Allie Chapter 25

Allie (Chapter 25)Acceptance

Chapter 25

 

            Evan opened his eyes and realized he hadn’t been dreaming last night. Sammie was really in his bed and they really did have sex. He hadn’t expected that to happen ever ever ever again, like she said. But he couldn’t deny it when she was naked in his bed. Last night had come as a total and complete surprise and he knew it wasn’t because she wanted to be with him again. She was upset so she had sex with him, which was more of an Allie thing to do. He wasn’t exactly sure what upset her he was assuming it was probably her mother. If he was a better more responsible person then he would have turned her down. Obviously he’d proven that he wasn’t that was why she broke up with him? No matter what he tried she wouldn’t back down or consider forgiving him, so why was she willing to have sex with him?

None of this made sense but he couldn’t make himself regret being with her. He loved her no matter what and he’d been desperate to have her back. So for a long time he laid there watching her sleep, once she was awake the moment would be gone. She would go back to hating him and wouldn’t speak to him. Yes he did deserve it but he really was sorry. And he was willing to bet she would feel like he took advantage of her last night. Even though she was the one dragging him to his room and locking Corey out, he didn’t get a choice. Not that he could have actually said no to her anyway, he was only human. She looked so beautiful when she slept; he’d never really slept with her before. Not like this anyway, maybe when they were younger and she stayed over a lot. It had been completely innocent then and he had been completely in love with her. When she fell asleep with him the night before Thanksgiving she was gone when he woke up.

Now here she laid peacefully sleeping, her wavy chocolate hair spread out over her pillow. Her perfect sun-kissed tawny skin, he loved her so much. Having her right here was torture, the moment she realized what she’d done she was going to push him further away. Living in this family was like living in a Shakespearian tragedy and history seemed to like to repeat itself. He only started thinking about it the last few days but her mother had been in love with his brother all her life. Wasn’t it the same for him? Evan had always loved Sammie and he had her and lost her. At least it wasn’t because he was gay or bisexual or whatever Ricky was now. When he thought about Angel and Ricky and how cozy they were the last few days he remember Sammie seemed happier. That was it, he knew why she was upset it was obvious.

There wasn’t much he could do to help her, all his siblings agreed a long time ago not to get involved where Angel and Ricky were concerned. It was best just to let them be and it got messy if you tried to interfere. They were a tragic love story that was never going to end, especially not in a happily-ever-after. Sammie wanted them to be together, she always had. Evan remembered when they were little and she would tell him so, especially if her father came around. Since Evan was already dealing with the fact that she was pissed at him he never thought about it. Now he just felt worse since he knew why she had come to him. She wanted a distraction and she got it but the consequences were going to suck. All he wanted was to love her and be there for her. Why was that so wrong?

Oh because he was stupid and kissed Sydney. It wasn’t like he could have told Sammie when he came home anyway. She’d been questioning if she should move to New York. Telling her would have been like driving her to the damn plane himself. And he wasn’t going to tell her when she came in and they spent the night mostly making out. He was careful not to push his luck. Last night was different, she was very different. Every time he tried to say anything she made sure he couldn’t and she was a little aggressive about it. Very un-Sammie-like, it was actually a little like hoe Allie could get. Not that he could ever compare the two, Sammie he loved and Allie had been just nothing.

He did however envy Allie’s relationship with Tony; his brother loved Allie no matter what she did. Then again both of them had experience with other people; Evan was all Sammie’s romantic and sexual experience. How many people ended up with the first and only person they had been with? Obviously it hadn’t worked for Ricky and Angel. Thinking about this whole mess did not make any of it better and it didn’t help his guilt. He’d hurt her and betrayed her and she was probably never going to trust him again. No matter what he did and he’d seriously been trying. Clearly he was making an effort if he was willing to take advice for pretty much all of his brothers.

Under normal circumstances he would never have talked to them about his personal business. But nothing was normal and getting into a relationship with Sammie in the first place opened a door that couldn’t be closed. Sammie was like their little sister so his brothers sort of acted like Jordan which made Evan the enemy. It was sad that his brothers refused to take his side. He understood but that didn’t make it easy and he thought it was good that somebody was protective of her. Jordan had been especially icy towards him lately and he was surprised they didn’t fight. If Jordan found out about last night there would definitely be a fight. Though it was pretty unlikely that Sammie would tell him anything, she was definitely not that close with her twin. Allie would find out and she would probably accuse Evan of something. At this point he was pretty certain that their friendship was never going to recover and he didn’t care. All he cared about was Sammie.

When she stirred he knew trouble would follow. She opened her eyes and then rolled over and closed them. He counted the seconds, it took 10 seconds for her to turn back to face him. The look of shock and horror on her face he expected. She pulled the blanket back to confirm that she had no clothes on then she closed her eyes again. Next she hit her palm against her forehead a few dozen times. Silently he watched her and saw the regret on her face, and that actually hurt. He wasn’t all emotional but that was like a knife to the heart. How else were you supposed to feel when the girl you loved looked at you like a mistake? The silence seemed to stretch on forever, eventually he broke it.

