The Sweetest Goodbye (Roadmap to Your Heart, Book 3.5)

by Christina Lee

  I felt my jaw harden. “But if you’re doing all of this to him, he’s probably really hot for you.”

  “Doubt it,” he said in a huff and then drew his hips away from my lap. “It’s none of your business anyway.”

  “My bad.” I was trembling with need and had the urge to grab onto his waist and bring him back my way, savor the pressure from his muscles and tight ass. I liked feeling the warmth of his body near mine. Plus, he smelled all musky and spicy and it reminded me of the night he sucked on my skin.

  “I was just trying to…imagine it,” I replied instead of what I really wanted to say, which was something about keeping away from Aaron. Pathetic. I had no idea why it suddenly mattered to me what Dylan did with other men. But what he was doing to me right this moment? Holy crap. “Living vicariously through you.”

  Suddenly he was right there again, our knees touching. He leaned over, his eyes on me, his lips heading straight for my mouth. At the last second, he made a detour to my neck. I nearly whimpered out loud.

  “You never know, one night he might say the right thing and I’ll want to hook up.” He whispered this against my ear and I grabbed his hips to hold him at bay, to keep him from sinking down on my cock, which was about ready to explode.

  I knew my fingers were trembling against his waist. “Wh…what kinds of things?”

  “I don’t know. How about you tell me?” He sucked my earlobe into his mouth and I just about melted into a puddle on the floor. I groaned, imagining how his mouth might feel against mine—his tongue. But I reminded myself that I didn’t go around kissing anybody. I was reserving my lips for Leo.

  Except Leo was the furthest thing from my mind right now.

  “If you were up on the platform dancing with somebody sexy,” he breathed against my throat as his hips swayed back and forth. My grip tightened on his hips. “And were really horny, what would you say to them?”

  “What?” My brain was foggy as Dylan sucked at a spot on my neck and he was going to leave a mark if he didn’t cut that shit out.

  “We’re just pretending, right?” Dylan asked, leaning his head back, his eyes meeting mine. “Isn’t that what this is, Will? It’s Saturday night and we’re just having a good time?”

  I nodded numbly. Yet, I felt the words form in my mouth. The ones I would never say out loud because he was just having fun and playing a game.

  This doesn’t feel like pretending.

  I cleared my throat and sat up straighter. “I’d tell him to take off his shirt so I could admire his chest.”

  Dylan’s eyes flared with desire as he reached for the hem of his shirt and lifted it above his head. I’d seen Dylan’s bare torso dozens of times over the years. He had a lean dancer’s physique. But his biceps and chest were more muscular than mine from keeping active and fit.

  “Like this?” Dylan asked, his pupils blown wide. As my gaze scaled down his torso, I noticed how his nipples were hard as erasers. Pebbled brown discs that I longed to touch. We were pretending, so that’s exactly what I did. I reached up with my thumb and swiped it around his areola. Dylan let out a surprised gasp before he threw his head back and groaned. It was the sexiest damn thing I’d seen in a long time.

  My hand moved to my cock and I pushed down to keep from coming all over myself. “Then I’d have him turn around,” I murmured, my lips trembling. “I’d want to see his back muscles while he shakes his ass.”

  Dylan’s eyes fixed on mine as he slowly lifted one leg from my lap and spun around to face away from me. His back was bare and his smooth skin was glistening with sweat. He began moving his hips back and forth and his cheeks looked perfect in those tight jeans. Fuck. My cock stiffened painfully and I needed relief so damn bad. His ass was in my face and all I could think about was getting a look at his round globes and his tight pink hole.

  All at once he sank those perfect cheeks down on my lap and leaned back flush against my chest. My throat released a guttural moan, overwhelmed with so many different sensations at once. I wanted to grab him around the chest and hold him to me, kiss him, make him feel good. Holy fuck where did that come from?

  “You’re tense as a rope, but I know you’re turned on.” His voice was raspy and his chest was heaving. I kept my hands down at my sides, but I desperately wanted to encircle him, play with his nipples, suck on his neck. “I just want you to let go, Will. What else would you tell the sexy dancer?”

