“Where do you think they are?” Mike asked as he sat in the attic of their parents’ house with Byron.
The money had run out after they’d hit the strip clubs, and there was no way to call and ask for more, so they’d had no choice but to come back. The house was empty, and they’d gone straight up to the attic to avoid being seen. There was still a marked car in front of the house, but the guy sitting in it appeared too bored to pay attention. Their time away had done nothing to calm Byron’s anger at what had happened to his life, and all he could think about was finding Desi.
“Who knows? Pop is probably in one of his moods and dragged Mom along for the ride.” There was still enough light to see what was stacked around them. “Mom put my yearbooks in a box with my name on it and stuck it up here. We need to find them. I want to know something.”
It took a couple of hours and pawing through four boxes of all his old school stuff, but they finally found his old yearbooks along with some trophies and ribbons he’d won for the sports he’d played.The memories of who he’d been back then came to him as he cracked the spine and saw himself in that letterman’s jacket. He was a winner destined for more than pumping gas and fixing cars. The girl who’d charged him with assault was to blame for bringing all that to an end. In fact, all the women in his life were to blame for how he’d ended up.
“Start with my junior year, and see if you recognize the bitch Desi was with the day you saw her.”
On the tenth page of his senior yearbook there was a large picture of Desi standing next to a tall girl with sharp features. “I remember you,” he said, tapping his finger on the girl’s face on the page. “Is this her?”
“She doesn’t look like that anymore, but I’m pretty sure that’s her.” Mike stared at the image and nodded. “Who is that?”
“Let’s get out of here,” he said. “Where’s the phone book?”
“I don’t think they make those anymore, but Mama keeps an old one in the cabinet in the kitchen.”
He slid his finger down the Bs. There was only one Basantes in the book. The number listed was for a medical office, but H. Basantes had to be the one Desi was staying with. “Desi’s found an old friend, but her running days are over.”
“Leave that girl alone, man,” Mike said. “It’s over. Accept it. We just need to figure out how to get on the road and get out of this mess.”
“The only way I’m leaving it alone is if I’m dead.” He tore the page out and stuffed it in his shirt pocket. “Get some sleep. We move in the morning.”
“What’s your plan?” Mike asked, following him down the hall.
“It’s not hard. We wait outside her office and follow her home. This time we get it right.”
“There’s no way we’re doing that again.” Mike stopped halfway to the stairs and glared at him.
“You’re in this now. Remember what Pop said. We need to finish this, and you have to help me.”
Mike’s jaw worked as he glared at him, and then he closed the door to his old room and Byron headed toward his, praying he could go to sleep. This space hadn’t changed from graduation, and it was a shrine to who he used to be. The star he’d been on the field had died when he agreed to what his father had set up for him. His explanation had been that marriage would keep him out of trouble. It seemed like the less complicated route, but that hadn’t worked out. He couldn’t breathe and had to get the hell out of there, but he wasn’t leaving without Mike, so he headed for the bottles of whiskey in the cabinet over the kitchen sink.
He moved the dirty plate someone had left on the table to the counter, surprised his mother had left the kitchen in this condition. There was always a first time for everything, but in Desi’s case, she’d gone back to the old tried and true. He opened his senior yearbook and flipped through it, finding Desi’s smiling face more than once. When was the last she’d smiled at him like that? Had she ever smiled at him like that?
Harry Basantes. He should’ve guessed this years ago. This was who Desi had been crying over when she should’ve been making him happy. The solid fact was Desi was his, and that wasn’t going to change. “I won, asshole, and she’s mine.” He spoke to the picture as he stabbed it with the knife on the table.
Why in the hell was this happening to him? He’d taken care of Desi the best way he knew how, and it was going to cost him everything, including his freedom. That had never happened to his father because his mother knew better. He’d done what was expected of him as a man, but fucking Desi never appreciated anything. She couldn’t because of fucking Basantes. That woman was to blame, and it was time she died for everything she’d taken from him.
“She’s mine, and I’m not giving her up.” He slashed through Harry’s picture before ripping it out of the book and crumpling it in his fist. “I’m going to kill you and make you watch, Desi. They might lock me up, but you’re never going to be free of me.”
* * *
The alarm went off the next morning, and Desi reached for Harry when she rolled over to turn it off. “Can you stay home?” Desi asked.
Harry had taken a couple days off to help her through everything she was feeling because of Tammy’s death, and it had been heavenly. Everyone had left early the night before, and Harry had taken her to bed and made love to her until they’d tired each other out.
“I wish I could, but we both have dates with lumps of clay today,” Harry said, putting her arms around her.
“You’re giving up your practice to make pottery?” She kissed Harry on the throat and loved the feel of warm skin against hers.