“I know this doesn’t mean you want to get back with me,” Evan said. “You hate me and I’ll leave you alone. I’m sorry if you feel I took advantage of you since I knew you were upset.”

“You didn’t take advantage I seem to remember it was me that wanted this,” she replied. “I don’t hate you Evan, I just don’t get you.”

“What’s to get? I made a mistake and there’s no excuse for what I did but I was honest with you. If I didn’t tell you then you would never have known. And I wasn’t honest the night I came back but you were going to leave and I couldn’t let you. I love you and you don’t have to believe it,” he told her.

“My mom and Ricky are having sex with each other and she told me it doesn’t mean anything. I wanted to be with you to see if it could mean nothing,” she whispered. Parts of that he never expected but he did get a tiny bit of hope.

“Does it mean anything? It doesn’t have to, nobody has to know if that’s what you want,” he said. He didn’t want to get excited but he was almost certain he was going to get her back. If not today then soon, as long as it happened he didn’t care when.

“You know it does, stop looking smug,” she grumbled. “I love you Evan and I just don’t get why that wasn’t enough. I would never have kissed somebody else.”

“I know, it wasn’t in spite of you or about you at all. It’s not an excuse but all Sydney did was run around in her underwear and get close to me. That’s just the way she is but I just had a serious lapse in judgment,” he said.

“Maybe I’m just naive and don’t get anything because I’ve only ever been with you but I don’t get it. If I’m with you it’s because I love you and it could never not be about that,” she said. She turned to look at him then and he kissed her, he had to.

“Sam, I swear it will never ever happen again, I love you,” he said.

“I love you too,” she whispered. She snuggled up to him and he held her, this definitely wasn’t what he expected. He got her back completely by accident after all the effort he made. It was actually sort of funny in a tragic poetic type of a way.

 

Angel woke up again in bed with Ricky but got up before he did. She felt guilty for being with him again when her daughter was upset. And when she knew he talked to Sammie last night. Today she was going to try to fix things with her daughter once again. How many times was she going to screw up before she got it right? Sammie was young and knew nothing about men and sex. With Angel being her mother that was pretty much a miracle. She got dressed and left the room wishing she could stay in bed with him forever. Outside the bedroom she did not think she would see her daughter.

“Samantha?” Angel asked a little in shock.

Sammie was in the doorway to Evan’s room and they were kissing. Evan was shirtless and it was a little obvious that she spent the night there. When she saw her Sammie stared at her. Angel wasn’t sure how to feel about this. Yes she knew her 15 year old daughter wasn’t a virgin anymore. But the messy hair and clothes said that something happened. This was why she should have waited up for Sammie instead of getting back into bed with Ricky. That man was a huge distraction and she was starting to question if this was a good idea. Maybe she needed to find a way to let go and just learn to be by herself. At this point she wasn’t sure about anything, except that she needed to spend more time with her daughter. She prayed Sammie was too smart to end up 17 pregnant and a high school dropout.

“Mom,” Sammie whispered.

“Did you spend the night with Evan?” Angel asked still in shock, the guilty look told her everything.

“Can we talk about this later?” Sammie asked giving her a look.

“Yeah,” she replied only because she didn’t know what to do.

She turned to leave because this was too much for her right now. Ricky couldn’t be her priority, never ever again. Her daughter needed her more and for once she was going to do the right thing. Even if the right thing meant being alone and losing the only man she ever loved. Yup she ran out of choices and she knew what she had to do. She also knew she needed help, she didn’t know how to be a mother. Wildflower did, hadn’t she mother Angels kids when she was just a kid herself?

The plan was to shower, change and find Wildflower. Later she could tell Ricky that he might as well just stay with his stupid girlfriend. Maybe being alone for awhile would do her some good. Before she could make it to the bathroom she ran into Jordan. He looked at her with hate like always, he truly hated her. It was her fault completely but she felt awful that her son hated her. Making up with her daughter was one thing but Jordan was never going to forgive her. There were very good reasons but right now she didn’t want to argue with him. She just wanted a moment to breathe before she gave up her life-long dreams. Besides Jordan never spoke to her anymore without his voice raise using awful language he’d picked up from her.

“I know you hate me Jordan you don’t have to remind me. I also know you don’t want me near Sammie and you would prefer for me to disappear and never come back. Right now I don’t feel like hearing it so make a list and yell at me later,” she told him.

“Can we talk?” He asked in a calm un-Jordan-like way.

“Talking I can do but I don’t want to fight with you today Jordan,” she said firmly. It was her best mom imitation and how her mother use to talk to her.

“Just talking,” he said and she nodded. He followed her into the bedroom she was supposed to be sharing with Sammie.

“Um what’s up?” She asked, it was sad that it was so awkward for her to talk to her son.

