Collin (A Forever Novel) Read online

  “It’s about time, hot stuff. I was getting lonely in this big bed by myself.” She smiled as she lay there totally naked.

  “No worries. I’m here now and I can promise you that you won’t be lonely anymore,” I said with a smile as I grabbed the bottle of Jack, took down my pants, and climbed on the bed.

  ****

  The ringing sound of my phone was making my head hurt more than it already was. I rolled out from under Ellie’s arm and grabbed my phone from my pants pocket.

  “Hello,” I whispered.

  “Are you up?” my dad yelled into the phone.

  “I am now.”

  “I need you to head to the office and pick up the plans sometime today. Mackenzie is going to have the changes made and then we’ll be set to move ahead.”

  “Okay,” I said.

  “Late night last night, Collin?”

  “Yes, Dad. Can I call you back later?”

  “Yeah, son. Call me back when you’re not so hung over.”

  “Bye, Dad.”

  I set my phone back on the nightstand. I looked over at Ellie as she lay there sound asleep. We went out last night, drank too much, and had sex all night long. I missed Hailey and there was no denying it. Every time I would go to sleep with a girl, I thought about her. That was why I never slept with a girl unless I was drunk. If I was drunk, I didn’t have to think about her. If I was sober, I felt like I was cheating on her, even though she left me. I couldn’t help but think about Jacob and Diana. His appointment with the specialist was today and I thought maybe it would be cool to hang out after. Ellie started to stir when I got up and pulled on my sweatpants. I walked over to the window in the living area and opened the curtains. I looked out as the sun brightened the sky. After a few moments, I walked back into the bedroom and grabbed my phone. I pulled up Hailey’s name and began sending her a text message.

  “Hey, how have you—” I started to type. Looking at my half-typed message, I threw my phone down on the couch and ran my hands through my hair.

  “What’s wrong, hot stuff?” Ellie said as she wrapped her arms around my waist.

  “I just have a lot on my mind. I have some things I need to do, so I’m going to take a shower and head out. You can order room service if you want.”

  “Nah, I’ll just grab my stuff and go. I had fun last night. How about we do it again tonight?”

  I turned around and looked at her with a small smile. “I wish I could, but I can’t. I have something else to do tonight and my plane will be here early tomorrow. But, thank you for last night.”

  “Any time you’re in town, hot stuff!” She smiled as she kissed me on the cheek and walked back to the bedroom.

  I stepped in the shower and, when I got out, Ellie was already gone. After getting dressed, I went to Diana’s room to see if they left for the specialist yet. There was no answer when I knocked so I walked down to the front desk and left a message for her and Jacob. I had the hotel bring a car around and, when I was on my way to Black Enterprises, Julia called me.

  “Hello,” I answered.

  “How’s your head?”

  “Fine; why do you ask?”

  “I talked to Dad a few minutes ago and he said you had a late night again and you sounded like shit. I think he’s really worried about you.”

  I rolled my eyes and sighed. “There’s no need to worry about me. I’m fine. So what if I like to have fun. Maybe he should try it some time.”

  “I’m thinking that Dad sees himself in you when he was younger. You heard the rumors.”

  “Too bad. I’m not him, and I’ll be fine.”

  “Promise me,” she said.

  “I promise. Now I have to go because I’m at the office.”

  I pressed end and shook my head as I stepped out of the car. As I was walking into the building, Mac was coming out. She looped her arm around mine and turned me around.

  “Did you have breakfast yet?” she asked.

  “No, why?”

  “Good. You’re coming with me, then. I’m starving and we can go over the designs. I spoke with your dad last night.”

  We pulled into the restaurant, ordered breakfast, and, as soon as we started going over the plans, my phone rang. I pulled it from my pocket and it was Diana.

  “Hello,” I answered.

  “Collin, it’s Diana. The desk gave me your message.”

  “Hi, Diana. I was wondering if maybe you and Jacob would like to hang out this afternoon. I thought maybe we could go to the Field Museum. I think Jacob would love it. I know I did when I was his age. Actually, I still do.”

