by J. L. Leslie
I knock on the door and it only takes a few seconds for Mr. Oakwood to open it. He tells me to come in and happily scoops Willow up into his arms. I close the door behind me and feel the floor drop beneath my feet.
Brynn.
My ex-wife sits on their couch, a suitcase placed beside it. It takes me a moment to recover. I haven’t seen her since she left me. She’s changed over the years. Her once short brown hair is now long with waves to it. Instead of wearing a comfortable tee and jeans, she’s dressed in a tight-fighting skirt and blue blouse. Black stiletto heels adorn her feet. She looks like a damn businesswoman instead of the small-town girl I used to love.
“Willow, let’s go,” I state firmly and reach for her. Mr. Oakwood takes a step back and I glare at him. “Don’t do that. Don’t you dare try to stop me from getting my daughter.”
“Kaler, please,” Brynn says, standing to her feet. “Please just let her stay. I brought her a birthday present. I didn’t know if I would see her on her birthday or not.”
“No.”
I take Willow from Mr. Oakwood, despite their protests. It breaks my heart to hear Willow call for her mama. To know that she wants her and I’m keeping her from seeing her. I don’t know what to do. I want to protect Willow and my heart is breaking at this moment. Am I still protecting her?
“Kaler, son, think about this,” Mrs. Oakwood pleads. “We all know Brynn hurt you. She was going through some things that even I don’t understand, but I’ve forgiven her and so can you.”
“I don’t need to forgive her,” I tell them. “I need for her to stay away from my daughter.”
Willow starts to cry, clutching her arms around my neck, no longer crying for Brynn. I rub her back, shushing her and doing what I can to sooth her.
“She’s getting upset,” Brynn observes. “She wants to stay, Kaler, and I want to see her. Please don’t do this.”
“I’m not doing anything wrong, Brynn!” I raise my voice and Willow sobs harder.
“I’ll go. She can stay and I’ll go if that’s what you want,” Brynn offers. “Don’t punish her because I’m here.”
“I’m not punishing her, I’m protecting her.”
Brynn grabs her suitcase and approaches me. “I’m going, but we have to talk about this at some point. I’m not going away for good.”
She leaves and after a few minutes, I hear a car leaving. I sigh in frustration. First, I have a fight with Jenna and now my ex-wife and her parents try to bombard me.
“If she comes back then Willow comes home. I’m her father and it’s my rules. Respect them or you don’t have to be part of her life either.”
The two of them look appalled but they don’t object. I give Willow a kiss on the cheek, wiping her tears away. I ask if she wants to stay and she nods. I tell her I love her and hand her over to Mr. Oakwood, reiterating my warning about Brynn.
The moment I leave I call Jenna. I don’t waste time spilling my guts to her or begging her to change my mind. I simply tell her the truth.
“I need you.”
Jenna
Kaler opens his door, beer in hand, and I step inside. He takes a long sip as he walks to his kitchen. He called me a little while ago and simply told me he needed me before hanging up. I could hear in his voice that something was wrong. Seriously wrong.
I debated on whether or not I should have come to him but there was really no hesitation on my part. He said he needed me, and I knew I was not going to deny him. My grandma thinks what we’re doing is wrong, and she’s probably right, but it doesn’t feel wrong.
When Kaler touches me, every inch of my skin tingles. Every nerve ending vibrates. Every color I see is vibrant. Everything I smell is heightened. Every emotion is alive.
It has to be right, no matter how wrong it should be.
“Kaler? What’s going on?” I ask him and he puts his bottle on the table.
He closes the distance between us and jerks me to him, his mouth crashing against mine. I moan against his lips, my arms going around his neck. He lifts me up and carries me to his room, tossing me on his bed.
My skin tingles. My nerve endings vibrate. I open my eyes and the gray of his eyes is so vibrant it’s nearly silver. The smell of his cologne is heightened and surrounds me, enveloping me. My emotions are alive, telling me how I feel about this man and they terrify me.