  “I…I don’t know.” He was creating a fantasy for me, and I didn’t know what to do with that. He was my best buddy and I wanted him so damn much in that moment. It scared the shit out of me because I didn’t want us to go too far and kill our friendship. What if we could never recover from this?

  But then I remembered his hand job the other night and how he showed up at Sweets like nothing ever happened so more than likely this didn’t mean anything. It was only fun and games.

  Dylan began gyrating his hips and then his shins hit the floor and he sank down on the ground in front of me. When he twisted frontward, he glanced up at me with those long eyelashes, his cheeks dotted with crimson and I didn’t think I’d seen him look more attractive. “You like having someone on their knees for you?”

  “Goddamn,” I gasped, as his hands brushed over my shins to my thighs.

  “It’s hard for you to let go. To give yourself to somebody.” His fingers stretched to my zipper and he roughly palmed me. “You need someone to take charge, to suck your aching cock.”

  I nearly sprang out of my skin. Fuck. “God…yes.”

  Were we still pretending? I didn’t even know anymore.

  “You know how much I like cock, Will.” He unbuttoned my pants and I lifted my hips to allow him more room to slide the material down. My dick sprang free and Dylan groaned. He licked his lips and stared intently at my shaft—which was purple and leaking—as if it was a delicacy.

  The words were right there on the tip of my tongue to tell him to stop. But my brain had gone on vacation. Besides, this was Dylan. The only other guy besides Leo who made me feel safe.

  “You have about five seconds to tell me to stop.”

  I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. Instead, my fingers gripped the chair tighter, the anticipation too damn much.

  When he leaned forward and buried his nose in the hair at my crotch and took a deep whiff, a whimper sprang from my throat. He hummed as he lifted his eyes to meet mine and kept them pinned to me as his tongue circled my crown. It was the sexiest damn thing and I was already completely gone. Lost to him. Holy fucking hell, his mouth was warm and wet and it felt like nirvana as he suckled the head.

  “Taste so good,” he said as his tongue bathed up and down the length of my cock, as if cherishing it. “You like that?”

  “Fuck.” I adjusted my legs to get more comfortable and allow him more room. “I love it.”

  “Put your hands in my hair and show me how much.”

  Damn, I mouthed. When I lifted my fingers and brushed across his cheeks he sucked in a breath. My hands burrowed in his soft dark hair and as I gripped his locks, he engulfed my cock with his mouth. “Guhhhhhh.”

  I tried not to push down or thrust up, even though I knew he’d probably like that. I just wanted to savor this feeling before I lost my load, which was going to be in about sixty seconds flat.

  He held onto my cock with one hand and hollowed his cheek. When I heard him unzipping himself, probably to get some needed relief, I gripped his hair even tighter, trying to maintain control for longer.

  Dylan’s eyes were glazed over and I could tell he was completely loving every minute of this. He always joked how much he liked sucking cock, I just never thought he’d ever be sucking mine.

  I wished I could see what he was doing to his own dick, but that would’ve been too much. But I felt the sensation of him stroking up and down in time with his mouth. His tongue circled and laved and when he thrust down and I hit the back of his throat, I was done for.

  “Jesus. That’s just—”
My legs turned to rubber and fireworks shot up my spine as I blasted my load into his mouth. I was quivering and melting against the seat and I heard a deep groan from his throat as he apparently came as well. I was dead weight, unable to stop shuddering as he kept my cock in his mouth long after I was depleted.

  “Fuck,” he whispered after another minute, as my softened dick slid from his lips. “So damn hot.”

  I tried to move my lips but nothing came out. Instead we stared at each other across the few inches of space between us as he tucked himself back in. He licked his lips and I imagined leaning forward and tasting myself on him. Feeling his tongue in my mouth.

  The bell on the oven dinged right then, and he stood up on wobbly legs. I snapped out of my fog and began tucking and zipping.

