The Truth Between The Lies

By Rachel

Copyright 2012

Chapter 10

Aspen

I watched as Lilly l sauntered to the bathroom. From the look of her clothes, she definitely got laid. I guess Brian wasn’t as saintly as everyone suspected. I didn’t have room to talk considering my sister caught me and AJ in a compromising position. His hands, lips, and body felt so good on mine.

“You know if she didn’t come back so soon, I was going to ask you to spend the night.” I said bashfully. “I mean not to have sex, but just to sleep.” My face turned six shades of red.

“I knew what you meant. I like you a lot, but you’re a tough lady to figure out.” AJ drew circles on my thigh. “I really want to take the time to find out what makes your tick. You intrigue me, Aspen.”

“You know it could take years to learn everything about me.” I said lightly. It was nice hearing myself be flirty. I hadn’t done it in forever.

“I’m willing to spend that long learning about you.” He pressed his lips to mine for a quick kiss. “If the offer still stands, I’d love to spend the night with you.”

What the hell? I couldn’t believe he was actually going to take me up on the offer. I was unsure what to do. I mean Lilly would be sleeping in the living room. What if Reese woke up? I loved the risk involved with having AJ here without anyone’s knowledge. Would I be able to sneak him into my room without Lilly’s knowledge? I sounded like a teenager….lol.

“Okay, but we have to be sneaky about it.” I started to giggle. “Go to my room first. I’ll pretend like I let you out. Then I will tell Lilly Blue goodnight.”

“I love it. Which room is yours?” He stood up.

“It’s the door across from Reese’s room.”

AJ quickly made his way to my room. He shut the door quietly. I opened and shut the door pretending he had just left.

“So is everything okay between you and AJ?” Lilly asked as she came out of the bathroom.

“Yeah. I mean we didn’t really talk about what happened.” It was late and I wasn’t up for having a serious chat with my sister. “Lilly, it’s complicated. I’m exhausted and Reese is going to have me up early. I want to talk to you and Jade before the end of the weekend.”

“Sounds like a plan. Well, Brian exhausted me, so I think I’ll go to bed now.”  Lilly’s eyes twinkled when she mentioned his name.

“So, how is Brian in bed?” I asked facetiously. Lilly blushed. Ha, I knew she slept with him.

“Well, I wouldn’t know since we never made it to his bed.” She said with a huge smirk on her face. Lilly was a proud peacock. I was happy for her.

“TMI. Please don’t go any further. You and Jade make me question if I was adopted.” I rolled my eyes. I was so different compared to them when it came to sex. They were wild and carefree, where as I was straight and narrow.

“You just need the right man. Tell AJ I said good night.” She gave me a hug.

I hugged her back. I missed seeing my sisters. I was glad Lilly and Jade were here. “What do you mean? He just left.”

“Red, I wasn’t born yesterday. You’re going to be thirty-one tomorrow. This is your house; if you want to have sex you don’t need my permission. I would just make sure AJ’s gone before Reese wakes up. You don’t want her to get attached if you aren’t sure where this is going.”

Lilly was always there to make me question my judgment. This is probably why I overanalyzed everything decision I’ve ever made. I was starting to feel guilty about letting AJ stay. She made me feel like a bad mother.

“Lil, we’re not going to have sex. I just miss the feeling of a man holding me in bed. Is that so wrong?” I sighed.

“There’s nothing wrong with that Red. I just want you to be realistic. This might just be a fling for all of us. I’ll probably never see Brian again after this weekend. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”  Lilly started getting her bed ready.

“For once I’d just like to live in the moment. I’ve never done it and I want to. Can’t I just have this weekend to be fancy free?”

“Well then you better get your ass in your room before AJ falls asleep.” Lilly smiled at me.

“Night.” I practically ran to my room.

When I opened the door, AJ sat on my bed looking at photo album of Reese’s baby pictures. It was like he was entranced by it. I took a seat next to him on the bed. He didn’t even know I was there. I watched him as he looked at the photos and closed the album when he was finished.

“Hey, there.” AJ placed a kiss on my forehead. “When did you come in?”

“About five minutes ago.” I chuckled. “You were so engrossed that I didn’t want to bother you. Reese is certainly a ham.”

“She’s precious. I noticed she’s got your beautiful blue eyes. Does she take after her dad?” AJ asked curiously.

I was floored by his question. The few guys I’ve met have never asked me about my daughter as much as AJ had tonight. I found it unnerving. I scooted off the bed and grabbed my nightshirt from the chair.

