Chapter 9

9

Shelby

Okay, fine, yes, I named my son the last name of his father.

Big deal.

It's not like I thought anything with Faust would ever happen.

And I really liked the name Oakley.

I think that's the last of my worries at the moment though when it comes to the situation surrounding me right now.

Faust sits at my kitchen table, this monstrous man.

I really never figured my apartment was so small until Faust walked around it.

The music from downstairs keeps playing.

Yes, it's annoying. Yes, it's caused issues.

And, no, right now there's nothing I can do about it.

Once I finish this book and it becomes a bestseller, I'm going to buy Oakley and I a-

"What kind of house do you dream of?" Faust asks me.

He breaks up my thoughts and surprises me with that question.

"That's what you want to ask me right now?"

Faust reaches across the table and touches my hand. "Sweetie, I need to ask something calm like that right now. I can't explain how livid I am at the moment with everything. Understand me? One phone call to my lawyer and agent and a few others and I can have Oakley all to myself. Now is that the kind of thing you want to hear?"

I rip my hand away.

I feel like that was a blatant icy threat from Faust.

Flaunting his money and status as a famous athlete.

It makes me want to kick him out, call Dani to watch Oakley, so I can write this entire book in one night and have it sell so many copies, I'll be richer than Faust and I'll be the one threatening him.

"I assume you don't want to live here forever," he says. "Or even for the next ten minutes."

"Did you come here to insult me, Faust?"

"No. I came here to meet my son. And when I look at you, it tears me in two."

There's silence for a few seconds.

"I want him to have a yard," I finally say. "A nice backyard. Maybe an apple tree too. But they get messy, I think. Definitely the kind of tree you can build a treehouse in. One of those wooden swing sets too. With a slide. A house with a big front porch. So you can sit outside when it storms, watch the rain and listen to the thunder. A nice house. Modest. Not something big and annoying, you know? In a neighborhood where he can ride his bike and make friends. Schools nearby. Just a… a nice life…"

My eyes well with tears again.

I quickly jump up and hurry toward the kitchen sink to look out the window.

"Shelby," Faust says in a deep voice.

I shake my head. "You were right about everything. At least so far. I shouldn't be crying in front of you. That hurts you. I've hurt you."

I hear the chair scratch against the floor.

I shut my eyes and find myself falling into a fantasy.

This is the one where Faust walks up behind me and touches my hips. He presses his body against mine. I feel the bulge of his… of his cock… against me…

His hands touch my curves. My new curves. The curves that happened during pregnancy and never went away. His hands move around, touching my body…

That doesn't happen.

"I know I pissed you off in there, Shelby. The way I handled that. I'm not going to mess around with this. I'm not going to pretend to be his best friend. He's my son, right? Our son?"

I turn around.

Faust is close to me.

I swallow hard. My toes curl.

I wonder if he feels that same connection as before.

It would be crazy to think…

"Shelby?"

"Yeah, you did piss me off," I say. "I protect him. A lot. I have to protect him."

"Protect him from me?"

"Faust…"

"I know. There's a lot to talk about. I don't want to hear that anymore. And I also don't want to hear this fucking music under my feet. This is no way to live."

He turns and starts to walk.

Oh, fuck.

I jump for him and grab at his left arm.

Faust had always been well built thanks to his strict gym routine and playing hockey, but he's huge now. His forearm is like grabbing the middle of a maple tree.

My fingers can't grasp and pull at him. My hand slips away.

I'm now chasing Faust through my apartment, but I stop myself, knowing Oakley is on the couch resting.

I follow Faust out of the apartment.

"What do you think you're doing?" I growl at him. "Do not start a neighbor war. I can barely afford…"

I suck in a breath.

Last thing I need is for Faust to think I got in touch with him for money.

"You're not living like this anymore," he says.

I can't chase him anymore because I have to be close to my son.

To our son.

I touch my forehead and my heart races.

I go back inside.

Oakley is now sitting up. "Mommy?"

"Everything is fine," I say. I lie. Or at least maybe I'm lying.

"Where is…"

Oakley hesitates.

He doesn't know what to call Faust.

I've confused…

No.

I've fucked everything up.

"He'll be right back," I say. "Do you, uh, do you have any questions?"

Oakley shrugs his shoulders.

"Adult things are complicated," I say.

Oakley just blinks. He doesn't know what I just said or what it means.

"Oakley, are you okay with Faust being here?" I ask.

I'm not sure if I should be asking that or not. If Oakley doesn't want Faust here… then what?

"Yeah," Oakley says. "You smile a lot near him."

That comment hits me hard.

Really hard.

Before I can respond, the music under my feet suddenly stops.

"Finally," Oakley says. "That guy is mean down there."

Oakley crashes back down to the couch.

I look down, my heart racing again.

Bobby never turns his music off.

I cringe at the thought of what Faust did to get him to turn the music off…

Faust isn't bloody nor does he look like he got into a fight.

Not that I would think for a second that Bobby would actually have the chance to hit Faust.

"No more music," Faust says.

We're back in the kitchen.

It's the only place semi-private other than my bedroom.

I'm not going in there alone with Faust.

I know what happened the last time Faust and I were alone in a bedroom…

"What did you do down there?" I ask. "Beating the crap out of Bobby sounds nice. And I would love to see it. But everything in my life revolves around that little boy on the couch. Violence and getting me kicked out of here…? How does that help?"

Faust looks around and then he steps toward me. "I didn't hit anyone, Shelby. Last thing I need is to be blasted all over social media for punching some loser over his shitty music."

"So what did you do?"

"I gave him fifty bucks and told him if he doesn't turn it off, I'm going to take my money back and break his jaw."

Oh, does that fucking turn me on. It's wrong, I know. But it turns me the fuck on.

It's not wrong to want someone to defend you. It's not wrong to want someone to be big and mean, to grab you and hold you.

"Fifty bucks, huh?" I ask. "I should have tried that myself. Maybe even add in flashing him quick."

Faust's eyes bulge with rage. "No."

"Excuse me?"

"I said no . You're not going to do that."

I laugh. "Are you telling me what to do with my body? How do you even know I'm not seeing someone?"

His eyes are even bigger now.

I've touched a nerve. A delicate nerve at that.

"I'm going to go say goodbye to my son quick. There's some hockey stuff today. I'll send guys over to get things packed up for you."

"What?" I ask.

"You're not staying here, sweetie. You're not living here anymore. And don't worry about your lease or anything like that. I've got lawyers who can handle that part."

I grab at his shirt. "No, Faust. It doesn't work that way. I am not upending my life for you. I wanted you to know about your son. That's where we start. We go from there. I am not packing up and moving in with you."

Faust grins. "Live with me? You're not living with me, Shelby."

"Oh. This all makes perfect sense."

That's when he touches my face. "You're going to live next to me. That's the plan."

"Live next to you?" I ask.

Faust strokes my cheek with his thumb and then walks away.

He goings into the living room to say goodbye to Oakley.

He crouches down and tells Oakley he'll see him again soon.

Faust starts throwing out the word promise and it makes my heart race.

The two shake hands, this time both smiling.

Faust then reaches for Bongo and shakes one of the tiger's paws.

My toes curl and my body warms over.

Maybe this is exactly what both Oakley and I need.