Whisper

"What's wrong Peyton?" I asked.

"Remember I told you about memories and how important they are for a woman," she said. "You just messed up my wedding night memory. Now come on over here and do this right."

"Do what right?" I asked. "Peyton, are you so caught up in our fake wedding that..."

"What God damned fake wedding?" she hissed. "Our wedding was real. Sure it's only going to last a year or so. But for that year, I'm going to be the best God damned wife that any man ever had. Will, you've already done more for me than anyone else in my life has. I'm going to make sure that you never regret what you've done for me. Now get in that damned bed.

She flounced back into the bathroom and came out again a few minutes later. She lay down beside me and looked at me with a combination of fear and lust. It turned out that she'd only had sex with Larry twice and the first time she'd been a virgin. Neither time had lasted very long, so she was unprepared for what we did that night.

I started out by just massaging her all over. As I removed each piece of lingerie, I lightly rubbed every inch of skin it revealed. Then I started from her toes and kissed my way back up her body. I spent a lot of time on her breasts and then her pregnant tummy.

Her toes were already curling up and I hadn't really done anything to her yet. "Oh Will, you'd better get started soon or I'm going to explode," she whined. I just smiled and kissed her again.

"So explode," I said. "Then we'll just start again." As I kissed and licked her tummy her whole body stiffened and her legs just spread. I recorded that for future knowledge. She liked it when I kissed her tummy.

Never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I lowered my head between her legs and started to ease my tongue into her sparsely furred slit. Her reaction was immediate and violent. She slammed her legs together almost trapping my head between them, but at the same time she tried to push me away.

"Will, that's dirty, it's..." she began.

"Peyton, did it feel good?" I asked.

"Uhm..." she stalled.

"Peyton, you said that this wasn't a fake marriage," I said. "If we're really married then we have to do anything we can to make each other happy and bring each other pleasure. So I think we should have a Charlie Rich marriage."

"Will, who is Charlie Rich?" she asked, still trying to push me away from her.

"He's a country singer," I laughed.

"Oh no," she said. "No yodeling in our house." I ran one finger up her leg and under it and she moaned. As I rubbed the area around her pussy, she started wiggling her toes again.

"What does he sing?" she asked still moaning.

"His biggest hit is a song about how, "No one knows what goes on behind closed doors," I said smiling.

"I like him already," she said, letting her legs flop back open. I dove for her and licked her from anus to clit in one long slow stroke. All it took was a couple more of those and she screamed."

"Will, you have to fuck me now," she squealed. "Please, just do it." I slowly pushed my dick inside of her. It took some effort because as wet as she was, Peyton was still really tight. It dawned on me that she only had sex a couple of times and that had been a while ago. So I took everything very slowly. I didn't worry about getting off myself. I just wanted to make it as pleasurable for Peyton as possible.

After only a few strokes, Peyton started lifting her hips to match me and things began to get intense. She grabbed the sides of my head and started kissing me. "Will, I can't help it," she hissed. "It feels so good." She started thrusting her hips faster and moving faster and harder. She grabbed me around my waist and started pulling me towards her, forcing me into her faster and harder. She pushed her tongue down my throat and wrapped her legs around my waist and howled like a she wolf when she came. A few moments afterwards, I couldn't hold it and just let go. I shot more semen into her than I had ever put into any woman in my life.

I held her gently and she held me back. Then I noticed that she was crying. I'd heard about Catholic guilt and I wanted to try to comfort her.

"Peyton, you know we're married, so it wasn't a sin and..."

"Will, shut up," she said suddenly.

"I just wanted you to be happy," I said. "And not regret what..."

"Will, did you see what happened between us?" she said. "Did you feel what I felt when our bodies were slapping together like two animals? All I wanted was for you to get deeper inside of me with your tongue and your thing and I just wanted it to last forever. I wanted to be a part of you. That's the way it's supposed to be. The only thing I regret was that it wasn't you who got to me first. The only thing Catholic I'm thinking is, "God I wish this was your baby."

She rolled over and we spooned. She placed my hands on her breasts.

"Peyton, who says it isn't?" I asked.