“Sam told me that she told you that she wants you to be with Ricky,” he said.

“Yes she did but I don’t think it’s going to happen,” she sighed.

“Why not?” He asked like he wanted it to happen, was this a twin thing?

“Well there’s his girlfriend, our history and about a million other reasons. I wanted to do this for her give her a family but I think I just need to focus on Sammie and what she needs. If I were meant to be with him then I would be and I need to accept that,” she said. She turned away from him so that he wouldn’t see her getting teary.

“Wait you’re going to give up on having a relationship with Ricky? Why?” Jordan asked sounding completely stunned.

“I know you’ll find this hard to believe but it’s to be a mother. My mother stopped caring what I did when I was like 12. You are obviously past needing me in your life so I need to be there for your sister. She’s smarter than I ever was but even smart girls make mistakes and get pregnant, I’ve seen that MTV show. No more men that includes Ricky and definitely your father,” she told him. The more she said she was giving up Ricky the more she was starting to believe it.

“Maybe um after school is out I’ll come back home,” he said. That made her turn, she stared at him hard.

“Home to me? Sammie hasn’t even agreed to live with me, why would you come back? You made it pretty clear that you don’t want to be near me,” she said cautiously.

“Yeah I know but it’s what Sam wants and I don’t know Ricky makes you less erratic,” he said staring at the floor. Was she hearing right?

“Don’t tell me you want this family thing too?” She asked seriously needed clarification here.

“Maybe,” he whispered.

This couldn’t be happening; she decided to stay away from Ricky. So why was her son asking her to do the opposite? Never in a million years did she expect Jordan to want to come back. She wanted it but she hadn’t been that optimistic. Here he was telling her that he wanted to come home to a family. What could she do now? This situation just kept getting worse. There was no out, now she couldn’t give up on this. Not for herself or because she loved him, but for her children. The people she screwed up and over the most.

 

 

Nicolas was in his office both tired and annoyed after speaking with his father. Though he was also a little amused once he heard what happened to Delanoz. He had sort of promised his wife that he wouldn’t take action against Sadie and Tina. Or he said maybe he wouldn’t kill them. Since he was in another country thousands of miles away he couldn’t have had anything to do with what happened. The funny thing was that he didn’t have anything to do with it at all. Right now was when he found out his father made a deal with Delanoz for his life. D was supposed to take care of the Mandrakes, and somehow managed to catch them. As Emilio told it Caroline was apparently less than happy to be trapped in that house and was basically a hostage. The sisters were locked up in the basement under D’s excellent care.

Last night Caroline stabbed glass through his brother’s penis and broke out her sisters. She also cleaned out his bank account and stole his car. Little Caroline obviously learned something from her sisters. He shouldn’t have been impressed but he was. Being stuck with Delanoz was more torture than he could have ever thought up, his brother was a very sick man. Now he was a man in the hospital who lost a lot of blood and may have lost the function of the one part of his body he used the most. That was the funniest part of all sort of divine punishment for all the things Delanoz had done over the years. The best part was that Nicolas had nothing to do with any of it.

If he’d been involved in this mess his wife would be pissed and they would be fighting. But his hands were clean and he never asked for anybody to do anything for him. Funny how all this worked out without him lifting a finger. Maybe this time the sister would go home to hideaway Caroline’s baby and never come back. If only his luck was that good, but there was a chance. No sane woman would want Delanoz near her kid unless a court ordered her to. None of this changed his plans, his father expected him to come home for some stupid reason. That wasn’t going to happen; he didn’t necessarily want to go home at all.

Home was stressful and he had to work all the time. His wife wanted to stay here, everybody did. Having some peace was good and he was starting to like peace. As if called by his thoughts his wife came in and closed the door behind her. It seemed like she looked more pregnant every day, she was eating a lot though. She sat across the desk from him like they were in a meeting. For a moment she watched him like she was trying to figure out what he was up to. The original reason he came in was to finalize the details for their trip to Rio. Everybody wanted to do some sightseeing so he made arrangements for everything.

“I’m not working if that’s what you think Mrs. Capriani,” he told her.

“Come take a walk with me,” she said.

“Where shall we go?” He asked and she shrugged.

“Anywhere, I just feel like getting out the house,” she said.

“Alright, is everything ok?” He asked, her expression suggested that something was wrong. As far as he knew he didn’t do anything to annoy or upset her.

“Yeah,” she said dismissively. “I just feel fat today.”

“Seriously?” He couldn’t help but to laugh she made a face.

“I’ve been eating like non-stop I need to get out of the house Jay is cooking again,” she said pouting at him.

“You’re pregnant eating is good for the baby,” he said.

“Logically I know that but on a stupid superficial level I don’t. So we are going to take a walk,” she said smiling.

“We can do that but if you want a little work out come sit on my lap,” he said suggestively.

“I’m so unattractive,” she replied.

“Come here,” he said and she did. “Didn’t I tell you that you could never be unattractive to me?”

