by Sara Hazel
I don’t want to be some princess locked away in a tower until some man wants to take his trophy down and show me off or play with me for a few hours before returning me to the tower.
Deacon startles me by asking, “Where are you right now?”
I can’t tell him the truth. He’ll think I’m clingy or crazy…or probably both. I simplify it all down to its essence. “Paris.”
“All the way over there? What do I have to do to get you back?”
“Nothing at all. I brought you with, silly. Have you ever been to Paris?”
“Nope. Most of my travel abroad was with the Army. Grunts like me spend more time in Afghanistan than in Europe. I once spent six hours in Munich between connecting flights. We had enough time for one meal outside the airport, but we were all so exhausted from jet lag, I’m not even sure whether it was lunch or dinner.”
“What a drag.”
I feel his body shift as he shrugs. “I guess. I was always so excited to get back home to the states that any layover was disappointing. Looking back, I probably should have used the time a little better. I could have probably scheduled some vacation time around the stops if I’d thought about it.”
“I would have gone AWOL and just backpacked around Europe for decades.”
He laughs. “No way. Nothing would be worth spending any time locked up in Leavenworth.”
“Even me?” I tease.
“Oh, well, that’s different. I’d spend a lifetime locked up to have one night with you. But you are the best thing I’ve seen in all my travels.”
I glow at the praise. “Fortunately for you, I plan on sticking around for a lot longer than that. No prison necessary.”
He kisses my forehead. “Perfect.”
“Besides, Paris will be so much better with you.”
“As long as they have steak and fries, I look forward to this vacation.”
“I’m pretty sure they invented French fries.”
“Don’t they use mayonnaise instead of ketchup, though?”
I scrunch up my nose. “Gross. Nobody does that.”
“It’s a crazy world out there, princess.”
“We’ll take it on together.”
Just me and my knight.
He sounds like he’s starting to fall asleep again. “Absolutely. We’ll explore the kingdom, slay the monsters, and return to the castle to make love in front of the fireplace.”
As long as that castle is anywhere but here in town.
5
Deacon
Her lips brush against mine. Her tongue flicks playfully against my mouth. She’s been setting my dick stirring all morning with these simple acts. It takes all my effort not to throw her in the backseat and fuck her once more before we part for the day.
As if reading my mind, she says, “You sure you don’t want to come in?”
I quickly look away when she nibbles on that seductive lower lip of hers. “Yes, I do. But I have something I need to take care of before it becomes a problem. I’ll meet you back at my place at two? You sure you don’t want me to pick you up here?”
“You could try, but I won’t be around. I’ve got plans of my own, mister. Don’t go getting any ideas I’m going to be your kept woman.”
Her tone is light and airy, but her eyes hint there’s more to the story. The set of her shoulders convinces me now is not the time.
“Wouldn’t dream of it. Fly free this morning. We’ll build a nest together this afternoon.”
She starts giggling. “What in the world is that supposed to mean?”
I laugh too. “No idea. I kinda started talking without knowing where I was going.”
She kisses my cheek. “Well, it was sweet.”
She bounces out of my car, skips up the steps of the porch, and disappears through the front door before I notice how nice the house is. It makes me realize how little I know about her, which makes me look forward to the long future I have planned for us.
It takes me twenty minutes to drive through the center of town and out the other side to the lot where my house is being built on the edge of a forest in the foothills of the mountains. Even Willow Hills feels too crowded for me these days. The view here is second only to Molly’s smile…and breasts, and hips, and ass, and legs…God, I can’t get enough of that woman.
With no small amount of disappointment, I turn my attention from the woman of my dreams to the reason I split ways with her for a few hours: my new house.
There’s still no siding on the thing. I glare at the foam insulation wrapped around the house as I storm into the garage that still doesn’t have a door to prevent people from just walking into the house.
“What the hell’s happening here, Carson?” I yell at the guy working at a table saw in the middle of what will eventually be my living room.
Calm as can be, he finishes the cut before looking up. I can tell he’s going to need some special encouragement to make him realize how important this project is to him.
It’s like he thinks I won’t treat him like I’m paying his salary just because we were friends in high school and kept in touch a little bit on social media while I was away from town.
“Deacon! How’s it hanging? Stop by for a tour of the progress?” He brushes sawdust from his jeans while looking as if he’s uncertain whether he should come to shake my hand or stay well out of reach.
I don’t want to make it easier for him. My eyes wander around the unfinished walls and ceiling. “You know you’re going to lose that twenty thousand bonus if you aren’t done on time, right?”
His smile lacks any amount of confidence. “Won’t be a problem, Deac. I had some unexpected things come up, but it’s full speed ahead now.”
“Johnny told me about your bender in Vegas. It would be a shame to lose the bonus and all the money you lost gambling on those horses, huh?”
“Now you sound like my mom, not the badass I grew up with.”
“She always was a smart woman. I’ll let you get back to work. Wouldn’t want to slow you down. From what I’m seeing, you’ll probably end up paying me for the honor of building this house if you go much slower.”
