Generation 3: Chapter 17

 

🛑 This chapter is not suitable for anyone under the age of 18 🛑

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. . . GARETH'S POV . . .

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It's been five days since Gibson's housewarming party and I haven't been able to stop thinking about Hannah. Every time she came into my mind and I'd think about kissing her, my body would tense up a little, my heart would beat faster and my face would get warm.. Something I've never felt before when thinking of a particular woman. It's been happening a lot whenever I think about her, even before we kissed by the pool, but I didn't know what it was, I only assumed there was something wrong with me and I'd try to forget about her. Forgetting about Hannah, however, was something that I found extremely hard to do, especially when I've been coming to her bakery every day since Sunday, debating whether or not to go inside and talk to her about what had happened between us. 

I've been trying to work up the courage to go and talk to her all week, but every day that I stand up from this bench and think about going there, I end up just turning around and going home. I don't know why I couldn't just walk in there and talk about what happened, I felt like a child for how immature and cowardly I was being and I've given up every day of the week so far to go in there, but when Friday finally came, I decided that today would be the day I'd have enough balls to do it. I had an even better reason to go talk to her today, too, I had brought the money we had talked about on Sunday that I said I would give to her to help her get out of debt quicker.. If I left today like I had the other days, I'd be disappointed in myself for how pathetically scared I was being, and I was tired of being a coward when it came to her. It was time for me to man-up and go see what her thoughts were concerning the money, and I also wouldn't mind another chance at kissing her. I've been dying to do that all week, too.

Monday she closed at five, Tuesday through Thursday were slower and she closed at three, but today she was a little busier, and with it being around four thirty already, I assumed she was closing at five today and I had about a half hour to talk myself into going there and facing the future elephant in the room now instead of later should we both continue to ignore what had happened between us. My hands grew a little sweaty and I began tapping my foot as I sat there, starring at the bakery and counting down the minutes I had left until I'd see her beginning to close.. That's when I would go and talk to her, when all the customers had gone.

As I sat there, my mind eventually went to my brother and although I didn't feel a shred of guilt for kissing his wife, I wondered if he would even care if I had for how absent he's been to her.. And me.. My brother abandoned me, it's obvious that he wants nothing to do with me anymore and he lied when he said he'd always be there for me. He never is anymore, and I think it's safe to say that he never intended on keeping any of his promises anyways once he was finally rid of me. Now, he's abandoning Hannah and their son and she realizes that, which is why I assumed she was so okay with kissing me. I've been aching to go further with her, I wanted to show her that I was paying attention to what she needed, I was trying to help, and all I wanted to do was help more.. If only I had met her before Gibson had, I wondered if she would've been able to change the things about me that Gibson seems to hate so much.. She seems like the type of person who'd make me want to change for her.. It was weird to feel, but for some reason she made me want to try, try for something that was out of my realm of comfort. She made me feel like I could get anything I wanted, and I've been wanting her since we met. 

When it was nearly five, I watched from afar as the last few customers left her bakery and Hannah came outside on the deck, clearing off the tables and bringing used plates and glasses inside to wash. My heart went faster as I continued to watch her and I didn't make my move just yet, waiting until I saw her come back outside and grab the standing menu by the door, then I watched as she flipped the green 'open' sign to the red 'closed', letting out a deep, slow breath as I rose from the bench I was sitting on and I walked towards the bakery with determination.

I walked up onto the deck and looked over my shoulder, scanning the area a little just for safe measure before looking back to the door and my hand touched the doorknob, turning it slowly and walking in. The door hit a small bell to let Hannah know that someone had come in and I saw her standing by the counter against the wall, wiping down the surfaces and cleaning up a little, "Sorry, I'm closed for the day," she said sweetly, continuing to wipe down the counter tops as I stood by the entrance.

"Then I'll lock the door for you," I spoke with a smile and Hannah looked over her shoulder towards me, knowing she recognized my voice and I reached back to the door, locking it for her.

