Caged

by Shanna Ehrlich

Feeling the need to explain, she told him about their night and how Trevor brought back a random guy and kept her up all night. Braxton didn’t like the idea of Annie being in a hotel room with another guy, whether he was there to be with Trevor or not, and made a mental note to bring it up to Stetson the next time he spoke with him. How the fuck could he not have mentioned they went home with someone?

  “I don’t understand why you didn’t just come over. Ronald would have let you up. You heard me tell him you have access anytime. I was kind of hoping you’d take me up on the offer.”

  “Well when you didn’t answer, I figured you were sleeping or busy with, you know, your work stuff,” she air quoted.

  “I don’t usually take care of business in my home. What happened the other day was a fluke. It won’t happen again. You can come home to me anytime you want.”

  “Okay. I get it. It just felt awkward last night. I didn’t feel right going over there without you inviting me.”

  “Why? You shouldn’t ever feel awkward around me.”

  “Because Brax, me and you,” she gestured back and forth, “this isn’t a normal relationship. We haven’t even known each other a week, but I feel like we’re jumping in at the two-year mark. Everything we’ve told each other, what we’ve done together. I don’t know how to do this. Last night, what was I supposed to do? We had a fight, a pretty big fight, and I didn’t leave on the best of terms. Was I just supposed to go over there, search through all the rooms until I found yours, and then crawl into bed with you, hoping you weren’t still angry and that’s the real reason you didn’t answer the texts?”

  “You’re right, this isn’t a normal relationship. I think we’ve already established that, but it just means we don’t have to do everything else normal either. When we fight, you don’t have to take it to mean I don’t want you. I’ll always want you, no matter what. And who cares if it’s only been a week. I’ve felt more for you in a week then I have in my whole life. I know you feel the same, you’re just scared to admit it, and that’s okay, because it is scary, but you know it’s the truth, and I’m not going to let some stupid relationship norms get between us. I don’t care if it’s too early on to tell you how I can’t stop thinking about you, haven’t since the day you bought me the shot. I don’t care that you’re married, I don’t care that we live in different states. Hell I don’t even care that we haven’t fucked yet, although, it’d be great if that could happen soon, but it doesn’t have to, whenever you’re ready.”

  Leaning her back on the bed, he settled his leg between hers and held her close; continuing to lay it all on the table. “I want you to move here. Move in with me. I’ll give you a tour of the whole goddamn place, you’ll never have to feel awkward again. Or we’ll buy something new that you want. Whatever you want. That’s how it would be with me. Stay with me.”

  Her eyes watered. She didn’t know what to say. Of course she wanted to stay. If this was a different life, or if she met him five years earlier, there would be no questions asked, she’d stay with him and fall happily into whatever their fucked up routine would be, but life’s not that easy. Maybe she’d go back to New York again, see him some time in the future, but she couldn’t leave her whole life to be with him. It wasn’t an option, and it wasn’t something he would understand. They clicked so well on most levels, but this was something they’d never see eye to eye.

  She blinked a tear and he used his thumb to wipe it away, a questioning expression taking over his features, but his brown eyes looked hopeful, thinking she was crying from happiness and she couldn’t bare to see them change back. Instead of breaking his heart, she indulged him with a kiss, using her hands to guide their faces together and gently let her lips glide over his. When their tongues met they weaved a dance so intimately slow it sent shivers down her arms. This man was her everything. Before she left for New York she had no idea she was missing him, never in a million years would have thought she’d cheat on her husband. She was a hypocrite, no better than Dillon, and yet she didn’t care. Not when she was with him. She needed this, just one time, then she could go back to reality.

  Without breaking the kiss, he rolled on top and rested his weight between her legs. His thick frame heavy, she should have felt squished, but her body welcomed the weight, thrived off of it, and she increased the intensity of the kiss, plunging in her tongue and pulling his neck to bring him closer.

