27. Porn Stars Named Bunny
TWENTY-SEVEN
PORN STARS NAMED BUNNY
Trey
I dash toward the swing set as I frantically scan the playground. Where did she go? She was just here a fucking second ago. My heart hammers in my chest as a bead of sweat trickles down my spine. Oh fuck. I lost her. I lost Abby.
“Abby!” I race around the playground, searching under the slide. “Abby!” Then my gaze jumps to the rock-climbing wall. I sprint from one side of the playground to the other but I don’t see her anywhere. Rylee is going to kill me. Fuck. I want to kill me. I’ve lost her daughter. My heart pounds in my ears, drowning out all the other sounds around me. I’m going to be a fucking terrible father.
The distinct sound of a sniffle echoes behind me, and I whirl around. A pair of familiar white sneakers with hearts on them catch my attention from inside a wooden train play set. I sprint toward the caboose and duck inside. Abby’s sitting on one side with her face buried in her hands as little sniffles wrack her body.
“Oh shit. There you are!” I shove my large frame through the small opening and sit next to her. I wrap my arms around her shoulders and haul her to me, hugging her tight. “I was so worried. I didn’t know what happened to you. That was one conversation I didn’t want to have with your mom.” I blow out a heavy breath. “Fuck.” Adrenaline still courses through my entire body. “What happened back there? You were swinging and then you just left. I thought something happened.”
She sniffles and wipes her cheeks with the sleeve of her hoodie. Her voice is soft and shaky as she says, “You left me.”
“I had to take a very important phone call. I was coming right back.”
“That’s what my dad always says, and he never comes right back.” She drops her head.
Fuck. I didn’t know that’s what her dad always does. “Look. Abby. I’m sorry. I won’t do that again. Okay?” Her big hazel eyes peer up at me, and she nods. With my back hunched, I rise to my feet, needing to get out of this tiny ass train before claustrophobia takes over, but Abby doesn’t move. Instead, she kicks the toe of her shoe against the wood floor. “What’s wrong?”
“Why doesn’t my dad want to see me? He’s always canceling, or on the phone when we’re together. Now you’re doing it, too. No one wants to play with me.” Her bottom lip juts out as her head droops.
Double fuck. Life never prepares you for those types of questions. I plop down on the wooden bench again. “Honestly, I don’t know. But what I do know is your mom loves you so much and she loves spending time with you. And I enjoy hanging out with you too.”
Her teary-eyed face peers up at me. “You do?
“Hel-heck yeah. We have so much fun together. I’m sorry about earlier. Still want to be my chipmunk?”
She nods and wraps her arms around my waist. I exhale, hugging her tight to me. “We should call the baby acorn.”
“Acorn?”
“Yeah. You’re squirrel, I’m chipmunk, so the baby is acorn.”
“I like it. But does your mom need a name?”
She taps her chin. “Bunny!”
“So, we have bunny, squirrel, chipmunk, and acorn.”
“Yeah!”
“I think that’s perfect. How about I buy us some ice cream and pizza? Then we can go home and play whatever game you want.”
Her eyes light up. “Princess tea party?”
“Uh. Of course. Anything you want.”
“Yay!” Abby jumps to her feet. Before she’s out the side exit, I stop her with a hand on her shoulder.
“One condition. Don’t tell your mom I swore.”
She runs her fingers over her lips like she’s zipping them closed.
“I knew I liked you.” Abby steps outside, and I wiggle my way through the small opening. Once I’m out in the open air, I stretch my arms and neck. Then I follow Abby to my SUV.
After we got home from stuffing our faces with ice cream and pizza, we got through one serving of princess tea party before Abby practically passed out on the floor still wearing her tutu. I tucked her into her bed and turned on her nightlight before softly closing the door behind me. When I’m back in the living room, I throw myself onto the couch. The pink and purple beaded necklaces flop against my chest. Exhausted, I let out a sigh and drop my head heavily against the couch. My scalp tingles as the plastic tiara pulls on my hair. Closing my eyes, I rub my hands firmly down my face. Today could have turned out way differently. I’m glad it didn’t, but now I need to tell Rylee. Time ticks by as I stare at the ceiling as dusk turns to night. My eyelids grow heavy until they fully close.
* * *
The click of the door startles me awake and I jackknife off the couch. The pink plastic tiara falls to the floor and bounces a couple of times before coming to a rest next to the couch. I jump to my feet and see Rylee standing next to the door toeing off her shoes.
My heart jackhammers in my chest as I blurt out, “I lost your kid.”
Her eyes jump out of their sockets as her purse falls to the floor. “What!?”
“I mean, I found her.” In five long strides, I’m standing in front of Rylee. “She’s sleeping in her bed. But for a brief moment today I lost her.”
