by M K Dwyer
She nodded.
“So, he drove all the way down here just to convince you to come back to him. Did you ever give him your new address?”
“No. I wondered about that too after the first time he showed up here, and I assume my ex-mother-in-law told him how to contact me. She’d love for us to get back together. She loves me and means well, but I can’t be with a man just because I miss his mom.” She laughed a self-deprecating laugh.
“Wait. This isn’t the first time? What the fuck?” She flinched. He took her hand. “Sorry. I’m not yelling at you. I’m wishing I’d strung him up by his neck when I had him within arm’s reach, or at least, put the fear of God in him.”
“You did great, babe. It was hot.” She winked at him.
“If you’re trying to distract me, points for trying, but I need to hear more. Please elaborate.”
Taking a deep breath, she proceeded to tell him about the last time Aiden showed up at her condo. Incidentally it was the same day her and Will met at the pub. Then she told him about the phone call and the text from two different numbers, as well as her life with Aiden. They were college sweethearts, dated for most of the four years, and were married shortly after graduation. She supported him with her teacher’s salary while he built up his career. He was finally bringing in a steady paycheck, and they were going to start a family when he ended their marriage.
“So, you want to be a mother one day?” Hope bloomed in his heart that she would accept Joe when he told her about him.
“Yes. Someday. When the time is right,” she said looking at him a little sheepishly.
Her worthless ex-husband had fallen for his assistant and left an amazing woman for a skank who had no problem breaking up a marriage. Asshole. Will’s marriage to Theresa was bad from the start, but he was man enough to stick by the commitment he’d made until they agreed divorce was best for everyone.
“So, I applied for teaching jobs all over the state, hoping to get as far away from Berkeley as possible, and moved down here in a flash the moment I was hired. Besides last week, I haven’t seen him since I arrived here in San Diego, over a year ago.”
“And you have no idea why he suddenly wants to reconnect?”
“No. I don’t know what’s changed, and frankly, I don’t care. He turned my world upside down, but I’m finally in a good place, and I just want him to leave me alone.”
From his place on the couch next to her, he wrapped his arms around her, and moved her on to his lap. He hoped it made her feel better because he loved holding her body against his. It was more than just lust and sexual attraction between them. He could feel it, and by the way she clung to him, she was gaining as much comfort from him as he was from her.
He squeezed her a little tighter and nuzzled his face in the crook of her neck. Her heavenly, freshly washed scent turned his need to comfort and protect into a different kind of need and he began kissing and nibbling her neck.
He kissed his way up to her ear, and letting his corny-side show, whispered, “Yeah. I’d say you’re in a great place.”
She giggled, and to him in that moment, it was the best sound in the world. It meant he’d succeeded in taking her mind off the altercation with her ex.
“Tell me about your scar.”
Yep. He’d succeeded in taking her mind off Aiden and placed it on another subject he wasn’t keen to talk about. It was also as effective as icy water at cooling his libido.
“What scar?” He teased.
“You know what scar. The one that looks like a bullet wound.” She paused, and her voice got smaller, more reverent. “Is it from Iraq?”
He sighed.
“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
“No. It’s okay. You’ll want to know eventually. Right?”
She just nodded.
“Well then it might as well be now. You were brave and told me about Aiden, so I can be brave and tell you this.”
He paused, but she stayed silent just waiting for him to begin his tale.
“It happened a little over two years ago in Afghanistan. A bird crashed just outside of base.”
“Bird?”
“Helicopter.”
“Oh. Why not just say ‘helicopter’?”
“Because ‘bird’ is faster.”
“Not when you have to explain it.”
He smirked at her. “True. Now can I finish the story?”
“By all means.”
He rolled his eyes. “Where was I?”
“Bird.”
“Woman.”
She ran her fingers across her lips like she was zipping them up and winked at him.
He smiled and continued. “Like I was saying, a bird crashed not too far from base and my search and rescue team were first on scene. I went straight for the pilot trapped in the cockpit, and while I was cutting him out, we came under enemy fire. I threw my body on the pilot because he was a sitting duck, unconscious and still trapped. It was over just about as fast as it started, and I went back to prying the metal back from the pilot. I didn’t even realize I was shot until I had a Corporal and a Corpsman staring at me like I was crazy.”
“How did you not realize?”
“Adrenaline. I snapped out of the adrenaline-fog the second they said something though, and then I kind of wished they’d just let me be. Oblivious. But then I might’ve bled out. The bullet entered my side towards my back, where the scar is, shattered one rib, fractured a couple more and lodged in my liver.”
She winced at his matter-of-fact description of what happened.
“My doctor said I was lucky though.”
“Lucky?”
“Yeah. Lucky. It could’ve been worse. I bled so much because the liver has an amazing amount of blood running through it, but at least it wasn’t unrepairable. One of the broken ribs could’ve punctured a lung, or the bullet could’ve hit any one of a number of worse places.”
She took a moment to think about it, then smiled up at him.
“All right. Lucky, it is. I just can’t believe you went through all that.”
“Hey, four deployments during ten years in the Marines, and one year as a civilian firefighter, and all I’ve got is this tiny, ugly scar. I think I’m pretty lucky in that regard too.”
