Once Written, Twice Shy (The Broken Men Chronicles) (15 page)

The week passed and I found myself pacing the
living room after dinner on Thursday.  Alissa had started her new job on Monday
and as luck would have it, she ended up having to stay behind for a team
meeting and was running late.  I was waiting on her to get home so I could tell
her the news.

When the door to my townhouse opened, I pounced. 
I had her back pinned to the door and kissed her like a man starved of oxygen. 
She smiled into my kiss and wrapped her arms around my neck while I trailed my
lips down to savour the soft skin that peaked through the top of her light pink
camisole.

“Now that’s quite the welcome,” she said and giggled
before I nipped the skin above one of her breasts, causing her to moan. 
“What’s gotten into you?”

“I owe you a lifetime of welcome home’s like this
one,” I said against her heated flesh before capturing her mouth with mine
again, and spun her around before setting her back down.  “Mind telling me why
I’ve been mauled walking through the door?  You keep evading my question,” she
said.  “I’d like to know what I did so I can do it again.”  She giggled.

“We got the call,” I said and saw the disbelief,
the relief and the overwhelming joy cross her features.  “They’re going with a
marrow harvest if the blood-work proves that either Julie or I are a match;
first thing tomorrow we’ll be tested.”

She looked at me in shock.  “What?  That quick?”

“Yeah.”  I said and smiled.  “They couldn’t find
anything in the database.”  She pulled my face into hers and kissed me hard.

“That’s our last resort but it’s great news that
we can finally move ahead.”

I kissed her tenderly.  “I love it that you’re
referring to everything that’s going on as
our
dilemma and not mine,” I
said.

I explained everything to Alissa as she sat and
ate the plate I had made and kept warm for her.  Tomorrow was the day where
things could change for the better.  First thing in the morning, Julie, Jasper,
and I would be heading in to the hospital to run a battery of tests and discover
if we were donor matches to save our son.  If it worked out, they would schedule
a marrow harvest get to work on synthesising the latter so it could be transplanted
into Jasper.

Alissa had called her boss, notifying her of the
great news.  Now that she was involved, she refused to leave my side.  The
minute she ended the call, I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her
into me.  I grabbed her phone from her, set it on the kitchen countertop and
leaned in for a kiss.

“Get that sweet ass of yours up those stairs and
to the bedroom.”  I pulled away and looked at her face before continuing.  “I
want me some dessert and you, gorgeous are on the menu.”

She laughed but didn’t move.  “Have you used that line
on anyone where it’s worked?”  A growl formed in my throat and I picked her up
and wrapped her legs around me, her skirt riding up her thighs as I proceeded
to rush us toward the bedroom.

I hadn’t expected the sudden bout of clumsiness
that hit me or the sultry assault that Alissa would bring on to cause such an
event.  With a long swoop of her tongue from my collarbone to my jaw and a
pinching nip to the skin below my earlobe, my knees buckled on the third step
from the bottom of the staircase.

“Fuck,” I said under my breath but one look at
Alissa told me that she hadn’t been hurt; quite the opposite, really.  She wore
a smirk and seemed to be amused with our unexpected tumbling.  “You just
couldn’t wait, could you?”  She shook her head.

Her hands went to work straightaway as I watched
her rip my button-down, its buttons spilling everywhere.  Her nimble fingers
tackled my pants and before I knew it, she had managed to push them down to my
knees by rubbing her feet down the sides of my legs.  I hiked her skirt up
further and attempted to get rid of her underwear and realized that there were
none.  I looked up.

“Someone got them all wet earlier so I figured I’d
lose them,” she said with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

“Damn, baby.”  I groaned and kissed her nice and
fierce before reaching for her camisole.

With a hand on her lower back, I arched her butt
up off the step and plowed into her, generating a sensual cry.  She wrapped her
legs around me, arching into me as I propelled into her.  Her arms were at her
sides, preventing her from sliding down the step.  Her heels dug into my rear
as I turned up the heat.

The sound of skin slapping filled the air.  The
sight of her spread out under me made me want to take her to heights unknown.  When
the urge to explode hit me, I buried my face in her neck and bit down on her
shoulder.  Her tight heat clamped down harder than it ever had on my length and
with a guttural cry we both came—
hard
.

“Mmm,” she said into my neck.  She nuzzled my
cheek as I pulled away to look at her.  I loved it when I turned her into a
mumbling mess of satiated flesh and bones.

