JIGSAW

by Jessie Cooke

  She nodded. “I've never been in rehab,” she said. “I couldn't afford it. But I hear that a lot. The good thing about going to meetings is the support. You get yourself a sponsor you can call up when you're having a hard time and you listen to what everyone else has to say...get tips on what works and what doesn't. It's all good. You want to go to a meeting? I'll go with you.”

  Rusty put his hand on the side of her face and leaned down to brush his lips against hers. She smelled so good and her kiss was soft, and sweet. Pulling back just enough so that he could speak he said, “I do want to go to a meeting...but I want you more...”

  Shelly smiled. “It's early. We could do both.”

  Rusty brought his mouth back down to hers and really kissed her. He could feel the electricity sizzling between them as their tongues tangled up and their lips pressed together. Shelly bit lightly at his bottom lip while they kissed, sucking it into his mouth. She reached up and grasped onto his shoulders and pulled him down tighter. Rusty's arms were around her waist, running up her back underneath her shirt, touching her warm skin. While they both deepened the kiss, her fingernails dug into his shoulders through his shirt and he ran one hand all the way up and gripped the back of her short hair with it. He pulled her head back slightly and ran his mouth down to her neck. He kissed and sucked across it and his cock hardened with each whimper that came from her mouth,

  Rusty kept his mouth on her skin as he pushed her down so that her back was against the bed. Then he grabbed the bottom of her shirt and pushed it up over her breasts. She was wearing a purple lace bra and the sight of her soft mounds swelling over the top of the cups had him licking his lips. He slipped a hand underneath her and she arched her back up as he unhooked her bra, and then she finished pulling off her shirt and let the bra go with it. Rusty kissed her mouth again before giving each one of her breasts a kiss and a light suckle. Shelly moaned and writhed under him and when he stood up, she unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans and lifted her butt off the bed so that he could pull them off of her. He took the lacy purple thong she was wearing down with them and slipped off her shoes before letting them all fall to the floor. Then as she lay there on the bed, naked and fucking hot, Rusty began taking off his clothes. Shelly watched, licking her own lips every so often and sending a shiver down his spine as she did. When he pushed down his shorts and his rock-hard cock popped out, she reached for it. Her hand was small and barely fit around him, but she got a good grip and began to stroke him up and down slowly from tip to base. She used her thumb to guide the bead of velvety fluid at the tip along the shaft and make it easier for her to pump him up and down. The warmth of her hand, the way she was moving it and just the sight of her looking up at him was driving him crazy. He started to pull back so he could get a condom out of his wallet, but before he could move, her tongue was out and she was licking around the tip of his aching cock.

  “Oh Jesus,” he whispered. She smiled and opened her lips. Sliding her hand to the base of his cock, she let her lips slide over the tip and then she began to engulf him slowly. She definitely knew what she was doing and Rusty was enjoying every second of it. Once she had nearly his full length in her mouth, she ran her tongue up and down the underside of it and then began to bob her head up and down, taking him in nearly to the back of her throat each time before letting him slide nearly all the way out. Rusty had his hands on her head, fingers gripping her short hair, pushing her head down harder each time and moving his hips. His body felt like it was on fire and he could hardly catch his breath. It had been a long time since he'd been with a woman...too fucking long. He finally had to pull back, he didn't want to waste what was building up inside of him in her mouth.

  He reached down and picked her underneath her arms and moved her higher up on the bed. With one knee pressing down next to her, he reached over and slid two of his fingers between her thighs. She was soaking wet and as soon as he touched the puffy lips of her soaked pussy she let out a sound from the back of her throat. It was a high-pitched, needy trill that bounced off of every solid surface in the room. It caused Rusty's cock to throb and he put his other leg up on the bed pulled his fingers back and picked her up by her thighs. He pulled her butt up off the bed and rested her thighs on his shoulders as he shoved his face into her pussy. She was so sweet, and he rubbed his face in all that silky liquid while his tongue went crazy licking her up and down, swirling around her clit and sliding between her lips and into her hot tunnel. That sound she was making was so fucking sexy and every time Rusty heard it, he had to concentrate on not coming. He licked, sucked and nibbled until she was gasping.