I kept my smile and slowly approached the counter, watching as she faced away from me again and continued cleaning and fixing the place up a little more exaggeratedly than she was just a second ago. Was me being there making her nervous, or angry? I began to lose my smile the more I noticed her trying to ignore me, "Can I sit down, Han?" I asked, seeing her slow down her cleaning and I watched as she nodded, still facing away from me. I took a seat at the counter in one of the bar stools and sat there in silence, watching as she continued cleaning the counters and I didn't really know what to say first, looking around the bakery then and smirking, "Jeez.. I forgot how much this place gives me a headache.. The colors are a little too much sometimes, and it always smells so powerfully sweet," I joked, chuckling softly. 

"Then why are you even here? You could've did yourself a favor and avoided the headache, and I could've avoided mine," she replied somewhat coldly and I lost my smirk, watching her continuing to clean, and continuing to ignore me. I guess she didn't like the joke.. 

"Sorry.. I didn't mean to offend you, just looking for a laugh, or, uhm.. Never mind," I replied, still watching her as she kept her back towards me and I couldn't talk to her about why I really came here when it was obvious she didn't want me here. I knew then that she had no intention of ever coming to me first to talk about what happened between us, and I was curious if she had even thought about it at all.. But, she had to of been thinking about it, why else would she be acting this way and trying to ignore me? "Where's Ollie?" I asked.

"In my office, napping.." She answered, though she still didn't face me as I watched her beginning to put her mixer and a few ingredients away.

"Why are you here..?" Hannah asked softly, seeing her stop what she was doing and she continued to stand there with her back facing me.

"..I came by to drop off this," I began, taking a few stacks of money out of my pant pocket and placing them on the counter, seeing Hannah then looking over her shoulder towards me and her eyes went to the money, "I know we kinda ended things abruptly on Sunday, but I wanna keep to my word about helping you, so I brought you the money we talked about.. I told you I'd stop by the bakery to give it to you, so here it is," I finished, seeing Hannah look up to me from the money and hesitating a moment. 

I watched as she slowly walked over to me, looking down at the bills once more and back up to my eyes, "I don't want it anymore," she said with a straight face. I knew she was just putting up a front, trying to act stronger than she was around me and trying to play off like she wanted nothing to do with me, but her eyes told me completely different.

"Even if you don't want it, it still doesn't mean that you don't need it.. Just take it, I'll feel better about myself knowing it went to a better cause than the dumb shit I would blow it on," I replied, enjoying the amount of time she was spending looking at me, but she soon shut her eyes and shook her head.

"No, I can't.." She replied, opening her eyes and pushing the money back towards me, but I stopped her, placing my hand over hers and her expression went slightly surprised.

"Please, take it.. I want you to be happy and keep you less stressed about the debt.. I don't want you to have to live paycheck by paycheck, and I never want you to worry whether or not you have enough money to take care of Oliver.. I want you to be able to get him whatever he needs.. Just use it," I confirm, not taking 'no' for an answer.

"I can't pay you back, Gareth.. At least not anytime soon," she replied quietly, as if ashamed of herself, but I rubbed my thumb against the back of her hand with a smirk on my lips.

"I never asked you to pay it back, I wouldn't want you to anyways," I replied with a reassuring smile, seeing a tiny smirk on her lips as she nods and pulls the money towards her, opening her register and tucking it under the money drawer to hide it.

"Thank you.. This is going to help out immensely.." She said softly and I smiled, "Now.. I hate to be rude after you being so generous, but I think it's best if you left now," she continued, avoiding eye contact with me and she turned around to go back to cleaning the bakery, but I stopped her by grabbing her hand.

"Wait.. I don't want to leave just yet.. There's still something I wanna talk to you about," I encouraged, though when I saw her expression grow a little saddened, I let her hand slip out of mine when she went to walk away once more. "Are we.. Are we not even going to talk about what happened Sunday?" I asked, seeing her stop in the middle of the kitchen and she turned to face me.

