“Yes.”
Yes? Yes!
“Friends?”
“Yeah, Abigail, I want to be friends. Is that a problem?”
Suddenly, her small kitchen felt too goddamn tiny. “Sure. We can be
friends
. Great. Come on, Penelope! We’re taking a shower!”
“What? Hey, don’t go yet. Wait, I want to feel you some more.”
“Hmm, maybe we could play Scrabble later and do each other’s hair. That’s what friends do, Sean—not
feel some more
. Come on, Penelope!”
“What did I say? Why are you so pissed off? I just told you something I’ve never told anyone, and you just walk out on me?”
“I’m not walking out on you. I’m taking a shower while you fix dinner. I’ll put together a salad when I get back. Chubby girls have
dinner
with their friends, while skinny ones get to roll in the sheets! Now, Penelope!”
The poor dog slinked to the bathroom door. “Abigail, I didn’t mean it like that! Get your ass back here!”
The rush of control felt good as she slammed the bathroom door. Screw good; it felt
amazing
to be the one in control of the conversation for once. And…it gave her a small amount of pride to finally have enough courage to slam a door. He’d just said he didn’t want to throw away what they’d started, and the idiot went and did just that. Justin had been right. She was never going to find love again. She turned on the shower and tugged her clothes off while the dog tucked herself into a corner.
“I’m sorry, girl. I didn’t mean to yell at you. Crap, I didn’t mean to yell at him either.” The spray heated her skin in tiny prickles. “Why do I have to like him so much? Those damn rose petals! Now I really won’t be able to sleep for a month.”
The vision of a ten-year-old Sean waking up and waiting for his mom to fix him breakfast stung her eyes. Thank God the water hid the tears that wouldn’t stop coming. The precious gift he’d given her was his trust. A secret so devastating he’d hidden it from the world. He’d tucked his pain neatly inside. She looked down at her stomach, tracing the white scars with a shaking fingertip. She’d done the very same thing.
“You goddamn bitch! Stop crying! Stop fucking crying! I told you if you signed those fucking papers you’d never see the light of day. Baby isn’t even mine, is it? Is it! You’re nothing but a fat slut! Was he good? Bet he loved fucking my pussy. My pussy, Abigail! It’s mine! It’ll always be mine!”
“Please, Justin, please…please. Just let me go. There’s no one else! I swear! Please don’t hurt me! For God’s sake, don’t hurt us!”
“Get in there, bitch! Now! Don’t make me kick you again. What? Don’t look at me like that. You’ve got this coming.”
“You okay in there?” Sean asked from behind the closed door.
Abigail jumped and slipped on the wet porcelain, catching herself before she hit the tub. “I’m fine! Be out in…in a minute!”
“Steaks are almost done.”
“Okay!”
“Abigail?” His voice wasn’t muffled anymore.
Panic rose with the bile in her stomach. “Pl-Please don’t come in here.” She heard the door open farther.
“I want you to know I didn’t mean what you thought.” The imprint of a large palm pressed against the plastic curtain.
“I don’t think anything. I’m fine. Sorry I got upset. It’s not you. It’s…it’s me.”
Her palm fit perfectly against his. He pressed, and she pressed back. “Friends can be more than friends, you know?”
“They can?” She smeared water across her forehead.
“Yes, they can. I’ve never needed anyone in my life, Abigail. But I think I need you.”
She needed him too. “We can be friends if that’s what you want. I just thought you wanted something different.”
“I do. I’m tired of the same old thing. You’re different. I know you think I’m just a musclehead—that I’ve got only half a brain—but I’m smarter than you think. I’m smart enough to know a good thing when I see it. Why are you laughing in there?”
The fact that she was crushing like a fifteen-year-old wasn’t the answer she wanted to give him. It was true, but the vision she’d had startled her too. The laugh was part relief and part delirium. Thoughts of that night stabbed her brain every now and then. Like when she stood in line at Eddie’s, her favorite hamburger joint. Or when she sat in Cassie’s chair getting her highlights touched up. They were like tiny, malignant creatures that struck with no prior notice, paralyzing her with fear.
The time for her to live had finally come; time for the visions to be buried like the small ivory casket in Peaceful Haven Cemetery. She had to summon the bravery to live.
“Sean?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you like kids?”
