Ammo and Mary

by Annette Stephenson

  I put the dishes in the dishwasher. Then I moved to leftovers and found a plastic container that would hold them all. I quickly transferred the soup and put it away in the fridge. I finished loading the dishwasher and started it. “Mary, did you need more water?” I asked, thinking I should have refiled our glasses.

  “No, but do need you to come here,” she called. I could not argue with that.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, walking back over to her.

  “I am sitting on your couch alone.” She smiled up at me.

  I chuckled. Yeah, everything was going to be just fine. She really was amazing. “I guess I should fix that,” I said, grabbing the remote as I sat down next her. “What do you want to watch?”

  “Action movies are good,” she suggested.

  I turned on the TV and brought up Netflix. I thought for a minute and decided on a classic. I quickly found it and settled in with my arm behind her so she could lean into me. Soon the opening music was playing.

  She laughed. “Indy and the Temple of Doom! Great choice!” She snuggled into my side. It was perfect. Or so I thought. I could not concentrate on the movie at all. I wanted to kiss her more. Indiana, Shorty, and Willie were barely on the plane when I decided to make my move.

  I maneuvered her over to my lap so she could straddle me. I pushed her hair back out of her face. I started to lean up to her and she was there. She braced her hands on the couch behind me and kissed me deeply. I kissed her back. I was lost in the feel of her. I let my hands drop to her waist. She was grinding against my lap, trying to find some friction. I reached up and cupped her breasts, finding her nipples peaked through her shirt and bra. I pinched and tugged them. She moaned with my tweaking. I picked us up and laid us down on the couch. I was on my side and she had just enough room to lie on her back.

  I was never more thankful for the oversized sectional than at that point. While I lost the use of one of my hands, I was able to access more of her with my other. I pulled her shirt up and her bra cup down. With her nipple now exposed, I circled it with my tongue. She moaned again. I was so hard, and her moaning was just making me harder. I sucked her nipple in my mouth, and she was squirming next to me, trying to find any relief. I reached down and slid my hand between her thighs. I could feel her damp heat. I undid her jeans and slid my hand to her folds.

  “Oh, Ben, please,” she moaned out. She pushed her jeans down a bit more to give me more access I was not going to disappoint her. I quickly slid a finger in, and my thumb found her clit. I circled it and then found the right pressure to make her shudder. She shifted her jeans down a little more so I could get good contact. “More,” she said.

  I pressed two fingers into her and kept my thumb on her clit, rubbing and watching her as she contorted next to me. I went back to her nipple. “I am close,” she said, then her breathing changed. I knew she was just about there. Her body stiffened and she cried out, “Oh, Ben!” I let up on her clit and softly pumped my fingers in her as her walls contracted around me. She was so beautiful. I loved how she looked sated in my arms. I kissed her.

  “You are so beautiful, Mary,” I said, looking down at her. She reached up and ran her hand through my hair. I withdrew my fingers and held her close. I breathed in the scent of her. I was so hard. I wanted her so much, but not today. I wanted to show her I respected her. I didn’t feel making love to her on the first date was the best way to do that.

  I felt Mary rubbing her hand on my chest. Soon she made her way under my shirt. I kissed her. I lost track of what she was doing. She tugged my shirt off and soon she had her hand wrapped around my shaft. My jeans were undone, and she was stroking me. “Fuck, Mary,” I groaned. Feeling her stroke me was amazing. She was firm but tender. I knew I would not last long if she kept this up.

  “Mary, you don’t have to,” I said.

  “I know. But I find you just as beautiful as you do me. I want to see you come apart as I did for you.” With that, she licked my nipple and alternated with suckling it. She kept stroking me.

  I could not hold back. I felt my balls tighten and then the eruption of come. She watched me as my orgasm ran through me. I groaned out as she milked the last drops. I reached for her face and pulled her to me so I could kiss her. I knew I had a mess to clean up, but I couldn’t help it. I held her tight as our breathing returned to normal.

  I carefully got up, grabbed my shirt, and went to the bathroom to clean up. I threw my shirt back on. I dampened a washcloth and brought it out to Mary. She thanked me and wiped her hands and a few spots. I took the washcloth back and grabbed our glasses. The cloth went into the sink and I refilled our glasses. I went back to where Mary relaxed on the couch. I set the glasses back down and found my spot next to Mary. We curled up together and watched the rest of the movie.

  She fell asleep before Indy and the crew were in the mine cart. I let her rest and watched her sleep. I was enjoying the peaceful feeling she brought to me. I loved the way she felt in my arms. That’s when I realized what Tarzan had been trying to explain to me. I was falling in love with her. I didn’t want to explore those feelings just yet, so I just watched her sleep instead. I heard the credits rolling and knew I had to wake her up and take her home. I really didn’t want to, but we both needed to work tomorrow.

