“You need a bed and time to let me appreciate you properly.”
He steps back and my arms fall away from his neck in despair. I don’t need him to take his time. I need him to put his dick in me and give me an orgasm.
Nate basically drags me up from the wall, and I fight, not wanting to leave the space. As he passes, he steals the Oreos from my hand and throws them on the couch, not delicately at all.
I reach out, sad to see the chocolatey goodness leave.
When we make it to the hallway, Nate leans down, picking me up and wrapping my body against his. “Walk faster or I’ll carry you,” he says, as I cross my ankles, holding on for dear life.
I laugh. “I think you’re already carrying me.”
When we reach the bedroom, he drops my butt on the bed with a flop and my brain picks up where this is going.
“Wait, are you sure about this?” I ask, when I remember what I have on underneath the grey pair of sweatpants I lumbered around the house in today after my mother left.
He raises his head, his eyebrows knit together. “Cold feet now?”
“No, but we could go to the bathroom for a minute.” Or thirty. Put on some makeup.
He shakes his head. “There’s no time for that.”
“But you don’t understand,” I try again.
Nate shakes his head as he unties the strap in the front of my pants. “Yeah, you’re fine the way you are.”
“No really.”
He leans back, his eyes searching my face. “Josie, from the moment I first saw you, I’ve wanted this to happen. You aren’t going to take it back now because you think you’re not enough or your underwear and bra don’t match, or you want to brush your teeth. Whatever reason you’ve invented in your head. Trust me, whatever I find under here is going to be what I want. You are perfect.”
Well, when he puts it that way. With no more complaints from me, I allow Nate to finish untying my pants and lower them until there’s nothing between him and me except the black pair of granny panties I’ve switched to wearing over the last year. When you aren’t expecting to get any, it’s better to be comfortable.
Time slows as he removes my underwear from my legs, his fingers heating my skin as they make contact down my stubbled legs.
Nate tosses the underwear somewhere on my floor and then, with a hand wrapped around each of my ankles, he parts my legs exposing my flesh to the cool air of the room.
I swallow and lean back, resting my head on a pillow as he moves closer, the image too much.
“Watch me, Josie,” he demands.
His head fits between my thighs and his tongue sweeps out, licking at my core. I moan as my eyes dart open, seeing the top of his head lost between my legs. With a groan, I squeeze my already spinning insides, my thighs shaking against his head as his dark brown hair rubs against my skin.
It’s so warm, and when he blows a breath against my flesh, I arch my back up trying to get closer. I crave his touch as an orgasm grows in the pit of my stomach and gets larger with each tender caress of his mouth.
Two fingers stretch my walls as he pushes them inside my aching body.
“You’re so wet. I love it.” Nate moves his fingers, circling inside my core as my emotions continue to spiral. His compliments and admiration are more than I can handle.
I arch again, ready to come when he stops, pulling his fingers away. “Not yet, Josie. I want to feel you come around me the first time.” He sucks on my clit and I arch closer, trying to pull a piece of an orgasm from his lips. “Not yet.”
His pants lower and there’s a tearing sound before Nate lines himself up and pushes past my opening without delay. I’m full, but ready, and after a few short pushes he’s accepted by my body. He leans back moaning to the ceiling and lifts my ass in the air so he hits the same spot as before. Less than a minute passes before I’m back to the heightened point and I meet him thrust for thrust, wanting so badly what he’s offered.
“That’s it, babe. Fucking take it. Let go,” he grinds out.
As if my body is already his, I listen, and my pussy clings to his dick vibrating with need around him as my orgasm releases. I bite my lip so I don’t scream and scare the neighbors.
When my body relaxes, Nate lowers my ass and smiles. His eyes never leave mine as he pulls my hips getting himself deeper before he spills over, the jets of his cum stopped only by the condom and leaving me wishing there was no barrier between us.
“Fuck that was amazing,” he says, slowing his movements but not leaving me.
My eyes close, lost in bliss as I nod in agreement. Is it always supposed to be that good or is it only because it’s our first time?
“Are you sure I turned it off?” I do a quick injured ankle jog to the kitchen and see that, indeed, the oven is off. You can never be too safe.
Nate stands at the edge of the kitchen watching, a nervous expression on his face. “You checked the oven about twenty minutes ago. It was off then and we haven’t cooked anything since, so you’re safe.”
“Sometimes the burners stay hot for a while.” Fire safety is no laughing matter.
“Is there something wrong?” Nate crosses his arms against his chest and leans up against the wall as I hover my palms over each of the burners. “Do you need another orgasm?”
