Marco (The Men of Indecent Exposure #1)(25)

Being the good girl she is, I didn't have to tell her twice. After  telling the others to get ready for dismissal as well, I touched my  stomach again, feeling another gentle bump when I did.

She was moving and I could finally feel her.

Without giving it a second thought, I pulled out my phone and scrolled  to Marco's name. Since the ultrasound almost four weeks ago to the date,  we'd talked every day. Mostly they were just quick check-ins, asking  how I was feeling and if I needed anything, but sometimes we'd chat  about other things-how our day had been, stuff like that. Although, I  got the impression his weekend social calendar was pretty full because  he was nearly impossible to get on the phone on those nights. It was  perfectly fine if he dated around a lot. I had no right to mind, but it  was kind of strange to think of it.

Did he tell these women about his situation? That he has a child on the way?

Or maybe he typically did the one-night stand thing …  like when we hooked up.

Realizing I was giving his personal life way too much thought, I  dismissed it all and sent the text I set out to send in the first place.

‘She just kicked!' was all it said, but apparently that was enough to get him excited.

‘You serious? Was it only once?' he asked.

I smiled, imagining him doing the same. ‘Twice. While I was talking to one of my students.'

While waiting for him to text again, I placed my hand on my stomach. It  had started to tighten just a bit the past few weeks, but because I  wasn't exactly thin to begin with, it was still relatively soft.  Thoughts filled my head of being at the end of this and looking like I  was at the end.

‘I'm so mad I missed it,' Marco said back. ‘I'll have to see if I can sweet-talk her into doing it again when I'm around.'

I laughed and tapped out my message. ‘Oh, I'm sure this is just the beginning. There will be plenty of other opportunities.'

I set my phone down for a moment to quiet my class when their volume  rose a little. They got back on task as they slipped their bags onto  their backs and lined up at the door. Before walking them to their  respective posts-for some the bus loading zone, for others the parent  pick-up area-I checked Marco's last text.

‘Thank you for sharing this. It means a lot being able to know every single milestone our little girl reaches.'

My heart …  it melted when I read that.

Something I'd come to learn about Marco is that family is high on his  list of priorities. Hearing him speak about his sisters made me almost  envious that I hadn't come from a large family like he did. The more I  got to know him, the more I understood him. No, we didn't choose to be  here, but honestly? I found myself worrying less and less about the kind  of father my daughter would have. Marco's promise to be there for her  no longer felt empty, no longer felt like a clichéd statement meant to  serve as a temporary appeasement. No, it felt real. Deep down in my  heart I knew he wouldn't let her, or me, down. And for the first time in  a long time, I was on cloud nine.

But I suppose it's true what they say: all good things must come to an  end. I knew that was exactly what had happened when my classroom phone  rang on the far wall; my good day was coming to an abrupt end. Before  even answering, I knew things were about to change, and not in a good  way. The clock had wound down for me and I hadn't even had time to  secure my safety net.

My cover was blown.



Marco

On nights I had to perform, I typically sat in the car for a few before  going inside. Those last moments of silence helped me clear my head,  helped me get into character, but today, my mind wasn't on work. I  stared at the grainy images I kept over the visor, the place I put them  weeks ago after the ultrasound. Today, hearing from Brynn that my little  princessa was kicking and moving around in there …  I couldn't stop  looking at the only pictures I had of her for now. Soon, she'd be here  in the flesh, though, and I couldn't wait to hold her.         

     



 

It would've been nice to stop by Brynn's to feel the baby move for  myself, but I couldn't pass up the money I'd make here tonight,  especially not with the new addition on the way. Glancing down at the  clock, I tried Brynn as was my routine every weekend lately. Because she  wouldn't be able to reach me after a certain time, I'd call her to  check in, and then I put my phone away for the night.