I smirked.  “So much for the bedroom,” I said and
she laughed as she tilted her head back and rested it on the carpeted stair to
catch her breath.

“Tuckered out already, handsome?”  She ran her
hands up and down my chest, looking up with a sly grin.

“Hardly,” I said and flexed a certain appendage
that was still buried deep inside her, far from flaccid.  Her eyes grew wide at
the feel of me.  “The more I have you, the more I want you.”

“With that said, I suggest that you get me up
there real quick, playboy,” she said and leaned in to lick my bottom lip while
tightening the muscles that were still wrapped around my still needful shaft.

After a bit of clumsy fumbling, giggles and a very
delightful view of Alissa’s uncovered behind, we made it to the bedroom.  I was
hot on her tail and when she tripped while hopping around to remove her shoes, I
took the vantage point.

“Well, well, well…”  I walked my naked self up to
that sweet derrière she was offering me while bent over to stabilize herself
from her fall.  She straightened up and my hand made haste with the zipper on
that skirt of hers while she reached back and handled her bra.  I bent down and
followed her skirt as gravity took hold of it, trailing my fingers down the
smooth and toned skin of her legs.  I tapped her right leg so she would lift
it.  When her foot came down, I kissed the back of her knee.  She let out a mewing
moan of sorts.  She lost her balance and leaned forward again for stability. 
By the time I had kissed the back of her other knee, she collapsed over my lap.

“Well I was thinking nice and hard from behind but
this will most definitely do,” I said into the skin at the back of her neck and
nipped her.

I came out of the bathroom to find my woman turning
down the bed, dressed in a short satin bathrobe, her dampened hair curtained to
one side.  She noticed my staring as she removed her robe and settled herself under
the covers.

She smiled.  “Is everything okay?”

“Perfect,” I said and crawled in beside her.  I gave
her a peck.  Her hand lifted and cupped my cheek before she gave me another
quick kiss in return.

Contrary to a week ago, I fell asleep right away. 
My anxieties for the next day were replaced with a sense of relief that it was
quite possible that I would have Jasper back as the normal four-year-old he
should have always been.

We awaited news from Doctor Messing while Todd was
consoling a rather depressed Julie who was worried about the news that had already
been delivered prior to our testing.  Given the high-risk nature of Julie’s
pregnancy, her donating marrow was no longer an option seeing as the procedure
would put her and the baby at an increased risk.  Regardless, Julie had gotten
her blood tested.  It might have been a shot in the dark but if she were a
match, we’d have to bid our time until the baby was born and her own health
issues stabilized before the procedure could be done.  All wasn’t at a loss but
according to Julie, it was.

As I paced the room, Alissa got up from her silent
ponderous state and grabbed my arm when I walked by her.

“Pax, you’re driving yourself crazy, sit down,”
she said.  “The doctor should be in soon.  It’s already been two hours since
they’ve done the blood-work.”

And sure enough, as I settled in the chair next to
her, Messing walked through the doors.  With that sombre look on his face, I
presumed that he wasn’t the bearer of good news.  I was trying to convince
myself that I was reading too much into things but I couldn’t move past that
soul-numbing, heart-thumping, gut-wrenching feeling that overwhelmed me.

“Guys, I’m afraid it’s not good,” he said.  “Neither
of you are a match.  I’m urging you to face the reality that this may not work
out in the best of scenarios.  I’m sorry.”

My world began to crumble around me again as my back
fell against the back of my chair from the blow of the bad news.  Doctor
Messing stood in front of us in silence, allowing the facts to sink in.

“But,” Alissa said.

“Yes, Ms. Hidgins?” he asked.

“Can’t anyone be deemed a match?”

“Of course,” Doctor Messing said.  “A familial
match is always the easiest and best with regards to donor rejections but not
everyone has the resources to find those donors and not everyone is willing to
be a donor either.  I’m sorry, but unless you find a suitable match on your
own, there’s nothing else that can be done aside from adding Jasper to our recipient
list which with his JMML, he could be without hope before a donor becomes
available.  Rest assured that Jasper has been added to the list, the instant we
discovered the results.”

I heard Alissa gulp.  “Thank you,” she whispered.

***

I sat in the SUV waiting for Alissa who had left
her cell-phone in the room we had congregated in earlier.  It had been taking
her a while but when I was about to get out and go find her, there she was.

