Falling for Trouble (10 page)

She
stared at her flat belly and the very idea that there was a tiny life growing
inside of her, a little piece of Abe, was almost too much to handle. Dropping
her shirt, she braced her hands on the counter and hung her head. How in the
hell was she going to get through this? Things were going good with Hunter,
very well actually, but once he found out she was carrying another man’s child,
he would want nothing to do with her and she didn’t blame him. Besides, she
knew she couldn’t be in a relationship when she carried Abe’s baby. Sophia
wanted to be with Abe in the worst possible way.

There
was no other option for her. She didn’t believe in abortion for herself and
could never carry a child for nine months just to give it up to strangers. No,
she would keep the baby and get through it. She would be a good mother and take
care and love her child better than her own mom had. Eventually she would tell
Abe because there was no way she could keep something like this from him.
Sophia just hoped he believed her, hoped he didn’t push her away even more.

Oh
God. There was so much to do, and she didn’t even know where to start.

****

Abe
gripped his cock tighter. He pumped his palm up and down as his thoughts were
consumed with Sophia. With each passing hour, each passing day, he felt like
Sophia was slipping further away from him. She was still with Hunter, still
walking the streets with him, their fingers entwined as if they wanted to prove
to everyone how happy they were. He was a damn procrastinator. He brought the
bottle of tequila to his lips and took a long, hearty pull. He set the bottle
down and threw his arm over the back of the couch. He hadn’t gotten drunk in
weeks, trying to be a better person and show the woman he loved that he wasn’t
as bad as everyone thought he was. His life was all sorts of fucked up, and he
wanted desperately to be good, but what the hell was the point when Sophia had
finally found the happiness she deserved?

In
the darkness he could almost imagine he wasn’t alone, jacking off. Almost.
Closing his eyes again, he pictured Sophia with him, touching him. It was her
hand that moved up and down his dick. He was a sick fuck that had to stoop to
this, but it was all he had and so he would take it.

Resting
his head on the back of the couch, he closed his eyes and the images that had
been haunting him for over a fucking month played through his head. His mystery
girl was gorgeous, despite the fact he couldn’t see her face. Then again he was
imagining Sophia’s petite and stunning face on the lush, curvaceous body. Her pussy
was tight, hot and wet, and had gripped his cock to the point he couldn’t
breathe. Her hands slid over his chest, pulling him closer as she whispered how
much she wanted him. He'd jerked himself off so many times at night with just
those pictures in his head. Those releases had been far sweeter than the ones
when he fucked some random female.

He
thought about Sophia, thought about how much he fucking missed her. Five weeks
had gone by and he had barely seen or talked to her. The times that he did weren’t
nearly long enough for his liking.

Every
time he saw her with Hunter, the hot spear of anger and jealousy consumed him.
For years he had been cool with Hunter, but now that he had taken his girl, Abe
felt nothing but hatred. Totally misplaced, he knew, but still an emotion he
was unable to shake.

 
He picked up the bottle again and swallowed
some of the liquid. He was pretty toasted as it was, but at the moment he
didn’t give a shit. Since shit had fallen through with Soph, he had stayed away
from Tiny’s when she was there. It was just too hard seeing her, even if she
didn’t have Hunter’s arms wrapped around her. He had no idea how their
friendship had gone to shit so quickly.

He
pumped his hand over his cock faster and it felt good, but it was just empty
pleasure. He was close to coming and gripped his erection with an iron fist.
Grunting as he ran his palm over the crown of his cock, he smeared the pre-cum
that leaked out of the slit and worked himself quicker, bringing his orgasm to
the surface faster. A low groan left him as his balls drew up tight right
before his cum spewed out and covered his hand. He didn’t bother getting up
right away to clean himself up.

This
was not the direction he wanted to go, not when he had been trying so damn hard
to be a better person, but everything that meant anything in his life had
slipped through his fingers. This was not how he wanted things to end, and so
he was going to fucking do something about it. He was going to make Sophia see
that Hunter was not the man for her. He was.

