Maybe This Time (19 page)

Today, though,
Silas doesn’t seem to have an easy smile for me. In fact, he looks
a little worried.

“You okay?” he
asks.

“Yeah, why?” I
ask, feeling suspicious.

“Just
wondering.” Hmm.

“What have you
got today?” I ask him, glancing down at his own massive text
book.

“Commercial
law,” he replies with a groan.

I grin.
“Sounds so interesting.”

“It’s not. But
it’s all about the end goal, right. I’ll be able to help people
that need it,” he says quietly.

“Help people
how? By sucking their blood?” I say, giggling. “Okay, I’m sorry, no
lawyer jokes. Even though I have a shitload of them.”

Silas gives me
an amused look, shaking his head at my antics. “You might need me
one day. You know, to divorce your third husband or something.”

“What are you
trying to say?” I demand, gasping in mock outrage.

“Nothing at
all,” he says, smirking.

“Okay, I need
to study so I’m going to ignore your presence for a little while.
Don’t take offence,” I say, continuing with my work. After another
hour, I’m done. I look over at Silas to see him chewing on his pen,
brows scrunched in concentration. Not wanting to disturb him, I
quietly pack my books and stand up to leave.

“Bye,” he
says, glancing up from his work for a sec.

“See ya,” I
say before I walk out. The sun hits my eyes as I exit the door, so
I find my huge red sunglasses in the bottom of my bag and put them
on. Xander calls these glasses my ‘bug’ glasses because they cover
half my face. I prefer to think of them as my hangover glasses.

When I walk
into my living room after an uneventful drive home, I’m surprised
to see Reid lying down on the couch. His bare feet are hanging off
the edge, and when I step closer I see he's wearing nothing but a
pair of jeans.

Now, this is a
sight I could get used to coming home to.

“This is a
nice surprise,” I say, sitting on the edge of the couch next to his
hip.

“Hey,
beautiful,” he says, his voice thick. His blue eyes smile at
me.

“Were you
sleeping?” I lean over and nuzzle his neck.

“Mmm-hmm.”

“Slide over,
baby,” I say, trying to wedge myself in. Reid chuckles and lifts me
up so I’m lying directly on top of him, every inch of our bodies in
contact. “Someone’s happy to see me,” I say, grinning. I grind my
hips into his, earning myself a throaty moan.

“Always happy
to see my girl,” he says, smiling at me.

“Didn’t you
have work today?”

“Nah, Ryan
said it’s dead so there was no point going in.”

“That was nice
of him.” I lay my head on his hard, warm chest. I run my fingers up
his arm, feeling his smooth skin.

“How was
class?” he asks, wrapping his arms around me tightly.

“Good,
actually. I’m on top of everything,” I say, stroking his chest
absently.

“On top of
everything, indeed.” I roll my eyes at his lame joke.

“What are we
doing tonight?”

When Reid
stills, I look up into his eyes. “What is it?”

“Ryan told me
what happened at dinner,” he says, his jaw set stubbornly.

“Yeah, that
guy's an asshole,” I mutter.

“Yeah, he
won’t be bothering you again,” he says, his voice sure and
determined.

“What did you
do?” I ask, frowning.

“Nothing yet,
but I asked your dad to move the fight up,” he says, sounding
smug.

I sigh. “Reid,
what’s that gonna accomplish?”

“No one
disrespects my woman.”

“Caveman.”

“You love my
caveman tendencies,” he says, grinning.

“Only in the
bedroom,” I admit, earning me a deep chuckle.

“Seriously?” I
hear Xander growl as he enters the lounge room. I sit up off of
Reid and smile up at my brother.

“Hey, baby
bro.”

“We needa set
some damn boundaries, sis,” he says, looking put out. He opens the
fridge and pulls out an energy drink.

“We aren’t
doing anything,” I say a little defensively, my face heating.

Xander huffs
and walks out, but not before I see the small smile playing on his
lips.

I grin down at
Reid, who I find is already looking at me. He looks… content. His
eyes are soft, and I watch as he licks his bottom lip.

“You look
happy,” I think out loud.

“I am
happy.”

“Good,” I say,
leaning down to kiss his scar.

“My father did
it to me,” he says, his voice so low I barely hear him.

I sit up.
“What?”

