Chicago

"A beer, please."

Being at a bar was not my ideal on a Tuesday night, but after the day I had today I deserved a beer. The bar was old fashioned- wooden chairs, wooden floors, wooden bar. It was the only bar that seemed relatively quiet in this huge city. Chicago is filled with excitement, something I was not in the mood for.

Suddenly, I had the eerie feeling that someone was staring at me. I tried to shake it off, but the feeling wouldn't go away. Sneakily, I look around and made eye contact with big brown eyes. We stared at each other for a moment before she turned away. Captivated by the eyes, I made my way towards her.

"What is a beautiful woman such as yourself doing at a bar on a Tuesday evening?" I asked.

"Probably same as you, relieving stress."

She is the most beautiful women I have ever laid eyes on. Her hair is perfectly curled, her eye makeup draws more attention to her big doe eyes, and her dress hugged her curves splendidly.

"Well, would you want to relive some stress together?"

She smirked at me, "Riley."

"Lucas."

"Why don't you and I get out of here?" She presses her chest against mine; her face getting closer to mine. It was getting harder not to kiss her. "A place where we can cozy up and get to know each other."

I gulped, "Sure. I'm in town for a few days, we can go to my hotel room."

She smiled, showing all her beautiful teeth, "Wonderful."

X

The past three days were spent in my hotel room. Literally, we never left the room. We ordered room service every day, except for last night when we went to the hotel restaurant. Besides that, the wallpaper walls were witness to our love for the past three days. In three days I fell in love. Riley is everything I want in a woman and more. She's beautiful, smart, and knows how to hold her own. She told me about her kids: Micheal and Maya. The spark in her eye when she spoke about them expressed the love she has for them. And to think she raised those two kids by herself makes her the strongest woman I know. All these thoughts are swarming through my head while holding Riley. I never want to let her go, but today is my last day in the city. I gently caress my hand on her cheek.

"Morning sweetie."

She turns over grunting, not wanting her sleep to be disturbed.

"Today's my last day sweetheart."

That got her attention. She turned around and place a sweet kiss on my lips. "Let's make it count then." She smiled at me. God, I love this woman.

X

Riley insisted on taking me to the airport. The car ride was filled with music coming from the radio, but nothing coming from our mouths. I looked over to her; she's perfect. After spending three days with her and exploring every inch of her body, I knew this was the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. But I couldn't ask her to give up her kids. She had to think of them first and foremost and I respect that whole heartedly.

Riley pulled up to the parking lot of the airport. "This is it, I suppose," she said with a sigh.

"Do you want it to be it?" I asked.

She wouldn't look up at me, "No."

I leaned over and lifted her chin up with my index finger, "Then it doesn't have to be."

Her eyes lit up, "What do you suggest?"

"Well, my job has me constantly moving. I can ask to stay in Chicago permanently."

Her eyes become filled with tears, "You would do that for me?"

"Of course. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, Riley. There's something between us that I cannot ignore. If you let me I would like to explore that."

She bit her lip slightly, god she doesn't know what she does to me. "Yeah, I would like that."

"You have my number. Call me every day. I will not forget you, Riley."

"I could never forget you, Lucas."

I cupped her face and kissed her. My body ached for more. I leaned in more, trying to explore the depths of her mouth. We kissed each other as if our lives depended on it. When we separated, my forehead landed on her and I promised her, "I will come back for you."

X

I was back in New York City for two weeks and every passing moment I thought of her. I couldn't get her out of my head. 24/7 Riley. We have been talking nonstop every day since I left. I cannot imagine my life without her.

I am currently at the office, trying to stay on task, but it is impossible because I have one brunette stuck in my mind. I get up and walk over to my bosses office. Today is the day I ask to relocate. I knock on the door, "Got a minute."

Harold looked up from the papers on his desk, "Mr. Friar. Of course. Come in, come in." I walk into his office and take a seat. "What brings you to my office today?"

