Page 61 of Black Wave

I kiss him, showing how much I love him. We stare at each other, and I wonder how things would have been if we would have stayed together. I am so scared of what the future holds because of the uncertainty of Julian, my stalker. I won’t entertain bringing a child into this world as long as he is alive.

He shocks me with the next question. “How would you feel about us visiting with your family for Christmas in Mexico?”

I look up at him, blinking. “Umm, like next month?”

He laughs. “Yes, next month. We will have a quiet Thanksgiving here. I know you have to work that night, and we can’t do much, but you have the week of Christmas off, right? I remember you telling me this because Liv’s getting married?”

I can’t help but laugh. “Well, she doesn’t know she is getting married yet. I mean, they just got engaged, but with the baby coming, Dax wanted to whisk her away for the holidays somewhere tropical, and he was going to have the venue all ready for them. He knows she will say yes while they are there.”

I was confident she would be okay with it when he asked me about it. I told him I would like to get her something because I know her mom probably couldn’t afford it. I had to be all stealth-like in claiming that I had to get her measurements for the gala dress in case we needed it altered. I mean, of course, we would need to do this. As her belly grew, so would the need for the dresses to accommodate the increased girth of pregnancy, but we could always get another. I got her a beautiful dress for her wedding and some Christian Louboutin shoes with blue embellishments. Her something blue. I can’t wait to hear all about it. I can’t wait to share the news with her.

Shaking myself from these memories, I blink and smile up at Eduardo. “Yes, let’s go.” I squeal a little in my excitement, and Eduardo kisses my forehead.

“Perfect,” he says as he rolls over. I look at my ring again and smile.

Realizing he is getting up, I ask, “Where are you going?”

He looks back at me. “To make the arrangements, of course.” He smiles and leaves me in the room, and I fall back onto the bed.

I can’t remember when I have been this happy. I haven’t seen my family in a while, and I miss my uncle and cousin terribly, not to mention the rest of the bunch. It will be good to see everyone and have a Christmas with family after all these years.

I am pulled from my thoughts when my phone rings. I retrieve it from my pocketbook and see that Liv is calling. “Hey, girl? What’s up?” I can’t wait to tell her my news, but I hear her sniffle. Immediately thinking something is wrong with the baby, I straighten my body, preparing for the worst. “Liv, what the hell happened? Is the baby okay?”

She stammers out, “Yes, it's…”

I release the tension and figure it must be Brodie.

“What did the fucker do now, Liv. I swear he is asking for it.” I feel for the guy after everything he has been through, but he is still selfish as fuck.

“I told him about the pregnancy and moving in with Dax. He saw my engagement ring, and it was just too much. He told me to get out and he needed time to process everything. He doesn’t want to talk to me.” She is crying, and I am not there to console her.

“Do you need me to go over, Liv? I can be there soon,” I tell her, already packing up to go over.

“No, Dax will be home soon, and I just wanted to talk to my best friend. You are the only one I tell everything to. My ride or die, right?”

I shake my head back and forth. The guilt of this being a one-way street is too much sometimes. “Right, Liv. Your ride or die forever. I love you, honey. Are you sure about not needing me togo over?” I hesitate and look at myself in the mirror. The fraud and lies I tell myself daily stare back at me, and I hate what I see.

Liv continues. “He said he needed time through the holidays to be alone and not talk to me.” She blows her nose, and it sounds so squeaky.

“Honey, you are making yourself sick. Think about the baby. You need to take care of yourself, okay? This is good. Maybe he just needs time. You’ve always been there for him. You sacrificed your own happiness long enough.”

She blows out a breath on the phone. “You’re right,” she relents and blows out a long, audible breath through the phone as she stops crying.

“Of course I’m right, Liv.” I hope she takes my advice. I worry about the girl. Dax is so good for her, and I just hope she takes this time to enjoy herself away from the mindfuck that is Brodie.

We hang up, and I sit on my chair at the vanity looking at myself in the mirror. Eduardo walks in and sees me upset.

“What’s wrong, baby? When I left you a few moments ago, you were happy. Did you change your mind about marrying me?” I see the joke Eduardo is making. I think there is some uncertainty swimming in there.

“Of course, I haven’t changed my mind about you. You are the one constant thing in my life, and I will never feel anything other than wanting to spend the rest of my life with you.”

He smiles at me and kisses me. “Okay, so what’s this about then?” he asks. The concern on his face overwhelms me. I have someone in my corner, and I love that he is here.

“It’s Liv.” I hesitate. “Her usual Brodie drama.”

He whistles. “Still?”

“Yep,” I reply. “He found out about the baby, Dax’s proposing, and her moving in with him and said that he needs to be alone and have time to process everything. Liv is upset because he doesn’t want to speak with her, and maybe after theholidays, they can talk about everything then.” I get it all out and blow upward, causing my hair to rise off my forehead. “That guy is selfish as fuck.”

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