“Il va bien,” I tell Charlie. He’s fine.
Beckett is enjoying the class, despite his sister’s nonchalance. Twice, he asked Madame Daphne, “Like this?” Just to ensure he’s doing the move correctly. When she praises his technique, he smiles.
Charlie lets out a puff of breath and scans the ballet room filled with floor-length mirrors and windows that overlook Manhattan.
My phone vibrates in my palm again.
I did something. – Rose I stiffen.
I have to commit to this. I promised I would. – Rose I’m as intrigued as I am confused. Details, darling. I press send.
Charlie’s demeanor suddenly changes beside me. He straightens and scoots closer to my chair. “Daddy…” His voice spikes just enough for me to catch his worry. My phone buzzes, but I can’t respond or look at the text.
I immediately follow his gaze to one of the mirrors. In the reflection, a woman cups her phone like she’s recording, but she’s not angled on the circle of children. The lens is pointed towards the mirror, directly at my reflection and Charlie’s.
I’m tall enough that I can see over each head of every woman. I stare directly at the one with a brunette bob and pearl earrings. Only four chairs away. She notices quickly and drops her phone to her lap. When she senses my gaze still on her, she swivels her head. “What?”
I don’t know if she plans to profit off us either financially or by social media notoriety or simply to just show her friends and family the footage. I have an issue, mostly, with the fact that my children haven’t consented to being filmed.
“Do you mind if my security team looks at your video footage before you leave?” My tone is extremely casual. I even offer a smile. “It’s just precaution. They won’t bite.” They will delete anything involving Charlie.
“Sure. Would I be able to get a picture with you before you leave?”
“Just of me, yes.”
She tries to relax her giddy smile before facing the children.
I text a member of my security team who waits outside with a few bodyguards, and I watch Charlie close his eyes in boredom.
I rub his shoulders and scroll through my missed messages.
I gave Lo permission to name our baby. (Only the first name, of course.) – Rose I’m actually surprised, so much so that my grin overtakes my face.
He wrote down the name and gave it to Lily in an envelope. I can’t take back this promise. I’m about to open the envelope. I swear if he named him “Loren” I will stab Lo in the eye. – Rose She included “knife” emoticons. I have to wait for her next text, but I think about how she said “he named him”—as in a boy.
We asked to see the gender of our baby this time. This will be our sixth child, and even I hoped for a girl. Not because I don’t want any more children. I do want more, but I know what it would mean to Ryke and Daisy for them to have another.
They’re both too selfless to ask about surrogacy. They’re both too kind to press Rose about the option. They only warmed up to the idea when they thought Rose might have a girl.
Then we all learned that there will be another Cobalt boy.
And they slammed the door shut to surrogacy faster and more forceful than I even expected.
Here I was wishing for an outcome for someone else. I wished my family ended so that theirs could grow. I rarely wish for anyone but me, and my wish didn’t come true.
Rose is still adamant about trying surrogacy, but we’re going to have a harder time convincing Ryke and Daisy now. Ryke is known to be stubborn. It’s like dragging a sitting dog by the leash. I’m not entirely sure he’ll budge.
I only worry about Rose’s health, but if she’s okay, if the doctors say yes, then I don’t see a reason not to try.
My phone vibrates. Rose sent a picture of the note in Lo’s handwriting: Ben
*named for Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi who mentors Luke Skywalker *he reminds me of Connor *I could’ve made him Obi-Wan, Queen Rose, so put away your talons *this means a lot, so…thanks Ben.
My grin can’t be restrained at this point.
Another vibration.
He can live another day. – Rose She loves the name too.
I never thought my choices would contain so much feeling but with each middle name, I only see fractions of logic. This name is melodically pleasant. And so on. And so forth. Most, I chose out of nostalgia, out of something heartfelt and visceral that can’t be described with numbers or bare facts.
I choose Pirrip, as in Philip Pirrip, from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.
I choose Pirrip as Ben’s middle name because I saw Rose reading that very novel when we were sixteen. She won’t remember because she never saw me. I passed her in the conference room lobby during Model UN. She sat straight as a board on the edge of the hotel’s lobby fountain, the book opened on her lap.
I wanted to stop and talk to her, but I was with three Faust boys. We pushed onward, and my head turned.
I had never looked back in that way before, but for the very first time, I did. I looked back, and I only looked back at her.
2022
“I spread wildfires everywhere I go. It’s a symptomatic quality of being me.”
- Rose Calloway Cobalt, We Are Calloway (Season 4 Episode 09 – Nerd Stars & Raisins)
Connor & Rose Cobalt welcome the birth of their baby boy
BEN PIRRIP COBALT
March 29th, 2022
{ 26 }
June 2022
The Hale House
Philadelphia
LOREN HALE
Beneath my champagne-colored comforter and red sheets, I grasp Lily’s wiry frame to my hard body. On our sides. Coated in sweat. Sheets stick to us from last night’s four-hour fuck. Now morning, we kiss one another desperately. Urgently.
Our legs tangle. Starved for one another, I part Lily’s lips with mine. I pull her closer before she mumbles out the word. Her legs vibrate against me—Christ. My blood heats, and I deepen the kiss, my tongue slipping against hers.
She clings to my body like she needs to burrow further into my fucking soul. I’m lit up. Our skin-on-skin might as well be sparkplug-to-battery. Every second Lily shakes against me, my cock begs to fill her silent request.
Inside me.
Inside me.
I can practically hear her.
I kiss her raw lips. I’ll take care of you, love.
No one understands her sex addiction better than Lily and me. We fucked all last night because we wanted to. Not because she spiraled out of control and fed into compulsions. Not because she needed to medicate stress with sex.
Because she’s reached this strong place where she can mentally stop before fixating on orgasm after orgasm. Because this isn’t an everyday expectation or need.
It’s a want.
A goddamn head-splitting, mind-blowing want.
I have Lily tucked against my chest, her leg hiked around my waist. I clutch the back of her head and kiss her even more fully. She trembles again.
Jesus Christ. I harden against her body, and she writhes. My muscles coil, taut and searing. Our lips break apart for the first time. My forehead on hers, desire swims in her big green eyes, and my sharp gaze bores through Lily.
Inside me. Inside me. I see the words all over her adorable fucking face.
“You want something, love?” I tease, our lips brushing as I speak.
“Closer,” she begs in a soft whine that grips my cock. Blood rushes out of my head, dizzied.
Still lying side-by-side, I slowly push my erection inside of Lily. She inhales, and her head begins to tilt backwards as she mentally, physically, and emotionally succumbs to this insane pleasure. No trouble getting off.
I thrust with a staggered, unpredictable rhythm that leaves Lily incapacitated. I fuck my best friend who gives herself to me with the simple request of make me feel good.
No problem, Lil.
Lips a breath apart, I close the distance, kissing her deep before rolling on top. I stretch her right leg over my shoulder, the other around my waist. I go from quick, deep thrusts to suddenly short and slow.
She lets out a noise that sounds close to a whimper. “Closer.”