"Isn't what?" she said.

"Peyton, only four of us know that I'm not the person who got you pregnant. Me, you, Larry and God; no one else has a clue. Everyone in town thinks it's my baby, so why can't it be?"

"We'll talk about that later," she said. "Can we do it again?"

By morning Peyton and I had tried quite a few things. She'd given her first blow job and we'd tried a few different positions. I also learned that her two times with Larry had been very quick. When he'd gotten her cherry, it had hurt her like hell and she hadn't been ready for it. She'd sworn she'd never do it again until the next time she was with Larry. The thing that frustrated her, the most was that she didn't even like Larry but when he was around she just couldn't say no. The second time was worse than the first. He just pushed his dick inside of her and she'd struggled not to cry out. Both times had been really rushed affairs and they'd been afraid of getting caught.

She accused me of turning her into a whore because of the way she reacted to what we did. During our week at sea, we didn't see much of the sea.

We went back to town far closer than we'd been before the wedding and Peyton had a new wiggle in her walk. Peyton was the kind of wife that every man dreams about. Her public displays of affection had every guy I knew seething with jealousy. Even heavily pregnant, Peyton was the sexiest thing on two legs. We went to our parenting classes and we went out on date nights a lot.

We got help from my parents and friends when we moved into a medium sized house. We bought the house more for an investment than anything else. When our marriage was over, I could live in it or sell it. Peyton would probably move back in with her parents.

Larry had gotten a great sales job with a company from New York. He came into town a few times a year but during Peyton's pregnancy we never ran into him. When the baby was born, we named him William James Place Junior. He was a happy little boy and everyone loved him. I was handing out candy cigars in the hospital and noticed that one of the guys I'd just given one to was Peyton's father. He looked at me and his glare softened and he just nodded. When he nodded at me, I was sad because I was sure it was the beginning of the end.

I, of course, took a few days off from work so I could be at the hospital every day with Peyton and the baby. Peyton grabbed onto my hand like it was a life preserver and she was drowning every time I walked back into the room. The day after the delivery, a nurse from the hospital's records department came in and gave me a bunch of insurance forms to sign and Will Jr.'s birth certificate. I handed it to Peyton who smiled and handed it right back to me and told me I was supposed to sign it. So I did. Over the next few days, almost every person that we knew in town came in to visit with us or to see the baby.

I was very shocked when a really pretty girl with chestnut brown hair just came right up to me and hugged me. Then she kissed me on the cheek and I almost fainted. A guy a couple of years younger than me came over and shook my hand. I thought he might've been her boyfriend or husband and might also be pissed but he just patted me on the back.

Before I could figure out what was going on, they left. They'd obviously just come from seeing the baby and I guessed that they were just feeling good after seeing him. I wondered what it was about babies that seeing one, even when it belonged to someone else, just gave people hope.

As I stared at Will Jr. through the glass, I realized that my plan was not going to work. I'd done all of this stuff for Peyton. I'd tried to remain distant, but the fact was that I loved her. When I'd first agreed to the scam or whatever it was, it had simply been for a chance to get to know her. And as stupid as it seems, most guys will do absolutely anything for a pretty woman; especially if she's in trouble. Women have that maternal instinct and will do anything to protect a baby. Men have the knight in shining armor complex and we need to go to the rescue of damsels in distress.

But somewhere along the way, I seriously fell for Peyton. And when this whole thing was over in a few months, I was going to be hurt badly. The ones who fly the highest always get hurt the worst when they fall. And for the past few months, I'd been living as close to heaven as was possible on Earth.

Then there was Will Jr. He was only a day old and somehow when I looked at him I felt a connection that I shouldn't have. He was not my biological child but I loved that wrinkled, wiggling, tiny lump of flesh just as much as if he was.

At that moment, I seriously considered running out of that hospital and never looking back. When Peyton ascended back to Heaven to be with her perfect family, I would be the one crying and missing her. I decided that the best possible way to do it would be to leave her a note explaining why I'd done it. I was trying to figure out what to write when I felt someone behind me.

