When Terrence met the babies.
*****************************
I never understood how I acquired my incorrigible capability of opening my mouth at the oddest of times, sprouting shit that could ruin the best of the moments. I did that a lot, just like now. While here I was, enjoying the warmth of the moment, replaying the sweet memories I had with my mother, for once, not breaking down into hysteric sobs, my mouth decided to add some spice in the story.
Just the way Alyssa stiffened, the warm smile on her face replaced with a cold look as she looked up at me hinted at one thing.
I shouldn't have asked the question, no matter how curious I was. Here she was, telling me the truth about the babies, when she could have easily lied to me, and I couldn't keep my mouth shut for sometime.
"I'm sorry, but I cannot tell a random stranger everything about my babies, now, can I?" She said, as politely as she could muster, and then lifted the boy, whose name was still not known to me.
Yeah, I was really a stranger. But I was planning to change that, soon.
I sighed and nodded at her, understanding.
Raine caught my attention by grabbing my tie and tugging it softly. Her big blue eyes were smiling up at me, and I lost myself in their depths, once again. It was as if we immediately felt a long lost connection, as if those blue eyes were binding us together.
"You don't want to stay in your stroller, do you, Ryan?" I heard Alyssa cooing and cuddling Ryan to her, grinning down at him.
Raine and Ryan.
Everything in me was screaming that they were my step siblings, but I somehow couldn't figure out how it was possible? There was never a mention of the possibility of Larissa having twins. We hadn't determined the gender of the baby, but it didn't mean that we couldn't have any knowledge about the twins.
I found a bench and sat down with Raine in my arms, an inexplicable warmth spreading through my chest as I found the baby smiling up at me, showing me her gums. She was so adorable, and looking at her, I now, more and more, wished that both the babies were actually the ones I was waiting for, for nine long months.
"How old are they?" I asked her nonchalantly, as Alyssa sat down next to me on the bench. Her warm fragrance surrounded me again, making me want to inch closer to her without making it look inappropriate.
She looked up at me, grabbing Ryan's hand as they reached for her breasts.
Naughty boy.
Lucky boy.
That guy could grab her ass or her breasts and he would still get away with it. How I wished I could change places with him.
Her gaze searched mine but she answered me back with equal nonchalance. "Probably two and a half days. As far as I know, they were born on tenth of April, probably around three or four o'clock in the morning."
My heart skipped a beat.
The exact timing too. That was too much to be called a coincidence.
"How do you know that?" I asked.
"Nice try, Mr. Powers. Answering that would need the answer to how, when and where I found the babies." She replied, narrowing her eyes.
Damn!
The way she said that, it felt as if she was doing me a favour by not telling me more about them. I realised that perhaps, I was not going to like the answer. I brushed away the scenarios that popped up in my mind, which was trying to figure out the mysterious puzzle that the babies were.
I shrugged and said the only thing I could, at that moment, "You can call me Terrence."
She gave me a cheeky grin, "Nah, I prefer calling you 'Asshole', your real name."
"Bitch." I muttered.
Raine once again caught my attention. This time, she was making strange grunting noises and her fists were clenched, her face was twisted and red with excess of blood, and her blues concentrating hard on my tie.
"No, no, no, no, no, Raine! Not there!"
But before poor Alyssa could put Ryan back in the stroller and take Raine from me, I realised that my arm where Raine's butt was resting felt a little too warm for my liking.
And then followed an absolutely suffocating stink.
"She did it, didn't she?" Alyssa gaped as my face twisted, looking at a Raine who had a contented little smile on her face.
Sneaky little devil!
I nodded at Alyssa and she laughed as I made a face, her voice ringing in my ears as she took Raine from me and put her in the stroller, taking out the diapers from the bag and then changing Raine's diapers.
I looked down at my arm, which luckily wasn't covered with baby poop. Yet, I sniffed my arm, like the fool I was, and scrunched up my nose.
Eww.
I heard a loud laugh and looked up to find Alyssa laughing at me, her body doubling over as she held her stomach. Even her laugh was melodious, not the kind that would make you want to rip your ears out, but the kind that was contagious, it made you forget about all your woes and worries.
