David's Pov

I fucked up.

THUD!

Maybe I didn't.

THUD!

At this point, I did not know.

THUD!

Maybe I shouldn't have left her like that.

THUD!

It was a total dick move but how else was I to act when I saw the love of my love whom I was very protective and possessive about strutting with some idiotic bloke?

The thought of seeing them together made me want to commit murder.

Did she not understand how much I loved her and would kill for her?

THUD!

My temper flared as an intense rush of emotion hit me.

THUD!

THUD!

THUD!

THUD!

"Dude." Tanner finally spoke up after watching me punch the suspended inflated ball one for the last twenty minutes. "I know it's a punching bag and it's meant to be punched but you don't have to be so aggressive about it."

"I'm sorry, I'm just...Fuck." I punched one more time before pulling away and turning to face my blonde-haired best man whose eyes met mine with suspicion.

We broke eye contact when I lowered my gaze to take off my boxing gloves.

"Alright." He got up and tossed me a white towel. "I've let you have your fun now it's time to explain to me why you called to use my gym in the middle of the night."

I let out a breath, more sheens of sweat trickling down my skin as I wiped my face. I came here because I needed to clear my head, to calm my mind, to soothe my nerves but my attempts all seemed ineffective because the more I thought about it, the more this strong feeling of hostility and displeasure crept into me.

"It's nothing."

I didn't want to talk about it because I didn't know what exactly made me angry.

Sure, seeing my wife in such a compromising position pissed me off but it was more than that. I was frustrated, the whole baby shit frustrated me, staying away from Dawn frustrated me, having to leave her all on her own made me furious, knowing she was somewhere crying broke my heart, and worse of all, knowing I couldn't give her what she wanted even though I wanted it myself wrecked me.

Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck.

I loved her, God I loved her so much that it ached when I went a second without her and I wanted nothing more than to give her what she deserved but I just couldn't. It wasn't my choice to make, if it had been, I wouldn't have left Stacey the way I did.

"You can lie to the world but you can't lie to me brother." Tanner persisted, walking over to stand beside me. "I know you're been dishonest even before you start talking." He swung his hands over my shoulder, a gesture that made me groan. "Spill it. Are you having wifey problems? Is it about Dawn?"

I narrowed my eyes and shrugged his arms off. "I don't want to talk about it." I dismissed, picking up my shirt.

"What's it this time?" He goaded, following me as I started towards the quench table. "Not giving her enough attention? Your stepmother?" he nudged my side. "Tell me."

Heaving out a suffering breath, I picked up a bottle of water and opened it. "I caught her dancing with some asshat at a club."

He must have been shocked because he suddenly paused, confusion crossing his face as he watched me take a swallow from my bottle. "You sure that was Dawn?"

I tossed the water from side to side in my mouth before swallowing. "I was surprised too."

His face looked like he was trying his hardest to make sense of the situation. "Well, there can only be one reason why she would do a thing like that." His brow squeezed together. "What did you do?"

I frowned. "What makes you think it's my fault?"

"Behind every woman's impulsive behavior, there is a man triggering it." He folded his arm over his defined chest and smiled smugly. "Back to my question, what exactly did you do?"

"You're unbelievable." I scoffed. "I did nothing wrong."

He tilted his head and quirked his brow at me, giving me the look that said he didn't believe me.

Tanner had been my friend for ten years, he knew Dawn as much as I did and he knew me even better, which was why I barely got anything past him.

"Fine, fuck whatever." I exhaled. "Maybe I did do something but if she'd just given the whole wanting a baby thing a rest, I wouldn't have blown up and said mean things to her."
I squeezed the water bottled as something irritating coiled in my gut. "But that sure as hell didn't give her the fucking right to leave the house and go strut her stuff on some sleazeball who would've fucking kissed her had I not intervened."

His brows rose in intrigue. "Dawn wants a baby?"

"Yes she does and it's fucking taking a toll on me."

"Okay, did you tell her why you don't want to have kids?"

I swallowed back the lump rising in my throat. "I didn't."

He deliberately made a face.

"Come on." I didn't think we'd get this serious I didn't even think she would want kids in such a hurry."

He took a slow breath. "She's a woman, women are always like that. You should've learned your first lesson after allowing Stacey to get pregnant and then forcing her to-"

"Tanner."

He stopped immediately and pursed his lips. "I'm sorry, I know we're not supposed to talk about her but it feels like what happened before is going to happen again." He exhaled deeply. "Look, I'm no relationship expert, I'm not even sure I'm ever going to tie the knot but I think you guys just need to work this out. You're both at fault."

My head throbbed with an impending headache. "She's always going to keep going back to that place." I sighed, propping myself against a nearby wall. "I'm not sure how long I can avoid this."

"You know, you should have come clean about it before marrying her. It's not her fault for wanting children She loves you. You fucked up here."

I scrubbed my hands down my face, my mind running a mile a minute. "What do I do now?"

"Go and meet your wife and talk shit out."

"I can't." I shook my head. "I'm still very much mad at her."

"Then I guess you're okay with the fact that she's probably crying herself to sleep right now."

"No." I groaned, laying my head against the wall. I didn't want that.

