One More Try_A Second Chance Romance Read online

  “Joshua,” I gasped.

  My back arched, feeling him come inside of me for the first time in so long. He slid all the way inside, his expression strained. Once he was all the way in, he held still. Then, he lowered his upper body over me, bracing his torso with his forearms on either side of my head.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  I nodded eagerly. I wrapped my legs around his hips, causing his cock to shift inside me. I gasped, and he groaned.

  “Please,” I panted, feeling desperation rise. “Move, Joshua. I want you to fuck me. Move.”

  He groaned again, and did just that, pulling his hips back, and thrusting back in, slowly. My hands rose, and I gripped at his back, my nails digging into his skin a little. His thrusts came a little faster, and I tried to move and rock my hips against his, wanting him deeper.

  “Harder,” I gasped out. “Faster, please.”

  “Alessandra,” he growled my name.

  He wrapped one arm around my waist, holding me closer, then gave me what I wanted. I let out a cry as he pulled out, almost all the way, before slamming his cock into me. He didn’t stop, fucking me fast and hard into the mattress. I dug my nails into his back, my body rocking with every thrust. My gasping and his light groans were almost covered by the sound of his skin slapping against mine.

  “Joshua!”

  I thought he mumbled my name; his voice was so low I couldn’t be sure. He pressed a quick, rough kiss to my lips, before ducking his head in my shoulder. I could feel the pleasure build and build until I wondered if I would explode. And then, it did. My head tilted into the pillow, my back arched. I let out a cry, my walls contracting around his cock as I orgasmed. Joshua let out a groan, and have one, two hard thrusts, and came inside me.

  We both lay still, catching our breath. Joshua was getting a little heavy, but I just clutched at him with my weak limbs, wanting the closeness right then.

  After a few minutes, he rolled us over, so we lay on our sides, and I let out a gasp as his soft cock slipped out of me. He held me close in his arms, and I just snuggled further into his chest.

  He said something, but I was sleepy, and right on the edge of sleep. As my mind shut down, I had one last thought, that it was a good thing I didn’t hear what he wanted to say to me right then.

  Chapter Nine

  Joshua

  I woke up a little later than usual and didn’t feel like getting out of bed. The reason was the warm body lying across my chest. I knew it was her, but still, when I opened my eyes to see Alessandra had stayed, I couldn’t help but smile.

  The curtains were closed, but they were light, so I could see her. Besides, it was probably around mid-morning already. Alessandra lay with her cheek pressed to my heart, her hair falling all over my chest. The covers had moved a bit lower, so her back was exposed, and I wanted to reach my hands out to touch. She was still asleep, though, and I didn’t want to wake her up.

  I did work her hard last night. She fell asleep after our first round, but I couldn’t sleep. Once wasn’t enough for me, not after our long separation.

  Dammit, I sighed to myself. I didn’t want to move at all, but nature was calling.

  Carefully, I slipped off the bed. I had to move Alessandra, so she was lying beside me instead of on top of me, making sure she didn’t wake up in the process. I took a second to make sure she wouldn’t wake, then turned and headed for the bathroom.

  I was usually comfortable walking around my house naked, but since I had someone over, once I used the bathroom, I found and put on a robe. I moved back to the bedroom, to find Alessandra was still asleep.

  Do I wake her or not…?

  She looked so peaceful; I decided to leave her alone a bit longer, though I was starting to get a little hungry. I looked around the room and noticed just how messy it was. So, I went around and picked our clothes first to shove them into an empty corner. I pulled my phone from my pants pocket and realized it was late, about fifteen minutes to eleven.

  “Is this okay?” I murmured to myself.

  She must have told her parents that she was okay and would be spending the night out, but if I let her sleep for much longer, we’d be having lunch instead of breakfast. Wouldn’t they be expecting her back? At least it was Sunday, so she probably didn’t need to go to her nanny job.

