Loosen Up: Up Series Book 3

by Robin Leaf

  “Still with the middle name.”

  “Always.”

  “I…” I cleared my throat to stop myself from getting overly emotional. “I miss you. Do you have any plans to come visit soon?”

  “Sadly, no. I might be there for Christmas, but I will have to see.”

  “Business must be good if it has you so busy.”

  He sighed again. “Yes, well. I need to go. I have a… meeting.”

  Something in his voice made me suddenly fearful. “Jase, are you okay?”

  “I’m fine, Darla. I miss you, too, and I’ll call you soon. Let me know what you think of the gift.”

  The line went dead.

  As I stared at my phone wondering what just happened, Fionn tapped my shoulder. I looked up to see him gesture behind me.

  Holy mother of pearl.

  I stood and hobbled over to the wall where Fionn had obviously hung a rough wooden sign painted with bright colors that contained a hand-painted quote:

  It matters not who you love,

  where you love, why you love,

  when you love or how you love.

  It matters only that

  you love.

  --- John Lennon

  “Fionn, do you think he made this?”

  “I don’t know, but I think I remember seeing initials on the back. Let me look.”

  He took it down and flipped the sign around. My eyes felt like they deceived me.

  J. P. H. 2008

  There it was, his initials and the year, in the same painted style as the most perfect quote he could have possibly chosen on the front.

  Well, I’ll be damned.

  I had to cry at the beauty of it.

  Fionn awkwardly moved closer, not sure what to do, finally opting to put his arm around me.

  “Don’t worry,” I sniffed and rested my head on his shoulder. “They’re mostly happy tears.” Wiping my face, I added. “But please, if you have figured out why love is so complicated, could you tell me? That’d be awesome.”

  His arm squeezed me to him. “I… uh… well, I’m not sure…”

  “Don’t worry, Fionny, it was a rhetorical question. See, I believe this is Jase’s way of telling me to open my heart.”

  As he turned me toward him, he tried to suppress his smile. “Wow, Lass. I’m flattered, but it’s against company policy to date clients.”

  “Ha! You wish, you big dork.” I looked back toward the painting, and my eyes filled up again. “He’s making it hard.” The tears spilled down my cheeks. “Shit, I just need a bath.”

  He wrinkled is nose. “Agreed.” Winking, he added, “But you’re aftercare sheet says you can’t get your wound wet for a few days. We can wrap it for showers, but baths are probably not a good idea just yet.”

  Smirking, I asked, “Okay, smartass, are you going to help me wrap my wound? After your fainting spells yesterday –”

  “I did not faint!” he scoffed.

  “So,” I teased, “that was just your impression of a cooked noodle getting dropped on my floor?”

  He glared at me. “I don’t like blood.”

  “You made that pretty clear. I’m guessing you won’t like looking at the injury, either.”

  He ground his jaw. “Fine. I’ll find someone to help you.”

  “I don’t need help, Fionn. I’ve been showering since I was a wee lass.”