I gave her a sheepish grin while she kept laughing and I realised that I, yet again, managed to embarrass myself in front of her today. To be honest, I didn't mind embarrassing myself everyday, as long as she let me around the twins.
My siblings, or not, Raine had managed to strike a connection with me and I couldn't imagine never meeting them again. Hell, I was even ready to move the three of them in my house, but Alyssa would stab my brains out of my skull for even thinking that way. Keeping her around me would always be an added benefit, because she had been the only person who reminded me of my mother without reminding me of the guilt that was buried deep within me.
Alyssa wasn't laughing anymore, just a small amused smile on her face as she sat down next to me, letting the twins play in their stroller.
"I'll get it laundered if you want. I'll hand it to you later." She asked and a part of me wished to say yes, so that there would be a scope to keep on meeting her later. Probably I'd let Ryan pee on me then.
"No thanks, I'll manage." I said, shrugging off my suit jacket and taking off my tie. I then rolled the sleeves of my shirt to my elbows, and slumped back down on the bench, aware of her eyes on me.
I knew women were a sucker for muscles, and I had plenty of them.
We were silent for a moment, as I looked straight ahead, amused to find some men stealing glances in our direction. They were probably thinking I was the 'lucky bastard' who got her pregnant.
I turned to look at her and she immediately looked away as if she wasn't checking me out at all a moment ago. I smirked and enjoyed the sight next to me, knowing that getting into her pants and being awarded the title of 'lucky bastard' wouldn't be a bad idea.
Nope, not bad at all.
She was hot as fuck, with those breasts and those wide hips that could make any man go down on his knees.
Not to propose, of course.
Then her legs, oh god, her legs, they were slender and long, shapely and perfect. Just imagining them around my waist as I pounded into her, as I claimed her, excited me. I began thinking all the things I could do to her if she let me, the many ways I'd make her moan and scream my name...
"Keep your dirty thoughts away, Asshole, or at least try to hide that boner of yours with your jacket."
Her voice brought me out of my thoughts where I wanted to conclude that it was safe to say: Alyssa was every man's wet dream.
And here I was, sporting a semi-erection, not even bothering to hide it, when I should actually be worrying that she would never let me around her again if she realised that she was the one behind my dirty thoughts.
But then, it was kind of obvious, the way I was eyeing her breasts, the same breasts my could-be stepbrother was able to grab. Also, there was a certain lack of females in the park. Other than Alyssa and Raine, the only female in the park was a woman fit to be called my grandmother, but fitter than most teenagers around.
I brought my jacket on my lap, successfully hiding yet another reason behind my embarrassment. Then I turned to her so that I was facing her completely, and smirked, one of those infamous bad-boy smirks. It didn't even take a few moments for a pinkish tinge to appear on her face, my smirk growing wider.
"What about you then, Bitch? Weren't you eye fucking me just a few moments ago?" I mocked her, the pink tinge on her face deepening to a slight red, but she still managed to retain the scowl on her face.
"In your dreams, Powers." She snorted, and turned around, facing ahead, where I was sure that the men were staring.
I inched closer to her, letting the fragrance embrace me as I brought my mouth closer to her face, my lips brushing her ear, as I whispered, "And what about this afternoon? I had to bring you back to planet Earth two times, remember?"
I remembered how she kept staring at my face, then my crotch, when she came in my office this afternoon. I had snapped at her then, not because I wasn't enjoying it, but you could only imagine how a man feels when he is interrupted in the middle of his orgasm. And she had interrupted me when I was right on the brink of it. I was still horny that time, and even though she was decently covered, I was annoyed at the thoughts that were running in my mind at that time. All I could think of was bending her over the desk and taking her from behind.
And now, I was enjoying the moment, our thighs pressed together, her side pressed to my front as I had twisted my body to face her, and my mouth brushing her ear. I felt the shiver that ran through her, the shots of electricity that jolted and sparked through the both of us. My dick was being choked and suffocated, but that was just the part of being a horny asshole.
A part of me was doing a inner happy dance, screaming Yay! Yay! I affect her!
And other part was shaking his head at me with exasperation as if saying, And here I was, thinking that she reminds you of your mother.
You could guess which part of me I decided to ignore.
