Big Nick Energy (Bringing Home Trouble)

8. Nick

8

Nick

I couldn’t get enough of her.

Of her body.

Her time.

Her thoughts.

Anything and everything about her made me need more.

I was was playing on thin ice. I knew it. I needed to have a couple of serious talks. One with my kid and another with her mother. I needed to man up and make my intentions not only known but crystal clear.

But with the holidays around the corner and my girl working what felt like around the clock, it was hard to set up a time to talk to her about what I needed to do. I didn’t want to spring it on her. Yet when we were together, all the outside shit seemed to fade away, and all I could think about was her.

She had all my attention and focus.

Jesus. I was a mess. I was a man head over ass in love, and fuck right or wrong. I didn’t give a shit who knew or what they thought about it. I ran my fingers through my hair, and a second later, my phone pinged.

Princess: Would you want to go to the tree lighting?

I smiled and then frowned.

I should have thought about that. I had a list of activities we could do, but somehow, we always found ourselves at my place, christening every damn square inch of the house because we couldn’t keep our hands off one another.

I glanced over at the tree, and warmth washed over me.

It had come out great.

I couldn’t remember the last time I had decorated a Christmas tree. I’d had them over the years but usually had hired someone to come in and do it because I was always in the office or at Simon’s project site. I walked through the house, noting different spots where we could set up another one. I liked the idea of decorating another tree. Each one a memory of time spent with my girl.

I pulled up my phone and typed away a text.

Me: Would love to. I’ll pick you up around 6. Wear something warm. It’s going to be cold, princess.

The temperatures had drastically dropped in the last couple of days.

Princess: Yes, Daddy.

My lips twitched at her sassy response.

I loved her.

I loved her in a way I hadn’t known was possible. I couldn’t have imagined it. I was deep, head over ass in love. I’d known that. But the cynical part of me had also known I was in lust with the idea of someone. But the last week had proven otherwise. Everything I had imagined she would be like paled in comparison to the reality of Blanca Dominguez. One day Blanca Marsh, and soon, if I had anything to say about it. My dick started to come alive at the thought. For all I knew, she could be carrying our baby now. We were insatiable for one another. I hadn’t had this kind of stamina or bounce-back time since I was a twenty-something-year-old, and even then, I didn’t think it was like I was with her now.

My phone rang, and without looking at it, I answered. “Hey, baby,” I greeted with a smile not only on my face but in my heart.

“Baby?” my son’s deep voice asked, and I frowned. I glanced at the screen and winced. Shit. I was so used to the only person who really called being Blanca, I’d fucked up.

“Hey, umm, Noah, how are you?” I cleared my throat, and he chuckled.

“Guessing you didn’t look at your phone before answering.” The smartass answered, and I rolled my eyes.

“Hmm,” I grunted. “What’s up?” I asked, avoiding the question.

“You seeing someone?” he asked, and I scratched the back of my head.

“Something like that.” Again, I didn’t straight out say it, and something in my gut tightened.

I didn’t like to lie. Not to anyone, and especially not my kid. But how could I tell him about Blanca over the phone? Especially before I shared with her about having that conversation in the first place. What if she thinks it’s too soon? I didn’t like her thinking that. I wanted her to know exactly how committed I was to her. To us. It would probably freak her out to know I had gone to a jeweler the day before about a custom engagement ring. Even through her tough girl exterior, she was so innocent. So pure. I didn’t want to rush her, but now that I’d had a taste of heaven, I hated the nights she didn’t spend next to me in bed. I didn’t like how she made sure no one saw us together when I picked her up. I was pretty sure her roommates were clueless about us.

“Dad? You there?” Noah’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

“Yeah, umm…” I cleared my throat again.

“Did you hear what I said?”

“Right, yeah.” I hadn’t. My head was filled with all things Blanca.

“So, you’re good with that?”

“Sure, Noah. Whatever you want,” I mumbled, and he kept talking. I tried to focus. Something about winter break plans. Missing out. Not that I could focus. Not when a text popped through, and when I looked at it, my brain fritzed out.

Princess: Maybe you can finally let me go down on you tonight?

She added a heart-eyed emoji.

My cock hardened beneath the jeans I wore. Jesus Christ, it was the middle of the work week. I was wearing jeans and had left work early because I wanted to make sure I had a chance to see Blanca today

“Alright, Dad, love you. Don’t work too hard.”

