All In Read online

  I gazed down at her stomach.

  A baby. She was pregnant with my baby.

  “What took you so long to contact me?” I was curious. I thought about how long-ago Vegas was, and she had to be at least four months pregnant.

  Damn.

  She dropped her hands from her stomach and leaned back on the couch watching my reactions. What did she think I was going to do? Did she think I was going to deny that the baby could be mine? I wasn’t that dumb. If I wanted to question the paternity of the baby, it wouldn’t be right now. I was sure that she was a nervous wreck as it was.

  Lisa wasn’t some random female. She successful, bright, beautiful, and loving. I was pretty sure that she didn’t have to trap a man using pregnancy. Even if she wanted to trap someone, I was sure it wouldn’t be me. Not the white boy that she admitted to never having slept with one before in her life.

  We had been each other’s first on that note.

  “I didn’t have your number, and I was embarrassed that I had slept with you in Las Vegas.” She shrugged. “I didn’t know how I was going to explain to Connor or Haley why I needed your number.”

  Ouch. Well, damn.

  She had been embarrassed about sleeping with me. Shit. She didn’t hold back. Why was I not surprised?

  “You were embarrassed about sleeping with me?” I asked trying to make sure that I had all the facts straight. Embarrassment was the last thing I thought about when I remembered sleeping with her. All I could remember was how she was like a lit flame in my bed burning, turning me on with just a touch of her hand or the flick of her tongue.

  She looked over at me frowning. “Not that I slept with you per se, but you were a one-night stand. Prior to that night, neither one of us had shown any interest in the other. And trust, I was not calling Connor or my cousin to admit I slept with you in Vegas,” she smirked.

  That relaxed me just a little. Hell, I was going to try to look on the bright side. At least she hadn’t said she was embarrassed or disgusted by me in general. That would not bode well for our future co-parenting.

  At almost four months, I was pretty sure she was keeping the baby. I didn’t want to examine why her choice didn’t scare me. I would have to revisit that fact later.

  “I know you said that we took shots, but I promise I do not remember going back to your hotel.”

  Fuck. Did she think I had taken advantage of her? I would never do that to anybody. I was not that type of man.

  “I did not take advantage of you, Lisa. I promise you had been all over me that night. I had even asked you were you sure before we went back to my hotel. You kept telling me that you were a big girl and made your own decisions. You told me that I was being a prude and that I was just scared of sleeping with a black girl.” I looked her straight in the eyes. “You told me I was scared of black pussy. You said that I couldn’t handle all your black girl magic. You even told me that once you go black you never go back and that I needed to see what I had been missing my whole life.”

  At the time, I thought she was funny. Shit, if I had known she was drunk, I never would have slept with her.

  Lisa laughed, “Yeah, it sounds like something I would have said. You do come off as kind of a prude. You have some swag, but you never really exhibit any aggressive tendencies. I was probably just trying to provoke you into letting go because you always seem so quiet and reserved.”

  Right. I hadn’t been quiet with her that night. I had made sure that she wouldn’t forget this white boy.

  “Actually, you called me a white boy and told me that I was lame. You also said that I wouldn’t know what to do with a black girl if she threw it on me. I guessed I proved you wrong, huh.”

  She cringed and laughed softly. “Damn, liquor can surely make people have loose lips, huh? You knew what to do with me, huh?”

  She raised her eyebrows at me. “Get me pregnant? Pretty sure that wasn’t your plan. Your pull-out game was obviously pretty weak. There are better things that we could have done than make a baby.” She smirked.

  She was beautiful. Bantering back and forth with her was interesting. She didn’t even want to begin to know how dirty she talked to me until I finally broke down and agreed to take her to my room. I didn’t think now was the time for me to tell her that either. She wouldn’t want to know just how aggressive she had been.

  We had to figure out what we were going to do.

  I scooted closer to her.