“No, it’s more like you have actual lumps of clay waiting, and I have my residents who act like lumps of clay at times.” Harry moved her hand down her back and caressed her butt. “Remember, though, it’s your first day, and I don’t want you to get carried away. You’re healing well, but don’t wear yourself out.”
“I’m just going to play around and get used to everything again.”
“You’re going to be great,” Harry said as she moved to hover over her body. “I’m so confident that I’m taking you to dinner to celebrate. How about a date later?”
“No matter what, I’m not saying no to anything with you.”
“Good, I’ll try to finish early. Mona won’t be back until tomorrow, so I’ll try not to mess up the kitchen any more than I have already.”
“I’ll be happy to cook if you want to stay in. I’ll even clean up.” She touched Harry’s face, still in awe that life had taken her to this place.
“I love you, and I’d love to take you out. Enjoy yourself today,” Harry said, putting her hand on her breast, making her nipple hard and sensitive. “And I can’t get enough of you.”
Her nipple hardened to the point she craved Harry’s mouth on it. “Don’t tease if you really have to go, honey.”
“You think I’m teasing?” Harry’s hand went lower. “This is my incentive to come home early.”
Her hips came off the bed when Harry touched her sex, and she wanted it to last. Harry went slowly and drove her to the brink before she kissed her and brought her over. She closed her eyes and moaned as the final spasms went through her body, and she smiled when Harry held her.
“You make it hard to let you go,” she said. Her arms were on Harry’s shoulders, and she wanted to laugh at how good she felt. “And I can’t wait for tonight. I can thank you for this morning if you have time.”
“Tonight I’m all yours, but I can’t be late.” Harry kissed her again before rolling away from her and off the bed.
“I’ll go start the coffee and get you something to eat. Anything you really want?” Desi put her robe on and stood in the doorway to the bathroom.
“I can’t have what I really want, so anything fast would be good,” Harry said from the shower.
She hummed on the way down the stairs, missing Mona and her usual advice on all things. But being alone in the house for a couple of days a week gave her the chance to take care of Harry’s needs. That was the job she wanted for the rest of her life, but she was sure Mona would be happy to share.
“If this is all a dream,” she said as she scooped coffee into the machine, “I hope I never wake up.”
* * *
“I understand you, sir,” Harry’s receptionist said for the fourth time. “Dr. Basantes isn’t in today, but I can set you up with another doctor if you like.”
“I need to talk to her.”
“Our first available appointment is next month. I can get you in earlier if you have a referral,” the woman went on as if she hadn’t heard a word Byron had said.
“Look, I don’t need an appointment. It’s important I talk to her as soon as possible,” he said, trying not to stay on the phone much longer in case the police were listening in. “Is there any way you can tell me where to find her? We went to med school together, and I’d love to see her while I’m in town.”
“I’m sorry, I misunderstood. Can you give me your name again?”
“Richard Bailey.” He gave her the first name that came to mind.
“I’m sorry she’s going to miss you, Dr. Bailey, but she’s in surgery at University Medical all day.”
He hung up before the woman could bore him anymore. His father’s extra set of keys were in the drawer by the door, and he fisted them as he slipped his shoes on.
“What are you doing?” Mike asked, coming in scratching himself. He still appeared half asleep.
“Get dressed,” he said, getting a beer and cracking it open. Their parents weren’t home yet, and he was curious about where they’d disappeared to. “I found that bitch and need to get in place to follow her home.”
“Where do you think Mom and Dad are?” Mike searched a few cabinets before settling for a beer.
“I’m not worried about that now.” He guzzled the rest of the bottle he’d opened and slammed it on the table. “I need to finish dealing with my shit before I worry about anything else.”
“We coming back here?”
“I saw more cruisers pass by this morning, so I sure as hell can’t go home. As long as we keep going out the back, they won’t see us.”
They’d have to walk to the garage and grab a truck, since they couldn’t use the one out front. They didn’t talk as they walked, and he thought of the best way to grab Desi if she was with this Basantes.
“What the hell is that about?” Mike asked, pointing to the For Sale signs.
The padlocks meant they weren’t getting in, but there were some cars in the back. “I’m not sure, but spot me,” he said, breaking a window. This was some weird shit, and an itch started under his skin like it did when things were about to go sideways, but he had to go before he missed Basantes. This business was his father’s life, but if he could just get to Desi… Thoughts crowded his mind, and he knew deep down his problem wasn’t fixable. But that one thing he could do, and maybe Daddy would forgive him if he could just fix it.
They took the small car closest to the fence and headed to the medical center. He drove around until he found the parking lot reserved for staff and figured they’d have to wait until the afternoon to spot anything. There was a fruit vendor close to the entrance, and the guy was putting an assortment of fruit in small bags.