  “That’s very nice of you, Collin, but we don’t want to impose on you. I know you’re a very busy man.”

  “Actually, I’m not that busy and I want to. Jacob will love it. I’ll be back to the hotel in a couple of hours. Okay?”

  “Thank you, Collin. We’ll be here.”

  I hung up and Mac was giving me a strange look.

  “Now you’re seeing someone who has a kid?” she asked.

  “Nah, I met them on the plane. Jacob is a sick kid and they flew here to see a specialist. Diana just lost her job and spent the last of her savings on this trip for him. I feel bad for the kid, so I think a trip to the museum would be good for him.”

  “My...my, look at Collin Black acting like a responsible adult.” She winked.

  “Okay...okay. Can we get back to going over these plans?”

  Chapter 4

  “WOW!” Mom, look!” Jacob pointed as he ran to Sue, the largest and most famous T. Rex on display.

  I let them run ahead as I stayed back and smiled at how excited he was to be here. I knew he would be. My mom and dad used to bring me and Julia here all the time when we were kids. I brought Hailey here once, but she didn’t like it; she said it wasn’t her thing and I was kind of hurt by it because this museum was one of my favorites. I walked over to where Jacob and Diana were standing, and Jacob looked at me with a huge smile on his face. I pulled out my phone and took a picture of Sue, the T. Rex, and sent it to Julia.

  “Sue is going to eat you up, Julia!”

  “Lol, what are you doing at the museum?”

  I used to say that to her every time we’d come here and she’d get scared and hold onto my dad for dear life. My mom used to tell me not to tease her, but I couldn’t help it. It was the one thing she wasn’t so sure of at the museum, so I used it to my advantage. I asked Jacob and Diana to stand in front of the T. Rex so I could get a picture of them. After I took it, I sent it to Julia.

  “I brought Jacob and Diana here.”

  “Dad told me about them. That was really nice of you.”

  “We’ll talk about it when I get back to New York.”

  As we entered the Dinosaur Hall and Jacob ran ahead to see the wooly mammoth, I asked Diana about the appointment with the specialist.

  “How did the appointment go?”

  “Same as always. There’s nothing really new they can do for him. The doctor gave me a script for a new antibiotic for when Jacob gets another lung infection and he’s going to discuss other optional treatments with his regular doctor in New York.”

  “I’m sorry, Diana. I wish there was something I could do.”

  “You’re sweet, Collin, thank you. But, Jacob and I will be fine. I’ve been a single parent now for about five years, ever since his dad died in a car accident.”

  God, I didn’t know if I could hear any more. Diana reminded me of my mom. She was strong and she seemed like a fighter. Jacob looked back at us and took both our hands as he led us over to another dinosaur display. After we left Dinosaur Hall, we stopped and grabbed some sandwiches at the Field Bistro. I could tell Jacob was getting tired and he started to cough.

  “Maybe after a couple more displays, we should get going,” Diana said to Jacob as she ran her hand through his hair.

  “Mom, no, and stop with the hair.”

  “Maybe your mom’s right, bro. You’re looking kind of tired,” I said.<
br />
  He began coughing. “Okay, maybe I am ready to leave now.” He coughed some more.

  Diana took hold of his hand and we walked out of the museum. My car was waiting for us at the curb. When we got back to the hotel, Diana thanked me and said that she was going to take Jacob up to the room and let him rest while she took a shower. I told her to order room service for the night and meet me at the restaurant in the hotel for breakfast in the morning. Jacob and I high-fived and Diana smiled.

  As I took the elevator up, I pulled my phone from my pocket and decided to send a text message to Ellie.

  “Hey, sexy. I need you tonight. How about we get drunk and have wild sex?”

  “Sounds good, hot stuff. Let’s meet at Stingray’s around eight.”

  “Make sure you wear something sexy for me.”

  “I always do,” she replied.

