"So tell me about your son." I said as we sat down on a nearby bench.
"What do you wanna know?" He asked.
"Everything." I replied. "What kind of kid is he?"
He paused and thought about his answer for a bit.
"Lets just say I refuse to put him in any kind of school until he's at least 8. In fact, his mother and I think it'd be best if he was homeschooled until then. Its actually the only thing me and her agree on."
"Why?" I asked.
"Because, the kid has no filter whatsoever. I'm taking the blame for that though considering I say things around him without actually realizing that he's there sometimes."
I giggled cause it kind of reminded me of Riley. My dad was exactly like that when Riley was little.
"In fact, he once told Journey to go fuck herself because she wouldn't let him have ice cream for breakfast."
"Oh my god are you serious?!" I asked. I started laughing but mostly out of shock. His kid sounded like a savage!
"Yep. Dead serious. And he's so outspoken it scares me sometimes. Which is why I'm not sending him to school until he grows out of it." He stated. "Dont get me wrong though he's an amazing kid. He's smart as hell, extremely sweet if you're on his good side, he's definitely a little comedian, and is a huge charmer. He flirts with everyone. I swear that kid pulls more girls than I do."
"He sounds a lot like his daddy." I said. "Huge charmer, sweetheart, smart, and funny as hell."
"Yea but I'm hoping he doesn't turn out like me. That'd be a disaster." He said.
"Eh, you're not THAT bad." I assured him. "So what's his name?"
"Roman but we call him Rome. My wife and I were in Rome, Italy when she went into labor."
"Awe, how cute. I'm betting he's just as cute as his dad."
"Cuter." River corrected.
"So when I can meet him?" I asked.
"Tonight if you want." He stated.
I stared at him sideways.
"What?" He asked.
"Isn't your wife home?"
"No. She's working. She doesn't get off for another few hours. He's at home with the nanny right now. And I'm sure he's still awake. He's like a vampire, he never sleeps."
"Your wife's working this late?"
I pulled out my phone to see what time it was.
"Its 11:40."
"She's works at a modeling agency. Which usually means countless photoshoots that don't end until 2 am."
"Your wife's a model!?! Are you kidding me?!" I yelled.
I was legit jealous. I can't compete with a damn model!
"Don't let that intimidate you." He laughed.
"How can that not intimidate me?!" I yelled again. "She's a model! And you look like a model too! You two are perfect for eachother!"
"Can I let you in on a little secret?" He solemnly asked with a smirk.
"Of course!" I yelled once more though not intentionally.
"Promise you won't freak out like you're doing now?" He asked.
"Oh yea... sorry." I apologized.
He looked at me as if he didn't believe me.
I couldn't blame him though. I'm kind of known for freaking out all the time.
"Truth is..." He began. "I actually have done a bit of modeling before."
Remember when I promised him I wouldn't freak out?
Yea well I lied.
"I knew it!!! There's no way you're that attractive and have never done any modeling in your life!"
"It wasn't something I wanted to do though." He said.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"My wife kinda pressured me into it. Every now and then she drags me to work with her to do a couple of photoshoots. I'm still not a big fan of it though. I don't even like the fact that she models. She once stepped on a scale and started crying when she saw that she was 2 pounds over the normal weight for her job and I stayed up until 4 in the morning trying to convince her that she still looked beautiful. There's so many stupid rules and regulations for female models and just for women in general."
I reached in and kissed him.
Judging by the little confused sound he made he had no idea why.
"What was that for?" He asked.
"Because you're the most amazing guy I've ever met."
"I know right." He said as he pretended to dust away dirt off his shoulders.
"You're sooo conceited though." I added. "And wait- I just realized something.... You said that your son's at home with the nanny."
"Um, your point is???" He asked.
"You actually have a nanny?"
"Yes. Well- she's kind of like a nanny. She's actually an 'Au pair'."
He looked at the lost expression on my face and explained before I asked.
"An Au pair is someone from a foreign country thats hired to work in a home in exchange for room and board. We hired her because we're both so busy working all the time and we needed someone full time to watch over Rome. Not to mention she's from France like me so she's been teaching him French whenever I'm too busy to for quite a while now."
"But why do you need her full time? Don't you leave the university at around 5-ish?"
