by L. B. Dunbar
“Shhhh,” she whispered.
“You are so perfect,” I moaned as she moved up and down on me. My hands were on her hips, but she was leading. Moving up and over, up and over. She slid to the end of me, and just when I thought she would release me, she slipped all the way back down, filling herself with me. Her back was arching as her fingernails gently scratched at my chest under my t-shirt.
I returned my thumb between us where we were connected. Her eyes shot open again to watch me. She sucked in a breath when I touched her center. I circled it several times and I felt her tighten around me.
“I’m good,” she purred, “but I like that.”
“Again,” I demanded. “Let it happen again.” Suddenly I sensed she’d never had multiple orgasms.
“Let it go. I want to feel you on me. Let go,” I commanded and she clenched around me as I rubbed her pleasure. She bit her lip and groaned as if holding back a scream, then finally released around me. The sensation was too much and I pushed upward in her.
“Britton,” I growled, removing my hand from her as her head fell forward on my chest. I was holding her hips hard, moving her up and down on me, and she matched my thundering rhythm, knowing I was close. Just watching her respond to me was exciting, but the sensation of being in her, bare, was too much. I released upward and she didn’t let me withdraw, which had been my intention. She’d already had one surprise pregnancy. She didn’t need another.
“I’m sorry,” I immediately apologized. “I meant to pull out.”
“Why?” she looked hurt.
“I don’t want you to be worried about getting pregnant.”
“Gavin, please. Don’t ruin this for me.” She settled down on me for a moment before pulling off of me abruptly. Her skirt was still on and it slid down to cover her. We were both still mainly clothed. I didn’t know what she was thinking, but I knew one thing for sure: I wasn’t leaving.
I reached for her as she tried to wiggle off my lap and I dragged her over me again.
“What are you doing?” she giggled.
“Let me stay.” I kissed her neck.
“You can’t spend the night with me, Gavin. Not with Gee in the other room.”
“Then I’ll stay for a little while and come back out here later.”
“You don’t have to stay at all if you don’t want to.”
“Britton, don’t ruin it for me,” I emphasized, repeating her words back to her. “I’m staying the night.” I slipped one hand around her back and the other under her thigh, picking her up as if she weighed nothing. She wrapped her arms around my neck, and I knew that’s how Gee learned to hug. She held on tightly, legs wrapped around my waist, as I carried her to her room.
We landed in a heap, fully clothed on her bed. I wanted to see her face. I tucked her arms into my chest, sliding one leg between hers. I wrapped myself around her, holding her middle. We were silent a few minutes, and I felt her relaxing under my arm.
“Good night, Precious,” I whispered as I kissed her forehead, but she was already asleep.
Take 29
Under the Moonlight
I awoke with a jolt. We were still in the same position and I’d had a dream of her being hit by that car after the fireworks. Both Britton and Gee were gone. I kept seeing the moment of impact over and over in my mind; metal hitting her soft curves as Gee clung to her neck. I had to take several deep, quiet breaths, hoping not to wake her. My chest was visibly moving up and down.
She nuzzled her nose against me.
“What’s wrong?” she whispered.
“Nothing.”
“Gavin, you’re sweating like crazy and you’re breathing heavy.”
She pulled back and caressed my face with her hand, wiping the sweat from my brow.
“I had a bad dream,” I kissed the inside of her palm and moved her hand back to my chest. I knew my t-shirt was damp.
“What was it?”
I could see her blue eyes twinkle in the slowly brightening room. Morning was coming. I shook my head.
“Gavin, you’re scaring me,” she pulled back.
“Remember the other night when the car almost crashed into you and Gee in the street? I was dreaming that it did. And I was there, watching it happen, over and over again.” My voice was ragged.
“We’re okay. We’re both right here.” She kissed my jaw. I was awake now; my heart still hammering in my chest.
“I should probably go back into the other room.” I kissed her forehead. “But I don’t really want to go.”
“Mmmm,” she sighed into me, and I felt a different jolt this time at the sound of her moans. I didn’t realize how tightly I was holding her until I started to release her.
“No regrets about last night,” I looked at her, concerned. My arms already missed her.
“No regrets,” she said to my chest. I used my finger to guide her chin, forcing her to look up at me. Her eyes looked different now. Not panicked, not hooded, but definitely different. I kissed her nose and rolled away from her, feeling the loss of her hold on me.
The morning should have been awkward, but as I got comfortable on the couch, my morning visitor arrived, sitting on my back again. I didn’t move while Gee watched his television program. When it ended, I asked him what he liked for breakfast. When he said pancakes, I was suddenly starving for them as well. I bounced Gee up, and he scrambled off my back. Together we walked into the kitchen to make breakfast.
Britton ended up in the kitchen a half hour later, looking fresh from a shower, but silent with the weight of what we had done. I could sense it in the way she would hold back from me as I tried to reach for her. Her eyes continually shifted to Gee. She looked more panicked than I had seen before, almost cagey, as if she were trapped. I tried to blow it off by chattering about breakfast and my lack of cooking abilities. Britton had to take over and poured the first batch of pancake mix onto the griddle.
