to surprise him. After
all, I knew his friends and we always got along great. Truth was
,
I was just lying to myself.”

“I’ll never forget how I felt when I looked through the window
and found him making out with another woman. In disbelief, I even foolishly
walked inside the bar, certain I must have not been looking at the right man.
But there he was, with his arms around another woman. The scene I made at the
bar that day was like something out of a movie. We were divorced six months
later.”

 
Jared doesn’t take his
eyes off of me while I tell the story, nor does he move his arm from around my
shoulder. I notice now he has even stopped eating.

“Your sandwich is getting soggy,” I tell him, already anxious to
change the subject. He ignores my comment.

“What happened to the baby?” he asks softly.

My eyes fill with tears and all I can do is shake my head.

“I miscarried,” I whisper and quickly swipe at a tear that
escaped. He pulls me closer and runs his fingers through my hair. We sit like
this for several minutes in silence until he pulls away and tilts my head up to
look at him.

“Your ex is a real douchebag.”

I smile meekly. That’s for sure.

I see a group of people arriving just as we walk back to his car.
I’m glad we got the chance to be alone and enjoy the park. Suddenly I see a man
step away from his friends to grab a cooler from the truck and I freeze on the
spot. No. It can’t be him. It’s not. He looks to be a little shorter and a
little heavier but I can’t catch my breath.

A Boston Red cap is in my
line of vision and I can hear a chuckle against my ear. “Don’t worry,
sweetheart. This won’t hurt.”

“Baby . . .” my voice trails off. I can’t speak. Oh my God, I
can’t breathe. I clutch at my stomach and double over.

“V?” Jared turns around and then runs over to me. “Victoria?” he
kneels in front of me and grabs my shoulders. “Victoria! What is it?” I look up
and his face is pale, which just causes me to feel light headed. I grab his arm
to steady myself so I don’t fall backwards on my ass.
It’s not him. It’s not him. It’s not him.

“Baby, talk to me!” I can hear him but I can’t answer. I’m
shaking and my legs feel like jelly. He tries to get me up but I shake my head
wildly.

“No . . .” I whisper. I shake my head again.
It’s not him. It’s not him. It’s not him
.

“I’m calling an ambulance.”

“No.” I pull him so that we can both sit down and I focus on
taking deep breaths.
Breathe, Victoria.
Just breathe.
He ties
Lucky’s
collar to his ankle
so he can sit next to me shoulder to shoulder and takes me in his arms,
cradling my head on his chest as he runs his hands through my hair.

“I’m sorry,” I tell him, when I find my voice again. I place my
palm to my chest and I can feel my heart rate starting to slow down. He must
think I’m crazy. We’re sitting on the sidewalk huddled together as if we are
lost in the middle of a deserted town. I completely lost it a few minutes ago
and I bury my face in his chest, embarrassed with myself.

“Don’t be sorry, baby girl,” he caresses my face softly. And I
know he’s giving me time: Time to think, time to speak, time to breathe. “What
happened?”

I exhale. “The guy with the Boston cap . . . That’s the same cap
. . .” My voice gets lost in my throat and I swallow hard so I can compose myself.

Jared’s body is rigid. “Was that
fucker
wearing a cap?” he growls.

I swallow hard again. “His friend was.”

Jared forms a fist so tight I see his knuckles turn white. “Call
the police Victoria. Talk to them. Talk to anyone.”

No.
I turn my body
around and climb up onto his lap wrapping my legs around him and burying my
face in his neck. “I can’t. It’s too late.”

He lets out a breath but doesn’t say anything more. We hold each
other for the next several minutes. I’m grasping for my strength by a thin cord
while he focuses on controlling his.

Chapter
Thirteen

November 2011

Jared

I grab the handle of her luggage and begin to roll it
down the walkway.

“Jared
wait
,” Victoria says behind me as
she locks the door. “Are you sure I look ok?” I turn around and she’s frowning
at me, fidgeting with her necklace. I know she’s nervous about meeting my mom
for the first time, but I told her not to overdo it and she’s wearing jeans and
a tank top. In my opinion, she looks as gorgeous as always. I walk over to her
and kiss her on the nose.

