The Heart Wants What It Wants (Completed)

Chapter 12

A/N So, who's happy that Joe and Val finally hooked up? Who would've liked for them to have waited until Joe was single, if that's what's going to happen... Sound off! Here's the next chapter! Thanks for reading! XOXOXO

Chapter 12

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Since their first encounter in Fort Wayne nearly four weeks ago, Val was finding it difficult to keep Joe off of her mind. After her revelation about her parents, he'd been sure that she knew that she was the only woman he needed and wanted. The words sounded good to her, but that did nothing to ease the fear of him going back to Lina. It was exactly what she had been trying to avoid and now she found herself in the midst of uncertainty. Unfortunately, things were about to get much more complicated.

Val awakened to find Joe's side of the bed empty. She looked around the hotel room, seeing him nowhere in sight. Outside of the room, she could hear his muffled voice. She pressed her ear to the door and guiltily listened to his side of the conversation.

"Yeah, we'll talk about it when I get there ... Yeah, I wanna work things out for our sake and JoJo's ... Yeah, me too ... I gotta go. I'll see ya tomorrow."

Oh God no, Val thought as she quietly scurried back to the bed. Just as she laid her head on the pillow, the door's electronic lock clicked and Joe walked into the room.

He eased back into bed and spooned her body, wrapping his arm around her waist.

"Wake up, doll," he said, nuzzling her neck with his nose.

"I'm up," she said softly, wiping the stray tears from her eyes.

Her heart broke at the possibility of Joe working out his differences with Lina. Since that night in Fort Wayne, she had fallen deeper under his spell, completely yielding to her feelings for him. However, after hearing his conversation, she started to think that she'd made a mistake and should've went with her original plan-refraining from sex with Joe until he was single, because he obviously had ulterior motives in mind.

"Trin and Jon wanna catch breakfast."

"I'm not feelin' too good," she lied.

"I'm sorry, baby. Anything daddy can get for you?"

"No. I think I'm gonna just head back to my room," she said, sitting up on the edge of the bed.

Joe stood and walked around to her side of the bed. He kneeled in front of her and grabbed her hands.

"You sure you don't need anything? A hug? Some ginger ale?" He lifted a curious brow at her. "A pregnancy test?"

"Not funny Joe," she replied, standing and starting to walk off before he stopped her.

"I'm sorry, baby. Bad joke," he said, pulling her into his arms. "How about I skip breakfast and stay with you instead?"

"No, baby. That's not necessary. I'll be OK. You go hang with your cousins," she suggested, patting his chest.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Alright, doll. I'll catch you later."

After quickly gathering her belongings, Val kissed Joe "goodbye," and made the short walk to her hotel room. Once she was safely inside, she let the flood of tears flow. She cried for nearly ten minutes before deciding to call her mother.

"Hi sweetheart, how are you?"

"Mom, I messed up."

"What happened, baby?" her mother asked with concern.