My hand doesn’t get warm at all but my mouth falls open while I stare Nate. “What?” Here he gave me two this morning. I’ve never had so much sex in my life. Even in my young carefree days when it’s all I wanted to do. I don’t know if I can handle another. I need time to rejuvenate. Do some Kegels or something.
“You are pacing. What’s wrong?”
I drop my hand on top of the burner. Not warm. “There are only four hours until Emma gets home. What are we supposed to do without her when she’s so close to getting home?” Doesn’t he understand this is what parents do? We sit around and fret whenever left to our own devices.
“I can think of some things we can do,” he says, lifting an eyebrow.
The implication makes a laugh. “No sex.” Don’t get me wrong, it was heavenly. I think I only slept three hours last night, but my baby is coming home and I’m already dressed now.
I should make her a cake — a welcome home cake. An I’m sorry you had to spend the weekend with your father cake. She likes chocolate.
“What are you getting out of the cabinet?” Nate asks.
“Oh.” I close the cabinet door I just opened. There’s no cake mix in there, anyway.
Nate steps into the kitchen and places a quick kiss on my temple. “You need some girl time. Let’s go.”
He takes my hand and practically drags me out of the kitchen. “Where are we going?” I ask without any resistance.
“To chocolate and friends.”
Well then, all he needed to say was chocolate.
Nate drives me to the bakery and we almost make it to town, the car passing the welcome to Pelican Bay sign with a wooden pelican sitting atop, when he asks.
“You think Emma will care if I spend the night tonight?”
He spent last night with me, but again we didn’t do much sleeping. It’s not Emma who gets a say. It’s me. Do I want Nate to spend the night again?
I debate for less than a minute before I answer. “No, I don’t think Emma would care if you spent the night. In fact, I think she’d like it.”
Let’s hope he picks up that I’m Emma. She’s two. Unless he sprouted red hair all over his body and started talking like Elmo, she won’t notice anything.
He slows the car when the speed limit lowers. “Do you want me to spend the night?”
I fight the smile that threatens to break, but lose. “Yes. I think I do.”
“Once you decide if that’s a yes or no, let me know.” He smiles, pulling into a parking spot in front of the bakery.
He has to know I want him to stay, but just in case, I play along for longer. Not to string him along meanly but to build up the anticipation.
As soon as I open the door to the bakery, it’s obvious something is off. Not only is there a charge in the atmosphere, but three girls behind the bakery counter jumping up and down and squealing in delight isn’t something you see every day. Even at the bakery.
“Josie, look!” Winnie yells, grabbing ahold of Tabitha’s hand and holding it up in the air like she just won a boxing match.
A hefty square diamond sparkles in the light from the bakery. It’s not the size of the ring that catches my attention, but what finger she wears it on.
“You got engaged?” The next thing I want to ask is to who, but everyone knows she’s dating Ridge. There’s no way he’d let anyone else close to her. Let alone with a ring.
“He did it last night, and I said yes.”
“How did he ask you?” I walk over and inspect the ring closer. It’s what you do when a friend gets engaged. I may not know her well, but I consider Tabitha a friend.
She reddens. “Um, that part is private.”
My eyes widen and I look back at Nate, but he is sharing a moment with another tall guy wearing the same matching black polo shirt as him. They look at one another as if exchanging private communication, one that says “girls are crazy.”
“You next, Nate?” his friend asks.
Nate widens his eyes and then narrows them on his friend. “Shut up, Crispin.”
I slap him on the shoulder, but his friends only laugh.
“You wait, buddy. One day it will happen to you.”
Crispin scoffs at the idea and crosses his arms as if he can protect himself in the women’s presence. “The last thing I’m gonna do is put a ring on some girl’s finger.”
I step back and watch the excitement as Tabitha continues to show each of her friends the ring and each woman takes the time to admire the jewel. Just as friends should.
Memories cloud the moments as I remember what it was like getting engaged to my ex. There wasn’t anything fancy about it. I knew he planned to pop the question. Barry wasn’t ever very smooth. He asked my ring size, and when I didn’t know, he took me to a store to get fitted. I suppose in the grand scheme of things it’s what every girl should want. He proposed at a big family dinner with four generations in attendance. His mother, his grandmother, and even a great-grandmother. She died three months later but was there to watch him pass down the family heirloom — a ring each generation of woman before her had worn. As her son married, she picked out a bigger prettier ring as a condolence prize.
