Carnal Convention Ch. 02

"Wow, I should do something about this," thought Marcus though he found the sight of his hot girlfriend wrestling with a half-naked foreign woman kind of arousing.

They spilled off the bed, and onto the floor still holding onto each other, but Michelle finally gained the upper hand. She stood lifting the smaller woman back to her feet and used her superior weight to propel her forward out the door giving her a shove for good measure. Unfortunately, Erin was too drunk to keep her feet. The shove sent her stumbling toward the rope that blocked the top of the stairs. She hit the line and tangled in it as she lurched drunkenly off balance, and managed to tumble down the first flight of stairs landing in a sprawl.

"Oh My!" shouted someone from below. A crowd of people quickly started to gather, and several partygoers came up the stairs to check on Erin though she appeared unharmed by her fall. She stood swaying slightly with her dress still down around her middle.

"What the hell is going on here!" shouted Dan.

He appeared from the middle of the crowd with Kim not far behind. Kim stepped around her husband and quickly moved to stand next to Erin helping her to pull her dress back into place. Michelle and Marcus stood at the top of the stairs looking down at the mess before them. Dan joined Kim a second later still looking for an explanation.

"Well? Is someone going to explain whats happening here?"

"Your daughter is nuts! She attacked me!" said Erin.

"What!? Why would Michelle attack you?" said Dan perplexed.

"Ask her? I was just in the bedroom with Marcus trying to enjoy a moment alone, and she burst in, and attacked me!"

"Is this true, Michelle?"

Michelle descended the steps to stand just above her parents with Marcus right beside her.

"Yes, I did it...but...but...she was all over him like some cheap whore!" said Michelle angrily.

"Why do you care what goes on between her, and Marcus? It isn't like..."

Dan looked first at his daughter, her face red, and angry then at Marcus who seemed very different, uncomfortable, and guilty?

"Dan...Um...There is something I need to tell you," Marcus began.

Realization dawned on Dan's face which quickly morphed into an expression of anger to rival his daughters.

"You Son of a Bitch!" shouted Dan as he grabbed his best friend by his shirt, and pulled him so hard that both men tumbled backward down the last flight of stairs ending up in a pile at the bottom.

They rolled around on the tile while party guest scattered trying to get out of the way of the struggling men. Dan managed to get on top and slugged Marcus across the jaw hard enough to make his head bounce off the floor. Marcus was stunned by the blow, and couldn't resist as Dan went at him again striking him on the cheek. He would have hit him a third time, but Michelle's voice interrupted his motion mid-swing.

"DADDY STOP!"

"I'm going to kill this bastard. My daughter...and behind my back!"

"I love him, Dad!"

"You'll get over it!" shouted Dan back.

He leaned back to bring his fist down again.

"If you kill him you're killing your grandchild's father!"

Silence hit the room, and Dan froze again then slowly lowered his fist looking at his daughter in disbelief.

"What?" he said quietly.

"Wait? What?" groaned Marcus from the floor holding his jaw.

Michelle descended the last few steps and knelt next to Marcus cradling his head.

"I was going to tell you after the party. I'm pregnant."

"Holy shit..." exclaimed Dan stumbling backward off Marcus's chest.

"I'm pregnant with his baby Dad, and I love him," said Michelle defiantly.

"Wow! I do know how to pick em," said Erin staggering down from the stairs and heading for the bar.

The party broke up quickly afterward, and the house was soon empty save for Marcus who held a towel with ice to his aching jaw, and Michelle who sat next to him. Kim and Dan sat across from them the tension so thick in the room it was almost palatable.

"Dan, I know you're angry, and you have every right to be we have known each other a very long time..."

"Which is the only thing keeping you alive right now," interjected Dan.

"Right...So...I should have told you guys up front about Michelle, and I. This is going to sound like a bad movie, but we didn't plan this it just happened, and for what its worth I do love her very much. The closeness that Sally, and I searched for, but never found in our relationship I felt from day one with Michelle. I know I'm not your first choice for a guy to be with her..."

"That's a fucking understatement!" snapped Dan.

"Daddy!" snapped Michelle right back.

"Enough! Both of you!" interrupted Kim. She rarely raised her voice, but when she did it rang with absolute authority.

"Marcus," she said lowering her voice to a more conversational tone, "we have known each other a long time. Dan, and I love you like a brother, but this is a lot to take in. There is the age difference certainly, and Michelle is just getting started with her life she hasn't finished school yet. I mean she is only nineteen, and never been serious with anyone before this so..."

"I get what you're saying Kim. I don't have all the answers. All I know is how I feel about her. Honestly, I can't be without her in my life."

"I've heard enough!" said Dan standing up, "get out of my house, Marcus, you're not welcome here anymore."

"Just a minute Dad you can't do that to him."

"It's o.k. Michelle this is his home, and he can do what he wants. I hope when things calm down maybe we can talk more about this whole thing," said Marcus looking at Dan warily.

"Don't bet on it!" growled Dan.

Marcus made his way to the door with Michelle by his side, and Dan in his wake.

"I don't want to see you anywhere near my daughter again!" shouted Dan at the door.

"I have a stake in her life, and the life of that baby."

"Like hell you do!" snapped Dan slamming the door in his friends face.

The walked back to his home was a short, and painful one. Marcus pulled a beer, and fresh ice from the refrigerator before dropping into a chair at his dining room table. This whole situation had gone to shit so fast he could barely wrap his head around it all, and now there was a baby to consider.

"How the hell did I get myself into this mess," thought Marcus, but he knew he wouldn't change a minute of it. Michelle had come into his life and made it so much better he couldn't imagine going forward without her. He took a swig from his beer wincing as the alcohol hit the sore side of his mouth when a knock came at the front door. He stood, and walked toward the sound trying to remember if Dan owned a shotgun or not. When he opened the door, he found Michelle standing on his porch trying to pull a very stuffed suitcase up the steps.

"Are you going to help me or not? I'm a pregnant woman for crying out loud!"

Marcus smiled for the first time all night and helped her haul her burden into the foyer. She shut the door behind them and stood to look up at him.

"What about your Dad?"

"He will come around or he won't. I think mom is more on our side than she is letting on so maybe she will swing him back to sanity, but either way, I'm where I want to be."

"You're going to have a baby," said Marcus almost in awe as he put his hand on her stomach.

"Our baby...Yes, I am. I can't wait to make him or her their first Power Warriors outfit for Galacta Con."

"I love you, Michelle Thibodeaux."

"I love you, Marcus Shaw."

Marcus pulled her to him, and they hugged tightly together. A stream of happy tears rolled down his face as he contemplated the great adventure that lay before him.