She didn't pick up, so I assumed she was busy. After all, it was Friday  night. She could've been out. A thought occurred to me-that she might be  out with a guy. She mentioned seeing someone when we met at the  restaurant when this whole thing jumped off, but she downplayed it.  While I couldn't imagine a lot of guys getting involved with a pregnant  woman, I realized it wasn't impossible. If she explained that we're only  friends at best, maybe someone would still want to give it a shot.

Wasn't my business, though, so I stopped thinking about it and got out of the car, headed for the back door.

Bass pulsed through the sound system, filling the empty club as the DJ  did a sound check. When I pulled in, there was already a line of women  wrapped around the building and we didn't even open for an hour. Because  of my schedule, I didn't get to assist with all the promoting most of  the other guys had been doing, but they clearly did one hell of a job  without me.

Lately, I'd started to feel like I was spreading myself too thin-working  both jobs, tending to my rental properties when necessary, and keeping  up with my family. It wasn't lost on me that my time would become even  more strained once Brynn delivered. I wouldn't let this job or anything  else stop me from getting to know my daughter. The thought had crossed  my mind that it might be time to cut my time here back to every other  weekend, instead of being here whenever the doors opened. I hadn't known  of anyone else to only perform part-time, but hopefully being one of  the dancers here with the most time in, Ivy would let me work something  out. She wasn't as understanding as her old man was, but I wouldn't know  the outcome until I asked.

I pulled my duffle bag higher on my shoulder and turned the knob to the  changing room, walking in on the middle of a conversation I wished I  hadn't.

"Then, the next thing I know, the chick is like …  deep-throating my dick  while her mom is all over my balls." Dennis, the new kid on the block  with only six months under his belt, explained. Seemed like he always  came in here with grandiose stories about his sex-capades, thinking we  lived for updates about who did what to his dick this week. We were all  pretty sure that 99.99% of his stories were bogus, but Justin was  usually pretty good about calling him on his bull.

"Yeah, okay," he commented back just as I thought his name. There was an  air of disbelief in his tone and I was sure Dennis hadn't missed it. I  glanced over to find that Justin had tried a new tattoo on for size,  this time a spider on his neck and it looked dumb as hell. I laughed to  myself and did the combination to my lock.

"No way you banged that girl and her mom. You're lyin'," Carlos chimed  in, dropping down onto the couch with a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Hold on. Are you talking about the mother/daughter duo who came in last  week?" I asked, only remembering the two of them because the mom made a  spectacle of herself. She was one of those women who clearly hadn't  accepted she wasn't nineteen anymore, so she compensated by acting  younger than her daughter who came to celebrate her twenty-first  birthday.

Dennis nodded, glaring at Justin and Carlos when he did. "Yeah …  them," he confirmed.

My face twisted at the visual of the pair that popped into my head-that  of a huge cold sore on Mom's lip. Seeing the look, Logan grumbled a  laugh. Dennis let out a heavy breath and let his age show by getting  frustrated. We all reamed each other, gave one another a hard time  whenever we had the chance, but he always took it personally.

"You know what? Think whatever you want," he damn-near whined. Slamming  his locker shut, he stormed off and left the changing room altogether.  Where he planned to go, half-naked with a bowtie around his neck, I had  no clue, but now that he was gone Carlos spoke freely.

"So, how's ‘the baby mama'?"

Justin let out a laugh and I found my black briefs in the bottom of my bag. I'd need them for the opening act.

"Brynn's fine," I answered, correcting the way he addressed her.

Carlos put his hands up. "My bad. No need to get defensive," he said with a grin.

I was anything but defensive, taking his words in stride. Making my way  to the far end of the room, I utilized one of several narrow,  curtain-covered stalls we used to change. Coming out of my jeans and  t-shirt, I removed my boxers last. The black briefs I pulled on were  special made, leaving the material of the crotch less constricting than  normal ones. The idea was that, when we moved, everything moved, giving  the women the show they came here to see. I got myself straight and went  back out with the guys after pulling on a robe.