The Beginning of Us (157 page)

He slid out of me and turned over on his back. I straddled his hips and sank down onto his cock, taking him deep inside me again. My head tilted back as his hands grazed my breasts.

I bent down and kissed his tattoo that I had discovered earlier in the day. I slid my hips back and forth against his cock. His hand found my clit and he stroked it as my hips continued to glide back and forth. 

He moved his hips to meet mine, stroke after stroke. My eyes closed as he pumped into me. We rocked back and forth as his thumb continued to circle my clit. My body reached its climax as sensation rippled through it. Brandon shuddered as he thrust one last time into me. 

*~*~*

The next morning I woke to Brandon’s body pressed into mine from behind and his arms wrapped tightly around me. Trying not to wake him, I inched out of bed and made my way to the kitchen to start coffee and breakfast.

Ryan joined me as I put the bacon in the oven. “Whatcha makin’?”

“Bacon, eggs, potatoes…you know, breakfast.”

“Is Brandon still here?”

“Yeah, and he’s still sleeping, so keep it down.”

Whispering she said, “What do you think of him approaching Trav
Ass
 last night?”

“Dude, I thought I was going to pass out or die of embarrassment. But when he came back and told me what he said, I wanted to jump and smother him with kisses,” I said, whispering as well.

“I wanted to do the same thing!”

“Ha…well he's mine!”

“I’m so happy for you, Spence… and really jealous.”

“You’ll find someone, Ry. I promise.”

I continued to cook breakfast, hoping Brandon wouldn’t wake up before I could surprise him in bed. Right before everything was ready, Brandon walked into the kitchen.

“Morning, ladies,” he said as he walked over, kissed my cheek and hugged me from behind. “That smells really good!”

“It’s bacon, nothing smells as good as bacon!” I said, smiling as I continued to cook the scrambled eggs.

“Hey, Spence, what are we doing for your birthday?” Ryan asked.

“What? When is your birthday?” Brandon asked in surprise. 

Somehow, I had failed to mention to Brandon that my birthday was in less than a week.

“Um, this coming Saturday.” 

“You weren’t going to tell me?” Brandon asked with hurt in his voice.

“No, not at all. It just completely slipped my mind!” It really had.  I’d had a lot to keep my mind occupied as of late.

Usually every year I was excited about my birthday, but after this last week with Brandon, I’m surprised I even knew what day it was.

“So what are we doing?” Ryan asked again.

“I don’t know but I’m open to suggestions. Let’s discuss it while we eat so the food doesn’t get cold.” 

*~*~*

During breakfast, we decided that for my birthday we would take a day trip to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. It seemed the older you became, the more you just wanted to do kid things for your birthday. A day filled with roller coasters, fried food and cotton candy sounded perfect to me. 

Brandon stayed over at my house all day and we spent the majority of it lounging in bed while we watched TV. Okay, in all honesty, not a lot of TV was watched.  I didn’t even get dressed for the day. I couldn’t remember the last time I had felt this happy.

“Will you tell me about your tattoo?” I asked Brandon during a commercial as we lounged naked in my bed.

“Oh, yeah…sure.” Brandon let out a long sigh then took a deep breath. I immediately regretted asking him when I saw how sad and serious he became. 

“Remember how I told you the other night at dinner that during my sophomore year at 
Texas A&M
 I got hurt and never played again?”

“Yeah…?”

“The guy who I was competing against for starting quarterback had it out for me. He was a senior and assumed he would be starting, but then our coach told the team that it would be me instead. That night Jason and I went to a party on campus and we were jumped by six guys… Actually, I should say 
I
 was jumped by six guys. They all attacked me while Jason tried to pull them off me. In the midst of everything, they managed to break my back.” 

“Oh my God!” I gasped, my heart breaking for him. I couldn’t imagine going through that–couldn’t imagine the pain he must have endured.  

“Thankfully, there was no damage to my spinal cord and to make a long story short, I had to do a lot of physical therapy until I was able to walk again. It was later found out that the guys who jumped me were all fraternity brothers of my teammate. He was expelled, but since I was out of commission, they had to find a replacement. Then in my junior year, I still couldn’t play, so I ended up never playing again... So…my tattoo just reminds me that no matter what challenges I may face, I will get through anything life throws my way. 
Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional
 has become my motto, and Jason and I are very successful and already looking to expand again.”

“Do you know what happened to the guy?”

“Nope, I haven’t seen him since the day his mommy and daddy came to collect him from school.” Brandon laughed when he said “mommy and daddy”; it made me feel a little better about his story.

“That is really sad. I’m sorry you had to go through that!”

“It’s okay. It’s made me stronger and if none of that had happened, I might not have ever met you.” Brandon leaned down to kiss me.  

*~*~*

It was getting late in the evening and all I wanted was to stay in Brandon’s arms until Monday morning. I didn’t care that I had a ton of laundry to do. I could put everything on hold just to stay right where I was.

“Babe?” 
Did Brandon just call me “Babe”?
 This was the first time he had said it in person. The only other time was when I was drunk texting. I got butterflies in my stomach just for the one simple word. 

“Yeah?” I answered, my head resting on his chest.

“Do you want to stay at my place tonight or here? If you want to stay here, then I need to run home and pack an overnight bag.” He wanted to stay the night with me again? Of course I wanted to stay with him, but I didn’t want to seem too eager or clingy.  After all, it hadn’t even been a week.

“I don’t care. Whatever you want to do is fine with me.”

“Well, since I would have to go home anyway, why don’t we just stay there?”

