Let Me Love You Again
Chapter 124

Lucas

“I understand your reasons, Mr Miller and Mr Lee, but you must understand that for these cases there are many requirements to be met, and we as social workers must make the right assessments to be sure to whom the minor will be entrusted, We cannot allow him to be placed in a family situation that is damaging, we always care about the child’s welfare,” said the social worker, adjusting the spectacle frames on his nose.

I snorted and he set it on fire with his eyes. Did he really want to f**k with me?

Devon, beside me, laid a hand on my thigh, feeling the nervousness that my body was radiating and trying to calm me down.

“With all due respect, Mrs Green, we have already had a taste of how you deal with minors, our friends have had an unpleasant setback with you, perhaps you know them since you have been sued to pay the consequences of your actions, I’m sure Mr Dare will be more than happy to participate in the discussion on these issues,” Devon said calmly.

“Mr Lee, I don’t think you want to put lawyers in the middle of a future adoption,” Mrs Green replied calmly.

Devon snorted and rested with his back to the chair.

“How long before all these tests are done?” I asked.

“We have to check the house, the working state, the psychological state of the future parents. Months probably,” said the lady.

“Months?” Devon asked in astonishment.

“A co-worker of mine, with her husband, they adopted within a short time, yet she has the same job, my same salary and my same sentimental situation. What makes us so different?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m sorry, Mr Miller, I can’t talk about other adoptions, that’s my final decision,” she said, closing our file and stamping it in red.

Declined.

I sighed heartily and I got up, not saying goodbye to the f*****g social worker, which Devon did cordially, and I left, leaving the building.

As soon as I was out I put my hand in my pocket and pulled out the pack of cigarettes, and then I took one and lit it up. The sky was dark from the clouds that promised a nice and good storm, at least it could wash away all the s**t of that city.

“What did we say about smoking?” Devon said behind me.

I looked out of the corner of my eye and shook my head, “I need it,” I answered, trying to defend myself.

Devon sighed and stood beside me, his hands in his pocket and his head turned to the sky.

“They’ll never approve of us,” I said, exposing the reality of things.

It was since before May came back that we tried, that we tried to proceed with adoption but, every time, they came up with some bullshit to send us back to infinity and, even if Devon tried to play dumb, We both knew why they wouldn’t consent to the adoption.

“I don’t lose hope,” he said, and he wrapped my shoulders with one arm and then kissed me on the cheek.

I leaned on him, sighing thoughtfully, and letting his warmth calm me. At that moment we were run over by the water and we looked away and we saw some guys looking at us, with an empty bottle of water in their hands, water that they had emptied on us.

“Riches!” they cried before leaving.

Devon sighed and he passed a hand over his face, removing the droplets of water from his face. I rolled my eyes but didn’t say anything. It was not something that ever happened, people loved to judge others, especially for the choices they made. Too straight, too gay, too weird, too religious.

At first, when I was in high school, I was scared of this, of people’s judgment, of how they saw me, of how they treated me, for that reason I had never come out, to anyone, not even Jess and Maya, I couldn’t open up, I was afraid they’d look at me differently. Even though I knew them all my life, I doubted my best friends, yes, because I was afraid, I was scared of everyone.

But Jess and Maya had already figured it out on their own, there had never been any need to say anything to them, they already knew and, when I had the courage to reveal it, they called me a fool because I had made them scared. I clearly remembered that moment.

I had written to both of them that I wanted to talk to both of them about something serious, and both of them had rushed to my house. Jess had long bigots on her head while Maya was in her pyjamas. Both of them sat on my bed, and once they revealed my preferences, they told me to f**k off because they thought something bad had happened.

At that moment I really felt free, I got off my chest because I could no longer lie to my friends, and my sisters, but I knew that things would never be easy, that people would never really understand and that they would always judge. It took me a few years to come to terms with it and let the insults, the bullying, the insults slip off, completely ignoring those who wanted me badly and giving my full attention to those who loved me.

At that moment I really felt free, I got off my chest because I could no longer lie to my friends, and my sisters, but I knew that things would never be easy, that people would never really understand and that they would always judge. It took me a few years to come to terms with it and let the insults, the bullying, the insults slip off, completely ignoring those who wanted me badly and giving my full attention to those who loved me.

“Dinner tonight?” Devon asked, lifting me from my thoughts.

I was about to pick up when my phone rang, and I pulled it out and I saw Jess’s pouty face appear on the screen. I hadn’t been seen or heard from my friends in weeks, a little bit because I knew they were completely busy with their kids and their families, a little ’cause I was sad and focused on this adoption thing that seemed to not want to go through and made me feel bad.

Devon and I met my first year of college, you think it was love at first sight, my soul mate without whom I would never have been complete. After the first year we were together we went to live together, we did not want to waste time, we already knew that we would be the one forever the other and it did not seem too soon. We loved each other, we wanted to be together. Stop.

We always wanted to have a family but we wanted to wait to have a stable economy, so we had waited for years, we had taken a cat and we had continued until, Last year, they didn’t give me tenure as a teacher in elementary school and Devon in a facility for the elderly, so we could finally create our own family, but we hadn’t reckoned with the social workers who obviously had something against our desire and we’re looking for every technicality to be able to refuse us.

I sighed and looked at Devon, “If I don’t answer again this time, I’m sure he’ll come looking for me to rip my balls off,” I said.

Devon laughed and put his hands in his pocket.

“Jess,” I sighed.

On the other side, he heard a strange line, “You deigned to answer me!” Jess said, surprised and angry.

