Wade

by Jenny Wood

  My hands go from clenching Wade’s neck to rubbing the tense muscles until they relax. His face in my neck with his tongue soothing the bite.

  “Not yet,” I whisper as I feel him try to disengage. I’m not ready to lose him yet; this was true, not something I was expecting. It was much, much bigger than anything I expected to feel. His hands surround my face like he does and I feel him caress my neck and my cheeks. I suddenly find myself wanting to weep at the satisfaction because I’m no longer afraid that there’s something wrong with me and my need to bottom. It was everything that I expected it to be, plus so much more because it was with him. If I believed in the sort of thing; I’d confess my undying love to him right now.

  “You okay?” He asks me quietly and once again, I can only nod. I’m afraid what will come out if I open my mouth and I’m not quite ready to say the words I fear will tumble out. Not only am I not ready to say them, but I'm also positive he’s not ready to hear them; even though I’m positive after everything that’s gone on the last week and a half, I already feel them.

  Stupid? Yeah, probably; but I can’t find it within myself to take it back. I don’t want to; it’s how I feel. Later though, not yet.

  He strokes my neck and ears for a long couple of minutes before he slowly slides himself from our connection. I watch him slide off his condom before tossing it in the trash and then stretch his body alongside mine. He doesn’t hesitate to pull me to him and tuck me into where he wants me; with my head on his chest and my arm around his body. His one hand stays on my arm, outstretched across his body and the other one cradles my head as his hand finds itself in my hair, caressing me. Without my blanket draped over my entire body and without curling myself into a ball. I fall into a deep, comfortable, restful sleep. Draped over this magnificent, hard, tatted body, I sleep.

  A louder than necessary alarm, set to wake the neighbors, has me almost jumping out of my skin at six-thirty this morning. Why? Because I forgot that the man I was currently pinned beneath, is a morning person.

  “Why?” I grumble into the pillow. “Why is it so loud?” I feel his body shake behind me before he reaches behind himself and flips the little button, turning it off.

  “Good morning.” Wade kisses the back of my neck and runs his hand down my arms until his hand clasps mine, and he pulls me back into him.

  “No,” I whine, trying to burrow my head underneath the pillow. Why does day start so early? It would be perfectly acceptable if people didn’t start until noon. I feel like the world would be a much happier place if everyone got to sleep in.

  “No what?” He teases, nipping at the back of my neck with teeth. His scratchy beard tickles my shoulders and as much as I love it; right now, it’s too early. I open my mouth to tell him just that, when he sucks my skin into his mouth and instead of shooing him away, a moan slips out.

  “Better get up and shower with me, you might miss out on all the hot water!” He smacks a kiss on my back and hops out of bed. Literally, he hops….out of bed.

  “I despise people like you.” I groan, pulling the pillow back over my head and curl up under the blanket. The ball I usually find myself is warm and has me dozing back to sleep in seconds. When I open my eyes again, I see an almost naked, gorgeous man, sitting on the side of the bed with a cup of coffee. A big one.

  “You can stay.” I relent since he brought me coffee. My body aches in the best way when I shimmy back up the bed to sit comfortably and drink my coffee.

  “You’re still cute in the mornings.” He smiles and winks. “What’s on your agenda for the day?”

  “I go in at ten, I’ve got to finish up a wedding cake for a weekend wedding. I was hoping to look over the contract that Anderson gave me; I’d like to accept his offer sooner rather than later, ya know?” I explain.

  “Picked a bad time to break things off with the lawyer, huh?” His waggling eyebrows and insanely sexy smirk were on full display.

  “You’re not even a little bit funny,” I mumble into my coffee. His smile is contagious though, and I can’t keep it up. I like seeing him this way; it’s so different from the stony-faced expressions I saw on him the night we met. Sheez, that feels like forever ago.

  The next week was much of the same; I stayed at Wade’s house, or he stayed at mine. He didn’t seem to mind my tiny apartment, and if I’m being completely honest, we didn’t leave my small, lumpy bed very much on the occasion that we were at my place.