“Yeah, he was
hitting my mother, and I tried to stop it. He said he wanted to
teach me a lesson,” he says, pulling me down against his chest once
more.

“How old were
you?” I ask, dreading the answer.

“Ten.”

Tears pool in
my eyes, as I imagine a young Reid Knox, standing up to his own
father. “Your dad's in prison, right?”

“Yeah,” he
says, but doesn’t elaborate.

“I’m sorry,” I
say, my voice breaking a little.

“Beauty,” he
croons, when he sees me getting choked up. “I’ve never been a good
boyfriend,” he continues when I don’t say anything more. “I never
thought I would be a husband. Ever. But after meeting you I think,
maybe this time, I could be different. For you, I could be. I think
I already am.”

“You’re
perfect for me,” I tell him, capturing his lips in a needy
kiss.

“Fucking
hell!” I hear Xander curse as he walks back in, ruining the
moment.

“Next time
we’re going to my place,” Reid demands, looking grumpy.

“Or you could
just go into her room,” Xander mutters, walking out the front door
and slamming it shut behind him.

“Well, the
coast is clear,” Reid says, smiling against my lips. He runs his
hand up the back of my thigh, causing chills to erupt all over my
body. I reach my hand down to stroke him, just as we both hear a
knock on the door.

“Maybe they'll
go away?” he says, looking adorably hopeful.

Another knock.
Louder this time.

“Impatient
bastards,” he mutters, sitting up with me still on him.

“I’ll get it,”
I say, lifting a leg down onto the floor.

“No, you
won’t, you lie here and relax, I’ll get it,” he says, kissing me on
the nose before jumping off the couch.

“Put your
shirt on!” I say, picking it up and throwing it at him.

He looks
amused. “Why?”

“Humour me,” I
say, rolling my eyes. He flashes me a boyish grin and puts his
shirt on, walking quickly to the door when more knocking commences,
louder this time. I hear him open the door, and then an angry,
“What the fuck are you doing here?”

I get up and
follow him to the door, my eyes flaring when I see Mia standing
there. And she’s not alone.

Next to her is
a little boy.

One who looks
exactly like Reid.

Blond hair,
blue eyes and a cute little pair of lips.

I look at
Reid, who is staring at the boy in shock. “No way,” he says
suddenly, looking freaked out. When he stands there and does
nothing but gape, I tell them to come in. We all walk into the
living area and sit there awkwardly. Mia sits the kid down next to
her on the couch.

Moments ago, I
would have sworn my life was perfect.

“He’s yours,”
Mia says, looking worried, but also a little smug.

Feeling like
I’m suddenly intruding I say, “I’m going to leave you guys alone
for a second.” I stand up until Reid pins me with a glare.

“Sit, I need
you here, Summer.”

“No, let her
leave, she doesn’t have anything to do with this,” Mia says, her
eyes narrowing to slits.

“She has
everything to do with this,” Reid sneers. His face softens when he
turns to me, his eyes pleading with me to stay.

“Why don’t I
take…” I trail off, realizing we don’t even know the kids name.

“River,” she
replies stiffly. She looks like she doesn’t want me near her son,
but she also desperately wants to talk to Reid alone.

“River, why
don’t you come with me? I’ll show you my Ninja Turtle toys,” I say,
ignoring the curious look from Reid and the hostile one from Mia.
Even though she's throwing daggers my way, and probably thinking up
ways to kill me, she gives me a slight nod, letting me know it’s
okay to take him.

River grins at
me, so I walk over and awkwardly lift him into my arms. Reid broke
up with Mia two years ago, so he must be a year and a couple of
months old. He feels heavy in my arms, and I lift him higher,
holding him closer. I don’t wanna drop the poor kid. I can feel
both their eyes on my back as I walk to my room, pushing the door
open with my foot.

I sit River in
the middle of the bed, then shake my head, thinking that that can’t
be a very good idea. I put him on the carpet, and then reach under
the bed for my favourite childhood toys. I pull out the plastic
container, and peep inside, looking for my favourite Donatello
figurine.

“Uh huh!” I
cheer as I find it. Making sure nothing can come loose on him, I
hand him over to River. River stares at him, blinking furiously.
Then he picks him up and throws him as far as he can, which ends up
being about a metre.

Poor
Donatello.

