Reed's Reckoning (9 page)

Tonight is the night. After my conversation at the daycare today with Travis, it’s time. Reed agreed to come over for dinner and we’d do it together. Davis needs to hear it from us and not another kid, or worse, another parent.

It’s been three weeks since we went to the fields in town and as promised, Reed has been around every day. The first week was awkward, trying to teach him about Davis’s schedule, how to negotiate with a toddler about bedtime, and teeth brushing. But by the end of the week, he had the hang of everything. Davis actually listens to him better than me.

Grandma Katy and Sophie have kept their distance saying I needed this time to help Davis and Reed bond. Luke and I still talk every day and meet for lunch a few times a week, but his nights are mostly with Sarah. He’s become more and more supportive of the father/son relationship.

All three of them have remained vocal about their worry for me being around Reed so much. I’m not going to lie; it has been hard on me emotionally because he is an incredible father. My thoughts drift back to when we talked about our future. We haven’t talked about it again, but we both are still scarred by what we learned about our breakup. He tried to bring it up but I shut him down. The pain is still too raw and I don’t need the drama in my life anymore.

Davis squeals as he throws open the door and lunges at the package that Reed is holding out. I roll my eyes at him because it’s about the tenth present he’s brought Davis in the last few weeks. They have started out harmless but have gradually gotten more extreme. I open my mouth to tell him he has to stop when Davis turns to look at me. His smile is so big his cheeks are going to be sore.

“Look, Mama, Weed got me a pwesent.” He runs to me and shoves the box in my hands.

Tears fill my eyes when I see the Lego set. He’s going to build a Lego ship with his son tonight. I look at him and he’s staring at me worried. I grin and let him know I’m okay and wipe my eyes.

“Davis baby, this is awesome. Why don’t you go play for a few minutes so Reed and I can talk? We’ll open this after dinner.”

He takes off running to his room. I get us a drink and motion for him to follow me to the porch. It a safe place for us to talk without Davis hearing everything.

“Tell me what happened. I’m thrilled, but your phone call took me off guard.” He opens both our beers and sits down on the swing next to me.

“Travis texted me and asked to meet him outside the daycare today before we picked up the kids. He wanted to talk to me.”

“What the fuck? Why does he have your phone number?” His body tenses and he glares at me.

“All the parents share numbers. He’s a single parent too. Miles’s mom had an affair and he divorced her. We rely on each other sometimes and the kids have play dates. What’s your problem?”

“My problem is he wants you. I see it in the way he watches you at the practices. He basically eye fucks you every time you walk up.”

“I hardly think—”

“Ari, I would know because I do it too every time I see you.” He interrupts and scoots closer.

“You can’t say things like that, Reed. We agreed this is about Davis.”

“No, you agreed. I didn’t argue. I know what I want.”

“Anyways, he met me in the parking lot and asked about you. He said he didn’t want to get in my business, but it was pretty obvious who Davis’s dad was. Apparently, the last few weeks at practice people have been watching us and talking about it. Travis overheard a woman tell another mother she couldn’t wait to tell her friends that her son played soccer with an NFL player’s son.”

“How did you respond?”

“I told him our story was complicated and dated all the way back to college. I knew you before you were rich and famous. I didn’t go into details, but told him I kept Davis from you. Now that you knew the truth, you were going to be a part of his life.”

“And that’s why you want to tell him tonight?”

“Yes, his first game is tomorrow and I don’t want him to hear it from someone else. He’s so young; he shouldn’t have too many questions. If you’re not ready, let me know.”

“Fuck, Ari, I’ve been ready since he called me the fish man. It hurt like hell. And once we tell him, I want to tell my family and friends.”

Panic sets in. Reed’s mom was wonderful to me the few times I met her at FSU. I never met his sister but it scares me that they will hate me. Will they hate Davis too?

