by Sadie Savage
They rode off down more sloping streets. At one point, she let out an excited, “Wheeee!” that made him laugh. Their motorcycle finally stopped back outside of Cabbages and Kings. She took one look at the place and made a face. “I don’t want to go back to work now,” she complained.
Eric shook his head, smiling at her. “This is where we met. I don’t know where you live.”
She grinned at him, blushing faintly. “You want to see where I live?” she asked.
He nodded and she rattled off her address. He put it into his phone’s GPS and turned up the volume. He wouldn’t be able to look at it, but he’d be able to hear the directions. At least, he hoped so.
As the bike took off once more, Summer hugged him around the waist and rested her cheek against his back, smiling. She didn’t care that he was unemployed anymore. He had saved the day for her and made her feel better. She felt determined to help her Celestial Sentinel find a new job.
Once they reached her house, Eric parked his bike in her driveway. He helped her off the bike and she excitedly took his hand. Last time she had been in her house, she’d been miserable. She wanted Eric to fix that now, too.
“Wow, this place is big,” he said, looking around. It was a house with two bedrooms and a master bedroom. It was clearly more space than one girl could possibly need.
“It was bought with a family in mind,” she told him, closing and locking the door behind them. She tossed her keys onto the nearby kitchen counter and shoved her hands into the back pockets of her jeans.
Glancing at the pink outline of a heart on her chest, Eric came closer. He brought his face to hers and kept his mouth teasingly close to touching her mouth. “Do you still have a family in mind?” he asked her in a whisper.
She shook her head slightly. “I should warn you right now that I’m damaged goods,” she whispered back. “I can’t have kids.”
He lunged at her within that small space and suddenly his lips were on hers. He kissed her hotly and deeply, letting his tongue gently dance against hers. “You’re not damaged goods,” he said after he’d broken away, resting his forehead against hers. “You’re exactly what I’m looking for.”
With that, he lifted her up into his arms and carried her through the house, finding the master bedroom without much difficulty since it was the only room with a bed in it. He placed her gently down onto the bed and lay down so that he was practically on top of her, kissing her and running his hands all over her stomach and breasts and waist.
She pulled off his leather jacket and tossed it to the floor before reaching down and undoing his fly. Bringing out his penis, she took it into her mouth and licked and sucked at it, making Eric moan as he got even harder.
After a few minutes of a blissful blowjob, he moved away a little and pulled off her jeans and panties. Then he ducked down between her legs and returned the favor, running his tongue all over her clit and lower lips.
“Ohhh,” she moaned. “Oh god!” Tom had never done this for her. He’d never been too concerned with giving her orgasms and making her want sex with him. Which was weird, considering that he’d wanted to get her pregnant.
Tom was a dick.
Eric successfully got Summer nice and wet. Then he sat back up, fingering her a little as he smirked sweetly. “Are you ready?” he asked. “Do you want this?”
Summer nodded eagerly. It felt so good to be asked. She hadn’t expected biker boy to be so polite to her. She wasn’t sure what his deal was, but she liked it. “Yes,” she said. “I definitely do.”
With her permission, he slowly pressed himself inside her. She let out a gasp and lifted her legs, wrapping them around his middle. “You’re tight,” he said with a slight groan. “It has been a while, hasn’t it?”
She smiled up at him. “I was waiting for you to come along and stretch me.”
“Stretch you with my big cock?” he asked playfully.
“Mmhmm, with your big cock.” She writhed a little against him, her head spinning from the alcohol and the pleasure.
Eric licked his finger tips and brought them down to her clit, fingering her as he thrust inside her. Summer closed her eyes tightly as she suddenly came. “Oh, Eriiicc!” she bellowed. She felt as though fireworks were going off in her brain but it was dizzying and wonderful.
He clung to her as she came, then pulled her t-shirt off of her and sucked at her right breast, speeding up his movements. She felt a rush of something as he came inside her. Summer smiled at Eric, feeling a bit delirious, and he kissed her.
“There’s nothing damaged about you,” he whispered, carefully pulling out of her. “You’re perfect.”
She watched, breathless, as he got out of the bed and went to the bathroom to clean himself up.
When he came back, Eric got into bed again and cuddled with her. She was used to being alone after sex, listening as the silence became filled with snores. She didn’t expect to be cuddled afterwards. It felt nice, though she didn’t quite know what to do now.
“Is your Valentine’s Day going better for you now?” he asked her, kissing her cheek and the side of her neck as he held her close.
“I think my year is going better for me now,” she answered, smiling at him and taking his mouth onto hers. After a wonderful make-out session, Summer shivered. “It’s not fair that you get to keep your shirt,” she said, only pretending to complain.
He sat up and removed his black t-shirt, handing it over to her. She took it, grinning an impressed grin, and put it on. It was small and tight on him, which helped to show off his muscled body. On her, it was long and loose enough to cover her private bits. It fit like a nightgown, and it was made even better by the fact that it smelled like him.