Something makes me stop when I turn to leave. I imagine telling the story to Molly during our date tonight. Suddenly, my harsh words don’t sound nearly as impressive. I know some of the struggles Carson is going through. He’s made some poor decisions in his life and apparently hasn’t gotten much smarter about avoiding them.
At the end of the day, the quality of his work is solid, and he’s always friendly when we talk.
The studio apartment is tiny, but I’ll be fine if I need to stay there longer than I’d originally expected. Carson might not be if he doesn’t get the bonus.
I turn back. “Sorry. I don’t know why I’m being a jackass. Ignore everything I just said. Your bonus is safe no matter when you finish. Just do your best, okay?”
He blows out a breath. “Thanks, man. I really need that money. Things are tight these days. I’m sorry about the delay. I’ll work some longer days to try and make up some ground.”
“That’s fine, but don’t work yourself to exhaustion. I don’t want you to get hurt because you make a stupid mistake after some twelve-hour shift on my account.”
He gives me a fake salute. “You’re the boss.”
He turns back to his project.
I glance at my watch and see I have a few hours before I’ll be meeting up with Molly. The time is going to pass incredibly slowly while waiting to see her smile and touch her body once more.
I roll my shoulders to loosen up my muscles. “Anything I can do to help?”
Molly
I fall into my bed and cuddle against Pickles, my giant teddy bear. He’s always seemed so big to me, but after one night with Deacon, the bear doesn’t feel quite as comfy anymore. We’ve only been apart for five minutes, but I already miss Deacon so much it hurts.
“I’ve met the most amazing man, Pickles. Don’t worry. I’ll take you with me when I
move away. I’m sure he’ll love you just as much as I do.”
I rise from the bed, taking Pickles with me. We dance and twirl as I make my way to my dresser.
The sound of the doorbell startles me, making me drop Pickles to the floor.
Deacon came back because he couldn’t handle being apart.
My pulse quickens.
I consider stripping out of my dirty clothes and greeting him at the door naked, but decide I’d rather him tear them off me. Before going to answer the door, I turn Pickles so he’s facing the closet so he won’t have to watch what’s about to happen in my bed.
After sprinting down the stairs, I pause long enough to regret not showering first thing after I’d gotten home. I run my fingers through my hair, set a smile on my face, and pull the front door open.
“Oh, it’s you,” I say to Olivia, my one and only real friend.
“Good to see you, too,” she says while her fingers fly across her phone as she chats with someone else.
That’s Olivia in a nutshell. She’s pretty much always balancing between two worlds: the real one, and the one in her phone. Somehow, unlike everyone else I know, she always seems able to completely pay attention to what’s happening around her no matter how engrossed she is on her phone. We joke that instead of left and right brains, she has live and internet brains.
“Sorry. I was expecting someone else.”
For the first time since she got her first phone at age twelve, she stops in the middle of typing and looks up at me. “Who? You’re never expecting anyone but me. What happened? Did you meet someone? How big is his dick? Does Billy know? Not about the dick, of course.”
I pull Olivia into my house and shut the door behind her.
“He’s incredible. He’s a little bit older. He’s big.” I hold my hands apart to show how big.
“You’re lying.”
I add an inch. “I was trying not to brag. He’s so sweet and incredible, and he nearly beat Billy up when Billy was being an ass at the movie theater.”
“Beat up Billy? Does the guy have a death wish? The football team will do anything to protect their quarterback.”
“Billy tucked his tail and whimpered. I’m telling you, my Deacon is a real man.”
“What denomination has deacons?”
“Not a religious deacon. Deacon is his name. We’re going to be together forever.”
It had caught me off guard when Olivia had stopped typing, but that was nothing compared to my surprise when she puts her phone in the back packet on her tight capris that highlight her curvy ass.
“Do you have a fever? Did you just wake up from some sexy dream? What’s going on here?”
I laugh as I collapse onto the couch with my legs dangling over the arm. “No, it’s very real. We’re in love. We’re going to Paris someday.”
“Oh, honey. You’ve got it bad. Slow down, okay? What’s he do for a living?”
I blush at the question. “I’m not sure. He was in the military until recently, and he just moved to town, so he’s probably still looking for a job, I guess.”
“Mmhmm.” She’s clearly not convinced. “So you meet this guy, and he took you to some hotel to fuck you?”
My blush makes my face feel warmer. “Not exactly. We started under the stands at the football field. He did these things with his tongue…” I sigh with delight at the memory. “And we were about to do more when we were interrupted. So we went to his studio on Fourth Street, above the bar and—”
“You lost your virginity in some dive above the bar?”
I lose my temper. “Fuck you, Olivia. It was magical, and he’s incredible. Don’t you dare try to make me feel bad about this. Just because you’re still a desperate virgin, don’t take it out on—”
Olivia jumps on top of me and starts tickling my ribs. “All right, I surrender. I was just testing your commitment to this man. You better get used to it. If you think I was tough, just wait for your ever-so-reasonable daddy.”
I roll my eyes. “Ugh. You’re right. He’s going to be unbearable, isn’t he?”
“Is he ever not?”