  His eyes softened hearing my intentionally awful impression of his accent. “You will wait for help,” pulling out his phone, he pushed a button and held it to his ear, “whether you like it or not.”

  ~~~

  I watched Allison prepare to put the waterproof bandage around my leg. I was thankful she showed up, but her black skirt and red sleeveless shell top with her heels bordered the line of making me feel: a. embarrassed for still wearing the same robe/t-shirt combo from last night, and b. completely turned on.

  “So, Fionn called you, huh?”

  She smiled. “No, I’m guessing he called Noah, since Noah called me.”

  I bit my lips. “Look, about Noah…”

  “Darby,” she sighed. “There’s no need to explain.”

  “I just don’t want you to think I lied to you. I didn’t. None of the boys and I ever ‘hook up,’ and Noah and I were a one-shot deal.”

  She smirked. “I heard it was a five-shot deal.”

  I looked down at my hands, suddenly nervous for some reason. “It was before we knew how our lives intersected. We are just friends now, I swear.”

  She placed her finger under my chin and raised my eyes to hers. “Darby, it’s fine. Noah already told me.” Nothing but sincerity shined in her eyes.

  She dropped her hand and started wrapping my leg. “Besides, who you’ve been with in the past is honestly none of my business.”

  I deliberated her declaration in my head for a few minutes while I watched her deftly maneuver the gauze and then the plastic over it. She was right; my sexual exploits really were none of anyone’s business, but what struck me as weird is how much I wanted her to know. I even felt a niggling desire to tell her about Jase.

  “Okay, that’s done.” She helped me stand. “Now let’s get you into the bathtub.”

  “I thought you were working today,” I mused, bending over to adjust the temperature of the water.

  “It was just a preliminary meeting.” She stepped to the door. “You’ll need to get in before you put in the plug. Prop your leg over the side of the tub, and then make sure to drain it before you try to get out.” She grabbed the doorknob. “I’ll be out here if you need me.”

  “Out there? You don’t want to stay?” I dropped my robe. “I would like the company.” We locked eyes as I peeled my underwear down my legs carefully, which was less difficult that it was to get them on last night. “I would like to get to know you better.” Gripping the hem of my t-shirt, I questioned her with my eyes if I should go any further. At her slight nod, I removed my shirt.

  I loved how her eyes slowly moved over me. I could almost feel them caress my skin.

  “Can you help me in the tub?” I really didn’t need help. I just wanted her close and touching me.

  She moved closer, holding out one hand for me to grip and placing the other carefully around my waist to steady me. I eased down with her assistance, noticing the change in her breathing as she continued to peruse my body. She was so close, but she kept her hands in platonic positions until I was fully seated. I’m guessing she was keeping a respectable distance for a reason.

  I shamelessly threw my leg over the side of the tub, just as she had suggested, right as she bent to plug the drain for me. Knowing full well how I was exposing myself, I smiled, noticing how she took a full second to look between my legs before blushing and turning away.

  She stood and walked around the bathroom, needing to touch everything she saw. I thought she needed the minute or two to ground herself, much like I’ve seen her do on occasion when she is nervous. She finally walked to the counter, where she leaned and crossed her arms over her chest.

  “You said you’d like for us to get to know each other.”

  After turning off the water with my foot, I smiled. “Yes.” I reached for my body wash and dumped a little in my hand. “I know you are from Portland and moved here two years ago. You are a martial-arts guru and a stunt coordinator who pretends to be superheroes at nerd conventions.” I rubbed my hands together to create a lather. “I can tell you are detailed and organized, and you can be a take-charge kind of girl.” I began caressing my arms with the soap. “You seem to be a bit introverted, but you open up when people get to know you. Oh, and you have awful taste in music,” I moved my hands to my chest and started washing my breasts, paying particular attention to my nipples. “What else are you willing to tell me?”

  She shifted on her feet, watching my hands pluck my nipples into pert peaks. I had to bite back my groan; watching her watch me while I played with my nipples was quite stimulating.

  “Allison?”
>