  My evenings weren’t spent alone anymore because not only did I have a very attractive Sheriff in my life, but I’d acquired all of his friends. Cameron and Jody invited me for lunch on Friday and Saturday was spent with Kingsley, Morgan, Kayson, and Conner at their place. Sunday was a lazy day, spent cooped up at Wade’s and Monday he’d taken me back to the hospital to check on my wrist. The sprain was all but healed; it twinged when I bent it wrong but was otherwise okay.

  We’d gotten into a sort of routine by the time the next weekend rolled around, and I was starting the week as a business partner to Anderson Skye, at Skye’s the Limit. It wasn’t just a place I worked anymore, but it was now a part of me. I made business decisions, and people were calling to make appointments with just me for responsibilities I’d not had before. I’d never be able to thank Anderson for all the ways he’d helped me, but if you asked him, it was the other way around. That blew my mind.

  Kingsley and Morgan were getting things prepared to bring their twins home in a little over a week if all things went as planned; although with twins, they often times came early, so we were all at the ready for that call to come. I’d never seen anyone so happy about anything as they were about becoming parents. It was entertaining as well as heartwarming. I never imagined such things for myself, but who knew…Maybe one day.

  By the time my Wednesday day off rolled around, I’d agreed to go shopping with Jase, Jay and Cam, for some last-minute gifts for the new daddies-to-be and Jase was trying to furnish his and Joker’s new house. Wade was on shift at the station, and since we were all planning to meet up for lunch in about an hour, I was paying more attention to the aisles than the people who were actually in it. I’d seen an advert for a bottle warmer in a catalog that I thought was a great idea since nobody else seemed to think of it, yet; unfortunately, I didn’t know what it looked like, so I was having a hard time finding it.

  “You!” I heard yelled from behind me and immediately thought someone was about to get a beat down. Not wanting to be a part of that drama, I turned and noticed an irate woman looking straight at me.

  “Me?” I asked, just to be sure. Did I cut her cart off or something?

  “Uhm, yeah. YOU!” She snapped sarcastically. The guys were only just down the aisle and luckily came as soon as they heard her raise her voice.

  “What’s going on?” Jase asked calmly.

  “He ruined my life!” She says, jabbing her index finger at me. The woman did look vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place where I knew her from.

  “I’m sorry, but are you sure? Do you maybe have the wrong person? I don’t know you.” I tell her, afraid that she might just be a little off her rocker.

  “Fuck you!” She screamed in the aisle-way at a very busy department store. Cameron came forward, arms raised in surrender and tried to calm the situation. It seemed to only make it worse. “You’re a sinner!” She yelled, turning her body back towards me.

  “Says the woman who just said, fuck.” Jay air quotes sarcastically. So not the time, Jay.

  “Do you realize that you ruined a life? A happy relationship? Do you have any idea what I’ve been through?” She was close to tears now, and normally I’d feel empathy for a person having an emotional breakdown, in public especially, but this woman was bat-shit.

  “Ma’am, are you in some kind of trouble?” Jase asks, again very calmly. We’d garnered the attention of several passersby, but nobody seemed to want to step in and deescalate this woman’s very public outrage.

  “Fuck you too; you’re one of them!” S
he spits hatefully. I decide that enough is enough and grab my bottle warmer and walk away, hoping it’s the right one because I did not want to go back to that mess.

  “You should be ashamed of yourself turning someone into someone like you!” She followed close behind me, though the guys were keeping her at a comfortable distance.

  “What? Gay?” Jay asks, as curious as I am, only I didn’t want to ask.

  “No, a faggot!” She says, her words dripping with disdain. I just wanted to get out of here.

  “Okay, one, nobody says that word anymore, it’s so 2009 and two, one doesn’t simply turn someone into a faggot, they were most likely born that way. Don’t you listen to Gaga?” Jay tells her. Damnit Jay.

