Grumpalicious by Mia Faye

Chapter 30

CAYDEN

It was Grammy night and we’d been up since six am getting ready for the big event. Genevieve hadn’t agreed to marry me and while I was upset by that, I was also understanding. She was real. Everything about Genevieve’s genuine beauty and talent needed to be respected. She wasn’t the kind of woman you asked to enter a fake marriage and while I had asked to do just that, I couldn’t deny the fact that the Genni effect was working. More and more, the press was mentioning the two of us in a positive light. It spoke of how beautiful and talented Genni was and how great we seemed together as if I sowed my wild oats and had grown a heart all at the same time. I couldn’t lie, the shift in public perspective was refreshing.

I wanted to pressure her into saying yes and yet I didn’t have the heart. She deserved more than I was prepared to give her. So, I had a date in my head, Grammy night. I had given myself until that night to revisit my marriage proposal. I thought if I pledged money to Genni our marriage would be lucrative for her and would show my appreciation, however, I knew how she felt about accepting money. I was going to position my proposal around giving her whatever she needed to be my wife while she was my wife. I considered three years a good place to start from and in that time I’d fill her bank account without her knowing. By the time we divorced after those three years she’d be a millionaire several times over. Doubtless, she’d make money herself as well, so I felt good not putting money on the table and instead just having her sign an agreement to stay with me for at least three years. I was going to ask her after the awards. In the event that she won, it would be a way to add the celebration. If she lost, the prospect of our marriage might be offered as a consolation.

It was the last thing I needed from her. I had enjoyed our time together so much and six months had passed quickly. The upcoming three years would be easy. I waited, anticipating the big reveal of her Grammy dress as she walked down the stairs looking ravaging in a long gray silk dress encrusted with diamonds that glittered against the highlights of her scarlet hair. Not one single woman I’d ever met in my entire existence looked as beautiful as she did that night.

“You are too stunning for words,” I mumbled awkwardly.

I was never nervous for my artists. We won Grammys and we lost them, winning more than we lost, but for Genni, I was more stressed than I ever had been. I wanted her to win and to have the moment to know she deserved everything in her future. Every song she had written and sung was a hit. She was a legend, and she had no idea.

“Thank you, Cayden.” She had the graciousness of a queen.

That night we sat among other greats who shared my table and each of them, having been in the business for most of their lives, praised Genni’s talent. By the time her award was being announced, Genni was poised and ready to win. Taylor was actually sitting at another table, so when the emcee called both of their names, Taylor glanced over and gave Genni a wink. Quietly Genni held my hand and waited for the presenter to open the envelope and I nearly had to scoop her up off the floor when he said her name. They had won. The rest of the night was a blur. There were congratulations, after parties, food, and wine. Because of her excitement, Genni hardly ate and didn’t drink anything but water. She said she was too overwhelmed to drink and wanted to keep her cool until we were safely in my bed tucked away from the world.

When we were naked and showered, nestled under my sheets, she kissed me sweetly and said, “Thank you for everything. I wouldn’t be here without you.”

“You would’ve been here eventually,” I told her because it was the truth. “You deserved the Grammy, and you’ll win many more I know.” I returned her kiss as my cock hardened.

My hands played upon her breasts and she yelped a little and breathed. I’d noticed in the last few days that her breasts were very sensitive to my touch. My fingers danced over the raw nipples and as much as I loved how sensitive and responsive she was to my attention, her moans and flinches had me remembering when Sarah had acted the same way.

I then thought about the last time Genni had her period and I couldn’t remember it, however, I had been gone for a few days, perhaps she’d had it while I was in Atlanta.

I moved from her sensitive nipples to the soft slope of her stomach. She had the perfect shape and the tiniest little freckle above her navel that I obsessed over as it was a perfect little dot. I liked to draw a line with my tongue from that slightest imperfection to the border of her vagina, which was soft, pink, and warm. She tasted like sunshine and spice and as soon as I put my mouth on her she giggled as she always did.

I loved that she was ticklish, and I often used her ticklishness to my advantage, getting her to surrender was the most fun. That night was no different as I used my mouth to make her buck and scream while my fingers grazed along her inner thighs making her wet with arousal.

“Yes,” she breathed. “Please, Cayden. I want you.” Begging for my cock her arms pulled me closer and she positioned herself under me so that all I had to do was make my move.

“I thought,” I held myself above her. “We might talk about our marriage?” I knew it wasn’t the best time to bring the subject up again, but the night was almost over, and I had made a deal with myself.

“Tomorrow, I promise, you and I can talk about whatever you want tomorrow, but tonight I just want to make love.

Fair enough, and so we did. The next morning, we woke up and she looked as white as a ghost. For a second I thought she might be hung over, but she didn’t drink anything at the Grammy party, in fact, all she had all night long was water. I assumed she was just battling low blood sugar.

“You feeling okay, sweetie?” I asked, voicing my concern.

“Not really,” she groaned as she wobbled awkwardly to the bathroom.

