Accept My Baby

Chapter 4

Even though Emilia had spent the better part of the last two days trying to talk Amanda out of attending Rafael’s party, Amanda could not help but feel intrigued. All she wanted to do was go to that party and see what the big whoop was about. It was almost like the more Emilia tried talking her out of it, the more she wanted to go. It was a literal 180 every single time Emilia talked to her because all the discouragement Emilia was giving her was only building her curiosity but when she finally got to Rafael Imperioli’s villa, she regretted her decision almost immediately.

When she left Emilia’s apartment wearing a green floor length halter necked dress and red bottomed strapped heels, she thought she looked her best and she did. But looking at the women in attendance at the party got her thinking that she was a little under dressed for the event. She took a long deep breath as she stood at the entrance wondering whether she should go in or just stay where she was.

“Maybe I should have listened to Emilia,” she thought as she looked around. To her it felt like she had stepped right into a scene of a Rich Kids of Beverly Hills episode. She could easily see that the women in there were dressed to kill and the men, well, they were all out to impress as well. She subconsciously put a hand on her tummy as she looked around.

“This is a life I will have to forget before I have even began living it,” she thought to herself. The more she thought about it, the more accustomed she became to the thought of being a mother. She had always been strictly pro-life. And it was not like she hated the life that was growing within her. Sure, it may have been a reminder of Brett and everything about him but the truth remained that she was still very much in love with Brett when she conceived. And even though she tried hard to deny it, she knew that she still loved Brett. Perhaps that was why the whole break up hurt so much. The residual feelings she had for him that she could not act on.

She was still standing there, trying to figure out her life and the mess that it was in when she felt someone standing next to her. She turned around to find a full dark haired man looking at her.

“Hi,” was all she managed to say.

The man smiled back at her, showing off those perfect dimples he had.

“Hi,” he said in a soft voice.

*****

Rafael had been looking down at the party, his party from upstairs and he could not help but notice that his party had attracted the same old people he usually did. He had been keen on meeting a few people that he could have a decent conversation with but as he looked down at his guests, all he could see were people high on blow and the girls could have been looking for the next rich husband for all he cared. They were all too giddy and skimpily dressed for his taste. He had resigned to his fate of standing up there, watching everyone make merry when he spotted the one person who looked different from all the rest. It was a black woman standing near the entrance. As he stood there looking at her, he did not know why, but he felt drawn to her for some reason.

It could have been her simplicity.

Or the fact that she looked extremely lonely.

Or maybe it was just that she was the most natural looking person in the room.

Whatever the reason was, he found himself making his way downstairs to where she was and as soon as he stood next to her, he felt his throat dry. He could not bring himself to speak. All he could do was stand there and take in her beauty. Her flawless skin on her uncovered back and the perfect feminine curves. He was surprised when she turned to look at him and uttered a low voiced ‘hi’. She had perfect brown eyes and beautiful luscious lips that looked like they were waiting for a kiss. All he could manage was utter a ‘hi’ back.

*****

Amanda forced out a smile and tightened her grip on her purse. She didn’t know why but for some reason that man made her all numb.

“You know I hear it is rude for a person to attend a party and not have anything to drink,” he said and she shrugged.

“Would the host happen to have some lemonade?” she asked.

“What? Are you a teetotaler or something?” he asked and she shrugged.

“Or something,” she said as she looked around.

“Don’t you worry. I’m sure I can organize something. But only if we make it inside.”

“I’m still trying to decide if I should go in actually.”

Rafael looked at her and raised an eyebrow over the other.

“And why would you want to do that?”

“Well, I don’t really feel like this is my forte,” she said, looking around. “I kind of feel like I am out of my comfort zone, if you know what I mean.”

“I really don’t know what you mean but I would love to hear about it,” he said as he slipped an arm around her waist. She looked at him and felt a shiver go through her body. “Come on, I’ll get you your lemonade and make sure you get away from all this.”

“Why should I trust you?” she asked as he led her out of the foyer.

“Look at this face,” he said smiling. “Do I look like I would do anything to you?”

“The least suspected are usually the biggest culprits,” she countered.

“Well, this culprit is a lot of things,” he started before he whispered something to one of the waiters. “But I would never hurt a lady. Especially one that looks as good as you do.”

“Are you flirting with me?” Amanda asked, smiling and he nodded.

“If I was would I be a yay or a nay?” he asked before she laughed.

At that moment, she realized that Emilia was not kidding when she told her that the men there didn’t waste any time in making their intentions known because she did not even know the man’s name but he was already literally taking her out of the party so that he could have her to himself for whatever reason.

He led her out to what seemed to be a lounge before he opened a huge screen door that led to a lit pool area.

“This is…beautiful,” she said in a low voice as she looked around. “This Rafael guy should be holding this party out here instead of in there.”

He smiled and shrugged.

“Well, as it turns out I’ve had quite the number of parties out here. I just wanted something new and different,” he said in a soft voice. “Plus, drunk guests have a tendency to pee in my pool.”

She raised an eyebrow and smiled.

“This is your place?” she asked and he nodded. “So, you are Rafael.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Miss….” he said as he stretched his hand out to her.

“Pearson. Amanda Pearson,” she said smiling. “Nice to meet you.”