ROMANCE: BAD BOY ROMANCE: Basketball Daddy (BWWM Alpha Male Billionaire Pregnancy Romance) (African American Unexpected Pregnant Contemporary Romance) (109 page)

Chelsey wriggled her hand free from Aron’s as they walked down the corridor towards his old bedroom.

“What are you doing? What do you have to show me?” she asked him. She couldn’t hide the dread and anxiety from her voice. Aron stopped in front of his door and turned to face her.

“Don’t worry. This’ll only take a minute. You’ll like it, trust me,” he said, and pushed the door open. Chelsey breathed in deeply before following him inside, into the room she remembered so well. It looked exactly the same: the neat double bed, the NHL posters on the wall, the bottle-green curtains at the window and the photographs of Aron and his family on a board.

Aron was shuffling through papers and books on his study table in the corner of the room, while Chelsey stood looking at him in the dim light of the table lamp. She couldn’t believe this was happening, that she was alone with him, in his room, again. It was like his last night in town, three years ago, all over again. He turned to look at her suddenly, and they held each others gaze for a few seconds.

“What do you have to show me, Aron?” Chelsey asked him, curtly. He smiled. He was holding a piece of paper in his hands, which he stretched out towards her now. It took her only a few seconds to recognize it, after which she looked away, refusing to look at it.

“What’s the matter? It’s the letter you left for me on the table after I went away. I found it this morning.” He wasn’t smiling anymore, and his arm remained outstretched towards her. Chelsey continued facing the window.

“I know what it is. Why are you showing it to me?” She tried to keep her voice level, but it was a struggle. She couldn’t understand why he would put her through this, after so many years. What kind of joy was he deriving out of putting her through this misery?

“Because it’s lovely and sweet. I didn’t even know it existed until this morning. I’ve been an ass and haven’t visited home since I left,” he said softly, taking a few steps towards her.

“You’re embarrassing me, Aron,” Chelsey snapped at him and, to her surprise, he laughed.

“Dear Aron…” he said and she realized to her horror that he was reading from the letter now. She breathed in sharply, her nostrils flaring. She could feel her limbs shaking. “You might never find this, or you might not care. I just wanted to write to you, to let you know that last night was very special…”

Chelsey whipped around and walked over to the bed, to sit down at its end with her face in her hands. He was torturing her.

“…it was beautiful and you were beautiful. I know you had to go, but I wish with all my heart that you didn’t. Maybe it didn’t mean anything to you, but I’d wanted this ever since I could remember,” he continued, taking a few steps towards her, towards the bed. Chelsey still had her face in her hands. She couldn’t bear to look up or look at him.

“…you will always remain my special someone, the boy who got away…” he continued reading, and Chelsey suddenly cried out.

“Stop it, Aron. Please stop.”

He looked up from the paper in his hand. He was standing right in front of her now, and a smile lingered on his face.

“You’re cute when you’re embarrassed,” he said, and she shook her head, rage pouring out of her eyes.

“It’s more than embarrassment, Aron. You’re hurting me,” she said, and looked away from him. Aron was silent for a few seconds and then he kneeled down in front of her, dropping the paper to the floor.

“Hey. What’s the matter, Chelsey? I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just thought we’d laugh about it. Reminisce about the old days,” he said, placing his hands on her bare knees. Chelsey looked at him, certain that he could now see the tears glistening in her eyes.

“There’s nothing to laugh about. It might be a joke to you, now that you have lots of women writing you love letters. That’s the only one I ever wrote. It’s not a joke to me.” She hoped that she could keep her emotions under control. She had to try and remember that none of this was his fault. He just didn’t know. He had never known what she felt for him, and he had never known the truth.

He was silent for a few seconds again, looking deep into her eyes. His expression had changed from confusion to concern and he spoke very softly now.

“You’ve got it all wrong, Chelsey. It isn’t a joke to me, either. There might be several women who throw themselves at me, but this is the only love letter that matters. I can’t describe to you how happy it made me to find it here.” He squeezed her knees with his hands and stared back at her. She could see his chest rising and falling with every breath. His lips looked pink and delicious. Chelsey wasn’t sure if she could keep her emotions in check for much longer now.

Chelsey turned her face from him. She wasn’t sure of herself anymore. Years had passed, but he still had the same affect on her.