Apart from the horny part, there was something warm that bubbled in my chest when she was pressed close to me. It was as if she was emanating warmth, the kind of warmth that warmed you up inside and outside. I felt sparks, zaps of electricity like never before.
And trust me, it felt thrilling.
She did the mistake of turning to face me, with her narrowed eyed look, but blushed terribly when she realised how close our lips were now. They were too close, too close to be innocent. Too close to hold back from kissing her.
The smirk that had been on my lips for quite some time, now faded away, as she looked deep into my eyes, capturing my gaze. I knew she loved them, my eyes, because I knew how much she loved Raine and Ryan.
And they had the same eyes I had.
I hadn't realised that my mouth was hovering over hers now, our breaths mingling, the air around us charged with a strange electricity. I had never felt more desperate to press my lips against someone's before now, but never had I had a more stronger urge to go slower. We had met today, properly, for the first time, and here I was, wanting to kiss the living daylights out of her.
She didn't push me away yet and I was thankful for that. I didn't think I was ready to stomach any more embarrassment in a day. The way her hands were clenched tightly on her lap, the way her breaths were becoming shallow, her hazel orbs darkening, I wanted to believe that she was, at least, attracted to me too.
Just as I was about to make our mouths meet, a cry rang out in the air. It suddenly broke the spell around us, and I held in a groan of frustration. Alyssa's eyes widened, as if she realised what she was about to do and she scooted to the corner of the bench. I ran my hand through my hair, as I saw Alyssa calming herself and getting up to check on Ryan, who was crying his lungs out.
Cockblocker.
I calmed myself, taking in a few breaths and ran my hand through my hair again.
I was so close, so close to kissing her. And she wasn't pushing me away too. It was as if we both were caught in a trance, our proximity affecting us. It was as if those hazel eyes of hers always captivated me, the colour of chocolate mixed with something else, made me want to have her to myself.
I had always been attracted to Alyssa Reynolds, since the very beginning. Seeing her today in a completely different light drove me towards her more, to the point that getting her out of my system was next to impossible.
I looked back at Alyssa who was chuckling and I noticed that Ryan was stretching his arm towards his sister, as if reaching out to her, but he was way too small and she was way too far, for him. Feeling absolutely frustrated and annoyed, he had started crying.
Alyssa looked at me and grinned, "You wanted to hold both Raine and Ryan, right?"
It was as if something lit up in me and I eagerly nodded, grinning back at her. My heart which had calmed down after my almost kiss, now thudded again. I sat still, where I was, my eyes glued to Alyssa who was now picking up a crying Ryan, trying to pacify him while she brought him to me.
I encircled the little boy with my arms, his head tucked into my left. He was really, really adorable and I cooed at him, shaking my arm and swaying him. He calmed down when he heard me cooing, and then looked up at me, in just the same way his sister had stared at me.
I shifted him completely on my left arm and then tapped his nose with my finger. He immediately gave me a smile, his little, pouty lips twitching upwards. I cuddled him closer then and wanted nothing more than to know the truth.
Alyssa came and sat beside me, with Raine in her arms. That caught both mine and Ryan's attention and he started pouting again, stretching his arms towards his sister. Alyssa, then, quickly tucked Raine into my right arm, so that she was now withing her brother's arm's reach.
Alyssa and I chuckled, our eyes meeting for a few moments as Ryan and Rained tried to grab each other's arms. They both were playing and I looked down at them, feeling all the warmth seep into my veins, igniting my whole body. They both looked up at me at the same time and my smile grew.
When they both smiled together, no matter how creepy it was, I could have sworn that I wanted nothing else in the world.
A distinct snap caught my attention as I looked up to find Alyssa, standing some distance away from me, capturing my little moment in her mobile. She kept her cell phone back into her pocket and grinned at us.
*******************
"I'm such a bad best friend. I forgot to ask you where Allie is. She was supposed to come with the milk, not you." Alyssa said as Dan drove us back to her apartment.
"She had some emergency, something to do with her grandfather, I guess. She was the one who took me to the park, actually, but when we were about to step out of the car, she received a phone call. She had to rush away." I replied, enjoying the feeling of Raine's little fist wrapped around my index finger as she slept, snuggled to me.
