Redemption

by Brent, Amy

  “You mean sober up?” I asked, laughing at her slur.

  “Sober, saber tooth tigers, they're all the same. Oh gosh, I’ve had one too mostly, haven't we?”

  We both cracked up laughing at her inability to choose her words as she wished. I ordered an Uber, and we waited in the cool night to go to her place. She instinctively stood close to me, brushing up against my arm. It was as if we were still an item, and I took in the breath of her scent. She smelled so good. It was a scent I'd never forgotten that held the past like an anchor, a mix of musk and lavender, a sweet smell that matched her personality and sweetness.

  Had Chad really tried to break us up? Fuck, I wouldn't have left her if I'd known that. All I knew for right now was that it felt so right to be near her. I couldn't put the feeling into words.

  The Uber came in a blink of an eye, and I found myself making out with her in the back seat. I was drawn to her like a wild animal that needed to feed. I felt as if I needed to make up for the times when I'd missed her touch. Our tongues twisted together with a force that neither of us could deny. We arrived within minutes, and I looked into her perfect eyes.

  “Let's have coffee!” she said, giving me a breathless smile.

  “Aha.” I followed her in, after paying the guy who'd driven us. It was a night that was going to be memorable. I knew that, already.

  Lindsey

  “One more for the road?” I asked Ben. I wasn’t in any rush while his hand was rubbing up my thigh, and it felt good like it did all those years ago.

  God was kind and placed buttons on my body like he does with every woman, and Ben knew where to find them. And also, how to push them at the right moments. I shuddered because his firm fingers slipped under the hem of my skirt. He didn’t push too far, but it was enough to make me fidget in my seat and think about uncrossing my legs.

  I raised two fingers to the bartender to signal another two glasses. I then widened my thumb and forefinger in a gesture to emphasize a double. I cocked my head to the side while Ben pushed my hair back over my shoulder and locked his lips on the bare skin of my neck. Button number two pushed. I stopped fidgeting and wriggled instead.

  “Here you go,” I said, sliding the drink in front of Ben. He needed to stop what he was doing, or I’d have the urge to ravish his body and run my fingers over the contoured lines of his muscles.

  We raised our glasses and clinked them together. For old time’s sake. I stared into Ben’s green eyes and melted in my seat. There was something about his gaze that had always done things to me, and it was doing them again. Our glasses sat empty on the bar, and we stared at each other. Ben smiled at me and stood at the side of his stool. His hand rested on the bar for support while I stood and felt my knees starting to buckle.

  “Whoops!” he exclaimed, just as his hand caught my elbow and steadied me. If he only knew the jelly legs were half his fault. It was so long ago when it all went wrong, and his touch still made me weak after all this time.

  Ben, I want to fall into your arms.

  The fresh air rushed straight to my head when we stepped outside the restaurant. I grabbed hold of Ben’s arm, and he hailed a cab. It felt like old times, but this was business, as opposed to pleasure. He hailed a cab and held the door while I slid onto the back seat.

  Ben sidled up beside me, and his leg rested against mine. The heat flooded into me, and I pictured him between my legs instead of rubbing against them. My hand fell to his leg and caressed him as the cab made its way back to my apartment. The whole do you want to come up for a coffee scenario had passed, way back when. Now it would be do you want to come up?

  Ben helped me from the cab and closed the door once I stepped onto the pavement. I leaned into him and looked up into his eyes.

  “I should be going,” he started to say as I pushed my finger against his lips.

  “You know you don’t want to,” I replied.

  Ben’s arm wrapped around my waist, his lingering kiss sucked all the breath from my lungs.

  Oh, Ben.

  “Do you want me to come up?” He stepped back to let me answer. “It’s okay if you don’t.”

  I feel like a teenager again.

  I grabbed Ben’s hand and walked him to the entrance of the apartment building. I pulled the key from my bag. “You want to do this as much as I do,” I said, feeling the chemistry between us. He smiled a sexy smile, knowing I was right.

