by Claire Angel
I took a deep breath as I felt another well of tears about to burst through me.
“Are you okay, Ray?” she asked.
“No, no, I’m not fine, Aunt,” I answered.
“What is the problem, Ray?” she asked. “Is your health okay? Are you missing your Mom?” She asked again when I was taking time to answer.
“I don’t know,” I responded, tears running down my face. “I just don’t want to live here. I want to live with you,” I answered, crying uncontrollably.
Aunt Penny gave me time to let it all out. Unlike most people, she was a good listener. She understood that people could not be strong all the time. Sometimes, they needed to get broken down so they could gain enough clarity to rebuild. Sometimes, even something better.
When I finally stopped crying, she simply said she would book my flight in the morning and mail me my tickets. “Go take a cold shower and get some sleep, okay? I will call you in the morning.”
“Alright,” I said as I ended the call. I packed my new collections of rock and seashells.
I took out a small bag and a hand suitcase from my closet and began to fold my clothes. I was never good at packing; each time I went back to school after a long break, Mom had packed for me I had never bothered to learn because I thought I would always have her around.
How stupid I was? How stupid I still am?
I folded the clothes as much as I could and stuffed them into the bags until one was full. I was going to take a break when I heard my doorbell ring. “Who the hell was that at this time of the night?” I thought to myself.
I dragged myself to the sitting room, rubbing my head from the migraine I was beginning to feel. I threw my door open and saw Elliot standing at my door, drenched from his head to his toe.
Chapter 13
Elliot
Lily and Elysha came back to the sitting room as soon as Audrey left. I suppose they had heard everything. I could not blame them; we were quite loud.
Elysha was bawling out her eyes while Lily stood there, just glaring at me. She had the same look as she had when she attacked Brenda at the Camp parking lot the other day, but there seemed to be more this time, something I could not identify yet.
They were both looking at me, a feeling of disappointment evident in their eyes…like I had failed them or taken something precious away from them. Something they had greatly admired and probably thought they could never get back.
“Come on, girls,” I said, trying to reach out to Elysha. She moved away from my grasp and screamed, followed by vituperations about how much she hated and wanted me gone.
“I hate you! I hate you!” she yelled as she threw Barbie to the ground and ran back to Elysha’s room.
“Oh, perfect, just perfect! This is all I need right now, my daughter hating me,” I said to myself, exasperated at the turn of events. “I did not do this; life happened! Audrey probably resented me already, and now I had to deal with my children hating me? Great!” I thought to myself.
“Why do you keep treating her like that, Dad?” Lily started, with a serious voice that sounded more mature than her age.
“Treating her like what?” I asked, starting to get defensive. “What the hell do you know about what is going on, anyway?” I asked, still avoiding her eyes.
I was going to send her to her room, but she seemed like she had more to say, so I would let her have her fill. After all, her sister already did, and I have always encouraged them to be expressive.
“She loves us, dad, she loves us so much,” she started…
“Okay, here we go,” I said to myself. “What the hell does she even know about love?”
“Audrey is the only one that has loved us without expecting something back since mom died. Without obligation, without getting paid for it or using it as a ploy to get to you,” she said as tears started running down her face.
Her words felt like a huge blow to my chest. I had never expected to hear something that profound from my thirteen-year-old daughter. And the fact that she was saying the truth made it hurt more.
Women whether they were employees, teachers, any woman they had come in contact with got them gifts every time back in Miami just to get close to their Dad or get a favor. As soon as they found out they were Elliot Anderson’s kids, they got a nice reason to come closer to me.
“You ruin everything!” she said as she picked up Barbie for Elysha and walked back to her room.
“What is all of this? What have I gotten myself into?” I grabbed my car keys and left the house.
In less than thirty minutes, I was at Audrey’s door again, like the forlorn young boy from the other night. This time, my pride was gone. My ego shattered into fragments, and my heart, contrite.
She opened the door, still in the same clothes she had on before she left the cottage. Her hair more scattered, her face puffier, and she reeked of sweat. She held the door for what seemed to be an eternity, probably to let me in or shut it in my face.
After a few moments of silence between both us, she stepped aside and let me in without saying a word. I walked into her apartment with my head bowed and stood against the couch while she bolted her door.
Audrey turned back to me and faced me, still not saying anything. I guess her time for talking was over. It was now my turn.
“I did not know how to love you. I wanted to; I just did not know how. After Shelley I thought I would never be able to love anyone until you came along,” I started telling her about my biggest insecurities.
“I fell in love with you as soon as I saw you the first day and every day I have spent in Aspen, I have spent trying to kill it because I thought I would never be worthy of your love,” I continued. She looked at me but didn’t say anything.
“You are young, beautiful, and vivacious. You have a whole long life ahead of you. You will meet so many young men of your age, who could even be capable of loving you more than I…”
Audrey pulled me to herself and began to kiss me before I could finish. “I don’t want anyone else if it is not you. It is you, it is and always will be,” she said, kissing me again.
“ I know I can’t replace Shelley, not in your life, not in Elle and Lily’s. But I want to love you three and I want to be by your side,” Audrey said as she held on to me.