"He's so beautiful isn't he," she said. It was the woman from before. I just nodded.

"Why are you crying," she laughed. "I guess you and Peyton are probably the happiest people on earth. I've never seen my sister so happy and I guess most of that is because of you. My mom has been down here twice, yesterday and today. Even my grumpy old dad was here yesterday. Once he came by, there was no way of stopping mom. He still claims that Peyton is persona non grata in the house but he isn't fooling anyone. Oops, we've never actually met have we? I'm Julie, Peyton's older sister. The man I was with before is our brother and your brother in law, Jeff. You're Will, right?"

I just nodded. "You guys are so lucky. You have a nice house, a perfect baby and each other. Will, my sister loves you so much. I've never seen her like this before. We just went up to visit her. Every time she says your name she lights up. I only came down here to tell you that she wants you to come back up to her room when you're done, "Staring at the baby and wondering how we're going to get him home." Those were her words not mine. Anyway, I have to go. See you around brother in law."

That was it. There was no easy escape for me. I was locked in. I knew at that moment that I couldn't leave Peyton until she told me that she didn't need me anymore. As I watched Julie walk away, I noticed a couple of things that I thought were interesting too. There were guys in her wake who walked into walls or tripped trying to look at her and she never even seemed to notice it. Julie, when we talked, seemed to think of herself as just some normal girl. She thought Peyton was somehow gifted or lucky to have ME.

When I got back to Peyton's room she was talking to a nurse. She smiled as I came into the room and held her cheek up. The nurse looked at me and smiled.

"Oh go ahead and kiss her," she said. "I think everyone in town knows that you two do a lot more than just that." Peyton smiled even more and turned a little red. But she moved her cheek and kissed me full on the lips and stuck her tongue in my mouth. I was a little bit embarrassed. Then I noticed that my mom, my dad and my sister were moving past the nurse.

"Good Lord. Haven't you guys done enough of that already," laughed my sister.

"You shouldn't get him so worked up, Peyton," said my mom. "You know it's going to be a while before the doctor clears you to go back to any...uhm activity."

"Maybe we just won't tell the doctor," smirked Peyton. "Besides, there's all kind of...uhm activity." My dad's eyes almost exploded. It was strange to hear someone as angelic appearing as Peyton talking as if she was dying to have sex.

My sister and my dad hadn't seen the baby yet. I took them over to the nursery so they could see him. Peyton and my mom chatted happily as we left. I remember thinking that Peyton, besides being amazingly beautiful, had layers to her that I'd never imagined. She was also pretty smart. Things were going along just the way she'd said they might.

She was also a hell of an actress. A big part of it had to be that beautiful, guileless face of hers. She was simply so beautiful that even when she was speaking utter bullshit, you just wanted to believe her. Again, I wondered about the people she left in her wake. My father was in awe of her. My mother loved her like a second daughter. Even my God damned sister, herself a con artist who had trapped her husband, had fallen for Peyton hook, line and sinker. Was I the only one who saw through it? And to be truthful, I only knew because I'd been there from the planning stages.

In the end, I had to admit that I was probably the stupidest one of all. Because I HAD been there when we planned this whole charade out and it had still affected me. I deserved the kick in the teeth that I was going to get when it ended, but I wasn't sure my family did; and what about Peyton's family?

Shit, this was like Loki trying to con his way back into Asgard. All of the people there were good so they believed everyone was good. But the more I thought about it, the more convinced I was that maybe Peyton and Larry Miller deserved each other.

As my dad and sister stared at the baby and tried to pick out traits in him that looked like me and which ones looked like Peyton, I laughed inwardly at how stupid they were. "Oh my God," gushed my sister. "That is so your kid."

"Of course it is," I said. I decided that it was too early in the game to piss on anyone's corn flakes so why not help the fantasy along.

"No, stupid," she said. "I mean really. Peyton has those insane cornflower blue eyes. You have those brown, shit colored eyes. My nephew has your eyes, not Peyton's. And have you noticed his frigging leg?"

"What's wrong with his leg?" I asked, staring at the glass even harder.

