When we’re finished, I grab the hose and spray the soap off the car. As she fixes her ponytail, sticking out her tits, I say, “You got black smudges on your T-shirt.”
Looking down, she says, “Oh, no.”
“I got it.” I thoroughly spray her white shirt with water. Kat shrieks, sticking her hands out in front of her. Shit. Like that’ll stop me.
“Jared!”
Letting go of the trigger, I grin and shrug. “Fuck. Sorry.”
She looks down to her soaked shirt, her bra not concealing much. As I laugh, she stomps over to me, easily taking the hose since I’m laughing so hard. Even as I anticipate that I’m getting wet, too, I still laugh. However, I didn’t anticipate her pulling at my nylon shorts. She quickly inserts the nozzle and pulls the trigger, blasting my junk with cold water.
“Fuck!” I yell, but laugh, pushing her away from me. As I dodge her, she sprays my chest, ass, and back, making me shout louder.
Hearing the commotion, my grandmother walks out onto the porch. Seeing her, Kat stops the flow of water, thankfully. Grandma shakes her head and says, “Kat, really.” I grin at the changing tide, but Grandma goes on, “Is that boy so eager to have his first sexual experience that he’s resorted to making your shirt transparent, just to get a juvenile thrill?” She clicks her tongue, narrowing her eyes at me.
I throw my hands out. “Hey!”
Dropping the hose, Kat crosses her arms and says, “Yes. Pretty desperate, huh?”
Grandma puts her hands on the porch railing. “You have to watch these Beckett boys, especially that one. He’s a handful.”
Kat sighs. “You’re telling me.”
Sneaking up behind Kat, I hurriedly grab the hose and shove it into the back of her shirt, spraying down it for good measure. She squeals, “Shit! Jared Beckett!”
Pointing at Kat, I shout, “Watch your mouth, young lady!”
Grandma says, “Jared, I’m going to beat your ass.” I laugh, and my grandmother shakes her head. “Come on in here, Kat, and get dried off. I have a shirt you can wear.”
“I’m wet, too!”
Grandma waves me off. “Save it. You’re not Gary.”
“Unbelievable!”
As Kat squeezes out her shirt, I go over, and grinning, I whisper, “Don’t change on my account. I’d rather you wear nothing.”
She frowns, but looks away from me. “Bite me, Jericho.”
Putting my arms around her wet waist, pulling her to my soaked body, I say, “Kit Kat, give me a kiss first.”
Grandma asks, “Now, why would she want to do that?”
Pulling at wet strands of hair, hanging from my cap, Kat whispers, “If we were alone, I’d give you such a wet fuck right now.” I gasp and she gives me a kiss on the cheek before heading up the porch steps.
Grandma asks her, “Are you sure you want to marry him? He’s the problem grandchild, if you haven’t noticed.”
Looking back at me, Kat says, “Oh, I’ve noticed. I’ll still marry him.”
Grinning as I pick up the hose to finish the car, I shout, “Until death do us part, baby!”
Trying not to laugh, Grandma clasps her hands together and yells to the sky, “God help us all!”
No doubt about it. Adam Beckett was adopted.
“I love this car.”
“Uh-huh. It’s nice. You’re lucky they had what you wanted at a nearby dealership and we didn’t have to wait long.”
Kat pulls into the spot we did last time, looking in her rearview mirror at the apartments behind us. Peering down to the console, she says, “Hmm. I have to get used to the gear selector.”
Concerned about her confusion, I ask, “Why? It’s not much different.”
“Somewhat it is. Do I have to do anything different to shift into gear?”
“Nope. Your foot is on the brake, so you shift into park.” I put my hand over hers and we slide the stick into park. “There you go. Just like that.”
“Thanks. I just have to figure out where everything is, too.”
Getting back into instructor mode, I point. “Headlights, right there. There are the windshield wipers. Here are the hazard lights. Emergency brake, here. You should, at least, know where the brake and accelerator pedals are.” I laugh and she nods.
“Jared, what would I do without you?”
“You’ll never have to wonder about that. Even in Philly, I’ll help you any way I can.”
She smiles as her gaze falls to my lips. “I know you will. You’re my hero.”
