Lauren Brooks held the newborn against her chest and felt it's tiny heart beating against hers. It's skin so soft against her breast. The boy's eyes opened for a moment and she saw his soul in the hazel. He has my eyes, she thought and tears obscured her vision. The agency was quick with the papers and although they never pressured her, the adoption was complete. Her heart tore in two when she realized she may never see him again.
* * * * *
Rain had moved into the city and looked to be taking up residence. It was a relief, the summer heat had baked in a grime and the streets were thankful for the cleansing. Through the restaurant window, Lauren watched the wake the cars left on the road. The stooped pedestrians heading home in the early evening, the fortunate with umbrellas, some embracing the deluge. A boy stood unmoving across the street, an island in the stream of citizens. His shoulder length hair, wet on his head. His clothes saturated. For a moment Lauren felt he was staring at her. The sound of dropping plates from the kitchen diverted her eyes, when she turned back, he was gone.
"Did you hear anything I said?" Natalie asked.
Lauren looked at her personal assistant across the table. "I'm sorry Nat, I was a world away." She picked up her glass and drowned the rest of the white wine. "What was it you were saying?" Catching the eye of the waitress she gestured her over.
"I was just talking business but it can wait." Natalie placed her hand on Lauren's and caressed her skin. "What were you thinking about?"
Before Lauren had a chance to answer the waitress approached and she ordered another bottle of wine. She watched the girl's ass as she walked away. Large and rounded in her tight black pants. She'd leave a large tip for the girl who'd introduced herself as Amy, possibly leave her business card on the off chance she was interested in more than just waiting on her
Again Natalie broke her meandering. "Is it because of the date?"
Something turned inside Lauren's chest. She looked in Natalie's eyes and saw the genuine concern in the younger woman's face. "You remembered!?" She nodded and forced a smile. "He'll be 18 today." A tear formed in the corner of her eye.
"And I'm sure he's having a wonderful time. Probably at his party right now with all of his friends, his family." Natalie squeezed the hand of her employer and part time lover. "You did the right thing you know. Back then."
Lauren welcomed the words and the touch. "I know. It's just not a day goes by I don't think of him. It's the birthdays that hurt so much."
The waitress returned with the bottle and noticed the connection between the women. If it hadn't been today Lauren would have taken the girl home and fucked her, possibly with Natalie but her heart wasn't in it. Her heart, at least half of it was elsewhere, with a boy, now a man she had never known.
* * * * *
The women stood beneath the awning as a cab pulled up to the curb. "You're sure you don't want me to come home with you?" Natalie asked, facing Lauren, their hands held and bodies close.
"Thank you sweetheart but I think I'll just have a bath and jump into bed."
Natalie smiled wickedly. "I could help you with both of those things!"
Lauren laughed. "I bet you could," she moved in to kiss the woman and Natalie accepted the approach, parting her lips as they met. "See you in the morning?"
"I'll be there." Natalie blew a kiss as she backed away towards the cab and she was gone.
Lauren glanced down to check the time on her phone and when she looked back her driver had pulled up in the car and was hurrying around in the rain to open her door. "Straight home Ms. Brooks?"
"Thank you Edward."
The driver admired her body, poured into the grey dress she wore and her black stocking clad legs. She was completely unobtainable to him he knew. Wealthy, a higher social class, oh and the lesbian thing, he jokingly reminded himself but it didn't stop a man dreaming. Closing the door on his employer he again ran around the car and began the drive to her home in the Hills.
Standing in a darkened doorway across the street, the boy watched the car drive away. He dug his hands down further into his pockets and shivered in the cooling night air.
* * * * *
Lauren walked from her kitchen carrying a glass of wine down the long hallway to her bathroom. Behind her on the bench was a single cupcake with a blown out candle, the smoke still rising from it's wick. Entering the bathroom she allowed her long satin robe to fall to the floor and naked she dipped a toe into the water to test. Finding it satisfactory she stepped in and lay back, her glass still in her hand.
"How does tonight find you my love?" She asked the empty steam filled bathroom. "I hope you're happy." Tears again welled in her eyes and she stopped herself before it went too far. "Enough Lauren! Happy birthday my son." She raised her glass to the air in a toast, then drank the contents before placing it on the edge of the bath. Reaching for a washcloth she soaked it and placed it over her eyes.
Amy, she said her name was. She looked young, no more than eighteen. Gorgeous body, a large ass, Botticellian. She'd accepted her business card and blushed. Lauren liked that, she had a thing for the shy ones. Natalie had been shy at first, now a wanton whore in the bedroom. Lauren absently moved a hand across her breasts. Her nipples hardened at the touch. Down between the two and across her stomach. Her fingers kneaded the bald mound of her pubic bone and finally the hot locus of her cunt. In her mind it was Amy's mouth between her legs. The fingers she now pressed to her clitoris, the young girl's tongue. She clutched at her breast and pinched at her nipple as her hand expertly masturbated below. The orgasm came quickly and yet when it subsided, her mind drifted back to her lost child.
* * * * *
Lauren's modelling career had seemed to be stagnating on the eve of the millennium. She'd done minor campaigns for makeup companies and swimwear designers that had paid the bills but not made her a household name. A photographer came along that promised the world and seemed to have all the right contacts. Naively she believed his spin and had entrusted him with her career and eventually her body. When after a whirlwind affair she fell pregnant, his promises of fame and fortune drifted away with his support. As the baby grew inside her she lost jobs, money and the man who'd lied his way to her womb.
Depressed, at the end of her tether and without the means or support structure to give her child the life she felt he deserved she agreed to give him up for adoption. The decision although heartbreaking turned around her life. The weight she'd put on through pregnancy was seen as a positive to a small independent modelling agency. They offered her a contract for plus size fashion shoots with a deal she'd receive shares in the company for a reduced wage.
One year later she was on a six figure salary and the company she was now a part owner of was turning over millions annually. Divesting into plus sized swimwear and lingerie and a online magazine, Lauren became the household name she'd dreamed of. She supped with millionaires and walked red carpets. She traveled the world and owned property in multiple cities. All grown on the back of a child she'd never known and she believed, could never repay.
* * * * *
The day was full of meetings and reports. By 5pm Lauren was looking forward to going home and again politely declined the company of Natalie. She called for her car and was exiting the front of her building by 5:30. As was usual, Edward was waiting beside the Mercedes with the rear door open as she approached.
The boy was leaning against a planter box when she passed through the glass doors. He looked down at the image he had on his phone and confirmed it was her. His heart beating at a rapid pace and adrenaline coursing through his veins, he walked quickly towards the woman.
Edward saw the boy approaching at speed in his peripheral vision. Many times over the years he had been in the employ of Lauren Brooks he'd dealt with overzealous fans. At 45 she'd retired from modelling but still attracted a legion of followers, some dangerous. The boy seemed harmless enough but looks could be deceiving. As he encroached within a couple of yards he called Lauren's name and reached inside a satchel over his shoulder. Edward had seen enough and negated the threat. He barrelled into the boy, catching him with a shoulder tackle which sent the boy sprawling backwards against the pavement. Edward yelled for Lauren to enter the car but she retained her position.
Her eyes drawn to the young man. Looking no older than his late teens, he was of a sim build. His hair was shoulder length and partly held back in a pony tail. His clothes looked worn and needed washing but he seemed so innocent, so gentle. She wondered why Edward had reacted so overtly. Edward stood over the boy as he attempted to right himself. "Stay down kid!" He suggested but Lauren brushed past his arm and knelt down before the boy, belying the threat.