We talk about her and all that she’s been through. Juno was found wandering the streets alone. She was malnourished, her hair was matted, and she was dehydrated. After several months of intense training sessions and vet visits, she’s now like a brand-new dog. She knows her commands, she’s back to a healthy weight, and she’s happy with any attention anyone gives her. She had a hard life, but she’s making up for it now.
The couple ends up loving her, as I knew they would, and they make plans to come in tomorrow to start the paperwork process. I show them out and wave goodbye. When I close the door behind them, I fall down to my knees to celebrate with Juno. I’m glad she’s getting her forever home, but I’m sad to lose her around here. With that out of the way, there’s nothing left to do today but enjoy my lazy Sunday.
Cora ends up coming over now that she isn’t feeling like a cast member of a zombie movie, and we order pizza and a bunch of junk for dinner. She brings bridal magazines and flips through them, getting my opinion as I watch TV. She should know I’m not the girl to talk to about this kind of thing, but she insists. She says that when she talks to the other girls about the wedding, they don’t agree with anything she likes, claiming that she needs to spend more money to go bigger, better. Cora isn’t like the rest of them though. She’s more like me than them. She isn’t rich and she has to do this on a budget. So I’m the person who says she can do it, and it’ll be beautiful even if she doesn’t spend $50,000.
She finds a few dresses she likes, and we even agree on the bridesmaid dresses. The tuxes for the guys will be rented, so that will be pretty cheap. Then we move on to cakes and decor. It’s going on 10 p.m. when I finally get her out the door, and I waste no time in letting the dogs out and going to bed for the night. All the dogs jump into bed with me like they normally do—well, with the exception of last night. Even with all the dogs, my bed feels different after having Foster sleep beside me. The bed doesn’t feel as warm or as comfy, and I tell myself to come off it. He’s just a guy. He’s not my prince charming. He’s someone else’s entirely. Even though he explained all that to me, I still don’t really understand it. But hey, if he says he’s single, he’s single until proven otherwise. Although that doesn’t mean I can just let my heart gallop in his direction. It’s been made very clear that we’re just hooking up. This isn’t a forever kind of thing.
With all that settled in my head—though my brain is still trying to explain it to my heart—I’m finally able to fall fast asleep.
I wake in the morning and go through my usual morning routine of letting the dogs out, showering, and getting ready for work. When I get to the office, Jenna is already behind the counter, getting everything up and running for the day. She looks up when I walk in and she smiles. “How was your weekend? No diseases?” she jokes.
“Nope, but I did get arrested, so I can’t say it went exactly as planned.”
Her eyes stretch wide and her mouth drops open before the corners turn up with her laughter. “The two of us are soul sisters, I’m telling you,” she jokes.
I laugh and shake my head, but walk to my office to pull the paperwork we’ll need for the couple adopting Juno. I take everything into the manager’s office and leave the documents on her desk for their appointment before going back to my own office to work on the benefit we’re holding next month.
The workweek passes quickly, and before I know it, it’s Friday night and Foster is double-checking via text that I’m not backing out of our plans for tomorrow. We’ve texted a few times over the week, but we haven’t seen each other since Sunday. To me, it feels like maybe he feels the same way about me as I do him. We hit it off every time we see each other, we have epic sex, and there’s always that pull between us that never wants to let us part, but we have to be smart about this and not get too attached. Which means not being together every single day. He has his life and I have mine, and when we can, we meet in the middle. Which is what tomorrow is. Our middle.
He promises to pick me up around 10 a.m. so we can grab a quick breakfast before hitting the track, where he promises we’ll be drinking all day. With a laugh, he makes me promise that he won’t need to bail me out again.
Saturday rolls around and I dress in a pair of jean shorts, flip-flops, and a tank top. I leave my hair down, but put an elastic hair tie on my wrist so I can pull it up if I get too hot. I don’t put on much makeup either, not wanting to sweat it off all day. As promised, he’s pulling into the drive at 10 on the dot. I’m just finishing putting my things into my purse when he knocks on the door.
“It’s open!” I call out.
He opens it and lets himself in. He immediately smiles when he sees me, then he bends down to pet the dogs. “Hey, wasn’t there another one?”
“Yeah, she was adopted,” I tell him, trying to be excited but also still a little sad over the loss.
“Aww, that’s good, right?” he asks, standing back up.
I nod and force a smile. “It is, but it’s also sad at the same time.”
He walks over to me with a grin. “Does my girl get attached?” he asks, pulling me against him and preparing for a kiss.
But I can’t think, because all I heard was him calling me “my girl.” My heart starts racing. Hearing that should frighten me, but it doesn’t. It excites me. Either way, I pretend I didn’t notice and instead, I close the distance between our lips for a kiss. The kiss is long and slow. Teasing. When he pulls away, we’re both breathless.
“Better stop that before it starts, or Matt will be sitting in your driveway a lot longer than I told him he would.”
“Who?” I ask, confused by his words.
“Oh, my buddy Matt. He’s coming with. He’s driving us, actually. With his wife, Poppy. We’re all going. Is that cool?”
“Oh, yeah. That’s fine,” I say, suddenly nervous as I finish gathering my things.