My gut instinct spiked; Sarah had acted that way when she was first pregnant.

I knew Genni was taking birth control and yet in the back of my mind, something told me she was pregnant. She hadn’t had her period for a while. I didn’t really keep track but as I thought about it, it had been long enough that pregnancy was a very real possibility. I got out of bed and went to her bent over the toilet, sick. Nothing was really coming out, but she wretched all the same.

“Are you doing okay?” I asked, smoothing my hand across her back.

She stayed still for a moment as the tempest passed, then stood up, still a little shaky on her feet, and smiled. “It must just be nerves.” She walked to the sink and she brushed her teeth.

“Nerves? Well, love, you won the Grammy, what’s to be nervous about?”

She turned to me with tears welling in her eyes. “I think I might be pregnant,” she whispered.

“I think so too,” I said softly, letting the flare of electricity that was rushing through my body simmer down.

If I was being me, I would have immediately lashed out at her, but she was Genevieve, the most wonderful human I’d had the honor to know. I couldn’t deliberately hurt her.

“I’ll call the doctor and have Kevin go and get us some pregnancy tests,” I offered.

“No need.” She slumped down onto the lip of the bathtub. “I’ve taken six.” The tears that had been balancing on her lids slowly started to drip down her face.

“We can’t really have a baby right now,” I gently told her as I kneeled down in front of her and took her hands in mine. “One day, Genni. Really, one day, I would have a baby with you. It’s not out of my realm of possibility. You’re the first woman I’d ever truly consider starting a family with and for me that is a huge step forward, but we can’t do it now. You have just begun your career and your life is about to explode, there’s no way you’ll have time to be pregnant let alone have a baby.” I knew what I was saying was harsh, but I was trying to be as kind and loving as I possibly could.

She looked at me with those beautiful sparkling eyes of hers and just let the tears continue to fall, not even pulling her hands away from me to wipe them.

“I’m not going to have an abortion,” she whispered. “I’ll raise her alone...or him.” After saying that she burst into heaving sobs, she then pulled her hands gently away from mine and went into the bedroom.

While crying she searched her drawers for something clean to wear. I was a little astounded as I was battling déjà vu. I’d been told something similar by Sarah ten years prior. Genni wasn’t angry, just devastated. Unfortunately, shock numbed all of my senses and in the time it took for me to gather my wits, she’d already dressed and was heading out of the bedroom.

“We can work this out,” I said as she passed me and walked out into the hallway.

“You didn’t marry Sarah, so you don’t have to marry me. We’ll take your proposal off of the table. Just tell the world I cheated on you and that the baby is Marlon’s. He’ll take a hit for me. I’ve been giving this some thought and we can just tell the world I had an affair and I’ll stay with him and we’ll go back to singing together. Your label can drop me. It won’t be bad, you’ll still look like a good guy who got a little of his own medicine. Karmic retribution. It will work. You can still use me to clean up your reputation and I’ll just go back to Texas and be Genevieve Green again.” This she said through quiet tears. She’d given the escape plan a lot of thought. She was going to take the hit so that my reputation was protected. While sweet, it was ridiculous.

“We don’t know if you're truly pregnant yet. At least let's go to Gannett and get a confirmed pregnancy test, please. Then we’ll consider our next moves.”

“Sure, make an appointment,” she said, still quiet.

My heart pounded and I felt a little sick myself as I pulled out my phone and called the doctor. I went into my office and shut the door as there were questions I intended on asking him that I didn’t want Genni to hear. Like Genni, Sarah never considered abortion, but I had to learn about all of the options. If there was another way for Genni and me to do this, I wanted her to consider it. Perhaps we could have the embryo transferred to a surrogate? That way Genni and I would have more time to figure things out. If Genni didn’t have to carry the child and be visibly pregnant we could continue as we were. I needed to know what other choices I had and to be frank, I was proud of myself for even considering choices.

I couldn’t force her to have an abortion and I didn’t want her to leave me so if we found a surrogate to carry the child she was pregnant with perhaps we could decide if adoption was a better choice for us. At the very worst, we’d have a baby together that was delivered by a surrogate and raised by nannies and staff...at least she’d be keeping her child. It was something to think about. Of course, at that point, I hadn’t considered the baby being mine. Genni said she wanted to keep it, so I was looking into ways she could. I thought myself a hero at that point, but I had to break the news to her gently. It would be better if the doctor told her, that way I’d look like less of a jerk.

I felt a little better having it all sorted out in my mind. The truth was the thought of losing Genni killed me. I could see her as my future. I didn’t want to give up on that, I’d never find another woman like her ever again. When I came out of my office after talking with the doctor and learning surrogacy was a possibility, I felt better. He even had people on a waiting list who would be willing to carry Genni’s baby. My spirits had lifted knowing we had options that would keep her pregnancy and this baby out of the public eye. So when I went to tell her that I’d booked the appointment for later that day, ready to console and love her… she was gone.