  After a while, I decided to leave her alone. I’d go and make breakfast, then come back and check on her. If she still wasn’t up, I’d wake her.

  I walked out of my room and closed the door quietly behind me, then whistled as I made my way to the kitchen. I lived alone, so I was usually responsible for my meals. I didn’t know how to cook in the beginning, but it was a simple thing to pick up a cookbook and find instruction videos online. Mom had been worried about me moving out of the house, but I took care of myself pretty well.

  The only thing I had trouble with was housework. I couldn’t do it all myself, so I had a cleaning service stop by twice a week to clean around the house for me, but I could do little things on my own. I also had groceries and other stuff I needed to be sent to my house, receiving orders three times a week for the less durable material.

  I started with breakfast. I usually went with something simple, but with Alessandra around, I might as well treat her to something a bit special.

  In the fridge, I had plenty of meat, so I pulled out the bacon strips and the eggs. There were also some chopped up vegetables I’d received a couple days ago. I had some bread and jelly, and coffee grounds and a coffee machine.

  The coffee went first, so I could drink as I continued cooking. I wasn’t sure if she’d be into coffee, but there were milk and chocolate as well. I thought of adding pancakes, too, but then figured I’d rather not. If I made too much, we might not be able to finish it all, and I hated to waste food.

  Twenty minutes later, I had everything ready. I finished my coffee, then decided it was time to wake Alessandra up before the food went cold.

  I made it to the room; only she wasn’t on the bed. I would have worried, but I heard water running in the bathroom. She must have been taking a shower.

  I’ll have to keep the food covered them.

  “Alessandra?” I called, moving over to the door.

  After a second, the water shut off, and I heard her voice. “Yes?”

  “I have breakfast ready, so when you’re done, come down and eat, okay?”

  “Sure,” she called back. “Thanks!”

  The water turned back on, and I left her to her shower.

  I was about to leave the room when I heard something vibrate, and looked over at the nightstand. It was Alessandra’s phone. I debated whether to tell her or ignore it. But it could have been something important, so in the end, I went to check on her phone.

  The screen was lit up, showing a missed call from her mom. Hesitantly, I picked the phone up. Maybe I could text her back to wait for a call so she wouldn’t be worried. Alessandra had always been close to her parents, and they were still concerned about her. A part of me had been jealous of her close relationship with them. My parents were always busy with other things, and when we were together, they had expectations of me I was expected to meet.

  That wasn’t to say that I wasn’t close to them, but we weren’t at the level where I would call, or they would, just to check up on each other, especially once I moved out. When I got the call about Dad being sick after months of silence, it had been a total shock, especially to find out later that he’d been ill for a week, and I was only called when he didn’t improve immediately. They didn’t even call me for that. They needed someone to look after the company while he was out of commission, and they could only call me.

  If there was one regret I had after Dad passed away, it was that we’d lacked the same closeness Alessandra shared with her mom and dad.

  Alessandra didn’t have a screen lock. I swiped the screen to send the text, only to pause. She’d left her phone on the last chat thread she’d opened. At the top of the chat thread was Mo
m, who she probably sent that message to previous night.

  I didn’t mean to read the text. I just skimmed over it, and before I could move away from the chat thread, something caught my eye.

  Mom, I won't make it tonight, so keep an eye on Trent for me. I have some breast milk in the cooler in my room; I left it yesterday just in case so be sure to feed him when he’s hungry.

  “What the fuck…” I muttered to myself.

  The water in the shower going off brought me back to my senses. I wondered how long I’d been standing there staring at the message. I’d forgotten all about what I intended to do, and I quickly set the phone down then left the room, still feeling shell-shocked.

  I knew better than to let her know I’d seen the text, though. As my mind continued to try and collect itself, I made my way back to the kitchen, served everything on a plate and moved them to the tiny dining table. I covered everything and went to get more coffee for myself.

  When Alessandra made her way downstairs, in the same dress from last night with her purse in her hand, I was seated at the table, waiting for her.