  Brax reacted accordingly and moved his hips to press into her core. She could feel his hard, long, length beneath his jeans, caressing her where she needed it most. Could feel herself getting wet for him, her muscles clenching with need, and met him thrust for thrust, dry humping her way into oblivion, but it wasn’t enough. She was physically aching to have more.

  Reaching down of her own accord, she began pushing at the sides of her panties. “Take them off.”

  Getting to his knees, he looked down at her while hooking his fingers beneath the lacy straps. She lifted her hips and he dragged them down her legs, never breaking eye contact. Tossing them to the floor he said one word. “Beautiful.”

  His chest heaved as he knelt above her. If Annie didn’t know him better, she’d say he was nervous. The way he looked at her, like a goddess laying before him, it made her feel sexier than she’d ever felt before. Gave her the confidence she needed to encourage him on. “Touch me Brax,” she reached for his hand and brought it between her legs. “Do you feel that? That’s how ready I am for you.”

  He ran a finger down her slit, groaning when he found her entrance slick with desire.

  “This is yours, remember. Tell me what you want to do to it.”

  “Fuck. I love it when you talk dirty.”

  “Then tell me. What do you want?”

  “I’m more interested in what you want.” He pushed in two fingers and her back arched off the bed. “Is this what you want? You want me to finger fuck you again? Or is this what you want?” He used his free hand to unzip his jeans, pushing them low on his waist to free his beautiful cock.

  Annie had seen him before, but the pure size of it was always shocking. Using an elbow to rest on, she reached forward and wrapped her hand around his girth, her fingers and thumb a little more than an inch away from meeting. The stretched skin was smooth and soft and she began stroking her hand back and forth, slow and agonizing.

  “I want this,” she leaned back, pulling him down; her hand releasing and replaced with his. He let the head slip between her folds, moving it upward and back down again.

  “You sure,” he asked, letting himself press against her entrance. “It’s going to hurt.” He pushed in further. “Deep breath B.” And with one quick movement he thrust in his entire length, the breath she took quickly expelled from the force. “Fuck you’re tight. Feels so damn good baby.” Reaching under her waist, he lifted her up, her back still flat against the bed, but her pelvis high against him. “You ready?”

  She nodded slowly, hesitant and excited all at the same time.

  He pulled out slow, almost to the tip, ready to push back in and give her the ride of her life. She closed her eyes, ready to be lost to him.

  Clink clink, the noise came from the door just moments before the handle shook. Thankfully the key didn’t work the first time and gave them exactly five extra seconds to separate like two high-schoolers caught in the act.

  Pushing away she rolled out from under him with the speed of a ninja. He on the other hand seemed reluctant and was still buttoning his pants when the door actually opened and Trevor strolled in, a knowing expression on his face.

  “You two love birds having fun? Whatcha guys doin?”

  “What the fuck do you think we were doing? You have really bad timing man.”

  Annie smacked Brax’s arm in a half-hearted reprimand. He didn’t need to be such an ass, though she could understand why he was upset. She wasn’t too happy about it either, but it was Trevor’s room too. They couldn’t exactly be angry with him for just walking into his room. “Nothing Trevor. We w
eren’t doing anything. And you’re one to judge by the way. I had to hear you and John all night.”

  “Hey, no judgment,” he defended and collapsed on his bed. “You heard us huh? I thought you were sleeping.”

  “As if anyone could have slept through that,” she joked and then got up, excusing herself to the bathroom, hoping she could make it all the way with her wobbly legs.

  Braxton and Trevor sat in silence, neither knowing what to say. Braxton, still sporting a semi, wasn’t up for idle chitchat with another man; especially not a gay man. However, Trevor seemed comfortable with the quiet as well, not something Braxton would have expected from a gay. Weren’t they all flamboyant and loud?

  Standing up from the bed, he killed time, walking to look out the window and checking his phone for emails. Noticing the small frame of the window, he looked around at the rest of the tiny room. How were the two of them staying in there? If it wasn’t their last night he’d get Bethany her own room; wished she had her own room last night. At the thought, he ended up being the first one to break the silence. “So. About that guy you brought back last night.”

