Rowan

It's been an hour since Alana and I were locked inside my room by none other than my bratty kid. I'd received a text from Alana's number that said We need to talk. Meet me in your room upstairs. That didn't seem like something Minnie would be able to type and it was highly unlikely that a six year old would come up with a scheming. I had my bets on Alana's friend, Nina or perhaps Claire who had been constantly drilling me into talking it out with her.

Whoever it was, I was quite thankful because if it weren't for them, Alana wouldn't be sprawled on a couch in my lap. I'd turned the key from the inside, whoever decided to unlock the door from the outside would still find it locked. They would know their plan worked.

She sighed and then moaned softly when I worked my tongue inside her mouth. Her fingers tangled in my hair, her other hand inside my shirt. Her red dress wasn't particularly in a good condition. Her once properly curled hair was now all over the place, her lip gloss licked clean. We were like a horny teenage couple in an after party of a prom date, discovering sex for the very first time in a locked room.

We'd kissed so much in the past hour that our lips were probably bruised. If I came up for air, Alana would bring my mouth down to hers. Finally, she broke the kiss, only to trail kisses over my jaw and neck. "Do you have a condom?" she whispered.

I chuckled, but Alana didn't seem amused. Her face fell, she knew what I was going to say. She was throwing daggers at me, she said. "I'm twenty and you're almost thirty, so what's the issue now?" She had surpassed the point of desperation. "Please. Please, don't make any more excuses."

The roles were reversed. Alana was begging me now.

I kissed the top of her head and brought her closer and whispered. "Today is not the day. But, it will be after a nice little date and we'll make love in my new condo. I swear, it'll be perfect. No one will be able to knock the door. It would be just you and me. All day. We can go on for hours. In the shower, in the living area, my bedroom or hell, even the kitchen counter if you want. Although, I wouldn't be responsible if you weren't able to walk the next day."

"I can handle that." She giggled. I definitely had her interest. Her eyes were sparkling with the possibilities. "What about Minnie?"

"She will be here, besides Uncle Dwight can have a little date with Minnie. He likes having tea with Mr. Bunny and Barbie."

Alana laughed, probably imagining a six foot something, CEO of a company hunched in a short chair, getting served fake biscuits and tea. He would be Mrs. Bunny, with a bow on his head. I've been in that position numerous times.

Her smile faded a while later. I lifted her chin back up to face me. "No hiding. Tell me what you're thinking."

"You told me you began modeling four months ago." She said, "Since the time you have been discharged, have you slept with anyone?"

Before I could answer she put a finger on my lips. "We broke up, so I really don't care if you say you have. It would hurt like a bitch, but I just want to know the truth."

I shook my head slowly. "The thought of being with another woman never even crossed my mind." I kissed her hand. "Those women ain't got nothin on you, baby."

I guess I'd pleased her with that answer since she kissed me noisily on my lips. "You are charming, I hope you know that."

"If you say so." I said. "I forgot to tell you that you look sexy in this dress. Red suits you."

"Really?" She asked as she raised her eyebrows like she wasn't aware of that particular fact.

"Yeah. Well, I hated how some men were looking at you today, like they were undressing you with their eyes. No one is supposed to do that." I bit her softly on her bare shoulder. "Only I'm allowed to do it."

"It's unhealthy." There was a trace of a smile when she said it.

"What is?"

"Your love for me." She continued. "Sometimes when I see the way you look at me, I...I think my heart is about to burst."

I shook my head. "It's not unhealthy. I don't want anything from life. Just you and Minnie. If you are with me, I'll be fine. When I was in the rehab, I struggled to keep my mind clear each day, but when I thought of you, the demons would go away. That's how much I love you baby."

She touched her forehead with mine and we stayed that way for a few minutes wrapped in each other's arms. A few minutes later, we fixed our appearances. I ran a hand through my hair, while Alana had to fix her hairstyle. When I turned the knob, it gave away.

Minnie was just opening her gifts, and I was thankful to not have missed much from being absent from the party. Alana had a glow on her face and I guess that my smile was radiating too, our fingers were interlaced together. Mom looked at our interlocked hands and smiled at me. She seemed happy.

