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“Uh, thank you, mother,” Eve said, “I thought I told you that I was going to pick up J.J.?”

Eve had totally forgotten about J.J. And now…

She closed her eyes.

Now, she was going to have to do some heavy explaining.

“Yes, I know, sweetheart, but J.J. was just so fussy, and it was already seven-thirty, and you weren’t there yet,” Tanya caressed her grandson’s hair, “And, I called your cell phone, but all I got was your voice mail…so…”

“I get the picture, mom,” Eve said, a bit annoyed that she didn’t follow her orders.

If she had, it would’ve bought her time to…maybe break the joyful news to Julian that he was a “daddy” again or, maybe she could’ve just left J.J. at her mother’s for the remainder of her stay, and not tell Julian about J.J. She…they’d been fine since he had been born.

Ivy was now up and standing next to Julian, looking at the baby in Eve’s arms. She looked away for a brief moment and remembered that day her baby boy had been stillborn…she only got to hold him for a few minutes.

J.J. cooed and began squirming in Eve’s arms.

Julian smiled.

My son… He blinked his eyes, My son…mine and Eve’s…

His eyes met the floor again, But why? Why didn’t she tell me?
---

It was now time for dinner, and they all sat around the table in the Crane dinning room.

“I just can’t get over the fact that your little boy’s name is Julian…and so is my husband’s,” Ivy chuckled.

Eve and Julian glanced at each other. Ivy never noticed, but someone did. Tanya had become aware of how uncomfortable Julian and Eve seemed to be. She was beginning to put “2” and “2” together, and had an idea of who J.J.’s real dad was. But the question was: How?

Tanya knew her daughter, and knew that Eve would’ve never done a spiteful thing to Ivy, her best friend. Maybe she had been mistaken. Maybe she had assumed the worse; Julian and Eve hadn’t been lovers, and he wasn’t the father of little J.J. No…

Tanya erased that thought from her mind and listened to the conversations that Ivy and Eve were having.

Julian never said anything that night. He just couldn’t stop looking at J.J. in his highchair. J.J. had his eyes, it was obvious.
---

Eve walked her mom out to the car, as Ivy took little Abby upstairs to tuck her in. And as for little J.J., Eve had handed him over to a maid to lay him down in his crib in her room, but after Julian watched Eve walk out the front door, he intervened.

“Margaret, let me take Ms. Johnson’s baby,” he said and held out his hands.

“But, but, Ms. Johns—…”

“Please…I just want to hold the baby…”

Margaret didn’t even think about it for a second and handed J.J. over to his father. She remembered that Julian and Ivy were going to have a son years ago. Julian was probably thinking of his son as he held J.J. Margaret thought as she walked away.

Just then, Eve came back inside and stopped at the sight…the sight of her son in his father’s arms.

Julian walked up to Eve and smiled as J.J. grabbed a hold of his index finger.

“He’s mine, Eve? He’s mine, isn’t he?”

“Julian…” she began as she began shaking her head.

“Why didn’t you ever inform me; why didn’t you ever tell me,” he raised a shoulder, “A call, a letter…anything…”

“Because he’s not yours,” she finally said.

Julian looked even more confused than before. He was sure that this little boy was his. His eyes were exactly like his.

“Wh—what? Then why did you name him after me?”

“I-I named him after my father,” she licked her lips as she lied.

Julian saw this and remembered how it had felt when her mouth was upon his body…her tongue.

“Your…your father’s name was ‘Julian’?” Julian asked, not believing a word she was saying.

“Yes, yes, ‘Julian Johnson’,” she nodded her head.

He didn’t know why, but…he believed her.

“I see,” he cleared his throat.

Suddenly, Margaret came back into the room and informed Julian that he had had a call.

“Thank you, Margaret, I’ll be there in a second,” he said as he handed J.J. to Eve.

His eyes then met Eve’s.

“He’s a beautiful boy, Eve,” Julian smiled as he tickled J.J. under the chin and then left.

Eve stood there and kissed the side of her son’s head, feeling awful that she had just lied straight to Julian’s face about J.J.’s paternity. But what could she do? She had already had an affair with a married man, her best friend’s husband…and they created a child. She couldn’t, no, she wouldn’t cause any problems for Ivy and Julian…no, no, no!

“Eve?” Ivy called out as she walked down the stairs.

Eve turned towards the stairs from staring after Julian.

“I thought Margaret was going to take J.J. upstairs?”

“Uh…”

Eve began, as she tried to come up with another lie. She couldn’t possibly tell Ivy that Julian had been holding the child, waiting for her to come in, so he could ask her if he was the father.

“…well, I wanted to be the one to put J.J. down, so I just told her that I’d take him,” she smiled and turned to Julian who was rushing towards Ivy.

“Ivy, dear,” he grabbed her arms, “It seems that I’m going to have to go to the office for a few minutes, maybe an hour,” he shrugged, “I’ll be home soon,” he said and kissed her on the lips…

…Eve noticed. She looked away as she felt a pang of jealousy run through her.

Julian turned and walked out the door.
---

FOUR HOURS later…

Julian walked quietly through the front door. He was just about to ascend the dimly lit stairs when he heard something in the kitchen. Totally forgetting that Eve had been there to stay, Julian assumed it had been Ivy and tip-toed towards the kitchen. The refrigerator door had been opened, and he could clearly see someone’s round and firm tush…

He smiled as he quietly walked and stood behind her wrapping his arms around her waist.

“Mind if I get a midnight snack too?” he whispered, “I think I found something that I could snack on,” his hands rested on her breasts and squeezed them.

Eve jumped up and turned around and met Julian’s surprised eyes.

“Eve!” he swallowed, “I-I thought you…were…” he suddenly forgot what he was about to say as he looked at her…his eyes traveling down her body, very, very, very slowly, “Eeeeve,” he whispered hoarsely.

Julian grabbed her hips and yanked her body to his and began kissing her hungrily.

“God, Eve,” he said between kisses, “I’ve missed you so much,” his tongue slipped across her bottom lip, “No one…” he panted, “There’s no one like…you,” his tongue dove in through Eve’s parted ones and met hers, “Yes, Eve, yes,” he sipped at her lips, her tongue.

Eve could feel his hands on her bottom, kneading it. She could feel her heart begin to skip beats; she could feel the muscles tighten between her thighs. Her breaths were shallow.

“Julian…” she managed to breathe out, “Juliannn,” she softly cried out as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body to his.

His lips made it to her neck and nibbled on her ear and then Julian began making a trail down her front until he came across her breasts.

“Yes,” he praised Eve for the response he got from her.

Julian was in awe as he kneaded her breast, as his fingers teased her nipples. He then closed his lips around her nipple through her satin gown.

Eve whimpered as her hands pulled on Julian’s hair.

His lips and tongue traveled to her other breast and then traveled south…south, and stopped just as he felt the patch of curls…

Julian opened his eyes. Eve hadn’t been wearing any underwear.

After taking a shower thirty minutes before, Eve hadn’t eaten much at dinner, and was now a bit hungry, so, she slipped on her gown and made her way to the kitchen…

“Julian…no,” she whispered, her eyes closed, but knowing what Julian was about to do.

It was too late, Julian had already slipped his hands underneath her gown and slid them up the backs of her thighs. His hands cupped her buttocks as he continued to kiss Eve’s lower abdomen. 

“I need you, Eve…Ahh, I need you so much!”

And before either one knew it, J.J. began testing his lungs, waking Eve and Julian out of their sexual encounter.

“Oh my God, we almost, we almost…” Eve held a hand to her mouth as she turned and ran out of the kitchen to tend to J.J.