One Simple Step (Journey Series) (19 page)

I dipped down, touching our foreheads together before smashing my lips into his. He growled into my mouth as I opened it, waiting for his tongue to enter. He kissed me like I had never been kissed before, still keeping his hands in place behind his head. It almost made it more sensual that way, but I couldn’t take it anymore.

I reluctantly pulled slightly away from his mouth. “You can touch me now.”

Before it was even all the way out of my mouth, he grabbed my hips, pulling me closer against his body. I felt one hand start to move down the side of my body, and once it landed in between my legs, relieving the ache that had become almost unbearable, I sighed in relief.

He pushed in one finger, and then two, making my hips grind into him even harder. I really needed to stop this or it would be finished way too soon. But it felt so damn good.

“Nick,” I panted out, reaching down to push his hand away and he luckily complied. I lifted up slightly, and his hands moved back to my hips as I sank down, his hardness filling me to the max, causing me to tip my head back and let out a moan. This seriously had to be the best feeling ever.

“So beautiful, Ally,” he whispered from underneath me. “I love you.” He pulled me down even harder, if that was possible, his hands moving around to cup my ass. I bent forward to brush my lips against his.

“I love you, too, Nicholas Bennett.” The love was what made this even better, made the feelings even more extreme, and made it almost overwhelming. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I sat back up, slowly moving on top of him, up and down, around and around, filling the need but not fulfilling it. Nick was going insane beneath me, bucking his hips up, his fingers digging into my ass. “Baby, think you can speed things up a little?” He whimpered slightly when I stopped all together, and I smiled down at him, loving that I was in control.

“I guess so,” I replied, nonchalantly, even though I wanted nothing more than to do exactly that. I pushed down harder, needing it deeper and faster, while we moved frantically, finding a steady rhythm as we panted together.

I felt that burst coming, I was right there on the edge, and then Nick sat up quickly, twisting us around so he was again on top. In control just like he wanted, but at that point I didn’t care. I grabbed onto the edge of the bed as I broke apart underneath him, and we came down from the high together, Nick collapsing breathlessly on top of me.

He pushed my hair back, raining kisses down on my face before burying his head into the crook of my neck. I wrapped my arms around him, loving the weight of his body on mine, as we laid there together in silence, the love between the two of us filling the room. We were completely lost in each other, and I wanted it to stay this way forever.

Chapter 19

Nick

God, I loved waking up with Ally wrapped around me. Her naked body belonging exactly right here. She was even gorgeous when she slept. Her dark eyelashes fanning against her golden skin, her blonde hair splayed out around her. Even her snoring was cute. She was convinced she didn’t do it. I was seriously gonna have to record that one night just to prove her wrong.

I hated to wake her up, but it was back to work for me today. I was looking forward to it, but I knew I would miss being with Ally every second like I had been recently. And then it would also give me time to myself, time to think about what in the hell I was going to do next.

I heard my phone beep next to the bed, and I quickly scooped it up, not wanting to wake Ally, who looked so peaceful.

Kara: I think we need to meet up then

Fuck. I squeezed my eyes shut for a second before switching my phone to silent. I knew that it was inevitable but it didn’t mean I had to like it. Dealing with Kara probably had to be the worst part of this.

Ally murmured something in her sleep, and my eyes darted back to her, thinking about what this would mean for our relationship. I should’ve already told her, and I felt guilty as hell that I hadn’t. I didn’t want to hurt her any more than she already had been. She didn’t deserve it. I wasn’t sure
how
to tell her, though. I didn’t even know what I was going to do yet.

“Ally.” I nudged her slightly, and she swatted at me, hitting the side of my arm before her light snoring started up again. I tried to unwrap my body from hers, but it wasn’t happening. “Ally.” I kicked her foot with mine, and she groaned.

“Nick, seriously. Stop.” She was not a morning person.

Whatsoever.

“Sorry.” I buried my face in her hair, loving that flowery smell of hers. “But I have to get up for work.”

“Fine,” she huffed, rolling to the other side of the bed. “You can go now. I’m going back to sleep. Have fun.”

