9781618858368ForbiddenDeceptionlLeveyNC (2 page)

Ailyn
headed inside to meet Mia. “Yeah, she does. And then there’s gymnastics, she
has her father and her uncle Cordero’s drive with sports.” Ailyn bit the inside
of her mouth, letting out a frustrated sigh. Out of the entire dance and Cheer Moms,
Mia was the most down to earth. She greeted her friend with a hug and shut off
her phone.

“Hey,
you okay?” Mia placed a friendly hand on her shoulder and gave an affectionate
squeeze.

“I’m
in a bit of a pickle. Hell, I’m a mess period. It’s nothing. I don’t want to
drag you into my newly popped up drama.”

“Sure
seems like a big something. Tell me, there’s no judgment here.” Her friend
probed without prying for answers.

Ailyn
lowered her head. “I left home and moved across the country to finish school and
give Eva a good life.
To protect us.”

“I
know and you’ve done fabulous.” Mia led them to a quieter place to talk.

 
“My past collided with the present today,
catching me off balance. I’m not sure I’ll recover.”

“Eva’s
dad?”
Mia asked in a hushed tone.

“Am
I that transparent?”

“No,
you have the I-saw-a-ghost look on your face. Anything that deep has to be
about your kiddo.”

“Yes,
I saw her father but pretended I didn’t know who he was. I shook his hand and
watched the glimmer of disappointment flash in his eyes when I couldn’t place
him. I wonder if he knows I was faking the entire time.”

“Why
did you fake?” Mia eyed her shrewdly. “My God, he doesn’t know he has a
daughter does he?” Mia stood and tugged her to get up. Together they headed
outside for some privacy. Exiting into the bright sun, Ailyn shoved her glasses
on her face and followed her friend over to her SUV. Once seated, she turned to
face Mia.

“No,
but it’s a long and complicated story. I have my reasons for keeping my mouth
shut then. The only two people who know are my sister Rianna and my brother Cordero.”

“Hold
the front door…is he a firefighter?” Mia’s mouth dropped open once she pieced
the puzzle together.

“Yes.”Ailyn
watched her new best friend’s mind churn.

“But
my husband’s team responded to the school, that’s how I knew right away and
wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Ailyn
removed the sunglasses. “Seeing him shocked the shit out of me. I’m states away
from where I grew up. I don’t understand what he’s doing here. How we both
ended up in the same town by chance. This is crazy and unnerving.”

“Would
you tell me who he is?”

“Are
you sure you want to know? I would feel bad putting you in the middle of my
mess. Your husband works with him. I don’t know if I should.”

“Come
on. Dire doesn’t have to know everything. I’m your friend. Trust me to keep the
boundaries set and let me help you find a way to deal with this new roadblock
in your life,” Mia insisted.

“Officer
Mahone.”

“Seth?
He’s not old enough to have a tween. What were you guys high school sweeties?”

Ailyn
snorted. “Promise me you won’t tell anyone a thing before I go any further.
Talking to my siblings about this is different, you know, than talking to a
friend. I’m so weighed down by life that I feel like I’m drowning and I’m tired
of hiding, it’s exhausting.”

“Of
course.
To the grave.”
Mia offered
a consoling smile.

“It’s
mortifyingly embarrassing. I don’t really know where to begin.” Taking a deep
breath, she opened Pandora’s Box. “Seth and I, well we met one night at Club
Hurricane. Both of us were out with a group of friends. The dance floor was
packed, the bar lines too. I saw him and he drew me in immediately. There was this
instant magnetic pull. His smile disarmed me, but his eyes melted my walls, of
course with a bit of liquid courage. I’d never met such a large man and his insane
physique caught the eye of every female in the place. He had eyes for me all
night. I kept running into his gaze. Since college is where people explore who
they are, I chose to explore with him.”

“Slutty
little minx.” Mia winked.

