For dinner he drove my car and went out for pizza. It was hard to do much talking in the noisy restaurant, plus Ava was doing all the talking. It is safe to say my daughter is smitten with Chance Bateman.
Every time he smiles at her or talks to her I can tell it is genuine. During dinner she had to have him sit next to her. Chance even cut up her pizza while he told me about the big marketing presentation he has to do at the end of the semester.
“Chas?” That’s what Ava had been calling him, unable to say his full name.
He turned his attention toward her. “Yeah, sweetheart.”
She pushed the crayons toward him. “Les color Mommy pwetty pictuwes.”
The two of them began to color after dinner and then presented me with their pictures. Ava’s was two stick figures with brown hair, holding hands. “Das you and me.”
“I see that. It’s beautiful.”
“What about mine, Mommy?” I rolled my eyes and shook my head. He slid his paper across the table. The picture made my heart beat wildly in my chest. It was a tree trunk and on the trunk was a heart with Laken + Chance written in it.
He wouldn’t take money from me when I offered to help pay, instead insisting, “My treat.” Chance drove us back to my apartment, and I invited him inside.
It melted my heart when Ava gave Chance a hug before she went to bed. He’s wrapped around her finger already, and as happy as that makes me it scares me to death too, but I push that fear away.
“Is she out?” he asks as I sit next to him.
I nod. “She barely made it through the first two pages.” I twist in my seat so I can look at Chance. “I wasn’t trying to keep Ava a secret, and I’m not ashamed of her, it just… It usually scares guys off.”
“It’s clear you love her, and it’s so obvious she worships you. If you haven’t noticed, I don’t scare easily.” He tugs on the ends of my hair. “Where is her dad?”
My stomach turns because it’s an ugly story and not one I’m ready to tell yet. “I uh-I’m not really ready to talk about it yet. It’s not super easy for me to say.”
“That’s okay; you’ll tell me when you’re ready.” He pulls me until I’m sitting on his lap. “What’s it been like being a mom?”
“Hard, easy, rewarding—she makes me a better person. I know I’m lucky having the support and help of my parents. Ava is a ball of fire and has been since the moment I pushed her out.”
He pulls me into hug. “You’re an amazing woman, Laken Morris.”
I lean in, kissing Chance softly on the lips. “You’re not so bad yourself,” I whisper against his lips. He maneuvers us so I’m on my back and he’s on top of me. Our kiss goes from sweet to urgent in seconds.
He groans against my mouth as I hug his hips with my thighs. This is about as far as we’ve gone, and we have to keep it pretty PG because my daughter could come out any second, but this feels good; this feels right.
“I can feel how hot you are for me.” A pair of cotton shorts and his jeans are the only things that keep him from being inside me. I haven’t had sex since Ava was conceived, and toy-induced orgasms sometimes aren’t enough.
“Yes,” I moan as he reaches between us and shoves his hand in my shorts. He reaches my clit, and I know he feels how wet I am. Chance is a master because in seconds I feel myself hurtling toward an orgasm.
I come embarrassingly fast and moan my orgasm into his mouth. He pulls back, and I watch him suck his fingers into his mouth and moan. “Fuck, you taste good.” I reach for Chance’s dick, but he hops off the sofa, leaving me confused. “I want nothing more for you to touch me, but when we finally go there I don’t want it to be on a couch.”
I nod. “O-okay.” He pulls me up and holds my hand while we walk to my door.
“Do you guys have plans tomorrow?”
I shake my head. “Nothing set in stone, why?”
“Come with me to have dinner with my parents. We can spend the night there—separate beds, of course—and take Ava to the beach.”
What would his parents think of me if they knew I had a child? “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Don’t you think they’d freak if they knew I had a child?”
“Th-hey already know. When I found out about Ava, I called my dad to talk.”
I suck in a breath because what must they think of me? I chew on my thumbnail, but Chance stops me with a hand on my wrist.
“I can hear your thoughts right now, and I can assure you they don’t think any different of you. My mom loves you and so does my dad. They’re going to love Ava, and Ava’s going to have a blast.” He pulls me toward him and kisses my lips, slowly, thoroughly. “Please say yes.”
Chance makes puppy dog eyes and sticks out his lower lip. It’s the same look Ava gives me when she wants something and I’ve told her no. “I-ugh … I … um-okay. Yes, we’ll come.”
He does a little fist pump and then kisses me one more time. “I’ll let you know what time we’ll head out tomorrow.”
After I shut the door and lock it, I head into my bedroom where Ava sleeps soundly in my bed. I crawl into bed and wrap my body around hers, and in no time I fall asleep.
Chapter Eleven
Chance
“Are you sure it’s okay that I bring them?” I ask my mom.
“Of course, I’m sure. It’ll be nice to have a little
