That One Night (That One Series Book 1) by Josie Wright Read Free Book Online Page A

sleeping with me? Or was it the fact that he was leaving? Or did he apologize for breaking my heart? I don’t know what he apologized for and I’m not sure I care. What he did was make me feel like a slut. He couldn’t have hurt me more if he would have added a few dollar bills to his one word letter. The moment we shared didn’t mean shit to him, that much was clear. It was a way to help get his mind of whatever was bothering him that night and get him off. And once that mission was accomplished, he was gone. For me, this moment meant everything. It changed my world—in ways I didn’t even realize back then.

Chapter 5
Ten Rounds
 
     
    Quiet steps move towards me while I keep staring out the window. I don’t need to turn around to know who it is.
    “Frankie, we really need to talk,” he whispers, standing way too close to me. I can feel his breath stir my hair and it makes me even more emotional—sad and angry at the same time.
    “Yeah, we do.” I wish my voice would hold more strength, more resolve. Instead, it’s quiet and soft.
    “Is he mine? Is Archer my son?”
    I hear the question and then just a ringing in my ears. I’m so angry I can feel my blood pressure rising and my blood rushing to my head. I wasn’t a nun before him and he couldn’t know what I did the week before that night, or the week after, but the question makes my blood boil. I had told him I loved him. Did he think I’d say that and jump in bed with someone else the next day? Is that what he did?
    I’m furious, and the only way I know how to cope with it is to become cold and distant, allowing me to speak with as much venom in my voice as possible. “Despite the general consensus of me being a woman with loose morals, I can guarantee you, that he is indeed your son.”
    “That’s...I mean...I didn’t.” He lets out a sigh and I want to punch him square in the face. “But how?”
    “Do you want a fucking biology lesson?” I whisper angrily. He’s lucky that we are in my parents’ house and Archer is sleeping a few feet away from us, or I would be up in his face screaming like a woman gone mad. He makes me feel irrational and out of control. “We didn’t use a condom, I wasn’t on the pill.”
    “Fuck Frankie. It was one night. I…I never thought…,” he seems at a loss, his voice breaking. I can tell looking at him that he’s overrun by a multitude of emotions. I couldn’t care less about his emotions at this point. This is not how I imagined him reacting to the news. My delusional mind had hoped he’d be shocked, but thrilled and excited. But I guess imagining is for dreamers. In real life, that only invites disappointment.
    “Well, Ben,” I spit out, “neither your sperm nor my eggs seem to have gotten the memo that as long as it is just once, they should stay the fuck away from each other.”
    He is silent for a long moment and I see so many emotions flitting across his face. Guilt, fear, pain, and maybe a hint of excitement, and happiness. But that might be my delusional mind working overtime again.
    “What do we do now?” he asks, bringing my attention back from the emotions on his face to the current conversation.
    I let out a breath, giving myself a moment before I speak. I’m not sure this helps take the edge out of what I tell him.
    “Listen, I don’t have any expectations toward you. Not anymore. Even I learn from my mistakes.”
    He flinches away from my words as if I physically slapped him. He’s hurting and I enjoy it. He has a few months of catching up to do.
    “If you want to be a part of Archer’s life, I won’t stop you. He deserves to grow up with a father and you have a right to know your son, to be there for him. But you can rest assured, if you fucking desert him, if you pull a vanishing act again, I will find you and cut your balls off. And you will never see your son again. He deserves the world. If you are not willing, or capable of giving him that, walk away now. If you decide