*Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter. They were greatly appreciated thank-you all so much*
"Hey, Jordyn," says Tayla as she answers the door for me after I ring their doorbell to pick up Jonah since I just got out of school for the day. "Come in."
"Thanks," I say as I step into the house shutting the door behind me. "How was he today?"
"He was such an angel," she answers with a smile. "We had a busy day. We made cookies and played outside he is exhausted he is sleeping now."
"I'm glad you two had a good day," I say with a smile. "He really enjoys coming to spend the day with you."
"We enjoy having him here. I'm hoping someday soon Roman and I will be blessed with a baby of our own."
"It will happen," I say giving her hope. "Is Roman home?"
"Yeah," she answers. "He is out back fixing up the pool."
"Can I go talk to him?" I ask permission because of the given history that happened with Roman and me a couple years ago. "I just have to ask him something."
"That's fine," she says.
"Thank-you," I say as she allows me to walk through her home to the living room. I walk out the doors to their pool area to see Roman working on the pool like she said while she goes to the kitchen to work on their dinner. "Roman," I say.
"Jordyn," he says without looking up at me. "I'm kind of busy. What do you want?"
"I want to talk to you," I answer.
"I don't have time for your drama today, Jordyn besides last time we talked I almost lost my wife. I'm not really interested in anything you have to say."
"Well, that wasn't my fault, you kissed me."
"I believe you kissed me."
"But you didn't stop me," I argue, "it's not about that. I would appreciate it if you would stop making me out to be some type of demon to Seth."
"Making you out to be a demon," he scoffed as he gave me his full attention. "What are you talking about?" He wiped the sweat off his forehead as he stood in front of me in a white t-shirt and black basketball shorts his hair pulled up in a bun.
"Seth told me that you have been saying things about me, telling him to stay away from me. Telling him I'm nothing but trouble."
"But you are trouble, Jordyn and yeah I told him to stay away from you. You're not a good person for him."
"How do you know that? And is that your business? Is anything Seth and I do your business?"
"Because I know you, Jordyn, are you forgetting I know all about who you are and what you have done in your past? You're not innocent as much as you like to think you are. You destroy everything in your path. You destroyed your family and you destroyed your life. You nearly destroyed Jonah's life with your own selfishness but it is only a matter of time before you destroy his life completely and I'm sure you'll destroy Seth's life as well. You're a path of destruction. Nothing is safe around you," he says making me feel like complete shit. I have had a hard enough time getting myself together and it is people like Roman that beat me down and make me feel worthless.
"No, you know who I USED to be. I'm not that girl anymore. I know I had a rough past and I made bad choices but I'm older now, more mature and I have gotten all the help that I need and I continue to get the help that I need. I know I'm not perfect and I have made mistakes. I live with them every day do you think I will ever forget about everything? No. The pain and heartache from my past will always be there, the memories will NEVER die. Do you think I want to live that life again, be in that same position again? No I don't because that was hell on Earth. You don't understand and I'm not asking you to but what I am asking you is to stay out of my business. Stop demonizing me and making it seem like I am a terrible person. I'm not a terrible person. I've changed."
"It doesn't mean you can't go back to that life, Jordyn. Look, I'm not going to argue about it. I don't think you and Seth should be together. I think you're too young for him for one and for two I think that you're destructive. I don't think you're good enough for him."
"You're a real piece of work. Haven't you ever made a mistake? I think you have what if Tayla used and held every mistake you ever made against you and treated you like shit because she thought you would never change how would that make you feel?"
"My mistakes aren't nearly as bad as yours," he says.
"I didn't say they were and this isn't a contest, Roman. You made mistakes how would you feel if they were held against you every day of your life and people said you would never change? That's what I deal with every day of my life. I am busting my ass to be a good mom to my son, to give him a better life and to make sure he doesn't end up the way I did."
"You act like your parents didn't give you a good life, Jordyn. You had everything you desired and more. You chose to run away and live the life you did. You chose that life. Your parents didn't give it to you."
"I didn't plan to live that life that's what people don't understand," she says. "Everyone thinks I chose to be that way I didn't. Sometimes you can't help what happens. I couldn't control what happened to me but now I can and I am going to the rest of my life. Every day Jonah reminds me of my old life and every day he makes me stronger, more determined to be better to give him everything he desires. I'm not saying my parents didn't give me the world or opportunities I was too dumb to take them and thought I knew everything when I really knew nothing but I grew up. I learned a lesson and thanks to God I am here today alive to share my story with people and be a mother to my son. Three years ago I didn't think I would ever see him again but God gave me another chance do you think I would fuck that up? Maybe you should open your eyes and trust me. See that I am a different person. I'm not a bad person and whatever is going on with Seth and I is NONE of your business."