“Yes,” she whispered biting her bottom lip. The way she looked up at him through her eyelashes was all it really took.

“Did you really come in here to ask me to take a walk?” He asked, she had a long skirt on but no panties.

“You know I’ve been craving more than food lately, I’m like horny every second of the day. It’s like I’ve become you,” she told him. While she spoke she was undoing his jeans.

“Really? Why don’t I know this? We haven’t done anything in like two days,” he said slowly spreading her legs.

“Just because I’m horny all the time does not mean I actually feel like having sex. See this isn’t the gift you’re thinking it is,” she replied. She got up from his lap and pulled her skirt off and sat on the edge of the desk.

“My wife horny and willing is a gift,” he said. He got up and stripped while she took off her shirt and bra. “Every time you feel just a tiny bit horny let me know.”

“What if you are at work?” She asked while wrapping her legs around his waist. Before responding he kissed her, he was starting to love this pregnancy thing. From one of his friends he’d heard that pregnant women could get very horny he just didn’t believe it, until his wife was naked on his desk.

“If I’m at work you could visit and we can have a very important meeting,” he replied. How he would love that if it happened at least a few times a week.

“Would it be like this? I just realized we haven’t done anything in your new office,” she said.

“Did I ever tell you that you are the best wife ever?”

“You could tell me more often.”

“Oh I will,” he said against her ear as he entered her. She sighed and threw her head back, she was so beautiful.

“If I come to your office everyday you’re going to need soundproofing,” she told him.

“I’m going to need a bed in there; I could have us a bedroom built off the office,” he replied. Hearing her moan for him was very good for his ego.

“Mmm I might like it,” she whispered. “I love you Nick.”

“I love you too,” he said and kissed her.

After making love to his wife on the desk he took her back into the bedroom so they could do it again. She was the one up for a third time, but they decided to save it for after she had lunch. Jay was cooking again and she could smell it so she was hungry. Her sudden mood changes were pretty funny sometimes. As long as she was happy and smiling nothing else mattered. Today was a good day, not because his wife was very horny. No it was a good day because he didn’t have to worry about anything. His father and brother took care of the Mandrake problem so he didn’t have to. Delanoz finally got part of what he deserved and Nicolas didn’t have to lift a finger. And here he was in paradise with his beautiful wife, how could he not be happy? They were surrounded by family that he didn’t hate and were actually enjoyable. Wildflower brought an interesting concept to their relationship, spending time with family.

            Lunch with a big loud crazy family was entertaining and left him in a good mood. Later he took a walk on the beach with Wildflower, Ariela and baby Joseph. He always loved his nieces and nephews but unless they were living in his house he didn’t spend time with them. In the summer he’d spent a day with Ariela to prove to Wildflower he could take care of a child. After that Ariela got attached to him, and he really wanted a child of his own. Before he wasn’t so sure about having more than maybe two children but this changed everything.

Seeing his pregnant wife with two small children made him want more. There was also watching the way she was with her siblings. They were so close no matter what and he was jealous. His family was huge and not close at all and a little cliquey. He owned a big house that would eventually be minus 5 teenagers. As much as he said he wanted to just be alone with his wife, he wanted a family more. Not quite 12 kids but he wanted a good amount of children. It would be nice to have happiness and laughter and child in that big old house.

            “What are you thinking?” Wildflower asked, she had Joseph asleep in her arms as they walked. Ariela was holding his hand making heart prints in the wet sand with her flip flops from Auntie Carmen.

            “That we should have a lot of kids,” he said. She turned to stare at him.

            “How many would you say is a lot?” She asked still staring at him like he was completely insane.

            “I don’t know definitely less than a dozen,” he replied and she laughed.

            “Why don’t we just have 6 to 10?” She shrugged and he laughed now.

            “Now if I agreed to that you’ll change your mind.”

            “Six then, we can adopt a few maybe.”

            “Six is a good number,” he said. She shook her head and leaned down to kiss the top of Joseph’s head.

            Before anything else could be said Ariela pulled him closer to the water. He picked her up and spun her around and she laughed. She wrapped herself around him and held tighter the further in they went. Happily she kicked her little feet and giggled and said “Nick”. Never had he liked hearing his name more, he wanted more of this. He wanted more than anything to bring his children here and just have fun. Wildflower was watching them; he turned to see her smiling. A year ago he would never have guessed that the key to his happiness was children and family. Back then he never would have imagined that stopping in a random bar and finding a beautiful woman would change his whole life. And it was definitely for the better, this place truly was paradise.

 

            Wildflower watched her husband playing with their niece in the water. They were both completely soaked at the moment. She sat down in the sand and laid Joseph across her lap. Nicolas’ sudden decision about children was a little random. When she met him she hadn’t seen him as the kids type. But she couldn’t forget that day he came home and told her he wanted her to go off her birth control. The look in his eyes was what made her say yes; she knew he really wanted it. That look was in his eyes when they found out she was pregnant and again today. He was going to be an amazing father and just that fact made her want to do this.