Barry and I were the first people in his family to divorce. I often find myself wondering at night if he’ll propose to his new bimbo girlfriend with the same ring or if our situation has tainted it and they’ll have to start over with something new. Most of those thoughts stopped the day after his mother called me and explained that Lancaster men have a tendency for wandering hands, but you just have to suck it up and deal. In her opinion three generations of them didn’t stay married for so long by getting divorced over the smallest indiscretion.
That conversation put a lot of things into perspective for me.
“Once you’re married, he’ll end up strapping a body camera to you.” Winnie laughs at her joke, but Tabitha scowls thinking on it for a second and wondering if it’s true.
“No, he’s already bugged her phone with GPS. What more does he need?” Nate says, laughing as Tabitha rolls her eyes.
She shrugs, not denying the fact Ridge is tracking her cell phone. “He asked at the right time. And people around here have a tendency to get kidnapped.”
Kidnapped? I look to Nate with her words, but he shakes his head.
“You got hit with a truck. Can you judge her?”
My eyes widen and I slap him with the back of my hand again. “You hit me with the truck.”
He smirks. “It’s an unconventional method, but it worked.”
Only because my ankle is so much better and I’m ready to go back to work, I allow the joke to continue. Who laughs about hitting someone with a truck? What is wrong with people in this town?
“Did you have a good time?” Nate asks as he pulls back in my apartment parking lot.
After everyone finished admiring Tabitha’s ring and she continued refusing to explain how he proposed, we celebrated with cake and I even purchased a piece to bring back for Emma. It’s better than anything I could make from a Duncan Hines box.
“I did. Thanks for taking me.” I’ve never been with someone who not only realizes when I need a little support, but acts on it to help me out. But spending the last few hours with friends in the bakery helped so I didn’t miss Emma so much.
“What the fuck?” Nate asks, and I’m on high alert. My eyes scan the parking lot looking for whatever he sees.
Barry, with his hair gelled back, knocks three times on my car window, a scowl across his face.
I check the clock radio seconds before Nate turns off the car. We still had forty minutes before he was supposed to drop off Emma.
He steps back to get out of the door, and before my feet are even settled, he’s passed Emma to my waiting hands.
“Where have you been?” He spits the question at me in disgust, as if he’d been waiting around for an entire day.
Emma looks at her dad, scared. She’s never liked hearing him yell. Nate tenses beside me and I worry what will happen if I allow these two men to stand off in the parking lot. Thinking quickly, I pass Emma over to Nate to occupy his hands.
“Can you take her upstairs?” She shouldn’t see her parents fight.
“Josie?” he asked, his eyes wide with displeasure.
“Please, Nate.” I can handle Barry. I’ve been doing it for years. But I don’t want Emma to see him lose his temper.
I place more weight on my hurt ankles to keep my balance as Nate walks with Emma to the apartment door. A small tingle of pain coils itself around my ankle, and it’s the first bout I’ve had in the last few hours.
“Well?” he asks again, but I’ve already forgotten the original question.
I cross my arms. Screw him. I’m no longer the sad little girl who got married too young and puts up with his bull crap. “Why are you here so early?” He never drops Emma off a minute earlier than he’s ordered. I swear he used to drive around the block making sure she didn’t make it back a second earlier when I wanted her.
“Where were you, Josie? Did you spend the night at his place?”
My mouth drops open, mostly because he has the audacity to ask that question. We’re divorced. “No, I did not sleep over at his place.” I leave out the part where he slept at mine. I’ve never been to Nate’s house, and I get lost in the small moment thinking I need to invite myself over and see where he lives.
I must make sure he is not hiding a secret family somewhere. Not that I expect him to be that kind of guy, but I also didn’t expect it of Barry either. I used to think he was too honest to keep secrets. Ha.
“I don’t like Emma’s mother out running the streets.”
“Excuse me?” What street does he think I’m running around? “Is Pelican Bay a dangerous town in your opinion?”
He has no concern over what I’m doing. He’s only pissed because he thinks I’m having fun. Barry doesn’t like the fact I’m seeing Nate. He’s allowed to move on, but I never should in his opinion.
“You should concern yourself with raising our daughter rather than someone you’re sleeping with.”
When he gets out this outrageous, it’s easy to ignore him. I roll my eyes and step to the side, ready to walk in the apartment. I can pick up her bag of clothes later.
“Don’t walk away from me,” he says grabbing onto my arm.
I rip out of his grasp. “You’re only pissed off because I’m dating someone, Barry. At least Nate is of proper age.” He’s older than me, rather than ten years younger.
The comment works as Barry hesitates for a moment before he stomps over to his car and retrieves the overstuffed diaper bag I packed for Emma. He practically throws it in my direction, and I’m forced to put more weight on my hurt ankle to reach out and grab it.