"Well as you know I currently am traveling a lot for this company and I was wondering if I could settle. It wouldn't have to be right away but soon."

"Ah, I see. I'm sorry Lucas, but there just aren't available positions of your qualification in New York."

I sit at the edge of my seat. "What about Chicago?"

"Oh, interesting. I just assumed- never mind. Let me look for you." As Harold's fingers tapped away on his keyboard, my heart was thumping. I needed to be with Riley. Even if that meant quitting the only job I know how to do.

"Well, it's your lucky day. Looks like they're looking for a few people in your department. Of course, you would have to apply for the job like everyone else, but I would be glad to be your reference."

I jumped from my seat. "Oh thank you so much! This means the world to me."

Harold chuckles at me, "No problem. Now I have to find someone good enough to replace you. Can I ask why the sudden interest in Chicago?"

"That's where my future wife is."

X

After a month of finishing up loose ends, I was finally back in Chicago. I called Riley as soon as I touched the ground in Chicago and she was coming to pick me up. I wait around the airport: looking for her brunette hair, her sweet face.

I feel a tap on my shoulder, "Looking for someone?" She smiled widely at me. I immediately planted a sweet kiss on her lips.

"I missed you so much."

"I missed you too. Lucas, there's something we need to discuss."

"Not now. Right now I just want to be with you. Want to get a drink?" She simply nodded her head. "Afterward, we can break in my new apartment." I said nibbling her ear.

Shivers were sent down her spine. "I'd like that very much." She smiled at me and I felt my heart becoming complete. I knew in this moment that I was falling in love with Riley.

X

The morning sunlight brightens the room. There wasn't much, just a mattress, my luggage, and Riley by my side. I kissed her temple and slowly got up from her side. I go towards the kitchen and start preparing breakfast. Well, if you call scrambled eggs and a piece of ham breakfast. The first thing I need to do today: grocery shopping. As I'm fixing up the eggs, Riley's phone rings. I grab the phone quickly not wanting to disturb her sleep.

I hesitate a moment before I open the call. I doubt Riley will mind. "Hello?" I answered.

A man's voice filled the phone, "Riley?"

"This is Riley's phone. She's asleep right now. Can I take a message?"

"Yeah tell her that Charlie, her husband, called. She needs to pick up her damn kids...now!" He hung up. Husband?! No there's no way. Riley would not hide something like that from me. There must be a misunderstanding. That must be the deadbeat father of her kids. He's just jealous she has moved on.

I feel my whole world collapsing. If Riley is married I don't know what I would do with myself. I envisioned her as my wife, not someone else's. I pull myself together, knowing that I should let Riley explain things.

I walk into the room with two plates of eggs and ham and set them aside as I start to wake Riley up with kisses. I kiss her forehead, her cheeks, her ears, and lastly her lips. That got her up. "Good morning sleepy head," I chuckled.

She smiled slightly, "Good morning."

"I made you breakfast," I say while putting the plate in front of her.

"Thank you, Lucas. I'm starving," she starts to dig into her food.

As I start eating, I contemplate confronting her. This could all be a big misunderstanding that could ruin what we have right now. I won't let anything ruin this. This is the happiest I've been since...forever. The thoughts rushing through my head must have been evident because I hear Riley ask, "Are you okay? I don't think I've ever seen you think so hard," she giggles at her joke.

I sigh, "I picked up your phone because I didn't want it waking you up. I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not. Who was it?"

"Charlie," I saw her eyes widen slightly, "he was kind of rude, saying you need to pick up your kids. Also, he called himself your husband which was strange."

"I have to go." Riley gets up frantically and starts looking for her clothes.

