I waddle toward him. “Just think of me, looking back at you, while you—” he places his hand over my mouth and gives me a look that’s surely meant to be stern.
“I will happily take care of yo
u and your dirty thoughts later, but you will never call me Daddy while in the bedroom. The thought…” Ajay pulls his hand away and shudders. He’s so protective of Evelyn, it makes me wish every day that he was her father. “Where’s Evelyn?” he asks after he composes himself.
I can’t help but laugh. “She’s with Katelyn. She picked her up after school and promised to have her home by dinner.”
“What are they up to?”
I shrug. If I had to guess, shopping, which means Katelyn is spending money on Evelyn and this baby of ours. “Plotting world domination?”
Ajay frowns.
“I didn’t ask, and she didn’t volunteer the information. She called this morning and asked if Evelyn could spend a few hours with her after school. Being that she promised she’d be home by dinner, my guess is mani-pedis, and if that’s the case I’m pissed because I haven’t seen my toes in months and I’m sure they’re horrid.” My toes wiggle, as if to remind me that they’ve been neglected.
“Go this weekend,” Ajay suggests. “We aren’t rehearsing. I’m sure Dana will go with you.”
I do like the thought of going and wouldn’t mind hanging out with Dana. “I’ll text her and see if she’s free.”
“Until then,” he says as he comes closer. He rests his hands on either side of me, boxing me in. “I think I’d like to take you up on your offer.”
“Oh yeah, you want me to call you Daddy?”
Ajay shakes his head and looks away briefly. “I’m talking more about the part where you’re looking at me from over your shoulder. I can only imagine what I’m doing behind you.”
“If you love me, you’ll do your part to get your son to come out.”
“You know, it’s been scientifically proven that sex and semen don’t actually cause you to go into labor.”
“I wish I never gave you that damn book. I don’t care what the book says, old wives’ tales and all that,” I say as I grip his shirt and drag him behind me toward our room. “I want to orgasm this baby right out of me.”
2
Ajay
Someone once said that if you plan to be in the public eye, you have to have nerves of steel. I never understood the meaning behind those words until now.
Hendrix, being our resident gossip hound, has shown up with his weekly supply of magazines and print outs from the web. I don’t know what possesses him to spend hours going through sites or why he wastes his money on the newsstand rags, but he does. He tells us that we need to be in the “know” and prepared for whatever might come our way.
The only thing I want coming my way is my son, even though it seems that the national tabloid for junk wants to paint me as a man who is not faithful to his very pregnant wife. Honestly, seeing the headline and the accompanying picture of my wife carrying out a garbage bag which the writer deems to be my belongings, makes my stomach roll. It makes me absolutely sick that people can post this crap and get away with it. Even though there have been numerous lawsuits against them, the magazines still post stories that are completely fabricated. Sources are protected under the law and that’s all these fake journalists have to say when questioned… they have an anonymous source. I can say with certainty not a single person in Camp Ballard has ever spoken to the media. I’d like to see them try though. I have a feeling the Sheriff might give them a bit of a run around and some made up story about chicken running along the coastline.
Dana, Quinn, Keane and I are lines deep in reading the drama when Elle interrupts us.
“I see I’m walking into another shit storm,” she says as she pulls two chairs into our circle. We’re supposed to be rehearsing, but thanks to Hendrix, we’re fueling our tempers. I barely acknowledge Elle or the woman who sits down next to her.
Elle clears her throat to get our attention. As much as I want to keep reading about the redhead I’m having an affair with, I set the article down on my lap and focus on my boss.
“With popularity,” she starts, “comes drama.”
This would be the perfect time to blurt out something like “no shit, Sherlock,” but I bite my tongue.
“I want to introduce you to Zoey Donaldson. I’ve hired her to take over the publicity side of the business. Moving forward, she will be your right hand when it comes to events and the media.”
“And you’re doing what now?” Quinn asks his sister.
“I’m still going to manage but I’m expanding as well. I’ve signed two bands and one solo act.”
We all knew this day would come. Sinful Distraction was Elle’s building block. If she could make us successful, we knew others would want to be on her team. As happy as I am for her, adding more to her work load will take away the individual attention she gives us.