  “Rusty!” She finally breathed out. With his mouth still against her sensitive flesh he growled out,

  “Yes?”

  “Fuck me! Please!” He pulled his face out from between her legs and looked down at hers. She was sweating and her brightly colored hair stuck to the sides of her brightly flushed face. He let her legs down and then leaned over and softly kissed her lips. The bottom one was swollen from her biting down on it while he was licking her pussy. There was a little dribble of blood on the inside of it and he used his tongue to lick it off before whispering,

  “I'm gonna get a condom...don't move.”

  “In the nightstand,” she gasped out. Rusty reached over to the little nightstand next to the bed and pulled open the drawer. He reminded himself where he was, when he was surprised at what he saw there. The drawer was full of every size, texture and color of condom. He pulled out a Magnum with ridges and Shelly watched with lustful eyes as he rolled it on.

  Once he had the condom in place he used one hand to flip her over on her belly. She lifted her butt up as soon as he did. It was big and round and her waist was small...damn, she was fine. She looked better than the women he'd paid a ton of money for in the past. He lifted his hand and smacked that ass and watched it wiggle. Shelly moaned like she liked it, so he did it again before at last taking his cock in his hand and running it up and down between her legs. It felt so good that he thought he might explode. He felt her entire body shudder and she pushed her butt back against him and whispered,

  “Please.”

  Rusty was finished teasing. He pressed into her and felt the silk of her muscles envelop him. They both let out a little cry as he buried himself up inside of her. She felt so fucking good...he wished that he could feel her skin to skin, but he wasn't going to complain. He gripped onto her hips with both hands and began to move in and out of her. He wasn't going slow, or easy and Shelly seemed to like it that way. She pushed back against him as hard as he pushed into her and it sounded like she was biting down on the pillow now as the sounds she was making were coming out all muffled and soft. He could feel it as she got even more excited and he knew she was close to coming. He suddenly felt the need to see her face when she came. He pulled back and she let out a long whimper and collapsed into the pillow. Rusty grabbed her by the waist and turned her over, positioning himself between her thighs. He leaned down and licked one of her nipples. Her hands were suddenly in his hair, pushing his face into her chest. He licked harder and then sucked the nipple into his mouth and played with it, loving the way she was encouraging him with whispered words of praise every time she caught her breath. He moved over and sucked on the other one for a while and when she was clawing at his back and begging him to fuck her again, he drove into her...deep and hard.

  “Oh fuck! Oh Jesus!” She was digging her nails into him, holding on tight as he plunged in and out of her. It wasn't long before she said, “I'm going to come Rusty...fuck!” He held her tighter and fucked her harder and faster until he felt her whole body seize up and the walls of her pussy clamp down tightly around him. She screamed and for just a fraction of a second, he wondered if the people downstairs could hear her but as he rocked into her his own orgasm finally reached an uncontrollable peak and he didn't give a damn any longer who was listening. He let out a long, loud growl as he exploded from the inside out, and when he did, Shelly reached up and grab
bed his face between her hands and kissed him hard. Her tongue in his mouth while the waves of his orgasm washed over him again and again sent goosebumps skittering down both his arms and his spine. He hadn't felt chemistry with a woman like this in a long time, and it felt amazing.

  8

  The week following Easter was the best week Rusty could remember having in a very long time. He started going to meetings with Shelly and by the end of the week he'd met a man that had been in AA for over ten years and who agreed to be his sponsor. After his meeting, he'd go out to the ranch and visit with Saint, and a few times, have some more fun with Shelly. He really liked her, and he and Saint realized the more that they talked, that they had a hell of a lot in common. Rusty had a much better experience growing up as a preacher's son than Saint did...but otherwise they had a lot of the same core values and Rusty was surprised at how much peace it brought him to have someone to talk to about his religion.