  “Oh.” She looked me briefly in the eye before moving back to watching my hands. “I have two siblings. A sister and a brother. My younger brother is unmarried and lives in Portland, and my older sister moved to Sunnyvale with her husband about five years ago.” She swallowed as I moved my hands down to my thighs. “My father is a banker, and my mother is a kindergarten teacher. I love ice cream, any flavor, and I don’t like to drink alcohol.” I drug my hands up my legs, allowing my thumbs to caress the sides of my pussy, moaning quietly when one grazed my clit. “I was thinking of buying a house here before I got this job, but I’m thinking of moving into the building now.”

  “Where do you live?” I managed to ask, very slowly opening my pussy.

  “In an apartment complex about fifteen minutes from here.”

  I just stayed still, letting her look, not moving my hands.

  “Why did you move from Portland?”

  She looked me in the eyes. “I told you, I got the job with –”

  “No. Noah mentioned something at dinner that night he offered you the job. It led me to believe there was a story as to why you left.” I touched my clit and moaned, which drew her eyes back to my pussy. “What’s the story?”

  “I was in a bar and walked up on a guy beating up his girlfriend.” She swallowed and looked in my eyes again. “I intervened, and once the guy found out I was a black belt, he pressed attempted murder charges against me.”

  “And…”

  “Charges were dropped, but only after I hired a very expensive lawyer. No one thought to subpoena the bar footage, which not only proved he was beating his girlfriend almost unconscious, it showed me subduing the guy, not assaulting him. What pissed me off the most is that his girlfriend never defended me the way I defended her.”

  “No good deed…”

  “…goes unpunished,” she finished. “But it led me here.”

  I started moving my right hand again, circling around my pussy. “This doesn’t seem fair, Ally.”

  She moved her eyes slowly up and down my body. “What doesn’t?”

  I smiled. “That you have seen me naked, some of my parts twice, I might add, and I haven’t seen any parts of you.” I circled my finger around my pussy while she watched, licking her lips. I moved my hands away and placed them on my stomach.

  She raised her eyebrows. “And I’m guessing you would like to?”

  “Yes, very much so.”

  She pushed off the counter, removed her top, unzipped her skirt, shimmied it down her thighs, and stepped out of it. The simple white cotton bikini panties and matching bra made her seem innocent, but the black heels added a tiny bit of naughty lurking in the depths of the beautiful creature named Allison Carlisle.

  I knew she could be naughtier.

  Those gorgeous hazel irises were harder to see as her eyes held mine. She reached around her back and quickly unfastened her bra, letting it slide down her shoulders. The sight that greeted me was amazing.

  Her breasts were not large, but they were full, with rosy nipples hardened into delicious little morsels. I imagined them rubbing against mine and sighed.

  She tucked her thumbs into the waistband of her panties, tugging them down at a torturous pace. Once they hit the floor, she kicked out of them and her shoes at the same time.

  We stared at each other for a few moments, both drinking each other in.

  “Come closer,” I requested, barely above a whisper.

  She ambled toward me gracefully, stopping just beyond my reach.

  “You have a beautiful body, Ally. It matches your soul.”

  She looked taken aback. “Wow,” she muttered. “I think that’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

  “Now, come put your hands above my head, place your right leg on this side of the tub, and put that delectable pussy in my face so I can finally taste it.”

  I had to chuckle at the eager way she moved to straddle my face. I gave her time to settle into a comfortable position before moving my hands up the backs of her thighs to her ass, pulling her closer to my face. Her pussy glistened, beckoning me closer. I took my first long lick, the taste of her exploding on my tongue, making me groan. Pulling her closer, I plunged my tongue into her core, and she forced out a throaty moan. I liked that noise, and I wanted her to make it again.

  My flat tongue massaged along her clit, circling it several times, before I sucked it into my mouth. She gasped, swiveling her hips in motion with my sucks.

  My hands encouraged her to ride my face. Once she established a rhythm, I moved my thumb to the opening of her pussy.

  “God, yes, fuck me with it.”

  My thumb entered her pussy with force, and I moved it around inside her at the same time my tongue stiffened and danced over her clit.

  She tightened around my thumb, her moans getting louder.

  “Don’t stop, Darby,” she commanded.

  Her right hand grabbed the back of my head, pulling me closer to her. She moaned her release, spasms pulsing around my thumb, and I knew better than to quit. I worked her through it, licking vigorously, not relenting.