"Yes. But you forgot that I'm not just a professor. As soon as I leave the university I go down to Northway Hospital where I work another 5 or 6 hours."
"Wow." I remarked. "You're hardly ever at home then."
"Exactly. But I'm gonna cut back on some of my hours at the university for next year so that I can spend more time with my little guy. He's growing up faster than I expected him to."
"I bet he's spoiled rotten by you, isn't he?" I joked.
"Yep and he's just as stuck up and cocky as me, now come on so you can meet him." He said as he pulled me up and threw me on his back.
He took off running so fast I thought I got whiplash.
As he ran through the darkness I could only think of one thing: What if he ran into a branch and I got knocked off of his back? That wouldn't be a pretty sight. I held onto him tighter as more scary scenarios popped into my mind.
Soon we were back at his car and I was breathing hard as hell from all the running- even though I wasn't even the one running- meanwhile Mr. Professor/Doctor/Model wasn't even phased one bit.
"How are you not tired? Even I'm tired and I was just on your back!" I said through panted breaths.
"Maybe cause you're out of shape." He suggested.
"Oh so what, let me guess, you work out on a daily basis?" I asked.
"I do actually. How else do you expect me to keep Guapo, Franco Vixen, Toby, Rex, Garcon, Rocky, and Jagger well-toned?"
"Who the hell are Guapo, Franco, Vixen, Toby, Rex, Garcon, Rocky, and Jagger?" I asked out of curiosity.
"My abs." He replied.
I swear if I wasn't so out of breath I would've slapped him crazy.
Instead of responding I just gave him the coldest glare I could which was enough to make him unlock the car.
We drove across town and pulled into a really nice neighborhood about 20 minutes later.
My eyes locked onto the houses and I'm pretty sure I almost drooled staring at them. They were absolutely gorgeous.
"Before I pull into my driveway, promise me you won't freakout when you see my house."
"Why do you always make me promise to not freakout?" I asked insultedly.
"Because you tend to freakout juuuuust a little about literally everything." He said with a straight face.
"Whatever. No I don't." I argued.
"Cassidy...."
"What?!"
"You still haven't promised..."
I looked at him and rolled my eyes extra hard.
"UGH. Fine."
He smiled then drove just a bit longer before pulling into a driveway. I opened the car door and nearly peed my pants. I could feel my face burning red and my voice struggled to hold my scream in.
He walked up and stood next to me with a grin.
"I'm assuming that you like it?"
I nodded my head uncontrollably and bit my lip still trying to hold in my scream.
"You wanna yell don't you?" He asked.
I nodded my head again.
He sighed then pulled me into a tight hug so that my face was buried in his chest.
I let out a huge scream and even stomped my feet a few times.
After about a million hours or so of screaming I finally stopped and took a deep breath to control myself before I spoke.
"You're house- is seriously- my dream house." I calmly stated.
He grabbed my hand and led me to the front door.
As soon as he opened it I developed the urge to scream again but I managed to restrain it.
"Welcome to mon maison." He said.
"That was French wasn't it?"I asked excitedly.
"Well it definitely wasn't English." He replied.
"Daddy!!!" I heard a small voice yell.
A little boy with the cutest smile ever ran up to River who was kneeling down and jumped into his arms.
"How's my champ doing?" River asked him.
"Spec-tac-ular." The little boy responded.
It was unbelievable how much he looked like River.
They had the same eyes, same nose, and even the same little dimples. The only difference was that his son had more of a brown hair color.
"Who's that?" He asked as he pointed at me.
"Why don't you introduce yourself." River told him.
"Hi, what's your name?" He asked me while holding out his hand.
"I'm Cassidy." I replied as I shook his hand.
"Her brother calls her kitkat." River stated.
"Its nice to meet you kitkat I mean Cassidy. My name's Rome." He giggled.
I couldn't help but chuckle at how adorable he was.
"You're hot." He said.
River was right when he said he was outspoken.
"Whoa buddy thats not how you compliment a girl. What do you say instead?" River asked.
Rome looked at River then back at me as a little smirk formed on his face. A smirk that looked oh so familiar.
"You're sexy."
I put my hand over my mouth and laughed. This kid was hilarious.