  I pushed the key into the lock, and suddenly Ben cupped my breasts from behind. I rested my head back on his shoulder when the door opened. We stepped inside and made our way to my apartment. We giggled like schoolkids who were about to be caught. I opened the door and dropped my bag onto the floor. The keys fell from the side table and rattled at the same time Ben kicked the door closed. I turned when he stepped forward and pushed my back up against the wall. He was always a dominator in the bedroom.

  I can’t believe I’m doing this.

  I tugged on the belt of Ben’s pants as he popped the buttons open on my blouse. He pulled it from the waist of my skirt and slid his fingers over the skin of my shoulders. I wriggled and slipped my blouse off my arms and let it fall to the floor. I released breathless and urgent gasps as Ben cupped my breasts and slid his fingers inside my bra. I responded by pulling down his zipper and yanking at the waist of his pants and letting them pool around his ankles.

  In urgency, he kicked off his shoes and flicked his pants to the side when I felt my skirt loosen and fall to the floor. Ben raised his arms while I pulled his shirt upward. I was faced with his broad muscled chest. I reached around to Ben’s buttocks and slid the tips of my fingers into his shorts. My hands pulled to the side of his body and eased them down over his hips. Ben stepped free, and I felt his growing arousal push against me. His arm wrapped around me as he scooped me up in his arms like a ragdoll.

  “Where’s your bedroom?” he asked, wanting me.

  Our clothes lay in a heap as Ben carried me toward my bedroom. I twisted the door handle and pushed the door open. We moved into the bedroom which was lit from the hallway. Ben laid me on the bed, and I reached for the switch on the bedside lamp. I looked up into Ben’s eyes as a golden glow highlighted the curves of my body in the mirror.

  I fumbled with the clasp of my bra. Then I wriggled from my rose-pink panties. I slid across the bed, and Ben positioned himself at my side. His eyes had that same fire in them that they used to give me. His hand ran over my body, and our lips locked together. My hair fell against the pillow and our tongues twisted in wantonness as our passionate kiss lingered. My skin tightened when his fingers ran over my breasts and paused near my nipples. Circling with his middle finger, I felt the shudders running down my spine.

  Ben pulled his mouth from mine and lowered his head.

  “Oh Ben,” I cooed.

  His mouth clamped against the aching skin of my breast while his tongue navigated around my nipple. His breath felt warm on my skin that now tingled from his touch. His perfect tongue flicked back and forth as my fingers ran through his short hair. My back arched the moment Ben ran his tongue down my lithe body, getting closer to my groin. I nibbled on my bottom lip while his tongue ran over my belly and graced the soft skin of my inner thigh. It was like magic. Better than I’d remembered it to be.

  “Jesus, I’ve missed this,” he said. “Fuck, you’re too beautiful.”

  Ben’s lips kissed softly once he reached the velvety skin of my pussy. I let out warm and erratic panting breaths when he parted my lips and teased my aching clitoris. An erotic sigh left my body when his tongue darted inside me, and my hand pushed his head harder against the tops of my thighs. Ben teased and tantalized my inner body as I let out a pleasurable squeal, and then he lifted his body and knelt on the bed. His cock was harder than gold and grasped firmly in his hand.

  God, yes Ben, I want you deep inside of me.

  He pushed his body between my legs and rubbed the head of his hard shaft against my pussy. He moved slowly inside me. Inch by glorious inch
he pushed his rock-hard dick. I gasped as I felt the enormity of him. It was heavenly.

  Ben rocked his hips while he raised my leg and held it against his shoulder. He drove himself faster against my body, right at the same time the bedsheets wrapped around my gripping fingers as I felt the entirety of him. He squeezed my breast as he rammed the full length of his arousal inside of me. With each powerful thrust, I exhaled wildly and panted for more. Ben’s muscled body tightly corded and tensed. The corrugated leanness of his stomach was hard as his body pleasured my inner depths and pushed me closer toward my final moment.

  I arched my back and pushed a pillow under my ass to accommodate him more. Our bodies crashed together, and the sound of our breath heated the bedroom. Ben groaned in response when he unconsciously tightened his muscles as I pushed my hips to his, allowing him to go deeper still.