“I haven’t really thought about it,” he said. “I guess so. Hey, I found a key chain by the counter. Is it yours?”
Abigail felt bile rise from her trembling stomach. “Sort of. Sometimes I get things in the mail from fans. No big deal.”
“Are you sure? There’s some crazy people out there, Abigail. If someone’s harassing you, let me know. I’ll take care of it.”
“It’s…it’s okay.” It felt good to have someone offer to
take care
of Justin, even if the intentions were only in her mind. Sean was brave. She was banking and hoping on that very fact.
The hot water beat down on the tension in her neck. “When are the steaks going to be done?”
“Get your ass out here and find out.” Thank God he didn’t push her further. She just wanted to know if he liked kids. That was all. She knew he understood how it felt to be pressed for answers he didn’t want to give. She appreciated that about him. “You’ve been in there forever. Your poor dog’s going to turn into a prune from the steam. You’ve got five minutes, or I’m carrying you out of there myself. Come on, girl.”
Penelope’s claws padded on the tile, followed by the sound of the door clicking shut.
Abigail scrubbed the poof across her armpit. “If he can be a fighter, so can I.”
Chapter Nine
“See, right here, he’s taken the ledger balances and just put the numbers in the wrong sequences. It was an honest mistake. The newer business models don’t recommend doing this all by hand. I have a few computer programs that would be better for your business and make it easier to understand. It’ll be easier during tax time too, when you have to find the credits and debits. I hope you’re keeping all of the receipts. We, I mean you, need to go through those too. It looks like he’s not kept an accurate record of all the things going out.” Sean scribbled a few notes on a legal pad. “These numbers are all wrong. My God, Abigail, do you realize how much you’re worth?” He looked up just in time to watch her sneak a piece of steak down to Penelope.
“I don’t know. I got paid just like everyone else. Every two weeks, there’s a deposit in my checking account. I do all right. I made around $75,000 last year. I can’t complain. When I was teaching, I was lucky to break $35,000.”
Sean’s stomach lurched. “Abigail, if these figures are wrong—which, with just my quick calculations they are—you’re worth over a million dollars.”
She stuck the tines of her fork in the salad. “No, I’m not. I would’ve known if I was worth that kind of money. We have back orders out the wazoo, but there’s no way I’ve made that much money.”
He set the pen on the notepad. “Look at this.” She leaned next to him, and the smell of vanilla warmed his nose. “Abigail, I’m serious. Your accountant made some moderately sound investments. A few of them paid off. We need to redirect those funds, but yeah…you’re worth over a million.”
The way she dabbed the napkin against her mouth made him want to shake her. The woman was rich, and all she worried about was sliding another piece of steak in her mouth. The pink tip of her tongue darted out to lick the steak sauce from her lips. He adjusted in the chair. Okay, so maybe the money really wasn’t such a big deal at the moment. How would she take him? Could she swallow his cock down, maybe tease him and lick around the head? Either way, he didn’t want to wait another second to find out.
“Do that again.”
She blinked her pretty lashes. Then blinked again. “Huh?”
Everything felt too close. He shoved the plate and reached down to grab the leg of her chair. “Jesus, lick your lips.” She squealed when he tugged the chair. “Fuck, lick mine.”
The damp waves of her hair threaded between his fingers before he could stop himself. He tugged. She melted. He wanted to be soft for her, patient, but it was too hard. Two soft mounds pressed against his chest. The sensation forced his cock to stretch against his leg. Damn, he had the sexiest woman alive in his arms.
“S-Sean, I thought we—”
“Give me your mouth.” When she started to smile, he slipped his tongue inside the warm cavern of her mouth. No time to let her run; he gently tugged on her hair to pull her closer. “Fuck, baby. I love this.” The way her hip fit in his hand felt perfect. He squeezed the thick flesh and prayed he wasn’t being too rough. She moaned.
The playful tip of her tongue darted inside his mouth. He wanted to devour it, eat her body up, and never let go. Instead, he leaned back to catch his breath. The plan had been to take things slow.
No, it wasn’t, you dumbass. The plan was to let her down gently, to be friends
. “Get up here.”
New plan
. The way her chest panted made her tits bounce just right. He would eat those next.
