by Hart, Eve R.
“You could move down there. I’ll find you a house. You could go to the beach every day in the summer.” I’d tried this before and it never worked.
“Find me a house?” She pinned me with a hard stare. “You need to get yourself a house first.”
Oh, well, yeah, there was that.
I’d thought about it a lot recently. I just wasn’t sure how to talk to Claire about it. I could tell she wasn’t ready to leave Lavinia. I wasn’t sure if it was because she was trying to hold onto as much of her independence as possible, or if she was overly worried about leaving Lavinia alone. It could have been a combination of the two. And I got it. So I was doing my best to not put too much pressure on her.
But eventually, that step would have to come.
I think she realized it even if she was trying not to think about it.
I wouldn’t ever take her away from Lavinia.
And I wouldn’t ever tell her that she couldn’t take care of herself, even if all I wanted to do was be that man for her.
I wasn’t really sure how to make her understand that just because her life moved forward with me, that it didn’t mean that she had to lose herself in me.
Guessed I was just going to have to keep showing her that I was there to be what she needed and that I understood everything about her.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Cable
“Okay,” Claire said a little breathlessly as she walked into my room. “I need a shower.”
A week had gone by since I took her to meet my mom.
The rest of our time there had been amazing. There were no more nervous breakdowns because Claire felt accepted by my mom instantly.
She turned the lock on the door then started walking across the room, dropping her bag onto the end of the bed as she went by.
This wasn’t unusual for her because she liked to take a shower when she got off work and I could tell by the time, that she’d headed directly over here instead of stopping by her apartment.
But there was something else going on with her. Like she was trying to psych herself up for something. But I didn’t have a clue what.
“Want company?” I asked with a raised brow.
Sometimes she did and sometimes she didn’t.
“Um, no. I’ll be out in a few.”
“Okay,” I said with a nod and went back to reading my book as I waited, not even a little bit hurt by it.
“Hey,” I called out after I heard the shower start up.
“Yeah?”
“Rumor has it that Abigail is making lasagna tonight. Want to head down there in a bit?”
“Ummm,” she said a little nervously.
Yeah, there was definitely something going on.
Because she’d eaten with everyone a few times now and she had lost all those self-doubting feelings and shyness a while ago. She never held back when I suggested we go down to the kitchen anymore.
“Not tonight. I’m not hungry.”
I didn’t believe that for one second.
“I got leftover Chinese from last night here. You want that?”
“Oh, yeah! That sounds good,” she said excitedly.
See, I knew that was all kinds of wrong.
I didn’t get off the bed because I knew she wouldn’t be ready to eat for another hour or two.
“Okay,” she said standing in the doorway in nothing but a towel.
I gave her my full attention, questioning brow and all, because this wasn’t like her.
She was okay getting naked for sexy stuff, and sometimes she’d even stay that way after we were done. But so far, she’d never taken a shower and come out of the bathroom in anything less than a tee shirt and pants.
“You okay, beautiful?” I asked a little concerned because her chest was rising and falling rapidly. And not in the way that suggested that she was turned on. I was worried she was going to pass out.
“I can do this,” she said as she closed her eyes and reached for the edge of the towel.
Then the towel was floating to the floor and she was walking toward the bed with nothing on.
Her steps were hesitant and I hardly breathed because she was absolutely breathtaking. And I wasn’t just talking sexually.
She settled down beside me and stared into my eyes.
“So,” she finally said trying her hardest to look casual. “How was your day?” she flashed me a wide smile and I tried not to lose it.
“It was good. Started a new book. Did some club shit. That’s about it. How was work?”
“Not too bad,” she said with a shrug. “I got to train the new kid. I think that was good. Like they trust me enough to do it, right?”
“You bust your ass there, I’m sure they see it.”
“I guess,” she replied with a little shrug. “So what do you want to do tonight?”
“It doesn’t matter to me. Though I’m guessing whatever it is, it involves staying in.”
“Yeah,” she said with a small laugh. “We could play a game?”
“Sure, if that’s what you want.”
“I brought cards.”
Why didn’t it surprise me that she had a plan for this night and that she came prepared? It was clear that she was trying to prove something to herself right now. This wasn’t really about me, though I was sure my nudity gave her the idea.
“I can’t play poker, but I do know Go Fish,” she said as she reached for her bag on the corner of the bed.
I couldn’t help but to tilt my head as I took in her cute, perky ass.
“Sounds like fun,” I said as I put my book away and sat up ready to get serious with a game of Go Fish.
Then we played Go Fish for an hour. Naked. Like it was nothing. Which I think was what she was trying to go for here.
I lost a lot.
I laughed even more.
And tried my hardest to ignore my overly excited cock. It didn’t help that she liked to bounce up and down every time she won and she wasn’t even doing it on purpose, which I thought was perfect.
“Movie?” she asked as she packed up the cards.
