Sidelines

Disclaimer: If you've seen it or heard about it in real life it most likely isn't mine. I plan to return everything I borrowed in the same shape and form I got it, so basically...please don't sue. lol


PART 1


She’d been there, on the side for almost ten years now. She’d dealt with the birth of his daughter, his failed marriage, and as he slowly climbed to the top and made a name for himself. She’d been there for it all really. And through it all, Alex had never let anything bring her down. He never admited, it, never said the words, but she knew he loved her. She held strong and had faith that one day he would surprise her and the words would tumble freely from his mouth as if he were in the midst of a new rhyme.

She’d never asked for anything from him. Made sure he didn’t think she only wanted his money, though he didn’t have any when they’d first started seeing each other. Either way, she let him make all the decisions and tell her when and where they were going to meet. Never once did she complain or make him do something else. When he told her he was getting her a new apartment, it might have been the only time she tried to fight him. Of course it hadn’t lasted long. He’d taken her to bed no sooner then the last word had left her mouth and hadn’t let her out until she’d given in.

Since then, things had been going great. He would call her almost every night, just to tell her how his day was going and to hear about hers. Sometimes he would tell her to come over and other times he would show up there. But either way, it was a normal occurrence for them to see each other at least five times a week. But lately it had been getting harder. She didn’t want to be the *other* woman, she wanted to be *his* woman.

Now that he’d finally admitted it was over with his ex, she didn’t understand why they couldn’t be together. Shouldn’t that have been the green light in their secret affair, wasn’t it a sign to move into something more? That’s what Alex had been hoping for, but Marshall had seemed content to leave things as they were. So that’s why she’d asked him over. After all the years they’d been together, Alex was going to ask for something. Not money or a car, she didn’t need or want those things. What she wanted was him. She wanted to stay in his arms all night and wake up in the morning to feel his warmth against her back. She wanted to call his house at anytime of the day and talk freely to him with out having to disguise her voice or block her number. She wanted them to be a couple. And she hoped he wanted that too.

If not, then he would have to look for another girl…one who didn’t want a relationship. She was twenty-eight, the better part of her life had been spent with this man and as much as she loved him, she would leave him. She wanted a husband and hopefully children someday. She needed stability in her life and hopefully he was ready for it too.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Marshall arrived at Alex’s, wondering what was going on. It wasn’t often she called him, asking he come see her, she normally just waited for him. Not that he minded really. Hell, he was always happy to see her. She was one of a kind. Stood by him no matter what kind of shit he put her through. Not many women would have stuck with him like she did. But that was why she was his baby girl. Well, as far as he and his boys knew anyway. Even though they’d been seeing each other for how many years now, he still hadn’t gone public with her. No one other than his close friends knew about her or even saw her. They were careful not to be anywhere in public together and no pictures had ever been taken of them. For ten years they’d kept their affair a secret. It was too important not to.

He wasn’t ashamed of her! No, that wasn’t it at all. There was nothing to be ashamed of anyway. She was beautiful. She had a tiny little frame, only about 5’2, which was fine with him since there weren’t many people he could tower over. She had wavy brown hair that fell past her shoulders and spilled onto her back, topped by emerald green eyes that shined with happiness just about all the time. She really was quite the looker.

And Marshall cared for Alex, even loved her to a certain degree, but it would be too hard for them to come out as a couple. Too many people wouldn’t understand their closeness. He was sure someone would realize they’d been together longer than he’d advertised and he wasn’t sure he wanted to deal with that. It wasn’t because he cared what Kim thought. No, he didn’t give two shits about that bitch. She never cared about his feelings when she was out screwing whoever she wanted and having other men’s babies and shit. No, that bitch could just rot in hell for all he cared. But he did care about his daughter. Hailie was sure to find out and realize that he had been with this woman while he was supposedly trying to have a family with her and her mother. He couldn’t take the disappointment that was sure to be in her eyes. He’d never once caused his little girl to look at him like that and he wasn’t about to start now.

Besides, he really didn’t want another relationship. Didn’t need another woman in his life to do him wrong. As much as he wanted to believe that Alex wouldn’t do that shit to him, he couldn’t allow himself to. After all, he didn’t think Kim woulda do the shit she did to him until after he found out about it all anyway. And damn, why the hell was he thinking about this shit now? Alex was in there, waiting for him and he was standing in her hallway like a dumbass. So with that thought in mind, Marshall took his key out and entered the darkened apartment.