“Found it?” I asked when she got in and buckled
herself up.  She nodded and waved the device in her hand.

“I was thinking,” she said and I turned to look at
her with my hand on the ignition.  “What if we pooled all willing relatives and
friends of yours and Julie’s together to see if they’re a match?  I mean, it
could work, right?”

“Alissa-” I said and sighed.  I didn’t want to
take away her hope but I wasn’t about to feed her any beyond measure.

“No,” she said, stubborn as ever.  “I’m not giving
up on this, Pax.  You heard what Messing said.  The statistics of finding a
compatible match in time for Jasper through the lists is a slim chance.  Why
wouldn’t you try?  Just
try
, dammit!  Then you can say you’ve done
everything.  There’s no shame in asking for help.”

I should have known that she wouldn’t give up this
easily.  If she hadn’t given up on anything else that she’d worked on,
including our relationship, then she wasn’t giving up on Jasper.

“I love you so much,” I said and cradled her cheek
before kissing her forehead.

“I love you too but I don’t want to see you with that
defeated look again until it’s time, baby, and now isn’t it.”

I nodded.

I dreaded the day that perhaps we were all going
to face—the one that bore the ugly reality of Jasper’s mortality.  I feared
that she was putting too much faith in the goodwill of people and that she was
choosing to ignore the real possibility that my son may not make it through,
with or without a donor.  Still, I couldn’t help but admire and respect her
tenacity in the matter.

***

I was unlocking the front door when I heard a
car’s engine cut from behind us.  I looked back and saw none other than my
parents.

“This is not how I planned it,” I said more to
myself than anyone else.

“Paxton?” Alissa said, looking at me.  I wrapped
my arm around her waist and pulled her into me.

“My parents,” I said and she smiled at me.  “Hey
guys.”  I smiled and moved from Alissa to greet them each with a hug.

“Is this the Alissa we’ve been hearing Jasper
bragging about?” my mother asked and smiled at my girlfriend.

“The one and only,” I said.  My mother attacked
her in one of her hugs while my father patted my shoulder.  “What are you guys
doing here?”

“We were out running errands and figured we’d stop
in to see how things had gone this morning,” my father said.

Alissa’s cell rang and she excused herself to the
kitchen after the four of us had gone inside.  I had just entered the kitchen
to fetch refreshments for all of us when I overheard the tail end of her
conversation.  “Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!” she said and was laughing as
she put down her phone.  When she turned, I saw the tears coming down her
cheeks.

“Honey,” I said when our eyes met, “is everything
okay?”

“Of course,” she said and wiped at her cheeks. 
She gave me a bright smile before walking to me, wrapping a hand around the
back of my neck and pulling my face down to hers.  She kissed me quick and hard. 
Her eyes twinkled when she backed away and all of my questions were lost.  Her
tears were genuine but then again, so was her joy.

“Need any help?” she asked as she headed for the
fridge before I could get there.  Forgetting what I was in there to do in the
first place, I watched her as she took out the pitcher of lemonade, a tray of
ice cubes and walked over to the counter where I’d laid the glasses with what
seemed to be an added bounce to her step.  That smile of hers never faded as
she filled the cups and put everything else away.  “Help me bring these out,” she
said.

I couldn’t resist.  “Come here,” I said and took
the few steps toward her.  I pushed the tendrils away from her face and tucked
them behind her ear.  “I don’t know what’s made you this happy but that smile of
yours is amazing.  I didn’t think anyone else but us Lowell men could put a
smile like that on there.”  I kissed her cheek and proceeded to grab two glasses
and she grabbed the others.

“Ah, but it indirectly has something to do with you
both so I guess you really did manage to put it there,” she said as I followed
her out to the living room where my parents waited.

“Really?” I asked.  “I wouldn’t mind knowing what
we’ve done considering I don’t recall doing anything for that kind of a reaction. 
Or are you still riding on that high from last night?”

“Oh, I’m ready for the boost, baby, but as for
your other answer, you’ll know in time,” she said and winked at me as she set
the two beverages in front of my parents.

***

My father and I sat there for the better part of
an hour as we watched the two women interact as if they were age old friends. 
If I were being honest, I wasn’t terrified at all for Mom and Dad to meet
Alissa.  I found myself wondering why I had waited so long.  If she were similar
to Julie’s character, I knew I would have been facing an uphill battle but then
again, had she been like Julie, I wouldn’t have been with her.  It’s not that
Julie is a bad person; it’s just that she was all wrong for me.