"No no no. Thats not what I told you to say." River stated.
"But that's what uncle Legend told me." Rome replied.
"Rome you're 4. 4 year olds don't say sexy."
"Well this 4 year old does." Rome retorted.
I lost it at that point and laughed harder than I thought I would. He was seriously a little comedian.
"No this 4 year old doesn't." Said River. "Because this 4 year old has manners and respect towards women."
"Fine." He finally gave in. He looked me in the eyes and put on the cutest little smile. "Cassidy, you're absolutely stunning."
I have to admit, my heart totally melted. Even though he was only 4 I was legit blushing.
"Aw, look buddy you made her blush. I've taught you well. Atta boy." River high fived him.
A gorgeous lady who looked like she was in her early 20's ran downstairs and kissed River on the cheek.
"Monsieur River! Bienvenue à la maison! Petit Rome et je vous manqué!" She yelled joyously (and with an obnoxiously adorable accent I might add).
"Ah, je vous manqué aussi magnifique dame." He replied as he hugged her. "Cassidy this is my Au pair, Maracel."
Maracel unexpectedly grabbed my face and planted a kiss on it.
"Its a delight to meet you Cassidy." She stated with a beautiful, bright smile.
I seriously couldn't keep my eyes off of her she was so pretty.
Her long, glistening light brown hair was braided into a French braid as it rested on her shoulder. Her eyelashes were naturally long and curly. And she didnt even have make up on. I'm not gonna lie, I was jealous.
"Wow, I think I just found my new girl crush." I confessed with a small laugh.
"Yea she's definitely a beauty." River responded.
She thanked me then whispered something in River's ear. His eyes widened a little and he put Rome down.
"Uh, Champ why don't you take Cassidy on a tour around the house. I have to go take care of something really quick." He said.
Rome nodded his head, grabbed my hand, and pulled me away.
I turned my head and saw River follow Maracel upstairs.
I didn't think much of it though.
We came upon the living room which, let me tell you, was just as I expected: huge.
The lights were dimmed and the fireplace was on giving it a cozy feeling. The floor was shiny and made of marble and the walls were like marble-brick. The ceiling was at least 35 feet high and made sort of a triangle at the very top. The couches were definitely expensive as they had "Neiman Marcus", which is a pretty expensive brand, in tiny print at the bottom of them. There was a glass table in front of the couches and a humongous TV placed on the wall.
"This is the living room. Don't tell anyone but I saw daddy kissing Maracel on that couch one time." He said as he pointed at the couch nearest to us.
"That doesn't surprise me." I mumbled.
"Yep. Daddy likes to fuck bitches."
My hands shot up to my mouth as I stood there, frozen in place, staring at him.
"What?" He giggled.
"Don't say that! That's bad." I told him.
He laughed and took my hand then proceeded to walk me to another room.
"This is the dining room."
There was a loooooong black granite table with at least 20 chairs around it with silverware and glass plates set up as well as another fireplace in front of the table.
"Why such a big table?" I asked.
"Mommy and Daddy often have parties. Its usually a bunch of rich snobs and stuck up people that show up that have annoying kids that Mommy forces me to play with."
"Are you sure you're only 4?" I asked.
"Yep." He stated.
The next room was on the other side of the house down a hallway under the staircase that honestly looked a bit creepy.
"Wanna see my favorite room?"
"Of course I do." I replied.
He twisted the doorknob and slowly pushed the door open.
I'm almost sure I drooled when my eyes processed the room I was currently standing in.
It was even bigger than the living room!
"What is this place?" I asked.
"Daddy calls it his batcave." Rome replied.
It looked a bit like a museum/room at the same time. There was a glass case with a baseball bat inside it and across from it was another case with a baseball in it. The room was lit with neon lights all around it. At the very end of the room was a mini movie theater with a large projector on the wall and seats organized in rows. Bookshelves lined the walls and comfy gigantic beanbags lay spread out around the place. I felt like I could stay in that room forever.
"Okay lets go cupcake. You've been gawking long enough." Rome said as he guided me out the door.
He took me to room after room which took about 20 minutes and that wasn't even every single room in the house.
"Okay. Last one.... Daddy's office."
He led me to a room upstairs that seemed a bit isolated from the rest of the house.