Byron’s head came off the headrest when he saw a dark SUV come into the parking lot. The driver lowered their window, and the woman he recognized as Harry Basantes leaned out and held up a five, getting the fruit guy to hustle to the car. The guy nodded at whatever Basantes told him and waved when she pulled away to park.
“That’s her?” he asked Mike.
“She’s the one with Desi and Rachel that day. What now?” Mike put his hands on the dash and they watched Basantes until her car disappeared.
“Now we wait and see where this bitch lives. We do that, and we find Desi and her piece of shit sister.” He put his head down again and closed his eyes. “She’ll be here all day, so relax. You need to be rested for what comes next.”
* * *
Harry grumbled as usual as she tried to navigate to a spot. The new garage was built by someone with no concept of how large even the smallest car was. Maybe it was time to give Desi this vehicle and get something smaller for herself to make her life easier.
Her assistant was waiting at the entrance and handed her a lab coat. “Are we ready to go?” She took the list of patients and figured it’d be a busy day.
“You have three ORs ready to go. All I need is who you want to start with.”
Harry studied the list. “Go with the fusion, and we’ll start everyone else once we finish that one. There’s nothing else too complicated, so I should be able to float between rooms.”
“I’ll let them know.”
She was in surgery for the next four hours and was pleased with the residents’ job. They did rounds after that, and she gave out assignments for the rest of the day. Her shift was finally over, and she took her phone out. “Hi, love.” She took her keys out, grateful the lot was close to empty and she wouldn’t be delayed by any last-minute conversation. “How’s it going?”
“Hey,” Desi said, sounding excited. “I have a present for you, but it’s still cooling. I made my first vase, and it’s yours. It only took twenty pounds of ruined tries before I finally got the hang of it again.”
“Twenty pounds isn’t bad, and I can’t wait to see it.”
Desi laughed and Harry imagined the size of her smile.
“It was good practice, and I should have the basics down again in about a week.”
“Take your time. I’m proud of you,” she said, waiting for the arm on the gate to go up. “But I already have your first creation. It’s sitting on my desk at the office close to the house.”
“You do? I don’t remember what it was.”
“It was a small dish, and you put your fingerprints in the bottom. Your name is along the edge.” She laughed at the memory of a young Desi handing it over bashfully. “I put candy in it.”
“I’ll have to take a look the next time I go by.”
The sound of Desi’s voice was grounding her. Their last surgical case that morning was a woman who’d had her jaw broken in a domestic violence incident, among other injuries. The events of the last months came rushing back, and she’d had to take a minute before starting.
“That’s sweet you kept it,” Desi said, and it was quiet on her end. “Now you’ll have two originals, but right now I need to know where we’re going, so I can get dressed.”
“Are you telling me you’re naked right now?” She sped up to make the light.
“I am, but I’d like to get dressed so I don’t keep you waiting. Knowing you, there was probably no time for lunch today, and you’re starving.”
“Hmm, it might take me a little while to remember where I had in mind. I could speed up and help you get dressed. If that’s the case, I’ll even spring for dessert.”
Desi laughed again and made a kissing noise. “If you buy dessert to go, you can come home and lick it off me.”
She waved to the security guy by the gate and was stealing a glance up at their bedroom window when she heard Desi clear her throat as she got out of the car. Desi smiled down at her and leaned over the rail wearing a robe. “Are you naked under that?”
“You’re going to have to come up and see for yourself.” Desi blew her a kiss and walked back inside.
She ran up the stairs and found Desi’s robe over a chair and Desi on the bed in a lace bra and matching panties. It took a millisecond for her to get naked and make it to the bed.
“God, I missed you today,” Desi said as she put her arms around her. “Would you like to see how much?”
All she could do was nod like a simpleton and roll to her back when Desi pushed on her to move. Desi straddled her and pressed her sex down on her abdomen, moaning when she squeezed her ass. “Yes,” Desi said when she sat up and kissed her hard.
“You’re so beautiful, baby,” Harry said, kissing Desi again.
“I’ve been thinking about you all day. Feeling that wet clay made me think of your hands on me, and how you make me feel. But it really made me think of my hands on you.” Desi grabbed her hands and put them over her head. “Can you keep them there for me?”
“Yes,” she said, totally breathless and all thoughts of work banished from her head.
Desi leaned down and ran her hard nipples down her body. She made her way down slowly, and Harry saw her smile when she knelt between her legs. “I love you, and I want to make you feel good.” Desi spread her sex with her index fingers and put her mouth on her.
“That feels so good.” She went to put her hand on the back of Desi’s head but remembered her promise to keep them above her head.
“You’re so hard for me, honey.” Desi went back to what she’d been doing with the tip of her tongue, and Harry threw her head back and tried to hang on.