  His fingers began digging into my soft breast before he pinched my budded nipple with his finger and thumb. My hips gyrated as my pussy clenched and drew him deeper inside me. Wave after wave of pleasure washed over me; it’d been a long time since I’d felt the dizzying pulsating of my body during orgasm. It whirred and purred as he had his way with me. I hadn’t pleasured myself very often since he’d left, and no other man had taken my body.

  Ben pushed his hand against my belly which made my body quiver. I rocked against Ben while he rotated his hips and filled me with each slamming thrust. Ben knew all of my buttons, and he pushed them all at once. I squirmed and lifted my ass from the pillow to meet each push of his hard cock, the sensation was surreal. The fiery depths of my body sheathed his entire width and length. He pushed harder, and I felt I wanted him deeper inside me.

  “Ben, let me get on top,” I whispered, wanting to experience him even more.

  Ben paused and slid his body away from mine. He rolled onto his back, and I threw my leg over him and straddled his magnificent, rampant hips. I inched my way up his firm thighs and wrapped my dainty fingers around his perfect erection. I rubbed the taut skin of his glans against my throbbing clit. The head of his shaft slipped past the doors of my womanhood, and I lowered my body to take the full extent of his hardness.

  Ben bucked and arched because our bodies collided in a perfect rhythm. My hips fell into their frenzied writhing, right above his powerful loins. I leaned forward and let my hair fall over his face.

  Ben tenderly clamped his teeth onto the pink tip of my aroused breast. He tugged my nipple while I yelped in pain. Mixed sensations flooded from both ends of my body and melded together like one. Excitement rocked through my veins as I ground my hips against Ben’s thrusting loins. I felt I was nearing my second final moment and wanted to push him to his limits.

  I sat up and jutted my breasts forward, and my back arched as I rubbed my pussy hard against his hips. Ben dug his fingers into my hips and followed my grinding action, meeting my passion with his. Each lift of his hips enabled his large shaft to fill my wetness. I tilted my head back and let my hair fall over my shoulder. I circled my hips and flutters started to fill my belly. My hands were pushed hard against Ben’s chest while the sensations of erotic pleasure went through my entire core. I was almost there.

  “Fuck, I’m gonna come,” he cried out in deliverance.

  His sweaty body seized and jerked when I felt his hot seed shooting into my depths. I squirmed and pushed my hips harder against his locked hips. Ben spilled over inside me while vibrations filled my hips and legs. I moaned in satisfied fulfillment. Waves of rapture filled me as I came, clenching and contracting on his spent cock.

  Wow. That brought back lots of memories.

  I rolled over to face Ben. I wanted to comment, but my head hit the pillow. I closed my eyes and basked in sexual gratification and grinned.

  One more for the road—wow!

  Ben

  My head throbbed so I delayed opening my eyes immediately. I peered from one and spotted a painting on the wall which wasn’t mine. How much did I drink? The bedsheet pulled over my body, and I rolled over. I must’ve drunk enough to end up in someone’s house. I eased myself and rolled over. The huddled figure had the sheet pulled over their head.

  I knew it, but I didn’t want to believe it.

  I pulled the bedsheet back.

  Crap, it was—

  “Lindsey, what—what the hell?” I stammered. Lindsey pulled the bedsheet tightly around her body and peered underneath the covers.

  “Oh crap, did we?” she asked.

  “It certainly appears that way,” I replied, quickly realizing I was butt naked. I glanced around looking for my clothes. “Where the hell are my things?”

  “What are you asking me for?” she snapped. “It was obviously you who instigated all of this.”

  I stormed out of the bedroom and saw a pile of clothes by the door. “I think it was a mutual decision,” I yelled back.

  “Bullshit, I’d never.” Lindsey walked from the bedroom wrapped in her bedsheet and spotted her clothes in a bunch next to where mine had been heaped. I stepped into my shorts and started to pull on my pants.

  “It feels sort of awkward.”

  “You’re telling me. You aren’t the one who’s not—” she started to say.

  “Not what?”

  Lindsey walked to where I was standing. She frowned and pulled the sheet tighter around her body. I couldn’t help but notice her curves and that her nipples were wide awake.