"There's nothing to discuss.. Seeing as I made myself perfectly clear before I went inside that night. You never let me finish my sentence that night, either, because it.. It was a mistake," she replied, seeing the frustration in her eyes, but I didn't believe her words.

"Are you really going to stand there and tell me you haven't thought about me once since Sunday? If it really was a mistake, then why have you been thinking about it ever since I came in through those doors? Hell, it's all that I've been thinking about.." I replied, seeing her avoid eye contact with me and I knew she couldn't deny it, "Come on, Hannah, I know you're a bad liar. I can't be the only one here that doesn't regret what happened," I continued and she still couldn't look at me.

"I never wanted to do that.." Hannah replied and I stood from the bar stool, getting slightly angered by how she kept trying to deny me when I knew she didn't want to. 

"You kissed me, remember? I gave you the chance to either take or leave it and you took it without hesitating even five seconds. Don't even fucking use the word never in that sentence again," I replied and she still looked away from me, unable to challenge my words.

"..It wasn't until after that I realized it was a mistake, I can admit that much at least.. I've been feeling empty a lot lately, but that still doesn't mean I need you to be the one that swoops in and fills that void," she replied, looking back up to me and her expression held remorse.

"And I think that I'm exactly what you need," I state with a straight face, seeing the glint of conflict in her eyes that I remembered seeing Sunday night, "At least I'm confident enough to acknowledge what I'm feeling.. And I feel like you're what I need, too," I continued, smirking softly as I watched her turn around and try to ignore my words by cleaning things that were already spotless and putting things away that could've been left out.

I crawled under the counter and walked slowly through the kitchen towards her, "I don't regret kissing you and I don't regret letting myself feel this way about you when I know I shouldn't.. But, I can't help what I like, and I can't help wanting to kiss you a lot more because I don't think I could ever have enough of you," I continued, surprised at myself by how easily all of those words came out once I started them, yet Hannah still didn't face me. 

"Hannah, say something.." I let out a nervous chuckle, "I'm starting to feel like an idiot here.." I finished, standing there a moment as I watched her. The silence was deafening, but I still waited what seemed like minutes but was only a few seconds, finally seeing her set aside the sponge she was cleaning with.

"I.. I'm not proud of what I did, and I feel like I'm failing at everything I do or want to achieve.. But, I hate how I can't stop thinking about it, either, when I know it's wrong.. Nothing's changed at home, things are still rocky and I'm still the bad guy for wanting a little more time with someone I thought would do anything for me, but it's still too much to ask for," she answered quietly and I stepped closer to her, putting my hands on her shoulders and dropping them down her arms slowly in a comforting manner.

"You're not failing at anything, and I don't think you should regret it.. You're only human, Hannah, you just acted on it because it's what you wanted.. You succeeded at getting me hooked on you, in my book that's a success, not a failure.. Haven't you wanted it more all week? ..Don't you want it now, too?" I asked softly, feeling her begin to relax a little. "Have you ever thought that maybe it's not too much to ask for, since I'm the one who wants to do anything for you..? And I'm right here, trying to prove it," I continued.

I pressed the front of myself against her back and my hands slowly left her arms, sliding over her waist and to the front of her stomach, holding her from behind and I nuzzled into her neck gently, "I'll give you one chance.. One chance to tell me to stop.. Tell me you don't want me. Tell me you want nothing to do with me and I'll leave you alone.. I'll let you go back to the boring, lonely life you have now where the only loving relationship you have is with your son.. No more fun, or excitement.. I won't touch you anymore, or kiss you," I paused, brushing her hair out of my way with my nose and I kissed her neck softly.