  She raised her eyebrows at me. It was a little too late to act innocent now. That ship had sailed at least four months ago. We were connected together for all time now. I could no longer worry about how she responded to me. We were in this for the long haul.

  Technically, it was too late to be coy now. We were having a baby together. I had seen every part of her body. I had licked, bit, and sucked every hidden place she had. I was sure she wasn’t ready to hear that either.

  “So, what are we going to do?” I was curious about what she was going to say. Obviously, she was keeping the baby. She was four months along. An abortion was out of the question, not that I would have ever asked her to do that.

  “I guess we’re going to be parents.” She looked at me to see what I would say.

  “What does that mean exactly?” I wanted to know what she was thinking. I wasn’t raised with both of my parents. My Dad and Mom had separated when I was little, and my Dad had been an absent father at worse. I wouldn’t do that to my child. I wanted to be part of his or her life.

  “How do you feel about that?” It was not something that she had planned on in her life. It was a shock to both of us.

  She shrugged again. “I’ve gotten used to the idea of being pregnant. At first, I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown. I just became a doctor. Now, I’m about to be a single parent. I hadn’t planned on things going this way.”

  She frowned again. “When life gives you lemons, you squeeze the hell out of them and make bitter ass lemonade.”

  I ignored that weird ass saying. She had the propensity to spit bullshit often in her conversations with her family. It was one of the things that I found entertaining about being around Haley’s family.

  “How do you feel about this?” she asked.

  How did I feel about it? I didn’t know why I was reacting so calmly other than the fact that I was scared of screwing something up. I was worried that if I reacted in the wrong way that she would walk away and I might not ever see my child. I didn’t want that. To be honest, I wouldn’t mind a connection with her.

  A baby was a huge ass rope.

  “I’ll admit that I’m surprised, but I do know that I didn’t protect you when we had sex. That’s on me,” I said honestly. I was man enough to admit I should have done better. I should have protected us both.

  “I’m clean. We’re tested frequently in sports. I know you’re clean because you told me as you put me inside your body.” I wanted to assure her and remind her that she had been in control that night. I remembered that part in vivid details as she leaned over me while she was riding me.

  She looked at me quietly. “I know. I had myself tested.” She ignored my other statement. “Trust me, leaving your room with semen running down my leg meant I had to be tested, and yep, you should have protected us both since you were the sober one. I guess you were anxious to try some of this black girl magic, so I guess I’ll have to forgive you.” She winked.

  Right. Black girl magic.

  She was captivating. She had a glow about her that I had never seen on her.

  Normally, she was so argumentative that I tried not to get on her radar. Now, she was like some type of beacon that was pulling me in, and I couldn’t resist. I had heard stories that babies made women glow. There had to be some truth to this statement because I found Lisa breathtaking.

  “Since I can’t remember, did we make magic that night? I’ll never forgive you if I got pregnant, and you fizzled out.”

  I smiled. She was incorrigible. We had definitely m
ade magic. So much magic that late at night I found myself constantly thinking about her. So much magic that she was having my baby.

  I gave her my best wicked look. “It was magic alright. I put it on you.”

  I watched her closely. I could see the curiosity in her eyes.

  Yeah, try me again. This time will be just as memorable.

  “Really? We’ll see.”

  My whole-body heated. Was she saying that we were going to sleep together again? Shit, I hoped so.

  “What do you want to do, Lisa?” I was sure she had a plan. A girl like Lisa was a planner. She would never come to me without already knowing what she wanted. I was pretty sure her embarrassment was not the only reason that kept her from me.

  Lisa

  I glanced over at Chris. He had cut his hair since the last time I had seen him, and he had let his beard grow out. It was sexy as hell. I had to give it to him. He cleaned up well. He had on a suit that accented his tall frame. His suit jacket hugged his broad shoulders.

  I felt my sex clench. I wasn’t sure if it was pregnancy hormones or sex hormones, either way I hadn’t had sex in a long time. Getting pregnant didn’t count. I didn’t even remember that bullshit.