“Ok, that sounds good.”

“I’ll even drive you to work in the morning,” he offered.  Like I really needed an incentive.

“Well, twist my arm why don’t you.”

And just like that Brandon pinned my hands under me…

CHAPTER NINE

It was the third morning in a row that I had woken up in Brandon’s arms. Each time I prayed to myself that this was real. I was starting to fall hard for him. In just a week, he had made me feel as if I was the only person in the world. I was falling in love with him. 

Brandon drove me to work as he promised and kissed me thoroughly before I got out of the car.  As I walked into the office humming to myself with a silly grin plastered on my face, I thought to myself that I could definitely get used to this. After work, I met him at the gym and we worked out together, same as the previous week. We went back to my place and I cooked spaghetti and meatballs for both of us and Ryan. Brandon surprised me by lending a hand and making the best garlic bread I had ever tasted. Ryan contributed a tiramisu she had picked up, on her way home from work.  

After dinner, we all lounged around in the living room watching 
The Voice
. Ryan seemed to be over her depression of Max. However, she was still hanging out around the house a lot when she wasn’t at work. I felt bad for flaunting my relationship in front of her, but I was thankful that all three of us were getting along really well.

Brandon spent the night again, but the next morning, I woke to an empty bed. An initial feeling of disappointment ran through me until I saw his shirt hanging on my desk chair. I walked out of my room and saw Ryan in the kitchen drinking her coffee.

“Mornin’!,” she said brightly as I yawned sleepily, rubbing my tired eyes. She was always a morning person, but I needed some caffeine before I started to feel human again. Turning to the cabinet, she rummaged for another mug and then poured some coffee.  “Here, you look like you need this.”

“Gee thanks.”  I stuck my tongue out at her, but gratefully accepted the steaming mug. “Have you seen Brandon?”

“Oh yeah, I think he’s in the shower right now.”

Oh really? This could be interesting.

I hurried back to my room, trying not to spill my hot coffee along the way.  Setting it down on my dresser, I grabbed a paperclip to stick in the tiny hole of the bathroom doorknob. Our house was older and we had never replaced the old doorknobs, which was extremely convenient for me at the moment.

I quietly popped the lock and opened the door. Removing my PJs, I dropped them in a pile on the floor and slowly opened the foggy glass door of the wall length, tile shower trying not to make a sound. Trying not to giggle, I slipped in the back of the shower. Brandon was facing me with his eyes closed and head tilted back as he rinsed the shampoo from his hair.

When he finished, his head straightened and he smiled slowly as he noticed me standing there.

“Hey baby,” he said when our eyes locked. “What a nice surprise.”

“Hey,” I said as I slipped my arms around his neck kissing him. “Too bad we don’t have enough time to take advantage of us both being in the shower together.”  

He pulled me closer against his dripping wet, naked body and I felt him begin to harden against my belly. “Yes, that is a shame. Maybe we should set your alarm thirty minutes earlier?” 

“Maybe...” Of course, I wasn't a morning person, but if it involved showering with Brandon every morning, I could make an exception.  

*~*~*

Brandon and I went to the Tuesday kickboxing class after work. We arrived to the class early and started to stretch a little as we waited for the instructor to arrive and start class.

“Oh, Brandon, there you are.” 

Brandon and I turned around when I heard a lady address him. When I fully turned, I noticed she was an older lady in what I guessed to be her late fifties with long blond highlighted hair, dark blue eyes, a small mole on the left side of her face under her lip and obviously fake boobs. I got the impression she had money for some reason.

“Oh, hello, Mrs. Robinson, how are you this evening?”

“Brandon, you know I’m not married and please call me Teresa.” Teresa took that opportunity to step closer to Brandon and rub her hand down his left arm taking extra time on his bicep. 
Mrs. Robinson? Well this was ironic
. “I wanted to ask you when you would give me that private lesson we talked about.”

Brandon stepped back away from Teresa and moved closer to me. “Teresa, remember we talked about you having a private session with one of my best personal trainers I have on staff?”

“I remember, honey, I just want 
you
 to do it.” Teresa's eyes darted to her right in my direction and sized me up. I took that opportunity to grab 
my
 man's left hand, clearly showing her I was more than a friend and workout buddy. Brandon squeezed my hand in response.

“Teresa, you know I don't do personal training sessions anymore and only work in the office, which is why we talked about getting one of my best trainers for you.”

“Won't you make an exception?” Wow, I didn't know “older” women would stoop that low and beg with puppy dog eyes and a quivering bottom lip, but sure enough Teresa was doing it. “I would be interested in more than one private session, which I would pay handsomely for.”

“Teresa, we can talk about this tomorrow if you’d like to come by my office before five o'clock. I can show you the binder of trainers we offer. I just don't have the time right now with us expanding in Seattle, but I do value your business and will have you choose from only my best trainers.” 
Seattle? I didn't know they were expanding.

 “If you insist, I will see 
you
 tomorrow.” Teresa gave me a half-hearted smile and winked at Brandon, then walked away to the front of the class as the instructor started the music to begin class.

*~*~*

After our kickboxing class, Brandon and I went to dinner at The Slanted Door.

“Oh babe, before I forget, Thursday morning Jason and I are flying to Seattle and won’t be back until Friday afternoon, but we’ll be back in time for Becca’s show.”

“Oh…this is what you were talking to Mrs. Robinson about?”

“Yeah, we’ve been looking into expanding the chain to Seattle for a few months now. There’s a gym there that is going bankrupt and we’re going to check it out and see what condition it’s in.”