Defying Fate (33 page)

Holding his hand out to me, well screw that. What comfort can he give me right now? None. Now that the conversation is heating up again Liam steps closer to us.

“Izzy, my sister is one piece of work, but she would not do that.”

Liam is defending his sick sister to me, oh hell no.

Standing tall, I turn to face him. “Liam, how the fuck would you know? She came to get what she wanted, to fuck him and to screw with me. Why is this so far-fetched for you to imagine her doing it?” I’m ranting and raving in my most sarcastic voice.

“Come on Izzy,” Kara says. “She knows better, she’s not that stupid to give a disease to Brax.”

“Kara,” I say, rolling my eyes.

Huffing out in frustration, Kara sighs. “I don’t fucking know.”

“Liam, have you got any other word on her whereabouts?” Braxton interrupts asking him.

“Fuck no, but don’t worry. Now that this charade is out in the open, I can have the guys talk freely. I’ll find her ass, don’t you worry about that.” Liam says trying to find something on his phone.

“Hey,” Braxton says, “don’t get so worked up. We’ll both get checked out so you can have peace of mind, I need it too, I guess.”

I whip my head as if taking a double take.

“Yeah, well that’s not your only problem,” I say as he has no clue what I’m thinking.

Holding his hand up, Braxton asks, “Babe, what else is there?” He’s trying to calm his voice.

I eye him as if to challenge his intelligence. Gosh, men are transparently stupid sometimes.

“Guess we will see if you're going to be a daddy once again.”

I swear the look on his face goes white as a ghost.

“Fuck a duck” Kara bellows out.

Liam rubs his face. “Oh shit.”

“Oh my God.” Braxton stumbles and catches the side of the pool table.

“God can’t help you now,” I say as I walk back to the bar to find my purse and thank Sam for, well I’m not sure what the hell I’m thanking him for.

“Listen Iz, you need anything. Let me know, yeah?” Polite as ever, Sam pulls me in for a hug.

“Thanks for that Sam, but I think you did enough. I’m not mad at you and thanks for letting me work here. I might be back, not sure what I am going to do right now.”

“Sparkplug.” Braxton hollers out walking toward us. “What do you mean you’re not sure what you are going to do now? You're coming back to work for me, to be with ME.” His dominance is surely returning.

Turning back to him, I sigh. “Not sure what I am going to do, you all said your peace. I thank you for being honest.”

“Of cou…”

I cut him off.

“But you did not tell me yourself, I had to find out from Sam. That hurts me more than knowing what happened in the first place. You,” I point at his chest. “You should have told me yourself, right away.”

“Izzy.”

I cut him off again.

“No. You had your say, now I’m telling you, that I don’t know right now. I have no idea what I’m going to do.” I say as the tears spill again, I’m such a mess.

“Girl did you not just hear a word I said to you. I fucking love you, no matter what the hell happened. You are MINE.”

“I’m no one’s. I believe you with what happened. I do. But it doesn’t stop the pictures screaming in my head. The fact that she was with you intimately makes me sick, she took a part of you that belonged to me.” My words are almost a whisper, as the hurt in them is easily heard and felt.

Shaking his head. “Honey, she didn’t take shit.”

“Oh, we both know that is not true. Guess we will find out in a few months if you're so called seed, grew a baby, another baby Braxton.” I gasp visibly shaken. “It will kill me. I won’t come back from that, not sure I can now,” I say looking down at the floor.

I’m suddenly hauled into his arms as Kara is swearing ready to throw her stool across the room. All of us just stare.

“Fuck her Izzy, you have been through worse dammit. You do not let her win, you hear me? Grab a hold of your man and show her that he is yours. You get what I’m saying to you?” Kara angry is never a good thing when it is directed at you.

I let a laugh escape my lips. Braxton wants me to go with what she said.

“Listen to your girl Izzy. She is right, and you know it. I’m not letting you go, so deal with it, process it, and then throw the shit away. End of fucking story.”