I felt her begin to lean back into me more and the back of her head met my shoulder, continuing to kiss her neck and I knew she wasn't going to take the chance I had given her, not with how I was treating her. I knew it was a gamble to give her the option to tell me to stop, but when I realized she wasn't going to take that chance as long as I kept making her feel like this, I made it my new goal to keep making her happy so she wouldn't have to say it.. I knew she wouldn't mean it if she said it now, anyways, and the only reason that she would tell me to stop is if she couldn't handle the pleasure I was about to cause her to feel, "Let me make you feel good.. Let me take you away from all of this, if only for a little while," I whispered against her skin. I continued to hear no complaints from her and I decided that I'd try again at what I had attempted Sunday night, unable to hold back as I looked down the front of her and noticing her body was begging to be touched.

My hand slid up her stomach slowly and I gripped one of her breasts as I continued kissing her neck, the fabric of her shirt keeping me from touching her skin, though it wasn't hard for my thumb to find her taught nipple and I could hear her breathing beginning to get heavier as I played with it. I was beyond turned on and my heart was still beating quick around her, I couldn't calm myself down ever since I stepped foot in here and all I did now was hope that I wouldn't find a way to ruin this for us. I'd make damn sure not to ruin it.

I pressed myself against her in a gentle thrusting motion, causing her to be pressed up flush against the counter and I stopped kissing her neck, my own breathing getting heavy like hers. I looked to the side of her face as my other hand that was unoccupied slid down her stomach, my finger tips finding their way down over the fabric of her shorts and I rubbed over the fabric gently between her legs. I smiled slightly as I continued to breath heavily against her jaw and the more I played with her, the more her body responded, pressing her bottom against my pelvis and even arching her back whenever I hit a sweet spot that she seemed to greatly enjoy. 

As much fun as this was and for how long I've been waiting to do this, I couldn't help but feel less connected to her as she faced away from me. I don't know why kissing mattered to me right now, usually I'd be fine with this lack of intimacy and usually I'd prefer to do things like this from behind, but I wanted to look at her, I wanted to see the pleasure in her expression and I wanted to see the enjoyment in her eyes as a result of what I was doing to her.

I let go of her breast and removed my hand from over her shorts, turning her around quickly and we looked at one another for a split second, both having the same idea and she brought her hands to the sides of my face to pull me into a deep kiss. It grew rough within seconds as my tongue played with hers and the way she panted against my upper lip caused one of my hands to slip behind her, gripping her bottom and pulling her pelvis into mine to show her my growing excitement for her.

I continued our rough kiss as my hands went all over her, unable to pick just one spot on her to touch and I could hear her letting out faint moans as the kiss only grew better and better. When there was no where else to go but forward, I slowly slid my hands from behind her to the front, undoing her button and zipper and trying to pull down her shorts, but before I could, she stopped my hands and pulled away from my lips just barely, "Not out here," she said quietly against my lips and I smiled as I kissed her again.

"Then where?" I asked, feeling her kiss me a few more times before she pushed me off of her gently and took my hand, pulling me away from the kitchen and we climbed under the counter, Hannah guiding me towards the back of the bakery. I noticed her glance towards the thin glass door that led to her office, knowing she was checking on Oliver and I did as well, noticing he was still sound asleep in his bed. She continued to pull me towards the back and she brought me into a small room where she kept all of her extra supplies, quickly reaching behind myself and shutting the door behind us. I searched frantically for the light, turning it on when I had finally found it and going to her within seconds, my lips crashing back into hers. Everything seemed to be moving pretty fast as we then began removing one another's clothes, but in no way was I going to pull back and suggest we slow down, in fear that she might cave in again like Sunday and make me leave, and there was no way in hell I was leaving now.

Hannah began undoing the rest of the buttons on my over shirt as I then pulled her shorts down and they fell to her feet, removing my flannel and going to her shirt next, breaking the kiss as I removed it. I stood there in slight awe as I looked at her body, feeling her hands then gripping the bottom of my other shirt and pulling it over my head. I pushed my lips back into hers and put my hands to the back of her thighs, lifting her up and setting her on the counter top, positioning myself in between her legs and roughly pulling her panties off to get them out of the way. I undid my pants and pulled them down slightly, revealing myself and wanting to ploy into her, though I hesitated and pulled away from the kiss for a moment..