"Is it true?" Riley kept looking for her clothes ignoring my question. "I'm going to take that as a yes. Damn it, Riley, why didn't you tell me? I would have never-"

She looked up at me, tears welling up in her eyes, "Never would have what? Slept with me? I'm sorry Lucas. I didn't mean to drag you into this, but what can I say? I couldn't resist. When you approached me at the bar I was tempted to tell you off. But, you were so handsome so I thought, what does one night really mean? But that one night, those three days changed my life. Yes, Charlie is my husband, but he doesn't treat me the way you do. He doesn't care about me or our children! You heard him, get YOUR kids." The tears are now streaming down her face. "You help me forget all that. Forget all the pain. I should have told you I know, but I was so scared of losing you." She hesitates for a moment before she continues, "I'm falling in love with you Lucas."

It takes everything in me to not pull her into a hug, not to wipe away her tears. "I'm falling in love with you too, Riley. But you lied to me. I just...I need time."

Riley starts to wipe her tears, "I understand. I just want you to know that I asked Charlie for the divorce before I met you. He isn't willing to sign the papers." She sighs, "I've been unhappy for a really long time, Lucas. Thank you for changing that for a bit." She hurriedly grabs her belongings and leaves me alone with my thoughts.

Had I been too harsh with her? Should I have gone with her to pick up her kids? I didn't know but what I did know was that watching Riley leave broke my heart in half.

X

29 days. 29 long days. I dedicated my time to work and getting myself comfortable in Chicago. I had not heard from Riley since that morning. I also had not reached out to her. I told myself I needed time to get my head on straight, get used to my surroundings, then I'll contact Riley.

My feelings for her had not changed, though. Not a day goes by where I'm not thinking about her. I keep replaying that morning in my head. The way that her eyes were filled with hurt, the way my breath hitched when she told me she was falling in love with me, and the way my heart still continues to yearn for her even after she lied to me.

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard a knock on the door. "Coming." When I open the door I'm surprised to see two kids, no older than thirteen years old, at my door steps. The oldest one was the boy, he was pretty lanky but with huge brown eyes filled with anger. The younger one was the girl; her beautiful brown hair had knots and her eyes held unshed tears. Just from staring at their eyes I knew who they were. "Hello. You must be Michael and Maya?"

The boy spoke, "Yes. Listen if you don't want us here we can go." The little girl started to whimper at the simple idea of leaving.

"I don't mind you guys staying. Come in." My head is reeling as the two kids enter my apartment. "Are you guys hungry?" I didn't have much but I'm sure kids like cereal right?

"Mom gave us money to buy food before we got here," the boy retorted as he and his sister sat on my couch.

"Where is your mom anyways?" The little girl started to sob uncontrollably. He brother tried to calm her down by wrapping his arm around her but it did no good. I sat down beside her and sat her on my lap. I started rocking her, whispering to her that everything will be alright.

The boy sighed, "She's been crying on and off all day," the anger in his eyes washing away and becoming sadness, "Mom is in the hospital. They won't let us stay there with her and Charlie isn't taking us home."

I honestly didn't hear anything after hospital. Riley's in the hospital? What happened? I get angry at myself. She wouldn't be there right now if you were there to protect her. "What happened?"

Michael's eyes widen, fear stricken in them, "You should visit Mom. She'll tell you herself."

I look down at Maya who had fallen asleep in my arms. She looked so peaceful. I looked at the time from my oven: 8:46. I sigh, no way I'll be able to see Riley today. "Well I'm going to lay your sister down in my room, then how about you and I play some pool. A buddy of mine sold the table to me for cheap so I couldn't refuse. What do you say?"

Michael grins ear to ear, "I love pool!"

I chuckle at his sudden outburst, "Great, you start setting everything up and I'll put your sister to rest," I carry Maya to my room and lay her down. I cover her with a blanket and plant a kiss on her forehead. I go to leave when I hear her whimper. I run over to her, "Are you okay?"

Her eyes are filled with tears again, "Daddy never kisses me on the forehead."

I don't know why but this infuriates me, how can anyone resist loving this beautiful little girl? "Well, I can give you all the kisses you want. As long as Mommy doesn't get jealous." This makes her giggle. "Think you can fall back asleep?" She nods.