  “Mary, honey,” I softly said while I stroked her face. She opened her eyes and smiled at me.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” she said as she stretched. “I guess it’s time to go home,” she said as she sat up.

  “Yeah,” I said, getting up to get our shoes. I handed her shoes to her and sat down to put mine on.

  “So, I am busy tomorrow and Saturday until noon. What about you?”

  “I have training set up all day tomorrow, then till 2 on Saturday. Sunday, nothing,” I said.

  “Okay then, how about we plan on being together Saturday after 2 till whenever on Sunday? Will that work for you?” she said as she stood.

  I stood up with her and walked over to our jackets. “Yes, I think I would like that very much.” I took her jacket off the hook and held it up for her so she could slip it on. I grabbed my jacket, made sure I had my phone and keys, and opened the door. We walked down to my car and got in. I started to make my way back to her house. I took her hand and held it on my thigh as I drove. I liked feeling her touch.

  “Ben, I had a great day. I know our conversation was really heavy, but I think we have both realized that it just brought us closer together,” she said.

  I tightened my grip on her hand. “It really did. I enjoyed our day very much. I am glad we got to talk about those things. I feel so much better about it.”

  “You are going to be okay spending the night on Saturday, and probably going to Sunday dinner at Rosa’s?” she asked, looking at me.

  “Yeah, I am good as long as I am with you. Gena, Hack, and who knows, maybe even Charlotte will be with Domino on Sunday, so he should be fine without me. I should point out that Hack and Domino are cousins and they do spend some family time together on Sundays anyway,” I explained.

  “Oh, that’s nice. Rosa has always said Sundays are for family. She has never opened the restaurant on a Sunday and never will. She and the boys cook a feast and we all enjoy sitting around the table talking.” She smiled at the memories.

  “Gena is a great cook. She and I switch off duties and we do much of the same for Sundays. Domino tells every one of his operators that if they are not spending Sunday with their own family they should come to his home and be part of the family there. We have lots of fun at those dinners. And if Gena’s mom comes, oh God, we never stop laughing. Her mom is so funny.” I really did like Gena’s mom. Gena’s brother was in Washington State, so she would have her mom and dad join us on Sundays, so they were not lonely either.

  “I would really like that. Maybe next Sunday we could have family day with Domino and whoever is there,” she suggested.

  “I think that is a great idea. We could switch off every Sunday. I
think that would make me happy and hopefully you as well.” I glanced over at her to see her reaction.

  “Yes. Very much,” she said. I pulled up to her house and parked. I got out and walked to her side and helped her out. We walked up to her door. I really didn’t want to say good night, but we both had responsibilities for tomorrow.

  “Will you call me when you get home?” she asked as I held her in my arms.

  “Sure. I hope you have sweet dreams tonight.” I kissed her.

  When the kiss broke apart, she said, “I will, because you will be in them.” She smiled at me. I loved that smile. “Thank you for a wonderful day. Good night, Ben.” She opened her door and turned back to me.

  “I had a wonderful day too. Good night, Mary. Lock up,” I said. I waited to hear the click of the lock and then she waved through the window of the door. I walked back to my car and headed home.

  Chapter 14

  Mary

  I was at Clarisse’s house. She had a charity ball on Saturday, and I was fixing her dress. I was thinking about the great date Ben and I had yesterday. I loved walking around the zoo with him. He was so handsome, and then all his muscles. I couldn’t wait to see him again. Tomorrow was just far away.

  “Mary? Earth to Mary,” Clarisse was calling me.

  “Oh sorry, Clarisse, what did you say?” I was flustered.

  “It is not important. I want to know who has you so distracted.” She was looking at me in the reflection of the mirror we were in front of.

  Crap, she’d caught me. Ugh. “Ben.” Maybe I could not give the details.

  “Who is Ben, and why are you keeping secrets?” She had the I caught you look on her face.

  Who was I kidding? She was the meddling older aunt. My real aunt had passed away and Clarisse was her best friend so she took over, filling that void. “Ben is a man I have been talking to for the last three weeks. We had our first date last night,”

  “I see. And why have I not been told about him?” She was tapping her foot now.

  “Because I had been hoping that he and I would hit it off and didn’t want to jinx it.” I wished she would drop it.

  “Mary, I only want you to be happy. That’s all Aunt Helen and I ever wanted for you. Happiness; something she and I didn’t get. If he makes you happy, and I think he has so far, then keep seeing him.” She turned and looked at me. “This is the only date you have ever kept from me, so who knows, maybe it will work this time.”

  She turned back around, and I finished hemming her dress. I normally told her everything, so maybe doing something different was what I needed.

  I went to my next appointment; it was the creepy Mr. Greyson again. He needed a tux altered for Clarisse’s charity ball. I was so glad I was not going this year. She had made me go a few times. The last time I was her nephew’s arm candy. He had just finished fashion design school and had used me as his model for his final project. I wore the dress he made. They auctioned it off for over $20,000 towards the charity event.