How can this feeling be wrong? How can it possibly be wrong?
His fingers go right to the clasp of my jeans and he tugs my pants down, panties too. He takes the hem of my shirt and quickly divests me of it. I tell him to slow down, ask him to tell me what’s wrong, but he ignores me.
He shoves his pants down, his hardened cock springing free. He pulls his shirt over his head and tosses it onto the floor. I swallow at the sight of him, and as much as I want him, I need to know what’s bothering him.
“Please talk to me,” I beg, and he grabs my ankles, turning me over so that I’m lying on my belly.
“I don’t want to talk,” he replies gruffly and grips my hips, pulling me up until I’m on all fours.
The bed sinks as he climbs on behind me, holding his cock in his hand. I look over my shoulder at him, watching him stroke himself until a bead of precum leaks from his tip.
“I think we should ta‒”
He thrusts inside me and my words are caught in my throat. I gasp, unable to breathe as he slams into me to the hilt, over and over. He grabs my hair, jerking my head back and I let out a strangled cry. He pushes me down, shoving my head into his pillow. I struggle against him, managing to get him to let go of my hair.
Everything he’s doing feels good. Incredible. But I know he’s not with me. He’s fucking me with no emotion, and I need that emotional connection with him. I can’t lose that with him.
“Stop! Kaler, stop!” I cry and he stops moving, easing out of me, breathless, a look of shame on his face. An apology tumbles from his lips.
I scoot away from him and snatch my clothes from his floor, leaving him kneeling on his bed. I manage to get my panties on in the kitchen and I’m working on my shirt in the living room when he comes to me.
“I’m sorry,” he apologizes again. “I’m so fucking sorry. Please, Jenna, please don’t go.”
“What the hell was that?” I ask him. “I don’t mind rough sex, Kaler, but you were a different person in there. It was like you were punishing me. If that had something to do with earlier‒”
“Brynn was at her parents. She’s back in Chapelwood.”
“That was about Brynn?” I ask him, fighting back tears. “God, I can’t do this! I can’t compete with her and I sure as hell won’t have you imagining I’m her while you’re fucking me!”
He steps toward me and I step back, holding a hand up to stop him, clutching my shirt to my chest with the other. “I was pissed that she was there. That’s all. I do not have feelings for her anymore, Jenna. I promise you that.”
“Kaler, you can’t even be around her! You are not over her and I’m not going to be anyone’s second best!”
He runs a hand through his hair. “I can’t explain it, Jenna, but I get angry with her because of what she did to Willow! Not what she did to me! I swear it to you that I am over her!”
“Then you have to forgive her,” I tell him. “You have to accept that she made a mistake and now she’s trying to make it right. She wants another chance and you can’t continue to punish her.”
“I don’t know if I can do that,” he admits.
“If you can’t forgive her, then we cannot do this. It’ll ruin us.”
When he comes toward me this time, I don’t back away. I meant what I said. He has to let what happened between them go. He has to forgive her. God how I need him to forgive her.
“I’ll do anything. I’ll do anything you ask if it means you won’t leave, because I can’t handle that right now. Not when I’ve fallen for you.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Kaler
“I am falling for you,
Jenna. So fucking hard,” I confess and a tear rolls down her cheek. I thumb it away and pull her to me. “I’ll do anything for you.”
“Just love me,” she whispers. “That’s all I need.”
I kiss her softly, wanting her to know that I can give her what she needs. I can love Jenna. I can be who she needs me to be.
I wrap my arms around her and hold her, smiling against her mouth when she drops her shirt to the floor. I walk her backwards until we hit the arm of my couch. I direct us around it and lie her down on my floor, the carpet soft against our skin.
Jenna rolls onto her side, her back to my chest and my cock nestling against her ass. I kiss her shoulder, sliding my fingers between her legs to stroke her. I start out slowly, easing one finger inside her and massaging her clit.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, adding a second finger inside her warmth. I don’t care how many times I have to apologize. I need her to forgive me.
