BEST FRIEND’S BROTHER

But other than being physical with him, was there anything else she was missing about him? She kept asking herself. When her phone buzzed again, she checked her phone quicker than she wanted.Content rights by NôvelDr//ama.Org.

‘All of it. I refuse to accept any of it, and that’s why we should meet. We need to talk, and I’ll personally make sure it happens, ‘

“The audacity!” Sasha smirked when she read it. It was incredible how Kaleb kept exercising his controlling nature even in this situation. He was supposed to beg her, not ordering as he did. Sasha knew right from the start that avoiding Kaleb was impossible, but she still wanted to try. However, sooner or later she was going to face him, and it scared the hell out of her. He had become both her strength and weakness at the same time.

She needed him to feel like someone had her back especially with the pregnancy and baby coming; and that was something Kaleb had done. She wanted someone to feel proud of her, and he’d shown that within a very short moment of their interaction. So in the end it wasn’t all about sex and good times, she thought. A new text arrived.

‘I need you. I miss you, Sasha. It’s was one hell of a night without you.’

She swallowed and sucked in a deep breath while jotting the words into her head. He was missing her? It made her heart flutter foolishly. But no, she wasn’t supposed to fall for it, she reminded herself, and decided to turn off the phone altogether.

————-

Sasha had to admit to herself that living with Kaleb had made things a bit easier for her, She thought one night as she got ready for bed. She was about eight months pregnant now, and it wasn’t getting easy to move around. Tilly and Miriam helped as much as they could, but she still missed having Kaleb around.

He’d finally stopped calling and texting her and even if she had repeatedly told him to stop, now that he had, she felt even more depressed. He never came back to get his things from her place and the room he’d occupied still smelled like him. She’d completely avoided going into the room until two days ago. She’d woken up in the middle of the night, missing his touch so badly that she’d rushed into the room to spend the night in his bed, and weirdly that had helped a little.

She was cleaning up the kitchen sink that evening when she heard someone drive in and come in through the front door. Only Tilly and Kaleb had a key to her place, and if Tilly wasn’t coming over, then it was….

She stopped what she was doing and walked slowly into the kitchen. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw him. Tall and dark, he was standing in the middle of the room, clearly waiting for her.

He lifted a hand, showing her the key. “I was worried that you’d have changed the lock by now,” he said huskily, “I’m glad that you didn’t,”

Sasha blinked. She’d thought about changing it, but she couldn’t bring herself to. Guess a part of her had been wishing that he’d come back. She said nothing and didn’t even try to move at all when he slowly began to walk towards her.

“How are you?” he asked gently. His eyes moved lower, until he was staring at her stomach, which was even bigger now. His hand lifted, and he reached out to touch her belly, but he seemed to think twice about the gesture… Then his hand dropped. Sasha tried not to feel disappointed. “And how’s the baby?” he added.

“We’re fine,” Sasha replied, “How are you?”

Kaleb shrugged. What the hell did she think, he wondered. He was used to always being in control, but then this woman next to him had started to break his barricades. It simply happened like something he strongly needed-an addiction-quite different from all other women he’d been with in the past. He hated and loved the feeling at the same time, but he couldn’t stay away from her any longer because it felt like torture. Not only was he missing her, but he was constantly worried about her and the baby.

He wanted to be with them. He wanted to know that she wasn’t stressed…That she had all the help she needed… That she ate and slept right. He wanted to be by her side when the baby arrived, and then he wanted to be there with the both of them, not somewhere in another house where he could only see his child on a schedule. But how could he tell her that when she didn’t want him around?

He ignored her question. “I… Know you made it clear that you didn’t want me around,” he said, “But I…Know that you need me here. You and the baby… I want to be here too, Sasha. You can’t deny that you need my help. I’m not trying to fight with you, but you know that’s my baby in there and I have to do everything I can to protect you both,”

He was standing right in front of her now. So close that all he had to do was reach out and touch her, but he didn’t. “Let me stay here with you… At least until the baby comes…and then we can figure out where to go from there,”

Sasha swallowed hard. He was right. She wanted him there with her, not just for the baby and his help, but because she wanted to be with him. There was silence, and then she said suddenly because she just had to know: “Why did you lie about Claire?” she broke the silence, deciding it was time to get the answer from him.

“I didn’t lie, I just didn’t tell,” Kaleb replied curtly.

“It’s the same thing, so quit playing smart with me,”

“Okay, I don’t know why I did that,” Kaleb told her, sounding honest.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Sasha was confused. Kaleb sighed and turned away from her.

“Kaleb?” she called softly, reclaiming his gaze.

“I guess I thought it wasn’t important at first,” he explained vaguely, “because I had no idea we would ever get to this point.”

“Huh?”