Chapter 38
Sophie
Istormed out of Carlos’s place, not really thinking things through. I had been with Maddie all day and didn’t have my car. That meant I ended up riding with Trooper anyway.
We didn’t speak at all, other than when we got to my place and he refused to leave after I told him to go home.
He looked me right in the eyes and said, “I am home,” before he stepped onto the elevator with me.
Now here I was in the bathtub with the door locked while he was somewhere in my apartment doing God knows what, but still here, just to annoy me.
I didn’t know what I was more pissed about, that he’d gone to see her to talk about me or that she’d made up some insane story and he believed it. If the tables were turned and I went to my ex after the two of them had a confrontation, he would definitely see the issue and be all in my shit.
Men just didn’t understand how serious that was.
They shouldn’t discuss their issues at home with another woman.
That just gave them the tools they needed to mess up whatever the man had.
In her eyes, we were having problems if he had to come to her to find out what was going on with me.
She didn’t even know me like that, so it looked even worse.
She probably really thought I was the reason for this baby.
But truthfully speaking, Trooper had been well aware of what he was doing.
Now I was sure she sat somewhere plotting on how to use that to get back into his life and he had just handed it to her.
I wasn’t the insecure type, never really had been, but being with a man like Trooper changed that for me. And true enough, I was annoyed after running into her, but instead of him just letting me have a moment, he felt the need to run straight to the problem. How did that even make sense to him?
I placed my hands over my flat stomach and shook my head. We were about to have a baby and couldn’t even have a conversation. How in the hell was that even going to work?
I slid down into my oversized, clawfoot tub until my head was submerged underwater. When I came up for air, I washed up and got out while mentally preparing to deal with Trooper.
“You still pissed with me?” Trooper’s voice was deep and raspy as it filled the room when he spoke up the second I entered.
He was at the foot of the bed, feet on the floor while he lay back, arms folded behind his head. Of course, all he wore was a pair of joggers, which made it hard to be upset with him and look at him at the same time.
“I’m not pissed with you? It’s pointless to even waste time on it,” I said, knowing I didn’t mean it. I was infuriated, but not in the mood to hear him tell me I had no reason to be.
Trooper sat up, his eyes on me. “I might not know a lot of things, but I damn sure know when you’re pissed. I’ve had a lot of experience in that area, so let’s just have this conversation and be done with it.”
“Have it and be done with it.”
I rolled my eyes as I walked over to the hamper in the corner and dropped my dirty clothes.
“Come on. Sophie. Are you really gonna let that get to you? Hell, if anybody should be upset, it should be me.” He was right behind me after I left my room heading to the kitchen, but I stopped in the hallway as soon as he said that.
“And why is that? Because your ex knows we’re having a baby or because she made up some bullshit story about me planning a wedding? I bet that kind of messes up your plan to keep her on standby just in case this doesn’t work.”
I turned on my heels to continue to the kitchen, but he didn’t move. I heard him mumble something, but I didn’t care.
A few minutes later he stood at the entrance to the kitchen, blocking me from leaving after I got my bottle of water.
“See, that’s that shit I can’t deal with. Why the fuck do I have to have somebody on standby? We’re together, right?”
“That’s what I thought, but when you have to go to your ex for advice on me, maybe we shouldn’t be.”
Trooper looked at me, frustrated, before his hand moved to his temple.
“I didn’t go to her for advice about you, Sophie. I was just trying to make sure she didn’t say something to you that I needed to address. You damn sure weren’t telling me shit, but you had your ass on your shoulders.”
“So, what you mean is you needed to make sure she didn’t tell me something you didn’t want me to know?”
“Like what, Sophie? I’m not still seeing her if that’s what you’re hinting at. I really hope you don’t think that.”
“I really hoped you wouldn’t think I told people we were getting married, but shit happens, right?”
I pushed past him, my shoulder making contact with his body. He had me bent if he thought I was about to play this game with him.
“Did I say I believed it? Don’t go jumping to conclusions?”
I sat on the sofa and lifted the remote while Trooper stood over me looking pissed.
“You believed it enough to discuss it with Carlos, so…” I shrugged and he leaned down and snatched the remote out of my hand and tossed it onto the floor.