            Being a part of such a big family she thought she wouldn’t want that for herself. That wasn’t true she loved her brothers and they had been overprotective and suffocating in the past. But she wouldn’t have traded her family for the world. It wasn’t certain or set in stone that they had to have six children but she wasn’t against it. Growing up with so much love was what made her happy. Not having things wasn’t important when you had something better like love. She rubbed her belly and thought of her son, her perfect little angel. He was her gift from God and thinking about raising her own children made her happy. A week ago she was concerned about her marriage but not now, she couldn’t be now. Not when she saw her husband like he was now, the past didn’t matter anymore.

            A thought wondered into her mind but it was silly. She thought of those girls she’d met volunteering. But it was crazy because she was pregnant and have 5 teens living with her. There was no way she could handle them, a baby and two small girls. It was a dream but not a reality. They were cute and sweet and she couldn’t consider this. Besides they were young they would definitely get adopted. She just couldn’t be the one to do it, one day she could adopt more kids than Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, just not now. Logically she understood that but she felt connected to those girls she met one time ever in life.

Maybe she would see them again when she went home and volunteered again and regularly. There was nothing wrong with getting to know them, right? Every child needed as much love as it was possible to give. Nothing was wrong with giving love, even if she couldn’t give them the gift of parents. So why couldn’t she stop thinking about them? Or the fact that she lived in a big old mansion with plenty of rooms and that her teens would definitely help out. It just wasn’t a good time Allie was having issues and would no doubt completely lose it once Tony left for school. Stupid bad timing, there was never a true convenient time for anything.

Watching her husband she pushed those thoughts away. No sense in getting upset over something not meant to be. This was her prefect paradise where she’d been the happiest she’d ever been, no reason to mess with that. Everything was better than she could have hoped for. Ariela came running to her and hugged her even though she was wet. She couldn’t be mad just laughed with her niece. And she couldn’t care that her husband also dripped water all over her. At the moment nothing else could have made her happier than being right here with Ariela kissing her cheek. Children made life wonderful. June couldn’t come fast enough.

 

 

“You’ve been different,” Ricky said and she looked away.

“Just facing reality,” Angel replied. It was New Years Eve and they were in their hotel room while their family was out having fun.

“Guess we should talk about that huh?” He asked with a sighed.

“What should we talk about first? Your girlfriend who’s been calling you crying or my kids that wish you were their father? Jordan told me he wanted to come home so we can be a family. My son hasn’t had an actual conversation with me that didn’t end in a fight in like 2 years. I wanted to make it right but I’m just going to disappoint them because its not what you want. Its your life whatever, they aren’t your kids and I can’t do this ever again,” she told him.

Silence hung in the air and she couldn’t look at him. If she did she’d never have been able to stop herself from crying. Hadn’t she shed enough tears over him in her life? The five years of her life prior to meeting him in kindergarten had to have been so peaceful. Ever since the day they met her life had mostly been about him and how much she loved him. This needed to end days ago but she was weak. Between her kids encouraging her and him repeatedly getting her in bed, she just let it go on. Had she put an end to this she wouldn’t be feeling like this now. Ricky was a drug and she was an addict and couldn’t help but get her fix.

“Ang,” he whispered. “I love you so much but I just don’t know-”

“Yeah,” she interrupted. “Don’t finish I am just over this and you.”

“Come on it doesn’t have to be like this,” he said. That was what made her turn.

“Then what’s it going to be like? Huh? I was clear my whole damn life that I wanted you and I couldn’t have you anymore. If you love Sydney that much then go be with her and be a man and say so. Or is it Sammie and Jordan? I know you didn’t sign on to become there father or choose the fact that I imposed them on you and your family. Well guess what? I’ll break up with you for once,” she said. Angry tears spilled from her eyes and she got up to get dressed.

“Angel, it’s not that I don’t love you or want to take care of your kids or about Sydney. I’m just not sure if this is what’s right for me right now. I’ve never really had the chance to think about me and what I want. And I need to sort out how I feel about making a serious commitment with you and how to deal with Syd. Just give me time, you know me and I’m not with you right now just for sex. I love you and I would never want you to feel used, this is love. I am so sorry I got us into this situation and being with you again made me realize how much I missed you,” he told her.

He got up and came across the room to her. All she’d managed to get on was a bra and a tank top. The way he held her tight with they bodies together like this made her weak for him. This would be easier if he just loved Sydney more, it was complicated because he didn’t. And he did deserve to have his own life without her drama and her kids. So he should be with Sydney who didn’t come with more baggage than anything else. She cried even though he held her because she had to give him up. What she needed was to learn to stand on her own and he had to be free. He pulled her back to the bed and held her until she was calm. Hadn’t he done this a billion times already? This was why she had to let go, no more men, just her children.

“Take your time Ricardo and be free and happy don’t worry about me,” she whispered. “Don’t break up with your girlfriend, she loves you.”

