[IC] The Price of a Glorious Night

[GrayFox]

Sean Malloy was one of the town’s most eligible bachelors. Granted, a woman had yet to get him to settle down into even a steady relationship, forget marriage. He was also the town’s most well-known playboy, spending daddy’s money nearly as fast as it came in.

His hair was slicked back and he was wearing an expensive blue suit that his father had picked out for him. He had begged his father to not make him attend the party that night but to no avail. It was a charity event that Sean’s father’s company was hosting, the party was supposed to be the event of the year.

Sean begrudgingly attended the party, and glued himself to the bar. He was drinking a martini when he spotted a woman across the room. She was different than the other women who had been vying for his attention that evening. He grabbed a glass of champagne off the tray of a passing waiter and headed over.

He handed her the glass of champagne. “I haven’t seen you around before,” Sean flashed her his most charming smile. “Sean Malloy. Care to dance?”

[DestinyStar]

"Duuuuude, thiz party is tha SHIT!"

A loud giggled escaped her pearly pink lips as she leaned against the bar. Allison was not usually the type to get plastered at parties like this, but the week had been a rough one. First, her bosses had been harping at her for not being "friendly enough" on the phones; her sales were down, so they were on her back each and every day. Her car had nearly been repossessed because of the resulting pay cut, and her roommate kept her up at night crying about her new cheating ex-lover. This weekend could not have come soon enough, and after FINALLY resting up again all day, she just wanted to get out and have a good time.

Sapphire, her roommate, had accompanied her tonight and both of their resulting misery had turned into the drunk, stumbling messes that were these two women. They were attempting to dance, but now worn-out from falling on one another had come to lean against the bar and laugh about how stupid they each looked. The music was loud, the drinks were flowing, and they both felt it was justified as a "good cause" because of the charity factor. Oh, yes, those skin-tight, leg-flashing, cleavage-revealing black club dresses were definitely for a good cause.

The unfamiliar face of this young gentleman had startled Allison, but after a quick glance to each other Sapphire had decided to excuse herself. Allison quickly and obviously straightened up before flashing him a kind smile, her cheeks flushed red with the heat of her liquor. "Well, I don't think I've seen that handsome mug of yours before, either..." She giggled once again, pushing a strand of velvety hair behind her ear as she gazed up at him with hazel eyes. Her words slurred a bit, but one might be surprised how well-kempt she seemed for as drunk as she was just moments ago. She had always been good at hiding her drunkness, especially from her parents. This was a bit different, and he didn't seem quite as gullible, but still. She wouldn't get lucky with someone this handsome if she was annoying and loud. Time to put on the charm.

Delicately, she took the glass in her hands and flashed him another charming smile. "Well thank you! I'm Allison... Allison Taber." Something about his gaze made her feel almost shy, and she glanced to where her friend was at, a bit shyly. She seemed preoccupied, so what could be the harm in splitting up for the night. Now feeling excited, she turned and took his hand in hers. "I'd love to dance! That is... if you can keep up." With a charming wink, she placed the glass onto the bar and pulled him out to the dance floor, allowing the good time to really begin. Luckyyy!

[GrayFox]

Sean followed Allison out onto the dance floor and did his best to impress her with his dance moves. He'd had enough alcohol to loosen himself up, liquid courage never hurt. Sean decided that the charity event would have been a total bust without Allison. Having danced enough to start sweating he pulled Allison off to a private table.

"Tell me about yourself, Allison," Sean motioned a waiter over to get them some drinks.

Sean wasn't particularly interested in Allison, he just wanted to know how hard he was going to have to work to get Allison up to the room he had at the hotel the party was being held at. He kept the drinks coming before offering to take Allison up to his room. Sean had the presidential suite, the perks of being his father's son.