“Not a TMNT
fan, huh? I don’t think we can be friends, kid,” I say, grinning.
River walks over and pulls out a doll, making a face. Then,
ignoring the toys, he walks to my side table and starts pulling my
TV remotes. Reid walks in as I’m trying to gently pry the remote
from his pudgy little hands. I look up at him, and I know my eyes
are full of questions.

“She says he’s
mine. And looking at him, I can’t really deny it,” he says, his
brow furrowing.

“Okay,” I say.
I mean, what else am I supposed to say? It is what it is,
right?

“Are you okay
with this?” he asks me, and I want to scream.

“Yeah, this is
just how I imagined my day going,” I say sarcastically. I pick up
River, and hand him to Reid. Reid holds him away from his body, as
if he has no idea what to do with him. And I guess he doesn’t.

“Why’d she
keep him away from you?”

“She said I
wasn’t in a good place after Reece died, and she was protecting
River,” he says.

What a
bitch.

“You should
go, Reid, get to know your son,” I say, giving him a sad smile.

“Summer-”

“Go, Reid, I
was gonna take a nap anyway,” I say, trying to sound
convincing.

“Okay, I’ll be
back tonight,” he says, kissing me on the lips before pulling away.
He hesitates at the door, turning back and watching me.

“I’ll see you
tonight,” I say, forcing a smile.

“I’m so lucky
to have you, beauty,” he says softly, before walking away. I hear
the front door close as they leave. Only then do I let my tears
fall.

Reid doesn’t
come back to see me that night.

Two days later
I still haven’t seen him. Sure, I haven’t gone to his house either,
but he’s the one who said he would come to see me. He’s been
calling and texting every couple of hours, seeing what I’m up to,
how I’m doing. Sometimes I reply, and sometimes I don’t. I know
he's getting to know his son, and it makes me feel like a bad
person to hold that against him. He wouldn’t be a good man if he
didn’t want to make up for lost time with his own child. I may be
selfish, but I can’t help how I feel.

I’m young, way
too young to even consider having children yet. Not that I don’t
love and want kids in the future, because I do. But there are
things I want to do first. Travel the world, drink too much, and be
spontaneous.

Things that I
can still do, but not with Reid.

Our lives are
suddenly heading in completely different directions, and my
emotions are all over the place.

I’m trying to
keep myself occupied, so I don’t become one of those girls lying in
bed all day, feeling sorry for myself. Yesterday I spent the day
with dad and Xander, and today after classes I go to the library to
study. For once Silas is absent, and I find myself missing his
company. I could use the distraction.

As soon as I
walk into the bar, I want to scream at the looks of pity Tag and
Jade are throwing my way.

“You okay?”
she asks kindly, watching me with concern.

“I’m fine. Is
Ryan back?” I ask her. Ryan had gone away with some woman for a few
days, missing all the drama.

“Yeah, he’s
coming back tonight. I don’t think he even knows what's going on,”
she says, scrunching her nose up.

“Reid didn’t
tell him?” I ask, surprised.

“Not something
you really wanna say over the phone.”

Ain't that the
truth?

“Where do you
want me?” I ask Tag. I know he’s worried about me because he
doesn’t even respond with a sexual innuendo.

“Babe,” he
says gently, that one word holding so much meaning. He kisses me
sweetly on the top of my head.

“I’m fine,
really. So, my boyfriend has a kid.” I shrug with fake nonchalance.
“You have a kid, right Tag? Lots of men have kids,” I say with
smile that’s all teeth.

“I think that
smile’s gonna scare the customers off, you wanna do stock take?” he
asks, frowning.

Hiding out the
back sounds perfect. “Yes, please.”

A couple of
hours later, we are just closing up when Ryan storms in looking
around. When his eyes land on me, I know it’s me he’s searching
for. He takes me into his arms, giving me a warm hug.

“How you
holding up, babe?” he asks, saying it softly so only I can hear
him.

“I’m alright.”
I take in his familiar scent. “How was your trip?”

“It was
amazing, but I wish I'd have been here with you instead. Why the
hell didn’t you call me?”

“It wasn’t my
place to tell you about your nephew.”

“Okay, maybe
so. But you’re my friend and I always wanna be there for you.
Especially when Reid couldn’t be,” he says, rubbing gentle circles
on my back.