“On the table?” she asked. She explored his collarbone with her soft fingertips. “You want me to get on the table?”
The caress shot a tickle through his chest and straight-lined to his dick. “I want to eat your pussy.” He pulled her up and guided her in front of him.
“Sean! I don’t know if we should do this. I mean, you just decided I wasn’t a total bitch, and now you want to…well, you want to…”
He didn’t mean to growl, but if she didn’t shut up, he was going to go crazy. “Either I’m going to fuck your pussy with my dick or my tongue. Take your pick.” God, he hoped she’d let him taste her first.
He watched the somber expression in her eyes melt. “Tongue.”
Thank God! I promise I’ll never hit anything ever again.
Sean unzipped her jean shorts and pulled them over her hips. He loved that she’d put on a pair of pretty white panties. The bright yellow flowers on them danced over her hips and lower stomach. He pulled on her hands. The death grip she had on her T-shirt kept him from getting a better look at her stomach. The scars were there. He knew it. She knew it. For now, he’d let her keep her secrets. Soon enough she’d tell him everything.
“Turn around and bend over for me. I want to watch you take these off.” She hesitated and finally turned around. “You look so beautiful, baby. I can’t wait to see the rest of you. Now pull them down. Wait, slowly. Don’t go so fast. Bend over more.”
The head of his dick throbbed. He unzipped his shorts and tugged down his underwear. The thick shaft sprang free, reaching toward the round ass bent over in front of him. Damn, she looked good. The firm flesh jiggled just right as she tried to pull her panties off her feet. “God, Abigail, you’re so beautiful.”
“Can I turn around now?”
“No.” He scooted closer and pressed his palm against her lower back. “Lean over the table.” When she tried to turn around, he pushed harder against her back. “Down.”
“But, I thought you were going to—”
“I am.”
When she got into position, bent over the table, it made her ass rise in the air. He scooted the chair closer again. The sweet twin dimples on her lower back was the first place he wanted to explore. The smooth skin slid against his tongue, and she moaned. He thought about sitting on his couch, watching the white walls, and how her creamy beige skin was so much better to stare at.
“I love your ass, baby.” One mound overflowed in his hand as he squeezed and rubbed. The muscle wasn’t hard and tight like his. The flesh was soft and all woman.
“My butt… It’s too big. Sean, that feels so good.”
“Not too big, not too small. Just right. This feels good to me too.” With each pass of his hands, he made a little dip to skim closer to her feminine lips. He wanted to call it her cunt, but somehow it just seemed dirty.
Naughty?
“I like that you shave. Your…cunt is so pretty.”
“Oh God, Sean, s-say it again.”
Yes!
“What?” The tips of his thumbs rounded her inner thighs and dipped into her wetness. “You want me to say what?”
Her hips ground against his roaming hands. “Y-You know. Say it.”
He wanted her to look over her shoulder to watch him but knew it’d be way too embarrassing for her to ask him to talk dirty to her and watch him say it at the same time. “Your cunt? You want me to tell you how pretty your little cunt is?”
“Oh God! Yes!”
Shit, he was going to come before he even had the chance to sink inside her. “I love the way your cunt sucks my fingers. You like this, baby? You want me to lick your pussy?”
“Yes! Yes! Please, Sean!”
The erotic musk of her sex intoxicated his senses. He leaned forward and tucked his face against her skin. When he pulled apart her plump lips, he was able to tickle the tight knot at the top of her sex. With one pass of his tongue, she bucked. His muffled laugh must have embarrassed her, because she tried to pull away. Not about to let her get away from him, he pulled back on her hips and ground his face against the wet heat of her pussy.
The soft mewls coming out of her grew into growls when he dipped his tongue inside her tight channel. His dick wept, leaking streaks of precum against his stomach. He reached down and stroked the shaft, hoping he wouldn’t pop too fast before he could fuck her. The slick softness caressed his tongue with a loving kiss. Each time she shimmied her waist, his lips smeared her wetness.
The tightness in his dick made him thicker and longer than he’d ever been. She loved him with her body. She trusted him to take care of her pleasure and cherish her heart. She hadn’t said those words exactly, but he knew. The gift of her love was more precious than his stupid privacy. It was the only gift he ever wanted to receive again.
“I can’t wait, baby. I have to feel you.”