“Shut
up or I won’t continue. I will totally cancel our Mango Margarita date.” Ailyn
huffed and leaned her head back against the window. “God, his kisses lit me on
fire. I came close to giving up the goods the first night but held back. By
date three he had me out of my panties, by date four he had me hooked. His
passion consumed me. I fell hard…we fell hard.
Were inseparable.
We went on so many dates, where he paid. Out to dinner, spent weekends out of
town. Our love was more than just sex, or so I thought.”

“What
changed your mind? How did you know it wasn’t real?
Seems
like he treated you like a princess.”

“I
stupidly assumed he went to a junior college close by and knew he played ball.
When he wasn’t playing or practicing and when I didn’t have classes back to
back we’d hook up. Then cloud nine was yanked out from underneath my feet and I
plummeted. Life as I knew it wasn't the same.” A single tear leaked from her
eye. Damn the pain still existed when she brought it up. “Time doesn’t heal all
wounds.”

“You
don’t have to continue if this hurts you too bad.”

“I…
uh,
called his house one day and got his
mom. When I asked for him, she said he couldn’t come to the phone. They’d put
him on punishment for skipping school. I didn’t get what the big deal was. I
mean I skipped a few college
classes,
a lot of
students do now and then. I asked her when he’d be back to campus and she got
quiet, then she told me he was a senior in high school. I asked her how old he
was, she told me sixteen. She offered to take a message and I declined. There
was no need. I felt like the biggest fool of all. I didn’t even know I could
get so angry.”

Mia
inhaled sharply. “Oh. No.”

“Yeah.
I hung up the phone and cried for two days. A month later I found out I was
pregnant with Eva. I didn’t have a choice. We packed up and moved. He took even
that from me. My parents think I met some asshole at a frat party who got me
pregnant and turned his back. I never corrected them because, I didn’t want
them to look at me like a—”

“Oh
Ailyn, I’m so sorry. He played such a cruel trick on you. Maybe he fell so hard
he didn’t know how to fess up. I do know Seth is crazy smart. It’s common
knowledge. He must’ve skipped a grade or two to be graduating early like that.”

“When
he was able to call me he tried to talk to me but I refused to listen.
Even changed my number.
What could he say to make what he
did all right? How could I risk letting anyone know without losing my daughter,
job or education, not to forget possible jail time? He broke my heart and
ruined any trust I’ve ever had in the male species.”

“So
what’s next?”

“I
don’t know, move again. Avoid him. This can’t come out. Anyone smart enough to
do the math will figure out when Eva was conceived. I’m close to four years
older than him and I couldn’t tell he was a fucking kid. What does that say
about me?”

“Nothing
that happened was your fault. I mean he had to have a valid looking state id to
get into that club. Either he had a friend on the inside at the DMV or, he had
one hell of a contact who knew how to fool people. At least now clubs have
those swanky machines to scan every driver’s license. Unfortunately, there’s
nothing you could’ve done to avoid this situation. I feel bad for both of you.
He had a choice to fess up before things went too far. I doubt any prosecutor
would even touch this situation, if brought to their attention. This isn’t an
easy case they’d be able to win.”

“Mia,
what would you do? Eva asks about her father or lack of sometimes and I have no
answers. Now he’s here and if I don’t tell her and she finds out, she’ll hate
me, but I’m not ready to deal with Seth.”

“I’ve
only known Seth since I met Dire. He’s a great leader who takes care of his
team.
On and off duty.
Maybe you should get to know
him before making a choice. He doesn’t have to know right off that he’s a
father.”

“I
could do that, I don’t want to date him though. The one flaw in your plan is
Eva. She may carry most of my genetics, but she has his eyes and ears, she even
has his birthmark on her shoulder.”

“Then
make sure they don’t run into each other. Meet him instead of having him pick
you up. You can set the boundaries this time, Ailyn. Let him know you’re not up
for dating, but aren’t totally against seeing what he’s like. If things move
too fast, stop seeing him. If you feel like you want him physically, a no-strings-attached,
straight up screw, do him. Go to his place if you want to reconnect. Do you
want to reconnect?”