[DestinyStar]

Allison was not all that impressed with his dance moves, but with a body like that she didn't care what he moved like unless it was under sheets. She giggled and danced along with him, really enjoying the heat of the dance floor. It was a classier party than she was used to, which meant they didn't get to really brush up against one another, but she could still appreciate his company even with the space between them. Anything was better than being in her stupid cubicle.

Sweat glistened on her forehead as she was suddenly whisked away to a nearby table, her head spinning pleasantly with the warmth of the music, lights, and cheerful people. She was feeling good about this time, and she was glad to see him just as happy... and sweaty. God, he was hot. The little beads of sweat dripping down his neck had her practically screaming inside, just fuck me, already!!! Normally Allison liked the tease a bit more, and she would play hard-to-get, but this week had been so bad she was ready to just jump into bed and get rid of all that stress. "Ah, there's not much interesting about me, really... I like to dance, haha! I've kinda lived here forever... Pretty boring, really. What about you? Anything I should know about you, mystery man?"The drinks couldn't come quick enough, and in just a few minutes she was more than wasted enough to agree to anything. He asked her to join him in his room, and of course her answer was an immediate "yes."

The room itself was actually pretty impressive. He hadn't seemed like the rich kid time, but this was definitely one of the nicer rooms in the hotel. He must be fucking loaded... Whatever the case, she was happy to be here with him. She was so excited by this point that her shoes were off the moment he closed the door. "Man, it was hot down there!!" Allison fanned herself as she went to sit down on the couch. "Well, I've never been one to mind a little heat..." She used one of her famous lines as she looked up at him from under her long lashes. Her eyes seductively traced along his broad muscles, luring him in with her best charms. She never really knew if it was all that attractive when she was drunk, but it seemed to get her laid before so it couldn't be that awful.

[GrayFox]

Sean almost laughed at her comment about not minding a little heat but he wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to get laid. He took a seat next to her on the couch and put his arm around her. “Let me know if things get…too hot…for you to handle.” He said before closing the distance between them and kissing her.

Deciding he’d worked hard enough, Sean picked Allison up, never breaking contact with her. He carried her over to the bed and gently tossed her down. He quickly got out of his clothes, throwing them onto a nearby chair before crawling into bed with Allison to help her out of her clothes. It was going to be a fun night….

[DestinyStar]

Allison found herself drawn into his manly charms. Her body practically begged for his heat as she leaned forward to meet his lips, gently sneaking her hand up his arm to feel his broad muscles. This is where the real fun began. Even though she was still tipsy, she had come down enough to still be conscious of the events this night - and oh, they were delightful. His hands felt amazing against her skin, and she loved the feel of the heat between them as they rocked through the night. He was strong, and firm, but not so much so that it left her in pain. He really knew how to make her feel good, and if she were being frank he was one of the best she'd had up to this point. It was one incredible night to remember.

She awoke very early the next morning, while it was still dark outside. Nobody had come to disturb them during the evening, so they lay in the tangled sheets where they had fallen asleep after their passionate evening together. Allison saw that he was still asleep next to her, and something unexpectedly warm flushed to her cheeks. Under the light of the moon, he was even more attractive than when she was drunk. Damn, I scored tonight... Sapphire is going to love hearing about this one. Of course, her friend had probably either returned home or found her own guy to sneak off with. They had a sort of silent agreement to check in the next morning, but not the night of because they didn't want to kill any moods.

As quietly as she could, Allison climbed out of bed and slipped back into her tight black dress from the night before. Sapphire always stayed until afternoon, so it looked like she would be taking a cab in this. Sigh. As she slipped on her heels, she took a moment to sit in the small armchair, her head reeling. Hangovers were the worst part of all this. It would take all day for this pestering headache to go away. Even so, she felt much better than she ever did at work; her body was light and comfortable, as if all her problems had just flown away. Without the headache and queasiness, the high after was the greatest feeling. It was a shame that she would soon forget a night as great as this, what with him being such a looker and all, but she didn't want to be tangled up in the drama that came with a full relationship.