  Trevor looked up at him from the bed, confused to why he would want to know about the guy he was with.

  “I don’t appreciate you bringing random men home around my girl. If you want to get fucked go to their place, or get your own goddamn room. Don’t ever fucking do it again.”

  Trevor, not one to take a tongue-lashing sat up and said the first thing to come to mind. Obviously not thinking before talking. “Oh, you don’t appreciate it? Well I bet her husband wouldn’t appreciate you.” Seeing the expression on Brax’s face and realizing the error of his words, he was quick to recant his statement. “Just fucking around dude. She’s not married. I don’t even know why I said that.”

  “Cut the shit Trevor. I know Bethany’s married. We tell each other everything, and I don’t expect her husband to be a problem much longer, so I could really care less what he thinks.”

  The aggression Trevor was quick to jump to faded fast. He actually felt sorry for him. They tell each other everything? What a fucking joke. “Look man,” Trevor paused and checked toward the bathroom, making sure Annie was still in there. “I know you care about her, but don’t expect anything more than this week. She won’t leave him. I’ve known her since we were twelve. Whatever you might think, it’s not going to happen.”

  “You’re wrong. You don’t even know.”

  “You’re a big guy, so please don’t hit me when I say this, but I think you’re wrong. Did she tell you she was leaving him?”

  Braxton wanted to hit him. Wanted to walk over there and beat the shit out of his smart ass fucking mouth. No wonder he and Bethany were friends. They both ran their mouths and never knew when to shut the fuck up, especially in regard to him. But the last question Trevor asked hung thick in the air. A barrier keeping him frozen in place while he reassured himself she said yes, she would be with him, would leave her husband. She did say that, right? He tried to think back to their earlier conversation, before things got hot and heavy. What did she say? He told her he wanted her to move in with him and she said… he trailed off in thought and then remembered. Nothing. She said nothing. Distracted him from the question with a kiss he took to mean yes, but she never actually said the words. Son of a bitch. Fuck. Would she really not stay? His normal high confidence took a nosedive. He hated feeling out of control, but that’s what he was, and there wasn’t a whole lot he could do for it to change. Were there things he could do to make her stay? Absolutely. But that’s not how he wanted her. You’re not supposed to have to force your soul mate to be with you. Soul mate? What the fuck? Where did those words come from?

  Annie walked back in the room finding Brax and Trevor in a stare down. Trevor seemed calm though, which was odd given the tension coming from Brax, and it was directed right toward him. “You guys okay?” she asked. “What’d I miss?”

  “Nothing.” Brax responded, clearing his eyes of fog and reached out for her. “You didn’t miss anything. We’re fine.”

  They definitely weren’t fine, but she would talk to Trevor about it later.

  “I have to go. I’ll see you tonight?” He phrased it as a question even though it wasn’t.

  “Yes. Of course.” Like they wouldn’t hang out on her last night. “Are you going back to work?”

  “Yes, well no. Kind of. I need to go to the gym first. I’ll call you later.”

  Annie knew what he meant. He was going to work out and then most likely had to deal with something off the books, but she didn’t want him to leave. He just got there. “Take me with?”

  “Afraid not B.” Getting an idea, he leaned forward and whispered in her ear, not wanting Trevor to overhear. “I’ll tell you what. Don’t get on your plane tomorrow. Stay here with me and I promise I’ll take you with. We’ll go do something, take care of business, just you and me. I’ll show you firsthand how it works.”

  A glimmer of intrigue sparkled in her eyes. It wasn’t something she could hide and his sullen attitude changed in an instant. With a crooked smile he leaned in and kissed her, taking control and holding her face hostage; the heel of his palm pushing against her throat just the way she liked. Bethany closed her eyes, enjoying the feel, but he kept his wide open, looking past her toward Trevor, daring him to still think she wasn’t his. He pulled away leaving her wanting more, that’s how it would have to be from then on until he knew for a fact she was going to stay. He stepped away, determined to leave and not look back, but changed his mind at the last second. “Hey B,” he called over his shoulder. She was still looking right toward him. Watched him walk away just like he wanted. “This time when I call, you better fucking answer.”

