A Bad Bit Nice (13 page)

“Grace was my first everything,” Mick said. “My first female friend, my first girlfriend, my first kiss, my first...you know.”

Em placed a mug of coffee in his hands as she sat down beside him and waited for him to continue.

“We all ended up in an ESL class together, because we were foreign,” Mick laughed at the memory. “That’s where we first met. Once they figured out that we didn’t need to learn how to speak English, we ended up in the same classes anyway, which was nice. Rory, of course, quickly made friends, because that’s how he is. Grace, not so much. She got a lot of attention from the other boys, which made the other girls mad, yeah? And Rory didn’t appreciate the boys’ attention either; he had lots of fights defending her honor.” Mick chuckled at the memory.

“Rory never worried about me doing anything, which is funny. Maybe because he knew I wouldn’t. I just tried to keep my head down and fade into the background, hoping that people wouldn’t pay attention to me. But unfortunately, when you’re 12 years old and six foot two, that doesn’t really work.” Em nodded in understanding. She knew all about the unwanted attention that resulted from developing early.

“So how old were you when the two of you started dating?” she asked.

“Dating? Oh, we really didn’t really date, per se. For one thing, the Doyles were very strict as far as dating went—she just wasn’t allowed. If Rory went out or attended a function, she could go, but otherwise, no. Another thing, I...wasn’t in the position to go to dances or anything of the sort. I didn’t have money or appropriate clothes, and I had responsibilities at home that were more important than dances or movies or anything. Grace didn’t care. She worked at the deli and when her Da gave me a job cleaning up the gym in exchange for lessons and a bit of cash, she hung out with me after, or I with her.

“She found me once when I’d had had an epically bad day, an
epically
bad day. I was in the gym, bawling, beating up a heavy bag so hard and long that my hands were bloody. I’d been harshly punished at home for something trivial, so my body was already black and blue. She was the first person to be really kind to me. She patched me up, took care of me. And then Rory found us. Who knows what was going through his head? All he saw was his best friend, in his underwear, trying to hide a huge hard-on, and his sister, obviously upset. But then Rory saw how beat up I was and figured out that there wasn’t any hanky panky going on, not with the shape I was in.”

“So they both were always there for you,” Em said, thankful that Mick had had at least someone in his life that cared for him.

“Yeah, they were. Really, Grace and Rory and their parents were the only stable people in my life after about age 14. That’s when everything really went into the shitter.”

“So you were friends first, and then lovers,” Em said. “That’s very sweet.”

Mick huffed a laugh. “Rory didn’t think it was very sweet when it happened. No brother wants to know that his best friend took his sister’s virginity and knocked her up. His Da was the only reason that Rory didn’t beat me to a pulp, and I would’ve let him. I thought I deserved it.”

“Why on Earth, Mick? How old were you?”

“We were 19, both out of school.”

Em shrugged. “Not terribly young, then. I mean, yes, young, but it’s not like you were 15 or something.”

“No, that’s true. I’d gotten a scholarship to M.I.T. and had just started there. All tuition and books paid for, but no living allowance, so I lived in an apartment above the fight club and continued to do janitorial work and the like. It worked out.”

“What about Grace?”

“Grace never wanted go to college; she just wanted babies, to stay home and take care of a family,” Mick said with a soft, sad laugh. “She got her wish. When the boys were born, she took care of them and worked in the deli a bit to get out of the house. Her Mam watched them when she worked. It was all good.”

“A set of twins, right?” Mick nodded but looked surprised. “I looked at the scrapbook while you were sleeping,” she said sheepishly. “I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s all right, Em. I would’ve looked, too. But yeah, twins.” Mick was quiet a moment. “She was pregnant again when the boys were six months old.” Em unsuccessfully tried to stifle a shocked laugh, and Mick chuckled. “Yeah, breast feeding as birth control didn’t really work for us.”

“Duly noted,’ Em said with her own sad smile.

“It was our first anniversary. Grace was pregnant, and like the first one, she was either puking or horny,” Mick laughed, remembering how insatiable she’d been. “She was taking the boys to her parents’ house so we could have some time alone. She never made it there.”

Em gasped. “What happened, Mick?” she asked, wrapping her hands around his.

Mick inhaled deeply and chuffed a small, bitter laugh. “She and the boys were hit by a garbage truck on the way.”

Em sat in silent horror.

“You lost all of them, your whole family?”

“Yeah. The boys were killed instantly. Grace survived the trip to the hospital, but died on the operating table. The doctors performed a C-section, but there was too much trauma and the babies were too small.”