"Then put your stupid ass anger aside and go to her." He clutched my shoulder and yanked me off the wall. "She's the best thing that has happened to you in a long time, don't ruin this because you're scared of some shit that I still think is just plain fable and a coincidence." He gave me a friendly tap. "Go home now, I'll lock up."

I sighed. I wasn't sure of anything anymore. "Thanks, man, mind if I borrow a car."

He nodded. "Keys are in the fourth drawer, don't touch my Royce, that's my new baby."

I welcomed the cool rush of air that blasted my face as I drove back home.
One-stop at the pharmacy for a new bottle of ibuprofen and I was knocking my shoes off in the foyer of my excruciatingly silent house.

I padded barefoot into the living room and turned on the lights, surprised to see Dawn curled up on the couch with a blanket over her shoulders and an almost empty bottle of wine sitting beside her.

"Dawn?"

When I didn't get a reply, I figured she was already deep into her sleep.

Expelling a sigh, I walked over to the couch and scooped her up gently. I felt her body awaken. "David..." She murmured, mushing her face into the crook of my neck and sniffing. "You came home..."

"Shh..." I soothed, carrying her up the stairs and into the bedroom.

She moaned softly when I settled her down on the bed.

"David..." Her drowsy eyes patted slowly to stare at me. "I'm sorry..."

Her words sent a sharp pain to my chest. Her ring was still missing and I tried my hardest not to let myself get aggravated. "Just get some sleep." I pulled the sheets over her shoulders. Her face was pale under the dim lights and looked like she'd thrown up. "Good night, Dawn." I brushed the lock of hair on her face aside and lowered my lips to her forehead for a gentle kiss before walking around the bed to settle in.

I didn't know how much sleep I archived that night but I knew I had gotten up along the line for a cold shower since Dawn couldn't stop moving her ass around in her sleep.

It was distracting and it was hard to stay focused on sleep when something soft kept pressing against my groin.

Nonetheless, I did feel a little better now. The shower coupled with the little thinking I'd done calmed me. So when I walked back out of the bathroom, I was ready to start a new day and sort things out with my wife but the sight I met made my stomach lurch and all thinking fly out of my head.

"Dawn..." She was on her knees beside the bed, her head bowed and hands knotted with each other.

"What the-Dawn, what are you doing? You're going to hurt your knees." I walked over to her side. "Get up."

She shook her head and bit her lip. "You're mad at me."

I exhaled softly and wiped my wet hair out of my face. "I'm not mad, okay, now please get up."

She shook her head again, breathing slow and deep. "I had a lot of time to think last night." Her gaze faltered from me and back to her trembling fingers. "I realized I was wrong and you were right. I was being a nag and acting like a child. I'm sorry."

"Come on, it's fine." I reached for her hand to pull her up but she gently pulled it away.

"You should be disappointed in me right now and frankly, I deserve the worse treatment because what I did was wrong, dancing with Jacob was wrong. I'm sorry." She inhaled and exhaled a shaky breath, finally meeting my eyes. "You're just enough for me, David, and I'm sorry it took so long for me to figure it out. You mean more to me than anything else and I don't want to lose you."

I didn't know if my heart was leaping for joy or breaking that I had put her in such a position. "Dawn..."

"I understand if you'll still be mad at me after this." She pressed on. "But just know I didn't mean to hurt you. Forget about the baby. I'll wait, I'll wait for as long as you want. Just... please don't hate me."

My chest felt tight. I inhaled deeply. "I can never hate you, Dawn. Not ever, not even if I wanted to." I hauled her up to her feet and pulled her into my wet chest and I knew I was going to regret my next words. I knew it was going to cost me much more than I was willing to admit but at this point, I just didn't care. "You won't be needing those pills anymore."

Her body stiffened against mine and she stepped back so she could see my face. "Really?" Her eyes searched mine and I was afraid that she might see something else; that she might see a husband not being entirely truthful to his wife. "You really mean that?"

I managed a smile. It was too late to take back the words even if I wanted to. I didn't know what the hell I was doing but I had the rest of a lifetime to figure it out. "Yes, I mean it. I love so much and I'm sorry for so many things." Im sorry for yelling at you." I brought her closer to me. "I'm sorry for saying those mean things, you're my perfect little flower and I would never do anything to hurt you on purpose."

"I'm sorry too, David. Let's not fight anymore. It hurts."

"We won't," I assured, grasping her bottom and pulling her toward me, leaving no space between us.

"Promise?" Her lower lip caught between her teeth as her arm came over my shoulders.

"Promise," I vowed, my voice hot against her lips that now joined mine in what was meant as a tender kiss but blossomed into something more. something feral, fueled by starvation and need.

"I've missed you." I moaned and she yelped when I pulled away and pushed her to the bed. "Oh my God. David." She was gasping for breath, eyes aglow as she watched me discard my towel and settle in my favorite place between her legs.

"David..."

"Don't talk, just kiss me."

And she did, she kissed me, hotly, moaning in approval as my hand crept under her dress, sliding right up her thigh.

I'd won this one. Everything was back where it belonged. Now, I just had to make sure what happened with Stacey did not repeat itself.