2nd part of the Bad Blood story. The first part was written on a deadline for A Song from My Story, a Story for My Song challenge theme. Part 2 was written at my own pace. Thanks to RiverMaya for being my Muse and the writing angel on my shoulder.
All sex between 18+ people.
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"There ain't no rest for the wicked, money don't grow on trees,
I got bills to pay, I got mouths to feed, there ain't nothing in this world for free,
I know I can't slow down, I can't hold back, though you know, I wish I could,
Oh no there ain't no rest for the wicked, until we close our eyes for good."
- Cage The Elephant
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I'd quietly unlocked the front door to my brother Steven's house and slipped inside. He'd warned me that things were getting tense lately between his wife Misty and her half-sister Darlene. Both were in their second trimester. Apparently, pregnancy hormones were flowing hot and heavy, and their emotions matched that. He warned me the girls were prone to fighting over just about anything, no matter how minor.
On the plus side, Steven also shared that Misty's libido had shot up as well, causing increased desire and wetness in her hypersensitive lady-parts. It didn't take more than an innocent kiss or rubbing her arm at night in bed to get her going. Basically, the lucky bastard was getting laid like a Daytona Beach lifeguard during Spring Break.
Their post-wedding domestic bliss, however, was being disrupted by Darlene. After she and her mother Honor had taken the $15,000 that they'd extorted out of me and moved out of my place, some disagreement resulted in them having quite a falling out.
It wasn't clear what it was over, but as far as I was concerned, Honor being gone was good riddance to bad rubbish. According to my brother, Darlene was flat broke again, so I'd guess Honor getting away with more than her fair share was behind their acrimonious division.
Steven had been promoted to District Manager for Handy Hardware Home Improvement Center's Northern California/Oregon region, so he'd been able to afford a few nice things like a new Ford Flex for Misty, a new F150 for himself, and he'd also bought a 4-bedroom home to house his growing family. When Darlene found out Misty and Steven bought a house, she'd begged the two of them to let her stay a while until she got back on her feet.
Of course, there were about ninety-nine reasons why this was a REALLY bad idea, but Misty had her mind made up it was going to happen, so Steven capitulated. Sure, my brother may have been wearing the pants in the family, but Misty wore the panties; he was so in love with her he'd do anything to get at what was in them.
The kitchen was in the back of the house; as I tiptoed down the hall, I could hear Misty yelling at Darlene, "DAMMIT, Darlene, didn't I warn you about not putting those boobies of yours in my husband's face? Yet here you are, no bra on and your hoodie zipper halfway down, putting on a show for MY man!"
I knew from personal experience that Darlene was double trouble - not only did she have the ethics of a copperhead snake, but with her light red hair, cute, freckled nose and 36D breasts she was hot enough to make a man crazy stupid. I knew this because that's exactly what she'd done to me, and I'd paid a hefty price for it, $15,000 to be exact.
I could hear Darlene's defense, "Misty, honest, I did that on accident," which I knew was pure bullshit because Darlene never did anything 'on accident'.
"Now Misty, darling," I heard my brother naively plead in an attempt to maintain peace, "Let's give Darlene the benefit of the doubt. I didn't see anything. Besides, you know I only have eyes for you."
I leaned a little bit forward, and saw Misty sitting in Steven's lap, arms possessively wrapped around his neck, kissing him, and murmuring, "You're MY man, and only mine." Then she glared at Darlene.
Darlene sat in a chair across the table; her expression was not a happy one. She was as pretty as ever, even with a baby bump stretching the lower part of her hoodie. "It's no fair, why can't I have a man who loves me like Steven loves you?"
Misty stopped kissing Steven long enough to snap back, "You damned fool, you did have one, but you and Honor had to go and put the squeeze on him. Brad's a sucker, sure, but he's also a sweet guy. If you'd played your cards right instead of listening to Honor, you'd be married right now, and that baby would have a father!" I winced at that last remark, it had to have hurt my ex.
It was definitely time to go. I slowly backed down the hallway, but as I turned to leave, I dropped the heavy keyring in my hand. The racket it made as it hit the hardwood floor would've made Quasimodo proud.
I heard Steven call out, "Brad, is that you?" Damn, I was busted.
"Yeah, bro, I just got here. You ready to go golfing?" After the house extortion debacle, we'd reconciled; I'd even been the best man at his Las Vegas wedding to Misty. Playing a quick 9 holes every Saturday morning was now part of our routine.