Chapter
Ten

One week later

“Thank
you for dinner, Hunter.” Sophia had waited seven whole days to finally tell
Hunter that she was pregnant. She should have done it sooner, and there was no
excuse for not, but her fear of Hunter’s reaction kept her quiet. She liked
him, but he wasn’t Abe. It didn’t matter that she was pregnant, because she
knew in her heart things with Hunter could have never progressed. The time away
from Abe had only made her want him that much more, but her need to try and
face a reality she didn’t want had made her stubborn. Not anymore though.
Hunter would know and then she would tell Abe everything.

Hunter
walked her to her door and took both her hands in his. “It was my pleasure,
Soph.” His smile was so genuine that she hated having to say anything, but
prolonging it would only make things harder. Hunter was a good guy, and he
didn’t deserve being cornered and blindsided because of the trouble she got
herself in and her feelings for another man. “I’d like to do it again. Maybe
Saturday?”

She
didn’t say anything, just looked at his handsome face, wishing things could be
different. Hunter was the kind of man she could see herself falling for one
day, one day a long time from now, maybe. Abe was still too big a part of her
life for her to think of a future without him, no matter how hard she tried.

 
“Hunter…” God, how in the hell did someone
break it off with another person? She had never been in this situation, not
even with the few boyfriends she’d had. Those had all been a mutual spilt
without any kind of animosity involved. She had a feeling that wouldn’t be the
case in this situation. He let go of her hands and took a step back. When she
lifted her eyes to his, she saw something shift in his expression. He shoved
his hands in his front pockets, a defensive move she presumed, and he waited
for her to continue.

“I
think maybe…this…isn’t going to work.” He didn’t say anything for so long she
started to twist her hands together, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

“Why?
I thought things were going good, Sophia.”

“They
were. They are.”

“Then
what’s wrong?” He sounded so earnest, like she was breaking his heart after
only four weeks of dating.

“I…”
Lord, this was so hard. Taking a deep, calming breath, she just spit it out.
“I’m pregnant...and in love with someone else.” The mask was once again on his
face and she wished she could wash it away. She hurriedly continued so he
wouldn’t get the wrong idea. “I just found out about the pregnancy a week ago.
I wasn’t sleeping around while we’ve been seeing each other.” Mortification
seeped into her. She felt like a slut. “The one and only time I had sex, I
ended up…” She swept a hand down her body because she didn’t really want to say
the rest. She was afraid to look at him, afraid to see the anger and disgust
that would surely be on his face. His words surprised her, though.

“Are
you okay? I assume the father is the man you are in love with? Does he know?”

Lifting
her head, she felt tears start to form in her eyes and thought of Abe. “I’m okay,
I guess.” She took a deep breath. “No, the father doesn’t know, and yes, he is
the one I’m in love with.” He nodded but didn’t make a move or say anything.
For some reason she felt the need to elaborate, to tell him the truth, yet not
tell him that it was Abe she had slept with.

“He
was my first and we only slept together once. He was drunk and the next morning
didn’t remember what we had done.” The look he gave her was one of sympathy,
and she felt like the biggest bitch in the world. She was pregnant with another
man’s baby, loved someone else, and was breaking up with him, yet here he was
feeling bad for her. “I know I have to tell him, but how in the hell do you
tell someone you are pregnant with their baby when they don’t even remember
sleeping with you?” The tears she’d thought would stay back flowed freely now.
Hunter wrapped her in his arms and she buried her head in his chest. After the
shit she just dropped in his lap, he was still kind enough to hold and comfort
her. He deserved so much better than what she could ever give him.

“It’s
okay, Soph. Everything will be okay.” He pushed her back and looked down at
her. His thumbs brushed away the stray tears that made tracks down her cheeks.
“Whoever this guy is…” The way he said it made her believe he knew she was
talking about Abe. His smile was soft and small. “One look in your eyes and
he’ll know you’re telling the truth.” He kissed her on the cheek, and she
closed her eyes and savored it. Would she ever have a man that treated her so
gently?