“Next time I drop her off, make sure you’re here on time.”
Next month it’s my responsibility to drop her off and pick her up at his house per our divorce agreement, but I don’t waste any breath telling him that because it won’t do any good.
Barry has always only thought of himself and will always only think of himself.
The noise from an electric toothbrush stops and the bathroom door opens, directly followed by a tall, ridiculously gorgeous man walking out with his hair dripping wet. Drops of water glisten in the light and as they drop to the floor, only a few are stopped when they hit the towel he has wrapped around his waist. Even though I’m positive I’m awake, I pinch myself to make sure this isn’t a dream. Who thought me, Josie Summerton, would ever experience this sight in the flesh?
Nate smiles, shaking his head twice like he doesn’t know why am staring at him — silly man — and then walks back into the bathroom to finish his morning routine. I’d volunteer to rub him down and dry him off, but I need to get myself together too.
It’s a Monday morning and I should return to work today, but I haven’t been able to get ahold of anyone at the office and my doctor’s note covers me a few more days. So I’m stuck here spending time with Emma.
It’s a rough life. Not.
I wish I could stay home all the time with her. At least for these few formative years before she goes off to school, but I need the money and a girl has to do what a girl has to do.
“I need to go home and get more clothes today,” Nate says from the bathroom.
“I’ve never been to your house. I should go with you.” My tactic is not subtle at all, but nothing between Nate and me has been normal.
He stops in his tracks, and for a second I worry he’ll say no. But then he smirks. “A few more days and I’ll take you home to meet my parents.”
Nate drops the towel in front of me and the only thing that gets me through him dressing is that he has to go into the office today. They have a meeting he must be on time for.
We cannot have sex.
We most definitely cannot have sex.
Actually, I have no idea if Ridge’s building is an actual office. I have serious trouble picturing Nate sitting behind a desk typing at a keyboard while pushing a thinly framed pair of glasses up higher on his nose and tucking his pen into a pocket protector. It’s very unlikely any of that goes on when he goes into work. Plus he doesn’t even wear glasses. He didn’t tell me what work he had to do today, only that Ridge called a meeting, and he needed to be there.
It’s so weird to be spending time planning my day with a guy again. I mean we broke out calendars last night and wrote joint appointments for the next month. Nate had a lot of work commitments in his that he has throughout the week where mine is spend time with Emma, feed Emma, play with Emma, put Emma to bed, work. It’s the gesture that counts. I’ve never aligned calendars before. It’s weird.
And wonderful.
It makes me think this is what normal relationships are like. Two people talking and sharing their lives and time together.
I didn’t even realize what I’d been missing out on in my past with Barry.
When Nate leaves the bathroom for the third time, he’s clothed and my libido sighs in defeat. She never gives up full hope.
He plants a quick but respectful kiss on my cheek. “I hate that I’m leaving you all day today. If Ridge didn’t make it mandatory, I would stay home.”
“Nate, don’t be ridiculous. My ankle is fine. See?” I say twisting my ankle in all different circles. Sometimes I think the guilt over the fact he caused the injury makes him a little extra crazy about it.
“I called Winnie to come and check on you.”
I roll my eyes, but he doesn’t even flinch. “Nate, I don’t need a babysitter.”
“She’s not here to babysit you. She’ll stop by to check in and see if you need anything. Plus I have my cell phone.”
With annoyance, I roll out of bed, not happy about starting the day but willing to do what I need to do if it will ease his nerves.
“I feel fine, really. Look, I could dance a jig.” I never took dance lessons in school, so I have no idea what a jig is. I try faking a tap dance on my bedroom carpet, but my ankle comes down weirdly on a step and I cringe.
“Yeah,” Nate says, shaking his head and putting his hand against my elbow. “Don’t do that.”
“What? I could’ve been an Irish dancer.” If he plans to make comments about my dancing, I have to stick up for myself.
He laughs. “I’ll contact the Riverdance guys for you. Set up an audition.”
I’m in too deep now and can only pray he’s joking. “You do that. Of course, I’d have to be on the road all the time dancing and who would take care of Emma.”
He kisses me on the temple, this one lasting longer. “I guess you’ll just have to miss out on your dream.”
“It’ll be a travesty, but I’ll do it for Emma.”
“Yes, for Emma.”
A door closes and I freak out for a second worried Emma is walking around the apartment letting herself outside. Nate goes on high alert, his body frozen, but then Winnie’s voice breaks through and calms the storm.