Stay

Chapter one

"Dakota." Carson asked for me. I quickly pulled my hair back into a ponytail. A few strands of my blonde hair fell out, but I brushed them behind my ears. My fingers ran across the little cartilage piercing I have. I wanted to be like my mother and have all the same features as her, so I pierced my ears. What a naive thirteen year old I was.

I walked down the hall to see Carson struggling to put on his suit. I helped him put on his jacket by holding it for him as he slid his arms through the arms. I picked up the cute four year old boy and showed him his choices of ties. He decided on a dark blue one that reflects off of his eyes. I set him down and I knelt down in front of him.

"How long have you been married to my dad?" Carson questions me. I began to tie the tie as I answered.

"Two years today." I had to clear my throat because it feels like a frog has been living there for the past 48 hours. I tightened the tie then stood back up. He grabbed my hand as we walked into the shared bathroom so he could see how adorable he looks. His hair was in amess, so I went to pick up a comb and comb it out for him.

"It doesn't feel that long." Carson admits. He's right, it doesn't feel like that long. It feels like just yesterday I married Nathaniel and we were cutting the cake. Carson was too young to remember, but I show him pictures everyday.

Carson hasn't seen his mother since I've been with his dad. In fact, I've never met her. Carson knows I'm not his biological mother, but he looks up to me like I am a motherly figure. I feel sorrow for him because he doesn't know his mom at all. I doubt he even remembers what she looks like. Nathaniel never talks about her, hell he doesn't even own a photo of her.

"No, but it's not going to be long before you're dressing up to take your date to prom." I kissed him on the cheek then stood up. Carson ran off into his room to watch spongebob. I think I embarassed him, but when he's 16 he will be telling me that I'm right.

I fixed my ponytail, adding a braid in my hair also. I slipped on a black plaid shirt and rolled up the sleeves. I put on a jean skirt and a pair of heels. I sprayed on a little but of perfume before deciding that my outfit was on que.

The hallway was cold from all the windows being opened. I closed each window and locking them. All the pictures of us were scattered out on the walls, but somehow still looks presentable.

The walls were a turquoise which glowed when the sunlight hits them.

"We're almost ready." I mentioned to Nathaniel. He was dressed up like his son, but of course had on a different colored tie. His hair was short and brown. He always had it gelled a certain way. That's why I never run my fingers through his hair because that stuff is sticky.

"Hurry up, our reservation is at 7." He snapped. I rolled my eyes and grabbed my purse. The living room was covered in toys, which I'll end up cleaning when we get back home.

"Carson, let's go!" I called out. I dishes out my favorite lip gloss by philosophy and ran it along my small lips. I rubbed them together to even out the lip gloss.

"Can I take this with us?" Carson was holding up a small transformer. I nodded my head and flashed a smile at him. He hugged it tightly and marched over to the door where his dad was standing.

"Leave that here." Nathaniel demanded. Carson shook his head no.

"Dakota said I could take it." He defended himself. I walked up behind them and picked up Carson. Nathaniel gave me a dirty look. I raised my eye brows at him, in dictating that he's not lying. He cocked an attitude before opening the doors. He walked through the doors, leaving Carson and I behind. I closed the door behind us and let Carson walk his way to the car.

"He's not your kid." Nathaniel slatted out. I turned to look at the angry 25 year old man claiming to be the alpha male. I crossed my arms and said "no, but it was okay by me so I approved it." I walked away from him and climbed into the passenger side of the car. Carson had buckled himself in, which is good that he's in that habit already.

Nathaniel climbed into the drivers seat and started the engine. He didn't bother to say anything on the way to the restaurant until he mentioned "are you hungry little guy?" He was looking up in the rear view mirror. Carson nodded his head as he played with his transformer. Nathaniel placed his hand on my thigh and rubbed it for a few moments, reassuring that he wasn't mad. I pulled out my phone to check it to see if my boss had sent me the work schedule. Great, I work at 6 in the morning.

~*~

"Dad, can I have a burger?" Carson pointed at the delicious picture. Nathaniel nodded his head. I smiled because for once he didn't say no to his son.

I order a bacon burger, same with Carson. Nathaniel ordered a steak that's cooked medium rare. I began to chow down on French fries with barbecue sauce and ranch mixed. I handed little Carson one and he liked it.

Once the waiter came back with our food, we ate in silence. I could smell the testosterone coming off of Nathaniel. A chill went up my spine. I don't like this feeling one bit. I ignored the feeling and continued on eating my dinner.

"What do you want to do after this?" My husband asked me. I looked at him as if he forgot what we were supposed to do.

"We have pictures at the beach remember?" I reminded him. He nodded his head as he took a swig from his beer. His eyes were glowing as usual, which gave me a warm feeling inside.

Once we were finished eating, we drove to the nearest beach to us. The advantages to living in california. The beach wasn't crowded, but there were a few cars and trucks parked in the parking lot. The sun was just beginning to set, which would be perfect.

"Where do we meet the photographer?" Nathaniel asked me. I whipped out my phone and dug through the notes until I had found todays date.

"We meet her down by the benches. She's going to take pictures by the tress then some with us standing by the water." I answered his question. Daniella texted me, wondering if we could go get drinks tomorrow after work. I replied with "Would love to."

Daniella has been my best fiend since elementary school. She was getting picked on by a few guys. I stepped in and told them to pick on someone their own size. Daniella was a very small girl, meaning she was a lot smaller than the rest of us. She used to have blonde hair, but she dyed it black in middle school because she got made fun of for having dyslexia. She got tired of it and completely changed her hair color. Now she keeps it black.

"Okay Carson, you need to leave your you in here okay?" Nathaniel mentioned. More like demanded but in a nice way. Carson didn't argue and did as he was told. We all stepped out if the car and fixed our outfits.

"Couldn't you have curled your hair or something?" Nathaniel dated to ask me. I gave him a dirty look before shaking my head.

"I don't need to damage my hair to be pretty." I stated. I pulled down my skirts little more before deciding that I was satisfied with it.

"Cmon, Stella is already here." Nathaniel grabbed mine and Carson's hands. He pulled us as he quickly walked to the benches, where Stella began to set up her camera on the tripod.