"Oh." Was all she said, concern marring her features as she looked out of the window.
Since I didn't have a baby seat, Alyssa and I were holding Ryan and Raine. Ryan, unlike his sister, was awake and was enjoying being held by his dear Mommy, his head snuggled into her chest. His cheek was resting on her breast and his fist was curled, resting on another breast.
I should not feel envious of my own could-be brother. I reminded myself.
That little lucky guy had his eyes trained on the car's window, enjoying the scenes outside. He was feeling playful at the time and Alyssa was a bit worried because he should have been sleeping. And that's what she was trying to do since we left the park, but he wasn't letting her put him down for a moment.
Could even I be a baby and enjoy the privileges he was getting, like being held by Alyssa for so long, or being able to snuggle my head into her chest without getting scolded for it?
I sighed internally, wondering for a moment if Alyssa and I could ever be a thing.
I don't even know if she has a boyfriend.
Dan opened the door and I stepped out, holding Raine firmly. She was so small that I was always afraid that she would slip through my hold. So I cuddled her closer to me and she closed her eyes, another subconscious smile tugging at her lips.
She was so beautiful, it almost broke my heart. I terribly wanted to forget everything around me and just wanted to spend time with Raine, Ryan and Alyssa. I wanted to enjoy my time with them, as I tried to push my thoughts away about Larissa's stillborn.
When I saw Dan making a move to open the door for Alyssa, I glared at him and he understood, a small smirk breaking out on his face. I scowled at him then and moved to open the door for Alyssa, helping her to step out of the car. She smiled at me as I held out my hand to her, shifting Raine to one side and I grinned back when she placed her hand in mine.
It felt small, soft and warm, and my hand tightened around hers. I didn't want to leave her hand, because it felt way too good, but when she had stepped out of the car, her hand still in mine, I heard a cough, and from the corner of my eyes, I found Dan stifling a smile.
That bastard was going to get a nice remedy for his cough. Soon.
Anyways, I had to let go of her hand, reluctantly. I closed the door behind her and then gave a sharp glare to Dan.
I'll talk to you later, you bastard.
He just gave me cheeky grin.
Fortunately, Alyssa didn't notice our little exchange and walked towards that apartment. But then she suddenly turned around.
"Can you please hold Ryan? I have to take the keys out." She sheepishly said and I held out my hand for her to place Ryan. She gave him to me, and I held the sleeping Ryan firmly. It seemed that he eventually fell asleep on his mother's chest.
Even if Alyssa wasn't their biological mother, for me, she was the only one who could be their mother. They could be Larissa's, they could be not. But I knew that Alyssa was a thousand times better than Larissa. Even if they turned out to be Larissa's, I wouldn't want to give them to her.
I didn't have a strong reason to prove that they were actually Powers, it was just their eyes, and my strong gut feeling that drove me to dig deeper.
Alyssa had found the keys and was now walking towards the apartment. She was walking ahead of me and I couldn't help but sneakily glance at her ass. At one time, I was staring for quite sometime, but Dan brought me back from my fantasies when he hit me lightly with the stroller that he was carrying.
That bastard was calling for trouble and he knew it.
A thought came to my mind and I let Alyssa walk ahead, stopping Dan in his tracks.
"Dan, you need to contact Will for me and tell him to look into Larissa Power's delivery records at the Hospital. I want to know what he finds out in an hour." He gave me a confused look, but nodded and was turning to walk away when I caught him.
"Dan, you have to put the stroller back too!" And he turned back, following me to where Alyssa lived.
*********************
I sipped my coffee, as I watched a fussing Alyssa running around her apartment, cleaning the mess her best friend had made. It turned out that those manuscripts, on which Alexandria Evans had spilled the milk, were quite important. It just made everything difficult for her.
I did offer to help her in whatever way she needed, but she gave me a sharp look and I kept my mouth shut thereafter. I realised that even if Alyssa was being a bitch, I liked her. She could be angry, moody, fussy, bitchy, horny, loving, kind, happy, and I'll still like her.