  As soon as I stepped into the room, I took off my clothes and got in the shower. I had a few hours before I had to meet Ellie, so after I showered, I took a nap. I dreamt of Hailey. We were at the beach in the Hamptons, playing volleyball and eating burgers. When I awoke, I was sweating. Fuck, I thought to myself as I sat on the edge of the bed with my face in my hands. I got up and got dressed. This was nothing that a lot of alcohol and a hot sexy woman couldn’t fix. As I was fixing my hair in the mirror, Ellie sent me a naked picture of herself. I smiled as I looked at her perfectly round tits. I couldn’t wait to get those babies in my mouth. I was getting hard and I felt the need to jack off to her picture. But then I decided that I could wait until later when I could have her all to myself. I sent her a text message back.

  “I can’t wait to fuck you deep and hard.”

  “Looking forward to it. I have some toys for us to play with.”

  Oh God. When I read that, my cock, which had just started to go limp, shot straight up again. As I smiled and set my phone down, there was a knock on the door. I walked over and opened it.

  “Dad!”

  “Hello, son. Going somewhere?” he asked as he made his way into the room.

  “Umm, actually, yes.”

  “Great, I’ll join you,” he said as he set his bag on the bed.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Seeing what you’re up to.”

  “You flew all the way to Chicago to see what I was up to?”

  “Yep,” he replied as he nodded his head.

  “Dad, come on.”

  He sighed as he sat down in the chair. “Listen, your mom was worried about you. So, to please her, I told her I’d fly out here and check up on you.”

  “If she was so worried, then why didn’t she come herself?” I asked.

  “Because she had plans with Peyton that she couldn’t cancel. Think of it this way; we’ll have some father-son bonding time.” He smiled.

  I grabbed my phone and sent Ellie a text message.

  “Sorry, babe. I have to cancel our plans. My dad just showed up.”

  “Bring your sexy daddy with you. It’ll be fun.”

  “Very funny. We’ll hook up the next time I’m back in Chicago.”

  “Okay, hot stuff, but I’ll miss you tonight. I was really looking forward to trying out those toys.”

  “Next time, babe.”

  I sighed and set my phone down.

  “Let me guess. You just canceled your plans with either Sarah, Tru, Bella, Ellie, or Riley.”

  I cocked my head and knitted my eyebrows.

  “Well, which lovely girl was it, son?” he asked.

  “Ellie.”

  He smiled. Not his warm, loving smile. His “I know her type” smile.

  “You didn’t have to cancel on my account, Collin.”

  “Yes, Dad, I did. I’m starving. Can we go to dinner?”

  He chuckled as he got up and walked out of the room. We went to Joe’s Seafood, one of our favorite restaurants that we usually ate at when we were in Chicago. As we sat down, my dad and I both ordered a scotch while looking over the menu. He leaned back in his chair and shot me that look. The look of him trying to figure me out and I was in no mood for a lecture. I smiled at him as the waitress brought our drinks and took our dinner order. I pulled out my phone and sent a text message to Julia.

  “Did you know that Dad is here in Chicago and we’re having dinner right now instead of me clubbing it up with Ellie?”

  “LOL. I’m glad he’s there. That way, I know you’ll stay out of trouble.”

  “Thanks, sis. I appreciate your support.”

  “Enjoy your father/son bonding time, little brother.”

  I sighed as I put my phone away and looked at my dad.

  Chapter 5

  I opened my eyes and couldn’t believe how bad my neck was killing me. My dad took my bed and told me that I could sleep on the pullout, since he was the one paying for the room. I went to go to the bathroom and he was in the shower. Shit. I grabbed my phone from the table to check my messages. There was a text message from my mom.

  “I hope you had a fun night with your dad. I wish I could’ve come with him, but with Peyton, I couldn’t cancel. I know he felt bad for making you go there to drop off the plans and he was worried about you. I’ll see you later, sweetheart. I love you.”

  I stood there and stared at the message. So, he was the one that was worried, not my mom. He lied to me, but I knew there was no way he’d admit it. He walked out of the bathroom and looked at me.

  “Did you sleep well, son?” he asked.

  I gave him a smile because I knew how much he loved me and Julia. “Yeah, Dad. I slept great.”