  As the door closed Annie turned back to Trevor, now lying on the bed, and gave him the look.

  “What?” he played dumb.

  “Don’t what me. What the fuck happened when I was in the bathroom. When I came out here it looked like you just told him you murdered his parents or something.”

  “Oh. That. Well I might have said something, but it wasn’t that bad.”

  “Oh really,” she crossed her arms over her chest. “What constitutes not that bad?”

  “Nothing. I just told him the truth. That you weren’t ever leaving your husband.”

  “Oh god, oh god,” she said rubbing her temples. “Seriously? What the fuck? Two minutes Trevor. I left you alone for two minutes and that’s what you chose to tell him?”

  “I don’t know. It just slipped out.”

  “It slipped out? How the fuck does that happen? How did you even know he knew?”

  “I didn’t. I’m sorry. It was an accident. He was being an asshole about John spending the night and I just snapped. I’m really sorry. That could have been bad.”

  “You think?”

  “But he already knew. I tried to backpedal and he called me out on it so no harm done, right?”

  “No Trevor that’s not right, because then you told him I wasn’t leaving Keith. No wonder he was so pissed. How could you say that? It’s not even your business.”

  “I know!” He was getting frustrated, sitting up on the edge of the bed and bracing his hands on his legs. “I said I was sorry okay, but hearing him talk about how you tell him everything and you guys don’t have secrets and then he still referred to you as Bethany, I couldn’t help myself. It was just kinda sad.”

  “Fuck Trevor, you didn’t tell him my real name did you?”

  “Hell no! I just wanted to let him know how things are going to work. At the end of the day this is just going to be a crazy thing you did once. It’s not like you’re sticking around to be with him.”

  Annie didn’t answer.

  “Right? Jesus Annie, tell me you’re not actually thinking of leaving Keith after a few days of being wined and dined by some New York socialite who might move along just as easily to the next cute blonde he sees.”

  “Brax wouldn’t do that, but to answer your quest
ion, no, I’m not thinking of leaving Keith.”

  “Then I told him what he needed to hear, whether he liked it or not. There’s just something off about this whole situation, despite the obvious. You two are way to obsessed over each other for just a couple days in. It’s fucking weird. You might know what you’re getting yourself into, but he doesn’t. He really thinks you’re going to stay. He needed to hear the truth, but I’m sorry I was the one to say it. I should have let you do that.”

  There it was, the truth word again. Trevor was right, it was something Brax needed to hear.

  A knock at the door interrupted their conversation. Thinking it was Brax she opened the door with slick, nervous palms, but it wasn’t him. Instead a young man, no older than twenty-one stood about to knock again.

  “Annabel Nichols?”

  “Yes,” she told him, unsure who he was and how he knew her name.

  “These are for you.” He held out a bouquet of wilted old dandelions and she recognized the bouquet immediately.

  Taking the flowers, she thanked the young man before closing the door. Holding them close she inhaled deep, a bout of nausea twisting through her stomach.

  “What the fuck? Isn’t Brax rich or something? You’d think he could afford better.” Trevor looked at the bouquet, held together by just a rubber band with disgust, but Annie saw it for what it was, a gesture of love and forgiveness.

  “They’re not from Brax, they’re from Keith,” she replied, smelling them once more.

  “Oh my god, I forgot. He picked them out front of our dorm and would leave one at our door step every time he left. Awwwww.”

  “And he gave me a bouquet of them when he asked me to marry him. Said that even when we’re old and wilted he would still love me.”

  Fuck, she felt like a total bitch. While she was letting another man fuck her, he was back home thinking only of her; loving her no matter what. Shit. She needed to call him.

  “Hey baby,” he answered after the first ring.

  “I got your flowers.”

  “Good. I just wanted you to know I love you and I still stand by what I told you. Forever and always, no matter what.”