"Daddy, where iz my present?" Minnie asked me. I was yet to give her the surprise which I knew she was looking forward to.

"Oh, no. I think I forgot." I grinned.

"NO! I wan it now! I wan it now!" Minnie began jumping up and down.

I glanced at Molly indicating her to bring the present, she passed me the knowing smile and retreated back. A few minutes later she was back with a small box with holes in it. The lid was loosely placed as the box moved. Minnie's eyes were sparkly as she threw open the box to find an adorable little golden retriever with a pink bow on her head.

Minnie hugged the little puppy to her. "Thank you, Daddy. This is da best birthday eva! I'm gona call her Elsa."

"You're welcome, sweetheart."

Minnie and the other kids played with the puppy for about an hour. It was already late when Minnie had opened all her gifts and thanked each one. Her eyes were droopy by the time all the guests had left. Chez and Nina had conveniently drove off leaving Alana no other choice than letting me drive her back. I mentally reminded myself to send them personal thank you cards.

I put Minnie to bed as Alana waited for me in the parking area. I picked up the car keys and made my way towards her. I led her towards the Lexus ES and she raised her eyes to me, impressed. "Nice ride."

I laughed. "Don't be too impressed, I sold my old apartment and bought the car and the new condo. I'm still paying the installments."

"Doesn't matter. You're self-made, and I'm proud of you." She said from the passenger side of the car.

"Thanks, baby." I pulled the car into drive and maneuvered it onto the smooth road.

"What if Minnie asks for a pony one day? Would you give it to her?" Alana was amused.

"If it's within my power, I would certainly get a pony." I said.

"Minnie is so lucky to have a father like you. She is your princess."

"And you're my queen." I quickly added. "I would do anything for you, Alana."

There was a knowing smile on her face, but she looked away. I hoped that she would see the hidden meaning in my words. I wanted to know if she would want to spend her entire life with me, but the voices in my head told me to hold onto it until the time was right.

Alana was silent most of the way, fiddling with the deck and scrolling through the songs in my phone. Cracking through my phone was easy because I never kept a code since Minnie always played games on it. I sneaked a glance and wondered if Alana was checking my phone for texts.

Turns out she wasn't. She placed it back in the console.

"What, you're not going to snoop around in my messages?"

"I trust you, Rowan. If a guy can go down on his knees and beg me to come back to him, that proves the guy isn't going anywhere." She batted her eyes at me. "Besides, I know I'm better than those skinny, tall models you've worked with."

"You give yourself too much credit." I laughed, teasing her back.

She punched me lightly on my shoulder.

We finally reached in twenty minutes, and I parked the car below near her building entrance. Alana's eyes were closed and her head lolled over the glass. She was sleeping so peacefully that I didn't want to wake her. I kissed her forehead and whispered. "Wake up, sleepy head."

She mumbled something in her sleep and snuggled back in the seat. I rummaged into her little purse for her apartment keys and found them. I parked the car and slowly helped her out of the car as I decided to carry her to her apartment. Once inside her apartment, I placed her on the mattress, tossed her shoes aside and pulled the blanket over her.

I positioned myself at the edge of the mattress; she snuggled closer to me, catching my hand in a death grip. I watched her sleeping for a few minutes as I smoothened out the hair from her forehead.

I saw a pile of dirty dishes in the sink so I thought I should help her while I was here. I rolled up my sleeves and began washing the few dishes and mugs. I was almost done, wiping off the excess water on her counter when I heard Alana's phone buzz. I thought of ignoring at first but instead of hitting voice mail, it rang again. Temptation was a bitch.

I glanced at Alana, she was fast asleep. Wouldn't hurt if I answered it, right?

"Hello." I answered it.

"Uh—Can I speak to Alana please?"

A Male voice?

"She's asleep at the moment. Do you have any message?"

The guy on the other end seemed reluctant at first, but continued. "No. Just tell her Gabriel called."

I was ready to explode. Gabriel had always pushed the wrong buttons. I'd seen the predatory gleam in his eyes the moment I met him that day in the hospital. I'd known his intentions towards Alana were anything but getting friendzoned. I thought I'd already marked my territory. I hadn't been around for almost two years, so I wouldn't know if they had shifted gears from co-workers to BFFs. Alana had an uncanny ability to attract unwanted attention. Her overly friendly attitude mostly was the reason. I knew one thing for sure, there was going to be a murder on the block very soon.

