He collapsed next to me, thank God, as I was guessing the full weight of him would smash me like a bug. “Shortcake,” he said on an exhale, “I’m pretty sure you’re going to be the death of me.” His labored breathing continued and I could do nothing but laugh and plant a kiss on his chest. He lowered his chin to look at me. “Not that I’m complaining, you understand.” And then we both pretty much passed out.
It had been quite a long day, after all.
Chapter Twenty-Three
In for a Penny…In for an Uphill Climb
MARK
I watched Fiona sleep, feeling only slightly like a creeper. It was going on two in the morning and I knew I should get some shut-eye for the drive home, but I couldn’t seem to make myself settle in. Fiona had passed right the hell out after our earlier activities. I’d taken care of the condom and come back to the bed, where I pulled back the covers and shifted her so her head rested on a pillow. Then I couldn’t help myself so I rearranged her as she had been earlier, with her head resting on my chest and her arm across my stomach. That was better.
If I hadn’t been sure about how right she was for me before tonight, I was damn certain now. Somehow this tiny, feisty, beautiful spitfire had been made just for me, and I thought back to all the times I’d given guys like Nate shit for being pussy whipped. I actually got it now, and it didn’t even make me feel like a girl as I’d assumed it would. That right there is what I call personal growth.
Now the hard part would be keeping things low-key until Fiona came around to the same conclusion. But I could do it—I would do it. There was no other choice. She was mine and I wasn’t letting her go. With that thought, I finally felt the weight of my eyelids and I drifted off, looking forward to another day with my girl.
“Sour cream and onion or salt and vinegar?” she asked. Apparently, now that we’d had sex she was willing to share her snacks with me.
I had awoken this morning to Fiona trailing kisses down my sternum and I’d be lying if I said I couldn’t see myself waking up to that every morning. We’d rolled around in a tangle of limbs and lips and tongues for a while before taking the action to the shower where we managed to spend a good half hour going down on each other. Then I had no choice but to demand she brace her hands against the shower wall so I could take her from behind. I had to say I was gaining a whole new appreciation for this fancy hotel and its endless supply of both hot water and condoms.
When we were both sated and clean, we realized how late it was and quickly packed up our things so we could get on the road. This time I didn’t object when Fiona ordered the large coffee. I knew we’d be stopping for snacks every couple hours anyway so what difference did it make? Fiona was not only a chatty traveler but a hungry one as well, not that she hadn’t earned that appetite after the last twelve or so hours.
We were just pulling out of rest stop number two when she asked my chip preference. “Neither. I’ll just stick with my peanuts, thanks,” I told her.
“You just love your nuts, don’t you?” she asked.
I was preparing a nice little comeback along the lines of, “You seem to like them too,” when I looked over and noticed she was just smiling and humming to herself, oblivious to the blatant double entendre she’d just dropped. I couldn’t bring myself to respond so I kept my laugh to myself but couldn’t contain my smile.
That caused her to lean over in the seat and kiss my cheek. Damn, this girl was going to be a handful and I didn’t think I’d want it any other way.
How had I gotten here? A few weeks ago, I was swearing off relationships or even just simple repeats. Suddenly I was putty in this girl’s hands. Damned if I could do anything about it now, though. I’d just have to steel myself for the verbal beat-down I’d get from all the guys.
Oh well, in for a penny…
“How about one of your playlists, Shortcake?”
We arrived back at her condo after dark and we were both exhausted. I didn’t know how to play the sleeping-over card, so I took her lead when she yawned and said she was going to take a quick shower and crash. I pulled her suitcase from the bed of my truck and offered to carry it up for her, but she insisted she’d get it on her own since it had “those wheelie things.”
I could take a hint so I didn’t press the point. Shortcake was getting skittish again. I did, however, make sure to give her a searing kiss before sending her through the doors of her building. Let her stew on that for a while.
I knew Jake and my mom would be waiting for me to stop by so they could grill me about the trip. I’d been thinking about that extra money, too, and had concluded that my mom should just take it. If anybody had earned it, she had, and the old man could just assume the loan sharks had taken it in return for their trouble.
As predicted, the lights were on inside the little house as I pulled into the drive and parked. I barely had a chance to get up the front steps before the door flew open and I was tackled in a giant bear hug by Jake.
“I can’t believe you fucking did it!” He smacked me on the back hard enough to dislodge something vital before pulling back and patting me on the shoulder. “You did good, little brother.” He was all smiles.
I fake scowled at him. “Maybe you could show your appreciation by getting me a beer instead of manhandling me.”
He laughed. “Coming right up.” He moved back to the doorway and was replaced by our mom who hugged me as well, only hers was the normal type, not the kind that caused internal bleeding.
“I can’t tell you how relieved I am to see you in one piece. I was worried sick.” She took my face in her hands and inspected me for any damage.
“It all went fine, Mom, but I do have a bone to pick with you,” I started to scold.
“I know, I know, you’re mad I went to see your father without telling you. And you did some scheming of your own without telling me. What’s done is done. Let’s focus on the good stuff.” She held my eyes firmly.
“I can do that,” I finally said.
