A/N: Hey guys! Here's a much quicker update since I couldn't leave y'all hanging too long with the last chapter :)

Now, read the author's note at the end so that you know what's going on in the next chapter, too, and make sure to review so that I know how you're liking it, and that I know where to take the story. I'm writing it with your help.

Thanks! Enjoy!

G.

..

...

It'd been so long since she felt a man's touch other than Tom's. She forgets how rough Tom can be sometimes, and how gentle other men can be.

And she learned last night, just how gentle a complete stranger can be. This complete stranger's name is Doug, she found out. His last name? Hell if she knows. One night stands were always her thing, and now that she's trying to forget Tom, she's trying her best to get back to the normal, yet completely un-normal life she used to lead.

She woke up in his arms, and he was watching her. It startled her, but he had the most beautiful blue eyes and dark brown hair to go with it, so it made her relax a bit more. With a smile, she said, "Good morning." and tapped him on the nose tiredly. She stretched out a little bit after he returned her gesture with a smile, and she groaned, humming as she opened her eyes. "Mmm, I have to get going. Thank you for taking all of my things back to my apartment last night..."

He'd smiled, said, "Thanks for your form of payment." and rolled onto his back, stretching as well. "I should get your number?" He suggested.

She'd sat up somewhere after her last sentence to him, then looked over and laid a hand on his chest. "No one gets my number, honey." She coos, then rolls out of bed gracefully, fluffing her hair up in the back, and collecting her scattered clothes across the room.

She has to admit, it's nice to have sex with someone else for the first time in three months, almost four. But at the same time, deep down inside her gut, there's a feeling she doesn't want to admit – she misses Tom already.

..

She arrives at her apartment via taxi cab. She unpacks her suitcase full of clothing from Tom's house, and puts her shoes back in her closet where they belong. Once everything is put away, she seats herself on the edge of her mattress, staring blankly into the wall. Deep in thought, she wonders what Tom's doing right now. If he's back at Tonya's, trying to help her, or if she's there, and they're doing things she doesn't want to think about (the thought makes her sick with jealousy, actually). She can't help but feel curious about her ex's whereabouts, and she wishes she could just forget about him altogether.

Nasty bastard, lying to her like she's some sort of item that has no feelings. That had become a pattern, she's realized, after Thanksgiving. Sex, sex, and sex. No dates, no fun, just sex. She loved the sex as much as he did, but she also wanted to be treated with value – not a hole to put his dick in.

A dick, mind you, that has been in between his pregnant ex-fiancee's legs. That makes her sick, too, knowing that she was pregnant and he was with her. She felt horrible, maybe a bit guilty for taking Tom away from Tonya in her time of need. But then again, Tom shouldn't have been so easy to leave her. Trina didn't make him leave, he chose to leave.

Thinking that, now, she decides to get up and try to not think about him by making her some breakfast. She still can't cook, but she can at least scramble some eggs now, thanks to Mel.

Even though Tom didn't turn out good for her, she's so glad that she met Mel. She'll never regret spending the time with her that she did. The older woman taught her many things, gave her some wonderful advice, and of course gave her some amazing nails each and every time Trina would go in. She didn't even know how to boil water, let alone scramble an egg or fry some bacon for a BLT, but Mel taught her. She was like a mother to Trina, and she wouldn't ever be able to thank her enough.

Once she scrambled two eggs, she sat down at her little breakfast nook, staring out of the window of her apartment. The neighborhood was trashy, unlike Tom's. There's him again, she thinks to herself, scooping in another bite of eggs. She wants to stop thinking about him, but her mind just buzzes more and more every time she tries. It's like everything inside of her wants to think about him, except for her broken heart.

Suddenly not hungry, she puts her plate of half-eaten eggs to the side of the table and faces fully toward the window, her arms wrapping around her stomach tightly. She may not realize it right now, but she's in denial that they're really not together anymore. She wouldn't kiss him underneath the fireworks in the park tonight to bring in the New Year of 1972. Not the way she'd been planning it. Especially not the way she'd planned it, when his ex came into the picture with a baby.

Looking back for the phone, she wonders why he hasn't tried to call yet. Maybe he has, maybe he even came over and she wasn't here to greet him. Maybe he's tried, but it broke his heart, too, because she wasn't there.

But then again, who cares. He broke her heart first, she should be allowed to break his harder. Stab a knife through it like he did hers, but she could twist her knife. She wants to twist her knife. The thoughts bring stinging tears to her eyes, and she has to blink them away. One falls, though, and falls down onto her shirt. She looks down to see the drip of water, then realizes – she's still wearing his shirt. She thought she was crazy when she kept smelling him, but it was his shirt. His scent. Dammit.

Just then, the phone rings. She jumps up desperately – too desperately. In her realization of how horrible that was to be so needy, she calmed herself before answering, "Hello?"

And to her disappointment, it wasn't Tom. It was Tonya. "Hi, is this Trina?"

"Tonya?"

"Yes..."