“Ugly? Speak for yourself. I think it’s sexy.”
“Oh, God. You’re one of those?”
“No. One of what?”
“You like the scarred-up, alpha-male, he-man, Neanderthal type.”
“No. I like you. I’ve never liked scars before the way some girls like scars. I like this scar because it’s on you. It’s part of your story, and I want to know your story.”
He kissed her. Hard. Her words touched his heart, but he was done talking about himself. It was never one of his favorite things to do.
“Let’s do something fun today.” He wanted to get them off the couch and thinking happier thoughts. He wasn’t ready to leave her side though and hoped she wanted to spend as much time with him as he did with her.
“Like what?”
“Do you like putt-putt?”
“I do!”
“All right. Mind if I use your bathroom to freshen up?”
“Sure.”
“You see if the donuts are still edible, and I’ll go grab my bag.”
“Oh. So, you expected to spend the night last night?” She smirked at him.
“No. I always keep a bag in my truck in case I have time to stop by the gym.”
“Whatever you say.” She winked at him and headed into the kitchen.
He might have thrown a few extra things into his gym bag just in case, but she didn’t need to know the details.
He showered and dressed in record time, rushing to get back to Nikki. The excitement he felt about the day they would spend together rivaled the thrill of riding to the scene of a fire. He didn’t know another way to describe it and couldn’t remember the last time he was so excited to spend time with any woman.
He walked into the kitchen just as Nikki placed two cups of coffee on the table next to a plate of the donuts he’d bought, and a small jar labeled “Sugar”.
“How do you take your coffee? I don’t have anything fancy, just real sugar here on the table and milk in the fridge.”
“Just a little sugar and I’m good.” He picked up a spoon, scooped a little sugar and stirred it into his coffee. He brought it to his lips, locked eyes with her, blew on the rich, full-bodied black liquid and then took a small sip. “Damn! That’s good cup of joe!”
Chapter Thirteen
Nikki
How did he make just drinking coffee an erotic act? She would never survive that man. If she didn’t just melt into a puddle one day, she would surely spontaneously combust. He was too intense sometimes.
“Glad you like it,” she said, finally finding her voice.
“Love it. You make good, strong coffee… for a girl.” He added a wink, so she knew he was goading her again, but she played along.
“For a girl? You think you can brew a better cup?”
“Sure do.”
“Prove it.”
He set his coffee down without breaking eye contact and stalked towards her. His arms circled her waist and he pulled her to him raising her to her tiptoes. Lowering his face so his lips were within an inch of hers, he said, “Don’t tempt me. If you play with fire, you’re bound to get burned.” Instead of kissing her, he moved his lips to her ear and whispered, “Next time I’ll make the coffee and show you how good it can be.” He punctuated “good” with his hips grinding his erection into her pelvis. Panting, wanting more, and wishing he’d carry her to the bedroom and put her out of her misery she growled and grinded her hips right back. Two can play that game.
“Woman. I warned you.” He moved his hand to her ass and brought his lips to hers as she pressed her backside into his hand inviting him to squeeze. Instead he spanked her. Hard. What the H-E-double hockey-sticks? She yelped and tried to pull away. His one-arm hold on her tightened as he rubbed her sore butt cheek with his other hand. At the same time, he deepened the kiss; exploring her mouth as if memorizing every inch by feel. She moaned as she fell into the rhythm of the kiss. It was like a choreographed dance, and she wanted to cry from the sheer beauty of it. For Will, kissing wasn’t obligatory foreplay before the main event. The way he kissed was a sex-act in, and of, itself. She’d never been kissed so thoroughly before and knew she’d never again be able to match the kiss with anyone else. He ruined her for any other man again with just a kiss.
Out of breath, he broke the kiss and whispered in her ear again, “Next time you push me like that the spanking will be on your bare bottom while you’re bent over my knee, you naughty girl.”
Damn. She liked the sound of that and her wet panties were proof. She couldn’t wait to push him again into punishing her. Where was this coming from? She’d never been that kind of girl before.
Pulling back, he looked into her eyes. “I need your words Nikki, so I know you understand what I’m saying.”
“I understand.” Her voice came out in a whisper. She felt hazy and was trying not to grin at his words.
“Good. Now we need to get out of here before I break all my promises and drag you into the bedroom like a caveman.”
Heaven help her. That’s exactly what she wanted.
Like he could hear her thoughts, he groaned. “Woman. No. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but we need to spend time together outside the bedroom and talking on the phone doesn’t count.”
He grabbed a donut and stuffed the whole thing in his mouth.
“Sexy.” She teased.
“Damn right.” He winked. “I need the calories. You wear me out. I feel like I’m on speed around you.”
“Well, by all means.” She gestured to the plate of donuts.
“Don’t mind if I do.” He picked up another and finished it in two bites instead of one, smiling a shit-eating grin at her.
She rolled her eyes. “Let’s go Romeo so I can whoop your heinie at putt-putt.” She grabbed her purse and ran out the door.
He caught up to her before she got to the gate. “‘Heinie’?”