  “Sorry, did I make you wait long?” she asked with a smile.

  I put on a smile. “Not at all. And I don’t have anything to do today; I’m more worried about you eating cold food.”

  “I didn’t know you could cook,” she said curiously.

  “A little breakfast isn’t that hard. Come and sit down. What would you like to drink? I have coffee, milk, chocolate and some juice.”

  She hesitated to sit, but as I stood up, she moved to the table.

  “Juice, please,” she said. “Apple or orange if you have those.”

  “Let me get you some orange juice, then.”

  I moved to the fridge, glad I had my back to her so I could fix my expression. I had practice faking my emotions from work, so I could keep from her that I knew anything. She hadn't told me, so she must have her reasons for keeping this from me.

  Is it a secret she should be keeping, though?

  While I still didn’t know how to feel about what I read, the implications were obvious. I wasn’t stupid, so putting the clues together from that short text was easy enough. I had assumed that she was a nanny, and she went along with it, but it was sufficient confirmation that the child was Alessandra’s.

  A part of me wanted to be angry, but the name in the text jumped at me again, and I felt my lips twitch. In a smile or a frown, I wasn’t sure.

  I got the juice and moved back to the table with it after picking a glass for her. I knew my expression was stable as I sat back because she just looked at me happily as she uncovered the food.

  “Let me know if there’s anything else you’d like,” I offered.

  “What are you talking about? This is a lot already. I’m not sure I’ll be able to finish my share, so you might have to help me a little, okay? Besides, I talked to my mom before I came down. I’ll need to be home soon, and she’ll insist I eat something for lunch.”

  I nodded absently. “I’ll need to drive you back, then…or have my driver drop you off.”

  “What? No.” She refused immediately. “I can just call for a taxi from here; it’ll be fine. You might want to use the car or something, later.”

  She sent another smile my way, then dug into the food. I watched her but didn’t forget to eat.

  It has to be it then, I thought to myself. Mystery solved.

  I thought back to when I asked if she had someone else and she told me she did. The mystery man had to be Trent. The name of her baby that also just happened to be my second, though rarely used name.

  It had taken me some time to move past the fact that she was a mother to make the connection. I couldn’t tell Danny’s age because I didn’t see him, but since she’d been okay walking outside with the child, he couldn’t be that young.

  If I thought back to when Danny could have been conceived, it was the only explanation. After last night, and sitting across from her for breakfast, I doubted she’d been with someone else within such a short time. Also, she wasn’t the type of person to name someone else’s child after her ex, if she had been so bent on forgetting me after leaving me.

  Whether or not she still loved me, she at least still had feelings for me.

  I smiled, watching her chew happily on her food before she started singing my praises of how good everything was. I chuckled a little, and I felt my emotions shift and relax.

  At that moment, I knew what I was feeling. The idea that Alessandra named our son after me, even though she didn’t tell me about him, made a warmth grow in my chest.

  There was another implication behind it, too. It means she still wants me.

  Chapter Ten

  Alessandra

  “You’re going out again today, huh.”

  Mom’s voice was flat as she said it, and I couldn’t help blushing. I had gotten up early, made breakfast, then taken a shower and gotten dressed. It wasn’t in the simple, comfortable clothes I wore at home, either, so it was pretty obvious to figure out.

  “I’m not leaving right now,” I said slowly.

  I had paused my steps, but I walked further into the living room, where Mom was holding Trent in her arms. I had checked his crib before coming down, but when he wasn’t there, I figured she would have him.

  “He woke up while you were in the shower,” she explained. “I changed his diaper, but he’s probably hungry, so you need to feed him.”

  “I know. I’ll feed him, and I’ll leave some fresh milk for you as well, I don’t know when I’ll be back tonight. Sorry for giving you so much work,” I apologized.

