by Rebecca Rose
At first he thought of her as shy but now he truly saw the error of his thinking. The woman standing before him might be cautious but not the least bit unsure. No, this woman, Karma, was the one who fought to release herself from the restrictions of her family and was unmistakably determined to see them out the door as soon as she could.
“We’re not sure.” Evaan sat down at the tiny kitchen table.
“Dad, you should take a shower. You only have an hour before Dave and I leave for work.”
“Well, why can’t your mother and I stay here while you’re out working for the Man?”
“I’ll never understand why you’d want to work anyway.” Her mother tsk-tsked her.
Dave saw and understood what these freeloaders were doing. “I like to work,” he told them. “There’s something fulfilling about it.”
“I like being my own man,” Evaan announced.
“I am my own man,” Dave told him then took a casual sip of his coffee.
Evaan pulled himself out of the chair then just stood. His beady eyes narrowed on Dave. “That’s what every man says when he wants to keep his job and impress his woman. I prefer the truth. Work sucks and I don’t like doing it.”
“Well, that may be…” Dave took his time sipping his coffee. “But I happen to actually enjoy my life—and job. It certainly beats the alternative. I really hated having to live off of others when I couldn’t find work. It’s kind of degrading, don’t ya think?” He motioned with his cup for Evaan to agree but the older man turned and walked away.
“I agree,” Telia said. “There’s nothing like a job well done when you work for it. I’m gonna check on Dad and get in the shower too.”
Kathy cleared her voice then glanced at Dave. “You want a bagel or something?”
“I’d love one. And a better kiss than the one you gave me when I came in.”
“Well, if that’s all.” She wrapped her arms around his neck but instead of kissing him Kathy leaned her head on his chest. “This is terrible. Horrible.”
“I’m glad I could be here with you.”
“I didn’t want you to meet them. They’re awful people, Dave. My family isn’t like yours.”
His heart went out to her. She truly felt alone when it came to people being compassionate about her background—he understood the feeling well. “I’m sure they have their good points.”
“Ha! Very few.”
He stroked his hand over her hair while his mind wandered back to the carefree woman he spent the night with. The one he had been so close to telling the truth about wanting to spend the rest of his life with her. But he knew she wouldn’t believe him, and now he understood why. Being raised by two people who thought only of themselves and found no shame in the fact they lived off their children and others was enough to make any person weary of love and relationships.
Chapter Fourteen
The night crowd moved in as the early birds left. The weather warmed up to a balmy seventy-two. The smell of burgers on the grill had Kathy closing her eyes, relishing the fragrance and trying to forget the past few hours. How she yearned to have a place to cook like that. Be able to feel the sun on her back as she cooked her meal and talked to close friends and family. Charcoal was her favorite way to do it. The smoky flavor it transmitted to the food made her mouth water.
“Hey.” Dave walked into her office, coffee in hand. “Here you go.”
“Thanks. By the way, how’s Louie working out at the bar? I was a little concerned with his age and being able to keep up.” They hadn’t said too much to each other on the ride in. It was just as well considering she’d been fuming about her parents’ lack of movement to leave. But now that she was safe in her office, work soothed her to calmness.
“He’s doing great. You okay?” He sat on the corner of her desk and sniffed the air. “I can’t wait to throw some food on the grill tonight. Wanna join me?”
Her hands were dry, strange that she would notice that right now. She also needed to take her nail polish off. Working on one of the chipped nails Kathy finally answered him. “I’m good. Just—”
Dave bent his head to get a better look at her. When she turned to avoid his stare he got up and knelt in front of her chair. “Kathy?”
“Yeah?” She felt nothing. How could she explain that to him? When it came to her parents there were stages she went through. First, astonishment that they chose to be the people they were. Second, anger because she’d always disappoint them yet they felt they could rely on her. And lastly, nothing.
He placed his hands on either side of her chair. Not so much as to box her in but more for her to understand his seriousness about being there for her. Kathy recognized this but still crossed her arms and legs in defense.
“Please look at me.”
When she did an overwhelming urge to weep came over her. “I don’t like them, Dave. They ruin everything.” A sob escaped her before she could prevent it. “I never wanted to be like them.”
“You’re not them, Muffin. Never were.”
“I found them in bed with my ex-husband.” The confession hadn’t been her objective but now that it was out what could she do?
“What?”
“He was my dad’s best friend and years older than me.” Tears came to her eyes. She once promised herself she would never cry over Todd again, nevertheless here she was doing it. Maybe it was part of the healing process. Maybe this was what she had to go through to make her and Dave’s relationship stronger.
“Sick bastard.” The rage in his voice gave her comfort. No one in her childhood community had seen anything wrong with the affair.
“Todd said he was going to take me away from that way of life, that he loved me and would teach me how to be the perfect wife. Little did I know that meant he would beat me when I didn’t do what he wanted.”
Dave let out a long, slow, measured breath after Kathy’s declaration. “How did your parents feel about this?”
She shifted in her seat. “Great. Wonderful. He was already a part of our family so why not? After I found the three of them in bed my mother tried to compare ‘notes’ with me.” Kathy swallowed hard. “They’ve always had an open relationship when it came to sex.”