And then the conversation floated to Jasper and
his deteriorating health.  Dad had to console Mom when I gave them the day’s
bad news.  “We’ll get tested,” my father said without hesitation, Mom nodded and
I found myself reaching for Alissa’s hand.  She squeezed it tight.

Submersed in our sombre thoughts, the phone rang.

“Mr. Lowell?” the woman asked when I answered.

“This is.”

“This is Doctor Messing’s office calling.”

“Yes.”

“We’re calling because it appears that we’ve found
a match,” she said and for the second time that day, I lost my footing as my ass
hit the arm-rest of the sofa.  Alissa grabbed on to my free arm and put a hand
on my knee to balance me out.

“How’s that possible?  We haven’t told anyone
about today’s outcome and Messing’s told us that it would take a considerable
amount of time for Jasper to climb up the recipient list?” I asked.  Could this
be real or was this a huge mistake?

“Well, what can I say?  We do have a match here who’s
been tested specifically for your son’s case.  We’d like to get started with
Jasper’s pre-op consultation.  How does next Wednesday morning sound?”

“Thank you.  We’ll be there,” I said and cleared
the ever growing lump in my throat.  “What time?”

“Ten o’clock, sir,” she said.

“Thank you,” I said again.

I hadn’t realized the room had grown silent as
everyone’s attention was focused on me.  I put down the receiver and looked
around at the three concerned faces.  “Pax,” Alissa said, “sweetie?”  I hadn’t
responded but the movement of her hand on my thigh snapped me back to the
present and I blankly stared at her.

“They’ve found a donor,” I said, sounding detached
and then I repeated that statement to myself a few times as reality sunk in. 
“They’ve found a donor!”  I laughed and got up, grabbed Alissa and pulled her
in for a tight hug while I spun her around.  She giggled into my neck.

“But how?” my father asked and I stopped our
spinning.

I shook my head and ran a hand through my hair,
still trying to make sense of it all.  “I don’t know.  Someone came in and got
tested and they’re a match,” I said.

I found myself hoping that there’d be a way to
thank this potential life saver in person for the sacrifice they were making. 
If Jasper survived, I wanted them to know the face of the person they had
saved.  I wanted my son to know his hero.  This person had no clue as to the
difference they were making in my life.  I now understood the hope that Alissa had
been holding on to.  Someone out there was selfless enough to give a stranger a
new lease on life.

My mother rushed over to me the minute I let go of
Alissa and I found myself cuddled in the tiny woman’s arms as she cradled me to
her.  “Oh, Mama,” I said and the tears of relief hit and I felt another set of
arms, large ones, engulf the two of us, knowing that it was my father.

After what felt like a short eternity of being
sandwiched between my parents, my reeling emotions stabilized and we pulled
away from one another.  I looked over to Alissa who giggled with a bright smile
while she wiped her tears away.

***

Mom and Dad left before dinner, despite inviting
them to stay.  Alissa had made her way to the kitchen and could be heard
chopping away at whatever food she was preparing.  I headed in there to join
her.  A glass of wine waited for me at the breakfast bar.  She looked up and
smiled at me as she continued with what looked like a garden salad and extra
veggies that she had left to the side.  Judging by the wok on the stovetop, she
was planning a stir-fry.  “Need any help, gorgeous?”

“It depends,” she said, “do you plan on helping
out or helping yourself?”  She smirked and I couldn’t help but laugh
remembering the last time she had attempted a stir-fry in my presence.

“How ‘bout I help you and then we help ourselves?”
I asked in an amused tone.  I came around and took the knife from her hand while
kissing the side of her neck.  I caught her biting down on her lower lip again
and felt the silent purr in her throat through my lips.  I smiled against her
skin and nuzzled her cheek.

We managed to get through dinner and Alissa seemed
quiet; a little more than usual throughout the evening.

When we made it to bed, I kissed her head as she
cuddled into my side and asked, “Is everything okay?”

“Perfect.  Why?”  She followed with that sweet
smile of hers.

“You just seem like your mind is somewhere else,”
I said.

“Wednesday’s going to be a big day,” she said.  “I
hope this works, Pax.”

“Me too.”