  His afternoons were spent with the kids in the park after they got out of school. Blue was getting good at kicking the football and Rusty had no doubts that she'd be one of the best kickers the school ever saw if they gave her a chance to show them what she could do. Isaac, as cocky and annoying as he could be at times, was one hell of a quarterback. It took a few days, but once Isaac realized it was doing him more harm than good to continue to refuse to play with the “ranch” kids, he and Brett began teaming up and Rusty was blown away by how good they were together. Isaac's passes were getting longer and more precise and Brett rarely missed a pass. The other kids all had talents of their own as well and Rusty was realizing that if he focused on their individual talents with lots of praise, they worked even harder. He'd even taken to making lists in the evenings of what each kid's talent was and what his goals for them were. By Friday night, it had been almost a full week without a drop of alcohol and his body was actually starting to feel healthy again. He had gone grocery shopping and he was eating regularly. He had signed back up with his old gym in Boston and Monday morning he planned on starting. And, he hired his mother's housekeeper back and he was no longer living in a pig-sty.

  Toolie had given him his bike back that week as well, and it was as good as new. He knew he'd spent a ridiculous amount of money on it when he bought it, but the looks on the faces of the brothers in the club when they all saw it was well worth that amount. He'd even gotten a few offers to prospect from some of the brothers who would be willing to sponsor him. He hadn't decided if that was something he might want to do, but for the first time in a long time he felt like he was part of something again...and it felt damned good.

  There was one last thing he needed to do in order to set his life straight though and as he sat down on his couch after his shower Friday evening, he pulled out his phone and prepared to do that. With one deep breath in and out, he pressed in his brother's number.

  “Rusty?” Matt's voice was pressured and Rusty's name was said in the form of a question.

  “Yeah, it's me.”

  “You okay?” Matt's question was spoken with true sincerity in his voice. Rusty cursed himself for ever thinking that his brother, or anyone in his family ever wanted him to fail. They'd always all been his biggest cheering section and he'd spent too many years taking them all for granted.

  “Yeah Matt, I'm good. I was calling to apologize and tell you that you were right.”

  There was a long pause and then Matt said, “I was right about?”

  “Me drinking again, me being defensive, me throwing my life away...you were right about it all and I'm sorry for how I treated you. The fact that you and Mom and Dad and Chloe still give a shit about me after all I've put you through is practically a miracle, and I need to stop taking that for granted. I need you, Matt. I need all of you. I don't want to die at thirty-five years old because I couldn't stop drinking or kill someone because I was too stupid drunk to know I shouldn't be driving. Tomorrow I'll get my one-week chip. I know that's not much time...but, I'm going to do it this time, Matt. I'm going to turn my life around.”

  Matt had listened without interrupting and when Rusty finished he said, “I'm glad little brother. All I ever wanted was for you to be happy and healthy. I can't stand watching you hurt yourself. You have so much going for you.”

  “I know. Thanks for not walking away when I try to push you. I'm going to do better, I promise.”

  “Family doesn't walk away,” Matt said. “Have you talked to Mom or Dad?”

  “Not yet, they're my next call.”

  “Good. I haven't talked to Dad, but I can tell that Mom's been worried. She said she hasn't been able to get through to you....”

  “I was avoiding her,” Rusty told him, honestly. “She always knows when I'm lying, even six thousand miles away. But no more. Like I said, if I'm going to do this, I need all of you.”

  “Thank you, Rusty.”

  Rusty laughed. “No Matt, thank you. I'll keep in touch, okay?”

  “And if you don't, I know where you live.”

  Rusty laughed again. “Yeah, I'm scared.”

  “You will be if I have to drive all the way up from Ohio. I'll kick your ass.”

  Rusty laughed hard at that. Matt was six inches shorter than him and Rusty outweighed him by probably a hundred pounds. “Okay big brother, I'll keep that in mind,” he said, with another chuckle.