"There's nothing wrong with it Sherlock," she smirked. "But he has the same birthmark on his right thigh that you have. That mole dead center on his right thigh; didn't you see it?"

"Oh that," I said. What Summer didn't realize was that Larry had brown eyes too. And moles as birthmarks were fairly common. The baby and I sharing the same spot for a birthmark was definitely a coincidence, but for all I know, Larry could have had one too.

We went back up to the room and Summer kept going on and on about his eyes and the frigging birthmark. She, my mom and even the nurses were working themselves into a frenzy talking about how much the baby looked like me. I started to feel sick. And the thing that made me feel worse was hearing Peyton join in with them. She even had a smile on her face that made me feel even worse. It was like she was enjoying herself while we lied to all of these good people who only wanted the best for her and her child.

I began to wonder how they'd all feel when Larry came back to claim his family. Would they all feel really stupid then? And would they all blame me?

I mean really, I probably wouldn't care very much because when this all ended I'd be on my way out of town. I'd be ready to head for Boston and MIT with the money I'd have saved making my first year there easier. The only problem was the fact that I hadn't been able to save much money. Buying the house and equipping it for Peyton and her child had limited the amount that I was able to put away.

Of course, I could always sell the house. Peyton would probably move back in with her family, so she wouldn't need it. I'd have to talk to her about it as soon as I got a chance. When my mom and dad left, dragging Summer away with them, I felt awful.

"Will, come over here and sit with me," smiled Peyton. She amazed me. Her face was lit up like a fucking Christmas tree and I just felt sick about lying to all of those people.

"Are you okay, Honey?" she asked. "You look a little green." She pressed my hand between hers and kissed it. I almost threw up. She was just carrying this whole thing to fucking far. Trying to run her bullshit on some people who didn't know any better was one thing, but I'd thought that WE were friends. I thought that I deserved better than that, but I guess that she saw me as just another person to fuck over. Everything was fine as long as Peyton got what she wanted.

"They always get that look," said a voice from behind us. "Your father got that look every time, Peyton. The first time, he wondered if we'd be able to make it financially. When you're a young couple and haven't been together for that long, adding a baby to the mix is scary. When there are only the two of you, you know you can survive on anything. You can eat chips and soda and almost live on love. But when you bring a baby into the mix, especially at first, the responsibility just seems huge. You two will do fine."

I turned and saw myself staring at an older version of Peyton. I was stunned. And though I tried to hide it, I was jealous. I felt cheated. I deserved the chance to see Peyton grow into that woman. They always say that if you want to see the woman your wife will be in twenty years or so, look at her mother. I was looking at the woman I wanted to be married to in my mid-forties.

"Mommy, what are you doing here?" asked Peyton. She started to tear up and I couldn't help it. I went into protection mode.

"Your brother and both of your sisters have been here to see their nephew," she said. "Julie and Jeff came to visit YOU too. Even your father was here yesterday to see his grandson. He won't admit it but he won't lie either. He gets angry and changes the subject, but he's been here. So I decided that I could come too."

"I love your father Peyton and I always will, but you're my daughter and what's done is done. You made a mistake, is the way your father puts it now. When you left eight months ago, he called you all kinds of biblical names and said that you'd committed a sin against God and your family."

"Now he just says it was a mistake, but admits that you're trying to put it behind you. Peyton when you came and told us about it, I was shocked. But even that day, when you stormed up to your room and called William here and he rushed right over, I began to doubt that you'd made a mistake. When he stood up to your father and took you out of there, I had to question it even more."

"Maybe what you did isn't what we wanted for you, but you're happy and my grandson is the most beautiful baby I've ever seen. Even now, when I look at the two of you together and the way you look at each other, I hate to say it; but your father was wrong. There haven't been any mistakes made. You guys are doing fine without us. In fact, I think we need you, more than you need us."

"I'll go and check on the baby," I said. "That way you guys can talk for a while." As I got up from the bed, I noticed it again. Peyton seemed reluctant to let go of my hand. She kept her fingers curled up with mine until the last instant that we broke contact. It pissed me off even more. The woman was even trying to con her own mother.