I couldn't understand what was so wrong with me. I barely knew that woman, but I still wanted to be around her. It wasn't just me, to be honest. Almost everyone liked her company. She shared a good rapport with all her colleagues and I bet she probably had made many good friends throughout her entire lifetime.
It was as if I craved the warmth she provided.
I was still watching her when she was crumbling the manuscripts into a ball.
"Why are you throwing them away? We could do something with them." I said, placing my coffee mug on the table.
"I don't need them anymore." She shrugged and threw them in the dustbin.
"Why?"
"If you have forgotten," she smiled mockingly, "I resigned this morning."
Oh. How could I forget the reason behind my visit?
"Look, we need to talk about it." I stated calmly and looked straight into her eyes.
"Okay." She said and folded her arms, my eye flickering towards her breast. She scowled at me and unfolded her arms when our eyes met again.
I smirked.
"I would like you to reconsider your decision to resign. I'm ready to make the accommodations for you to work from here. If you wish, I would get Miss Evans to assist and help you. I apologise for this afternoon, I was in a bad mood and I kinda took it out on you. I shouldn't have done that." I smiled at her apologetically.
She grinned back but sheepishly said, "Even I was being a bitch, I'm sorry. Thanks, by the way, for letting me work from home."
"But I have a condition." I stated, my expression serious.
"Seriously! Terrence-"
As much as I liked the way she said my name, I cut her off, breaking off into a grin, "I am allowed to meet Ryan and Raine whenever I want to, as many times I want."
I gave her my best pleading look and she chuckled, shaking her head in mock exasperation.
"Deal." And she grinned.
********************
"So,' I asked her, "Does your boyfriend help you sometimes, you know, to take care of them?"
We were now plopped down on her couch, with Alyssa leaning back, staring at the ceiling. I was sitting upright, with my elbows on my knees, constantly watching her.
We had discussed about all the arrangements that had to be done, and since Alexandria wasn't going to be back for a few days, someone else was going to do the task of bringing Alyssa her work here.
I was going to make sure that the person was, strictly, a female.
She whipped her head towards me and smirked, "To answer the question you so subtly asked, " she said sarcastically, "No, I don't have a boyfriend. I am not dating anyone."
It was as if a sign was flashing on her forehead for me.
Take me!
I gave her a smirk of my own, and put my arm around her shoulder.
"You know, if you want," I inched closer to her and she rolled her eyes, shifting away, "...we can have a nice-"
"Apologies, Asshole, but you have a wife! And even though she is now in Paris, letting off steam without you, you cannot just use this opportunity and keep hitting on other women. It's gross." She said, shrugging my arm off her shoulder and then swatting it away.
She chuckled when I groaned in exasperation.
"I explained it to Miss Evans, and now I'm explaining it to you. I. Am. Not. Larissa's. Husband." I said, emphasising on each word seriously.
I continued as she gasped, "She is my stepmother. She is married to Vincent Powers, not Terrence Powers. Do you understand? I'm not stupid that I'd marry her."
She nodded, her eyes widened in shock but then she said, "Do you realise that you just called your father stupid?"
"I don't care." I shrugged, "That woman is a bitch and I don't like her at all. I don't understand why the whole PP thinks that I'm the husband." I groaned.
"First of all, I feel you, she really is a bitch. Secondly, it was always you who came to pick her up from work. We just assumed that she was married to you and she never even denied the rumours. Lastly, don't say PP, it sounds like pee-pee."
We both cringed and I decided to move on the next topic, not trying to think why Larissa didn't bother denying those rumours.
"When was the last time you had sex?" I asked her casually.
She made a choking sound as her eyes widened.
"Why would I tell you that?" She snapped, hitting me with a cushion.
She was blushing.
Oh my, she's a virgin.
"So that I know that when we make love, for the first time, whether I have to be gentle or not. If not, I can always think of the many ways and positions we can start with." I winked.
Her face was so red, that I almost burst out laughing.
She stood up and started marching towards her bedroom. I almost took a double take, when I realised she was leading me there.
Wow, that was fast.
All my thoughts and reasons came back to me when I saw the babies sleeping.
That woman was trying to escape from the conversation.
"You say that as if I'm actually going to let that STD ridden dick anywhere near me." She snorted, the blush still on her face.