“Yes, ‘heinie’.” She giggled and shrugged her shoulders. Geez. When did I become a giggler? “What can I say? I’m an elementary school teacher. I don’t curse.”
“I can respect that. Plus, it’s cute.” He bent down and kissed the end of her nose.
“Cute, huh? Let’s see if I’m still cute when I’m kicking your heinie at putt-putt.” She winked at him and laughed as she took off for his truck again.
They drove in comfortable silence to the putt-putt course. Like every other time, he helped her out of the truck and placed her hand on his arm in the crook of his elbow to lead her to the entrance. She loved the little things he did that showed he cared for her. A girl could easily get used to such things.
Luckily it wasn’t busy at all before noon on a Sunday. He picked a blue club and ball, and she picked a red club and ball. On the first few holes, they were evenly matched. He got a hole-in-one on Hole Two and she got a hole-in-one on Hole Three. As the obstacles got harder, her skill began to show more.
“You’re very good at this,” he whispered in her ear from behind as she was lining up a shot on Hole Seven. It should have startled her, but for some reason she was hyper aware of his presence always. She’d been able to feel his eyes on her as they moved through the course, and her body practically vibrated every time he came close.
“I should be.” She laughed.
“Why do you say that?”
“I went to college on a golf scholarship.”
He didn’t reply so she looked up from her shot to see his mouth hanging open.
“Shocked?” She laughed again.
He picked his jaw up off the ground. “Just didn’t expect that. And I would have definitely chosen something else for this date.”
“Why? Afraid I really am going to whoop your heinie?” She teased him.
“No. Whoop away. You’re clearly better at this than I am, and it’s hot as fuck watching you in action. I just figure this can’t be any fun when you’re so good at the real thing.”
“On the contrary. I haven’t golfed in years, and I always loved putt-putt. Even when golf was a major part of my life, I still enjoyed the simplicity of just putting around obstacles instead of the complexities of playing the game.”
“‘Complexities’? Don’t you just whack a ball around until it lands in the hole?” He smirked so she knew he was joking. She stuck her tongue out at him to answer his teasing question. It was childish, but he made her feel like a carefree teenager even though her teenage years weren’t all that carefree to begin with.
He swooped in and captured her tongue with his teeth while it was outside her mouth just long enough to close his lips around it. It didn’t hurt, but the roughness of the kiss turned her on more than she had any business being on a family-friendly putt-putt golf course. Will clearly didn’t have the same hang-ups with public displays of affection that she did. Her years with Aiden had trained her well not to seek, and eventually, not to even want, affection from him in public. He would only hold her hand sometimes.
Somewhere in the middle of Will’s all-consuming kiss, she decided she wasn’t that girl anymore, and instead of pulling away embarrassed like she did at the restaurant, she threw herself further into his arms and moaned into his mouth as their tongues continued to dance. In and out and swirl, over and over. She got lost in the motions and the feel of his rock-hard body against hers. Her fingers twined in the silky strands of his hair. Not too long, but not too short either; the perfect length to grab a hold of. No doubt she would be able to pick him out of a line up by feel alone by the time the weekend was over.
Somebody cleared their throat behind them, and they came up for air long enough to see a family of four waiting to putt the hole they were blocking. They looked at each other and silently came to the same c
onclusion. Excusing themselves, they picked up their clubs and balls and moved to the side, so the family could pass them. They didn’t want the family to keep getting stuck behind them at each hole while they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. Standing side-by-side behind the family with one arm around each other, they waited patiently while the family played the hole. Will inconspicuously stroked the exposed skin just above her jeans where her shirt had ridden up. That small teasing motion gave her goose bumps and kept her hormones raging and her panties wet.
When the family was ready to move on, the father took the mother’s hand and turned to thank Will and Nikki. They kissed as they followed their kids to the next hole. In that moment, Nikki saw her future, or what she wanted to be her future, and teared up. Will noticed and took her cheeks in his hands. Searching her eyes with concern in his, he asked, “What’s the matter baby? Did I do something?”
“No. No. Not at all. I’m just being dumb.”
“Hey now. Nobody talks about my girl that way.” He kissed her on the forehead and pulled her close. “You can tell me. I won’t judge.”
“But you’ll run. This is not a second date topic.”
“Forget all that. If you count all our phone calls, this is much more than a second date, and it feels way more serious than that anyway. I know I’m not alone in feeling that. You’re mine, and I’m not letting you go.” He kissed the top of her head while still holding her in a bear hug. “Now. I’ve embarrassed myself and said way more than I should have and probably scared you away. Will you tell me what’s on your mind and make us even? I’m hanging out on a limb here.” His words were teasing, but his tone was serious.
Wow. She wasn’t expecting such a declaration, but he was right. She did feel a connection that defied the brief time they’d known each other.
“It was that family. Actually, the mom and dad,” she started. When he didn’t say anything, she continued. “They seemed so happy. Like they had everything figured out. They were so confident and serene in their love for one another. He practically shouted his love from a mountain top just by taking her hand and giving her a peck on the lips.” She took a deep breath and whispered, “I want that.”
