Hotshot (19 page)

I don’t go back to the office, nor do I meet Sasha at her appointment. Instead, I ride around for a while before heading home, needing some time to wrap my mind around the events of the day. Caldwell saw what I saw and explained to Sasha’s lawyer I had no intentions of shying away from my obligations. If the test is positive, I’d be financially responsible for the child. I’d also be asking for custodial rights upon birth and expect to have rights in all decisions regarding his or her life. They went through the motions while I sat there quietly.

As I let myself into my condo, my knees almost buckle at the sight of Bizzy in the kitchen. She turns and lets out a yelp of surprise, then her face splits into a wide smile.

“You’re home early!” She comes over and throws her arms around my neck, leaning up for a kiss.

My arms link around her waist and hold tight, kissing her gently. She breaks away and moves her hand to my head, looking confused.

“You’re burning up!”

“Yeah, I have a killer headache. Thought I’d come home and rest for a while. The chaos of the office was making me useless.” I summon up strength, forcing my voice to hold steady and convincing.

“Sweetie, you should have called. I’ll cancel dinner.” She leads me to the sofa.

“Dinner?”

“Remember? Your brothers and Claire are coming over tonight. We were going to celebrate my moving in.”

I completely forgot. Even though it was my idea, it slipped my mind.

“I’ll call them now.” She goes to the kitchen for her phone.

“No, absolutely not. I’ll lie down for a few minutes then take a shower. It’ll pass. It’s only a headache.”

She looks at me skeptically, and I know this is the time I need to come clean. Bizzy deserves honesty. It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask her to come back to the sofa, but instead, I walk to her and take the phone from her hands.

“Maybe what I need is my super hot and sexy girlfriend to come lay with me, then we can shower together.” I dip down to run my lips along her neckline. “That’ll make me feel better immediately.”

Her body shudders on a breathy sigh. “Shaw, if you’re thinking about sex, it must not be life-threatening.”

“I’m always thinking about sex with you.” I try to guide her to my room.

“You had me worried. You never feel bad.”

“I’m better.” This isn’t a lie. Seeing her helped ease the stress of the day.

“Give me a few minutes and I’ll meet you in bed.”

I let go after kissing her once more and head to my room, stripping out of my suit on the way. It may be my imagination, but I swear I get a whiff of Sasha’s overpowering perfume on my clothes, so I toss them in a heap on the floor and kick them into a corner. That may be the last time I ever wear that particular suit.

My reflection in the bathroom mirror stops me cold. I stare hard at myself, asking what the hell I’ve done. It’s a question I’ve asked several times over the last few weeks, but now, it’s time for me to make a plan.

Shit is about to get real. The way Sasha looked at me keeps replaying in my mind. Guilt flows through my body for keeping this from Bizzy. She may be upset, but she loves me. And if this changes her feelings, I’ll love her enough for the both of us.

I make the decision to tell her tonight. When everyone leaves, I’ll sit her down and explain every single dirty detail. Then I’ll hold her tight, apologizing until my voice is gone. She can cry, scream, and fight me all she wants.

The one thing she can’t do is leave.

I crawl into bed naked, waiting for her to join me and feel the pounding in my head start to disappear. The tension in my shoulders and back eases at the smell of Bizzy all over the bed. The mixture of limes, citrus, and coconuts from her body lotion and shampoo engulfs me.

The next thing I know, my eyes flutter open to see her looking at me with a sweet smile, running a hand through my hair. My whole body wakes up at the sight of her leaning over, the scoop neck of her dress falling enough to expose her silky blue bra. Instantly, I’m hard, wondering if she’s wearing a matching set.

Without warning, my arms tag her, and I twist us so she’s trapped against me. Her giggle fills the room until my mouth finds hers and I nibble on her bottom lip.

“Someone’s feeling better,” she mumbles, her hand now massaging my scalp.

“You’re overdressed.” I skim my fingers down her side until I reach the hem of the dress, feeling the smooth skin of her thigh. My hips jerk, pressing my erection into her through the sheet.

“Shaw,” she breathes out faintly.

“Hmmm?” I continue to inch her dress up, ready to remove all the clothing between us.

“We can’t. Your brothers are already here.”

“That’s their problem for being early. They can wait,” I growl, licking along her collarbone. “You’ll have to be quiet.”

“Shaw…” She tries weakly to push me away.

“Say my name like that again.”

“Baby, we really can’t. They’re not early; you’re late. I let you sleep as long as I could.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve been asleep for hours.”

“I thought you were joining me. Why didn’t you wake me?”

“Because you were peaceful and I knew you needed your rest. I’ve never known you to be a napper, so I figured it was a bad headache.”

“I’ll never take a nap again if it means I miss the chance to spend the afternoon inside you. Nothing is worth missing that.”

“Honey, you realize they’re not staying all night, right?”

“The minute they leave, I’m peeling you out of this dress.”

“Noted.” She leans up, giving me a quick kiss, and rolls away, leaving me to fall back on the bed alone.

“What am I supposed to do about this?” I grip my throbbing dick, pumping a few times to try and ease the ache.

“You can take care of it in the shower.”

I catch the gleam in her eye, which causes my cock to twitch in my palm. “Did you just suggest I jack off in the shower?”

“I think it’s hot. And you can tell me about each and every stroke tonight while we finish what you started.” She winks at me seductively and struts away, shutting the door without another word.