“Do you want some tea or something?” she asked him, standing up and rubbing her face in an effort to get her mind working again and stop thinking about sex.
That was hard to do when he stood beside her, naked.
She looked down at his sizable cock and blushed, smiling. “Here.” She picked up her red shirt with the pink heart on it and handed it to him. “You shouldn’t have to be cold either.”
Eric put her shirt on and she laughed. It didn’t exactly cover him up, but it sure was funny and cute. “I’m going to stretch it,” he said, sounding almost embarrassed.
That just made her giggle more. “I don’t care. Do you think I want to wear that shirt to work again?”
Summer went into the kitchen to make some tea and he followed her. He sat down on one of the bar stools that she kept by her little breakfast bar. He hissed somewhat at the feel of the cold surface on his bare butt.
“So, I’m curious,” he said as he watched her put the kettle on the stove and select two tea flavors from her pantry. “What do you work in that restaurant if you hate it so much?”
She thought about it. “I don’t really hate it. ‘Hate’ is too strong of a word. I actually really like working in the bookstore part. I’m glad I met you there. I just… Well, who likes working in a place where the clientele is so largely tourists?”
Eric shrugged. “But bands play there.”
“Mostly crappy bands,” she argued. “And most of the time, we just have open mic nights. I’m starting to think that I should just work in an actual bookstore.”
She realized that she was complaining about her job to somebody who didn’t have a job and immediately felt regret. “I’m sorry. A job is a job, I suppose… What sort of thing would you like to do, now that you’re an unemployed guard and not a full-time guard?”
He smiled a little at that. “Well, I probably shouldn’t guard anymore.”
They both laughed softly. She poured the hot water over their peppermint tea and brought a mug over for him, sitting beside him at the bar with her own mug of cinnamon apple tea. The smells of both flavors mingled in the air and were invigorating. “There could be a career in your motorcycle interest,” she suggested. “A lot of places could use delivery people. Does that sound horrible to you?”
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“Nah, it doesn’t sound horrible,” Eric replied. “That’s a good idea. I was also thinking that I could be a roadie or something, since we were talking about the bands that play at your place. I guess I’d have to get a car for that, though.”
Summer sipped her tea, thinking. “You could always join the staff in my place, who handle the sound and set up for shows.”
Eric snapped, smiling at her. “Now that’s a great idea.” He took a sip of his tea and moaned softly. “And this is great tea. You are really good at stuff. I’ve clearly picked out the right girl.”
She blushed, pleased and flattered.
“I don’t know where your ex-husband gets off letting you think that having kids is the most important part of being in a relationship,” Eric said. “And what’s even more incorrect is that he made you think there was something wrong with you for not being able to have kids. He’s an asshole. I’m sorry.”
It comforted her just to know that Eric didn’t feel the same negative way about her predicament as she did. She needed to stop thinking of it as a predicament anyway. It was just life. Someday, if she wanted, she could adopt some kids. She wasn’t so old yet that she even felt the major call to be a mother.
“No, you don’t have to apologize. He is a colossal asshole. And I’ve found someone better.” She kissed Eric and gently stroked his hand with her fingertips.
After they finished their tea, they went back to the bedroom and went to sleep, nestled warmly in each other’s arms. It felt amazing to be in someone’s arms again, and no matter how much she told herself she deserved it, she couldn’t help feeling like she was also completely blessed. She couldn’t wait to tell Rose and see what her friend would have to say. Rose would probably say something about karma and signs. She loved that this time Rose had been right about her relationship and it hadn’t actually come back to hurt her much. She was going to be okay.
Her Valentine’s Day had been the best one she’d experienced so far. And the evidence of it would come in the morning, when she rode to her work on the back of Eric’s motorcycle to retrieve her car.
CHAPTER FOUR
Don’t Fake It, Baby
For a time, it seemed like everything was finally working out for Summer. She had a sexy, new boyfriend who cared about her. Work was going okay and had stopped annoying her so much now that Eric was in the running for a job there. She’d signed her divorce papers and sent them off to be signed by Tom and processed by their lawyers. She had nothing to worry about anymore.
She came home from work one evening to find Eric sitting on the couch. This in itself wasn’t so odd. They basically lived together now. But, instead of watching TV or looking for jobs or something like usual, he was just sitting there, watching her.
As soon as she was fully in the house, he rose up from the couch. “We need to talk,” he said.
Oh no. Those were never good words. “Okay,” she said hesitantly though trying to keep her voice bright. She set her purse on the kitchen counter and went over to him. She gave him a hug like she always did when seeing him after work or after a few days of time apart.
He gestured for her to sit on the couch and she did so. He sat beside her and took her hand. “There’s something I need to tell you,” he said. “Something I haven’t been forthcoming about, but there’s a good reason why…” He sighed.
Summer was concerned. She didn’t want their happy little bubble to burst, but something was up and she knew that it was upsetting Eric. Was he secretly married? Her mind was racing, trying to figure out what it was. “Well, if there’s a good reason, then I’m sure it can’t be that bad.”