I bring her to the brink, over and over, never allowing her to fall over the edge. I reluctantly remove my fingers from her and sit up, letting her know I have to run to my room to get a condom.
“You’ve already been inside me without one,” she replies, getting on all fours. “I trust you and I want to feel you.”
“I don’t need you like this,” I tell her, indicating her position. “You didn’t like it, and I’m okay with that.”
Jenna shakes her head. “It wasn’t that I didn’t like it. I loved it. I didn’t like the distance you put between us.”
I lean over and give her a kiss before getting into position behind her. Her pussy is glistening, wet and ready for me. I poise my dick at her opening and watch the tip disappear into her. I ease in, inch by inch, until she’s taken all of me.
“Are you okay?” I ask her and she looks back at me, her lips parted.
“Yes,” she answers, huskily. “Now, please fuck me, get lost inside me, and w ”
I hold onto her hips and pull out only to surge back in. My balls slap against her skin as I pump into her. I’m lost in her, fucking her like a damn cave man, and she’s loving it. She rocks back to meet my thrusts, moaning and whimpering each time I slam home.
“There’s no one else for me,” I promise her. “Only you. Only us.”
“I’m yours, Kaler,” she assures me. “Only you. Only us.”
I’m so close to the edge, ready to fall over. I reach around and tease her clit, rubbing and pinching it until she’s begging to come. Her pussy tightens around me, convulsing with her orgasm, and I shoot my release inside her, groaning.
Jenna falls forward, lowering herself to the floor and I slip out of her, joining her so that I can hold her. She’s smiling when I place my arms around her and snuggle her to me.
“You can fall, Kaler,” she whispers. “Cause I’m falling with you.”
I kiss her forehead and we stay entwined for a while, neither of us wanting to move. Jenna is the first one to stir, easing herself up.
“As much as I would love to lay here with you all night, I need a shower.”
I rise to my feet and hold out my hand to her, helping her to stand. Her hair is a tangled mess. Her cheeks are flushed. The insides of her thighs glisten with my cum.
I’ve never seen her look more beautiful.
Jenna
Sunlight beams through Kaler’s window, waking me earlier than I’d prefer. He’s still sound asleep, snoring lightly beside me. I crawl over him, not caring if I wake him.
“Going somewhere?” he asks, reaching for me as I get off his bed.
“Yes, to raid your fridge,” I answer, pulling on one of his t-shirts and my jeans. “Let’s see if you have any sausage or bacon.”
“Or Spam,” he grins. “I’m supposed to go to Westmont today. I have to pick up some supplies for my daddy and was going to stop by the dealership so that I can see their shop. I need to make a decision about the job.”
“Is that an invitation for me to go with you?”
“Absolutely.”
I leave him lying there, him promising to join me in a few so that we can eat and get on the road. I open his fridge and grab the bottle of orange juice out. He does have sausage and eggs, so I get those out as well. I’m getting a frying pan out when someone knocks on the door.
Since Kaler hasn’t gotten up yet, I put the frying pan on the counter and go to answer the door. I figure it’s probably either Tauren or Kipton but I open the door and swallow at the sight of my best friend. I hear footsteps behind me and Kaler has walked in, a pair of low-hanging joggers on. Brynn looks over my shoulder to him, shock evident on her face.
I’m standing in Kaler’s house, barefoot and in one of his t-shirts. He’s shirtless, his gray joggers the only article of clothing on him. On top of that, it’s early on a Saturday morning.
We are busted. Simple as that.
“How could you?” Brynn asks me, stepping around me and into his house, her gaze shifting between the two of us. “How could you do this to me?”
“It wasn’t planned,” I answer her. “I apologize. I should’ve told you.”
She slaps me, the force of it causing me to stumble. I hold my hand to my cheek, hot tears filling my eyes and rolling down my face.