"He is feeling hurt." I said.
"Who?"
"Dick."
"Who, Dick?"
"My dick."
I dodged right before the pillow smacked my face and laughed as she scowled at me.
"I didn't know you had one." She said, smirking.
My ego might be huge, but it doesn't get wounded that easily, Baby.
"Want me to show you?" My hands were on my belt and her smirk faltered, "You can even touch him. But I warn you, he's big and that's why I was asking if you're a virgin or not. I need to know that you won't be hurt when I fuck you-"
"Get your potty mouth away from my babies, Asshole!" She yelled, flinging an unused diaper at me, her ammunition.
"And wasn't it you who wanted to kiss this potty mouth?" I smirked, her face growing more and more red.
Even as a tomato, she still looked beautiful.
"Me? Oh no! I wasn't going to kiss you.' She said and I took a step so that my body was touching, barely, but touching hers.
"Is that so?" I whispered, my breath fanning across her face, the strange electricity surrounding us again. For a moment I tried to remember if I had a bad breath right now. She didn't flinch or make a weird face so I assumed that my breath was fine. Or at least that was what I hoped.
Before I could lean down and further tease her, Ryan started crying. We sprang apart almost immediately and she stormed out of the room, probably realising that he was hungry or something. On the other hand, I wanted to bang my head against the wall but I thought against it and fell down on the bed, right next to the crying boy.
"'Hey buddy," I said to him, "I know you don't like it when mommy gives more attention to some boy other than you. You get to do so much, can't I even get a kiss?" I pouted.
He was crying louder now.
*******************
"I had no idea you were into single mothers now. You almost looked like a perfect daddy." He paused and then smiled slyly. "Oh, daddy kink?" He said, winking, as we drove towards my house.
I gaped at him and smacked his head from behind and gave him a glare, "I'm going to ban you from my kitchen for a month!"
"Apologies, Terrence Powers. Your kitchen is my haven, I can't afford getting banned. Anyways, care to explain what happened back there?" He asked.
He was the only person who was closest to me at that point of time. He was, from the beginning, more of a best buddy than my driver. I enjoyed his company too, and he knew me too well, more than anyone else.
"The twins, they look just like me, when I was born. I think...I think they are my..." I trailed off and sighed, staring out of the window.
"But didn't your stepmother give birth to a baby boy? What about him?" He asked. He knew about everything, and he was there for me when I broke down and drowned myself in alcohol.
"I don't know." I sighed.
"You guys must have had an idea, right? I mean what happened during the delivery?"
"The baby was born way too soon. He was born during the time I went to pee and came back. Dad was signing the forms. The doctors told us that the head could be seen already when we reached the hospital. I just don't know, Dan. What did Will say?"
"He's already at it. I thought he would be done by now." He said, as he parked the car in my driveway.
"I don't know what's taking so much time." I muttered and stepped out, confused, waving at him and then marched into my house.
This house was the one where dad, mom and I stayed since the very beginning. After mom's death, dad stayed here till Larissa came into the picture. He then bought another mansion for them after their marriage.
I made my way to my mom's room, where all her pictures and her things were kept. I entered the room and took a look at everything, memorising it the way it was.
The room was going to get a makeover now.
I took out my phone and looked at the picture, that Alyssa had captured, which I had sneakily sent to myself along with her phone number. I was going to take many more pictures like that one, and was going to develop them, frame them and hang them on these walls. I was planning where I was going to place the cribs and decided to buy a bigger bed that could fit in the four of us.
Because I knew that once I finally convinced Alyssa to move in with me, with Raine and Ryan, I was going to end up sleeping in this room with them for most of the nights.
My cell phone rang. It was Will, my private investigator, and he was calling me.
I took in a breath and answered.
"What did you find, Will?"
What he said next took my breath away and nearly knocked me off my feet.
"Absolutely nothing, sir. There are no records of any Larissa Powers giving birth in the hospital on Tenth of April. I checked other hospitals too, thinking maybe I heard wrong, but found nothing. No woman with the name Larissa Powers gave birth in any hospital in the past whole month. If you want, I can check the records of the previous months too, sir."
"No need, Will." I snapped and hung up.