"Seth is one of my best friends," he says, "it is my business because he has a good thing going for him and I don't want to see you destroy that or hurt him."
"I'm not hurting anyone and he knows I support his dreams and his career. He knows that and I am not going to hurt him. I like him a lot, Roman. You need to trust me that I am not like the girl I used to be. Please I'm just asking you to stop talking shit about me to Seth and stay out of our business."
"Jordyn," he says, "do you think I trust you after all your antics?"
"Probably not but that doesn't give you the right whatsoever to go tell Seth to stay away from me and try to demonize me. It doesn't give you the right at all. Stay out of my business."
"Why are you being so defensive?" he asks. "If you changed why are you so upset over this?"
"Because, Roman, it's not your business. I am an adult hell I have been an adult since I was 14 years old. I know how I am living my life and I know what I'm doing with my life. I don't need your interjections and you trying to make me seem like a bad person."
"Let me ask you, does Seth know about your past and everything you did?"
"No, not yet," I answer, "I haven't been ready to tell him," I say. "I will tell him but right now I don't want to scare him away. I just want you to mind your own business."
"Jordyn, you better tell Seth your past or I will. He deserves to know."
"You're right he deserves to know but I'm not ready to tell him and this is what I am talking about you're too busy worrying about my life and my relationship instead of your marriage. You're so worried about the fact that I have a poor past that you're neglecting your wife's heartbreak of not having a baby. You need to focus more on that and less on what I am doing and just so you know Seth isn't staying away and neither am I. Stay out of it and worry about yourself."
"Same old Jordyn," he says.
"You know I'm right," I say before I walk into the house. I have Tayla get Jonah for me before we leave because we are going to mini-golf with Seth later in the evening. I want to tell Seth about my past but I'm scared if I do he will lose any interest in me and it will scare him away. I'm not ready to tell him and I don't think he is ready to hear who I used to be.
"All right, Jonah," says Seth as we are playing mini-golf later that evening to spend time together. It is Jonah's first time playing. "This is how you hold the golf club," he says helping him hold the tiny golf club in his hands. He helps Jonah swing the club gently. "And you just hit the ball like this," he says with a smile as they hit the ball but it just misses the hole. "Nice try. Let's try again," he says before they walk to get the ball and try to hit it into the hole again. Seth helps Jonah swing the club again and the ball rolls into the hole. "Great job, Buddy!" he says with a smile as he gives him a high five. "Good job." I smile at his interaction with Jonah and how he makes him smile and makes him happy in general.
"Good job, Buddy," I say to Jonah as I hold my hand for a high five, his tiny palm hits mine and his dark brown eyes sparkle with his heart melting smile. I have never been prouder of anything I have done in my life than I am of creating such a handsome and sweet hearted kid like him. Jonah is everything to me and the fact he is healthy and happy means so much to me.
"You turn, Mama," he says with a smile.
"Thanks," I say with a smile as I take my turn and miss the hole completely.
"Try again, Mama," he says to me and I take my second try and get it into the hole. "Yay, Mama!" he says clapping his hands for me before giving me a high five. We move onto the next hole after Seth takes his turn and makes it on the first try. Seth continues to work with Jonah on each turn, encouraging him to try and helping him out with his swing before we get to the last and final hole where he allows Jonah to try all by himself. Jonah misses the hole but tries again and again before he finally gets it in. "Daddy, me did it!" he cheers shocking myself and Seth. He has never heard the word Daddy or has ever called Seth Daddy.
I wait for Seth's reaction and wait to see how he responds before I take my turn. I don't want that word to scare him but he smiles and says. "Good job, Buddy, you sure did do it!" he says high fiving him up before scooping him up in his arms and kissing his cheek. "I'm proud of you! King Jonah!" he says with a proud smile as he puts Jonah on his shoulders as I take my turn and he takes his final turn with Jonah on his shoulders. He makes me smile with how he treats him. I love to see them together. He takes him off his shoulders and carries him on his hip as we go to return our clubs. "You know what awesome golf players get after a good game?" he asks.
"What?" asks Jonah.
"Ice-cream! Would you like to get some ice-cream before we go home?"
"Yes!" he says happily and excitedly. "I love ice-cream."
"Me too," says Seth with a smile as we walk to the concession stand to get the ice-cream. He takes my hand into his, interlacing our fingers causing my stomach to flutter as we walk together. I smile as I look up at him and he is looking down at me with a smile on his face. He leans down and kisses my lips softly before we continue walking to get ice-cream for Jonah.