He opened the door and into River's office we went.
"Hm, impressive." I said.
The room was made of glass. Well- the walls were. You could see straight into the backyard and even a few other backyards from other houses.
"Daddy spends most of his time in here when he's home." Rome stated.
I looked down at him and noticed that he had a sad look on his face. He wouldn't even make eye contact with me.
I walked up to River's desk and picked up a pile of papers.
I tried reading them but I couldn't understand a word on that paper. I assumed it was just doctor stuff.
Suddenly River hurriedly came into the room and snatched the papers away.
"You're not supposed to be in here." He said as he quickly put the papers in his desk. "Rome I've told you not to come into my office when I'm not in here."
"Sorry dad." Rome apologized.
"Its fine. I think its bedtime for you though your mom would kill me if she found out you were still awake. Maracel would you mind taking him to his room and putting him in bed for me? I have to get Cassidy home."
"Sure thing." Maracel replied.
River escorted us all out of his office and locked the door behind him.
"Bye kitkat." Rome said as Maracel was carrying him to his room.
"Goodnight Rome." I responded.
I followed River downstairs and out the front door.
Just when I thought I was homefree the worst thing possible happened.
A pretty little blonde lady was getting out of a car and heading straight towards us.
"You've gotta be fucking kidding me." River whispered.
He gave me an uneasy look and tensed up a bit.
"Don't say anything." He said.
"Honey! You're back!" The lady yelled as she ran up to River and threw her arms around him.
"Yea." He laughed nervously.
"I missed you so much!!!!" She yelled then tried to kiss him but he gently pushed her away.
"Babe, not in front of her." He stated as his eyes shifted back to me. He could tell I was uncomfortable.
"Why not? I always kiss you in front of your friends. Who is she anyway?" She asked.
"She's uh- her name's Cassidy and she's.... she's.... Max's girlfriend." He answered.
"You're lying." She quickly replied.
"What? No I'm not." He argued.
"Yes you are. You're stuttering. You always stutter when you lie now who is she?!"
"I'm not lying!" He protested. "She's Max's girlfriend. He asked me to drop her off at home because he had to do something but I stopped by the house first to make sure Rome was in bed."
She looked at him as if she absolutely was not buying it. After eyeballing me, she stepped in front of me and held out her hand.
"I'm Allison, River's WIFE." She stated clearly emphasizing the word wife.
I simply shook her hand without saying a word in fear that I was gonna be a smartalleck and say something I'd later regret.
"I should be back within the next hour or so." River told her though she kept her eyes glued to me.
"Don't get any ideas." She whispered to me so that River wouldn't hear her.
She winked then walked up to River and kissed him. And I don't mean kissed as in just one kiss no I mean kissed as in a full on make out session.
I couldn't stand to watch it so I walked away to his car while I hid my face so that she wouldn't see how red it was.
I could feel her evil eyes staring at the back of my head as I walked away. I wasn't prepared for this at all.
I waited at the car while he finished talking to her and prayed that I could maintain my anger while she felt all over him. I had a feeling she was just doing that to deliberately make me mad. Which was working by the way.
After what seemed like eternity he finally made his way from the she devil and we left.
While in the car, I was holding in my ranting perfectly fine until he brought her up.
"Hey, I'm sorry for what happened back there." He said.
"Are you River?? Because it looked to me like you were enjoying that little kiss a lot." I stated.
"I stopped her the first time. I couldn't keep trying to stop her from kissing me or else she would've figured that something was wrong."
"You're so clueless." I muttered.
"Excuse me?" He asked though I know he heard me.
"I said you're so clueless. Do you know how much it hurt to see you kissing another girl and I wasn't even able to do anything about it because she's your wife?"
"Cassidy stop it. Its not that big of a deal."
"No, River, YOU stop it. Do you not understand that what you and I are having is called an affair and that your wife already thinks that I'm messing around with you?"
"What?" He asked dumbfoundedly.
"Yea she told me not to 'get any ideas'." I stated.
"Just forget all of that ever happened ok? She's always been like that. When her and I first started dating she thought I was cheating on her with Journey. When I told her that Journey was my sister she still didn't believe me for about two weeks."
"That doesn't make me feel any better!" I shouted. "In fact that makes me even more nervous about all of this."