“Angel I love you and always have,” he replied.

“I know, love isn’t always enough is it? Love couldn’t keep you from being with men and love can’t be the reason for us anymore. We’ve always loved each other that wasn’t the problem and neither was sex. If we would have gotten married like we planned you would be miserable, you have to go and live first. I got to be wild and live and screw up; you have always been taking care of others. You can’t be with me just because I want you to and my kids do too. It has to be what you want,” she said. Finally it took forever but she was becoming an adult.

“What do we do now?” He asked not bothering to argue because he knew she was right.

            “Tomorrow we can tell them and if they don’t want to stay with me then its fine. You shouldn’t be the reason I get them back,” she said.

            “What about tonight?”

            “I’m going to get dressed and go find my kids.”

            “I’ll come with you and I know you’re mad at me but there’s nowhere else I’d rather be,” he said. That brought tears to her eyes and so did his kiss.

 

 

            Christina liked this big crazy New Year’s Celebration, there were literally people everywhere. There was a lot of music and fun and it was amazing. She should have been having fun but she was anxious. Ariela was back at the hotel with the other little ones and Carmen’s nanny. The nanny flew down basically just for tonight and it was a good idea. Except that even after being away from home for almost two weeks Christina couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. When Isaiah came back and wrapped his arms around her waist she jumped. He made her turn so she could look at him.

            “Chris,” he sighed and she felt guilty. Why did she have to keep ruining everything?

            “I’m tired I’m going to go up to bed, you stay and have fun,” she told him.

            “How can I have fun if you’re upset again?” He asked shaking his head.

            “I’m not upset I’m just tired it was a long day,” she said. That wasn’t a lie it was a busy day. Tomorrow would be busier; they were going back to the villa in Búzios and packing to leave later in the evening.

            “Come on,” he took her hand and signaled to one of his brothers.

            The walk back to the hotel was in complete silence. This trip had been so amazing and she was so happy here. But it was time to go home so naturally she was concerned about what was going to happen now. At the hotel Ariela was asleep on the bed next to Joseph. She apparently loved babies as she kept saying it was adorable. Since she was asleep they went back to their room. Still there was silence; of course her husband was tired of her. Christina had never been this way before and she hated it. Her stupid father did this to her, made her crazy, he made everybody crazy.

            While Isaiah was out on the balcony watching the rest of the world have fun she was in the bathroom. Why was it when everything Isaiah was perfect did everything else go wrong? She had accepted that her family wasn’t her family anymore and she did try to get over it. And her amazing yet grouchy husband had made it all better. Then stupid Meghan had to ruin everything. Yes she was glad she at least had her brother back and Ariela got to meet her great-great-grandmother. But while Isaiah had for the most part changed for the better, she was changing too. It wasn’t a good thing, she was angry a lot and scared and worried. Why couldn’t she just have some normal? Why couldn’t everyday be a vacation? She had to go back to school and focus and she was going to be working in a school.

            “Isaiah,” she called when she went to the balcony to join him. He turned and stared at her like she was completely out of her mind. Then he pushed her back inside and closed the door.

            “What are you wearing?” He asked this wasn’t the reaction she wanted.

            “What does it look like?” She replied a little impatiently.

            “I thought you were tired,” he said. Still not the desired effect, it was sad when your husband was staring at you in lingerie and keeping his distance.

            “Fine then I’ll be heading to bed,” she turned annoyed. He didn’t let her get far though before he pulled her close to him.

            “You surprised me,” he whispered in her ear. “Chris, you’ve been different lately I don’t know what to expect anymore.”

            “I know, but I was planning to seduce you tonight,” she told him.

            “Christina, do you believe me when I say I’m not going to let anything happen to our daughter?” He asked changing the subject, she nodded.

            “Yes, but what if something happens to you? Isaiah, you and Ariela are my life I couldn’t live if anything happened to either of you,” she said.

            “I’ve done some things to make sure nothing happens, ok?”

            “What do you mean?”

            “Well I had a talk with Nicolas, while we’ve been away he had some security installed,” he said. “And he borrowed Ariela’s necklace to have a tracking device put it.”

            “What?” She asked staring at him; he pulled her to the bed to sit.

            “It took forever to break her out of the habit of sleeping with us; Ariela should sleep in her own bed. You need some peace of mind so I’m giving it to you,” he said.

            “Did I ever tell you that you are an amazing husband?” She asked and kissed him.

            “It’s not that big of a deal, we’re more like guinea pigs testing out all this new security stuff. I figured since I work in security why not test it out,” he shrugged.   

            “I love you,” she said kissing him again. Now she could be calm again, after of course she made love to her husband. This was a good way to bring in the New Year, with no worries and just love.