The look in her eyes was priceless and I smirked softly as her expression begged me to keep going, "W-What- What is it?" She asked quickly through her panting excitement, wrapping her legs around me and almost pulling me into her herself.

"I wanna hear you say it.. Tell me you want me.. Say it.." I demanded, and without hesitation, I got a response.

"I want you, Gareth, I want-" She whispered, but I didn't need to hear it twice, taking her that instant and she let out a moan but covered her mouth, trying to keep quiet in a small room that shared a wall with her office that Oliver slept in. I couldn't even begin to describe how great this felt, it was hard for me not to smile as I looked into her eyes and could tell that I was doing everything just right. Her cheeks were turning a soft pink the more I looked at her and I could feel mine warming up as they did the same, reaching up to pull her hand away from her mouth and I kissed her hard as I continued my pace.

I was beyond satisfied with how well talking to her went and I wished that I had came to the bakery sooner to talk to her if I knew this was going to be the result. Each kiss we shared was powerful and she made me feel like I was the only one that mattered to her every time I looked in her eyes. We were impossible to avoid, from the moment I laid eyes on her, I knew we'd wind up like this down the road sometime. It was all inevitable, even Gibson shouldn't be surprised if he should ever find out, but I was aiming at him never knowing and I wanted to keep it that way so Hannah and I could continue this. As much as I actually kind of did want to be with her and wanted them to break up so I could have her to myself, the sensation I got out of knowing that he had no clue this was happening was overwhelming and the thought of it only made this more exciting.

I tried to hold back a little, wanting to make this last as long as I could, but the moment I heard her tell me she was close, the sudden sensation of pleasure hit me like a brick wall and we finished simultaneously, Hannah about to let out a loud moan but I stopped her from doing so with another hard kiss. Even after we were done, I remained there with her, not wanting to end the now passionate kiss we were sharing and I surely didn't want to leave just yet, but I knew I had to so she could get home and we both could avoid any suspicion. 

I pulled away slowly from the kiss and listened to Hannah's quick breathing for a moment, "That was.. Wow," Hannah said quietly, trying to catch her breath as I laughed softly. I looked at her for a few more moments, admiring the look she was giving me and I leaned in, kissing her gently for a few long seconds before pulling away and helping her off the counter so we could get dressed.

Hannah and I finished getting dressed and I looked to her, motioning with my head for her to come over by me and I watched as she smirked and did as I requested. I leaned against the counter and wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her into me, "I can come back soon with more money whenever you need it.. Or if you just want more of me, whichever comes to mind first.." I say with a grin and she smiled shyly, " Would you like that?" I asked, staring at her lips and pushing some of the hair away from her face.

"We'll see what happens.. I might be calling you sooner than you think," she teased and I chuckled.

"I'll be looking forward to it," I reply, brushing my hand back behind her head and pulling her into a long kiss. Her lips were the one thing about her that were impossible to hold back from, I found myself constantly wanting to kiss her every time I found a good opportunity and I loved that she let me whenever I wanted it.

I didn't want to leave and I didn't want to stop touching her or kissing her, Hannah seeming like she felt the same the longer she remained in the storage room with me, but our kiss came to a quiet halt when we both heard Oliver in Hannah's office waking up and looking for her, "Mommaaa?" He called for her, able to hear his loud plea through the thin wall and Hannah pulled away from me, wanting to rush to the door to go to her child like the good mother I knew her to be, but I followed her and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back to me for one last kiss before I knew I'd have to leave.

Hannah pulled away from me and began walking backwards towards the door, "I'm going to him in my office and I'll make sure he's not facing the doorway so he can see you, but.. Count to ten or something, then leave, okay?" She instructed and I smirked, nodding in understanding and she smiled softly towards me before leaving the room and going to Oliver. I let out a soft sigh, keeping my smirk as I stood there and I began counting up to ten like she had asked before leaving.