  “Don’t walk away from me!” She yells, and I turn, fed up with her yelling and embarrassing herself in a public place. Where was a manager when you needed one, or security? I noticed Cameron texting on his phone, and I had a feeling he was sending an SOS to the squad, but it was hard to say who’d show up first. It was when I turned and saw her that I really saw her. She was the woman that Jeffery was with the night of the benefit; the one that he was all set to marry, per his dad’s demand.

  “Jillian?” I asked, vaguely remembering her name.

  “Don’t you say my name.” Her body shook with that whisper. “You don’t know me. You don’t get to say my name because you don’t know me. You don’t know the man you took from me; he loved me! He might’ve been playing with you, but he loved me!” She cried.

  “What the fuck, dude?” Jase and Jay both look at me like I’m the one with a screw loose, now. “You stole her man?” Jay chimed in, unhelpfully. While I was busy thinking of the ways I could through a breast pump at these idiots, nobody was paying attention to the crazy lady; it was then that she walked right up to me and slapped me across my face. Everyone jumped into action just then, but I’ll tell you something I never knew. Getting open handed smacked in the face, hurt like a bitch.

  Jase and Cameron pulled the lady back away from me just as the store manager finally, finally came to assess the situation that had gotten extremely out of hand.

  “Is there a problem here?” The short, stumpy man asked the woman. The woman that just struck me in the middle of a crowded department store. I was done. I left the cart and walked away, the guys hot on my heels. I could hear the woman crying and shouting more obscenities but none of them registered, the second I looked out the glass, double doors and saw my sheriff pull up in his county issued, patrol car. He jumped out and ran to me.

  “What the fuck? What’s going on?” He asked the second the doors opened.

  “Some chick attacked him because she says he stole her man. Dude, you like girls, too?” Jay asked him, sounding way too much like Kingsley at that moment. I’d never once heard him say “dude” or reference Lady Gaga, ever. He was turning out to be a natural comedian.

  “What?” Wade was confused and rightfully so.

  “The woman Jeffery was engaged to, Jillian. We ran into each other and apparently, I’ve turned her fiancé into a queer.” I rolled my eyes and shrugged, helpfully.

  “She said, faggot; not queer,” Cameron said helpfully.

  “Tomato-tom-a-to.” Jay chimed in again, earning a laugh from all of us. All of us but Wade.

  “I want to speak with her, go ahead to the car.” Wade pushes past me and stalks down the aisle where I can still hear a woman sobbing. I’ve had enough drama for the day, so the guys and I head outside, all of them asking questions about what the hell just happened.

  Wade

  Cameron: Some chick is harassing Foster at Baby’s First. Need backup, ASAP.

  I went from a lazy slouch to on my feet and out the door in seconds. I knew the guys were going out today to find some last-minute baby items for Kingsley and Morgan; even though they had everything they could possibly need and then some, Foster swore they needed something that heated up bottles. I didn’t know there were such things, but I’d also never had a baby, so what the hell did I know.

  Things with Foster had been amazing. I knew from the minute I’d seen his heart wide open when meeting my friends and hearing their life-changing news, that I was head over heels in love with him. There wasn’t a day since that first night that I spent without him. Whether it was his place or mine, we ended our day together. He was much busier now that he more responsibilities at the catering company, but he now had a guaranteed two days off a week now and one of them was still Wednesday, so we still connected and got to spend time with each other, even if the week was a hectic one.

  Baby’s First was only a couple minutes away, as was just about anything in this town if you had a car; so I found myself pulling up and jumping out before the guys had even made it outside. When I jogged in and saw a visibly shaken but otherwise okay, Foster, I pulled him to me and asked what the fuck happened? My heart was racing, and even though I could see him and knew that he was okay, I was still a little panicky. Running into unsure situations weren’t really my thing anymore since I’d moved to this rinky-dink town where the crime was almost non-existent, but this was someone I cared about. I wanted to make sure everyone was okay.

  “Jillian.” Is all I heard and I knew immediately who it was. We’d run the number on the papers that were slid underneath Foster’s door, and it was registered to her father; Dr. Gabriel Masters. I’d actually forgotten about her since we hadn’t heard anything else from her, I assumed she just got over herself or that she and Jeffery had worked something out and she was no longer trying to put herself in the middle of whatever was going with Jeffery and Foster.