“Baby, you look gorgeous as always. Don’t worry, she’ll love
you.” I reach down with my free hand and lace my fingers with hers as we walk
towards the car. My Ma is standing outside the passenger door. She is petite
and round in the middle with short black hair and kind eyes. I don’t introduce
her to a lot of girls so I know she’s excited to meet Victoria.

I pull Victoria to my side.

“Ma, this is my gorgeous
girlfriend,
Victoria.” I make sure to emphasize girlfriend so Victoria can hear it. Sure
enough I glance at her and her cheeks flare up; I don’t know what the big deal
is.

“Victoria, this is my beautiful Ma—Carrie.”

Victoria extends her hand. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you
Carrie.”

“Oh, none of that, I give hugs.” Before I can even smirk Victoria
finds herself enveloped in my mom’s soft embrace. I should have warned her but
she seems to be enjoying it. Good, get used to it baby. Victoria insists that
my mother go in the front seat much to my dismay but it turns out to be ok
since Ma has a bad knee and needs the extra room to stretch. Luckily my mom is
so talkative that it helps pass the time during the drive to Miami.

“So, Jared tells me you have a dog? That’s how you two met?” She
asks Victoria.

“Yes, I hit Lucky with my car and brought him in to Jared’s
clinic. He’s in boarding now till we get back.”

“I love hearing how people meet. Jared’s father and I met at a
concert. It was the most random thing too.”
Well,
fuck
. Why do we have to talk about my father now? I swear this woman
sometimes does this on purpose.

I know this has caught Victoria’s attention because she leans
forward. I haven’t been able to talk to her about my dad and why I don’t like
to talk about him. It isn’t anything too crazy and it’s not something that I
need to heal from so I don’t see the point in bringing him up.
Ever.
All she needs to know is that my parents divorced and
I haven’t seen my dad in ages.

“Oh? I’d love to hear about it. Jared rarely tells me about his
past.” I can practically feel her eyes burning into the back of my head but I
avoid looking in the rearview mirror.

I’m not in agreement with this conversation. “There isn’t much to
tell.
Anyone ready for a rest stop?”
I shift in my
seat. Ma glances over at me for a few seconds and I glance back hoping she can
tell what I’m thinking. Then she sighs. Good, not today.

“Yeah honey. I could use a break.” She sounds sad and that
immediately fills me up with guilt. My mom thinks I should be able to just
discuss it like if it’s all good and he didn’t desert his family but why should
I even give him that? I’m hoping Victoria will just let it go.

The rest of the trip is pretty silent with Ma nodding off for the
last hour but we finally reach Miami.

“It’s so
late,
I sure hope we don’t wake
up your grandmother.” I hear my mom tell Victoria as I take the bags out of the
trunk.

“Oh, Abu is awake. She’s always had trouble sleeping so she stays
up late.” As if hearing her words, the front door opens and sure enough, out
steps her beloved grandmother.

Victoria smiles and runs to her. “Abu,” she says and gives her a
hug. Tiny woman, but you can tell she is full of heart.

“
Mija
, so good to have you here.”
She hugs her back.

After making all of the introductions I learn that her
grandmother’s name is really Liliana and she is also fond of giving hugs (my
mom is thrilled). Liliana gives us a tour and shows us to our rooms, ours being
Victoria’s old bedroom. I’m inwardly relieved that I’m not expected to stay on
the sofa or some other separate room and I realize that V’s grandma is pretty
cool.

Her room is simple with a queen bed (yes!) and light gray
comforter. It’s pretty clean with a small white dresser and two shelves filled
with a lot of high school mementos. I take my time to look at her frames and
awards from
baseball that are
lined up on the shelves
while she unpacks her stuff. She was a hot little chick even in her younger
days. I turn around and catch her ass pointing my way as she’s bent over getting
stuff from the luggage. I smile and walk behind her grabbing her waist and
pushing her against me. I’m hard already.