“Sure,” I said as I rolled out of bed and went to heat up the leftover Chinese.
“Ahhh, you read my mind. Thank you,” she called out when she noticed what I was doing.
“Think I know you well enough by now, beautiful.”
I walked over and placed a quick kiss on her waiting lips.
We ate, settled back against the headboard while we talked about little things.
Then I held her just like any other night as we watched a movie.
But when it was all over, it was my turn to pick what we were doing next.
“Okay, yes,” she said as I rolled over and began kissing up her neck.
The credits were playing in the background. Some super cheesy eighties soundtrack filled the room but all I could hear were her little pants and moans as I worked my way down her body.
“Cable,” she moaned as she spread her legs for me like she knew just where I was headed.
With a smile, I slowly licked her sweet pussy. I continued to tease her with my tongue until she was writhing and begging for more.
Then I stopped and made my way back up her body and she let out a little whiny whimper that made me chuckle.
“I want you coming all over my cock,” I whispered into her ear.
“Please,” she moaned out while her nails clawed down my back.
I didn’t waste another second suiting up and pushing my way inside of her.
“Top,” she said out of nowhere and I was confused for a minute. “Roll over.”
I did as she commanded, trying my hardest to not crush her and keep our connection at the same time.
Her hands slapped down on my chest as she pushed herself up so she could look down at me. She didn’t move for a long moment, but I was okay with that.
“You’re so beautiful,” I said as my eyes scanned over every part of her that I could see and then finally landed on her eyes.
>
She was so free. So open. So bright right now. It was the most angelic thing I’d ever seen. I wanted to keep this image for a long time and so I made sure to memorize every little thing about it.
“I love you,” she said as she began to rock and ride me. The rhythm was like nothing I’d ever experienced before. It was off but powerful and erotic all at the same time.
My hands were on her hips but only because I had to touch her.
“I’m close,” she panted out, her head falling back and her back bowing, pushing those perfect tits to the sky.
She tightened around me and I felt my cock swell inside of her.
I held my breath as she worked me harder and faster.
I folded up, my mouth automatically closing around one of her hard nipples. Her moans rang out louder and louder the harder I sucked.
My hips jerked up as I wrapped my arm around her slender waist. I took over, but she didn’t seem to mind because she was too lost to the feelings that were pushing her closer to the edge.
My mouth ripped away from her nipple as I gripped her short hair and pulled her head back until she was looking into my eyes.
“I love you, Claire,” I breathed against her lips right before I took them like I owned them.
They were mine.
She was mine.
I swallowed down her strangled moan as she writhed and shuddered while she came.
With one last, hard, thrust, I planted myself deep inside her and came.
She clung to me as she came down. Her little pants of breath fanned over my neck as she buried her face in the crook.
I held her like I never wanted to let her go.
Because I didn’t.
And I was never going to.
Epilogue
Claire
“I’m moving out,” Lavinia said the moment she stepped into the apartment and closed the door behind her.
The spoon full of melted cheese and macaroni noodles fell out of my hand onto the top of the stove.
“What?!” I screeched as I ran out of the kitchen to look at her.
“Yeah,” she said with a shrug. “I found this really cute one bedroom place around the corner.”
“But what about…” I said letting the words trail off.
What about rent and utilities and all that other stuff that she paid half of here?
And what about me?
She couldn’t leave me.
“Think I know someone that is willing to take over my share of things here until the lease is up. So, no need for you to worry?” She walked over to me and wrapped me up in a hug.
Yes, I might have been a bit weepy right now.
“Lavinia,” I breathed out because I was pretty sure she did this more for me than herself.
“Besides the lease is only for a couple more months anyway.”
“I don’t know if I should be mad at you or love you forever,” I told her as I gave her one last, hard squeeze and then stepped away.
“I say love me because I’m amazing and the best best friend ever,” she said with a laugh.
“It’s true. You are. Wait, did you talk to Cable about this?”
“Yep. I told him what I was doing so he could be ready to jump right in here,” she said like it wasn’t a big deal.
But to me it was. In the best way possible.
“And now I have promises from him that big, sexy biker men will move my stuff for me. Win-win, right?!” she said as she walked into the kitchen to check out what I was cooking. “Mac and cheese, yes please.”
And then we were filling our bowls and settling down on the couch like it was any other night.
“I’m taking this couch,” she said out of nowhere as the TV played on in the background. “It’s far too tiny for Mr. Delicious. You need to get him a manlier couch.”
“That’s fine by me,” I said with a giggle thinking just how much of this couch he took up when he was on it.
I sat back while she got lost in the show that was playing.
I pulled out my phone.
I hadn’t exactly opened up to Cable about my past, more specifically the things in the box that were all mine. But I had been letting things out slowly in a way that I felt comfortable with. And he always came back with some way to let me know he appreciated it without ever asking for more.