“Michael, that’s too much,” Em cried. “That’s just too much.” She gripped his hand so tightly that that he couldn’t feel his fingers.

“I know.”

Tears coursed down Em’s cheeks, but Mick’s eyes were dry, his face a mask of stony grief. They sat side by side on the couch in silence, their hands intertwined.

“Will you stay with me? At least for a while?” he asked, his voice timid.

“Of course I will. I’m not going anywhere.”

They sat on the couch for a while longer, Em still clasping his hand tightly. The long fingers of Mick’s free hand drummed on his thigh. He suddenly stood up and offered his hand to Em. She nodded and placed her hand in his, letting him pull her up from the couch, but then switched places with him, guiding him into the bedroom.

Once in Mick’s room, they both became shy. Mick pulled a shirt and a pair of gym shorts from a drawer and offered them to her.

Em made a face. “A Rambling Wreck t-shirt? Really?” she said with mock offense.

Mick grinned at her and shrugged, though there was a tiny bit of him that wouldn’t have minded if she had just rejected the t-shirt altogether. “There’s an extra toothbrush in the cabinet. I always have extras.”

Em quickly changed and brushed her teeth. When she got back to the bedroom, Mick was already under the covers. He huffed softly when he saw Em in his shirt. It was like a dress on her. She slipped into bed and they lay there, facing each other. She scooted closer to him and put her hand on his face, stroking his beard.

“Why do you do that?” he asked.

She was quiet for just a moment, deciding whether to be honest with him or not.

“I think you hide behind this beard and the long hair. That combined with the smoking and the tattoos, it makes you seem hard, but you’re not. You’re not hard at all.”

Mick had no response. She could see right into his very soul.

“And also I really like the feel of it under my hands,” she said with a small smile. “Does it bother you when I touch your face?”

“No, it feels nice.”

She moved even closer and pressed her lips to the side of his mouth. Mick placed one of his hands on the back of her neck. He kissed her again and pulled her into his body. Em’s arms went around his neck and shoulders. She deepened the kiss, her tongue dancing around his. Mick slid one hand under her shirt, stroking the soft skin of her back. Em did the same, kneading the strong muscles of his shoulders. They lay there for long moments, sharing kisses and shyly touching each other.

“Is this okay?” she whispered.

“Yeah, I think so.”

“You’ll let me know if something doesn’t feel good, right?”

Mick licked his lips and took a shaky breath. “Yeah.”

She continued kissing and stroking him. He gripped her upper arms, holding his body rigid.

“Please relax, sugar. Tell me what you need. Tell me how I can help you feel better.”

When he didn’t speak, Em looked at Mick’s tense face and made a decision. She stroked his bare skin under his shirt and kissed his neck and face, moving her hands over his chest and abdomen, petting his back, stroking his hips and buttocks.

Em moved her body closer, pressing her breasts to his chest while dragging one hand down the length of his body. Her hand brushed his groin and she hesitated. She moved her hands under his soft boxer briefs and gently cupped his balls. His breath hitched for a moment, but then he relaxed into her hands. She looked into his eyes, continuing to stroke his hard length.

“Will you let me do something to make you feel good?”

Mick swallowed and licked his lips. He blew out his breath. “Okay?”

“You don’t sound so sure.”

Mick’s only answer was a soft chuckle.

Em pushed him gently over onto his back. She started to lift his shirt, but he resisted, shaking his head. She nodded, and touched her lips to his. She gazed at Mick’s handsome face. His eyes were still screwed tight, but the large bulge in his black boxer briefs told of his arousal. She palmed his erection through the material of his shorts, and began working them down over his hips and legs. His erect cock slapped against his belly when freed from the soft material. He was now bare from the waist down, and his hands were balled up in fists.

Em stroked his hard cock. He was both long and thick. She circled her fingers around the base, and placed a soft kiss on the head, thinking that it was a really good thing that she didn’t have a gag reflex.

“So, can I do this?” Em dragged her tongue along the vein that throbbed on the underside of his stiff shaft.

“Yeah?”

Em moved back to his face, whispering small encouragements and placing light kisses on his eyelids, temples, and jaw. She moved down his body, kissing his chest and abdomen through the soft material of his t-shirt. She moved between his legs, spreading them. She leaned over and circled the head with her tongue, licking off the bit of moisture at the tip. Mick sucked in a breath.

She took the head in her mouth, swirling her tongue around it. Her hands stroked Mick’s hips and his hard abs. She ran her tongue down the length of his shaft and kissed the base of his cock as she stroked his hard length. She took more of his cock in her mouth, humming around it and tonguing the underside of his shaft. He almost came off the bed when she pulled one of his balls into her mouth while she stroked the sensitive space just behind them.