“Fuck.” I limp to the bathroom, knowing this is not going away without some sort of release.

An hour later, I’m counting the minutes, wondering how much longer these people are going to invade my home.

“You going to at least pretend you’re glad we’re here?” Nick jabs his elbow into my stomach.

“Sorry, man.” I rub the spot and try not to grimace. I think he forgets his own strength sometimes. “I’m glad you’re here. It’s been a rough day. Actually, a rough week.”

“Problems at work?” Mathis questions.

“Nothing I can’t handle. It’s always hard taking over new clients in the middle of their season, but Darren and Joe are easy. It’s getting through their contracts and endorsement deals. Now, if Joe goes to the World Series, we’ve discussed his contract extension. It’s all fine.”

My answer seems to satisfy them, and they both start talking about Nick’s game on Sunday.

“Oh my gosh! Stop now!” Claire screeches, turning all our attention to her.

“I’m serious!” Bizzy walks behind her, setting a platter on the table.

“We have to tell Nicky! He’s going to die!” Claire continues to scream.

“Tell me what?” Nick joins them.

“Come on, everyone. Dinner time.” Bizzy ignores them and motions us to the table.

I sit at the end with Bizzy on one side and Nick on the other. Claire bounces in her seat, her lips pursed to the point they’ve turned white.

“What exactly has you so chirpy?” I ask her, pouring wine into Bizzy’s glass.

“Biz has the best story to share. You and Mathis may not understand, but Nicky is going to appreciate every detail. Every single humiliating detail.”

“Claire, you are terrible! This is really sad.”

“Now, you have to tell me… Remember, it’s in our code.” Nick refers to their stupid childhood pact.

“Okay, well, I had an appointment today, and it was very interesting.”

“You had an appointment?” I look at her, confused. “What for?”

“It was just a gynecologist appointment, nothing unusual.” She takes a sip of wine and sits back, and Claire turns her whole body to face her.

“Not sure what could be so interesting, but don’t keep me hanging.” Nick starts eating, looking at her expectantly.

“I’ve been going to the same group for a long time and know almost everyone in the office. Since they’re in the offices attached to the hospital, we see each other sometimes in passing, especially the OB side…”

Bells start ringing in my head, and sweat breaks out on my neck.

It can’t be… Please, don’t let her say it… Holy Fucking God, PLEASE NO!

“…she didn’t see me, but I saw her. She’s still as nasty and evil as ever. Nothing’s changed. When I was done, I stopped by the nurse’s office to say hello to a few people. Sasha was the topic of conversation. She’s pregnant!”

“Poor fucking bastard. Who’d willingly ever hit that shit? I get she’s somewhat attractive, but she’s a cunt.” Nick shakes his head.

My mouth fuses shut, refusing to open and stop the train wreck happening in front of me. I know what Bizzy is about to say, but still pray I’m wrong.

“Apparently, he really is a poor bastard. She’s still as hateful and self-righteous as ever. It seems the whole office tries to avoid her, and the doctor has recommended several other practicing OBs within the hospital. She refuses to leave, saying she’ll only have the best.

“The nurse taking her vitals did a blood draw. Sasha winced and explained she had given some blood earlier in the day, saying it was for specialized genetic testing—which is obviously a lie because the doctor would want to be a part of any decisions regarding testing and probably offer to do it in their office. When she asked if the father would be joining her for today’s appointment, Sasha became flustered, making excuses he was trying to make it but has a very important meeting. I tried to stop myself from eavesdropping, but I couldn’t!” Bizzy starts to giggle and takes another sip of her wine.

“So then, another woman walked in. I didn’t know her, but she was only too happy to jump in on the conversation. She said Sasha came in two weeks ago, demanding an ultrasound, saying she needed pictures and measurements. They tried to explain it was still very early in the pregnancy, but she insisted. While the sonographer was preparing the table, Sasha took a call and started going crazy again. She was yelling at the person on the other end of the line, not caring she had someone else in the room.”

“What did she say?” Nick’s looking at Bizzy with a smug smile, obviously enjoying the story.

I, on the other hand, am trying to swallow the bile rising in my throat.

“Something along the lines of, ‘
This baby is his whether he wants to admit it or not. You tell his fuckhead of a lawyer we’ll do the paternity test, but then we’re doing this my way. He forgets I know him and his family well. The last thing they want is any kind of scandal. I’ll blow the lid off his precious life if he doesn’t start cooperating.
’”

“Sounds like the dad is in for a lifetime of misery and hate with that bitch.”

The last bit of strength I have falters, and my fingers go limp, dropping the fork to my plate and causing a huge banging. All four heads swing to me, and beads of sweat pour down my face and neck. Heat threatens to suffocate me. I make the critical mistake of looking at Mathis first and see the comprehension in his eyes. We hold our stare-down until I hear glass shattering and turn to see Bizzy’s wine glass in shards on her plate, the wine spilling everywhere.

Her eyes are wide and glassy, pleading with me. I can’t do anything but stare, trying to find words… any words.

The air in the room goes still as everyone’s eyes dart between Bizzy and me, realization dawning on her beautiful face as it starts to crumble.

“The distractions, the over the top affection, the headaches?” It’s a question only I understand. She’s piecing the last few weeks together.

My voice won’t cooperate, failing me.

“It’s yours?”

“This has got to be a mistake, a huge fucking mistake,” Nick thunders, slamming his fist on the table. “How in the motherfucking world could this even happen? We hate that bitch!”