  When I felt her relax, I helped her ease her body on top of mine in the water, her hand immediately going in between my legs. She thrust her tongue into my mouth, moaning yet again, and I wasn’t sure if it was a moan from tasting herself on me or from feeling how wet I was.

  She thrust two fingers inside me, and I arched against her, our nipples rubbing together causing the most erotic friction. As she pulled her fingers out, she rubbed to my clit and back to my opening. She continued kissing me, our tongues dueling, our nipples teasing each other.

  My orgasm hit fast and hard, and she didn’t relent.

  “Come on, Darby, I want another one,” she demanded, latching her mouth on my nipple and sucking it fully, almost painfully, into her mouth. “You’re going to come for me again, and then we will get out, dry off, and make five times look like amateur hour. For both of us.”

  “Oh, holy fucking shit,” I shouted, as I came again, more intensely than the first time.

  I collapsed back while she pulled the plug and stood.

  “Shit, girl, you have a dirty mouth on you,” I praised.

  She held bent over to help me stand. “Yes, and the faster we get dry, the faster I can put my dirty mouth on you.”

  After we dried off, she lifted me onto the counter to remove my bandage, moving my leg to rest on the surface. She watched the juncture between my legs more than she watched her hands, almost ripping at the plastic.

  “God, Darby, I can’t wait to devour you.” She leaned forward, taking my lips in a kiss and both my breasts in her hands. She was aggressive and eager, and I loved it.

  She positioned me on the edge of the counter, keeping my leg up. Her leg raised, and she maneuvered her hips closer, rubbing our clits together. Her slippery wetness mingled with mine, creating the most amazing feeling. One of her hands moved to my ass, pulling me closer to her, rubbing us back and forth together. Both of us moaned, almost in harmony, as we continued kissing.

  I pulled back from the kiss to watch. A couple more swipes of her clit against mine, watching this shiny dance of pussies, was so fucking hot, I had to look away before I came again.

  “Jesus, that’s hot,” Allison muttered. “Watch, Darby.”

  I looked again at us, moving together insistently. I felt my orgasm reviving.

  Allison pulled away from me and dropped, licking my clit with a single purpose. Operation “make Darby come” was in full swing. Once she pulled my clit into her mouth, I burst into flames, or at least I felt like it. I held her head to me, silently praying she never pulled back, and rode out my orgasm. As I came down, she continued to lap at me.

  “Allison, I can’t do another one.”

  “Sorry, Darby. I can’t get enough of your taste mingled with mine.”

  I pulled her to standing and kissed her, entangling our tongues. I agreed. We tasted wonderful together.

  Our
kiss slowed, turning sweet. She leaned her forehead against mine.

  I smiled lazily. “I owe you.”

  She smiled. “Yes,” she smirked and helped me down off the counter. “And I plan to collect all night.”

  Twenty Four

  “Piece of my Heart” – Janis Joplin

  One month. One exhausting month.

  Between healing my leg, which only took a week, doubling work schedules to make up for the lost time, and public appearances with my “boyfriend,” I had no time to spend with Allison, who was also super busy working on the fight scenes for her movie.

  Tonight we had a rare opportunity where we could see each other. Chef was making us dinner, so we planned a quiet night at my apartment to eat and watch a movie.

  I waited for Chef to finish packing our food.

  “Darla…”

  I yelped and jumped at Noah’s voice and pulled him in for a quick hug.

  “Seriously, Noah, I’m getting you that bell for Christmas.”

  He grinned. “Sorry. Stealth comes with the territory.”

  “And I’m sorry I haven’t seen you since you returned. How was your trip?”

  “Productive. Things seem to be working out, even if progress is slow.” His expression turned to one of apprehension, and he rubbed the back of his neck. “Actually, Darla, an issue has come up that concerns you.”

  My eyes widened. “Is it Jase?” With all my free time filled, I hadn’t spoken to Jase much in the past month, opting to communicate through an email exchange. Something was wrong with him, and I couldn’t put my finger on it. Although he insisted there was nothing to be concerned about, I couldn’t help the uneasy feeling I had every time I heard from him.

  “No, Jase is… fine.” The pause amped up my curiosity, but he changed the subject before I could question it. “In the past four months, I have hired four new employees. Three have moved into the building, and the fourth didn’t ask to live here until just yesterday. The problem is I have no empty apartments available.”

  I studied his face. “So are you asking me to move out?”