  After Rusty checked in with Matt about his sister-in-law and niece and nephews, he said goodnight to his brother and called his mother's phone. It was six in the morning their time, but his parents were always up with the sun. Rusty wanted to catch them before they got busy doing anything else. His dad answered the phone.

  “Rusty, is that you?”

  “Yeah Dad, it's me. How are you?”

  “I'm good, son! How are you?”

  “I'm good too. It seems that someone...anonymously referred me to a motorcycle club for therapy.”

  Rusty's dad laughed. He didn't realize how much he missed him until exactly that moment. He loved the sound of his dad's laughter, it was so genuine. “As strange as that sounds, I couldn't think of a better group of people to help you out with the problems you were having. So, what do you think of them?”

  “Okay Dad, we'll pretend like you haven't already checked in with Dax. I like them, a lot. I really like Saint. I'm getting so much out of spending time with him. It's like talking to a preacher who used the ‘F’ word a lot.”

  His dad laughed. “Yes, that boy does have a filthy mouth, but, he's got a good heart.”

  “Yeah, he does. I've been coaching some of the neighborhood and ranch kids over at the park here too every day.”

  “Coaching? Wow Rusty, that's awesome. Maybe that's something you could do for a job...when you feel like you're ready for one.”

  “Yeah, I've been thinking about that. I wasn't worried about finding a job because I didn't need the money, but I realized that sitting around every day, all day long, with nothing but my thoughts is a dangerous thing. Staying busy is good for me...you know I was drinking again?”

  “Yes son, I've known for a while.”

  “I'm sorry, Dad. But, I haven't drunk for a week, I'm in AA, I threw away all the pills in the house...I'm going to do it this time.”

  “I don't doubt it. I'm proud of you, Rusty.”

  “Don't be, not yet. I just wanted to say thank you. Even on another continent, you're still looking out for me.”

  “Son, when the man upstairs calls me home, I'll still be up there looking out for you.” Rusty laughed, but he didn't doubt that either. They talked about the kids and football for a few minutes and then his mother came on the phone. He reassured her that he was okay and by the time he hung up with them his voice was thick, and his eyes were filled with unspilt tears. He was beginning to realize that he'd had everything he needed in his life all along to succeed, he just hadn't realized it.

  The day that Rusty received his one-month chip at AA he was so excited that he went straight out to the ranch, to share it with Saint. He parked
in front of the clubhouse and walked in with a smile on his face. The smile fell as soon as he looked around. There was a pall in the air that he could actually feel. Something bad was happening and when he walked up to the table where Dax was sitting with his vice-president, Handsome and another guy that Rusty hadn't met yet. The third guy had on a Skulls vest, but he was wearing funky hat and he just didn't look like a biker. They fell silent as Rusty approached the table.

  “Hey, what's going on?”

  Dax looked at the other two men and they both got up and left the table. “Have a seat, Rusty.”

  Rusty sat down and with a frown he said, “What is it, Dax? You're scaring me a little.”

  “Saint took a turn for the worse this morning.”

  “Oh fuck...did he...?”

  “No, he's still with us,” Dax said. “But not for long. The doctor was here, and he said that the rest of his organs are shutting down. Saint's been kind of in and out of it. I was just going to call you. Blue says he's been asking for you and his best friend, Garrett. Garrett was out of town, but he's on his way back now.”

  Rusty felt sick to his stomach. Mostly he was angry with himself because he knew this day was coming and he hadn't prepared for it at all. He honestly hadn't ever been close to anyone that died. His grandparents on his Mom's side were still living and the ones on his dad's side had passed when he was a baby. Death was a foreign concept to him still, especially when the victim was a friend and a young one at that. “Okay,” he said. “Can I see him now?”

  “Yeah, Blue and Kay are up there with him now. Angel went to pick up our girl Susie from school, but she's going to take her to the park or something. Susie has gotten pretty attached to Saint too, Angel wants to try to prepare her a little if she can.”