“No. He heard me listening to Lizzo last week and canceled my Spotify account. Now I have to listen to all these commercials.”
“He doesn’t know you can still listen to it for free?”
I shrug. “I’m certainly not going to tell him. The less he knows the better.”
“Except with this,” Olivia says, rolling off the couch and onto the floor. “He needs to know this is serious or he’ll lock you up and throw away the key. Remember this spring when he wouldn’t let you come on spring break with the rest of us even though my mom was coming, too.”
Letting the spinning ceiling fan distract me, I must not have heard the garage door.
My dad scares the shit out of us by suddenly materializing in the room. “You’re supposed to ask before having friends over.”
Olivia and I scramble to our feet.
Before I can apologize, he presses onward. “Where were you last night?”
“At Olivia’s,” I say at the same time she says, “At my house.”
Dad looks at us suspiciously. It isn’t the first time she’s lied to cover for me. “You’re supposed to ask before doing that, too. Do I need to remind you whose house you live in?”
Memories of spankings make me feel much younger than I am. “No, Daddy. I just got swept up in the moment, and technically, I am an adult.”
He counts by pointing at his fingers while saying, “No college plans. No real job plans. No car. Nowhere to live. You don’t buy your own groceries…”
When he pauses to switch hands, I cut in. “I know. You’re right. I should have asked or left a note.”
His nostrils flare as he decides whether to press the issue. “Yes, you should have. Olivia, thanks for stopping by, but I’m sure your parents will be expecting you.”
When she opens her mouth to give my dad a piece of her mind, a move that would only cause more trouble, I speak up. “I need to go shower and take a nap. After watching all those Disney movies until the sun came up, I’m exhausted.”
Olivia smirks at me and gives me a hug. “Of course. I should probably do the same. See you soon. Don’t forget to tell your old man first next time.”
Dad and I glare at each other until the door shuts. He looks ready to do some more yelling. Instead, as he turns toward the kitchen, he says, “I’ll make some lunch. You go get cleaned up. You smell like shit.”
After stripping for my shower, I hold my shirt up to my face and inhale the scent of Deacon and start making up fake excuses to get me out of the house this afternoon for my first real date with the love of my life.
6
Deacon
Both of her tiny hands hold on to the large waffle cone. My entire body shivers when her tongue glides across the cold ice cream. She smiles while staring vaguely into space. “Mmm. This is the best thing I’ve ever had in my mouth.”
I want to drag her into one of the many hotels we keep passing while walking the streets of The Big Apple—it blows my mind how quickly the terrain changes around here—and remind her of how great she says I taste.
Something must show on my face because she laughs. She stands on her tiptoes and kisses me. Her lips are even sweeter than the ice cream. “I’m just teasing you, Pope.”
“Pope?”
“Sure. You’re too incredible to be just some lowly deacon. You’re the top dog. The main alpha. The Pope.”
I groan. “Leave the dad jokes to me, Molly.”
She bumps me with her hip. “Don’t you have to be a dad to tell dad jokes? Got big plans in that arena?”
“Absolutely. I’m going to have like seven kids and name them after the days of the week. Or a dozen and—”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. I don’t even want to know. There’s no way I’m popping out a dozen kids. Three or four sounds nice. Why don’t you start brainstorming for those kinds of numbers.”
I nearly tri
p over my feet. I’d expected her to tell me it is way too soon to start talking about kids—deep down, I kind of agree—but it’s impossible for me not to think about that kind of future when I’m standing next to her.
I want those moments of feeling the babies kick in her belly, and driving to the grocery store in the middle of the night to buy pickles and bacon or whatever she’s craving. I can’t wait to wake my growing family when the scent of the breakfast I cook for them while they are still sleeping. Parent-teacher conferences. The minivan. A dog and two cats.
I want it all. But most importantly, I want it with Molly.
I open my mouth to tell her, but the moment has passed.
Molly spins away from me, her dress flaring high enough my eyes are drawn to her amazing thighs. “Don’t you just love it here in the city, Deacon? I’m so tired of that dead little town back home. I’ve just got to get away from there.”
“You want to raise kids in all this?”
“Of course. Except when we’re vacationing all over the world. Paris, Tokyo, Munich, Dubai…there’s an entire world out there I’ve never seen before. I don’t plan to rest until I’ve seen it all.”
“Maybe I could stay home and watch the kids,” I suggest.
She playfully slaps my chest. Again, she must read something in my face. “You really want to stay in that little town, don’t you?”
“I want to be with you, Molly.”
It’s the truth that I hope will cover the lie.
It must work. She threads her fingers through mine and we continue walking together.
I don’t dare tell her I can’t live away from Willow Hills because of my mother. Molly wants to experience the world. She deserves that opportunity. And it’s the only thing I can’t give her right now.
It’s not even the money. I’ve got plenty of it, and access to more if I need it. Now that I’m settling in after my time in the Army, I have opportunities I can explore because of my pro football connections. I’m too old and banged up to play again, but I could do commercials or get hired by one of the TV networks covering the games. I’ve had offers in the past. All it will take is one call to my agent.