After cleaning up a bit in the bathroom, Allison grabbed her bag and began her journey home, where she could rest and relax until it was time for her hell job.

[GrayFox]

When Sean woke the next morning Allison was already gone. He stretched and stifled a yawn before taking a quick shower. It was a shame Allison had already left but he'd be with a new girl that night so it didn't really matter.

He'd had a really good time with Allison, she'd be tough to beat. While Allison might be going off to work, Sean would be finding another party to go to, another girl to sleep with. His father was a very wealthy man which allowed Sean to not have a care in the world.

He got dressed and headed for his car. He wondered briefly if he would be seeing Allison again, they certainly had a wonderful time.

[DestinyStar]

Several weeks passed before Allison began to feel sick. She would always feel nauseous in the morning - it even got so bad that she had to call out of work once, much to her boss' anger. More than that, she even spent a weekend at home trying to get over whatever sickness had taken hold of her. It felt strange to her, as she usually felt better a little after lunchtime; the illness wasn't lingering, but rather on and off. There were even some days she didn't feel it, at all. The thought of pregnancy had occurred to her, with morning sickness as a lingering thought, but she always brushed it off. She took birth control religiously, so there was no way, right?

Then she missed her period... for the first time. Unlike many other girls, hers had always been regular, so this struck her as highly out of the ordinary. But rather than take a pregnancy test and figure it out on her own, she continued her denial and opted to see a doctor who, in turn, gave her the horrid news. Her skin turned pale white, and she could hardly hear the rest of the doctor speak as that single, awful word repeated in her mind over and over. Pregnant, Pregnant, Pregnant, Pregnant...

As was expected, her mother was elated. Her father? Furious. Mainly because she didn't know who the father was. She spent that entire evening racking her brain with the names and faces of men she'd been with, lately. The doctor said she was about four weeks out, so who had she slept with a little over a month ago? Had she used protection with all of them? Her head spun as she stared at the blank ceiling in her currently-empty apartment. Sapphire was once again out this Saturday evening, but Allison couldn't bring herself to go anywhere as depression hit her hard.

I'm never going to be able to take care of a baby on my own... I can barely afford to live by myself. And what if Sapphire wants to move away? I know she doesn't like kids... I don't have the money to live on my own, and like hell I'm moving in back in with mom and dad. Her hands gently moved to rest on her stomach as her gaze grew somber. I could... always get an abortion...? But... Thoughts of a cute little child being murdered ran through her mind, and she immediately grew nauseous. ... I couldn't do that...

So that was that. She was going to be a mom. It took her a good while to process everything, but by morning she had decided her first focus should be on finding the father. Allison couldn't even begin to think about the logistics of having a child if she didn't know whether the father would want to be involved in the child's life. If they didn't... Well, it was best not to think negatively right now, her mother had told her. The child would be affected by it. Though it's hard not to feel panicked, right now... It took almost all day to locate the number of the boy she thought might be the father.

Actually, it was just the number... She couldn't remember the name or face of the boy she'd slept with, but the number was in her texts from exactly a month ago, and it was one of only several unknown numbers - the only one on a weekend. At some point in her drunken stupor, probably right before she'd fallen asleep, she sent him a picture of a tiger with the comment, "Thinksin ov ur dik hahs!" Definitely a drunk text... It was embarrassing to see her past stupidity, as she usually tried not to think about it, but this was necessary. Honestly, she didn't even remember giving a fellow her number, but she nervously dialed the phone, heart in her throat, to dig up a fling for the first time. Hopefully, it was the right one.

"H... Hello? Hey, uhm, so... I'm not sure who this is, but I found your number in my phone so I think I met you once before... Could you maybe tell me who you are...?" It was an awkward way to start a conversation, but it would have to work.

[GrayFox]

"When are you going to grow up and get a job?" Sean's father thundered. "I did not pay for you to go to Yale to just have a wall ornament, I meant for you to use your degree. Instead, you're out partying every night doing god knows what with God knows who!"