“I think I did something wrong,” I mumbled as the soupy concoction practically ran off the pan.
“Ummm, just to be safe, I think I better start over.” She began the whole process from scratch and I sat down with Gee, who was drawing on some blank paper. I wasn’t really an artist, but I had drawn a storyboard or two in my lifetime. I began to make up a story about an alien attacking Gee the Superhero and asked him what super power he would like.
“Um. Flying,” he said as he leaned on the table with his elbows. “No, mind reading.” I thought I might like that super power right about now, too. I couldn’t tell what Britton was thinking and it was beginning to crawl on my skin. This was a feeling I didn’t like.
“No, I don’t want to know what people think,” Gee said confidently. “I don’t care what they think.”
It was a strong statement for a kid, and I glanced up at Britton who looked at her son fondly.
“That’s right,” she said, “we don’t care what people think.”
My eyes shifted between them. They weren’t looking at each other. Britton had turned to flip the pancakes and Gee was reaching for a green marker, but there was definitely a shared secret here. I felt very left out, but I wanted to be let in.
“Hmmm, maybe it can be a secret super power,” I began, “like one that no one knows for sure, but can be used at any time and be whatever you want it to be.”
Gee looked at me with big brown eyes.
“I like that,” he said, confidently, pushing his lips out like I had seen adults do when they agreed with something.
“So what’s the plan today, little man?” I addressed Gee.
“Same old, same old. Play. Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Mommy has to work later, so I’ll be with Ben. We might go fishing.”
I hadn’t been fishing in years. Seven, maybe almost eight.
“Fishing? I have a boat, remember?” Gee’s eyes opened wide as Britton said, “No,” without hesitation.
“Why not?” I looked at her.
“I have to work this afternoon. We can’t go fishing with y
ou today,” she hesitated.
“Well, what if I take Gee myself.” Familiar panic flashed on her face.
“Why do you do that?” I asked with a bit of anger.
“What?”
“Look at me like that. I would never hurt him,” I stated with pinched eyebrows, enforcing my words.
Her face softened. “I wasn’t implying…Of course, you wouldn’t hurt him.”
“What is it then?” I stood and walked over to her side.
“I…I didn’t mean to look at you that way,” she said to the pan as she scooped up the pancakes.
“I don’t like it,” I said softly. “I don’t want you to be afraid around me. Afraid for him, for some reason.” I didn’t think she was accusing me of being a child molester or kidnapper; it was something else. Some unspoken concern.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered as she looked at my chest. I felt that pang again of being removed from her. I wanted to pull her to me and hold her like I had as we slept. Despite the dream, and the short number of hours, I’d slept soundly next to her. I missed the physical connection already.
“Skip work. Come with us.”
“Yeah, Mom.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?” I said more gruffly than I’d intended.
“If I’m missing Saturday night for the wedding, I better not take any other days off,” she smiled at me. I realized I still hadn’t officially asked her to be my date.
“You’ll go with me? To the wedding?” I bent slightly at the knees, so we were the same height, and I could look directly into her eyes.
She smiled at me again, biting her lip. I couldn’t resist touching her any longer. I slid a hand around her lower back and kissed her cheek.
“You have made me so happy,” I whispered in her ear. When I turned, Gee was staring at both of us.
I asked Ben to go fishing with us, too. He jumped at the chance, asking if Madison would be around. He spoke before he caught himself, and I laughed at how he tried to play it off afterward.
“I don’t think Madison is the fishing type,” I replied. I had a flash of a disastrous fishing attempt with Britton. She wasn’t the fishing type either.
“I’ll make you a deal, though. We fish for a while and then we can stop by my sister’s so you can see Madison for a bit, if you like.”
Ben casually said, “Cool,” but I saw him fist pump the air as he walked down the hall toward the room he shared with Gee. He immediately pulled his phone from his pocket.
Once on the boat, Ben was helpful, but distracted. The high sun of the day didn’t help the fish biting. It was too late in the early afternoon for fishing, which should be done first thing in the morning or later in the evening. Gee, however, was fully engrossed in learning how to put the worm on the hook and hold the pole. He wanted to keep winding the reel, and I laughed as I explained that you had to sit and wait for a fish. Sitting still seemed hard for Gee, and eventually I gave up. We decided to swim instead. Gee had on his new life vest and he liked how he could float in the water without fear.
With Ben splashing around, I felt like a teenager again. He had high ideals and silly ways, but I remembered myself at that age, thinking I could conquer the world. When did that need to conquer the world and achieve all my dreams at once take over? When I was nineteen, twenty? I thought about it more and realized it must have been when I turned twenty-one.
I had returned to California after my weeks in Michigan in time for my twenty-first birthday and the start of my junior year. It was the year that majors were declared and serious focus on subjects of interest began in earnest. I was part of a cohort that was working together on a film project and we had plans to submit it to a competition outside of school. When we won, my head swelled with pride and ideas flooded me. I submitted a photograph to a camera company competition and when it was turned into a ten-minute film, I won another accolade. I was on my way as a senior in college, being recognized and distinguished for my ability with a movie camera.