  Mom just chuckled. “Oh, I don’t mind it. It’s so nostalgic having a baby in the house, reminds me of when you were born. You were such a handful when you were young, you know? Trent is an angel in comparison.”

  “Why do you want to make me feel bad?” I grumbled.

  I went to sit next to her so I could take Danny from her. He made some gurgling sounds and squirmed a little as I took him, and I smiled down at him.

  Mom sighed, watching me. “You’re a total natural with him, you know? I had some trouble getting into it. I really wanted you, and I was willing to put in the work, but your dad and I were also struggling for money, so I could only take leave from work for so long, and it took months before you would stop crying so much at night.”

  I grew guilty as she continued to talk, even though it was about a time that I could never remember. Trent was nothing like that. Though he also woke me up at night, I knew it wasn’t because he didn’t want to. Besides, I could afford to laze around for a bit.

  “I know I’m taking advantage of you guys a lot by still living here when I have my kid, but I promise it won't be for forever.”

  Mom rolled her eyes. “You know you don’t need to move, honey. Keep saving up for school, and when the time comes, go and ace your exams, and come back and show it to us proudly. Your father and I don’t want any more from you. He is our grandson, after all.”

  “That won't happen for a long time,” I reassured. “I don’t want to move to a different apartment to look for a nanny to take care of him. He’s yours any time you want him.”

  She arched an eyebrow. “For a long time, huh? But you’ve been going out a lot recently, and you’ve been looking a lot happier, too. You haven’t said anything, but I’m not so foolish that I can't see why.”

  Mom had a teasing smile on her face. It was apparent she had figured out I saw Joshua again. If it had been some other guy, I wouldn’t have kept it from them. I wondered if Dad knew, too, but the fact that they weren’t prying meant they were willing to trust me on this, and it made me happy.

  “I’m trying not to get my hopes up,” I said with a sigh. “And you shouldn’t, either.”

  What she said was right, though. Ever since the date, and that night I spent over at Joshua’ apartment, it had happened a lot more times. I couldn’t tell if I was happier since I was pretty happy before, but it was nice to feel the way
I used to when I was with Joshua. It was nostalgic, and yet not because our relationship now was a little different.

  We were getting on so well, but I didn’t know if we were to the level we used to be just yet, so I was still hesitating. We didn’t have a date today or anything, but I wanted to see him.

  “You know I’m going to love you guys no matter what, right?”

  “It’s not like we’re worried you’ll run away and forget about us,” she said, laughing. “You’re still young! You should live and love and have fun! Not spend all your time at home. Besides, you were always good with your priorities, so we didn’t worry a lot about you growing up. You’ll do just fine. I’ll leave you alone so you can feed him, okay?”

  “Thanks, Mom,” I said with a grateful smile.

  Nursing Danny was still pretty awkward to me, and it wasn’t something I liked doing in front of an audience, even if it was my mom. Dad was probably off to work already, so I wouldn’t have to worry about him.

  I made myself comfortable, then eased the strap of my dress off my shoulder. I adjusted Danny, and the blanket around him, then held him close as he fed, humming under my breath.

  As I watched him, my thoughts were on Joshua.

  Maybe… I really should tell him? Was it a mistake to keep it from him for this long?

  “Would you like to meet Daddy, a baby?” I whispered.

  Trent didn’t even open his eyes. I poked his cheek, and he just made an annoyed sound and continued.

  I was starting to think that it was time, though. It had already been more than a month since I met Joshua again. In that time, I hadn't seen, or heard of, either his mom or Rachel, and we’d had a good time every time we were together.

  He deserved to know that Trent existed, so maybe it was time to tell him that I gave birth to his son.

  “Are you done, honey?”

  I looked over my shoulder at Mom, who was peering at me from around the wall in the kitchen.

  “I’m done. You can come back, now.”

  She smiled and walked over to sit back beside me as I held Danny to my shoulder to burp him. She’d brought a glass of juice with her, and set it on the table for me.