I looked down at my screen and started typing.
When I was seven, I asked my parents for a pony. For my birthday, they got me riding lessons. It was the perfect substitute.
I hit send and set my phone down.
A little while later, I got a text back. I wasn’t even hesitant to look at it because I knew he’d never push me.
Thursday. 9 am. I’ll pick you up. The guy said to wear boots.
I smiled wide as the tears filled my eyes. Just like every other damn time.
And I suddenly couldn’t wait to see my sexy cowboy on the back of a horse.
Cable
I walked into the diner just like it was any other time.
Immediately, I saw Claire behind the counter but since she had her back to me, she didn’t know I was there yet. With a wink in Lavinia’s direction, I kept on walking to the booth that I’d sat at the first time I came in here and took a seat.
I came here a lot. I wasn’t ashamed to say it. Sure the food was just okay and with my woman’s guidance, I got the best thing on the menu for that day, but that wasn’t why I came here. I would use any excuse I could to see Claire, even now, after we’d been together a year and were living in the same house.
“You’re up.” I heard Lavinia say a little too loudly. “Table six.”
“That wink wasn’t even remotely smooth,” Claire replied and her beautiful laugh floated across the diner into my happy ears.
“Hi,” Claire said brightly as she reached my table. Maybe a little breathlessly too. She was so damn cute. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“Water, please,” I replied back with a little smirk.
“You got it,” she said not even bothering to pull out her pad to write anything down. “Do you know what you want to eat yet?”
“What do you recommend?” I didn’t take my eyes off of hers.
“Well, the WTF burger is a big seller. But if it were me…”
No matter how many times we did this, it never got old. It never lost its charm. It never felt overplayed.
“That sounds good. I’ll get that,” I replied not even having heard what she’d said. I guess I got a little lost in her eyes and that adorable twinkle in them.
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll put that in for you and be right back with your water.”
She brought me my food and didn’t linger while I ate it. She never did. But she did check on me often, touching me every chance she got. Which, I fuckin’ loved.
“So, how was it?” she asked as she pulled the ticket off of her pad.
I didn’t have to turn it over to know what was on it.
She never wrote my order down. She never even let me know how much I owed. Instead, every single time she’d draw a heart and write I love you in the middle of it.
The drawer next to my side of the bed was currently full of those tickets. Yes, I kept each and every one of them.
“It was just what I wanted. Hit the spot. Thanks, Claire,” I said making a point to look down at her name tag.
I always wondered if she caught on that I’d messed up that first time, only remembering to look at her name tag after her name had passed my lips.
I got to my feet and carefully pulled the folded up bills out of my pocket. I held her eyes as I set them down on the table.
“Take care of yourself, Claire,” I said as I held her stare for a few beats.
I leaned down and placed a light kiss on her cheek right before I whispered into her ear.
“Oh, and I’m going to marry you.”
I’d been quiet about the marriage thing since the first time I’d said it. I never gave up the plan to do just that bu
t I didn’t want to keep throwing it out there when I knew she wasn’t quite ready. I knew it in my heart that she wanted to marry me, so that wasn’t the issue. I got the sense that she wanted her life set just right before we took that step. Now, she felt steady at her job at the diner and she also had her GED under her belt and was looking into the college thing. Her life was hers, it was just hers right alongside of mine.
She eyed me with a curious brow. Since I knew she didn’t like surprises, this was as much of a warning as I was going to give her.
Not giving her a chance to say anything, I turned and walked to the front of the diner like I was going to leave. After I’d taken a few steps away from Claire to where she wouldn’t notice, I slyly shot Lavinia a wink as I walked by.
I may have filled her in on what was going on today. I also wanted to make sure she was there because I knew Claire wouldn’t want her to miss this.
“Oh, my, God!” I heard Claire scream in shock. The good kind of shock. And I knew she’d found the tip I’d left for her today.
I couldn’t help but smile even though she couldn’t see it.
“When?” she called out knowing that I wasn’t asking her if she’d marry me.
“Tonight?” I asked with a hopeful tinge in my tone as I turned around to face her.
“Tonight would work. I can be ready by seven,” she replied making me smile like a damn idiot.
She ran over to me and threw herself into my arms. I didn’t hesitate to catch her.
I knew she didn’t really mean it about getting married tonight, but it was adorable how she played along. How she did little things to let me know she remembered. Like the first time I asked her out.
“I was thinking July sixth,” I said once I finally set her down and slid the ring out of her death-grasp. “How does that sound to you?”
I held it there, hovering in the air just waiting to slip it on her finger.
“I think that sounds like the perfect date.”
I slid the ring on her finger and kissed the hell out of her. I didn’t care that she was at work. Or that we were in the middle of the diner and that people were cheering us on all around. Or that Lavinia was screaming her head off like she was at a pop concert or some shit.