  “I’ll pull the pies out of the oven,” Dylan muttered.

  After he left the room, I looked down on the floor and saw how his come had dripped and pooled where he knelt. I numbly stood up and reached behind the counter for some napkins to clean it up, fascinated by the amount. Wondering how it would taste. I needed to snap the hell out of it.

  I heard the back door open and close and when I headed back to the kitchen, the pies were resting on the counter and Dylan was gone.

  9

  Billie

  The chairs were already lined at the three outdoor tables in the field behind our house and still Dylan hadn’t arrived. He usually showed up early to important family events and asked how he could help—not that he needed to.

  “Where’s Dylan?” Grammy asked as she straightened one of the seat cushions that she had expertly tied to each chair. She’d had countless parties and dinners on our property over the years and practically had it down to a science. We’d basically fall apart without her. At least I would. She was the only mom I had ever known.

  That fact was plain to me, and even though she had no visible medical ailments, that didn’t mean that she wasn’t getting older or moving slower in recent years. Same as Bullseye, who was keeping watch over me on the porch—in between naps. Loyal through and through. I should be so lucky to have such devotion.

  I shrugged, my mind drifting back to Grammy’s inquiry and the one friend who had always stood by me. “He should be here soon.”

  I wouldn’t mention that I had already sent him a text this morning while opening Sweets with Braden and he hadn’t responded. Sweets stayed open until noon and then Braden and I transported the pies and cake home. I didn’t need Dylan’s help, but he usually checked in with me. It was already two o’clock in the afternoon.

  My gut tightened at the idea that he might’ve regretted what happened between us last night. Just imagining his wet mouth on me, the way his tongue slicked over my cock, his eyes glazed over with desire, made my stomach flip over. I forced that thought from my brain so that I didn’t sport a chub in front of my own grandmother.

  I flinched when I felt Grammy’s hand on my back. “Something happen between you two?”

  No way she could’ve known how intimate we’d gotten last night, so I squared my shoulders and took a deep breath. Still, I couldn’t meet her gaze. “Not sure what you mean.”

  She grasped for my chin and forced me to look at her.

  “Not sure I believe you,” she said, studying my eyes. I had the urge to yank out of her grasp but I’d get a whack to the back of my neck from any one of the men in this family. You didn’t disrespect Grammy. “You’ve had your share of squabbles, but you always make up. ’Course it’s because you think you’re different. Don’t realize you’re actually more alike. Just look at Dean and Callum.”

  She finally loosened her grip and I was able to back a distance away to reach for the linen tablecloths Grammy always used for these occasions.

  “Dylan can be a pain in my ass,” I said as if I had to prove her statement was false. “He’s always in my business.”

  “Just like you’re always in his,” she said with a smirk. Darn her. “He’s been a dedicated friend and doesn’t let you get away with much.”

  “Yeah,” I admitted, my shoulders drooping. “You’re right.” There was no argument there. My stomach convulsed at the very idea of losing him.

  After my sister, Cassie, showed up with her husband, Dermot, and we secured the tablecloths, I helped Grammy carry out the place settings for each guest, which consisted of a small group of family and friends who had been supportive of Dean and Callum over the years. That included Tate and Sebastian, Jason and Brian, along with Dean’s parents and his half-brother, Felix, who belonged to a motorcycle club. Sounded like it was straight out of some film noir. Too bad he had to cancel last minute.

  “It’s a shame Leo couldn’t make it. Have you heard from him lately?” Grammy asked and this time kept her opinions to herself. She knew that we were each other’s firsts but also witnessed us growing apart over the years. I figured we had drifted only because we’ve never had the opportunity to be in the same town for very long. If we were ever given a fair chance, maybe we’d see that we really were meant to be together.

  “He had to work over spring break. His last year of college has been busy,” I added, to make it seem reasonable. And it definitely was. Long distance for this many years was difficult enough as a friendship, let alone a relationship. “But he’ll be home this summer after graduation.”