Usually, when a guy introduces me to his friends, it’s because there’s a chance of the relationship lasting. But we’re just messing around. I guess I just don’t know him all that well yet. He may introduce all his casual hookups to his friends. I don’t know anything for sure, so I try not to think about any of it.
I lock the house behind me and he leads me over to a black Jeep Grand Cherokee. He opens the back seat door and I slide in and across so he can slide in after me. The guy who’s driving—Matt, I assume—turns around with a smile. “Nice to see you again. This is my wife, Poppy.”
I smile at him and look around her seat to offer my hand to shake. “It’s nice to meet you.”
She smiles and shakes my hand. “You too.”
I make small talk with Poppy while the guys talk football, something I have zero knowledge about. We pull up to a beautiful bistro for brunch—someplace with a French name I can’t pronounce. Once we’re seated, I’m handed a menu and notice that the prices aren’t listed. While Matt and Poppy seem to be lost in a private conversation, I lean toward Foster.
“How much is all of this? There are no prices.”
He leans back in. “Don’t worry; it’s on me.”
I tilt my head and give him a look. “I still owe you for posting bail. I can’t take any more of your money,” I argue quietly, not wanting to make a scene.
“It’s fine. You’ve paid me back in a different way,” he teases, but I grind my teeth. No way am I pimping myself out to get out of jail. I have the money in my purse to give him back; I just didn’t want to do it in front of everyone. I’ll figure out a way to slip it into his pocket later.
The waiter comes and everyone orders. Poppy insists we all make a toast with mimosas. These aren’t the cheap mimosas I make with Minute Maid and an $8 bottle of champagne. These are the real deal: French and fancy as fuck.
By the time my order arrives, I’m already feeling a bit tipsy. Not much, but enough to lighten my mood. I smile more, giggle more, and am more talkative all around. Foster seems to notice and he leans in. “Are we going to get arrested? Should I give Matt money now to bail
us both out?”
I know he’s making fun of me, but I lean in and say, “Why, do you get arrested a lot too?”
This only makes him laugh harder, leaving Matt and Poppy to wonder what they’ve missed. They don’t ask, though, and we all go back to eating.
We make it to the track just after noon. We pick a spot low in the stands. I wanted to go higher so we could see everything, but I’ve been promised “the lower the better”—something about smelling the fuel, feeling the wind on your face, and getting hit with slinging mud apparently makes the experience better. At first I don’t understand, then the race takes off and I’m engulfed in the excitement and energy of it all. Poppy’s sitting back, playing on her phone, talking with Matt, and watching the race here and there, but I’m standing with the guys, cheering, screaming, and jumping up and down. The guys were right. Lower is better. Anything you can’t see, you can view on the screen anyway. Being this close to the action is exciting.
Foster seems to enjoy watching me have a good time, and I notice he watches me more than the race, always with a wide smile on his face. The four of us take turns retrieving beer for everyone, and by 2 p.m., I find myself feeling more drunk than tipsy. I can’t help but watch Foster out of the corner of my eye—when he’s not watching me, that is. He’s sexy as hell with his dirty face and rough stubble on his sharp jaw. He’s wearing a white baseball cap that’s now more brown than white, but there’s just something about seeing a man covered in dirt and drinking a beer. My body comes alive in ways it never has before. Sure, I find men sexy all the time, but this is different and it pushes me to want to drag him off to some private area of the track and have my way with him.
I catch his hand in mine and he looks over at me. I jerk my head to the side and he follows me without question. Once we’re far enough away that no one can hear us, he asks, “What’s up? Where are we going?”
I turn and walk backward so I’m facing him. There’s a big smile on my face as I look him up and down. “I’m finding you rather appealing right now and I want to have my way with you,” I tease.
His eyes widen and he arches an eyebrow. “Really? Right now? Right here?”
I bite my lower lip and nod. “Mm-hmm.”
He laughs. “I thought I’d just stay at your place again.”
“Oh, you can still do that. I’m sure once won’t be enough. Come on, let’s go find someplace a little more private.”
We walk around for a bit—just scoping everything out and trying to get a handle on which areas have less foot traffic. With a track this big, it doesn’t seem like there are many private areas, but then we find a family bathroom. It’s a single bathroom and the door locks. I pull him inside and lock the door behind us. The building is close to the track and you can hear the cars come speeding around the corner with each lap. There’s no way we’ll be caught in here.
I push his back against the door and step up to him, crushing his lips with mine. At first, he seems unsure, like he’s being shy, but after a moment, his lips are moving just as quickly as mine are, and just as strongly. He loses himself, and the next thing I know, my shorts are being pulled off and I’m freeing him from his jeans. He picks me up against him, shoving me against the door as he thrusts inside me.
As big as he is, I need a little priming, and there wasn’t much of that this time, so it feels like his size has doubled. I cry out the moment we become one, and he kisses me softly. “Sorry, you just got me so wound up,” he whispers against my lips.
“I’m fine; keep going,” I assure him, and he does exactly what I say. He pulls out and pushes back in a little more slowly this time. I dig my fingers into his back. “Harder,” I whimper.