  Would he go along with what I wanted him to do? I was nervous as hell. The whole idea seemed so over the top. I glanced over at him. I wasn’t even sure how much he wanted me. If he wanted little ole Black me. Yes, I guess very few men turned down pussy of any color, but what I wanted went beyond the normal.

  I sat up straight. “Do you have a girlfriend, Chris?”

  Hell, I hadn’t even thought of that. Had I slept with someone else’s man? That would have been tacky as hell.

  Please say no.

  I couldn’t explain it, but I was attracted to him. Seeing him again made my whole inside turn to pudding. This man was doing that to me. It was unexpected. But, it worked well with what I wanted from him.

  He raised his eyebrows. “It’s a little late to ask that now isn’t it?”

  His voice was deep, and I wasn’t sure if I imagined it. But, it sounded sexy as hell. It had to be the hormones.

  If it wasn’t the hormones, I was in trouble.

  “Not really since it was your dick that stumbled into me with no protection. If you have a girlfriend, you disrespected her not me. I was drunk that night. I take no responsibility whats so ever.”

  Facts. I was not one of those women that believed that women carried the responsibility when a man cheated. It was his fault if he had a girlfriend or wife. He made the promises to the woman, not me.

  “No, I don’t have a girlfriend.”

  He smiled at me, and I swear I became moist from that look.

  “Do you have a boyfriend since you let my dick stumble into your vagina?”

  Okay, so Chris had a little swag. I saw what he was doing.

  His lips kicked up in a smirk. The kind of look that said that I couldn’t afford to throw stones.

  My heart sped up. Oh, so he thought he was cute. He surprised me. I guessed he had more swag than I gave him credit for because I was pretty sure I never thought our conversation would be going this way. Not sure what I thought, but it wasn’t this.

  Truth be told, I had prepared to renege on this who proposition.

  “Nope, the only thing I’ve had that even resembled a boyfriend is my battery-operated toy. You came between us.”

  He shook his head. “No, you came between me and my hand. I admit you were much better and tighter fit than my hand. Much more pleasurable too.”

  I wanted to fan myself. Crap. Ok, so maybe he wasn’t as lame or vanilla as I originally thought. He was coming off a little hot. He had confidence and more swag with every word that dripped from his mouth. Whoa! Okay. Maybe, this wouldn’t be as bad as I thought.

  “What do you want to do, Lisa? Just spit it out,” he said looking at me intently like he was trying to see into my mind or read my whole soul.

  Call me stupid, but I liked this part of him. No woman wanted a man that she could push over, and I knew I would do really bad with a man that I could run over. I would run shod all over him. Now, I had to reevaluate my original plan. It wasn’t going to be as simple as I had originally thought.

  Okay. He could only say no. I didn’t have anything to lose. My mother always said that they could only say no. Closed mouths didn’t get fed. I was going to put it all on the line.

  I cleared my throat. “You know I just became a doctor, right?” I wasn’t sure how much he knew about me. Sure, we had been around each other. It may have come up, but I wasn’t sure.

  “Yes.”

  I saw the questions in his eyes.

  Be patient, I’m going somewhere with this.

  “I just transferred to a hospital near here.” I had immediately started applying for OBGYN positions after I realized that I was pregnant. Staying across the world from my family would never work. I believed in the old proverb that said it took a village to raise a child. My village was too far away. Hell, my baby daddy was too far away.

  I watched to see his response about me moving closer to him.

  He continued to watch me, not saying anything. He was not giving me anything to go on, so I kept going with my explanation.

  “I’m going to need help with the baby. I might have to be on call.” I waved my hands. “Or anything.” I finished.

  It would not be easy to raise a baby by myself. Could I beat my chest and scream I didn’t need a man to help me take care of my child? Yes, but I wasn’t going to. He should have used a condom if he didn’t want to be a daddy.