Dave backed off a little, giving her room. “What did this guy say to you after you found them all together?”
“That he wanted to tell me but thought I’d react the way I did. And I also should be more understanding because I’m young and couldn’t do for him what a more experienced woman could. Apparently I really sucked in the sex department.” She looked back down at her hands and hoped Dave wouldn’t see the painful turmoil inside her. The whole situation was as humiliating then as it was now. Why hadn’t she been smarter? Known better? Weren’t parents supposed to protect their children from stuff like this?
“First of all, you suck really well.” Dave grinned when her eyes met his. “Second, this guy is a creep and deserves castration. He took advantage of a young girl. How old were you?”
“Sixteen. Eighteen when we were married and I found them all together.” Somehow Dave’s words made the statutory rape less shameful. Confessing to him seemed so much simpler than trying to cover the truth.
“You are a beautiful woman who overcame a hell of a lot. You’re a survivor and deserve a man to treat you like a lady.”
She uncrossed her legs and felt her stiff arms begin to relax. “Why? What is it about me that makes you interested? I’m defective. I never had an orgasm until I was with you. I failed a marriage to a man who found me completely boring in bed. I even fell asleep once during sex because I couldn’t get aroused. What kind of woman does that?”
He looked at her with hard assessment. “Muffin, from the moment I first saw you I knew you were the one. I can’t explain it and I don’t know why. But I’m telling you, there is nothing wrong with you. That man should burn in hell. And maybe this is wrong to say but I hope your parents are right there with him. You were right to distance yourself from the
m, and now I get why you don’t want them at your place especially when you’re not there. As for your ex-husband, I think he’s gay.”
“What?” Her laugh turned into a snort. “Todd isn’t gay.”
“Really? Think about it. You’re a smart girl. Whose best friend is he?”
“Sex just wasn’t a big deal in our marriage. And he’s a ‘man’s man,’ ” she quoted with her fingers.
“Ahh-aa.”
Kathy marveled at the realization that Dave didn’t have to force her to open up. It was so easy to be around him, to talk to him. “I’m a mess. You should run as fast as you can.”
“Muffin, you don’t know half the shit I’ve done. Screwing this up,” he gestured a hand between them, “is my greatest fear.”
“You might not feel that way after a few days with my parents here. And you haven’t even met my brother yet.”
“I’m not going anywhere so get used to it. You’re where I want to be, Kathy. Why can’t you understand that?”
Her voice became meek, even to her own ears. “Because no ever has.”
“Stay with me again tonight. Don’t go home.” He leaned his forehead on hers. “I hate seeing you like this.”
“I want to run, Dave. Just leave and never look back.” To flee to anywhere but where her parents were.
Dave stood suddenly. “Would you leave? Get in your car and drive away?”
“No.” The answer came to her without thought or question. “You’re here and that makes me want to stay.” Every “unrealistic” dream she ever had seemed to be tied to this one man. With him she felt she had it all, without him, there was nothing. No marriage, no children, or white picket fence to call her own. “I think I’m in love with you, Dave.”
* * *
“Really?” While grabbing her hands to pull her to stand, his eyes grew wide with astonishment. “You fuckin’ with me?”
“No… I… umm… I—”
He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in for a red-hot kiss. Whatever thoughts played through his head, whatever retort to her non-acceptance of herself played second fiddle to the admission of her feelings for him. With her body molded to his and her confession of love still alive in the air he swayed them to the office couch, dipping her onto it. Lovingly Dave began his exploration of her lean body. Not being able to stop himself, he peeled away her clothes to observe the blush his touch created.
“You’re so sensitive.”
She pulled her jeans down and off one leg. “Take me, Dave.”
“I love you.” He was inside her so fast his body bucked at the quickness. First they were talking, then kissing, now… With his mind muddled and his body vibrating he pounded into her. Last night’s escapade was a dim comparison. The desperate passion between them made their arms entwine tight around each other.
“Dave. Oh, my—”
The sound of his name coming off her sweet lips catapulted the need mounting inside him. “Hold on to me. Don’t ever let go.”
Everything in the world around them didn’t matter anymore. The questions and second guesses evaporated into nothingness.
He wanted to weep. Never in his life did Dave feel so loved, so needed. The miracle of forgiveness that Kathy gave his spirit she could never possibly be able to understand. Though he lived the life of a reformed drug dealer, he never truly forgave himself for the hell he once put his parents through. But he knew absolution was given to one’s self, not from someone else. And for the first time, here in Kathy’s arms, Dave felt it and his spirit soared with it.
“You’re everything to me,” he whispered in her ear.
She embraced him harder. “Your confidence scares me.”
She bowed under him while her lips trembled. His eyes seemed to roll back while his body became its own commander. Sensation after sensation painfully built until they both exploded in unison. Her inner walls tightened around him as his own expelled into her.
Panting and pink-faced, Kathy and Dave couldn’t help smirking.
“Wow,” she said.
“No kidding. We’re not even naked.”
“We’re so naughty, Dave. This is my office.”