My mind weakened, and my defenses shattered as she said those words. I could feel my eyes moisten, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I did not want to stop them either; I just wanted to get rid of the worries that plagued me while still locked in her warm embrace.
I pretended everything was fine when it really wasn’t. It finally felt great to be vulnerable with someone. Someone who understood me and not just me, my kids too.
Audrey held my hand and led me to her room. It was dark, but I could still see the bottle of wine she had been drinking as she moved it to her desk and pulled her bags to the floor. “Where was she going with all those packed bags,” I thought.
Before I got the chance to even ask any questions, she had begun to peel her clothes off her body piece by piece while she stared into my eyes. I just stood there, my heart raced as her eyes pierced mine. I continued to stare at her, wondering what she was going to do next. She took off her big t-shirt, revealing her frail petite body she was always trying to hide. Then her trousers. I could see she was shaven clean from her lace thongs that covered just a small part of her lower body. She moved her hands up and ran them over her swollen cleavage as she unclasped her bra while still holding my gaze. Her breast came free, standing erect, and her nipples were pointed towards me.
I swallowed something that seemed to be sticking to my throat as she reached for her waist slowly and pulled down her red lace panties. She stood in front of me, stark naked, her hands to her side, while I took in a fill of her body with my eyes. She stood tall, like a magnificent work of art.
Seeing her once did not prepare me for the spectacle I was looking at in front of me. Audrey was gorgeous, and each feature on her body seemed t
o be sized to a perfect proportion.
Her breasts were round and so full, that perfectly fitted in my hands. Her curves down her hips looked like it must have been sculpted by the greatest artist that ever walked the earth. I stared at her kissable lips. I just covered them with mine.
My head swarmed as Audrey walked to where I was standing, my back against the wall, and she began to take off my clothes. I tried to raise my shirt, but she held my hand and gave me a firm look. “Okay, I give up,” I said, raising my hands to my head as she undressed me while running her hands through my body.
She did not have to do much; I was fully erect as soon as I saw her naked body. Audrey’s breast brushed against my skin as she moved closer to remove my shirt, and I gave out a soft moan as a shiver ran down my spine. I tried to grab her hand.
She put her hand on my chest and pushed me back softy, giving out a devilish laugh. “This seemed like a day of reckoning for me, the day to be punished for all I had put her through,” I thought. What I was not sure about was if I had the capability to stand and take the punishment like a man without caving.
While those thoughts were going through my head, Audrey cupped her hands around my balls and tickled it. She traced a line over it and brought it forward to my erect dick, running a finger over the cap of my cock. I could feel my precum dripping into her hand as I stilled myself for what was to come.
She pushed her warm breast into my body and continued to play with the cap of my cock, pushing my foreskin back and forth on the shaft as she did. She began to move her hands over my body as she did, tracing her hands over my biceps while maintaining eye contact with me.
“Dammit!” I said as she pressed a finger onto my nipple and tugged at it playfully. Audrey was teasing me dangerously. Audrey cocked her head and began to kiss me. I was almost losing my mind now. My breaths were increasing, and I was trying so hard to spurt all over her body.
“Fuck, fuck! Oh God, please don’t stop Ray,” I cried.
She traced her tongue down to my belly while giving me soft bites. Sometimes the bites were intense and deep, and the pain brought me untold pleasure.
She folded her palm over my cock and increased her pace as she jerked me to orgasm while I moaned loudly and backed myself more into the wall in an attempt to steady myself.
The more she ran her tongue over my shaft, the more waves of sensation sparked inside my head. My cock began to swell again as she took into her mouth and began to swirl her tongue around it.
“You are about to make me lose my mind,” I said as I grabbed her hair. My body spasmed as Audrey swirled her tongue over my frenulum, grabbing my shaft with intense pressure.
Prior to that moment, I had never felt that amount of pleasure course through my body.
My breath quickened as she circled her hand around my shaft again and began to work her tongue on the tip of my cock, giving it a little twist from time to time.
She sat on the floor, leaving me to catch my breath, wondering what the hell had just happened to me. In a few minutes, she was back up again. This time, she held my hand and led me to her bathroom.
She turned her back to me and turned on the heater. Blood rushed back to the cap of my cock as I watched her move her ass around.
She turned on the shower and stepped into it; I watched her as the water ran down her body. I stepped into the shower with her and grabbed her by her waist.
Audrey turned to face the mirror behind us and held on to the railing. I fucked her from behind as she moaned hard, her boobs bouncing as I watched through the mirror.
“Oh yes…oh Elliot…” she moaned as I smashed into her, pushing every length of my cock into her pussy and pulling her hair. I pulled out the floating shower seat and pulled her down as she sat on my cock, bouncing as her breasts did as well.
I turned her to face me; I wanted to see her gorgeous tits bounce in my face as she took every inch of my cock. I held her waist and buried my face in her breasts as they bounced on top of me. We both cried as we reached orgasm together again.