“Superhero. Get it right, Kit Kat.”
“Right. Sorry. Superhero.”
“I can also dispatch my sidekick Calder to help you, too. As long as he keeps his clothes on. Christ.”
Kat laughs. “He will. And if he doesn’t, I’m not interested in his goods.”
I lean closer to her. “Really? And whose goods interest you?”
She sighs. “I haven’t seen Rio’s yet.”
I scowl and sit back. “Very funny.”
Giggling, she asks, “Have you seen his goods, too?”
“No. Sorry to disappoint you. Only Dash’s, so thanks for that fucking flashback.”
Still smiling, she shrugs. “I’m only interested in my future husband’s goods.”
“Really? Who would that be?”
“Um, who’s that one actor in that movie we saw last weekend?”
I teasingly snap, “You’re killing me, Katriona.”
Her eyes go to my lips again. “Just kiss me in my new car, damn it.”
Shaking my head, I sigh. “I don’t know now. I’m not feeling it. You wounded me.”
Leaning over, she grips my shirt, pulling me toward her. “If you don’t kiss me, I’m going to wound you.”
Smiling, I whisper, “Ooh. I like rough sex.”
She whispers back, “I couldn’t tell.”
Reaching up, I lightly pull at strands of her hair. “I like all kinds of it with you. Let’s pick one and have it. Right now.”
“I guess. Since we’re here and all.”
Sucking in a breath of air through my teeth, I hurriedly get out of the car, but once outside, I peer over at the school.
“What?” she asks when I don’t open the door. I shake my head, but Kat walks around the car to where I’m standing. “Tell me, baby. Are you okay?”
I shrug at the school and then look at her. “I was just thinking about what I found and lost in that place.”
She softly smiles up at me. “Did you ever find it again?”
“I did. The day you reappeared out of thin air.”
“You reappeared. I’ve been here.”
I anxiously lick my lip, the memories fresh in the glow of the school’s lot, and flooding me as if they happened yesterday. “I wanted you so much then. I should’ve told you, but I… We wasted so much time, and it’s my fault you married that asshole. I was so stupid.”
She grabs onto my biceps. “It was my fault that I didn’t say anything, either, but we can’t dwell on it anymore. It’s only wasting more time. It’s also not your fault I married him! That was all mine. I tried to replace you, but that was impossible. You were supposed to be my first and only…everything. We fixed it. We’re together now. Like we were supposed to be.”
We stare at each other, alone with our school and our memories.
Snapping out of my gawking, I reach around her, opening the door to the backseat. “Get in.”
While Kat climbs into her black Nissan Altima, I look around us before following her. As she leans onto the front seat to lock the door, I reach up her skirt, yanking on her underwear. When she pulls them off, she kneels on the backseat, leaning in close to my face, as she jerks down the elastic of my nylon shorts, which are much easier of an access than jeans in a car, even if I had to change my wet pair earlier.
I tilt my head and our noses touch, but we only hover our mouths over each other’s, surprisingly not in a rush to kiss, and she doesn’t make a move to go any further, either.
Looking into her eyes, I whisper, “I’m so proud of you.”
She sits back some. “For what?”
“Your license. Buying a car. Triumphing over your accident. You’re so brave. You conquered your fear. I’ll forever be in awe of that.”
Kat says, “Thank you. I couldn’t have done any of this without you, Jared. You conquered your fear, too.”
“What fear is that? Marriage?” I shake my head. “I’m not afraid to marry you.”
Kat slightly smiles. “You were afraid to love me.”
I hesitantly admit, “I wasn’t afraid to love you. I was afraid of you not loving me.”
“Oh, Jared.” She winces before she leans her forehead against mine.
“So don’t thank me.” Swallowing, I whisper, “Just love me.”
“I can’t even tell you how much I love you. It grows each time I’m with you.”
“Mine does, too, baby.”
Kat sighs and when she moves her head, the light from the school illuminates her tears. “I’m going to miss you.”
I reach up and wipe her tears. “Don’t cry, Kit Kat. I’ll miss you, too. This school year will go fast and it’ll be over before you know it. We’ll get through it.”
“I won’t be able to tell you goodbye. It’ll be too hard.”