“I see the fear on your face, stop worrying. My family is going to be confused, but excited. Hell, I’ll try and hold them off for a few weeks, but I’m pretty sure they’ll drive up as soon as they find out.”

“Reed—”

“No, stop. Whatever you’re thinking, just stop. Let’s get through tonight and then let me build a Lego ship with my son. Tomorrow, we’ll talk about what’s next.”

“Okay.” I shake my head and relax against the swing.

Once we know what we want to say to him, we go back in and I get the plates for dinner. Davis rushes in but Reed helps him back to the bathroom to wash his hands.

When we sit down, my phone rings and I see Sophie’s name flash across the screen.

“Hey, Soph, we just sat down to eat. Can I call you back?”

“Yeah, but tell me really quick what time is the soccer game tomorrow morning?”

“Ten.”

“Great, I’ll be there and I’m going to have Luke pick me up.”

“K, I’m not sure if it’ll be too hot for Katy, but Reed and I will be there.”

“Oooohhh, Reed and I will be there…sounds promising.”

“Shut up, you hus—I mean hush. I gotta go, we’re at the table.”

We hang up and Reed smirks at me. I raise my eyebrows but he doesn’t say anything.

“I wuv pepperonis and cheese.” Davis says with a mouth full of food.

“Baby, don’t talk with your mouth full.” Suddenly, I’m not very hungry and start picking at my salad. Reed notices and starts the conversation.

“Little man, you excited about tomorrow?”

“Yep, but coach says it’s not about winning.”

“He said that? Why would he say that?” he practically hisses.

“Reed! It’s about teamwork and learning to work together. This is not really a league sport. It’s more about learning the game and sportsmanship. He’ll be in competitive sports in a few years.”

He doesn’t comment back but scowls. I wonder if Davis will inherit his dad’s competitive nature. I need to get us back on track.

“Davis, so you remember when you asked last week about Father’s Day?”

“Yep, I want Uncle Wuke to come to the pawty at school.”

Reed drops his fork and his eyes cut to me. He opens his mouth but I shake my head at him.

“Well, I think you should ask Reed.”

Davis’s eyes go back and forth between us in confusion. When he stops and looks at Reed his face is blank.

“Are you my daddy?”

“Yeah, buddy, I am.”

“Yeah!” he squeals.

Reed’s face lights up with a huge smile and they both look at me. I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

“I have a daddy.”

My heart hurts because I never realized how important it was to him. I try not to let it show and go back to eating. Davis and Reed talk non-stop. Carrying on a conversation with a very excited three and a half year old is mostly one-sided.

While Reed gives Davis his bath, I finally allow a few tears to fall. Emotions wash over me and I hang my head trying to calm down.

“Hey, now, what’s wrong?” Reed whispers and pulls me into him. The smell of his cologne engulfs me and I inhale deeply. It is another reminder of all the times I spent in his arms. Even though I’m emotional, my body reacts to his and I feel my nipples tightening against my tank top. I try to form words.

“I-I-I’m s-s-so sorry. I know that’s not how we talked about telling him but my mind went blank.” The look on his face still fresh in my head. Davis has never questioned who his father is even though he sees other children with their dads. I feel a sense of relief and at the same time guilt. Will he remember this and hold it against me one day?

“Baby, it’s okay. The end result is the same. Now he knows. No more hiding.”

His arms are still around my waist and when I look up our faces are inches apart. He’s leaning down into me and his eyes have turned a crystal blue. Everything in my mind is telling me to move back but my body is betraying me.

“Ari, you are so beautiful.” He lowers his gaze to my mouth and licks his lower lip.

Without thinking, I lift up and press my lips to his. As soon as they touch, there’s an explosion of familiarity. He cups the back of my head with one hand and grabs my ass with the other, pulling me as close as possible. When his tongue slips into my mouth, I whimper. At first we are both gentle, but then our mouths attack each other. Our tongues swirl together and I hold onto his biceps for balance. I’m dizzy from lack of oxygen, but can’t break away. My free hand massages his scalp lightly, remembering he loves it.