After my ten seconds were up, I turned the light off within the room and left it, walking slowly towards the front door while looking back at Hannah's office until I could see Hannah. She soon came into my view and I noticed she was holding Oliver where he wasn't facing towards me, taking that as my leave and I quickly unlocked the door and left the bakery. I walked off the deck and back towards my car where I had parked about a block away, unable to wipe the smirk off my face as I relived every moment of what had just happened in my head.

I drove home and pulled into the parking lot, getting out and walking down the long dock to the house I now share with Nina and our daughter, Kat. I hated living with Nina, I knew I would when I had asked her to move in with me, but I never thought it would be this bad. We fought a lot, but that's just because she doesn't think I'm a good father and she claims I'm absent all the time, too, but how could I not be when I live with two girls that do nothing but drive me crazy? Occasionally, and I do mean only occasionally, I'm able to tolerate Kat, but Nina..? Hardly ever anymore do I even care what she says or thinks. I've been meaning to make her move out because I now realize what a huge mistake this was moving in with her, and I don't really care if she takes Kat with her and I never see them again, but I just want more space and I'd much rather go back to living alone like I was without Gibson rather than have these two living with me. They'd probably be better without me anyways..

I walked into the house and towards the living room, seeing Nina in the kitchen getting food ready for her and Kat and she looked up to me briefly, "I didn't think you'd make it in time for dinner.. Where have you been?" She asked, continuing whatever she was making.

"I'm not hungry," I reply, hardly answering her question and I continued into the living room, seeing Kat on the floor playing with her dollhouse, but she stopped to look at me and smile.

"Kat, show Daddy your new dress," Nina said sweetly from the kitchen, ignoring my response and I watched as Kat popped up from off the floor and stood there, putting her arms out and showing off her dress, but I didn't really know what to say.

"Ohh.. Wow.." I said softly, unamused, yet she still continued to stand in one place, "..You just going to stand there or are you going to twirl or something?" I asked and she made an excited expression as if I had given her a great idea. I watched as she twirled for a few seconds, getting dizzy quickly and she soon lost her balance and toppled over, but I knew she didn't hurt herself. I laughed softly as I walked over to the couch and she didn't cry from her fall when she looked up and saw my smile; I've already learned that if you make a big deal about them potentially getting hurt, they only cry if they see you freak out, so I tried my best never to do it, but it's not like it was hard to do.. I didn't exactly care enough, either, to freak out like Nina did.. Kat surprisingly always wants to impress me for some weird reason, and she does anything to make me happy, just like her mother used to.

"Daddy, Daddy! Come play!" She called out and I fell down onto the couch face down, letting out a groan and I turned my head towards her and watched her run over to me. Kat stopped by my head and I looked to her, shutting my eyes when I felt her hands on my face, trying to wake me up and get me to play with her, but I was a little exhausted by everything that happened today and wanted to be left alone so I could whisk myself away in my thoughts where Hannah was and my family wasn't.

"Not now, Daddy's tired and wants to just lay here.. Go ask Mommy to play," I replied, reaching up to get her annoying hands away from my face.

"But.. She's busy!" She answered, hearing the sad tone in her voice and I opened my eyes to look at her again, seeing her expression growing angry and she began to pout but it still didn't sway my answer.

"I said no. Now either go play with Jess or go play by yourself, 'cause I'm not going to," I stressed and she got even angrier at my answer.

"Fine!" She said loudly, hitting my face as she said it and she went to run away, but I didn't let her get far.

"Ow! You little-" I voiced angrily, sitting up quickly to grab the back of her dress and pulling her back to where she just was and making her face me.