"Relax pop, I'm just enjoying my youth." Sean had this argument with his father at least once a week and his mother always took his side.

Sean's father was a very successful businessman who wanted nothing more than for his son to come work for him. He wanted Sean to take his place as CEO of the empire he had built. Sean only seemed interested in goofing off with parties and as many women as would have him.

Speaking of women, a name he hadn't expected to see again flashed across his phone screen. "Hello?"

Sean's father was visibly irritated that Sean had answered the phone during their discussion.

"I'm a little hurt that you don't remember me, Allison," Sean teased. "I'm Sean Malloy. We met at a charity event at one of my father's hotels about a month ago. Do you maybe want to grab a bite to eat and catch up?"

Sean normally had a rule about not doing the same girl more than once, but he'd make an exception for Allison. It had been a really good night.

[DestinyStar]

Allison was surprised to hear how relaxed he was, or that he had even answered at all. Though what did she really expect, for him to be panicking as much as she was? Even if this was the right guy, he didn't even know her reason for calling, yet. I'm getting ahead of myself... She took a quiet, shaky breath before continuing with a bright and happy voice. He seemed eager to meet again, which was a good thing. The charity event...? Well, that's the only one I've been to in awhile... We had a really good time, that night. Her face flushed red at the thought of it. Now she remembered. How could she forget? No wonder he wanted to meet, again.

"Sorry, been to a lot of charity events, lately. You know, giving back and all." She did her best to tease him back, but something in her stomach knotted as she flirted with him - just ever so slightly. Guilt? He probably wouldn't be interested once he hear what she had to say. "But you know, I do remember having a really good time with one young gentleman. That must have been you, Sean." She smiled a bit, expertly keeping her cool. "Sure, I'd love to meet up. When sounds good to you...?"

And just like that, she made plans to meet him at a local diner in a couple of hours, where she would somehow have to determine if it was worth scaring him off by telling him he might be... well, a father. What if he just stormed out of the diner without hearing her out? Of course, she would offer to pay for some kind of DNA test, since a cool guy like him probably didn't want to be tied down for something like this without solid proof. Allison was almost certain, though - they had been careless, that night, and normally she wasn't. That had been a special night, full of anger and a couple more drinks than usual. It had to be him.

With nice clothes and her hair and makeup done neatly, she went to meet him at the diner, a light hand resting on her stomach. I... I have a human baby inside of me... This is so weird...

[GrayFox]

Sean hung up the phone with Allison and started to excuse himself. “Excuse me, where do you think you’re going?” Mr. Malloy was now furious.

“Gotta run, Pop,” Sean flashed a charming smile.

“For what? Some floozy? Son, we were having a conversation. A conversation about your future!”

“We’ll talk another time, Pop. We have this conversation almost every day. I’m sure you’ll remember your criticisms of my life tomorrow.” Sean clapped his father on the back as he passed him to leave.

Sean headed home and changed into a casual tan t-shirt, dark wash jeans and a black sports coat. He was going for a street chic look. He checked his hair in the mirror before grabbing the keys to his Camaro.

Now, Sean was not the type to eat at a diner but he wasn’t about to turn down the chance to see Allison again. He felt very out of place when he parked his car out front. He double clicked the lock button on his remote to make sure his car was locked. He headed into the diner and took a seat across from Allison in a booth.

“Recognize me now, Allison?” Sean asked with a smile. “How have you been? It’s been a little while since I saw you last.”

[DestinyStar]

She was almost terrified to enter the diner. What if he reacted badly? What if she were left to deal with this on her own? After all, they really didn't know each other... like at all. Sighing, she adjusted her tight, black pencil skirt and cute green blouse before walking into the diner. Her hair was thrown up into a neat bun that was almost elegant enough to make her grown up. He had been hanging at a huge party like that, so she figured he was a bit of a gentleman. He had certainly treated her well that night, after all.