 

 

            Tony was following Allie along Copacabana Beach, where the big celebration was happening. It was about ten minutes to midnight and she had pulled him away to sneak champagne. Now they were going back to find their family again and she was leading the way. This trip was really good and really fun and she looked a lot better. So maybe he really could leave her for school. If she was already improving then that was a good thing. And she didn’t want him to stay and it wasn’t like she would be alone. Yes, she’d been talking him into leaving her for days now. He was realizing that he needed to let go and stop stressing. Spending two weeks in Brazil was definitely was good for relieving stress.

            Next week was his birthday, just a few more days and he would be 18. Not that I meant much really, what could you really do at 18? Buy cigarettes, vote, play the lottery, drink in some foreign countries, yeah there wasn’t anything exciting about it. Everybody asked him what he wanted to do but he didn’t have an answer. There was definitely not going to be a party, it wasn’t what he wanted. Besides that wasn’t what Allie needed. There it was again, every single thought or plan he made he considered her. That was what you did when you were married, right? It was definitely what you did when you were in a relationship with someone like her. Sometimes he wanted to have time just to himself. Since he’d been working and taking care of Allie that never happened.

            What he was starting to realize that actually marrying her was going to big a very big thing. Allie was a little needy though she tried not to be. Being married to her would be a full time job. She was the definition of high maintenance but he couldn’t stop loving her. That was the easy part, she didn’t think she was easy to love but he knew she was. Last year at this time he’d gone with Allie to a party because she didn’t want to go alone. She got drunk, made out with two different guys and passed out on the couch when they got home. A lot had changed this year and he wasn’t sure what to expect in the new year. All he had were questions and he wasn’t even sure he wanted the answers.

            They did manage to make it back before the countdown began. He noticed that though Ricky had his arms around Angel they both looked miserable. Sammie was standing there holding hands with Evan, they at least looked happy. Wildflower and Brooke were laughing and he just soaked it all in. If he did actually marry Allie, he wanted it to be on a beach. He liked the beach and had gone there everyday. So it was fitting for the trip and the year to end on the beach. A beach filled with a whole lot of people wearing white and drinking champagne and having fun. The new year needed to be filled with fun and no drama or stress. He had everything he ever wanted and he was happier than he’d ever been. A lot of that had to do with Allie.

            “Can we break our rules tonight?” Allie asked whispering in his ear. “Mind you I drank and I’m so easy and so willing.”

            “Maybe,” he replied and she pouted.

            “I don’t have to get your permission, I know how to work you,” she said.

            “We’ll see,” he said.

            It wasn’t that he didn’t want to have sex with her because he did. Sometimes he thought about that a lot. But he also had to consider how everything affected her. Sex for Allie was never really just sex. She did it to feel numb and he didn’t want that. And he knew she wanted to be with him because she loved him. The point was that even if she did it out of love it could still have a negative effect. Sitting in on a few of her therapy sessions was informative and made him think differently. She was good right now and he was afraid to ruin it with sex. Thinking about it made it seem stupid but he had gotten into an overanalyzing habit lately. His new year’s resolution needed to be keeping things simple.

            “What are you bored with me and what to pick up a Brazilian hottie?” She asked and he laughed then kissed her.

            “How could I get bored with you?” He asked her and she smiled.

            The count down began and in came another year. It promised to be an interesting year. They kissed and the fireworks began. Simple that was all he wanted and hoped that he would get it. Tonight rules were definitely getting broken.

 

 

            Jasmine made a resolution not to be a jealous crazy wife. That lasted about five whole minutes. How was she spending the first few minutes of the new year? Watching an army of skanks surround her husband and while he enjoyed it. So much for not being neurotic and jealous and paranoid, he did this to her. When did she go from being fun loving and free spirited to this? She was standing on a beach drenched in champagne because it was apparently good luck to spray it everywhere. And her husband said he was getting her a towel but nope he had a harem surrounding him. Logically she knew he didn’t seek out other women but she was a little drunk. It wasn’t her fault if there was more champagne than water going around. So she ended up kissing a random stranger.

            In the past it would have been something to laugh about later with Jose. Things severely changed since she married him. When he saw he came marching over no longer having time to chat. He deserved to be jealous after she had to deal with Cheyenne stalking him. Going away to be alone to have the honeymoon they didn’t get was nice. She’d had more sex in a few days than she had in the last few months. It was complete sexual satisfaction and she didn’t have to worry about anything. Joseph was safe with family and she was with her sexy husband. Jose attracted women’s attention like flies were attracted to honey. Sometimes he didn’t notice but a lot of the time he used it to his advantage. Seeing him in surrounded by women and looking like he liked it made finally snap.

            This probably had something to do with the fact that she’d seen him checking out other women. And some little w****s kept approaching him on the beach for days. There was an incident or three in some local bars. Basically it had been a long time coming, he needed to be punished. Though in hindsight, it was really stupid to make out with a stranger in front of her husband and his family. Well nobody was really paying her attention, but still I wasn’t wise. Jose yanked her away pretty hard and glared at her angrily. She knew she was wrong but she rolled her eyes at him like he was in the wrong. He dragged her away and the guy left obviously not wanting to cause a scene.