After a messy ice-cream ordeal where most of Jonah's ice-cream ended up on his face and on his clothes we went back to my house. Seth and I give Jonah a quick bath before we put him to bed since it is a late night. Seth reads him his story and we both tuck him into bed. We each give him a kiss goodnight before we leave the room after I turn on his nightlight for him. I quietly shut the door behind us. "I think he had fun tonight," says Seth.
"Me too, thank-you," I say with a smile as we make our way downstairs. "I'm sorry he called you Daddy. I don't even know where he got that from."
"It's fine," he says. "It's not a big deal."
"Are you sure?" I ask.
"It's fine," he says.
"So I talked to Roman today," I tell him. "I told him to stay out of our business."
"I'm sure he was happy about that," he laughed.
"Roman is Roman. I told him to worry about his marriage and not worry about my life. It's just he has known my family for years and there is stuff about me that he knows. He's too worried about who I was then who I am. I told him to mind his own business."
"I agree. That's why I haven't been paying him too much attention because honestly I like to generate my own opinions and I think he has his own problems to worry about other than ours. I think he needs to mind his own business let us do us."
"Exactly," I say with a smile as I lean against the wall and he stands in front of me at the bottom of the stairs. "We'll find our own way together better without him sticking his nose in our business."
"Our way together?" he smiles. "Does that mean you took everything into consideration?"
"Well," I say with a smile as I play with his button down shirt, tugging him closer to me and he smiles as I wrap my arms around his waist and stick my hands in his pockets. I smile up at him and say, "my answer is yes. I'll be your girlfriend. I see you with Jonah and it makes me smile and you have done nothing but treat us both well and you're a great guy. I think you deserve the chance so I'm saying yes besides I know for a fact decent men don't come around too often so I would be a fool if I let you go and I don't plan to let you go anytime soon if ever," I say with a smile. "I want to give this relationship thing a try but slowly."
"I'll go as slow as you want," he smiles as he brushes a piece of hair out of my face before cupping my cheek. "I'm just glad you're saying yes because I wasn't going to let you go. I was close to begging on my knees," he says.
"You would not," I smile as he strokes my cheek with his thumb.
"You have no idea," he smiles. "There's just something about you."
"You barely know me," I say.
"But I'll get to know you but what I do know there is just something about you that keeps me holding on. I told Roman I wasn't going to stay away and I'm not. You're mine now so how can I possibly stay away?"
"I don't want you to," I say with a smile. "But for now I want to keep this between us. I don't want everyone in our business you know? We have enough to deal with than everyone's opinion. Ours is the only one that matters and I don't want it getting out you know?"
"Okay," he says with a smile. "For now but I'm not sure how long I can keep us a secret."
"It won't be that long I promise," I say with a smile as I pull him closer to me. "But I have an early work shift tomorrow so I'm going to bed in a few minutes which means you're going to need to leave but I wanted to say goodnight to you properly." He smiles and leans down to kiss my lips softly. The passion from our kiss sends butterflies through my stomach as he rests his hand on the small of my back and my knees weaken as I play with his ponytail as we share our passionate kiss. Neither of us wanting to break the kiss but reluctantly we both pull away. "Goodnight, Seth."
"Goodnight, J," he says with a smile before he gives me one last kiss before I walk him to the front door, my hand in his as I open the door for him. "I'll call you tomorrow." We share one last kiss. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight," I say biting my lip, "talk to you tomorrow." I let go of his hand reluctantly allowing him to walk to his car so he can leave for the night. I watch him get into his truck and start it before he waves out the window and backs out of the driveway. I shut the door behind me and lock it. I lean my back against the door and let out a sigh before I make my way upstairs to my bedroom to get to sleep after I do some late night studying for an upcoming test. I end up falling asleep at my desk dreaming of Seth, dreaming of me telling him about my past and wake up in a cold sweat when he walks out the door, leaving me crying on the floor. I get a quick drink before I climb into my bed and fall asleep again.
*A/N: What did you think of Jordyn confronting Roman? Did she do it appropriately? Does he have a right to be in their business? Was she correct for telling him to worry about his marriage and not her relationships? What did you think of Seth, Jordyn and Jonah playing mini-golf? Were you surprised when Jonah called him daddy? Why do you think Seth reacted the way he did? Was his reaction surprising? What do you think of Jordyn saying yes to being his girlfriend and having a relationship? Will everything work out? Why do you think she wants to keep it a secret from everyone? Do you think she has a reason? What about her nightmare is that a foreshadow of things to come? Please review and thank-you for reading.