Precious Consequences

she looks at me like that, like she loves me. That thought alone makes my insides do another flip.

Ari wriggles in her high chair when she spots Hayley across the room. “Mommy!”

Hayley saunters over to us and gives Ari a kiss on the forehead. Her love for Ari pulsates off of her in waves, and admittedly, for the first time, well, ever, I think her ‘mommy’ status is outright sexy as fuck. My arm wraps around her slender waist and I pull her into my leg.

“You know,” I whisper into her ear so that only she can hear me. “I always knew I’d date a M.I.L.F”

Her eyes widen and she slaps me on my chest. I grab her hand and kiss her palm. “You’re so bad,” she says softly.

“You like it.” I grin when she bites her bottom lip.

Clearing her throat, she says, “I’d better get going. I’m meeting Hannah in a few minutes and I still need to take Ari to day care.”

“I’ll take her,” I offer.

“No, Cam, I - ” Hayley starts to protest but I silence her by cupping her mouth with my hand.

“I want to,” I insist. “And I don’t think Ari will mind.” I turn to look at Ari, who has been watching us with curious eyes this entire time, and smile warmly at her. “Do you, Ari?”

“I go wif Cam, Mommy. Please.”

Smirking, I look back at Hayley. Even two-year-old girls find my charm irresistible. That and I really don’t mind doing it.

“Are you sure?”

I lean closer, our lips a breath apart. “Absolutely. It’s on my way.”

“Thank you.” Hayley kisses me quickly and I know it’s because she doesn’t want to get carried away in front of Ari.

“I’ll see you later, monkey pants,” Hayley says. She kisses Ari on the cheek and hugs her goodbye before making her way out the door.

After I’ve dropped Ari off, I make the short drive to Noah and Hannah’s parents' house. I hum along to some country song and think about how different things have been since Hayley walked into my life. I didn’t think it was possible for me to feel so… content… maybe even euphoric. Then again, I’m not sure I even knew what happiness truly was until Hayley. And Ari. Because her big, innocent brown eyes remind me of one of the good things about this world. It feels like my world has been righted, placed back on its axis after being off kilter for far too long.

I pull up to Noah’s parents' house and walk right in. It has basically been my second my home for most of my life so I don’t bother with trivial things like knocking.

“In here!” Noah yells from the living room. He’s wearing nothing but his pajama bottoms and his hair looks freshly ruffled. And he smells like sex. Great. At least he had the decency to finish up his morning romp before I showed up. Lord knows I’ve seen his bare ass in the air more times than I wish to remember.

“Hey, man. What’s going on?” I bump his fist and drop onto the plush sofa next to him.

“Ah, nothing much, just the usual.”

As if on cue, a leggy blonde strolls into the lounge looking thoroughly fucked. She has that glazed look in her eyes, like she’s as high as fucking kite.

I keep my mouth shut as she sits down and tries to cuddle up to Noah. He isn’t that kind of guy, and if I thought I was bad when it came to ‘hump and dumps’, Noah certainly takes the cake. At least now he does. Fucking a new girl regularly and not bothering to remember her name lost its appeal and being with Hayley has proven that sex with the same person doesn’t have to be boring or repetitive. In fact, it can be even more satisfying, especially when you’re both into some of the freakier things. I shake my head, ridding my mind of those thoughts before my dick hardens. Noah will give me endless shit about that.

“Aren’t you going to introduce us?” the blonde asks. Her voice is whiny and I imagine her being one of the ‘screeching banshees’ that Hannah mentioned yesterday.

“Cameron, this is Lacey, Lacey this is my best friend, Cameron.” Noah doesn't even look at her as he introduces us. Douche.

The blonde's face screws into a scowl. “My name is Amber.”

Noah shrugs. “Whatever. I think it’s time for you to leave. I’ll call you.” Liar. He never calls them the next day. He doesn’t believe in recycling.

Amber huffs, and after throwing a few choice words at Noah, she storms out of the house, slamming the door behind her. Classy. He really knows how to pick ‘em.

“Thank the Pope,” Noah groans. “About damn time she left.”

“You’re such an asshole.”

“Ha! Pot meet kettle.”

I frown at Noah, rubbing my fingers through my hair. “What the fuck crawled up your ass and died?” I ask, responding to his irritation.

“Nothing,” he snaps. For someone who probably spent the morning fucking his brains out, he sure is cranky.

“Does this have anything to do with Hannah?”

Noah looks at me for the first time since I arrived and I can see I’ve hit a nerve.

“Why would you say that?”

I sigh. “C’mon, Noah. I saw how you two had a go at each other yesterday. You guys always fight, but yesterday it was…” I pause, trying to find the right word. “Real.”

“I don’t know, man, she was one her period or something and being a total bitch.”

I give him an are-you-fucking-shitting-me-right-now glare and finally he acquiesces. “Fine. I said some things I shouldn’t have and hurt her feelings, okay? God, why do you have to be so fucking pushy about it?”

“Because Hannah is my friend, too, and yesterday you were a complete prick to her.”

Noah’s face falls and he looks down, fiddling with the drawstring of his pajamas. “Yeah, I know.”

“What did you say to her?”

“She went on a date and I told her she mustn’t sleep with the guy. Then we got into this big ass argument and I ended up calling her a whore. I might have also told her I wished she’d never moved back home and my life was so much better with her living in the dorms on campus.”

I clench my fists, resisting the unfamiliar urge I have to punch my best friend in the balls. “Why would you say that, Noah? We both know if there’s a whore in your family it’s certainly not Hannah.”

He shoots me a dark look and I have no choice but to raise my hands in defeat. “I know, I know. I don’t have room to talk, but you know I’m right.”

“Well fuck, Cameron, we can’t all have what you have, okay?”

“What the fuck are you talking about, Noah?” I feel my anger surfacing, and giving rise to the need to just leave. I was having a great morning until I showed up here and came face-to-face with this grouch.

“I mean with Hayley. We can’t all have that.”

Feeling my frown deepen, I stare at Noah, confused. “Uh, it’s called a relationship, and if you gave yourself the chance to find someone decent, there’s nothing stopping you from having one.”

“That’s not what I mean, and you know it.”

“Okay, you’ve lost me.”

Noah rolls his eyes and throws his arms up in exasperation. “Fuck, Cam, do I need to spell it out for you? I’m talking about love, you idiot. You love Hayley - ” my hand shoots up and I cut him off mid-sentence.

“Noah, I don’t know about that.”

“Please, Cam, stop bullshitting yourself. You’re falling ass over elbow for that girl and her kid so fast you don’t even realize it.”

I’m sure my expression must amuse Noah because loud laughter suddenly bursts from his chest. “Oh man,” he laughs, slapping my back. “You have it bad.”

Before I have the chance to think about his words, we hear the front door open and Hayley and Hannah appear at the entrance to the living room. Their eyes are red and puffy. What the fuck.

“Baby? What’s wrong? Are you girls okay?” I jump up and walk over to them. Noah is at my side in an