            “What the hell is wrong with you?” Jose asked her angrily.

            “I’m being free,” she replied.

            “Jasmine, I don’t know if you get this but we are married,” he said.

            “So? You don’t care if we are so why should I? Go screw whatever w***e you want, what can I do about it?” She was angry and so was he and for days they avoided having conflict and it was spilling out now.

            “I’m not allowed to talk to people? F**k that, I’ve been trying with you Jasmine and you do this? And you don’t see any problems here?” He asked her, he looked hurt and betrayed, not what she wanted. Sometimes her body did things without her brain telling it to.

            “Well I wanted you to be jealous,” she admitted.

            “Why? How old are you Jasmine? Way too damn old to play these games,” he said. “What would I need to be jealous for? You’re supposed to be my wife can you at least pretend to act like it?”

            “Can you stop chasing tail? It was just a kiss it meant nothing but at least it finally got your attention,” she said. Why couldn’t she stop herself from making this worse?

            “I step away from you for a few minutes and you think I’m ignoring you? You could see me the whole time, I may be a lot of things but I wouldn’t hurt you. Didn’t I want to spend time with you alone? That means nothing right? I must have some ulterior motives and I’m cheating on you, right?”

            “Jose,” she sighed. This was not the way she wanted to start the year.

            “Maybe we need to be apart and we can work something out about Joseph,” he said. Finally she’d pushed him too far and was about to lose him for real and not because someone was stealing him.

            “No,” she said throwing her arms around him. “I love you I’m just drunk, let’s go back to the hotel so I can make this up to you.”

            “Jasmine I’m not going to cheat on you, get that through your head,” he said.

            “I know and I’m going to lay off drinking so I don’t do anything stupid,” she said. She pouted at him like she was really sorry which of course she was.

Before he could say anything else she kissed him. At first he was a little stiff but he got into it. One thing she could always affectively do was seduce him. The drama was staying out of the new year. She was going to look forward to a year old love and happiness with her amazing husband and son. There was no room for jealousy and paranoia in her future. It was good to know that she could still get Jose to do what she wanted with a little sexual attention.

 

Wildflower was lying on the bed while her husband finished packing. This was it time to head home. They had only been back from Rio for a couple hours and everything was chaotic while everybody tried to pack and not forget anything. Her wonderful husband was packing for her so she could lay in bed and be lazy. It was a good thing that they didn’t have to pay for checking luggage; there was a lot of it. There were certain perks to a family plane. She was very reluctant to go, she loved it here. But all good things had to eventually end and this was her house so she could come back. The plan for the day was to pack and have dinner and get on the plane for an overnight flight. It would be interesting to fly with her family. She’d never had the pleasure of flying with most of her siblings.

“Are you sure you have everything? We aren’t flying back because you forgot something,” Nicolas said.

“What if the reason is because I want to get you alone?” She asked, he came to lay in bed with her.

“Don’t we have a bed at home? Are you hinting that we need a new bed?” He asked pulling her into his arms.

“No I like our bed, I just like this one a little better,” she replied.

“So we don’t have to leave yet, we could put this bed to good use,” he suggested.

“Why did I tell you I’m horny a lot? All it’s going to make you do is find excuses to get me naked,” she said. At the moment he was pulling off her panties, she’d been wearing dresses a lot lately. More than she ever had before meeting him.

“Monday I’ll be in meetings all day but Tuesday you could drop by my office,” he said and she laughed.

“What so you can have me for lunch?”

“Hell yes, remember that time I literally had you for lunch?”

“Yeah it was the day I lost my job.”

“Work for me, you could bring Iago to work with you.”

“We shall see, is he going to watch his daddy rule the world?”

“Yes, so he can take over.”

“And how long will it be before you want Iago to have siblings?” She asked, her siblings were all very close together in age.

“I’m thinking pretty soon, why wait? Unless of course you have other plans,” he said watching her. “I know you didn’t really want to be a stay at home mom but we could figure something out.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to be home with our children, maybe I can teach. I could get certified to teach languages maybe a few days a week. Brooke can go from assistant to nanny, she wouldn’t mind,” she shrugged.

“Good,” he nodded. “So is my wife horny now?”

“You took off my panties I don’t think I get a choice,” she replied.

“If you say no I’ll leave you be,” he said. The fact that he was rubbing his hand up and down her thigh didn’t suggest he was serious.

“How can I say no to you? And we will definitely need a shower before we leave it’s a long flight,” she said.

“As soon as we get home I’m going to have you naked in bed,” he informed.

“Of course,” she replied and turned to kiss him. Even though she was leaving her paradise life was good and she was completely blissful. A new year was here with a whole lot of possibilities. At least like always she welcomed in the year with her family.

Reviews

[deeps]

Wow! This is a long chapter. Wonderful imagery and vivid detail
This is very well written. I really enjoy your characters.