Quickly, she adds, "Will you be my new daddy?"

Though inside my head I don't know how to respond to her, I answer out loud, "Hopefully." With that, I kiss her one last time on the forehead and go to spend some time with Michael.

X

Next day I head straight to the hospital where Riley is staying. I leave Michael and Maya with my neighbor who graciously accepted to babysit. There's a reason why Riley sent her kids to me, I won't let them see their mother this way.

The hospital smelled like a mixture of clean and death. The air was cold, freezing me as I moved. I didn't want Riley to be in a place like this. The floors were so clean that I could see my own reflection as I ran to the main desk. The lady behind the desk had a pleasant smile on her face, "Hello? How can I help you?"

"Hi. I'm looking for Riley Matthews's room." I replied.

"Give me one moment." As she types away on the computer, I gaze around the waiting room. There are people crying, in pain, and exhausted. I couldn't give in to the atmosphere of the room. I had to be strong for Riley - for her kids.

"She's on the fourth floor, room 412."

I rush to the elevator and click on the 4 button. My heart is pounding; I don't know how she will react seeing me. And honestly, I don't know how I will react seeing her.

As I reach her door, I can feel my heart leaping out of my chest. What had happened that caused her to end up in a hospital bed? I took a deep breath in and walked into her room. My breath hitched when I saw her. Her right eye was swollen and was a purple-blue color, there was a dash right above her eyebrow, and her lips were swollen. Even with all the injuries, she still looked beautiful as she slept.

I grab the chair in the room and sit next to her, watching her sleep. I knew that I should probably talk to her, sort things out, but I couldn't wake her up. With those kinds of injuries, she needed the rest. I put her hand in mine and rubbed small circles on the top of her hand.

Her eyes- well eye- starts to slowly flutter open. She looks over to me and her eye starts to well up with tears. "Hey hey hey don't cry. I don't want you hurting yourself."

"I'm so sorry Lucas for everything. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Charlie. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the divorce. I'm sorry I sent my kids over unannounced. I just," she sobs, "I don't know what to do. I don't have anyone."

Before she could continue I cut her off, "Shh. You have me. Your kids were great last night. Really, they were no bother. I have one of my neighbors babysitting them right now." A slight smile appears on her face. "Riley, what happened?"

She sighs and then whimpers, "He won't give me the divorce. I asked him and he said no. I said I was gonna file for it anyways and then he pushed me. I don't remember much after that."

I'm red hot. Anger. How could that monster lay a hand on such an angel? How could I have not seen it coming? "I'm so sorry Riley. I shouldn't have let you go. I should have been there to protect you." I can feel heat radiating off my skin. When I get my hands on this guy, I'll make sure to do twice as much damage as he's done to Riley.

"No Lucas you shouldn't be apologizing. None of this is your fault. You had the right to be mad at me. I wasn't completely honest. You needed time to process and I was willing to give you that space. Whether or not we got together, I had to leave Charlie. The relationship was becoming toxic," she bitterly chuckled.

"Well I'm here now and I'm not gonna let that punk touch you ever again. I promise that. Don't worry Riley, I'm going to get you the best lawyer in Chicago so you can get the divorce from that monster." I look at her and knew in that moment that Riley was the woman I was meant to be with. I would do anything for her. "Riley I want you and the kids to move in with me. I know that it may be too fast, but I don't want you anywhere else except by my side."

Tears start to stream down her face, "Oh Lucas. I missed you so much. Thank you."

"Anything for you, my love." I lean over and give her a peck on her swollen lips. "I love you and we will get through this together."

"I love you too." I kept her hand in mind and stayed by her side. We may have had a rocky start, but I know Riley Matthews will be my future wife.

A/N: Once again this took forever to make, but I'm happy with the way it came out. Thank you to those who have been reading and reviewing my stories; it means a lot. This one-shot was slight inspired byt the song Chicago by Michael Jackson.