“Right,” I mumbled.

“And you’ll send it?”

“Sure.” Send what, I had no idea. Probably money. “How much again?” He paused for some reason before answering.

“Two hundred bucks.” That should have struck a red flag in my head, but with my head in the clouds, I didn’t pay attention. I’d simply thought that was easy enough. Usually, the kid was greedy. Especially this time of year.

“Alright, I’ll get that to you. Have fun and be safe. Talk to you later, love you.” I rushed off the phone, because god only knew what the hell I had just agreed to.

“Love you, too, dad.” I could hear my kid’s eyes rolling but didn’t comment before the call ended. I transferred him money to make sure I didn’t forget then went to wrap a little something I had picked up for Blanca.

I couldn’t sit long before I headed out early enough time to pick up flowers. I was at her apartment ten minutes early, and when she opened the front door, her eyes softened, but it was my jaw that was close to hitting the ground.

She looked stunning.

She was beautiful all the time. But in that moment? I couldn’t take my eyes off her. I’d wondered for a year and a half if she had ever worn the dress I’d bought her. What she would have looked like in it. But then I’d find myself pissed. Thinking about all the guys who would have looked at her. The shit they would have thought about her.

I shook off the green-eyed monster that had reared his head. Her dark hair was long and shiny, cascading down her back in soft waves. Blanca’s makeup was minimal. Soft and light. Giving her almost a natural glow.

The dress was long with a deep V-cut neckline. She had paired it with a cream-colored cardigan. She looked beautiful. If she had wings, she could have easily been the angel on top of a tree.

“You look beautiful, princess,” I complimented. Blanca blushed. “It’s perfect on you.” I caressed her cheek before kissing her forehead. Wordlessly acknowledging I knew exactly which dress this was.

“These are for you,” I murmured against her skin before pulling back and handing her the arrangement in my hands.

“Nick,” she whispered before blinking away the tears from her eyes. Her bottom lip wobbled, and her eyes became glossier as she took in the white and soft pink flowers.

“Hey, what’s that look about?” I asked, concern laced through my tone. She tore her eyes away from the flowers, and her eyes connected with mine.

“They’re so pretty.”

“Not as pretty as you.” I winked, and a soft blush, one that matched some of the soft pink roses, hit the apples of her cheeks.

“No one has ever… I mean, I’ve never got flowers from someone.” She pressed her lips together before raising her hand, resting it on the middle of my chest and raising herself to the tips of her toes. I leaned closer and felt her lips touch my cheek.

“Thank you, Daddy,” she whispered softly enough that I knew it was meant for my ears only. I bit the inside of my cheek. I liked the sweetness in her tone right then and there. Glad as hell I’d stopped to get her flowers, and fuck me, I would be doing that more and more. Anything for her.

I loved knowing I owned so many of her firsts.

“You’re welcome, baby girl.” I winked. She hurried to put the flowers in her bedroom then came back. I watched as she made her way toward me, and it felt like time slowed down. I couldn’t believe she was mine. Mine. Finally. After all this time.

“Thank you again,” she said softly. We started to make our way out to the parking lot.

“For what?”

“The flowers. And the dress,” she added. “I hadn’t worn it yet.” My steps faltered slightly.

“Why?” I glanced at her as we walked hand in hand toward my truck.

“It didn’t feel right if…” She didn’t finish her sentence.

“If what?” I asked, because even though I had a feeling I knew why, I needed to hear it from her. We reached my truck, and I opened the door for her. “Why didn’t it feel right to wear it before?”

“Because it wasn’t with you,” she admitted, and I got that damn warm fuzzy feeling inside of me.

I was a grown man, long past warm and fuzzy. Or so I’d thought. It turned out a lot of shit I thought I had grown out of, I had actually never really experienced because it hadn’t been with Blanca.

We drove toward the city hall, where the tree lighting would be happening. There were two streets closed off full of ez-up tents and booths with different kinds of vendors that would be selling everything from knick knacks to food. Parking wasn’t hard to find, and when I did, I had her wait for me to open the door. After I helped her out, we walked hand in hand toward where the tree lighting ceremony was going to be.

“Did you eat lunch?” I asked, and she nodded.

“I did. But I wouldn’t mind getting a snack or something to eat after this.”

“That’s what I was thinking. What do you think about kabobs?” I pointed toward the booth, and she nodded.