“Yes. Reese got his looks and personality. I’m thankful for that.” I smiled as I changed my clothes.

“Do you mind if I ask, where’s her father?”

I flopped down on the bed and got comfortable. This wasn’t the night I envisioned with AJ. I figured we’d keep the conversation on fun topics, not dissect my life. I was uneasy about talking about my personal life, but AJ seemed to pull it out of me.

“Reese’s father doesn’t know about her.”  I said quietly staring at my comforter. AJ scooted in beside me and scooped me up into his arms.

“That has to be hard. Was it by choice that he doesn’t know?”

Now I was going to have to tell AJ the truth about everything. Not even my sisters knew about this. I had kept it a secret for the past four years.  My heart was conflicted. I needed to get it out; I had been holding it in for way too long.  On the hand did I trust AJ enough for him to be the first one to know?

I realized that I may never see him after this weekend. If I told him, it would give me the strength to tell my sisters the truth. I decided to pour my heart and soul out to AJ.

“Let me start from the beginning. I was with my ex, Sebastian since the first week of college. I was at a point in my life where I realized it wasn’t fair for Lilly to have to take care of me. She did that her whole life. Once I found Sebastian, I started to slowly distance myself away from my sisters. They needed their own life.” I stopped to collect my thoughts. “When we graduated we moved to Cali. I loved Sebastian, but I don’t think I was in love with him.”

“You wanted someone who could take care of you. There’s nothing wrong with that, Aspen.” AJ rubbed my arm gently. It was nice to feel his touch on me.

“Things were going great, until about four years ago. We got into a huge argument over something stupid. I don’t even remember. I was so upset that I ran off and ended up at a bar. I ended up getting blasted and met this guy who was clearly as intoxicated as I was. Well, we ended up at his house.”

“Aspen, relax. It’s okay. We all do things we aren’t proud of. I’m the textbook case of screw up.” He started rubbing my shoulders. Instantly I started feeling calm.

“I’m not the kind of girl that has one night stands. I’m sure you get that prim and proper vibe from me. I was the one who always followed every rule.” I stared at the ceiling. There was no way I could look AJ in the eye while telling him my story.

“There’s nothing wrong with that. Sometimes I wished I followed to rules more often.” He kissed me on the top of my head.

“So, when I woke up the next morning, I ran away before the guy woke up. I was sickened by the fact that I would cheat on my boyfriend. A few months later I realized I was pregnant. I came clean to Sebastian. We broke up that night at the restaurant we ate dinner at tonight.”

“Shit, no wonder you left.”

“Yeah.” If that’s what he wanted to believe, I was going to let him. It was more than just that, but he didn’t need to know that. “He let me stay in the house and he moved out. About a year ago, his new girlfriend got pregnant so he asked for the house back. I couldn’t say no, he owned it. Reese and I ended up living here.”

“Baby, wow, that’s a lot to deal with.” AJ said with a hint of sadness.

“Please don’t pity me. I have a daughter I love and a business I enjoy.” I moved out of his embrace.

“Aspen, I don’t pity you. I think you are remarkable. You are a great mother. Reese is lucky to have you.”  He pulled me back in his arms.

“The thing is, my sisters don’t know the truth. They think Sebastian is Reese’s dad. I never told them any different.”

“Why is that?” AJ looked me in the eyes.

“I didn’t want them to know I screwed up.” I answered honestly. “It was out of character for me to have sex with a stranger.”

“Aspen, but look what you got out of it. You have a beautiful little girl that loves and adores you. She was meant to be.”  AJ lifted my chin up. His lips hovered close to mine. I grabbed his face and pulled him near.

I slid all the way down on the bed. AJ covered my body with his. We started kissing and touching all over. For some reason it felt right. AJ pulled back and rolled off of me.

“Wow that was amazing. You’ve got me feeling things I haven’t felt in a long time.”

I yawned. “Sorry. I have to agree. I think we better get some sleep. You have a special performance tomorrow.”

“I’m sure Nick isn’t getting much sleep tonight.” We both laughed.

“Knowing Jade, she’s making up for lost time. Brian and Lilly got lucky. I think it’s been a pretty good evening.” I placed a kiss on his cheek.

“I know it’s been one the best for me. Now, let’s get some sleep.” AJ pulled me against his body. He wrapped his arm around me and we settled in for a nice, peaceful sleep.