"Let gooo! My dress!" She complained, but I ignored it completely.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, you brat? You don't hit me.. Ever.. You got that?" I said sternly with anger and just my tone I used with her made her eyes water and she began sobbing softly, but seeing her cry never made me weak, "What do you say now?" I asked in a demanding voice, seeing tears falling down her cheeks, "Huh? Are you deaf now? ..Can't talk anymore? Say you're fucking sorry or go to the corner and face the wall until I tell you you don't have to anymore.. Now," I continued, letting go of her dress and she ran off and away from me crying, not apologizing and not going into the corner like I had told her to, but running towards the kitchen to go to Nina.

"Fuckin' brat.." I voiced angrily under my breath. I looked towards the kitchen and I could see Nina giving me a judgmental stare whenever she looked up from the food she was making which only made me more mad, "What? Don't give me that fuckin' look.. I'm teaching her discipline, but she doesn't listen, and when she doesn't listen, you don't even help, you just stand there and let her do whatever the fuck she wants.. So don't give me that stupid fuckin' stare of yours like I'm the asshole right now,"  I encouraged harshly, wanting her to quit while she was behind.

"Gareth, she's just a baby still.. She's almost two and a half and all she wanted to do was play with her father.." She tried to reason, but her logic was irrelevant and idiotic.

"And when I didn't want to, she hits me.. You're just going to leave that part out? Whenever I say no, she's allowed to hit me in the face now? Is that it?" I wondered sarcastically.

"That's not what I'm saying.." She said with a sigh, looking away from me and I only grew angrier.

"Then get to the damn point, Nina, 'cause whatever you were trying to say doesn't make any fuckin' sense," I spat back.

"I'm.. I'm just trying to say that maybe you should just play with her sometimes, you hardly ever do.. Maybe she does that because she's angry with you saying no all the time," Nina answered, soon looking up to me from the counter and I looked back at her, a sarcastic smirk slowly forming on my lips and she knew what was about to happen; the inevitable daily, if not hourly, fight. 

"Please, Gareth.. Let's discuss this later after Kat is in bed, okay..?" She continued, seeing her trying to focus on something else that wasn't me, but I chuckled softly at how pathetic I thought it was for her to think that this was over just because she said so. That's never how anything worked in this house, and I never knew why she even tried to ever reason with me or try to come out ahead.. It never worked.

"You know what? Her punishment can be going to bed without dinner. That way she's getting punished and we can talk about this stupid bullshit sooner because I'd rather get it out of the way right now so I don't have to bore myself to literal death before bed," I replied, standing from the couch and walking over towards the kitchen.

"Gareth, no, that's not an option.. She needs to eat," she said as if I was stupid and I scoffed while rolling my eyes.

"Jesus, don't be so fucking dramatic, Nina.. She'd be crying in an hour anyways and you'd feed her then. It's called 'holding out' so she's taught a lesson.. I feel like I'm a better parent without even fucking trying.." I said angrily and her expression went offended.

"Wow, this again? You are definitely not the better parent.." She tried to challenge me and I chuckled.

"Anyways.. Let's try to stick to one subject this time.. If you just put her to bed now, like I had fuckin' said, it would give us plenty of time for us to talk about this bullshit and get it out of the way.. Hell, it might even help me fall asleep faster, so let's talk about it soon, okay? I'm getting tired already," I said humorously, yet she wasn't amused.

"..And, it's not bullshit, it's a way to work through a fight if we just take the time to talk to one another instead of yell in front of her.. It's better if she's asleep so she doesn't hear it like she does all the time already, which is why I wanted to wait until later to discuss it," Nina answered, beginning to get angry herself and I chuckled again.

"What's there to fight about exactly, Nina? I was trying to make my daughter see that it's not okay to hit me if she doesn't get her way and you're mad at me for that? Who gives a fuck if I don't spend time with her? It's no excuse to let her treat her Dad that way," I pointed out, seeing Nina shake her head in aggravation.

"So now you want to act like her father.." She mumbled under her breath, but I heard every word.