I pull away from him slightly and look at all three of them. They are all close enough to be in a huddle. Sam and Liam continue to share pleasantries with one another, as Kara’s making sure she gets her voice heard.

“Let me ask you something Braxton? How would you feel if the roles were reversed and you found out Dominic screwed me when I was passed out? Would it be easy to deal with, process it, and simply throw it away?”

I can feel his body tense, and his facial expressions turn murderous.

“Fuck, I get it okay. I hate it, and there is not a goddamn thing I can do about it. The idea of him with you is the reason I was drinking all the time. It was the only way to numb the pain. Can’t you get that Izzy? It-Fucking-Killed-Me.” The only thing he can do is rub the tension off of his face with his hands, rubbing his forehead like he might rub off some skin.

I whisper as we are face to face. “I get it, I get you. I am so sickened by it, I want to either vomit or slap you. This hurts Braxton, I’m fucking hurting here.” I wrap my hand around his face leaning my forehead against his.

“I know babe, Sparkplug we will get through this. No matter what happens. You hear me. Please believe me, I will protect you.”

“Brax,” I whisper.

“Yeah babe.” He says softer.

“You love me?” It’s not a question, just merely a statement.

“Bet your ass, I do.” He smirks.

He asks me then. “You love me, Iz?”

“Bet your ass, I do.” I sigh, so he smacks my ass.

“Braxton.”

Moaning a bit. “Oh no, you’re back to calling me Braxton.”

“I like Braxton, you idiot.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Braxton?”

“Yeah babe, you got a question or what?” He says, then laughs all while holding me to him tightly.

“Just a statement. Get me out of here, show me how much you love me. Make me forget. Make me forget the picture I saw just now.” I lean back, so we’re once again face to face and nose to nose.

“Show me I’m yours,” I say searching his big brown eyes.

“With pleasure.” He says and takes my lips in a panty melting kiss. Long, hard and profound.

My moan escapes my lips as his tongue, lips and hands are now exploring my body. Not caring we are in a room with others. I no longer can hear their conversations.

“Well shit, that was easier than I thought it would go,” Liam relinquishes a deep sigh.

“Shut up, my girl got hurt again. It’s not over, not by a long shot.” Kara takes a swing at him as he makes an ‘umph’ sound.

“Can you all just please leave my bar? This is too much for me. For the life of me Brax, she’s too good for you.” Sam throws the rag he was using to wipe the bar down.

“Yeah, don’t I know it Sam? But I’ll spend my days thanking her for being mine. Just know if I ever find out you pull a stunt like this again, I will fuck you up.”

Sam rolls his eyes, saying, “Don’t pull any stupid shit, and I won’t have to.”

“Enough. Keep it in your pants Braxton, and he won’t have any ammunition to use against you.” I only state the obvious.

That earned me another slap on my ass. I squeal as we leave the bar. Our happy foursome, God, knows I love them to pieces, but this is not over. I still have to find out if I am free and clear of any diseases, and yet to see if an unexpected bundle of joy is in Braxton’s future.

I’ll hold my breath and cross my fingers!

WE ALL MADE IT BACK
to my place, it’s quiet, and I was in no mood to have to face Eve at the moment. I hated her momma even more now. To think she got her greedy little hands on Braxton just pisses me off. Tiffany better hope I never find her, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, yeah that pretty much sums it up for me.

I do everything I can to forget what she did, but it’s hard. Braxton tries his best with seducing my mind. As soon as we came home, he took me hard and fast; then he was slow and seductively sweet, which proved most helpful because she never entered my mind. To my surprise, Braxton bared his soul to me, each word of adoration unleashed my endless stream of tears. I believe him; I do. God help me, his pain and regret comes out in every word and every touch. He is desperately trying to make things right with me, to somehow make it up to me. No matter how hard he tries, he can’t erase the visual in my mind. That will forever be a mental image I hate.