“And maybe a funnel cake after?”

“Anything you want, princess.” I kissed the top of her head. The city square was slowly starting to fill up when I felt her tense.

“Umm, Nick?” she whispered in a tone I didn’t like. One that was filled with fear and hesitation.

One I didn’t want to hear ever again.

“Yeah?” I asked. Her eyes connected with mine for a beat before she stepped away from my hold. My brows bunched. “What’s the matter, prin—" I didn’t get to finish saying anything because that’s when I looked up and saw him.

Noah stood six feet away from us.

He stood with two of his buddies from high school and a girl I didn’t recognize at his other side.

“Dad?” The look of betrayal on his face stung, but it didn’t stop me from reaching for Blanca’s hand and tangling out fingers together. Part of me was afraid she’d run off. Noah stepped close, slowly approaching us as his eyes bounced between me and her, then dropped and focused on our hands.

“What is going on?” he asked, but before I could say a word or think of something, someone called out.

“Mami!” a voice sounded. It was a little far away, but Blanca’s body jerked as she turned toward a woman, two girls, and a really big guy walking toward us.

“This is not happening,” she whispered. Her hand tightened around mine.

“I told you that was her!” The older lady smiled at a blonde with big glasses. The valedictorian from the graduation. Her best friend. Blanca let go of my hand, and I couldn’t get myself to grab it back. I was a selfish bastard when it came to my princess, but I had to play it cool.

“Hey, Mom,” she squeaked. Libby mouthed, I’m sorry, and I stood straighter. “Umm, what are you guys doing here?”

“Your brother and Libby came for the weekend, and you mentioned to Gris you were coming, so…” Her mom looked at my son and me, and then back at her daughter. “So, we wanted to surprise you.” She had no idea just how much she had.

“You want to introduce us?” Blanca’s mom asked, tipping her head toward Noah and me. Thankfully, his friends had left to god only knew where. The girl stood off to the side, watching the whole thing unfold.

“Umm, yeah.” She smiled tightly. “You remember Noah? And, umm, this is Nick.” Nick. It could have been worse. It wasn’t This is my man, Nick , but at least it wasn’t Noah’s dad . “Nick, Noah, this is my mom, Val.”

“Nice to meet you,” Noah muttered, his eyes still filled with disbelief.

“Nice to meet you.” I extended my hand, and for a moment, Val looked at me, then her daughter, and back at me.

“Am I missing something here?” she asked, obviously as astute as, if not more than, her daughter.

“Mom—“

“Mrs. Dominguez, umm…” I cleared my throat.

“Yeah! What’s going on? Wait, isn’t this the jerk who cheated on you?” Her brother came over and frowned, glaring at Noah.

“Crank, go away!” Blanca hissed, shooting a pleading look at her best friend. “Mom, we need to talk.”

“I think Nick is the one who was about to explain.” Her brother glared.

“Not here––“ Blanca started to say, but I shook my head.

“Here is fine,” I said, and she turned her attention to me.

“Nick.”

“Baby––“

“Baby?” Both Noah and her brother repeated, but I ignored them and cast my gaze to her mom.

“Mrs—"

“I think Val is fine, seeing as I’m pretty sure we’re about the same age.”

“Right, well…” I cleared my throat.

And that’s when I felt it. Blanca moved closer to me, right to my side, and reached for my hand. Tangling our fingers together. Making a silent statement. “I like your daughter.”

“You like my…” She blinked. Her eyes dropped back to her daughter. Something seemed to be working through Blanca’s mom’s mind. At first, I assumed it was about the million and one ways she could get away with not only murdering a man who was old enough to be her daughter’s dad instead of her boyfriend but also not getting caught when we were surrounded by a bunch of witnesses.

But then I realized it wasn’t that.

“Tu y el?” she asked quietly, and Blanca nodded.

“Yeah, Mom. Me and him. Nick and I are seeing each other.”

“What the fuck, Dad?!” Noah exclaimed. I waited for the backlash to hit, but Val didn’t seem surprised in the least.

“Dad? Wait. What the hell, Blanc? What are you doing?” her brother asked, and the sweet blonde at his side simply reached for his arms.

“Hector, breathe.”

“Breathe? He’s old enough to be her dad. Wait! Did you know about this?”

“Let’s go for a walk. Why don’t you buy Gris and me a funnel cake, yeah?”