“Damn right, you should’ve told me you were fucking my husband!”
My voice is shaky when I reply, “He hasn’t been your husband for a long time!”
She grabs the front of my shirt and I push her away. Kaler quickly comes between us, his back to Brynn as he separates us and reaches for my face.
“You need to go,” he says, and I stare at him in shock, sure he’s talking about me. “Brynn, you have to go.”
“After everything we’ve been through, this hurts the most,” she tells us both and storms out of his house. “I’ll see you in court, Kaler! I’m getting my daughter!”
Kaler gathers me to him, stroking my back. My tears fall against his bare chest as I mourn losing my best friend. I knew she wouldn’t forgive me for this.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Kaler
Jenna seems to be in shock as she sits on my couch. She stares at my television but it’s obvious that she isn’t watching it. Her plate of sausage and eggs is still untouched.
I called my daddy and told him I couldn’t make the trip to Westmont today. He lets me know him and mama will go and make a day of it. I don’t bother calling the dealership. My heart was not in that job anyway.
“She’s going to be okay. She was just caught off guard,” I tell her, rubbing her arm. “The threat about taking me to court is only a threat. I’ll talk to her.”
“We were stupid for trying to hide this. I should have told her. She wouldn’t have been so mad if I would have been honest with her. I’m her best friend, Kaler. This was so wrong, and Christ, we knew it this whole time.”
“Not telling our business to the whole town of Chapelwood didn’t mean we were doing something wrong.”
Jenna glances up at me. “You know that’s bullshit, Kaler. You were sleeping with your ex-wife’s best friend. That is all kinds of wrong.”
“What exactly makes it wrong?” I challenge. “We are two consenting adults. We are both single. Why is it that we aren’t supposed to be together simply because I was married to someone you knew before? Fuck, we know everyone in this damn town!”
She gets up, sighing as she does. “We can try to rationalize this all we want to. It was wrong. Plain and simple. Now she’s going to try and hurt you more by taking Willow from you.”
“She can try all she wants to, but I’ve done my research. I did my research when I realized she wasn’t coming back. I wanted to be prepared in case this day came and I know she will have one hell of a time proving to any court that it’s in Willow’s best interest to uproot her and change the only life she’s ever known. I’m not afraid of Brynn taking Willow from me, Jenna. I’m afraid of losing you.”
“We both said this was complicated and that we should’ve been friends, so we can’
t try to suddenly pretend that it should be accepted. That what we’ve done has no consequences.”
I stand up too, following her as she heads into my bedroom. I assume she’s going to get her things and I’m not going to allow her to walk away and give up on this. Give up on us.
“It should be accepted!” I tell her. “Damn it, Jenna, I am tired of other people trying to tell me what I should and shouldn’t do with my life! I deserve to be happy and you make me happy! If I don’t make you happy then walk away, but if I do the way I think I do, then to hell with everyone else!”
“Is it really that simple?” she asks me. “I’m a school teacher, Kaler. What if parents start to complain more than they already have? You run a local business with your father and that business depends on customers. The people in this town are petty and vicious. We both know that.”
I take her hands in mine. “I know just how vicious people in this small town can be. Me and Brynn were accused of getting married because I’d knocked her up. Then, after we had Willow, we were told to put her up for adoption because she wasn’t a normal child. We could try again for a normal one and not have to raise a child who would never be right. When Brynn left me, people said they couldn’t blame her because what mother wanted a daughter like Willow, especially when I had gotten her pregnant out of wedlock. I know all about petty and vicious people, Jenna, and I’m tired of caring about them. I’m tired of treating you like you’re my dirty secret. I am in love with you. I love you, and I don’t care who knows it.”
I bring her hands up to my lips and kiss her palms, praying she feels the same way. Praying she won’t walk away from me. I thought I lost the love of my life once, but she was really a childhood friend. I may have married her, and yes, she blessed me with my beautiful daughter, but she was not the love of my life.