This time, he pulls out and slams into me. Pain and pleasure mix deliciously and have my breath hitching in my throat. His mouth smashes against mine again and his hips set a steady rhythm. It doesn’t take us long before we’re both falling over the edge of the world together. When my cries fall silent, he spills himself into me with a loud groan of his own. His hips freeze, as do his lips, while we both work to catch our breath.
“Fuck, Harley,” he breathes out, pressing a kiss to my neck.
“I know,” I whisper, unable to find my full voice. “That was amazing.”
He nods as he sets me on my feet. My shaky legs feel weak, like they’re made of jello. He tucks himself back into his pants then bends over to grab my clothing to hand over. I take my shorts and pull them on, then stick my panties into his pocket with the money I managed to sneak into my hand from the back pocket of my jean shorts.
He looks at me, confused as to why I’d be giving him my panties.
I shrug. “Just so you know how easy I’ll be later,” I say with a grin, and he laughs and shakes his head.
We make our way back to our seats and Matt and Poppy look up at us with knowing eyes. “You two have some fun?” Matt asks.
“We just went for a walk,” Foster says, but he can’t keep the grin off his face.
I take my seat and grab my half-empty beer, throwing back another big gulp. Poppy elbows me and I lean over to hear what she says. “He really likes you. I can tell.”
I feel my brows draw together. “Oh, no. We’re just hanging out.”
She smirks. “Yeah, so were we and now we’re married. He really likes you.”
I feel my heart speed up. “How can you tell?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because you’re the first girl he’s ever brought around.”
“What about . . . what’s her name? Bianca?”
She shakes her head. “Bianca? She’s just a pawn in their parents’ game of matchmaking. Neither of them wants that. I’m telling you, he likes you.” She leans back to sit upright and I do the same, but her words stick in my head and they echo throughout it for the rest of the race.
It’s dark by the time we get back to my place, and as promised, Foster gets dropped off with me at my place. I let us in then walk through the house, turning on the lights. The dogs are going crazy with excitement, so I let them out the back while he makes himself at home. I’m only outside for about 10 minutes, but when I come in, he’s sitting on the couch with his shoes and shirt off. I look him up and down and lick my lips. Then he grins and reaches into his pocket, pulling out my panties. However, when he does, the money I stuffed in there also falls out. He stops out of surprise then picks up the cash. He shows it to me. “What’s this?”
“That’s my bail money,” I state, trying to do it cutely.
He laughs and drops it on the coffee table. “I don’t want your money, Harley.”
“No, it’s me who doesn’t want your money. I always pay my debts.” I walk around to sit with him on the couch.
He takes my hand and puts the money inside my palm, then smooths my fingers closed so the money is in my fist. “I don’t want your money. Trust me, it’s nothing to me.”
“If you don’t take it, then I’ll just have to sneak it into your pocket later,” I warn him.
He laughs but shakes his head. “Fine, if it’s that important to you, I’ll take it.” He makes a show of putting it into his pocket.
I smile. “Thank you. Now, back to how easy I am . . .” I joke, climbing into his lap. I kiss him but he pulls away.
“I hope I’m the only one you’re this easy with,” he adds on with a smirk.
I giggle. “Well, to be honest, I’ve also already been sold to a family friend. His dad traded my dad two goats and a horse.”
That makes him laugh and he flips me over so I’m lying on the couch with him on top of me, between my legs. “That’s not funny.”
“Why not?” I ask as his lips come down to my neck.
“Because I’d pay at least four goats for you.”
I giggle but it’s quickly cut off when his mouth finds my nipple. All talk stops—our hands and bodies saying everything for us. Saturday night goes by in a blur since we’re together. The whole night is nothing but lovemaking, talking, laughing, and holding
each other.
Waking up Sunday, I feel like our time together is over. And even though that causes a ping of sadness somewhere inside my chest, I know it’s what needs to be done. I’m getting too used to having him around, being close with him, and pretending like we’re the only people in the world. My eyes flutter open and land on his. His dark eyes are slowly moving up and down my body as I lie next to him, only covered in a sheet. His stubble is darker and thicker from not being shaved all weekend.
“What are you doing today?” he asks quietly.
I shrug one shoulder, not awake enough yet to have a real conversation.
“Let’s do something.” He rolls to his side so he’s facing me directly. He takes his left hand and places it on my hip. Slowly, it moves up and down, caressing me.
“What do you want to do?” I ask, my voice still thick with sleep.
“I don’t care. Anything. I just want to escape the real world with you.” He presses a kiss to my shoulder. “Let’s just get up and go—live in the moment and have fun. I bet we could find something fun.”
I smile and nod, always ready for an adventure.
“Yeah?” he asks, like he can’t believe I just bought it.
I giggle and shake my head again. “Yes.”
His grin is a full-blown smile now and he leans in to kiss my forehead, cheeks, and lips.
We quickly get up, take a shower, and get dressed. I let the dogs out and get them fed, then we lock the door behind us on the way to my Jeep.
“Can I drive?” he asks, looking at me. “I’ve never driven a Jeep.”
My Accidental Forever (Love You Forever Book 5) Page 6