  “Hello, Mr. Greyson,” I said as he answered the door.

  “Hello, Mary. I have the table ready for you like last time. And I am in this thing they called a tux. I am not pleased,” he said.

  I could see why; it hung on his frame. The shirt was so big it was laughable. I think it was supposed to be white, but it was grayish.

  “Well, let’s see what we can do. First, what color is the shirt supposed to be?” I set my machine down on the table, after I put down my tablecloth.

  “White. It is gray, isn’t?” he asked. I could tell he was barely controlling his temper.

  “Yes, it is. Do you have any white shirts? I can fix it for you, then we can move on the rest,” I finished setting out what I needed, and he headed upstairs to see what he needed.

  As I waited, I felt eyes on me. I turned, but no one was there. I hated his house; it was just so creepy. I heard him on the stairs. I turned to him and saw he had two white shirts.

  “Which would be better?” He held them up. One was a traditional pleated tuxedo shirt; it was about three sizes too big for him. The other was a classic button-down that probably fit him but would not have the right collar, and the buttons were not right either.

  “Let’s go with the pleated one. It has less for me to fix.” While he changed, I started to take the jacket apart so I could fix it.

  I didn’t get home until after 7. That was really late for me. I texted Ben that I was running late, and he said to just call when I got in. I did, and got no answer. I ate my dinner and got ready for bed. I didn’t feel like sewing or watching TV. I figured I could read until he called.

  I woke up Saturday morning and started to rush. I had a bride that would be getting ready in one hour, and I had to get over there so she wouldn’t have a meltdown if something was wrong. I also had to show one bridesmaid how to bustle the dress. There was no call from Ben. I tried not to think about that.

  “So, tie these together, and hook those three together. That’s right, and then fluff,” I explained.

  Miranda nodded her head and said she got it. I gave her an emergency sewing kit with thread colors for the bride and the rest of the wedding party just in case. Miranda said she knew how to sew and that was why she was in charge of the bustle. I congratulated the bride once again and left, my part done.

  I got home and sat in my chair. I had texted Ben three times already. Nothing. I was sad. It figured he was too good to be true.

  Chapter 15

  Ammo

  “Here’s a coffee.” I handed the cup over as I slid into the unmarked car. The officer that had come to us, Adin Walsh, and I were sitting outside of a club. He was running a sting to see if they could catch one of Moses’ crews taking a girl. He had two other stings running tonight as well. We were hoping that one of these three locations would give us something.

  “Thanks, I hate this fuck,” he said as he sipped the sludgy brew.

  “You have no idea. Sixteen years I’ve been hunting this fucker. And nothing.” It still pissed me off.

  “When I brought this case to you guys, I had no idea about your sister. I am so sorry.” He was watching the door and the alleyway in front of us for any signs of movement.

  “No way you could know.” We sat in silence and watched.

  I had searched for my sister. I had never given up hope. I knew she was out there. Two years after my leave eight years ago, I had gotten a postcard from Yale University. There was nothing written in it; it was even postmarked from New Haven, Connecticut. I knew it had to be from my sister—it was where she wanted to go to school. I didn’t know what it meant, but she was the only person in the world who called me Benji, and that was who it was addressed to. I had found other traces of her now and then. A Celtic knot carved in a tree at one of the places she was held … but I had been too late, and she was gone. Another place had what had looked like the Chicago flag drawn on the wall. The stripes with the five stars. There had been a few other traces and two postcards, but I had never found her.

  “I bet this was not how you planned to spend your Friday and Saturday?” Adin asked.

  “No, it’s not, but it’s more important than what my plans were.” Anything to save these girls, to possibly find my sister, and to shut down Moses was always more important than anything else.

  It was Friday night; Mary had texted me that she was going to be running late, and I’d told her that was fine, to just call. But before she could, Adin had called and said he was doing this sting this weekend and I could join if I wanted to. I jumped without thinking about her.

  It was after midnight; I had missed our time to talk. I sat and watched for scumbag kidnappers instead. We called it done at 5 in the morning. We didn’t catch a thing. Adin said he would pick me up later that night for our second night of the sting. I was fine with that. I went home to sleep. I saw I had missed Mary’s calls. It was too early to call her now, so I shut off my phone and went to sleep.

  I woke up around 7 and had about t
wo hours to get ready before Adin picked me up. I thought about Mary. I wondered how badly I had hurt her. I ate and got dressed, then still had an hour and a half to kill. I sat on the couch and dialed her number. Then I hung up as soon as it rang. I was a fucking coward.

  “Ben, are you okay?” was her text.

  “Not exactly.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “Idk, things are just …”

  “Screwed up?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, I am fine. I haven’t done much other than see my clients. I had pizza for dinner tonight since I had told Rosa I didn’t need anything for dinner.”

  I felt bad. She’d done that because we were supposed to be together tonight. “I’m sorry, things got complicated this weekend.”