Trina could feel the anger bubble in her stomach. Who does she think she is calling her? What gives her the right to call her? Nothing. That's what gives her the right, absolutely nothing. "Why in hell are you calling here? How did you get my number?"

She clears her throat, and then she starts talking again, "Trina, Tom's been out all night looking for you. He asked me to call hourly until you picked up. He went to your apartment, and nothing...so-"

"He came here?" Trina interrupts, having to sit down on the chair that she keeps by the telephone. Her legs felt shaky, and she felt a tad bit dizzy. It was for the best that she just take a seat and hear Tonya out.

Once Tonya replies with a yes, she goes on, "He's been all over Chicago, just about. Trina, please just come see him. He should be coming home any minute now, he has a lot of explaining to do to you, and so do I." She says shakily, "Just...before you make your decision, I want you to know that Tom told me what happened last night. He said you thought the baby was his? It wasn't...the baby is one I conceived while cheating on him. He had every right to break things off with me, but he didn't know I was pregnant. I hardly even knew I was pregnant." She explains. "He's worried sick about you." She finishes, the sincerity in her voice making Trina feel even more sick than she had felt before.

She can't say anything, and she hears Tonya's voice asking if she's still on the line, but she just can't bring her voice to the top of her throat. She'd just gone out last night after breaking up with him for nothing, and had sex with a stranger all for nothing, and got depressed over him – for nothing. She drops the phone, leaving it dangling for about three minutes before finally picking it back up and putting it back on the hook.

She's not going to let him go, not after what Tonya just said.

..

A cab and an hour later, she's arriving at his apartment complex. Thankfully, she sees his car there. He's not out in danger, he's not crashed somewhere from being too sleepy. He's here. He's safe. He's home. He's waiting for her.

She walks up the stairs to his apartment door and knocks. It feels awkward to knock on a door that she has a key to, but she feels that she probably should considering all that happened.

When the door opens, it's Tonya's big belly that she sees first. She frowns a bit, hoping to see Tom there, but Tonya lets her in. "He's in the kitchen." She states, and Trina passes the pregnant woman by and runs into the kitchen. She hugs him tightly and squeezes her eyelids shut as she says, "Tonya explained..."

He holds her back just as tightly, pulling her into his body and burying his face down into the crook of her neck. "Gosh, Trina, I was so scared to lose you." He admits. "Please don't ever leave me again, okay? Or if you want to, just talk to me first...don't just storm out like that. Please." He begs, shaking his head inside her neck. "I was so worried about you. Where were you?" He asks as he pulls her away gently.

She wasn't crying yet, but she was close to it. He wipes his tears off as she gathers her breath to speak, "I was with someone named Doug. And yes, before you ask, I did sleep with him." She says, being open and honest to him. She felt like she needed to tell him. She felt like if he would've told her that Tonya wasn't his girlfriend, but his fiancee, it would've gone over smoother. So if she would've lied and said she was just at a hotel, it would've blown up. "He was good but I missed you so much." She whispers sadly, "That wasn't what I wanted last night. I wanted to just be held instead of fucked." She admits, quiet enough so that Tonya couldn't hear their conversation.

He pushes her curls from her face, kissing her nose. "Holding you is my favorite thing to do. And yes, you were right. I've been treating you like an object instead of a woman. I'm sorry too. And I should've told you about the fiancee thing, but I was scared to lose you. I never expected it to blow up like this..."

Looking down, she nods and takes a shaky breath. "Now, before we go any further, it's for sure not your baby?"

"For sure not my baby." He whispers. "She told me everything. I knew she'd cheated but we were trying to make it work. And then you came, and it was like my sign to break it up." He states, shaking his head, "I made you feel like the other woman, but I promise you that you weren't. I broke it off with her, and then it was more than two weeks after that I started pursuing you hard."

She nods, feeling a happy but sad feeling. She can't figure out why this sadness was still in the pit of her belly – she should be happy. But she is guessing its because of the fact that he still lied to her. He still hurt her, just not as badly as she'd originally thought. She shouldn't have overreacted, but she had every reason to do so.

At this time, Tonya is waddling in. "I should be on my way." She says, grabbing her purse and things.

"Wait-" I say, "If you need somewhere to stay-"

"Tom's made arrangements for me to live with Mel until I can work again." She says, smiling sadly. "He's a good guy, Trina. Better than I deserve. Please, just take good care of him for me."

Trina looks back at Tom who was keeping a serious, sad look on his face. She then nods, realizing that he is a good man, truly. Everyone has their flaws. "He is a good guy." She agrees, "Let us know when the baby comes. I'll bring gifts." She replies, smiling softly to her.

"Oh, I'm sure Ma will tell us." Tom corrects, and Trina laughs.

"I'm sure she will."

..

They decided (because of the circumstances) to not go out tonight. To spend New Year's Eve in with just the two of them, some mimosas, and the finger foods that they made earlier that day. Now, it was almost time for the ball to drop, for them to bring in the year 1972 together, and they were curled up on the couch eating some freshly popped popcorn.