“Daddy! I’m weady to get out.” Davis calls from the bathroom and we both go still.

I try to stop but he holds onto me slowing us down. When he leans back, he showers my face with small kisses. I’m breathless and turned on everywhere.

“Over four years. That’s how long I’ve gone without your perfect kisses. Four fucking years.”

“Shh, Reed. That shouldn’t have happened.”

“Yes, it should have.”

“No, it was an emotional reaction.”

“Tell yourself whatever the hell you want. But it’s going to happen again, soon.”

I want to argue, but he steps back and places a quick kiss to my forehead then goes to Davis. I run to my bathroom and shut the door. My reflection shocks me. My face is flushed and my lips swollen. My whole body is strumming with need. What the hell did I do?

Her smell is everywhere. Just rubbing up against me for a few minutes coated my body with her scent and my dick approves. I have to adjust myself several times while trying to snap Legos and build the boat in the diagram. Davis doesn’t notice, but does continuously instructs me on the right way to do this.

Several times, I laugh out loud at his bossiness and word choices. He definitely gets his attitude from his mom. We only have thirty minutes until his bedtime. I negotiated two books tonight since tomorrow is such a big day.

Then I plan on cornering Ari right back into the same position we were in before we were interrupted. Preferably, this time, I’ll have her on her back. I felt her nipples poking through her thin shirt into my chest. If I had a few more minutes, I could have seen how wet she was. Her tiny shorts were begging me to slip my fingers inside and test her.

After Ari and I broke up, I was never into kissing. Shit, most of the time I could fuck and duck without ever touching the woman’s lips. It was just too painful because Ari’s taste is addictive and I didn’t want anyone else. But when our lips connected, it was like I was born to kiss this woman. I was serious; it is going to happen again, and again, and again.

There’s no denying the chemistry we have together. Even though she made me wait for sex in college, everything we did was explosive. Our bodies knew exactly what to do with each other. When she finally let me make love to her, I could swear there were fireworks in the room. She was meant for me. The way her body accepted mine was magnetic.

“Daddy? Did you hear me?”

His little voice draws me out of my memories and back to the room. Realizing my little boy just called me daddy makes my heart race. “Whatcha got?”

“Nuthin, I asked where mommy is?”

“Shower, buddy. Let’s get this mess cleaned up and get you to bed.”

I want everything to be done when Ari finishes. She thinks she is clever trying to avoid me, but I’m on to her. She did everything to stay out of the living room tonight, even starting her laundry, which she doesn’t do until Sundays.

Once I get him into bed, he only lasts for one book before he is sound asleep. I kiss his temple and turn off the light. Then I go on a mission.

I find Ari on the front porch with a glass of wine reading. She smiles at me lazily.

“He’s out huh?”

“Yeah.”

“You want another beer or do you have to leave?”

“I’d love a beer but do you mind getting it? My knee is killing me.”

The way she jumps up almost makes me feel guilty, but I needed her to go inside in order to put my plan in place. When she disappears into the kitchen, I settle back on the swing with one leg propped up. Then I move her wine right next to me and wait for her.

Her eyes slant slightly when she gets back and notices I took her seat. She hands me my beer and goes to get her wine when I tug her down between my legs, eventually trapping her by wrapping my other leg around her small body.

“I thought your knee hurt? This is a lot of moving around for a man in pain.”

“What can I say? It was a miraculous recovery.”

“Humpt! You did that on purpose.”

“I did. I see you putting your walls back up and I won’t tolerate it. You’ve been avoiding me all night.”

“I have not; I’ve been taking advantage of having someone to keep Davis busy.”

“Angel, don’t lie. You’re terrible at it.”

I sweep her hair over her other shoulder so I can rub circles on the skin below her ear. Her lips part slightly and her breathing hitches. Instead of relaxing, her back goes straight. I try to pull her back to me but she resists.