Though she dressed nice, the fabric was of a quality just good casual enough to still fit the diner atmosphere. Unfortunately, there weren't many places she could afford on her paycheck, and this place would have to do for a lunch date. It was nicer than most places, but as soon as she saw him walk in he definitely stood out from the crowd. She hadn't even noticed her cheeks flushing red as he took a seat right across from her.

"Hey stud," She greeted him, smiling sweetly. "Of course, of course! Sorry about that... I was hoping that number was yours, though. I just had to see you, again." Allison gave herself an internal smack for that one. Why are you being so flirty? He's going to know that you need something... Though it's not like I need something except to let him know something.

Not much happened, conversation-wise. They caught up a little, ordered some food, had a bit of small talk. It was easy to keep a conversation with him, and before she knew it they had both eaten and were getting ready to pay the bills. She panicked a bit at the idea of him leaving, and looked nervously at the check in her hand. "Actually, I had a reason for wanting to see you, today..." She said. It's best to just rip it off, like a band-aid. With a deep breath, she said what needed to be said. "I'm sure this is the last thing you want to hear today, and honestly I'm not even sure I should tell you... But... uhm... Well, I'm pregnant, Sean..." Slowly, she peeked up at him to see how he was reacting. "And the doctor says, uh... I'm about four weeks..."

[GrayFox]

Sean did the math quickly in his head. Four weeks...that meant.... His eyes widened in recognition but he quickly recovered. "The doctor? You've been to a doctor then?" He started to ramble as he was processing the news. "So it's mine then. Four weeks. Four weeks. Are you sure you're pregnant? Are you sure it's mine?"

Sean ran his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath. "Sorry, I'm just surprised and trying to process."

The waitress came by for their checks and Sean handed her his black American Express card. "I've got them both please."

"Alright. So you're pregnant. Are you keeping it? Do you want an ... an...abortion?" Sean whispered the last word. "I would prefer if you didn't if you're asking my opinion. I'm Catholic." He added in his religion as though that explained everything. "What exactly do you want from me? Did you just want me to know? Do you want me to be involved? If you want me to be involved I am there 110%, whatever you or the baby needs."

Sean might be a playboy but he was not about to turn his back on the mother of his child or his child. He would take responsibility just like his father had taught him.

[DestinyStar]

Shit, shit, shit... The color seemed to immediately drain from Sean's face, and Allison began to panic. I shouldn't have told him. Shouldn't have said a word. It may not even be his...! Shit... Her face flushed red with embarrassment, though to be honest he was taking it better than she thought he would. In all the movies, the guys went straight to accusing and blaming the girl, and usually they would insist on an abortion. But he was different. Instead, he seemed to take a legitimate pause to wrap his head around things.

His first question was obvious - yes, she was pregnant. "There's no mistaking it. This is for real..." Even though she said that, she still felt like she was in some sort of twisted dream. "I missed my period and have been sick every morning. That's why I went to the doctor. She said there's no doubt." At his second question though, she paused and looked down at her hands nervously. There was no denying she was a total sex-craving slut, now was there? Although normally she could play it off as being one night where she had "a bit too much", she knew that she would have to be honest with him about something this serious. "I'm, uh, actually not entirely certain..." She looked up at him. "I mean, I was with a couple other guys around the same time... but the day we met matches up almost perfect, according to the doctor. They said if I'm uncertain though, that you should come in for a DNA test..." At this point she was rambling a bit, feeling just as overwhelmed as he looked. "I'll pay for it, of course. I mean, I understand if you don't want to, or if you don't want anything to do with this, but I would like to know...