“Alright, baby.” I kissed her cheek before hopping over her body to get up. By the time I was done showering and grabbing my cup of coffee for the morning, she had passed out again. I grinned as I quietly shut the door, sneaking one last look at her, loving that she was naked in my bed. If only she would just stay exactly like that until I came home.

My first day back at work was spent catching up practically non-stop, so when I looked at my phone, knowing that I needed to answer Kara, I still had no clue what I was actually going to say to her. Ally had mentioned something about going out for drinks with Remy, so I called Kara to see if she was available tonight, and she was.

Great.

Now I needed to figure out on the short ride over to her new place, with her new boyfriend, what exactly I was going to say to her.

“Hi, Nick.” Kara answered the door, stepping back to let me in, and I was amazed at how much her stomach had grown since the last time I had seen her. My hand brushed against her belly as she led me to the living room of the small ranch house that was in a pretty decent neighborhood. I was amazed at the thought that my kid was in there, and I was also amazed at how big of a bitch Kara was for just giving the baby up like this.

“Here.” She handed me a beer as she sat down on the love seat across from me, and I saw her fiddling with her hands like she was nervous.

“Something wrong?” I asked, after taking a long pull from the bottle. I had a feeling I was going to need it to get through this little talk.

“Um...” Her eyes darted towards the wide front window, and then back to mine. “Jared doesn’t know you’re here,” she answered quietly. “And I don’t think he would be very happy to find out that you were when he wasn’t around.”

I shrugged my shoulders, not really caring what the guy thought. He sounded like an asshole to me already, anyway. I mean, what kind of guy makes his girlfriend give up her baby? Kara did have a choice, obviously, but if he was so in love with her, then why couldn’t he just accept her the way she was? “This could’ve waited, I guess. Do you want me to come back when he’s here?” Not that I really wanted to. I had a feeling we really wouldn’t get along.

“No.” She waved me off, sat up straighter, and I could tell she was back into the Kara mode that I knew. Tough, in control, and not letting anyone tell her what to do. Why was this Jared so different?

“Let’s get this over with. So, you decided not to sign the papers.” She rolled her eyes, and crossed her arms tightly over her chest. “What are you going to then, Nick? Raise a baby on your own? How do you really think that’s going to work out? You know nothing about taking care of a little girl.”

“A girl?” I repeated, and I couldn’t help the grin that spread over my face. It felt much more real to know that there was a baby
girl
in Kara’s stomach.

I mean, obviously I would’ve been just as happy to have a little guy that I could play sports with, and do all the manly guy things you could think of, but a girl—Daddy’s little girl. I sucked in a breath and sat up a little straighter, hoping that it would boost my confidence a bit, but honestly, it was probably the scariest thing I’d ever have to face in my life.

“I’m gonna figure it out, Kara. I’m not going to abandon my baby and let her be raised by strangers. Her dad will be in her life, forever and always. I think I can handle it.”

“Well...” She paused, swiping at her eye and I swear I saw a tear rolling down her cheek. I didn’t know that was even possible. “Okay, then, Nick. If this is what you want, I’ll sign whatever papers I need to sign after she’s born.” I watched her rub her hand over the swell of her belly, and it worried me.

“Why can’t you just sign those papers now, Kara? That way everything’s all set, and we don’t need to worry about anything. I’m sure you’re not gonna want to deal with all that after—”

“Don’t even mention childbirth,” she groaned. “And we’re doing this my way. I’m the one who’s carrying this baby around for nine whole months, having to deal with all of the hormones, the weight gain, and the general uncomfortableness. I’m the one who says when the papers will be taken care of.”

I shifted in my seat, rolling my eyes at the fact that she was using the baby that she didn’t even want as a weapon. It still baffled me that she could just give up her child, but I could tell that it was wearing on her and it made all sorts of different scenarios run through my head.

What if after having the baby, she decided that she wanted to keep her? What then? Would we have to co-parent? Would I really have to deal with Kara for at least the next eighteen years? Would she fight me for custody?