I hadn’t forgotten about home, but there was always something to keep me back in California. A summer internship between junior and senior year. A mini-film for my senior presentation that kept me from returning for Christmas. I did grunt work after college at Warner Bros., and worked my way over to Steinmann Financial for more money. My dream of directing had always been my focus, but I needed money to support myself. I sold out a little when I took the job with Zeke Steinmann. I met Zoe at twenty-four, and for three years she was what held me to California and Steinmann Financial.
But as I sat in the boat, watching Ben play with Gee in the water, chuckling as Gee wrestled the fishing pole, or seeing Ben text again on his phone, I wondered how I could have stayed away so long. It was peaceful and relaxing on the lake. I felt refreshed, like a baptism. I was free of Zoe. I had the meeting next week with Joe Scanlon. I had a date with Britton for the wedding. Life was good in the moment.
Since I had promised Ben I would help him meet up with Madison, I called my sister.
“Hey, Karyn. I have Ben Mullen with me, Britton’s nephew, and he and Madison have been talking. I just want to double check that it’s okay that I bring him over.”
“Who is this?” she questioned. I could almost picture her squeezing her eyebrows together sternly on the other end of the phone.
“It’s Gavin.”
“Gavin, who?”
“How many Gavins do you know, smart ass?”
“I’m serious, who are you, and why do you sound like my brother?” I knew she was holding back a smile.
“I’m trying to help the kid, but I want to make sure I’m doing the right thing. So I’m calling for your permission.”
“Okay, now I really want to know who you are, because this sounds responsible, and that’s not any Gavin I know.”
“Funny,” I growled. “I don’t want to get in trouble with Britton.”
“Britton? Who’s Britton? Oh wait, the girl you’ve been spending so much time with that you can’t spend time with your family?”
“Karyn, can I drop the kid off or not?”
“Fine, fine. Madison hasn’t stopped bugging me all day.”
I fist-bumped Ben and winked at him.
“Okay, so thirty minutes and I’ll pick him up at whatever time you say?”
“You sure you aren’t an imposter, because this is actually nice and thoughtful of you, and the only Gavin I know only thinks of himself. You seem to be thinking of others at the moment.”
Sometimes I really hated my sister.
That night was the unofficial bachelor party for Jess, which began with a softball game by the high school. The groomsmen, male family members, and some of Jess’ local friends were invited. This was also where Britton said she would pick up Gee. She was going over to Emily’s for the unofficial bachelorette party that was starting at Emily’s home before travelling to the newly restored River Bar. Flashier than it had been before, I heard it was like a dance club on Saturdays, with karaoke night on Thursday. I didn’t think anyone did karaoke anymore, but it was one of the few places to go in Elk Rapids for nightlife.
Mary Carter would be babysitting Gee, along with Katie and my niece, Meghan Carter. Britton already said she wouldn’t stay long, but would share in the celebration with a drink or two at the bar before heading home.
I wasn’t prepared when the woman who showed up for Gee hardly looked like Britton. Her blonde hair was smoothed and straightened, and she had on make-up including bright red lipstick. A short, royal blue mini-dress hugged her curves. She still had on flat sandals, and I was thankful after I did a double take at her, because high heels would have pushed me over the edge. She was gorgeous, and the mouths of several sweating, drinking men on the dusty field were hanging open in awe as this unaware bombshell walked up to me to collect Gee. I suddenly felt very possessive of her, and despite my grubby t-shirt from a day in the boat and now sweating on the ball field, I slid my hand around her lower back as a sign to all that sh
e was mine.
Some men choked when they saw this, while others made some snide remarks. I didn’t care. I was claiming her.
“Hey,” she said with a smile as she waved at Jess.
“Hey, yourself. You look amazing, Precious,” I hissed, and she blushed at the use of this new nickname from me. I usually hated nicknames. I hated when Zoe called me Gavie, and she had used ‘honey’ so patronizingly that I didn’t care for that either. So I surprised myself when I used a term of endearment for Britton. It seemed truly appropriate. She was precious. Precious to me.
“I think I might have to skip this game and be your bodyguard,” I growled seductively at her, low enough that only she could hear.
“I don’t need a bodyguard,” she laughed, “unless…you want to…” She blushed again. I knew where she was going. The old Britton would have made a joke about guarding her body, but this new Britton didn’t seem so confident.
“Or I could just guard your body privately,” I drawled at her, knowing it sounded ridiculously corny.
She blushed deeper.
“You say anything else to her, and she’s gonna be as red as those tempting lips,” Tom said as he walked by me, slapping me hard on the back.
The statement brought my attention to her bright red lips and I was tempted to kiss her right in front of everyone, even Gee. I licked my lips and Britton bit hers. She pushed a piece of hair behind her ear.
“You look amazing,” I said again.
“The dress is Emily’s. I had on jeans, but she told me I had to be more dressed up.” She rolled her eyes as she bent forward to tug the hem down, but that only enhanced the view of her cleavage from the opening at the top of the dress.
“You better be careful tonight. Elk Rapids can only handle so much of this,” I commented as I looked her up and down. “Don’t be going home with anyone.”
“I only have one place I think of as home,” she said with half a smile.
