FOR JEREMY, TODAY has sucked. Thunderstorms all day, the kind where the sky throws up and dumps every bitchy emotion it has all over your body. The kind where puddles form everywhere, deeper than they appear to be, every fifth one he steps in causing his foot to sink ankle-deep in dirty water. His socks have molded to his feet, the wet squish in every step reminding him of how cold it is, this storm bringing with it a blast of frigid air. He didn’t grab his jacket this morning; he’s stuck using the light windbreaker that stays in his work truck. So he is cold, miserable, and wet when he drops off his final delivery, smiles at the housewife, takes back his pen, and jumps back into the truck.
It’s been three and a half years since the first time Jeremy heard her voice. Four months since he first kissed her lips. Six days since he confessed his love. One day since he last saw her smile. He’s lost track of the month when she took his heart in her rebellious hands.
All he wants to do is be at her place. Walk in that door and feel her arms around him. He puts the truck into drive and heads for the distribution center. He’ll swing by the house first, change out of this uniform and shower. See what she wants to eat, then make it to her place by seven.
Seven gives them two hours. Two hours till that druggie locks her in. He hates the situation, but has learned to keep his mouth shut. A person doesn’t really argue with her. Not when her eyes blaze quickly, and she has all the cards and he is left guessing at her hand. A situation he’d never accept from any woman other than her. There is so much he doesn’t know, so much that she holds close to the vest. She says she needs to be locked in at night, so he doesn’t argue. She says she wants Simon to do it, doesn’t want to put their relationship in that situation, so he doesn’t argue. He takes what she gives, and keeps his mouth shut about how he feels about it. But he doesn’t like it. Doesn’t like so much unknown. Doesn’t like the feeling of a girlfriend who keeps secrets. Doesn’t like the fact that he’s scared of the secrets. Doesn’t like that twitchy-eyed prick Simon has anything to do with her. Especially after his eyes all but raped her in the hallway.
He doesn’t like any of it, but he takes it. Takes it and asks for more. Puts his heart closer to her with every interaction. Why? Why when so much of him is scared of her secrets? Scared that they will be too big to overcome. Scared that they will force him to step away, sanity not allowing any other option. No, he doesn’t want to know anything that will end this moment in time when their lives are connected. He’ll take it as long as he can. Take as much of this beautiful stranger as he can get. The secrets he’ll overlook. Her job… that will one day be a bigger problem. His patience with it is waning, especially after he saw her on camera. Felt the reaction he had to her digital image. Realized how much of a connection can be made through a digital porthole. Understood what other men are experiencing with her. He hadn’t realized how much could be communicated through a phone call and corresponding video. Hadn’t realized the risk that his fragile relationship undergoes every time a new client pops up on her screen. What if she makes a connection? What if she falls for one of the strangers that seek her out?
He will go along with it all until the moment he can’t take it. She says she loves him. If he can continue on, cement her love until it reaches a place of unshakable bond, then he will bring up his issues. Will work with her toward a solution. But not now, not when her love for him is so young and vulnerable.
An hour and a half later, with a bag of subs in hand, he knocks on her door. It’s unlocked. It’s always unlocked during the day. Another thing he hates. Another thing he doesn’t understand. It’d be a bad enough practice in a good area, much less this dump where police cars are often curbside, hookers lounge against telephone poles, and the homeless sleep on the benches out front.
She opens the door, the door he could have just pushed in, and turns, sauntering away while pointing toward the kitchen. “Put the food down.”
He groans, shutting the door and locking it, his eyes on her ass, the curve of it accentuated by the sheer lingerie that hugs it. “Babe. You’re driving me crazy.”
She turns, rolls her desk chair till it is against the back wall, and points to it. “Put the food down and sit.”
He cocks his head, confused. Takes two steps over and sets the subs down. “Am I in trouble?”
Her mouth curves into a smile. “Yes. Sit.”
She is saying yes, but she looks anything but mad. Mischievous would be a better descriptor. He walks slowly to the chair. Sits down. Watches her face as she steps closer, her stripper shoes putting her at an insane height, his mouth in line with her belly button. He reaches out, wanting to touch her, but she shakes her head, clucks her tongue disapprovingly and steps back, out of his reach.
“Hands on the arms. Don’t touch me.”
“I’d love to know what I’ve done wrong.”
His dry tone makes her smile, the twinkle in her eyes tugging on every string in his heart.
“You,” she whispers, standing before him, raising her arms and reaching back, behind her head, undoing some tie that causes the lace to slink off her front, her bare breasts suddenly on display for him. He feels his cock respond, thickening and hardening, pushing against his jeans, insistent in its rush. She reaches back again, pulls at the fabric and the entire ensemble suddenly drops, leaving only her skin, still in heels, her confidence so fucking sexy his cock hurts. “You,” she repeats, stepping forward and leaning over him, her breasts brushing against his shirt, her teeth taking a soft nip of his jaw before her mouth moves to his ear. “Didn’t tell me it was your birthday.”
She kneels, a pillow under her knees, running her hands confidently down his shirt and thumbing the buckle of his belt. He inhales when her hands dip under his jeans, her fingers wrapping over the denim while working the button, and she smiles.
You didn’t tell me it was your birthday.
“I would have, had I known it would lead to this.” He doesn’t have a condom. The oversight is glaring, in big huge letters that a blind man would have trouble missing. He hasn’t needed one, the unspoken boundaries in their relationship clear. They touch, they kiss… but they haven’t gone there, haven’t gone there enough times that he’s stopped carrying one. Yet another question he doesn’t ask and another answer she doesn’t volunteer. Maybe he won’t need one. Maybe, with his back to the wall and her settled in on her knees, this will be a blow job, no condom necessary. He almost hopes she doesn’t ask. He won’t be able to say no if she pulls him to his feet and leads him to the bed. A man’s willpower is only so strong, and turning her down is Numero Uno on the list of things he is unable to do.
Then her fingers pull his cock out, an organ that has only strengthened in the few minutes that have passed since she disrobed, a cock that swells even more in her hands, her eager look surprising as she examines it. Squeezes it gently, runs her fist up and down its length, her other hand lightly traveling over it, trailing the veins just under the skin, cupping his balls lightly. He stares at her face, wondering at the delight there. As if this is something she has waited for. Imagined. Almost like she is pinching herself to see if this is real. This girl, this girl who has so much fear of herself in her heart… he will never understand her many sides. And here is a new one, the explorative innocent, eager and ready to please.
Then she lowers her mouth, taking her enthusiasm to a different level, and he gasps, his pelvis spasming, his hand falling and entangling in her hair. Maybe not innocent. This mouth, working his cock in ways he has never felt, is anything but innocent.
In this moment, his most vulnerable organ in her mouth, the impossible happens, and he falls even deeper in love.