  He remained quiet waiting to see where I was going with the conversation.

  Fine. I’d have to just spit it out.

  “My family also thinks that I’m a good girl, which I am,” I said hastily. I had never done anything as stupid as sleep with a man after taking god knew how many shots.

  He ran a hand through his hair, pushing the dark strands back. “Lisa, tell me what you want to do?” His lips twisted, part amusement and part frustration.

  Okay. Okay. I took a deep breath. I was not a punk. My ancestors were made of strong stock. We were born and bred to survive adversity and strife. I have always gone after what I wanted.

  “First, I have set up a doctor appointment at a local clinic so that we can do a DNA test so that you can be assured that the baby is yours.”

  He inclined his head in agreement.

  “Then, when the results come back,” I licked my lips, “I want us to move in together to see if we can get a long and raise our child together. I come from a two-parent household. In my family, we do not have babies out of wedlock. I haven’t even told anyone that I am pregnant. When I do, all hell will break loose. I’m the one that should know better. Obviously, I don’t, but that is beside the point. Even if we stay together temporary, it will go over better with my family. If nothing else, you can watch the baby while I’m at work, or we could get a nanny. I’m positive you make enough.”

  I blew out a deep breath. I felt like I had rambled on, but I wanted to get it out before I lost my courage.

  Yep, I had also looked up his salary. He made twenty million dollars a year for skating on some damn ice. Life was unfair. Hell, I had gone to school for years just to pull in six figures. It was more than my doctor’s salary could ever dream of being even if I worked until I died or delivered a million damn babies. I’m sure that I could make a good salary in child support alone from him, but that was not what I wanted. Being a doctor had been my dream too long to give it up. I wasn’t going to let him off the hook. I wasn’t that crazy. But, I did want to give my child a chance to be with his or her father.

  He remained quiet for a minute. I would not squirm. I licked my lips in nervousness. He probably thought I was a crazy gold-digging black girl trying to get money from him. As if, I didn’t need to trap anybody to feed myself.

  He stared at me like he was trying to figure me out. “I thought you didn’t do white boys?” he asked
raising his eyebrows at me for confirmation.

  I glared at him. He was really going to bring that up? “Really, Chris? After everything I said, that is the only thing you can think of?” Men, their little head led everything. What a waste of the big head!

  “Yep, how could this work if you don’t even like me?”

  I blinked. He was kind of right. I had even considered that myself, but I convinced myself that I must have seen something that night. I had to trust myself.

  Now, seeing him again and going back and forth in conversation with him proved that some spark was there. I could feel it. I wondered if that was what I had felt that night in Vegas.

  Even when I had originally come up with the idea to ask him to move in with me, I was assuming that we had some type of connection. I hadn’t forgotten how I felt watching him in the hotel bed before I left. I had felt something. I was too smart to deny the obvious.

  I pointed to my stomach. “I liked you well enough for you to put a baby in me. I’m sure we can figure it out again,” I growled.

  He laughed.

  Right, because this was so damn funny. Not.

  He focused his eyes intently on me with intensity that I had never witnessed before from him. My nipples tightened. It had to be pregnancy hormones.

  I felt like squirming in my seat.

  He reached out and captured my hand in his. My whole body became one giant flame. His skin was warm, and I felt myself leaning toward him. Moth to a flame. His hand dwarfed mine, making me feel small. As a black girl, we never really came off as small unless we were bite-size black girls. I was not a snack size girl. I weighted one hundred and sixty-five pounds. It was what the doctor’s world would consider overweight. Black women did not do very well on the index. Our bodies just didn’t fit their fragile scales.

  He ran his thumb over the back of my knuckles, and the spark of electricity made my body ache. With every stroke of his thumb, I wanted to remember what that night had been like. His scent was something spicy that enveloped me. There was nothing like a sexy smelling man to rub myself all over. I almost groaned out loud.