“Yes.
No. I want to break his neck and then, God yes, I want let him take me to the
place only he has. How sick am I. Remembering having mind-blowing,
unforgettable sex with him.
Wanting to be wanted like that
again.
There’s this intensity about him, not only in bed but out. I’d
forgotten until I watched him flawlessly take charge at the school, assess and
bark out orders to his team, at the same time calming the administration. I
keep returning back to wanting him, not to date him, but what I wouldn’t give
to be in his bed just to see if it’s still the same or better with time. I’m
twisted and going to hell on the fastest elevator down.”

“Okay.
Stop the presses. Do not make this your issue. Don’t put in your sweet head
you’re some type of sexual predator.
You.
Are.
Not. You were a beautiful young woman who got sucked
into a relationship with a charming horny guy. Face it sweetheart, he probably
stopped getting carded in junior high with his size. Be glad he made your first
experience a good memory. My first time was botched, uncomfortable and blah. It
took me a year to find a guy who could fuck worth a damn. Most guys his age
only want to stick it in and move onto to the next.”

“It’s
just, even after I found out I still wanted him physically and I was still unequivocally
in love with him. I couldn’t turn that off even though everything in me told me
to. Loving him was amoral. What does that make me then?”

“A
young woman in love.”
Mia reached over and grabbed her
hand. “I hate to think all of these years you’ve been suffering alone in so
much self-doubt and pain.”

“For
ten long years this has been dead and buried. Now after seeing him again, I
can’t quit obsessing about what happened and how I had blinders on so thick that
I couldn’t see, couldn’t tell. I look at my daughter who I love so much and my
heart breaks because she deserves to grow up with two parents and I cannot give
that to her.”

“She
has a great mom. I get that you’re torn right now. I wish I could offer you
sound advice, but this is so far from anything I’ve ever been dealt, I can’t.”

“I
try.” Ailyn sighed. “I am exhausted today. Thank you for listening. Now I just
need to figure out what to do and find the courage to seek him out. Then tell
my sister and brother he’s reappeared in my life.”

Mia
leaned over and hugged her tight. “He is a man. Trust me, he’ll search you out.
Just hang tight. Don’t stress yourself any more over him tonight. Now let’s go
in and get our girls, they should be finishing up soon.”

“Okay.
Give me a minute to pull my head together. I’m not ready to go back in yet.”
Ailyn shook her hands and exhaled deep and slow. Mia handed her a bottle of
water and ibuprofen.

“Cheer
up. The men don’t get off work until seven tonight and Seth will be doing
paperwork for hours after everyone else leaves. He won’t have time to find you
tonight. He’ll have to go home and sleep first.”

“I
thought they slept at the station in bunks during their shift. Isn’t that what
Dire does?”

“Yeah,
well they may sleep in shifts, or bunk down but trust me it’s more of a nap
than a good sleep since they never know when the tones are going to sound.”

“I
don’t know how you cope with such odd hours.”

“I
know. But don’t forget my first husband was in the military and he’d deploy sometimes
nine months out of the year. When he was home, he’d go directly to field
training in preparation for returning for another tour. This is a compromising
change. Don’t get me wrong, the danger is just as real, but getting word on
what’s going on is almost instant. I can pop on the television and watch. Dire
blows a gasket when he hears that I have, and gives me the have faith talk,
because seeing the danger on television puts me on edge. Knowing he’s doing his
job without visualizing each call makes things easier to stomach. We all have
an expiration date that we don’t know when it’s coming.” Mia checked her watch.
“Let’s go.”

Ailyn
stepped out of the vehicle and waited for Mia to join her on the sidewalk. “You
are an amazing wife and momma, girl. I always know Eva is safe with y’all.”

“You
too, Ailyn.”
Mia linked her arm in hers. “Come on my
Dominican beauty.”