When they arrived home and Salina placed Vanessa in her high chair, both girls were on edge. Salina went about making their dinner while Vanessa banged her fork against her plate, intentionally aggravating her mother.
“Vanessa!” Salina yelled without turning from the stove.
Vanessa continued.
“Do you want to go to bed?” Salina threatened and Vanessa momentarily stopped. Salina sighed and bent to take her dish out of the oven when Vanessa decided to start banging again. Startled, Salina dropped the pan right on her foot, splattering food all over the floor.
“God!” Salina yelled grabbing her foot and flinging her towel in anger. It subsequently landed on Vanessa who got scared and started screaming.
JC, using the key Salina had given him that morning, walked in almost scared by the spectacle. “What’s going on?”
“I dropped the goddamn dish on my foot and now there’s food everywhere!” Salina replied still hopping around on one foot as she tried to clean up. She looked up to where Vanessa was still crying. “And SHE needs to get out of my sight!”
JC stared at her in disbelief as he walked over and picked up the little girl, cradling her against his shoulder. “Salina…”
”I’m serious, JC. She was banging on that plate after I asked her not to repeatedly which made me drop the plate.”
It was now JC’s turn to sigh. “Look, why don’t you get all this up and order a pizza. I’m gonna go put her down then we’ll talk.” He didn’t wait for her answer as he took Vanessa (who’d quieted down) to her room and went about the nightly routine of getting her ready for bed.
JC shook his head as he rocked her and thought about how common an occurrence it was for him to be putting a child to bed these days and wondered if he was really ready for that. This was like a real family, where the mom gets mad at the kids when the dad’s at work and then dad has to fix everything. JC wasn’t sure that he could fill that role of dad.
Once Vanessa had fallen asleep he walked back into the living room to see Salina lying on the couch with her arm over her eyes. He quietly poured them both a glass of wine before removing her legs and sitting down. She looked at him and turned so that she was lying back against him.
“So, what happened?”
She sighed and sipped her wine. “I was late to pick her up so she got mad. She was giving me the silent treatment all night and it was grating on my nerves. Then we got back and she started that banging and I just lost it.”
“That’s it?”
She sat up and looked at him. “What do you mean ‘that’s it’?”
”Well, it’s not like you to get so upset over a temper tantrum, Sal.” He noticed her eyes dart around nervously. “Talk to me. What’s really wrong?”
”When I went to pick up Vanessa, I apologized to her teacher for being late and she said, ‘That’s okay, it happens to all our single parents’.” She waited for JC to comment and when he didn’t, she explained. “It’s just…I’d fooled myself into thinking that I was all Vanessa needed. She didn’t need another parent and I was doing a good enough job on my own.”
“Honey, you are. You’re doing a great job.”
“Yeah, right. How can I be? My daughter hates me!”
“Salina, she’s two. She’s not even gonna remember this tomorrow.”
”That’s not the point.”
”I know. And believe me when I tell you that Vanessa is the luckiest girl in the world to have you as a mother. All parents (single or married) make mistakes. You’re gonna make a lot more mistakes and there’s gonna be many more times when she’s mad at you, but that doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong. It probably means you did something right.”
She looked up into his eyes and smiled before kissing him lightly. “Thank you.”
“Anytime.” He released her as the doorbell rang and went to pay for their pizza. As he was waiting for his change the nervous, domesticated feeling he had gotten earlier returned and he suddenly felt an intense need to get out of there.
“Hey, Sal,” He called walking back into the living room. “I’ve gotta run back over to the studio, so I’m gonna leave you with the pizza, okay?”
“I thought the album was completely done. Why are you going to the studio?”
He stuttered for a second. “I’m working on Dallas’ album with him. He wanted me to hear a few things.”
Salina nodded slightly and gave him a kiss goodbye. “Be safe.”
He chuckled and nodded as he walked out of the door and down to the elevator.
“So, you just left?” Dallas asked as he watched his friend and colleague mess with the knobs on the sound board.
“I already told you that I don’t wanna think about it anymore. Can we just focus on the track?”
”Well, I could if your relationship problems weren’t making my track sound like shit.”
JC rolled his eyes. “I thought it sounded good.”
“If you’re not gonna talk about it I might as well go.”
JC sighed. “I think I’m falling in love with my girlfriend.”
“Hmm, yeah, I know when I’m falling in love with a gorgeous woman I’m extremely uninspired to make a love track too.”
“It’s not that. But she’s got a kid and I’m not ready for such a commitment.”
“You’re not getting married, JC. And would it be such a horrible thing if you did settle down?”
“No, I guess not. I don’t know I just panicked when I was consoling Salina and putting Vanessa to bed. I’m not a dad.”
Dallas shrugged. “All I know is, it sucks that you just ran out on her when she was depressed. Girls don’t dig that kinda shit. It’s a dealbreaker. Is that what you want?”
JC looked up quickly. “No! I just…I need to find a happy medium.”
Dallas sighed. “We’re not gonna get any work done tonight. Go home to your woman.”
“I’m sorry, man.”
“Don’t sweat it.” Dallas said giving JC a hug before walking out of the studio.
JC sat in the studio for a while thinking about his relationship before getting up and driving back to Salina’s apartment.
He used the spare key to enter the apartment and trudged down the hall to her room. He checked on Vanessa before opening Salina’s door.
“Hey, it’s me.” He said as he pulled off his jeans and climbed into bed with her.
She yawned and turned to face him. “I thought you weren’t coming back.” She said and he noted the worried look on her face, immediately feeling bad.
He smoothed the worried lines on her forehead away before speaking. “You mean tonight or ever?”
She shrugged. “Both.”
“Of course, I’d come back. I, uh, I got kinda scared tonight. I’m sorry.”
“I’m not asking you to be a daddy here, JC. I know that’s the last thing you need right now. The last thing you want.”
“No, that’s just it. I think I was scared because I found myself wanting that. I found myself wanting to come home to you and Vanessa.” She stared into his eyes and waited for him to continue. “Salina, I love you.”
She smiled and gasped. “I love you too.” She said hesitantly causing him to smile. He leaned forward and kissed her and she moaned into his mouth as she deepened it.
His hand crept up her shirt as she clutched at her hair and kissed him passionately. He pulled away from her and took off his shirt before shedding her of hers.
She sat up and hesitantly unclasped her bra before getting rid of it completely and lying back down. His head bent down and she groaned when his tongue circled her left nipple. She gasped at the feeling he was stirring inside of her.
When he finally came back up to her lips she was frantic for him. He smiled slightly and whispered his love for her in her ear as she kissed his shoulder and neck, holding him tightly.
She blindly reached for her nightstand and ripped open a condom and grasped his member tightly. She stroked him a few times before covering him, returning her arms to wrap around his neck and pulling him down for a kiss.
He slowly entered her and waited for her to adjust to the feeling of a man again. He gradually started to move faster and faster inside of her and let out the most sensuous groan when she wrapped her legs around him, causing him to sink deeper within her.
When they came down from their ecstasy moments later he stood and entered the bathroom to shed himself of the condom before rejoining her in bed.
“I love you.” She said as she kissed his jaw.
“I love you too.” He said as she drifted off to sleep
Story Tags: boyfriendjc jc justin hospital tabloids joey chris lance solojc