Desi put her fingers in and by the second stroke that was all she could take. The muscles in her arms were straining to keep from moving, and she felt every ounce of self-control ebb away until she couldn’t hold back. “Yes,” she said as the orgasm hit her like a wave, and as it rolled away, it pulled the day’s stress out to sea with it.
Desi kissed her sex one more time before moving back up, and she rolled over again and pinned Desi underneath her. She kissed Desi before moving down and sucking in her nipple. She moved her hand down until she reached the elastic of the pretty panties.
“Don’t tease me, baby,” Desi said as Harry put a knee between her legs.
“I’m not teasing you,” she said as she closed her eyes at how wet Desi was. Desi stopped her when she went to move down.
“No, honey. I want to look at you when you make love to me tonight. I need to see how much you want me.”
She shifted to get Desi naked and put her hand back on her sex. Desi moaned into her mouth when she kissed her as she put her fingers in and held them still to let Desi feel the fullness. Desi put her feet on her butt and her hands on her back.
“I need you to make me yours,” Desi said as she started moving her hips.
Harry moved her fingers in a slow cadence as her thumb massaged Desi’s clit. “Let me hear you,” she said as she started going faster.
“Yes, like that.” Desi’s nails raked up her back. “Harder, baby, harder.” Desi clamped the walls of her sex around her fingers and she kissed her. “That’s so good,” Desi said as her hips came up to meet her strokes. She screamed as she reached her peak, and Harry stilled her hand.
“You okay?” she asked as Desi held her wrist.
“I’m perfect,” Desi said, spreading her legs so her thigh landed between Harry’s legs. When Desi rocked her hips, Harry was ready to go again.
Harry rode Desi’s leg, turned on by how Desi was moving with her, her hands squeezing her butt. She lifted up at the last moment to put more power into her thrusts, and Desi was right there with her. “Come with me, baby,” Desi said, really digging her fingers in. “Oh God, oh God…”
They were both breathing hard when they finished, and Harry moved so her deadweight wasn’t on Desi. “That’s the way to welcome me home, but any more and I might not be able to walk.”
“Try and find some energy because I’m starving. Especially after that.” Desi moved to lie on her back and kissed the back of her neck. “You know how to build an appetite in a girl.”
“You’re not kidding,” she said as Desi slapped her ass. “Are you sure you don’t want to order in?”
“You promised a date, so we’re going out.”
“Strange time to ask, but do you want to ask Rachel to come with us?” Harry exhaled deeply as she turned her head.
“She’s helping Serena with a playdate she set up for Butch. Maybe next time.”
Harry got up and got the shower going, leaning in to adjust the water temperature. When she stepped in Desi pressed against her back and reached for the soap. “Am I dirty?” she asked as Desi’s soapy hands ran down the slope of her butt.
“Filthy,” Desi teased. “And you’re incorrigible. So behave, and hands off. I’ll never get anything to eat if you don’t.” Desi washed her back and then the front when she turned around.
“It’s a good thing you worked up an appetite,” she said as she rinsed off. “It’s the only way to finish off a Port of Call burger and the baked potato side. I remember how much you love them.”
“I love them and you,” Desi said, smiling as she ran her soapy hands down her back. “For that meal, I’ll have your baby.”
“That sounds like a good deal,” Harry said, stopping to look at Desi seriously. They’d never talked about anything beyond the day to day, no long-term relationship plans. A family was something they’d never broached, and it was a lifelong commitment. It had seemed like way too big a topic when Desi was only just coming out of something awful, but now that it had been brought up… “Is that—”
Desi put her fingers over her mouth. “Be honest and tell me what you really want.”
“I want the whole thing with you, Desi. That means you, a family, and all that comes with that. But there’s no rush.”
“That’s what I want too, and I want it while we’re still young enough to enjoy them. I gave you my heart freely, and I love you enough to share that with as many children as you want.”
“Really?” she asked, hugging Desi hard enough to lift her off the ground. “You’re sure? So soon?”
“Yes,” Desi said, kissing her cheek. “I see how you are with Butch, and I want to see that with our children. I dream about a baby that’s part of us both.”
“I guess I’ll have to have a talk with my brother so we can get started.” She’d already thought about how that would work, should the right woman ever come along.
“Good. I don’t want to wait.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to take some time?” She didn’t want Desi to feel pressured.
“I’m as sure as I am about wanting to go out with you tonight,” Desi said as she put her arms around her waist. “I’ve always wanted children, but they had to be your children. I have you now, so it’s time.”
“You do have me, and I’m not going anywhere.”
“That is what makes me want a long and happy life. You’re the one person in the world made just for me, and I’m going to spend years making you happy.”
“That you’ve already done.” Harry swept her into a hug that could never be tight enough to convey how overwhelmed with love she was.