  Lindsey scooped her clothes up under her arm and walked back toward her bedroom. “Never mind.”

  I pulled on my boots and said I was heading off. Lindsey shouted back that it’d be a good idea. I stepped toward the door and trod on the keys. I stooped to pick them up.

  Me that instigated it. Who’s she kidding?

  I stood on the sidewalk and reached into my pocket for my cell phone. There was only one number to call and no doubt he’d give me a ribbing when he found out what had happened.

  “Paul, can you do me a favor and pick me up?”

  “Sure, where are you?” his voice crackled out from the speaker.

  I told Paul the address and waited with my hands stuffed in my pockets. A cold chill blew down the street, and it half-attempted to clear the throbbing from my head. That was worse now, realizing I’d woken up next to Lindsey of all people. How the hell did that happen? I paced back and forth and kicked my toes against the sidewalk to get some warmth into my feet. The overnight chills sure did set into the concrete.

  My head lifted when I heard the honk of Paul’s Jeep. “What are you doing all the way out here?” Paul asked.

  “I woke up next to Lindsey, that’s what happened,” I replied, quickly holding my hands in front of the heater vent.

  “You’re shittin’ me?” he replied. “Lindsey, the therapy camp, she’s your ex?”

  “It appears so,” I replied, wanting to ignore the whole ordeal.

  “What now, bro? Are you gonna see her again? I mean, is she going to help out with the camp?” he asked, curiously. “If she’s going to give the camp a wide berth, there’s no one else in this neck of the woods.”

  “Don’t I know it?” All those years ago and no contact, and now within the space of what seemed like a millisecond, she’d crossed my path again. “It wasn’t the best of situations this morning when I woke up.”

  “You never asked her about the camp?”

  “It was the last thing that entered my head. And I’m sure Lindsey didn’t want it to be the first thing she spoke about this morning.”

  I leaned my head against the headrest and closed my eyes. I muttered to Paul to wake me when he got me home. It wasn’t far, but five minutes of shut-eye in a friendly environment was worth ten in Lindsey’s apartment. The Jeep rumbled as Paul turned down the dirt track, and I heard the crunch of gravel when he slammed on the brakes. I gave it a few seconds for the dust to clear and then I opened the door.

  “Thanks for the lift,” I said. “I’ll speak to you later when I feel more with it.”

  “Sure.”
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  I opened the front door and stepped inside before Paul floored the gas pedal and churned up a storm of dust. I sat on the couch and pulled my boots off before heading upstairs. I turned on the faucet and stripped. I looked at myself in the mirror and noticed the scratch marks and the bite marks Lindsey had made.

  Lindsey, are you sure I instigated it? You sure as hell left marks proving you enjoyed yourself.

  I moved into the shower and spent a few minutes letting the warm water run over me. My hands rested flat against the wall while the water drummed into my aching head and ran down my back. I washed and then flicked the faucet to cold. I bowed my head and let cold water flood over the back of my head to give me a final freshen up. I stepped from the shower when I felt the back of my head become numb. It wouldn’t be enough, so I’d need a couple painkillers and a cup of coffee.

  I pulled on a pair of jogging pants and threw a t-shirt over my shoulder. The soles of my feet were padded against the wood floorboards once I walked down the stairs. I sat sipping the coffee while I snapped the plastic cap off the painkiller bottle. I popped two in my mouth while reaching for the mug and wrapping my fingers around the handle. I paused when the noise of my ringing cell phone caught my attention. I peered to the kitchen counter, and the bitter taste of the painkillers spread over my tongue. I snapped out of it and washed them down with coffee.

  Who the hell’s calling me at this time?

  I stood and grabbed the phone. I didn’t recognize the number. If it was important, they’d call back.

  It must’ve been important because they did call back. I hit answer while I walked past the table and sat in the armchair. My head hit the cushion as my leg draped over the arm of it. I waited until the other person answered. That was part of my self-defense, let the enemy move first.

  “Ben, are you there?” Lindsey asked.

  Now that’s an unexpected turn for the history books.

  “Ben, I know you’re there. I can hear you breathing,” Lindsey said.