"..Act like? ..What's that supposed to mean? It's obvious that I am, I've never tried to disprove that and I've never doubted that she was.." I said back with rage, yet as I stood there, my slight smirk returned as I thought of what to say next.. "You wanna know how I know I'm her father, even without you ever needing to tell me outright? ..It's because you were a pitiful, naïve nineteen-year-old who was obsessed with the older twenty-three-year-me who only wanted to hit it and quit it and you would literally do anything I fucking said.. It was so pathetic, there's no way you could stray from me because you hung onto me like a fucking plague and you knew if you ever slept with anyone else, I'd leave your ass quicker than you could say groveling bitch and you could never bare losing me.. That's how I know.." I finished with a cocky grin.

"But it's perfectly fine for you to do that, isn't it!? Just because you never felt that way about me like I did for you!" She snapped, hardly ever hearing her raise her voice and I was a little surprised by her and her words.

"..What..?" I asked, wanting her to explain, still hearing Kat shedding slight tears and I wasn't sure how much longer I could stand either of them.

"Don't even play dumb.. You left the house earlier looking fine, but you came back with your undershirt inside-out.. So, yeah.. I guess you actually are the asshole in all of this.." She said quietly, watching as she picked up Katalina in a hurry and left behind the food she had made. I looked down at my shirt and noticed she was right, seeing the seems of the shirt on the outside like they weren't supposed to be. I guess neither me or Hannah noticed because we were so engulfed in the moment.. But, even still, I couldn't let her have the last word, it's not like I even cared that she knew I was cheating on her now, but I thought she was stupid for not realizing it sooner after all these years of being with her.. I haven't exactly been trying to hide it, she must've just been in denial this whole time until now.. Either that, or she really was that dense like I had known her to be.

"Is this seriously the first time you've ever noticed?" I asked with a sarcastic chuckle, watching her walking out of the kitchen, but my words slowed her down.

Nina looked back to me and her expression was hurt, but in no sense of the word did I feel any remorse, "I honestly don't know what I saw in you when I was younger, but clearly you saw yourself in everyone else but me," she insulted and I laughed.

"That's probably the most clever thing that's ever come out of your mouth," I replied with another soft laugh and she only grew angrier, "Weren't you in the middle of leaving? Please, don't let me hold you up any longer," I continued with a sarcastic grin, watching her get fed up with me.

"You have no heart or soul! You're just.. Dead inside," she said with a sense of sadness, turning around to leave with Kat in her arms and I only laughed more. This was turning out to be more amusing than frustrating now.

"It's what you fell in love with, baby!" I called back with a sense of pride, hearing her leave and slamming the door behind her. Finally, some peace and quiet..

I let out a relieved sigh as I walked over to the living room and took a seat in one of the chairs, glad that I could finally have some time to myself without being nagged at to eat dinner or pestered to play with dolls. My mind instantly went to Hannah and even with how hard my heart was beating from getting so mad at Nina, Hannah still had the ability to make it beat faster. I couldn't forget the smell of her hair or the taste of her skin.. Her neck was slender, long, and a great spot to kiss so I could weaken her worries and be given the chance to show her a side of me that I didn't even know existed. She made my insides twist but they didn't hurt, she made my head light but I never felt faint, and her lips made me weak but I've never felt stronger.. I guess I kinda liked how it all felt.

I got up from the chair and went back over to the couch where I was earlier, falling down onto my back and I ran my hand through my hair as I continued to think about Hannah. It wasn't hard to believe why Gibson had fallen for her, she was perfect in so many ways and it was hard to pick just one thing about her to call a favorite. It bothered me a little that I couldn't call her and tell her to come over, knowing full well that it wouldn't be okay to do that, and I hated how I had to wait for her to make contact first.. It's only been an hour since I've seen her and already I could feel myself getting pent up, wanting her for release. Although I finally had gone all the way with her, it ended too fast and I wanted to spend hours more exploring her to the best of my ability. Hannah was most certainly my greatest infatuation, and I wasn't quite sure when or if it would ever stop.. I kinda hoped it never would.

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Original chapter written and posted on May 14, 2014