Her heart ached at the mention of an abortion, and she quickly shook her head. "No. I... I thought about it all night. I just... couldn't..." Her hands fluttered up to her still-flat stomach. She was relieved that they seemed to agree on that. "Honestly..." Allison looked at the table in front of her, not even protesting when he paid for her check. "I... I don't know. I don't even know why I came here, or why I tried so hard to get ahold of you. I just, I was surprised, and it seemed like the thing to do, and maybe I thought you should know... I don't know... I thought you would want to know if a mini version of you might be walking around, and maybe I thought you could be involved... but I know you probably want nothing to do with this, and I'm just really embarrassed and overwhelmed and I can't turn to my parents and my best friend wouldn't even look at me if she knew and I don't know what to do or where to go or how to support this baby and I just thought that if I at least knew the name of the father I could... I-I could..." Her rambling slowly began to dissolve into sobs as she, for the first time since hearing the news, allowed herself to break down. Tears began to stream down her face and she quickly moved to wipe them away, feeling all kinds of emotions all at once. Fear, sadness, frustration, loneliness... It all welled up at once in front of this boy she barely even knew - and who might be the father to the unborn infant in front of her. The gravity of it weighed especially heavy in this moment.

"... shit..." Allison was embarrassed to be seen like this in front of a stranger, let alone one of the boys she had hooked up with. At the time, she hadn't even imagined seeing him again. Now look at her... Carrying his damn child. Possibly. Everything was so overwhelming, she didn't seem to fully comprehend his offer to be involved. Her heart ached and she really just wished she could disappear.

[GrayFox]

Sean quickly moved to the other side of the booth so he was next to Allison. He wrapped one arm around her and hugged her gently. "It's alright, it's going to be alright," Sean said in the most soothing voice he could muster.

Having a baby was a big deal and he didn't know exactly how everything was going to be alright but he was determined to make it so. He thought for a moment, "Don't worry about a DNA test right now. The math adds up. If you want me to have one later that's fine but I thought I'd heard it was bad to do it during pregnancy. Even if it turns out not to be mine you still got a friend here for you. I am not going to let you go through this alone."

Sean moved so he could better see Allison's face. "So what's the next step? Walk me through it and I'll be there. Do you want to hang out some more so we can better get to know each other?"

[DestinyStar]

Allison quickly buried her face in her hands, unable to control the sobs as he moved to sit next to her in the booth. Her heart ached, and all she could think about was how badly she had fucked up. Everything had been fun up until now, and although she hated her job she still tried to enjoy life to the fullest. Now it felt like a giant chain was wrapped around her neck. A child? She had never wanted that. In all honesty, she had thought she wouldn't ever find anyone who would want to deal with her on a real, emotional level. She wasn't the easiest person to handle, if he couldn't tell that already. It felt like her world was crumbling, and she was trapped under the wreckage - alone, lost, and scared.

Except she wasn't alone. Here was this stranger, a pretty boy that she'd fucked because she felt like it, willing to help her with this child. Normally someone might feel warm and fuzzy inside from something like this, but Allison just felt more on edge. It just didn't add up for him to want to help her. What if it wasn't even his? He might just be concerned about the baby because he wants a child. Maybe he plays with women hoping this will happen. Whatever his reason, it's not like it's out of care for me...

Slowly, she turned to look at him. Sean had a very calming look in his eyes. She didn't trust it, but something about his gaze put her at ease. If he really wants to help me, he has no idea what he's in for... Slowly, she began to regain her composure and wiped the tears from her face. Her vain mind even thought, I hope my makeup isn't too smudged... "I... I don't know what the next step is," she admitted. "I don't even know anything about being pregnant... or raising a child. Do you?" Her eyes bore into his as she tried to understand him just a bit more, anything to help get rid of this sick feeling in her stomach. "Look... I know I'm the one who called you here, and I don't want to be rude, but you don't really seem like the type to want a child. So why would you help me? I could be crazy. I heard children require a lot of time and care, so you'd have to be around me all the time... I don't think that's something you'd really want, to be honest. I'm not the most, uh... pleasant... person."

Maybe he did really understand what is going on here. But while he seemed nice, she couldn't help feeling like this was all her fault. His life didn't need to be ruined just because she made some stupid choices.