“Yeah, I know, I’m sorry I had a shitty day,” I said, scratching my head.

“Days? You haven’t answered me in weeks, Lucas!” she screamed hysterically.

“God, Jess, can you stop? Give me this thing,” May heard in the background and then a noise while I waited.

“Hey, Luc,” Maya’s sweet voice said.

“Hey, May,” I said with a smile.

“What happened to you? I miss you,” she said.

“I thought you were busy with your husband,” I said.

“That night, the day I’m not busy, I can think of his c**k even in company,” she said cheerfully and I burst into a loud laugh.

“I could ask you for a picture”

“Not at all!”

“God, can you not talk about my f*****g brother? That’s not the important thing!” Jess rang in the background and then a desperate cry burst “d**k” heard her say.

“That’s okay,” Maya replied, “We’re alone now,” she said softly, “What’s going on, Luc, are you avoiding us?” she asked.

I sighed and I saw Devon heading for the parking lot so he followed him, “No May, I swear. It’s just a time when I have a mess and I don’t have time to do anything, I can’t get away”

“You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”

“I know that, May,” I sighed, leaning against the car as Devon entered and sat behind the steering wheel.

“So what do you say we catch up tonight, grab a pizza, and you get drunk while we watch?” she asked hopefully.

“Tonight I was offered a romantic dinner by my half so I prefer s*x to you, not that I don’t love you, but we are talking about s*x May”

She laughed, “So I’m booking you for tomorrow night, I need you, Luc, Jess is driving me crazy.”

“Your punishment for leaving her for five years”

“Hey! It’s not my fault!” she said

“Ah no?” I said laughing and she with me “Tomorrow is fine, but no alcohol May, I don’t want to hurt you”

“All right, and Lucas?”

“Yes?”

“Bring me the cake from last time, sometimes I dream of it and I wake up with an imaginary teaspoon in my hand and the taste of that cake in my mouth. I need it, Lucas!”

“God you and your cravings will be the destruction of my wallet”

“Yes. I love you!” she chirped on the phone before hanging up.

I got into the car when a complaint blocked me and forced me to look around and then lay my eyes on a figure in front of me.

Maya

I hung up the phone and that’s when Jess came back to the salon.

“So?” he asked me as he put his shirt on his chest, Liam quietly asleep in his arms.

“He says he can’t tonight, but he promised me a night just between us for tomorrow night.”

“So I’m gonna have to tell Andrew that he’s gonna stay with the kids.”

“You can come to me so I don’t have to move because I can’t.”

“You are only in the sixth month May! What will you do when you get to the ninth?”

“I’ll be fed by my husband,” I said seriously.

“And it will be a great pleasure for me,” he replied, entering with Axel in his arms.

She placed the child next to me on the sofa and then placed her hands on my shoulders, massaging me gently.

“Girls’ night tomorrow, so stay home with the kids,” Jess said to her husband.

“Whatever you want, Amore,” he replied.

I rolled my eyes. I was still wondering how it was possible that Jess had doubts about this man’s loyalty, but then all I had to do was look at her and realize that her goofy attitude would ruin her.

I lifted up my head and looked at my man who was looking at me in complete adoration, “Also you, Mon amour?” he asked me gently.

“I specifically requested that they come here so I could earn a cake and not move around,” I said satisfied.

I couldn’t wait to eat that fabulous chocolate cake that Lucas had already brought me last time, I wasn’t kidding when I said that sometimes I dreamed of that f*****g cake and even at that moment I imagined it and I was hungry.

“Shall we eat?” I asked hopefully and looked at him.

*****

I woke up startled, caressed my belly gently and watched my beautiful husband sleeping next to me, I almost felt sick waking him up but, when he heard that rumbling again, I didn’t care anymore.

I put a hand on his shoulder and shook him slightly until he opened his eyes agitated.

“What’s the matter? What’s going on?” he asked, frightened and putting herself on.

I looked at him innocently and then I bit my lower l*p, “Nothing,” I said.

Nate put his hand over his face and frowned, “Nothing?” he said, looking closely at me.

“Okay yeah, there’s something,” I said, and then I gave him “I’m in the mood for pizza, but there’s no pizza in the house,” I said.

Nate looked at me then took his cell phone and chuckled his eyes, “Maya it’s three in the morning,” he said tiredly.

I looked at him for a moment and then I felt my eyes get wet, “But I want pizza,” I said with a trembling voice.

Nate suddenly turned to me and looked at me frightened as I tried to hold back the tears unnecessarily.

“Okay okay, please don’t cry,” he said, getting up immediately.

I sat more comfortably while, sleepy, he dressed and settled down. After being ready he approached me and kissed me on the lips.

“I’ll wait for you here,” I said cheerful and happy.

He rolled his eyes and left the room without adding a word.

After half an hour Nate went back to his room, his hair was still all messed up and his face was droopy but in his hand, he held a container of pizza that he placed in front of me and then he sat at the edge of the bed and took off his shoes.

I opened the cardboard and the delicious smell of pizza hit me in the nose, making my mouth water, the baby girl was as satisfied as I was and I started to do somersaults inside my belly.

I took a slice and gave a giant bite moaning when my taste buds came into contact with the taste of pizza.

“Is it good?” Nate asked, taking off his shirt.

“Delicious,” I said, groaning.

Nate took off his pants and came over to me and then hugged me around the waist and put his head on my legs while I ate cheerfully.

“Someone else is happy too,” he said, yawning and stroking his stomach with his nose. I didn’t answer him but I continued to eat satisfied, sticking a hand in his hair.