She feels his eyes on her, so she looks up, "Yes?" She asks, popping another piece into her mouth.

His smile is, of course, adorable. Goofy and sort of sideways like he gets when he's admiring her. "I'm just really glad I have someone who'll listen to me and hear me out, who gives me a chance and really thinks about it..." He states, popping a piece in his mouth as well. "And I also want you to know that I'm not mad you slept with someone else. I actually don't mind it. I mean, I do, but...I understand, too."

She smiles sadly, looking down into their laps for a moment before redirecting her gaze back to him. "Thank you for understanding." She murmurs. "It was an impulse. He helped me get my things from here, and then I offered to pay him with a night in bed. He accepted and-"

"Of course he accepted." Tom teases, kissing her temple. "Have you looked in the mirror lately? You're beautiful."

Those words made her feel good inside again – you're beautiful. It's been a while since he'd called her anything but sexy or hot or smoking, and she liked the words. "Thank you." She makes a point of saying, making sure he knows that his words are appreciated when they're nice like that, instead of always sounding like he's trying to have sex with her right then and there. "It means a lot when you say that."

"Why is that?" He asks, ten minutes left of the year 1971.

She shakes her head, looking down as she thinks for a moment, "You just – I don't know. Lately, like I said, it sounded like you were just always trying to get into my panties." She admits, "So it's nice being assured I'm not just a sex toy."

"A sex toy?" He asks, astounded she felt that way. He gently picks her chin up with two fingers and looks in her deep brown eyes, "Tri, I've never thought of you that way except that very first night we had sex in the hotel. That was the only time, and ever since then...I just...I enjoy making love to you."

"Making love?" She asks, raising a brow. "I like having sex, not making love..."

"Well," He starts off, clearing his throat. "Don't you love me?"

She's not ready to say it out loud just yet, she's not ready to admit it completely, so she just nods. "What's that have to do with it?"

"If you love me, and I love you, then that's making love. Isn't it?" He asks, raising his brows.

He has a point. She supposes it is making love, sort of. She just hates admitting two things:

1. That he's right.

2. That they really do love each other.

Maybe it's not so bad to love someone, but she just is afraid she'll love him too much and he'll still end up breaking her heart. She shouldn't be scared, she's the one who breaks hearts, but he's had more experience. More practice. More years, even. He's simply better at that than she is, and for once the heart-breaker could be the heart-break-ee.

"I guess." She finally replies, after snacking on a few pieces of popcorn. She puts that into his lap and grabs her mimosa, sipping from it a little, then grabs the bowl of chips she set out for them. She realizes now, she hasn't eaten anything other than those scrambled eggs, all day. She's pretty hungry, but she doesn't want to ask Tom, now, to make her food. It's too late and too close to the time for the ball.

"Let's give one last confession of 1971. I don't care what it is, but let's just confess." She says, looking at him curiously. "You first."

He takes a breath, her body moving on his when his chest rises. "Well," He thinks for another moment, furrowing his brows again. "I don't know...I don't have much of a confession anymore since the fiancee thing is out of the bag." He says sadly. "I mean, other than the fact that I'm madly in love with you after only a few short months, I have no confession. What's yours?"

She smiles sadly, looking down. "My confession is that I'm in love with you, too, Tom. I'm scared to admit it, because I'm scared one day you'll take advantage of me like other past loves had. But I'm giving you my heart now, please just keep it safe." She whispers, hoping that he'll take her words seriously this time.

And for once, he does. He nods and kisses her on the forehead, running his hair lovingly through her curls, keeping her body tight on his. "I'll always keep your heart safe, right inside my heart..."

Ten, nine, eight. "Kiss me under the dimmed lights?" She asks playfully, putting her little, cheap party hat on that she'd bought when they were still planning on going out. She looks at the television, watching the last few seconds on the ball float away, and then it's midnight. Everyone in New York City on the television was kissing, screaming Happy New Year! And celebrating in so many different ways.

Tom smiled at her and quickly kissed her right at midnight, holding her close by as his lips passionately stayed on hers. She loves every second of it, the feeling of their lips back together again was overwhelming, so joyous. "Happy New Year, Tom..." She coos, kissing him one more time with her hands cupped on his cheeks, and then one more time for good measure. It's only 12:00:30 and she's already kissed him three times.

He seems perfectly happy with that, though, because his smile is big, too. "Happy New Year, Tri. To us." He coos, lifting his glass up and clinking it with hers.

"Also, to 1972." She replies.

"To 1972."

..

...

A/N: Okay, so next chapter is going to skip forward a few months since we're finally over their first big bump in the road of their relationship. And yes, they're really over that. It's definitely not his baby, it's definitely the man's that she cheated with. Anyway, Trina and Tom will be skipping forward to Valentine's day. Of course, it'll be smutty (woo wooooo), but give me some cute ideas I could throw in! It helps me update so much faster when y'all give me inspiration!

Love you all,
G. (oh and also, Merry Christmas if I don't update before then!)