“Libby––“

“Hector.” They stared at one another for a moment, and I knew when ‘Crank’ Dominguez decided to follow his woman instead of beating me to a pulp for dating his little sister.

The three walked away and left the four of us alone.

“I think we should talk really quick.” Val’s eyes were on her daughter.

“Mom, I’m almost twenty—” Blanca didn’t say another word as her hand rose for a moment.

“Come on.” The matriarch of the family hooked her elbow with her daughter’s, and they walked away. Blanca looked over her shoulder, and I smiled tightly as she moved off to the side to speak with her mother.

“Dad, you and––“

“I was going to tell you,” I rasped.

“When did this start? Wait… have you two been together since I was seeing her?”

“No! God, no! Thanksgiving. But if I’m honest…” I swallowed hard.

Winston was right.

Life was too short to pussyfoot around the shit that meant something.

“I love you, Noah. I would have never disrespected your relationship with Blanca. You tossed her out.”

“Dad—"

“I’m in love with her,” I admitted out loud. “I love her, son. I love her in a way I didn’t… Fuck me.” I chuckled as I rubbed the back of my neck. “I didn’t even know it was possible to love someone like this, Noah.”

“Gee, thanks,” he clipped.

“You know what I mean. I want Blanca. It’s the forever kind of love, endgame shit, kid. Do you get that?” His arms crossed over his chest. I couldn’t read his expression or tell where his head was at.

“This is fucking weird, Dad. She was my girlfriend,” he said way too calmly.

“I know. I tried not to want this. Not to want her. Not to love her the way I do, but—“ I shrugged and sighed. “Honestly? I couldn’t stop it. It was inevitable. Like the sun can’t be stopped from rising in the morning, Noah.” He stared at me for a moment, and then I saw it.

His lips twitched. “Fuck, Dad. My whole life, I didn’t even see you go on a date. When you fall hard, you really fall hard, don’t you?”

“You have no idea,” I mumbled. This time, there was no twitch in his lips. Noah laughed and shook his head. That has to be a good thing, right?

“We good?” I asked. He stared at me for a moment before he nodded.

“Yeah, Dad.” He nodded, and a weight slowly lifted off my shoulders. “Of course, we’re good. You’re my dad.” He stepped forward and hugged me. We patted each other on the back, and I stepped back.

“Just don’t expect me to call Blanca mom, and we’re good, okay?”

“Right,” I murmured.

“Does this mean I’m finally going to have little brothers and sisters now?” I chuckled.

I wasn’t sure if that would be in the cards for us. Whether she wanted them or not. It wasn’t like we were preventing anything, but I wasn’t about to jinx it. Especially when I had said a hell of a lot more about how I felt to my kid than to my princess. Noah glanced over his shoulder and smiled then winked.

“So, I wanted you to meet someone, too.” He brought his attention back to me.

“Oh?” That’s when I spotted who he was looking at. The girl who had stood with Noah and his friends hadn’t left. She was standing off to the side, in what I guessed silent support for Noah, even from afar.

And for that alone, I liked her.

He called her over, and she hurried toward us. The moment she was within reach, he took her hand and tucked her body into his. They looked good together. She was a couple of inches shorter than Noah with deep auburn curly hair and kind eyes.

“Dad, I want you to meet my girlfriend, Sam. Sam, this is my dad, Nick Marsh. Dad, she’s off limits,” he warned. I shot him a look and shook my head. The little shit laughed.

I extended my hand, and Sam shook it.

“Nice to meet you, Sam. Sorry about the drama,” I muttered, and she smiled kindly.

“No drama. Everything was fine.” She shrugged, not making it a big deal that her boyfriend had just discovered his dad was dating one his ex-girlfriends. And it made me like her more. My son could have a flair for the dramatic every once in a while, especially when he had been younger. Someone calm and steady was exactly what he needed.

“Right, well, I’m sorry to rush off, but…” My eyes darted to my son, and he nodded.

“Go get your girl, Dad.”

“Thanks, kid. I promise we will catch up soon!” I waved at the two of them before I turned and hurried. Scanning the crowds only to find Blanca and Val sitting on a bench together.

They weren’t yelling.

My girl’s head rested on her mom’s shoulder, and they were holding hands. As if feeling me, her head rose, and I started to make my way toward her, hoping to god her mom hadn’t talked her out of seeing me.