41. River
Chapter Forty-One
RIVER
Two weeks later it wasn’t the scare outside my work that I was thinking about.
Nope.
It was the conversation Huntley and I had as I lay in his arms later that evening.
The ‘baby talk’ .
Don’t get me wrong, I was still jumpy and worried about who had a vendetta against me. It had been clear by the few words he said about minding my own business and not getting into people's heads that he’d targeted me for a reason.
And it was concerning that nobody knew who he was yet. But it was still the other subject that was weighing heavily on my mind.
I’d never even pondered having a baby, knowing I would never let a man touch me for the rest of my life, which is exactly what I had told Huntley. But I’d also told him things had changed.
For two weeks after holding baby Lola, I couldn't stop thinking about what it would be like to have a baby. Lennon and Bre were my children, and I loved them as if they had been with me all their lives, not just the last few years as teens.
But…
Experiencing the whole process with Huntley, well that was again something that had been impossible to picture because I’d never met or dreamed of meeting a man like him. One who twisted me up inside, gave me butterflies, and made me feel safe. A man who showed love to not only me but to my kids.
Someone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.
Something shifted inside me that night we had the ‘ baby talk’ , and now the idea of never getting to make love to the man who was my savior and meant the world to me, seemed out of the question. There’d been a few steamy make-out sessions that had me almost begging for more, but it hadn’t happened yet.
There were still three problems even if a big part of me was saying that it was time. First, I was still scared—that was something that wasn't going to just magically go away. Second, I was worried about what he would think when he saw me naked. And third, I didn’t have a clue what I was doing.
Those three hang ups were denying both Huntley and me something big.
“Earth to River,” Lake called out from the front seat of Bronson’s massively large vehicle. “Are you coming or gonna hang out here with Bronson and Lyric?”
I shook my head attempting to clear it and realized we were sitting out front of Alley’s house. Huntley had finally gone back to work and was on a twenty-four-hour shift. He wasn’t thrilled—that was putting it lightly—about leaving me alone at night. Especially after what had happened recently.
However, his first night back, I was covered because Alley had planned one of her big sleepovers for the evening .
“Girl, what is wrong with you? Let's get a move on.” My sister laughed. “What is going on in your head right now?”
All twisted up in my thoughts, I forgot my brother-in-law was in the car dropping us off for a second and opened my dang mouth, answering Lake’s question.
“I told Huntley we couldn’t set a date and get married until we had sex.” I huffed out a frustrated breath. “But how can we do that if I am scared and don’t know what the hell I’m doing?”
A throat cleared, catching my attention. That at least put an end to the word vomit that might have occurred, but not in time to stop the flush of heat that I was sure had my face beet red.
“I’m out of here.” I threw open the back door. “Forget I said that!” I called out as I scurried out of the car, only to find Lyric waiting next to it with Ruby by his side.
I groaned. So much for getting away.
“Hey, you ready to party?” Ruby asked as Bronson rounded the car to help Lake out.
I nodded as Ruby studied me. “Do you feel okay? Your face is all red.”
Lake was beside me, looping her arm through mine before butting in. “She’s fine, just a little something our group can help her with later.”
Now Bronson was coughing like he was about to hack up a damn furball. I noticed Lyric raise his brows and I turned to scowl at both my sister and her husband.
You have got to be shitting me. She wants me to tell all the ladies?
“Perfect, let's get in there then,” the redheaded beauty said.
When I turned around Lyric was still eyeing Bronson as if waiting for him to fill him in on what was going on. Lake started walking and I followed as Bronson said, “Don’t ask me, I didn’t hear a thing. ”
Lake giggled next to me and I rolled my eyes.
“Stuff a sock in it, sis.”
That had her giggling even more.
“Now my curiosity has truly peaked,” Ruby said from the other side of me.
Before I could say anything, the door flew open and there stood Alley, along with some of the other ladies who were already there. When we got closer, I saw a frown on the woman’s face, which wasn’t the norm at all.
“No Patience?” she called out as we started up the steps.
With everything going on and embarrassment taking over, I hadn’t realized the young woman was missing just yet.
“No,” Ruby answered as we approached the door. “She said she wanted to stay home with Gramps and Griffin, but I’m sure it has more to do with hoping Jett will get to call. The girl is worrying herself sick now that he is officially overseas.”
Poor Patience , I thought. Now that I had Huntley in my life, I couldn’t imagine him being gone for so long. A night at a time for work seemed like torture enough since I was getting really used to him next to me every night.
“Darn it. It probably would have done her good to be here and try and take her mind off things,” Alley told Ruby. “Well come in, ladies, it’s time to get this shindig going.”
Nerves began to swim in my stomach. I had never been to a sleepover, let alone had friends like these ladies growing up.
Alley made a shooing motion at the guys. “You’re not invited.”
Lyric and Bronson chuckled. Both the men dragged their ladies into their arms, causing Lake to release me, and then kissed them senseless right there in front of everyone watching. My face flamed even hotter.