"Fine I'll stop being so touchy with her. Would that make you happy?" He asked though with so much sarcasm in his voice I wanted to slap him.
"I think we both know that's not gonna happen. You're like a sex machine. You just can't get enough. Who knows... After you drop me off you might just go back home and fuck your wife and end up getting her pregnant too."
He gave me a smirk and chuckled a little.
That just ticked me off even more. I swear he was such a kid.
"You're cute when you get jealous." He remarked.
"I'm not jealous." I calmly stated though it came off as a bit aggressive. Which made him grin even more.
"Stop fucking smiling! I'm not jealous!"
His grin grew.
"But you are." He stated while not once taking his eyes off the road.
"Oh really? Why would I be jealous?"
"Maybe because she kissed me right in front of you. And you're angry because you wished it was you instead of her."
Even though I was looking at the road I could feel his smile spread even more. I bit my the inside of my cheek to try to control my relentless desire to kill him. I failed at that and instead I punched him as hard as I could in the chest.
But he didn't even flinch.
"Damn it. I think a mosquito just bit me." He teased.
"Shut...up.....before I jump into your damn lap and proceed to beat the hell out of you." I threatened while still biting my cheek.
"Go ahead. Though I'm almost sure that's just gonna lead to us having sex."
"What makes you think that?" I asked with a feisty attitude.
"Because you can't resist my irresistible charm."
"Yes I can." I said.
He raised his eyebrow and without saying anything he swerved the car extremely hard and pulled over on the side of the highway. Before I could ask why, he grabbed my arm and pulled me over onto his lap.
He grabbed my waist and pulled me closer so that our chests were touching. Our eyes met as his smile went away.
"Since you can resist my charm.... Don't kiss me."
Butterflies flew all around my stomach. Not only that but I could feel my body getting hot as well. I stared into his gorgeous piercing eyes that seemed to be calling my name. It was like a force was pulling me closer to him and soon enough my lips were pressed against his. Before things got heated I decided to ask him something that was on my mind.
"What were those papers that you snatched from me in your office?"
He paused and opened his eyes.
Without warning, he grabbed my waist and guided me back to the passengers seat then started driving again.
I looked at him in complete and utter confusion.
"What was that for?"
"Nothing." He stated.
"Well are you gonna answer my question?" I asked.
"Do I have to?" He asked in response.
"No.... but it'd be nice if you did. "
"In that case, no." He flat out said.
"Why not?" I asked.
"Because, its not really any of your business."
"Why won't you just answer my question?"
No response.
"River?"
Still no response though I noticed that his left hand was holding on to the steering wheel a bit tighter and he was clenching his right fist.
"River!" I said bit louder.
Once again no response.
"What the hell are you hiding?!"
"How about you just mind your own goddamn business and not go through my shit when I'm not around!" He snapped as he punched the dashboard with full force.
I stared at him in both fear and shock. He'd never yelled at me like that before.
"I'm sorry." He apologized though I was still too shocked to answer.
We pulled up to my apartment and I got out without saying anything. I took off my promise ring and placed it in his hands.
As I started to walk away he reached for my arm and I flinched unintentionally.
He dropped his hand and stared at me in disbelief.
He walked up to me but didn't try grabbing me again.
"Cassidy, you have no reason to be afraid of me. I just lost my temper for a second. I'm sorry."
I put on a fake smile to keep him from worrying but deep down there was a part of me that was genuinely afraid of him. I knew he wouldn't hurt me on purpose but the way he just snapped out of no where kind of convinced me that his anger was capable of completely controlling him.
He kissed me goodnight and I walked up to my door. Jordan opened it before I could even unlock it and started bugging me with all kind of questions but I zoned him out.
I took one last look behind me and saw River leaning against his car staring at me with the promise ring still in his hand. I closed the door and went straight to my room.
Of course Jordan followed me though.
"Everything okay?" He asked.
"Yea." I responded. "Hey, I told River that Grayson could spend the weekend over here."
"No problem.... Are you sure everything's okay?" He asked again.
"Yes Jordan." I assured him though my voice trailed off slightly.
He closed my door and I laid down in bed to think about how crazy my day had been.
I sighed in exhaustion.
I needed a break.