“It’s not goodbye. Think of it as just a temporary absence during the week. A short detour on our road to forever.” How in the hell did I get so fucking mushy?
“God. I love that.” Kat giggles, reminding me of how I became so mushy, and I’m again grateful.
“I do, too. We’ll still talk every night. I promise.”
“I know. I can’t stop thinking that if you hadn’t changed your mind about loving me, we’d be in a different situation and the pain would be worse. I just have to keep telling myself you’re not leaving me.”
I sternly say, “Let’s get a few things straight. I never changed my mind about loving you. I just admitted it to myself and then grew the balls to tell you. I love you, Kit Kat. Not just present. My past and future, too. And I’m not leaving you. I even told you that when we weren’t officially together. I meant it.” Picking up her left hand, I ask, “See this ring? It means you’re taken. I’m not going anywhere. It’s sort of a placeholder, until I give you another ring that shows the world I made that vow to you.”
“But you have no ring yet. I want you and everyone else to know you’re still mine.”
“I do know that. And if anyone doesn’t know, I’ll tell them I’m in love with the most amazing woman. It’ll never be a secret again.”
“I love how you can say all these things to me. You don’t normally tell people what’s in your heart.”
“No, I don’t, but even if I don’t openly express it, you don’t realize how ecstatic I am to have you back in my life and to finally call you mine. Nothing will come between us, and if anyone or anything tries to, well, fuck them. They lose.”
Kat smiles and still hovering our lips close, I reach up to brush the new tears from her face. “We’ll be okay, Kit Kat.”
Kat nods and I sweep her brown hair, tucking it behind her ears. She rubs her nose over mine and I can practically hear our hearts pounding with our broken breathing. Moving my hand to the back of her head, I pull her closer, and in the reverse of our last, first kiss we had in a car, I whisper, “Like this.”
Our lips slowly meet, and it feels just as good as our first kiss had. Her hands go to my face and her thumbs are close to my lips as we kiss. Growing harder, I groan, but don’t move her onto me. We only kiss, filling the car with the sound of our lips and muffled moaning, as we make out, while our high school building looms close by.
When our moaning becomes louder and more frequent, I lift her onto my lap, our lips not breaking away while she positions herself over me, gradually taking me into her. We groan against each other’s mouths as we snugly fit together. When we resume kissing, my hands go to her hips and I slowly slide her back and forth, but we’re still in no hurry to get off.
The lights from the school’s lot casts a soft glow on us, but they in no way spotlight us in her car. Leaving her mouth, I whisper, “You’re all I’ve ever wanted, Kit Kat.”
Keeping a slow rhythm, she gasps, “You’re my holy grail.”
“You’re mine. You’re my everything.”
Our slow fuck begins to ignite me, but I strive to stay at a steady pace with her, not rushing what time we have left together, no matter what we’re doing. However, like before, going slow does nothing to actually slow us.
Kat throws her head back, gasping before she utters, “Jared. Fuck me.”
“Kitty Kat, ride my cock. It’s all yours.” I push my hips up, to go deeper. Unfortunately, that also pushes me into overdrive. I grunt, “Shit.” Holding her as I come hard, I roll my head back and yell, “Fuck! Jesus, Kat!”
Gripping my shoulders, Kat moves faster and whimpers, “Oh, Sonic.”
I watch her as she closes her eyes. “That’s it, baby. Love me.”
She moans as she peaks, and with her body holding onto me, I gasp with her. Kat yells, “Jared! Baby!”
She fucks me fast as she rubs out her orgasm on my dick, but then slows. When she finally stops, she heaves a contented sigh while smiling at me. Leaning down, she gives me a kiss and whispers, “Wow.”
My grin pulls along her smiling lips. “Nice car. I hereby proclaim it christened.”
“I’ll remember this when I’m driving without you. It’s perfect.”
“That’s what I think about in mine, too, so it’s only fair. But who knew that sex in a Nissan Altima would be so fucking hot?”
She whispers, “I knew it would be.”
“But then again, I’d have sex with you anywhere, anytime, anyhow.”
“We’ve proven your theory quite a few times.”
“And we’ll prove it many more.”