I wasn’t normally a traditional guy, but I had been raised by both of my parents, together. It really was better for the child in my opinion, but I don’t think I could handle being with Kara just for the sake of the baby. Or could I?

I shook my head to try to clear my thoughts as I stood up, shoving my hands into my pockets. “Fine, Kara. Whatever you want. Call me if you need anything, or if anything happens with the baby. When are you due by the way?”

“Babies come when they want, Nick.” She pushed me towards the front door, like she was in a hurry for me to get out of there. “But I’m five months along, so a few more months and the baby will be here. I think you have a lot to get ready in the meantime. Have you told your little girlfriend yet?” She gave me a knowing smile as I opened the door, and I shrugged my shoulders in response.

She knew me way too well.

Confrontation wasn’t my thing, and even though Ally wasn’t the arguing type, she would probably be pissed that I had kept it from her. Who knows how she would actually react when I told her that I was going to be a dad
and
I was going to be raising the baby by myself.

At least I hoped so.

I know it would be best for the baby to have her mom in her life, but I really didn’t want Kara to be around. It would probably be for the better, actually. Would I rather that she not have a mom, or for her to have a mom that didn’t want her in the first place just because of some asshole?

I needed to figure this shit out, and I only had a few short months to do it. Not to mention, I had never changed a baby’s diaper
in my life.
Never fed one. Shit, what do they even eat? I didn’t have a crib or whatever they slept in when they were first born. I had no clothes, no bottles, no stroller, and no car seat. Nothing. And I’m sure there was a shit ton that I didn’t even know about that I needed.

I felt overwhelmed, to say the least, and I’m pretty sure Kara could tell because she was still giving me that smile that I wanted to wipe right off of her face. If anything, I was going to prove Kara wrong. I could do this. Now, I just needed to figure out exactly how, and if Ally would do it with me.

Chapter 20

Ally

“Ally, is that you?” I looked up from my laptop where I had been typing away, on the patio of my favorite café, which overlooked the ocean. What better way to work was there?

I squinted my eyes into the sun, knowing that voice, but needing to see his face to actually believe he was there. “Tyler? What are you doing here?”

I saw him smile as he came closer and then leaned down, giving me an awkward hug. The last time we had seen each other hadn’t exactly been pleasant. I’m sure I was a hot mess, rushing out of the room after finding Teddy and Bleachy together in all of their glorious nakedness. I wasn’t sure I even wanted a hug from him. Did he know that Teddy had a girl on the bus? He had to have, and it made me wonder if he would have told me. I guess we would never know.

“It’s good to see ya, Al,” he responded, ignoring my question as he pulled out the chair across from me. “You haven’t changed a bit, gorgeous as always.” He leaned over the table, pushing his sunglasses down to the bridge of his nose. “Actually, even more gorgeous. I think the Florida sun is doing the body some good.”

“Mmhmm,” I said, pressing my lips together as I looked around the small patio. “I know you didn’t just happen to show up here, so where’s Teddy?” Tyler gave me a guilty look, and I knew I had hit the nail right on the head.

“He’s not here”—he whirled his finger around—“but he is
here
, in Florida, I mean. He stayed back at the hotel while I came to talk to you.”

“About what exactly?” I flipped the lid down on my laptop, and began unzipping my bag to put it away. This wasn’t going to be a very long conversation, because Teddy and I were done, there was nothing more to talk about. I thought he had gotten the hint when I signed and sent the divorce papers back to him. He acted like he understood the last time we saw each other.

“We-ll,” he dragged out, fiddling with his sunglasses. “He thinks that since you guys are, ya know, divorced and all now, that you two can have a fresh start or something. Here”—he reached down into his pocket, and then handed me a crushed white daisy—“this is from Teddy. He says they’re your favorite.”

“Wow, thanks.” The flower was pretty much ruined but it was the thought that counted. I couldn’t believe he had actually remembered something like that. It was so not Teddy. “Tell him ‘thank you’ for me.” I tucked the crushed flower into my hair.