She clutches her chest and inhales a deep breath. “Back the confusion train up. How about you lead with that instead of ‘I lost your kid.’ What happened?”
I bend down and pick up her purse off the floor and set it on the counter. “We went to the park, and she was swinging on the swing set. I had to take a phone call, and I turned away for like five seconds and she was gone. I lost your kid. I’m going to be a terrible father. Who loses a kid?” I jab a finger at my chest. “This terrible soon to be father.”
“Oh, Trey.” Her eyes crinkle in the corners before she bursts out laughing.
“I’m glad you find my traumatic experience so hilarious.”
“I’m sorry.” She brushes the tears from under her eyes as she regains her composure. “You’re not going to be a terrible father. A terrible father wouldn’t care.” Her warm palms cup my cheeks as she takes a step closer. “Based on your reaction, you care. A lot.” She rises on her tippy toes and presses a soft kiss on my lips.
If she wants to show her apology in kisses, I’m all for it. Before I can deepen the kiss, she pulls away.
“Come with me.” She grips my hand and leads me past the open kitchen and dining room and into the living room. She takes a seat on one side of the couch and pats the cushion next to her. “You’re not going to be a terrible father. You want to know what I did?” She sits up and tucks one leg under her as she faces me. “One time when Abby was an infant, I went to the grocery store. I got her stroller all ready, put her favorite plush toy inside, and I had a bottle in hand. I patted myself on the back for remembering all her things. Halfway through the produce section I realized I left Abby in the car. I had her stroller and all her things, except no Abby.”
“Oh shit. Was it hot out?”
“No. It was springtime. But that’s not all. Another time I had her carrier with her inside in one hand and two bags of groceries in another. A flight of stairs stood between me and my apartment. Halfway up, one of the bags started to rip. While I was fumbling with not losing all my groceries, I lost my grip when the carrier bumped against the stairs and Abby slid halfway down before coming to a stop on the landing.”
“Oh damn. And she was alright?”
“She slept through the entire thing. Not only are they safe enough for a car accident, but they’re also safe enough for a half a flight of stairs.”
My muscles relax a little as I lean against the back of the couch.
Rylee sits up on her knees and crawls toward me before hoisting a leg over my thighs to straddle me. I run my hands up her thighs, around her hips to her ass, and stop at her waist.
She cups my cheeks and forces me to meet her gaze. “So again, you won’t be a terrible father. Keeping another human alive is hard and we all make mistakes, but we just keep doing our best and hope they turn out to be good people.” She bends down and kisses me. It’s chaste and entirely too quick. “And I’ll talk to Abby because she knows better than to run off like that.”
I blow out a breath and rest my forehead on her chest. “It was my fault.”
She places her finger under my chin and lifts, forcing me to meet her gaze. “What do you mean?”
“When I took that phone call, that’s when she bolted. Afterwards, when I talked to her, she said that’s what her dad would do. Whenever they would spend time together, he would always take phone calls or busy himself with other things. She thinks that’s what will happen with me.” I felt like the world’s biggest asshole after that. Like it should be stamped on my forehead for everyone to see. My very own scarlet letter, or in this case scarlet word.
Her gaze locks with mine. Soft and sincere. “In the short time I’ve gotten to know you, you’re nothing like her father. And Abby knows that. She’s just having a hard time with everything. But we’ll get through this. All of it. We’ll do it together.” She clasps her hand around mine. “I was thinking, maybe we should get out of Harbor Highlands for a few days and spend some time together. Just us two.”
“I’d like that. And I know the perfect place. I’ll ask Seth and Parisa if they’ll watch Abby since she had fun playing with Maddox at Adventure Land.” I lift our hands and press a kiss to her knuckles. “Also, I should tell you Abby’s name for the baby.”
“Oh yeah? What’d she pick?” Her hands roam over my shoulders and chest.
“Acorn.”
She softly smiles. “That’s cute. It goes with all the other nicknames.”
“She picked one for you too.” I bit back my grin.
Her hands freeze and she tilts her head in curiosity. “What’s that?”
“Bunny,” I spit out, unable to hold back my smile any longer.
She drops her head to my shoulder, a laugh bubbling out of her. “Of course, I get the porn star name.”
“Now, I fully expect you to live up to your namesake. We can start by doing deep sea fishing.”
She quirks an eyebrow at me.
“A little harpooning the salty longshoreman.” I thrust my hips up while bear hugging her to my chest. I nuzzle her neck with playful kisses.
She squirms and giggles as she gyrates against me. All thoughts about lost kids and terrible fathers are out the window and we’re only left with porn stars named Bunny.