"BRAD!" Darlene ran up to me, throwing her arms around me like she hadn't seen me in years, when in fact less than 4 months ago she and her mother forced me out of my own place. The baby she was carrying was allegedly mine; given the amount of unprotected sex we had, the probability of it actually being mine was pretty high. Nonetheless, this was Darlene, who had proven herself capable of anything. When that baby was born you bet your ass a DNA test was coming.
As I mentioned, Darlene was still gorgeous. When she kissed me, I hesitantly put my arms around her and didn't turn away. It was one of the nicer kisses I'd had in months; in fact, it was the only one. Given what she'd put me through, I'd been a little gun-shy around women lately. "I been missing you, come set in my room so we can talk for a minute, sugah."
Darlene slipping into her New Orleans dialect was a sign the predator in her was coming out. That didn't stop me from following her as her warm hand pulled me into her bedroom, though.
She sat on the edge of the bed and put my hand on her baby bump. "Feel him? Are you excited? Your son's gonna be a big handsome fella, just like his daddy," she cooed, "wouldn't it be nice if he had a married momma and daddy to take care of him and tuck him in every night?"
I shook my head. This was nuts. Trying to remain calm and avoid a confrontation, I spoke to her gently, "Darlene, are you seriously suggesting that you and I get married? I think you're forgetting something - you don't love me, to you I was just a sucker to be hustled. You and you mother manipulated me and stole $15,000 of my money!" Darlene sat looking down, not saying a word. I think I heard her sniffle a bit.
I continued on, "When the child asks how their mommy and daddy met, which of us gets to tell them how his mommy and grandma played him?" Despite my efforts to remain calm, I was getting a little bitter now, and continued my diatribe, "Hey! This sounds crazy, but if you want to have an actual relationship, how about you start by giving back the money you and Honor took from me?"
In full tears now, Darlene cried out, "Brad, I swear I'd give it back if I could but I ain't GOT it! Momma took most all of it and headed on back to Louisiana! I can't afford a place to live, I can barely afford my share of the groceries living here, and I'm scared about after the baby comes where I'm gonna live and how I'll be able to afford diapers and food!"
Maybe it was her hormones, maybe it was award-winning acting, or maybe it was just a scared pregnant mother, but damn it, her tears got to me. I sat down on the bed next to her and put my arm around her.
"You're not alone, Darlene, I'll be here for your baby," I told her. I kissed her temple. "I'll be right here."
My rational brain was screaming for me to leave and get out, but my emotional brain simply punched my rational brain in the mouth. Darlene was gorgeous, and I really wanted to believe that baby was mine. I knew from experience Darlene could make a man crazy stupid, and here she was doing it to me for the second time. What an idiot I was - but damn it, I couldn't help myself!
She looked up, smiling through her tears, shifting her position to lay her head on my chest. "It's OUR baby, Brad, it's a Montello baby, I swear." Damn me for a fool, I despised this woman, but it was so fucking hard to hate her when she was pressed against me smelling so good with her soft, warm lips inches from mine. And those fingers reaching down to gently caress my manhood through my khakis, yeah, that too.
Steven stuck his head into the room, "Hey bro, are we golfing or not?" I felt my face flush as he took in the scene, "Ummm, maybe we'll skip this weekend, you look like you and Darlene need to catch up. I'll go ahead and cancel our tee time." Abruptly he was gone, pulling the door shut behind him.
Darlene and I sat in our quiet embrace for a while, her fingers continuing their teasing dance on my crotch. Then she whispered, "Brad, do you think I'm pretty?"
I kissed her lips tenderly and replied, "Darlene, when it comes to you, I'm uncertain about a lot of things, but your being pretty is not one of them."
"Will I still be pretty in a few months when I'm a big old pregnant cow?"
I reached up under her hoodie and rubbed the soft skin on her belly. "You'll never be a cow, Darlene, you're a pregnant princess." What the hell was coming out of my mouth? WHY was I being so nice to this woman? I felt her stroking my cock through my khakis, and the stiffening results. Ah, that might explain it.
I took her head in my hands and brought her to my lips, kissing her intensely.
Unzipping her hoodie all the way, unencumbered by a bra her beautiful breasts came tumbling out. I kissed them, alternating between left and right, then moved up to her neck. "Damn, but you're beautiful, Darlene," I murmured.
Darlene stood up, pulled her sweatpants off, kissed my lips once more then got down on her knees in front of me. She unbuttoned my khakis and tugged at the zipper. My erection was making it difficult to get the zipper down, so I stood up and pulled it down, then pushed my pants down and kicked them away.