  “I want to speak to her, go ahead to the car,” I tell Foster, and he doesn’t hesitate. I can hear the woman crying and blaming Foster to anyone who’ll listen.

  “Ms. Masters?” I speak over her flailing. She quiets immediately. “I understand you had some trouble here, today. Want to tell me what happened?” I asked though I knew enough of the story to get the gist.

  “I want him taken away! He’s a terrible person who does unspeakable things, and he deserves to be punished.” She crossed her arms and turned her nose up at me, like her words were to be heeded, immediately.

  “Ok.” I pull out my notebook pad and look her in the eye. “What is it that he’s done? I need a detailed statement of what you want him arrested for.” I look at her expectantly, waiting to hear what she’ll say.

  “He seduced my fiancé and performed sodomy. That’s illegal! It’s immoral and disgusting, and it broke our family apart.” She went back to crying.

  “You want me to arrest a man for being gay? What time period do you think this is, ma’am? What country are you living in?” I ask her, unable to hide my disgust.

  “I saw her strike that man in the face.” A woman came forward and said.

  “He tried to walk away, but she followed after him. I saw it.” Another man chimed in. This woman looked around like maybe she just realized this wasn’t a place where she could snap her fingers and will something was done.

  “Ma’am, is that true? Did you assault someone?” I ask her, knowing damn well she did because not only are these people telling me but I saw the pink mark on my man’s face.

  “It was hardly an assault.” She rolled her eyes uncertainly. She was looking a bit worried now that she’d stopped her dramatics and the patrons were ratting on her.

  “Ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you to turn around and put your hands behind your back. Until I can question the individual you assaulted, I’ll need you to have a seat in the back of my cruiser until we get this cleared up.” I tell her, stepping forward and helping her turn around. She sputtered and whined, and before I slapped the cuffs on her, she was back to tears. I had no sympathy for ignorant cunts who used bigoted language and had simple minded views.

  “You cannot be serious! I did nothing wrong!” She howled as I escorted her out and put her in my car. Jay, Jase, Cam, and Foster were easy enough to find, they each had ice cream cones, sitting on a bench
at the tiny shop next door. I shook my head as I walked to them all, looking like little kids with their swinging legs and messy cones.

  “You guys are a pain in my ass. I’m telling your husbands.” I tease when I walk up.

  “I don’t have a husband,” Foster tells me haughtily. I wrap my arm around his neck and pull him into my chest.

  “Your man, then.” I clarify.

  “Oh, him. He won’t do anything… He likes me too much.” He shrugs and smiles. He knows how I feel about that shrug. I grab his wrist with the ice cream and bring it to my face for a taste of his cone.

  “You’re a lucky one, then.” I tease.

  “Yeah, yeah I am.” He agrees.

  “Can we be done with the foreplay, please. I’m hungry.” Jase pretends to gag. “What’s gonna happen to the wack-job?”

  “Need to know if you wanna press charges for her assaulting ya? I can probably also get her on harassment, if not vandalization.” I tell him and watch his eyes get huge.

  “She admitted it?” He asks, surprised. I hadn’t told him that the phone number matched her fathers, I honestly had forgotten the whole thing.

  “Nah, but the number under your door was hers, I guess the word was all her too,” I tell him, stealing a page from his book and watch him shrug.

  “I dunno. She does seem a little crazy, but I don’t want to put anyone in jail or anything.” He says softly, and I remember how sweet my man is. He’d never hurt anybody, even if they kind of deserved it.

  “Up to you, baby. Your call.” I tell him, wishing one thing but having a feeling he’d do another.

  “Can’t ya just tell her to leave me alone?” He asks, just like I thought.

  “Yes, I can.”

  “Okay, can we do that then? Maybe tell her to leave me alone, and if she doesn’t, then I’ll press charges? That’s fair, isn’t it?” He asks, asking the wrong person because if it were me, I’d throw her nutty ass in jail for just being a prick.