He
gave her one last squeeze and turned to leave, only stopping once he got to his
Jeep to look at her. “Get some rest, Soph. Everything always looks better in
the morning.” With that he got in and drove off. She stood there a moment just
staring at the place where his car had been. When she did finally go inside,
she let the tears fall without the embarrassment of someone seeing her.

****

Abe
sat on his bike for several long minutes after he watched Hunter leave. He had
showed up about half an hour ago, needing to talk to Kid. This shit with them
had gone on too long, and since he seemed to be the one prolonging it, he was
going to be the one to end it.

He
hadn’t tried hard enough to tell her what she meant to him. Abe thought about
her every fucking minute of every fucking day. He would sit her down and just
tell her, and if she didn’t feel the same way, then that was fine because at
least he wouldn’t be holding how he felt inside any longer.

When
he saw Sophia start to cry, the urge to climb off his bike and beat Hunter’s
ass was strong. There was so much pent-up anger inside that needed to come out,
but he was turning over a new fucking leaf so he stopped himself. He had
explain that he was being a selfish bastard, that even though he didn’t deserve
her, if she just gave him a chance, he would spend the rest of his life proving
to her that he was worthy.

After
climbing off his bike, he made his way to her front door and raised his hand to
knock. For a few seconds his hand was suspended in the air. Before he could
bring it down, the door swung open, and the object of his affection stood in
front of him.

“Hi.”
That lone word was breathy and filled with longing. At least that’s what he
liked to think. There were drying tracks of wetness on her cheeks from her earlier
tears, and without thinking, he reached out and brushed her skin. Her breath
caught and it made his heart race.

“Can
I come in?”

She
nodded and stepped aside. The kitchen light was on but that was all, and the
shadows seemed to wrap around the corners like a dark cloak. He heard the door
shut behind him and turned around to see her leaning against it, her arms
wrapped around her middle almost protectively.

“How
are you doing, Kid?” Her hair was up and tumbles of dark curls cascaded around
her face. She was so damn beautiful.

“G-Good,
Abe. You?” The way she said it almost led him to believe that she wasn’t good
at all. He nodded because he didn’t trust his voice at the moment. Just being
here with her, actually seeing her, had everything inside of him shifting. She
tilted her chin and pushed off the door. “I was about to make some tea. Want
some?”

“Yeah,
sure.” He followed her into the kitchen where he saw the kettle on the stove.
She grabbed two cups out of the cupboard and set them on the table.

“You
want flavored or just green?”

“Green’s
good.” He held her gaze and smiled, thankful that she reciprocated. He sat at
the table and watched her grab the teabags out of the cupboard and the kettle
off the stove. Once the tea was set and steeping, she sat in the chair in front
of him and rested her chin on her hands.

He
said the first thing that crossed his mind. “I’ve missed you.” The fact that
she shifted in her seat and didn’t respond right away didn’t sit well with him.
Abe grabbed his tea and brought it to his mouth. Didn’t matter that it was hot
as hell and burnt off his taste buds, he needed the distraction. He watched her
over the rim of his mug and saw her cheeks become pink.

“I
missed you too, Abe.”

The
tea scalded his tongue again, and he set the mug aside and cleared his throat.
“Sophia?” Eyes on him, she didn’t answer. “I don’t like where we are right now.
I want to get my best friend back.” Dropping his head he ran a hand through his
hair. “I love you, Soph.” When he brought his eyes back to hers, he prayed she
could hear the sincerity in his words. “I’m an asshole, Kid. I am selfish and
have a tendency to fuck up…a lot. I did a lot of shit back in the day, most of
it not too long ago. I don’t want to be that man anymore. I don’t want to lose
the best thing that has ever happened to me…you.” He heard her swallow but
pushed on before she could say anything.