“Look, the only thing I’m guilty of is going to see her in the first place. I might have had good intentions, but I shouldn’t have done that. Fuck her and this entire situation. It's dumb as hell anyway.”
“You’re right, it is, but that don’t give you the right to get an attitude with me. You wanna be mad about something, be mad that the bitch still wants you and is trying to scare your ass into coming her way again by making you think I want to marry you.”
Trooper cocked his head to the side and glared at me before his expression dropped. I could tell he was thinking, but I couldn’t tell what.
“Scare me? I’m not scared to marry you, Sophie, and you said that shit like it would be an issue for you. Want to marry you,” he said, mocking me.
I tried my best not to smile because his little ego was hurt I’d said it that way.
“Yes, like I want to marry you. This isn’t the fifties and a baby doesn’t mean you owe me your last name.
I’m perfectly okay with co-parenting our child with you, especially if you feel the need to revisit your past to get advice,” I said with a smirk, which caused his face to ball up. He was pissed and I was amused.
“Keep saying it.” He pointed at me and I laughed, but he didn’t think it was funny.
“Are we still arguing?” I asked, looking up at him.
I wasn’t thrilled that he’d gone to see Orin, but I didn’t think he’d slept with her either. We were in a good place, but it pissed me off that he’d even gone there.
“I wasn’t arguing. That was all you. I just wanted to clear things up.”
“Well, I’m over it, so come watch TV with me.”
I felt Trooper burning a hole through the side of my face as I turned up my water then put the cap back on.
When I was done, I looked up at him and waited.
“Yo, you’re bipolar as fuck. Is that the baby or your crazy just now coming out?” Trooper said it so seriously I burst out laughing.
“You think it’s is funny. I’m dead ass serious, Sophie. How you go from storming out of Los’s place ready to go in on me to come watch TV with me?”
I shrugged and glanced at the floor. When he realized I was looking at the remote he’d thrown down there, he shook his head before picking it up and sitting down next to me. His body weight made me lean into his side, but I didn’t bother moving.
Instead, I took the remote from his hand, turned the TV on, and started going through the channels to find something to watch. We sat there not saying anything for a minute, but Trooper was the first to end that.
“That was the dumbest gotdamn argument I’ve ever had before, especially since I don’t argue with people in the first place,” he said with a smirk.
“Then don’t do dumb things and we won’t have dumb arguments.”
“I admitted to my part, the rest is on you,” he said, lifting his arm and draping it around my shoulders.
“You went to see your ex, got mad because she lied to you, then got mad because I said I didn’t want to marry you in the first place. Nowhere in there does it translate to Sophie was wrong. That’s all you.”
He laughed and pulled me onto his lap. I adjusted my body so I straddled him and he just stared at me for a minute before he kissed my neck first, then my lips and various spots on my face. After a few seconds of that, he just stared at me.
“You don’t want to marry me, Sophie?”
“No,” I said with a straight face and he laughed. It was the truth. I hadn’t even considered that and why would I? I meant what I said about co-parenting.
“Okay,” was all he said before kissing me again.
My shirt was then pulled over my head and his lips teased my nipples before they moved to my neck again. With my head back and my hands on his chest, I enjoyed the feel of him pleasing me. One thing for sure was this baby had my hormones on ten.
“Stand up,” Trooper demanded. He worked my shorts down my thighs before his hands moved up between them.
After strumming my clit a few times, he stood and stepped out of his clothes and guided me toward the sofa again. This time I was on my knees, facing the back with Trooper behind me. His hand dipped between my legs, massaging my center again, which was already nice and wet for him.
I held my breath, waiting for what I knew would happen, but I still wasn’t prepared when he entered me.
My body tensed as he slid his arm around my waist, pulling me into him while he pushed inside me.
“Mmmhmm yes,” I mumbled, covering his hand that rested on my stomach with mine like it would somehow lessen the pressure I felt from him being so deep.
“Shit, you feel good, Sophie.” Trooper pulled out slowly and entered me with the same pace a few more times before I felt his hand against my back and I was pushed into the back of the sofa.
He picked up his pace, his fingers digging into my sides while he held on tightly and pumped in and out of me vigorously.
“Sophie?” he whispered against my ear as he leaned down and pressed his body into mine.
“Mmmhmm…”
“You sure you don’t want to marry me?”