  “Good. How about some breakfast?”

  “I’m meeting Diana and Jacob downstairs for breakfast. Please join us. Also, I cancelled their flight home and had the desk refund their ticket. They’ll be traveling home with us on our plane, if that’s okay? It’s sort of what I already had planned.”

  “Of course it’s okay, and I can’t wait to meet both of them.”

  He went in the bedroom to get dressed and I stepped into the shower. When we went downstairs to the restaurant, Diana and Jacob were already sitting down. When they saw us walking towards the table, Diana stood up and shook my father’s hand.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Black.” She smiled.

  “The pleasure is all mine, Diana. This must be Jacob,” he said as he placed his hand on Jacob’s head.

  We sat down and ordered breakfast. Diana was in a panic and said that her flight was cancelled and they were on standby for another flight out of Chicago.

  “No need to be on standby. You’ll fly home on my private plane.” My dad smiled.

  “Mr. Black, I couldn’t. Collin has already done so much for Jacob and me. Really, we can wait.”

  “Nonsense. You’re flying home with us on my plane.”

  I looked over at Diana. “You can’t argue with him. He wins every time. Except when my mom is involved, then she wins.”

  “Collin—”

  “Don’t even try to deny it, Dad,” I interrupted and he chuckled.

  The four of us had a great breakfast and when I glanced at my watch, I noticed it was time to check out. As the bellhop went to our rooms and collected our bags, my dad had his car waiting for us at the curb.

  The four of us stepped onto the plane and Jacob was in awe over it.

  “WOW! This is so cool!” he exclaimed, then began to cough.

  My dad looked at me and then at Jacob. “Pick any seat you want to sit in and, as soon as we’re up in the air, Collin will show you where the video games are.”

  “You have video games on your plane? How awesome! Mom, did you hear that?”

  “I sure did, sweetie.” She smiled.

  We all took our seats and, as soon as we were up in the air, my dad and Diana unbuckled their seatbelts and sat down at the round table, while I showed Jacob the video games.

  “Where did you used to work, Diana?” my dad asked.

  “Rogers Media Corp. I was the administrative secretary to Glenn
Williams, the Vice President.”

  After setting up the video game system for Jacob, I walked over and joined them at the table. My dad leaned back in his chair and brought his hand up to his chin.

  “I had heard they were going under a while back,” he said.

  “Yeah, it happened so fast. One day, I went to work and they let everyone go except a few people.”

  Jacob began coughing as he played his game and my dad kept looking at him. “What part of New York are you from?” he asked her.

  “Brooklyn,” she said. “My husband and I moved there right after we were married.”

  “I’m sorry to hear about your husband. Collin told me he passed away.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Black,” she said as she looked down.

  “My secretary, Valerie, is retiring and I’m currently interviewing for her position. So far, I haven’t been impressed with anyone until now. How would you like to come work at Black Enterprises as my secretary? You’ll get fully paid health benefits and a very good salary. I can guarantee you’ll be making double of what you did at Rogers Media Corp.”

  “Mr. Black, are you sure?”

  “Yes, I’m very sure. Come by the office tomorrow morning around nine and I’ll have Valerie show you around.” He smiled.

  “Oh my goodness, Mr. Black, I can’t even begin to thank you enough!” she said as she stood up and hugged my dad. “You have no idea how much this means.”

  I looked at my dad as Diana walked over to tell Jacob. “Thanks, Dad. You’re pretty awesome.” I smiled.

  “No, son, thank you. You’re the one who found her and helped her. If you wouldn’t have, I still wouldn’t have a secretary.” He winked.

  ****

  As soon as the elevator doors opened, I threw my bags on the floor. My mom came from the direction of the kitchen with her arms out to me.

  “Welcome home, Collin. How was your trip?” she asked as she hugged me.

  “It was fine, Mom. It’s good to be back home.”

  She walked over to my dad and gave him a passionate kiss; a long kiss that wouldn’t stop.

  “Ugh, will you two knock it off already or take it upstairs.”