  “I’m sure his family is proud,” Grammy remarked, placing the napkin holder on the table while I set the small sets of salt and pepper shakers in everyone’s reach. “I just never liked you waiting on that boy.”

  “What?” I froze in place, the last container in my grasp. She hadn’t shared her thoughts on the topic in a long while. “I’m not. Not really.”

  She wouldn’t think so if she saw what I was up to last night.

  “I know he was your first love,” she said, as her eyes softened. “But most times there’s a first love and a last love.”

  “She’s right you know,” I heard Callum remark behind me. When I turned he was chomping on a Macintosh apple from our orchard, the juice running down his chin and almost making a mess on his perfectly starched white shirt.

  I narrowed my eyes at him. Way to have my back, brother.

  “Or sometimes—if you give it enough time—things can work out,” Dean supplied, with a smile and a wink. He always tried to bridge the gap when things were heading adrift with the Montgomerys. He leaned closer to my ear, his striped tie swinging forward as if it were conspiring as well. “But Dylan’s pretty gorgeous too.”

  My spine stiffened and I felt my cheeks heating up. “We’re only friends.”

  “I know. Only messing with you,” he said out of earshot of Grammy and Callum. He was the first person who had guessed my crush on Leo years back.

  “But he sure cleans up nice,” he observed, nudging me.

  I followed his line of sight to where Dylan was exiting his truck. He wore a light-blue button-down shirt, nicely pressed gray cotton pants; even his hair was gelled back in a type of pompadour that might’ve rivaled Dean’s. I never told him he needed to dress up, especially in this Florida heat, and not on his limited budget.

  Honestly, I had never seen Dylan look so handsome before, except maybe at high school graduation. But he had borrowed a shirt and tie from my closet back then and certainly these clothes seemed newer.

  I attempted to get my tongue unstuck from the roof of my mouth to greet my best friend properly.

  10

  Dylan

  I’d actually gone out and purchased some decent clothes from a second-hand shop in Gainesville because all I owned were holey jeans and T-shirts. But nobody needed to know that, most of all Billie. Thing was, even though I’d been invited to many Montgomery events over the years, most were backyard BBQ types and since Callum getting hitched was a huge deal to this family, I needed to step up my game.

  “There’s my handsome boy,” Grammy called from the porch and I nearly blushed. I could feel Billie’s gaze on me and I wondered exactly what he saw. Especi
ally after last night. Holy fuck, what a game changer that had been.

  I was sure that Billie was working overtime to come up with something super rational. We had started off pretending, or at least he did. But what we did wasn’t sensible at all—just plain hot. The way his fingers tightened in my hair when his cock was down my throat. Christ.

  But I needed to pull it together and tell myself that we were both just filling a need. Plain and simple. I didn’t want Billie to feel uncomfortable around me. Not today.

  As soon as our gazes locked, the air became thick with tension. Neither of us seemed to know what to say or do. I figured I had to step up and offer comic relief. It was always that way. I swiped my hands down my shirt. “At least I still remembered how to iron.”

  Billie cracked a smile and stepped closer. “You missed a spot,” he quipped and pointed at my sleeve.

  “Well, it happens when you’re in a rush and your best friend keeps texting you wondering where in the hell you are,” I replied as if I was completely flustered when in fact it was endearing. “I didn’t realize how damn needy you were.”

  He chuckled, as color rose to his cheeks. “You bastard. It was only once.”

  My eyebrow shot up. “Twice.”

  “Sorry. I was just trying to…you left last night and—” There it was, the apology. The regret. Sorry I got so carried away last night.

  He swallowed thickly and continued. “Besides, of course I need you. Who the hell is going to tell me whether or not my cake topping looks centered or whether I over or underdressed?”

  I almost responded with, How about Leo? But that would’ve been juvenile. What he was describing was what friends did, not lovers.

  Why couldn’t it be both?

  Instead, I rolled my eyes. “Show me the cake.”

  After Billie and I went inside and I reassured him that all the pastries as well as what he was wearing looked fine—more than fine—the guests began arriving.