Mick had moved his hands to her head, wrapping them in her hair. Em looked up and caught Mick’s scorching look as he watched her suck the head of his cock. She slowly took his length in her mouth, swallowing him down and opening her throat to take him all, all the while keeping her eyes glued to his.

She gripped his powerful thighs as she began to move. Mick couldn’t help his natural thrusting and Em continued moving her head with his rhythm. Mick felt the orgasm building in his back, and his breathing changed.

“Em...” he said in warning.

Em responded by taking him deeper down her throat as she prepared for his climax. He groaned her name as his cock twitched and Em swallowed down everything he gave, still sucking and humming around his cock.

After his climax ended, Mick sank into the mattress, his limbs heavy and relaxed.

“Dear God, so that’s what all the fuss is about,” he said breathlessly.

He stroked the back of Em’s head where it lay on his abdomen. At one look at the expression on Mick’s face, Em stated, “No one’s ever done this for you.”

He licked his lips. “Grace had an insane gag reflex. She could barely brush her teeth without yucking. Add that to morning sickness, and she wasn’t too keen on giving oral pleasure.” He shrugged and grinned nervously. “So no, not really.”

Em kissed his softening cock, then made her way back up his body, kissing and nipping at his torso and neck. When they were face to face, Mick tucked her hair behind her ear and started to kiss her on the mouth.

“Wait, let me brush my teeth before...” Mick pulled her head down to him and caught her mouth in a deep kiss before she could finish her sentence. He could taste himself on her and decided that was the hottest thing he’d ever experienced.

Em smiled against his mouth and kissed him again. She kissed his eyes and each cheek, and settled down against the pillows, pulling him against her, his big body sprawled in sated relaxation. He drifted to sleep, his head nestled in the hollow between her breasts.

*****

A soft kiss on his check awakened Mick.

“Hey there. I didn’t mean to wake you. I have an early presentation to prep for. I’ll come by when I’m finished?” Em stroked his face as she posed the question.

“Yeah, come by when you’re finished, please.” Mick searched Em’s face for some clue as to what she feeling, her expression inscrutable. She kissed him again and squeezed his shoulder, giving him a small smile. He grinned as he realized that when she left, she was still wearing only his t-shirt.

He rolled over and put his face in the pillows, inhaling deeply the scent of oranges and vanilla left by Em’s body. Her scent prompted a heaviness in his balls and the hardening of his cock. He threw the covers back and looked at the reaction to her scent. He had slept without briefs and his hard cock was winking up at him. He lazily stroked the head, remembering Em’s warm mouth.

Mick exhaled with a small chuckle. He knew he wasn’t going to get relief unless he took matters into his own hands.

He went into the bathroom, his erection leading the way. He turned on the shower, took off his shirt, and looked at himself in the full length mirror. He was still tightly muscled, though not as hard and big as he was when he was still actively training. His heavily tattooed torso and arms still looked good, he supposed. He turned and looked at his ass.
A little flabby maybe?
He clenched his butt cheeks.
Nah, still good.

He turned back around and touched the large tattoo that covered the entirety of one side of his ribcage. He touched the five names on his left pec.

Mick surveyed himself one last time in the mirror, flexing his big arms and stiff cock, and then got in the shower. He stepped under the scalding water, letting it pound him on the back. He ran his hands over his body, thinking about Em.

As he worked his shaft, he decided that he needed to find some of that orange stuff that Em used. Remembering both her firm grip on his cock with her small, soft hands and her hot mouth enveloping his hard length, Mick came explosively with a loud groan that sounded a lot like Em’s name.

Showered and mostly relieved but still semi-hard, Mick wandered into the kitchen for coffee. Maybe caffeine would clear his muddled head.

As he waited for the coffee to brew, he considered Em. She was beautiful and smart. She made him feel cherished like he hadn’t felt in years, and it wasn’t just because of the physical intimacy.

He smiled when he saw the cake on the prissy cake plate. When had she made this? He opened the note next to the cake.

Michael,

I made this for your birthday. Have some for breakfast. You deserve something sweet. I’ll see you soon.

Em

XO

P.S. I know your birthday was two days ago. Work with me.

He dipped his finger in a bit of icing and stole a pecan off the top of the cake. He would wait to share it with Em. Cake was always better when shared with a friend.

Mick wandered back into his bedroom, coffee in hand. He leaned against the door jamb, looking at the bed, both pillows dented where their heads had rested earlier. It had been a long time since he had shared a bed with someone. It was just as nice as he remembered, and it was something he could get used to.