We sprawled on the floor of the shower a minute later, and the warm water ran over our bodies. I made love to her more on the bathroom floor, and then her room the rest of the night until we got tired and held each other till morning.
Chapter 14
Audrey
The bit of alcohol still left in my system, and all that exertion of energy with Elliot had knocked me out entirely till morning. I woke with a start, and my side was empty again. Elliot’s clothes were gone, just like the last morning.
I moved my hands through my bedside and found my phone. It was time to get my flight ticket. Aunt Penny’s phone was on the second ring when the door to my room swung open.
Elliot walked in, cheery and fresh, holding cups of latte and a bag of something that smelled like freshly baked bagels. I stared at him, a little bit stunned as Aunt Penny’s voice came through on my phone.
“Hello, Audrey! How are you doing today?” She asked, upbeat.
“Much better,” I answered. Elliot placed the tray in front of me and stepped out again. He remerged with a tray and two plastic plates and put the bagel and latte in them while aunt Penny was asking for details of my trip and how long I would be spending.
“Errrm, Aunt…” I cleared my throat; I made an attempt to explain things to my aunt as Elliot kissed me. “…I was wondering if we could hold on this for a couple of weeks. I need to put some things in place before I travel down,” I said to her, grinning. I will be spending the Christmas and New Year celebrations in New York.
As usual, Aunt Penny complied and did not ask me too many questions about why I changed my mind. She just asked if my health and the store was doing okay and if I needed anything.
“I love you,” I said to her before I ended the call. She told me she loved me too and she had to get back to work. I inhaled deeply as I thought about the last few hours. “A lot can change within a short time,” I thought.
“I’m sorry I did not notify you before leaving. You looked so peaceful, I couldn’t bear to disturb you,” he said, kissing my bareback and massaging my neck. “I had to let the girls know I was not missing and make them some breakfast.”
“Do they know you are here?” I asked, turning to face him as my duvet fell off my body. I folded my knees to my chest in a feeble attempt to cover my nipples as some of the exchange from last night flashed through my thoughts. “Damn alcohol!”
“Yes,” he said with a mischievous grin on his face, His deep green eyes pierced mine. "They wanted to come with me, I had to convince them that you needed some rest," he continued as he winked at me.
“How about a brief breakfast before the breakfast?” he said, pulling me by my ankles in a swift swivel.
“Woah!” I yelled, caught by surprise. “The latte is going to get cold, Elliot,” I said, tugging at his chest.
“The latte can wait,” he said, kissing my body as he did. This man was difficult to resist.
“I’m hungry,” I said, whining again.
“I’m about to take care of that,” he said as he planted his mouth on my nipple.
My body melted at his touch as he traced his hands over my belly button down to my mound. I welcomed his touch as his fingers slid into my wet pussy. Elliot made love to me over and over again.
I was so happy but one thing was still bothering me, I haven’t revealed that I was pregnant. He already had two kids, what if he didn’t want another?
“You looked tensed, tell me what’s bothering you, Ray. You can tell me.” He took my hand in his and gently kissed me, “I promise I will never let you cry again. I promise I will be always there for you. I promise I will do anything to make you happy.” He assured.
“Elliot, I have something to share, I don’t know how you are going to react to it.” I said as searched his eyes.
“Tell me, Ray what it is? I promise you will not regret if you share with me.”
“Elliot, I am pregnant with your baby. And I want this
baby at any cost.”
“W-What? Just say it once again.”
“You heard it right. I am pregnant.”
“I can’t believe it. I am so happy. God thank you so much for showering your blessings upon me. Audrey, thank you so much. I can’t be happier than today.” He kissed my forehead and all my fears and anxiety vanished.
We eventually dragged ourselves out of my place to pick up the girls. I always thought that it might be a little awkward or weird to be with an older man with the magnitude of age difference Elliot shared with me, but I was wrong.
Elliot remained kind, patient, loving. Above all, he gave me the family I had craved for, for a very long time.
Chapter 15
Audrey
It was time for Elliot to return to Miami as he had lots of things to handle there. His friend Kenneth, who was also a billionaire, had been calling Elliot every alternate day to finalize some big deal which was going to revolutionize the global market. I had talked to his wife Chloe a couple of times as Elliot wanted to introduce me to his friends, she was an amazing girl. She felt like a sister to me.
Even Elliot was going to come back after a month but I could still feel a stab of pain in my chest as I watched him working in the garden for the last time. I didn’t want him to go as I was in the fourth month of pregnancy. He would have taken me with him to Miami but my doctor had suggested me not to travel.
We sat at the porch and watched him. Elle was on my lap, and Lily’s head was on my shoulder.
This time, he was even more meticulous with the way he pruned and touched the flower, like a last, necessary goodbye ritual.
It reminded me of the way he had made love to me earlier that morning, paying attention to every curve and edge in my body. It was slow, smooth, and gratifying. He held me with so much patience and love. My skin flushed as he winked at me from a distance, and I waved.
“Lily, do you know why your dad is so fascinated by flowers?” He had told me about his love for gardening, but there seemed to be something more the way he regarded flowers - an emotional attachment, perhaps.