“I know. Talk about a turn-on.” He took her hands and cuffed them above her head. With that little action, he saw the passion start to grow again in her eyes. “You like me holding you down, don’t you?”
“I could really get used to it.” Flirtatiously she bit the side of her lip.
“What?” His voice demanded her to answer when he saw she wanted to say something else.
“I like the look in your eyes when you’re doing it.”
Bringing his mouth close to her ear, Dave whispered, “How about I tear your clothes off tonight?” Her walls clenched around him. “You make me unbearably hard. And now that you’re mine, I’m going to fuck you every chance I get.”
He slipped out of her and then inched back into that drenched opening. Her gasp is what pulled him back from taking her swift and hard. Slow. Mind bogglingly slow was what he wanted to do. This way she would feel every solid ridge of him and all the unexpected pleasuring aches. And while Dave’s stamina had always been good, he found himself fighting the urge to finish quickly so they could make love again.
“Hey, Karma—”
Dave and Kathy both gasped at her parents standing in the doorway.
“Get out!” Kathy screamed.
“Why? It’s not like your father and I haven’t seen you naked before.”
“Not since I was a child,” Kathy shrieked.
Something close to a growl escaped Dave’s lips. “Please leave so we can get decent.”
Evaan huffed at the request. “Fine but I don’t know what the big deal is.”
Kathy covered her face with her forearm. “Oh, my God.”
“It’s okay, Muffin.”
“No, it’s not.” She uncovered her face and looked him pointedly in the eye. “If they make any sort of move on you, tell me.”
He laughed despite the seriousness on her face. “What?”
“They’ve seen you naked. That’s all it takes.”
“Really?” The absurdity of the situation suddenly didn’t seem so funny. Her face drained to static white.
“Yes.”
“I promise I will. And for the record.” He tried to make the kiss as sweet and loving as he possibly could. She needed to know that she was the only woman for him. “I’m not even remotely attracted to either of your parents.”
Chapter Fifteen
Walking out of the office Dave’s sole intention had been to kick both of Kathy’s parents out of his restaurant. However he thought better of it. The most important thing his parents had taught him was that if people truly wanted to change, they had to do it. No amount of love and protection could do this for Kathy. She had to stand up to her parents on her own. But he would be by her side every step of the way.
“I really don’t know why she’s making such a big deal about it,” Telia announced to everyone sitting at the bar.
“I’m with ya.” Evaan turned to the couple—Dave’s unsuspecting parents—sitting a few stools from them. “Don’t you think after a certain age children shouldn’t be embarrassed by their parents anymore?”
George looked at Evaan with curiosity. “I guess it depends on what you did.”
“We embarrass our children all the time,” Renee piped in.
“Yes, you both do,” Jake commented with a frown.
“I just don’t see the biggie,” Evaan explained. “As if we all don’t have sex. We’ve seen her naked.”
“And,” Telia added, “your son has a nice ass.”
“Thank you?” Renee glanced at her husband then at a horrified-looking Kathy ten feet from them.
“I can’t believe you said that, Mom.”
“Why? The man is prime.” She looked Dave up and down then licked her lips.
He felt like a piece of “prime” meat with creepy served on the side. Evaan seemed to have
the same look when his gaze moved to Dave.
Kathy looked ready to blow. No longer was her face pasty white; now the deep shade of crimson showed her anger instead of mortification. Clenched tightly at her sides were hands white from lack of proper circulation while she stood rigid and straight as a pole.
Wanting to say something to cut the tension, Dave cleared his throat. “Ah-hum. How about a round of drinks, Jake?”
“Sure. Sex on the beach?”
Giving his brother a mild stare, Dave then moved to kiss his father and mother. “How you guys doin’?”
“Good.” Renee took a sip of her martini. “Enjoying a different kind of conversation with Kathy’s parents.”
“I’m sure.” Walking behind the bar, Dave began to help his brother.
“Little early for drinks,” George commented to Renee.
“I need this,” her voice grumbled before knocking the whole drink back. “Another, Jake.”
Dave and Jake knew their mother well, and seeing that George didn’t argue with her, he understood too. She was only trying to mellow out her temper. Renee had always been a fierce woman. Even as children they had feared her temper. As adults they looked to her for how to handle sticky situations like this one. She always seemed to be able to come out of a commotion with the least amount of scars.
“I think I’ll have one too,” Kathy told Dave.
“Aren’t you working?” Evaan asked. “Or is what you were doing in the back room called ‘working.’ ” He winked at her then turned to his wife. “I’d love to get hired here if that’s all it takes.”
“You’re both gross. Give me a shot, Jake.” Kathy swallowed it and then signaled for another.
“Telia.” Renee turned to the woman with copper-colored hair. “You’re quite a lady. What brings you both here? Besides Kathy of course.”
“Well, we’re pleading with our daughter to help us.”
Kathy rolled her eyes. “Here we go.”
Evaan spared his daughter a glance. “We really need phones. The ones we have aren’t good and we can’t get ahold of her if we don’t upgrade.”
Telia put her arm through Evaan’s and leaned into him. “What if something happened to her and she can’t get us.”