After we’d settled in and Jake had gotten me my well-deserved beer, I told them about the extra money and my thoughts on it.
“I can’t just take it! It’s not mine. And who even knows where he got it,” my mother objected.
“Mom, you can definitely take it, and you should.” Jake backed me up. “He probably got it gambling or playing poker anyway. Just think of it as back child-support.”
I pointed to my brother. “Exactly.”
“I don’t know,” she said and bit her lip. “And what about my taxes—won’t it look strange if I suddenly have fourteen thousand dollars?!”
I waved her off. “There are ways around that—we’ll figure it out.”
“At least give me a little time to think about it, okay.”
“Sure,” I said and Jake nodded his agreement even though we both knew, in the end, she would get the money whether she agreed or not. She always resisted when I tried to pitch in financially, but this time I was standing firm, especially since the money was coming from the sperm donor’s pocket.
“Hey, I’m meeting up with Nate and Gavin for a game of pool. You should come,” Jake said.
I was torn. The drive had wiped me out, but I was afraid if I went home to my empty bed I’d just think about Fiona. “Maybe just for a bit,” I said.
We kissed our mom good night and then took separate vehicles, Jake borrowing our mom’s tiny car. The visual of him cramming his six-foot-four-inch frame into the compact vehicle had me chuckling as I pulled out of the drive and headed for the bar, ironically named “Jake’s.” What could I say? It was our favorite place even if it did have the same name as my dickhead brother.
It turned out the whole crew had decided to hit Jake’s tonight. Brett, Gavin, Trey, and Court—another guy from work—were shooting pool, and I spotted Nate at the bar picking up another round.
“Hey! It’s the man of the hour!” he called out when he caught sight of me.
I just grinned and stole one of the beers t
he bartender had just set in front of him. I took a sip of the draft—a nice hoppy IPA. Nate always had great taste in beer.
Jake walked up to the bar and I noticed he was rubbing the base of his spine. “Goddamn car—that thing is designed for the vertically challenged.”
Which of course made me think of Fiona, again. I groaned.
“What’s up with you?” asked Nate, giving me a sideways glance.
“Nothing. Let’s play some pool.”
Gavin and Brett cleaned up the floor with all of us, although Trey and Court were still insistent that they could turn things around. Seeing the writing on the wall, Nate, Jake, and I bowed out and took a seat at a nearby table. We all switched to water, knowing we’d be driving soon.
Once we were settled, I gave the recap on the Atlantic City adventure, this time including the parts about the gun and the extra money. I pointed at Nate. “You cannot tell Laney about the gun or she will flip the fuck out about Fiona.”
He put his hands up. “I hear you. If she found out she’d have your balls and I don’t think I could live with the guilt.”
I knew he was right. Laney was protective of Fiona and would definitely, and rightly, blame me if any harm had come to her best friend. Thankfully it hadn’t. In fact, Fiona had been amazing.
“Why in the hell are you smiling at the thought of having your balls cut off?” my brother asked.
“I wasn’t smiling.”
“Yes, you were,” they both said at the same time.
“If I was, it wasn’t about my nuts, I can promise you. I was just thinking about Fiona. You should have seen her up there.” I shook my head. “That girl isn’t afraid of anything.”
“There it is again,” said Jake, gesturing to my face.
“What?” I asked.
“Holy. Shit,” said Nate, sitting up straighter.
“What?!” I demanded this time.
Jake looked at Nate and then back at me, seemingly as confused as I was. Until his lips slowly turned up and he threw his head back with a barking laugh.
I was starting to get pissed. I took a quick drink of my water and then slammed it back on the table.
Nate looked dumbfounded but Jake slapped his palm on the table. “I knew it! You totally boned her!”
Oh shit.
It wasn’t as if I was going to keep this a secret forever, but I was at least hoping to secure things up with Shortcake a little more tightly before the entire world weighed in.
“You did, didn’t you?” Nate asked, finally having recovered his ability to speak.
“Something might have happened. That’s all I’m going to say. And that does not go beyond this table!”
“Man, have you met Laney? There is no way she will let me live if she finds out I knew this before she did,” said Nate.
“Maybe Fiona already told her?” I offered up. “As far as I can tell, she has absolutely no filter so it’s apt to come up soon. Just work with me.”
“Yeah, okay.”
Meanwhile, Jake was still having a good time at my expense. “Hate-fucking is supposedly really hot, not that I’ve ever experienced it personally, but I can see the potential. All that energy refocused on fucking each other’s brains out.” He hooted.
“Hate-fucking?” Nate looked at me. “Seriously?”
“Yeah,” Jake responded before I could. “Those two are always bickering and driving each other crazy. It’s classic—annoyance channeled into a good screwing.”
I put my head in my hands. Shit.
Nate was pissed. “I actually care about that girl and you’d better not use her or treat her like shit. I mean, I know she doesn’t do relationships either, but that doesn’t mean you’re allowed to be an asshole.”
Double shit. I now had confirmation of my suspicions that Fiona wasn’t into relationships. This was going to be a difficult road ahead.
“It was not hate-fucking and I was not an asshole.” I lifted my head again and shot daggers at Jake. “It’s complicated. Besides, is it really anyone’s business besides mine and Fiona’s?”