“Chelsey…” He breathed her name and then began stroking both her knees. She looked back at him and realized that he was looking at her with a changed expression. His eyes had glazed over; he wanted her.

“I wasn’t mocking you. Or the letter. I was just happy to find it, happy to see you again,” he said, letting his fingers wander over her knees and then her thighs. She could barely breathe, her words were caught in her throat. Instinctively she moved her legs, spreading them apart as his hands traveled up her thighs, accepting the invitation.

In her mind, she was aware of what she was doing, repeating the very actions from three years ago which had caused her so much pain. But she couldn’t control herself. She was alone with him, and he was kneeling in front of her: Aron Keels, the love of her life.

His hands had made their way to the lace trim of her panties, and she breathed in deeply when, with one of his fingers, he stroked the growing wetness between her thighs.

“You have no idea how many times I’ve thought about that night,” he said, breathing gruffly. Before she could respond he lunged forward and enveloped her lips with his. His tongue was forcing its way inside, parting her lips, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. She could smell him, touch him, feel him…he was just like she remembered him. His hands were still between her legs, stroking her pulsating self. She dug her hands into the fabric of his jacket and he suddenly pulled himself away from her.

“Chelsey.” He breathed her name gruffly again, before pushing her gently so that her back met the springy mattress of the bed. In one swift motion, he had taken off his jacket, unbuttoned his shirt and then crawled on top of her. He was smiling, but she couldn’t. She knew what was happening, what was going to happen. She was going to be left miserable and heartbroken. But right now, she wanted this more than anything, at least one more time.

She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him closer to herself. He was using his hands to explore her breasts, gently squeezing them and then moving up towards her neck. He bent his head down again to trace the curve of her neck with his tongue, while his hands undid the zipper of her dress.

She felt the cool rush of air against her skin when her dress fell apart around her. He tugged the neck of the dress down with his teeth and, in the same moment, did the same with her bra. Her breasts popped out and she heard him take in a sharp breath.

“I’ve missed them,” He said, with a slight laugh, and then bent his head down again to take her left nipple into his mouth. She could feel him sucking, squeezing her right breast with his other hand. His mouth was on her nipple, gently devouring it. She arched her back up, her hips meeting his so that she could feel his hard, throbbing cock against her thigh. She felt an exciting shock run down her spine at that. She knew how it would feel to have him inside her. She dug her nails into his bare chest and pressed herself to him. He moaned.

When he pulled himself away from her nipple, she arched her neck back, closing her eyes tightly. He was kneading her breasts with his hands while she pulled his shirt apart, feeling the ripping muscles of his arms.

“Aron…” His name escaped her lips and she was surprised by it. But that only triggered him more. He reached down to pull her panties down her legs and then started undoing his own pants.

“Chelsey. I want you so bad,” he said hoarsely, struggling to get his pants down. She reached down to help him. As soon as he had flung his pants off his legs, he grabbed her waist tightly, pulling her close to him, upwards. He didn’t prepare her for it but instead thrust himself inside her with one forceful push.

She felt his cock slide in, deep inside her where she wanted to feel him, and she moaned loudly. She closed her eyes again when he slid out of her slowly. She could feel herself throbbing, and she wanted him back inside her again. He complied, pushing himself in again, this time with more force. When she moaned, he picked up his pace, thrusting and pulling out repeatedly in a quick motion. His eyes were focused on her bouncing breasts, while his hands held on to her tightly. He was moaning along with her as he thrust and throbbed and pulled out.

She could see his neck growing redder by the second, his eyes were glazed over, he was about to jump over the brink.

“Chelsey. I’ve missed you,” he yelled out before his body started shuddering and she could feel him emptying himself inside her. She let go as well, allowing her toes to curl and her neck to stretch back. She felt her body vibrate against him, with him still inside her. They held each other as their bodies engulfed them. His big hands were splayed behind her, clutching her butt tightly. She felt small in his arms, protected and safe.

It lasted several seconds, and then she could feel her heartbeat subsiding. His grip on her butt remained strong, until she finally allowed her back to arch back so that her head gently touched the mattress. The rest of her body was still in his hands, just like her heart was.

Chelsey wriggled out of his arms so that she gently fell back on the bed. Aron laughed, but Chelsey’s growing anger was consuming her now. She couldn’t believe she had fallen for it again, that she had allowed herself to be weak and give in to her feelings for him. When would she start acting like a responsible adult in charge of her own heart?