"You should stop calling her." I told him flatly.

"Who is this?" He asked, a few seconds later he said. "Oh, is this Rowan Masters?"

"Yes." I said. "You're her best friend?"

"Guess I'm."

"Well, now you're not. Because I'm going to be her new best friend." I declared.

"Dude, are we like in kindergarten or something?" Gabriel chuckled at the other end.

"Goodbye."

"Wait!" he said. "We need to talk."

"Alana and I are together, so whatever you have up your sleeve, isn't going to work."

"This isn't about Alana." Gabriel added. "This is something else and it's very important."

Before I could say anything, Gabriel continued. "Look, I'll call you and we can set up a date to meet up."

I laughed incredulously, "Why the fuck would I want to meet you?"

"Because I have information about your friend Cooper."

That had my attention. "How do you know about that?"

"Wait for my call." He said.

"Hey!" I called out but Gabriel had already hung up.

Alana sat upright in bed in her midnight glory. She stifled a yawn. "Who was it, Rowan?"

The Rowan two years ago would have conveniently erased the call from her phone and would have said No one, baby. Just a wrong number. But, I wasn't that insecure, selfish, overbearing man anymore. Of course I was still the same underneath all those layers, but I'd learned to control my feelings. I could distinguish between what was right and wrong.

"It was your friend Gabriel." I said.

She swallowed. I could see the panic rising in her eyes. That's when I realized what a monster I'd been before for her to think I would lash out.

I kissed her full on the mouth, slow and deliberate as I said. "He wants to speak with you. I think you should call him in the morning."

Alana's jaw hit the floor, she looked at me obviously perplexed and touched her hand to my forehead. "Are you okay? You're not running a high fever are you?"

I laughed, kissing her hand. "I've changed, Alana. Like I said, I'm still the same person yet I'm not. I'm trying really hard to become the guy you truly deserve."

"I love this new Rowan." Her eyes were brimming with tears. "I'm so happy for you."

I kissed her one last time. "I gotta go. I'm going to stay overnight at my family house and head back to the condo in the morning. Are you free tomorrow?"

Alana fidgeted. "I have classes in the morning and my day-care job in the evening. Sorry."

"Maybe I can drop by at night with pizza or something, and we could make out on your couch. What do you think?"

"Sounds like a plan." She went on her lip toes and pulled my face down for another kiss. "You know, you got balls of steel. If there was someone else, he'd be tearing my clothes off. I'm giving you a chance that you are refusing to take because you are so stubborn."

I ran my hands down her dress and back. She had no idea how badly I wanted to make love to her, "Patience is virtue."

"Easy for you to say when you've done this a million times over."

My face fell. She cupped my face in her hands. "Hey, I'm sorry. I was just kidding. I get it. Whenever it's going to be, I know it will be perfect."

I tried to smile, pulling away from her grasp. "I'll text you tomorrow."

She caught hold of my sleeve. She was worried that she had upset me. "Rowan, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way."

I placed a kiss on her cheek. "We are good, baby. I'm not upset. Good night."

"Good night." She said.

"Lock your door." I said and walked down the stairs.

I slid inside my car, my head throbbed all of a sudden. I reached for the glove compartment and grabbed the anti-depressants and popped one into my mouth, gulping it down with water. Anti-psychotic medication were going to be a daily part of my life. Sofia told me that if I wanted to remain civil, I had to make friends with my medications, at least for a few years until I would be able to control my outbursts.

Alana didn't know about it yet, she thought I'd changed in a matter of two years as if a fairy godmother had swished her wand at me and I had transformed.

That wasn't possible in real life. A few minutes ago when Alana had teased me about sleeping with other women in the past, it had made me mad, but I'd been under check. I felt better as the anger subsided. I put the drive into drive and drove back home.

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A.N: Hey guys! Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter. This novel has reached 30K reads! Yay!  Thanks so much for all the support <3 Virtual hugs!

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