And I always keep my word.
“Hey, Jericho! Happy Thanksgiving!”
Setting down the large bowl of stuffing that Kat made, I reply, “Happy Thanksgiving. Why are you here so early?”
Standing at the kitchen island, Dash says, “Because I told Brenda I make a mean chocolate chip pecan pie. She wanted me to make a couple, so here I am.”
I dubiously ask, “I know you do, but you don’t have an oven at home?”
“Yeah, but I didn’t want the crust edges to break or the middles to cave in on the way here.”
“Jesus. I think your balls caved in on the way here.”
Taking a dishcloth, he wipes the counter and shrugs. “Don’t hate. You’ll be begging for the recipe.”
“As you’re begging for air.”
Peering past me, Dash scoffs, “Why are you so grouchy? Where’s Merrick?”
“She ran upstairs.” Looking around the kitchen, I say, “The house turned out nice.”
He nods, taking in the room, as well. “Yeah. It did. All our blood, sweat and tears paid off.”
I frown. “With your contribution of glitter, pecans, and hairspray.”
Dash rolls his eyes and asks, “How’s work going?”
Shrugging off my gray coat, I say, “Good. I already have a lead into Richmond, so that’s even better. I just have to get licensed.”
“Damn, Jericho. You’ll have to get a bunch of licenses, one for work, driving, and marriage.”
“I know.”
Dash licks his lip and clears his throat as he pretends to concentrate on putting the cap back on a bottle. “Where’s your dad?” Dash Calder can’t fool me.
“He had to take care of something for work. Don’t worry, Hadley will be here.” Even though Dash looks down to his pie, I see his eyes light up. Squelching that fire, I say, “With Finn.”
He mutters, “That’s great.”
“Uh-huh.”
Dash frowns, but then he looks up and smiles. “Hey there, future Mrs. Beckett!”
Smiling, Kat says, “Hey, Dash. What are you doing?”
T
urning to look at Kat, wearing the dark green sweater dress that she wouldn’t let me take off of her before we left, I sneer, “Scrounging for his balls.”
Kat takes my coat from me as I laugh. She says, “Jericho, stop.”
Dash says, “Yeah. Listen to Mrs. Jericho.”
Rolling my eyes at him, the doorbell rings, and Kat leaves the kitchen to answer it, while the oven timer goes off and Dash scurries over to it, grabbing potholders. Parked on the rack above the turkey, he lifts out another pie with overly slow caution. I shake my head; however, I’d rather skip dinner to eat chocolate chip pecan pie. At least Calder is good for something.
“Hey, bud. Happy Thanksgiving,” Dad says as he carries a casserole dish over to the counter, before giving me a hug. “When did you get in?”
“Last night.” I vaguely notice Finn setting a pot of food on the counter and Hadley putting down the bag of food she’s carrying before hugging Kat.
Releasing me, Dad asks, “Do you get to stay until Sunday?”
“No. Since I’m the low man on the totem pole, I have to work tomorrow.”
From behind me, Hadley asks, “You only came in for one day?”
Nodding, I turn and say, “I said I’d be here.”
Dad asks, “You’re still coming back Friday night?”
“Yep.”
Hadley says, “That’s a lot of driving.”
Dash laughs. “Jericho’s in love.”
I frown at his gleeful face and Hadley says, “You’re sweet, Jared.” She gives me a hug, and from above her head, I see Finn leaning against the counter, his arms folded over his chest, giving me a look that clearly refutes Hadley saying I’m sweet.
I nod at Finn. “Hey.”
Sharpening his dark glare, he measuredly answers, “Jared.”
Patting Hadley’s back, I ask, “You have a good birthday?”
As Hadley lets go of me, she says, “Yeah. Dad gave me some gift cards, and Finn gave me a glass picture frame, purple nail polish, this sweater I’m wearing, gift cards, and a bottle of wine.”
“I wanted to buy you a new phone,” Finn says.
Hadley argues, “The one I have now is fine. I don’t text or talk on it much.”
I complain, “Yeah, really. Get a new phone. When I do call, it hangs up on me, instead of sending me to voice mail.”
The Keys to Jericho Page 74