She sat up in bed and rummaged around for her discarded clothes, while Aron remained on bent knees on the edge of the bed, staring at her.

“What’s the matter, Chelsey? There’s no rush. Nobody will be looking for us. It’s a huge house,” Aron said. He still had a casual laugh in his voice. She couldn’t bear to look at him, so she busied herself with getting dressed instead.

“Chelsey?” He prodded her again. She slipped her dress over her head, arched her back forward to reach the zipper on her spine, and pulled.

“I can’t believe you’re asking me what the matter is,” she spat out, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. Aron’s brow slowly creased.

“I’m angry with myself for doing this again. For falling for this again!” she said, bending to help her feet slip into her shoes.

“Falling for what? What kind of trick do you think I played on you?” Aron turned and sat down on the bed, looking up at her as she straightened her back. He was completely naked. She could see him in all his glory, the film of sweat on his forehead, the strain of the muscles on his shoulders, the light dusting of hair on his chest. She wondered how many women would kill to be in this position. She wondered how many women already had been.

“I didn’t think I could be this silly. Like all those women I keep reading about in the papers. All the girls you date.” Chelsey couldn’t keep the bitterness out of her voice. She turned on her heels and walked over to the table, under which her clutch lay on the floor.

“What I can’t believe is that you fell for all those gossip columns,” she heard him say. She turned to him again, with rage in her eyes.

“So you’re saying that all these years you’ve been a saint?” She threw the words at him, and Aron shook his head and looked away.

“No. Of course I haven’t, but the newspapers exaggerate and I thought you would know that. Besides, it’s not like you’ve been a saint either,” he said with a smirk. This was all still a casual joke to him, Chelsey thought. She needed to get out of there.

She didn’t respond to his statement. How could she even begin to explain to him how and why he was the last guy she slept with? She drew in a deep breath and then hurriedly walked towards the door.

“Where are you going? I thought we were having a conversation.” Aron stood up, picking up his clothes and hurriedly trying to dress. Chelsey paused at the door with her hand on the door knob.

“No more conversations, Aron. I don’t want this to happen again. I’m going home.” She turned the knob and swung the door open.

“Wait!” Aron yelled out, still only half dressed. “You’re going home? Hannah is going to be so upset. You haven’t even seen my parents,” he said, as she walked out of the room.

“Chelsey!” She heard him yell out her name as she ran down the stairs. His voice was muffled by the music and all the noise around her. More than anything, she was thankful that nobody noticed her slip out of the house. She ran to her car and drove off faster than she ever normally dared to drive. The tires skid on the gravel and her heart raced faster than the engine.

By the time the Keels’ house was out of view, there were tears streaming down her cheeks. She knew she still loved him. Her feelings had never changed, but her daughter was more important now. She had to act responsibly for the sake of her daughter.

She wiped her tears with one hand and drove silently until she reached her apartment. She had managed to bring her nerves under control, sort of. She parked her car, climbed the stairs and jiggled her keys in the lock to throw the front door open.

Ruby was on the couch watching a music reality show with the sitter, Janice. They both turned to look at her in unison.

“Mommy!” Ruby screamed, and Chelsey couldn’t help but smile. That was the reaction her daughter always had to her. She walked over to the couch to pick her daughter up as Janice turned the TV off.

“You’re home early. Like, too early!” Janice said, standing up from the couch.

“Yeah, I wasn’t feeling very well. Thanks for your time, Janice. Can I pay you tomorrow altogether? I have an eight-hour shift as usual,” Chelsey said, and Janice shrugged.

“Sure. Whatever. I’ll be here at the same time as yesterday, then?” Janice asked, picking up her purse from the coffee table. Chelsey nodded and tried to smile.

“Thanks, Janice. Ruby, say bye to Janice,” she cooed to her daughter, and held her tightly to her chest. Her heart was still beating fast. She felt as if she had committed a sin and she needed her daughter’s blessing to cleanse her. She stroked her daughter’s hair gently and kissed the top of her head. She could hear Janice open the front door.

“Bye, Ruby!” Janice said, and Chelsey turned with Ruby to wave goodbye to her. When she looked up, she froze. The front door was wide open and Janice was facing them. Aron was at the door in his suit, with his hair tousled, his arms straight down by his side, staring at Ruby in Chelsey’s arms.