“Okay, okay, knock it off, this is girls’ time,” Alley proclaimed .
The guys managed to release their wives' mouths and then I heard Bronson whispering to Lake about making sure she takes it easy.
“Yes, dear,” she told him sweetly, while also rolling her eyes.
He lightly swatted her butt. “I saw that.”
Seriously, the two of them were so sweet on each other, they were going to give everyone a toothache.
Aren’t you just as sweet on Huntley?
Shit, I was just like them.
“We’ll be right outside!” Lyric called out and the two men made their way down the steps toward their cars.
“I got protection right inside,” Alley yelled out.
Lyric groaned and threw a hand up, waving it over his head in a dismissal gesture. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Your world-famous bat collection.”
Bronson chuckled as they both kept walking.
I’d, of course, heard about the bats, I’d just never seen them.
Until now.
We followed Alley inside and there they were, all lined up against the wall by the door. Or a lot of them anyway. I had a feeling she probably had others by the back entrance as well.
I had to give it to her. It was an impressive collection of bats in a range of glorious colors and styles.
Alley looked at her beloved bats and then at me. “Nice, right?”
I began to nod my head and was about to say something but stopped as a funny look crossed her face. What was that about? Did I have something on my face?
“Why are your cheeks so red?”
Before I could respond to her second question, Lake started laughing. “She needs help with a sex question. ”
I glared at my sister and instead of just my face, my whole body felt like it was on fire.
Alley smiled and winked at me. “Well, you’ve come to the right place.”
Another groan slipped from my lips.
Was this what all sleepovers were like?
Then I realized it barely had gotten started and I knew I was in for a crazy night.
The doorbell rang and all the women cheered.
We’d stuffed ourselves full of Chinese food, painted our nails and toes, danced to music—Lake more like waddled around in circles and shook her butt since she was just weeks away from having a baby—and we were just picking out a movie when my sister claimed she had a craving.
A completely disgusting one at that.
She wanted Manzanilla green olives, stuffed with minced pimiento and of all things apple/carrot juice boxes to drink.
Once she mentioned it, Alley had made a call and a delivery was made not long after.
Our hostess peeked through the peephole and turned to all of us waiting behind her. A crazy smile split her face and then she unlocked the door before yanking it open. A younger looking guy stood there. With Lyric and Bronson on each of his sides, he was looking a tad bit nervous.
“Again?” Lyric asked in an exasperated tone but there was a twinkle in his eye that showed he was amused as well.
The women ignored him and all the ladies—but me, since I didn’t know the person—shouted, “Carson!” in unison.
Alley pulled the guy, along with his big carry bag, into the house, then she shooed away the husbands for the second time that night and shut the door .
“What in the world is going on?” I muttered.
Teal was right next to me and laughed. “Carson delivered to us on the last sleepover, only that time it was a bag of pregnancy tests.”
I’d been invited to that one but declined. I just wasn’t comfortable with a whole group of people yet.
I half laughed; half snorted. The sound was outrageous, but I couldn’t help it. These women were crazy, but a whole hell of a lot of fun. While spending time with them, I realized throughout the night how much I’d missed out on growing up and even into adulthood.
“And what, now he is your personal delivery driver?”
Teal giggled. “Alley thinks so.” She leaned closer and whispered. “He does DoorDash but personally I believe the lady of the house managed to get his personal number.”
I shook my head in amusement. “With Alley, anything is possible,” I whispered back.
All the ladies circled around as the Carson dude put his bag down on the entry table next to the door. My sister was in his personal space bouncing lightly on her feet like a kid in a candy store as she watched him pull out the stash brought to her specifications.
“Thank you, Carson, you’re the best,” Lake told the guy. “You’ve been there for me twice now.” She rubbed her big belly and I saw Carson’s face turn a light shade of pink.
I know just how you feel, kid.
“Wait…” I leaned closer to Teal. “The pregnancy tests were for Lake?”
When Teal nodded, we both started to giggle.
Alley handed Lake a huge jar of olives, then helped Carson pass out a juice box to everyone—all the ladies being good sports about drinking the nasty juice—and then she thrust her box in the air as if she was holding a glass of champagne. “To Carson. Not only the most fabulous delivery guy a group of girls can ask for but our new honorary bestie.”
“To Carson!” everyone cheered as they followed suit and held their drink up.
Now the young guy’s face wasn’t just pink, it was flaming red. It was easy to see he wasn’t sure what to do though, and his eyes wandered around the room looking for something to focus on while all the ladies stared at him.
I noticed when his gaze landed on Alley’s collection. “I see you got more bats,” he said.
She nodded, clearly proud of herself. “You can never have too many,” she told him.
He nodded in return while wearing a funny smile, and I knew I was missing something again. This time Brinley chimed in, obviously having seen my face scrunched up in curiosity.
“Last time he came, he asked Alley if we were all on a softball team.”
Another giggle-snort broke free.
Could the night get any more insane?
The answer was yes.
But I was at least thankful I avoided eating olives with my juice.