Chapter 13 – Slater
Chapter Thirteen
SLATER
I ’m trying to not let this situation with Felipe bother me, but it is. It took me a long time to gain an online following, and it sucks that it’s being tarnished because of lies. I have to admit that Brooks is being super sweet, and I know I’m being a bit of a jerk.
I did my best last night to eat his dinner, which was amazing. I’d gone to take a picture of it because he even plated it beautifully but then remembered I couldn’t share it. I hate how out of control I feel in all of this.
Brooks got me to forget for a little while when he made love to me twice after dinner. That man is seriously addictive. He touches me, and all rational thought leaves my mind. There is only him and me and this crazy passion we fall into together. It’s all-consuming.
“How’s your stomach?” Brooks sits down on the side of the bed, brushing hair out of my face.
“It’s good today.” I rest my hand on my stomach. No bump has formed yet. Brooks puts his hand over mine.
“What can I get you?”
“I’m going to lie in this bed and watch reality TV and forget about everything else.”
“What are we watching?” He stands, grabbing a tablet from his side of the bed. Holy crap, we both have sides of the bed. Brooks taps away on it, and of course a television comes down from the ceiling.
“I'll binge Bravo, and then I might watch some Chef Ray.”
“Chef Ray?” The question comes out like an accusation.
“Maybe.” I shrug.
“Why would you watch him? He’s terrible. He can’t make a proper risotto to save his life.”
“His Wellingtons always look yummy.”
“Because you only see it through the television. That’s why he has so many damn shows because he can’t get a Michelin star for his restaurants to save his damn life.
” Brooks starts to get heated. “I’ll make you a Wellington tonight.
You don’t need Chef Ray.” I bite the inside of my cheek.
“Maybe you should read a book instead.” He looks so damn adorable when he gets heated.
“Really?” I try to keep my face passive.
“And who is this Bravo? I’ve never heard of them either.
Must not be a very good chef.” I burst into laughter, unable to hold it back any longer.
Brooks only stares at me with a pout on his handsome face.
I didn’t know Brooks could pout, which only makes me laugh harder. “I don’t see what is so funny.”
“Bravo is a television network; it’s all reality shows like Housewives and people arguing.”
“Oh.” He nods, handing me the tablet. “Chef Ray is blocked.”
“Seriously?”
“He will be shortly when I can get to another television in this house.”
“I can’t.” I laugh more. “Oh gosh, Brooks. Thanks, I needed that.”
His face softens. “I’ll endure Chef Ray if it makes you laugh,” he says, sitting on the side of the bed next to me. “I mean, he is pretty laughable.”
"You don't have to endure anything. Don't you have a kitchen to run?"
"I could stay."
"Or you can go. I'll watch my TV, no Chef Ray. Then you'll come home and make me that Wellington you promised."
"Is that what you want?" I think about it. What the hell do I want? I'm not sure anymore. Your whole life can really be flipped in seconds.
"Yeah, and maybe I will read. I should probably get one of those books about babies because I don't know shit about them. Hell, I'm an only child."
"I'll have some ordered. We can read them together.
" A tension inside me relaxes. He's really into this.
I hope that's true because I'm freaking out a bit.
I love my dad, but he wasn't very involved in my life.
The man adores my mom, but he is also married to his job.
He's gotten better now that I'm older, but that shit did sting when I was little, and I don't want that for our baby.
"Are you lost in the whole baby area too?" I really have no clue about Brooks's family life.
"I can be lost a lot when it comes to people in general." Yeah, I'm putting that together. It can, at times, be rather endearing.
“I’ll work on being more straight with you.
Work being the key word there,” I tell him.
My emotions have been all over the place.
I’m not sure if it’s only baby hormones.
Brooks sparks other things to life inside of me.
He makes me want things that I never have in the past. That scares the crap out of me.
It hurt when I thought he used me. It actually cut deeper than anything Felipe or my ex-best friend did, which made it all the more clear to me that my feelings for Brooks run a whole lot deeper than I want to own up to.
"You don't have to work on anything. You relax."
"I'll try."
Brooks leans in, pressing a kiss to my lips. "Are you sure I should go?"
"Are there things you need to handle?"
"I would like to check on a few things."
"Then go." I know how important his work is, and I don’t want to keep him from it.
"If I text or call, you'll answer?"
"Yes."
"Okay." He gives me another kiss before standing. "I'll check in soon."
"All right," I laugh. "Go."
"Are you kicking me out?" he says, playfully this time.
"I'm about to," I tease.
"It is your home. I suppose you could."
"Nice." I shake my head. He's always slipping those comments in there.
Brooks checks to see if I've got my phone before he leaves. I've silenced all my social media for the time being, and I blocked Felipe. I don't want to deal with him right now. He’s anticipating a reaction from me, so that’s the last thing he’s going to get.
I'm also enjoying that he is having a small freak-out. Not sure why, seeing as the hate is directed at me, but if I had to guess, he's not going to be the biggest fan of the narrative that he was cheated on. That any woman would dare step out on him.
How did I even allow myself to hang out with the jerk? Wait, now that I think about it, Sara had been the one to point out Felipe's TikTok to me. She was always nudging me toward him and even telling him when we went places. I often took her with me.
What if there is a lot more to this than I realized? I grab my phone. I should do some internet sleuthing of my own.