I even received a call from Emma, Braxton’s mom. She learned of the mess with Tiffany and nearly had a heart attack. She demanded she needed to talk to me, against Braxton’s better judgment she won that conversation. Oddly enough, it was this single phone call that puts my mind at ease. She helped me more than anyone else.

For the first five minutes, she ranted about how no good Tiffany was a worthless excuse of a woman and a mother. She is not one to speak ill of another, but Tiffany was not an excellent mother to Emma’s granddaughter, and she hurt her son, a double reason to hate her and like me. I guess she had a very stern talk with her son as well, telling him he would never find a better woman for him than me. I have no idea why she thinks I am so great after Braxton told her all about my very unpleasant past.

When she finally decided to take a breath, she asked me to sit somewhere quiet away from the others so I could talk freely to her. To my surprise, that woman is a genius. Who would have known? I recall her question.

“Izzy, why do you like my son?” Emma asks me softly.

I pause, I’m nervous having this conversation with his mother. Emma intimidates me like no other woman ever could, trying to gain some courage I tug on strands of my hair thankful this conversation is not in person. It’s hard enough on the phone explaining to my man’s mother why I like him.

“Ah, well. To be honest Emma, the first time I saw him, he took my breath away. I had already met Eve and fell in love with her almost instantly.” The smile that takes shape is no doubt from me thinking of easier times.

“He made me laugh, he, to be honest, was a big flirt.” I laugh reliving some of our colorful conversations.

“Do you feel it in your gut with him? Do you feel it all the way to your toes when you're around him?” She asks very matter of fact.

Okay, how the hell!

“Ah Emma, how do you know this? I mean the man makes me weak at the knees.” I’m so in awe of her I have to hold my phone down just to stare at it wondering if this woman is for real?

“Oh, sweet girl, I know because that is the way his dad made me feel, and another reason you are perfect for my son.” Her pause gives way to a gentle sigh. “You need to know I am aware of what Tiffany did and am disgusted by it. Brax was beside himself over it, he came to me and we talked for a long time, mostly all about you and how much you mean to him. The moment he saw you, it was lights out for any other woman. Make no mistake the love he has for you, that goes for my granddaughter as well. You all make a wonderful family, hopefully, someday your daughter can be a part of it as well.”

I’m holding back my tears. This woman just took any doubts I had and blew them out of the water. All bad memories that had Tiffany in them now seem so insignificant. She confirmed how much her son loved me as well as little Eve. The realization hits me hard. I found love, true love at that. It took me to break finally, to be able to find the love that was waiting on the other side.

I finished my phone call and sat outside on my porch just staring up at the moon. A bright, full moon was on display as it casts its light all around the neighborhood. The slight chill in the air causes me to shiver every so often. July in Washington was nice, but it still had a slight chill to it. My front door opened, and Kara comes walking out. Sitting down next to me, she puts her arm around my shoulder, pulling me into a side hug.

“Hey sweets, how was Emma? That woman is not one to mess with.” Raising her eyebrow, she says laughing.

Letting out a loud chuckle, I nod in agreement. “You got that right.”

She’s watching my face carefully like she is waiting for me to say something.

Leaning into me, Kara asks, “What did she say to you, you seem quiet?”

Sitting here I take a moment to look around at the evening sky, recalling my conversation with Emma. Contemplating what she said her son felt for me and given the way I feel for him, it’s confusing as hell. Should I feel this strongly for a man I hardly know, is this even the right time to pursue a relationship with anyone this soon after the Dominic situation? I just don’t know. The only thing I do know is I’m in deep when it comes to Braxton.

Turning so I can look at her, I can’t help but smile. “Well, first she vented about hating Tiffany, and then she went into how much her son loves me, as well as her granddaughter. She asked me why I liked her son?”

Kara whistles out. “Wow, I bet that was a conversation. Did you happen to tell her he gives you incredible orgasms and the wildest sex you’ve ever had?” Laughing so hard, she leaned over me saying, “Shit, Liam and I have heard you all.”