Nate took in my expression and seemed to come to a satisfactory conclusion. “Okay, okay. I get it.” He put his hands up. “I’ve just got to look out for Fiona—she’s kind of the crazy, foul-mouthed little sister I never had. Oh, wait, I do already have one of those.” He smiled.
“It’s cool, man,” I told him and then turned to my asshole of a brother. “It’s almost as if you’re asking to be punched in the throat. Why is that?”
“Damn, little brother, I’d forgotten how fun it is to get under your skin.” He grinned at me.
I vowed at that moment to never torture a child of my own by providing him with a sibling. Then I sat with my water, contemplating my next move.
There were two things at the top of the list—say goodbye to dear old dad, and get Fiona to fall for me.
Piece of cake.
Fuck.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Liar, Liar, Panties on Fire
FIONA
It was the following afternoon and I yawned as I sat at my desk and checked my phone for the tenth time in the last five minutes. Nothing.
Which was fine since I didn’t want to pursue anything with Mark anyway, right? It was an adventure and we had some hot sex. Best to leave it at that.
Oooor, maybe doing the friends-with-bennies thing would be the better choice. We could make it work even if we had mutual friends to deal with. It wasn’t like either one of us was going to want to take it up a notch and have an actual relationship or anything.
Ugh. This was hurting my brain.
The phone rang and I jumped in my seat, only to realize it was the office phone. Oh right, my job. Oops.
“Good afternoon. Precision Lawns and Landscaping. This is Fiona. How can I help you today?”
“Hey, Fiona! Just the girl I wanted to talk to,” said the voice on the other end. It was familiar but I couldn’t place it.
“I get that a lot, but I’m afraid you have me at a disadvantage. Exactly who is this?” I asked with a light-hearted tone.
“You wound me, Fiona. It’s your future husband—that is, if I can convince you to develop an interest in Bunco.”
I smiled. “Hi, Jake. Why are you calling on this line? Don’t you have my cell?”
He laughed. “Mark deleted your contact. He said I only manage to screw things up when I open my mouth so I’m not allowed to talk to you out of his presence.”
I couldn’t help but giggle. Hmm. Interesting.
“What can I do for you today? I’m assuming you’re not calling about lawn service since you don’t live here.”
He didn’t respond right away. “Actually, that kind of is why I’m calling.”
“What do you mean?” I was genuinely confused at this point.
“I did some checking around and your boss Jax has a really impressive reputation around town.”
For some ridiculous reason, his comment gave me a little kick of pride—which was so misguided since I’d only worked here a couple months and the only thing I contributed to the business was answering phones and forgetting to fill the coffee maker.
“Well, that’s nice to know,” I responded, still not understanding where this was going.
“All right, I’m just gonna lay it out for you. I’m considering moving back to the area and I want to work with the best. That happens to be your boss. Any chance I could get an introduction? If I’m overstepping or that makes you uncomfortable I totally understand, but I thought it wouldn’t hurt to ask.”
I was totally shocked. “You’re moving back? When did this happen? Does Mark know? Does Kelly know? Oh my God, she will be so thrilled. This is so exciting! Now our welcome home party can be for real. Oh wait, you’re not supposed to know about that—forget I said anything. Oh my God, this is so exciting! Oh, and of course I’ll introduce you to Jax, although it might actually work against you. I’m not exactly the best reference, but we’ll figure it out. Wow. Just,
wow!”
“Take a breath, Fiona. I said I’m considering it. It’s by no means a sure thing. I have lots of things to think about.”
I scowled into the phone. “Party pooper. So, in other words, keep my mouth shut? You so picked the wrong person, Jake, you know that, right?”
He laughed. “Just do your best.”
“You mind me asking what caused this sudden turn-around? From what Mark has told me, you have a pretty sweet gig down in Florida.” I leaned back in my chair and twirled a pen in my hand. I immediately dropped it. Why do people always make that look so easy?
“Yeah, well, things aren’t always exactly how they appear,” he said. And boy did I know a thing or two about that. “And besides, this whole debacle with my mom and dad has got me rethinking some things.”
“That’s understandable. Well, I’ll do my best to keep my mouth shut but I can’t make any promises. I can, however, promise to introduce you to Jax.”
I grabbed another pen and jotted down some notes about the meeting arrangements before we said our goodbyes.
“I still don’t understand what we’re doing here,” Laney said as I prowled the fragrance counters at Macy’s. She trailed behind me with her Caribou hot chocolate in hand. I would never understand how she couldn’t recognize coffee as humankind’s greatest invention—well, that and Diane von Furstenberg’s wrap dress. It really does look good on everyone, you know. And now that I think of it, penicillin wasn’t such a shabby invention either…oh well, I digress…
It was Thursday and I still hadn’t heard a peep from Mark. It had been two days, people—two days! So, I had concluded that our hot night of sex was a one-and-done kind of thing. This was not entirely surprising, even though I found it remarkably disappointing for reasons I did not want to contemplate. Sometimes you don’t realize what you want until you don’t get it. There has to be a song in there somewhere.
The Spark (Carolina Connections Book 2) Page 18