“Before I met you, almost right before I met you, I robbed a convenience store.”
Well, shit. It was that bad.
Her eyes widened at him. “I’m sorry, what?”
“I lost my job and I didn’t know what to do. I was running out of money…”
She moved away from him, staring at him incredulously. “And then you thought it would be a good idea to buy a book from me?”
Eric looked down. “Originally, I was planning to rob your store, too… I made up an excuse to get you to open the register. But then I met you and I just couldn’t go through with it.”
Summer stood up and pointed to the door. “You need to leave,” she said.
“I haven’t stolen anything since.”
“Get out!”
Without another word, he got up and went to the door. He grabbed his helmet from where it hung on the coat stand. He put it on with a decisive snap and was gone.
She put her head in her hands and sank back onto the couch, crying. Why couldn’t she ever have something nice? Why couldn’t she ever get a good guy, instead of a bad guy in disguise?
At first, she wanted to call Rose but she didn’t want to go crying to her friend again. She felt like the only times she ever called Rose up was when she needed to complain about some injustice that had been done to her.
The phone rang and, for a moment, Summer thought that maybe Rose had sensed a disturbance in the Force and was calling to check on her, but it was Megan instead.
“Hi, is Eric around?” His name felt like nails on a chalkboard to Summer.
“No, he doesn’t live here anymore.”
Megan let out a sigh. “That’s a shame… Do you have a number where I can reach him?”
Summer remembered numbly that he had applied to work at her place of work, and she suddenly was overcome with the desire to not let that happen. “I don’t, actually, sorry. If this is about the job, he changed his mind.”
She hung up, crying again. She knew that she was going to have to answer for that down the road, but she didn’t want to think about it right now. Everything just hurt.
Megan was understanding when Summer finally went back into work and explained the situation – omitting the part about robbery. She was mad at Eric for deceiving her, but she did not want to get him in trouble. “That was something that was a bit worrisome,” Megan admitted. “Coworkers who are also dating can be a bit messy.”
Summer looked down at the floor, not wanting to talk about it anymore. Megan patted her back gently, understanding that as well.
At least Valentine’s Day was over. The storestaurant was decorated for Easter now.
For two weeks, Summer went through life feeling like a zombie. She’d go to work, she’d come home, eat dinner and go to sleep. On the rare occasions that she just worked an afternoon shift, she’d go to work, come home, stare at the internet for hours before it was acceptable to eat dinner, and go to sleep.
Rose knew that something bad had happened, but she didn’t pry. “You can tell me anything,” she said. “The good, the bad and the ugly.”
“The world hates me,” Summer told her sadly over the phone.
“Aww, no it doesn’t,” Rose said. “It’s just giving you a lot of speed bumps right now. But you’re getting past them.”
“My period’s late,” Summer intoned.
Rose struggled to come up with an answer for that. “It’s probably just stress. Your period skips months sometimes.”
That was something that Summer was well aware of. She was in a rut and she didn’t know how to get out of it. She didn’t feel like doing anything anymore. She didn’t feel. This house that her parents had willed to her was starting to feel as empty as her schedule.
“Maybe I should get an apartment,” she told herself one morning.
As soon as she got out of bed, she felt sick to her stomach. She rushed into the bathroom and threw up into the toilet, making it just in time. Her head was throbbing and now she was sick to her stomach over nothing.
Suddenly, she wondered something.
She called in sick to work and went to a convenience store to buy a pregnancy test. As she waited in line, she briefly thought about Eric and wondered if this was the store he’d robbed. It didn’t seem like a guy could make a whole lot of money working there, let alone breaking into its register.
Once she was home, she peed on the stick and left it on the sink’s edge. She didn’t wait around to see what it said but instead went back out into the living room to see what was on TV. She didn’t want to think about the implications of what the stick might tell her.
Summer couldn’t be pregnant. She had a condition. Several doctors at several different clinics had told her that her chances of conceiving were very low. It was why her asshole of an ex-husband had cheated on her and left her. She couldn’t be pregnant. No.
But the stick on the sink said otherwise.
Stunned and in a flurry of rushing excitement, she called Rose.
“Yeeello,” her friend said, friendly as ever.
“RoseI’mpregnant.”
“Summer? What?”
She took a deep breath. “Rose. I’m pregnant.”
There was a long pause.
“Are you sure?”
“I just took a test! It says I’m pregnant!”
Rose let out a little, excited shriek. “Um, do me a favor. I’m in the car right now on my way home from work. Get another test and take it, and wait for me before you see the results. I’ll be over soon!”
Summer did as she was told. She went into the convenience store, shaking this time instead of feeling so grumpy and upset. She felt more scared and confused than anything else at the moment. She bought a different brand of pregnancy test.
As soon as she was home, she peed on it and left it on the coffee table, not looking at it. She read articles on her phone about pregnancy, false positives and polycystic ovary syndrome. This was not supposed to have happened. She was supposed to need hormone therapy and stuff!
There was a knock at the door and she ran over to answer it, feeling too jittery to sit still. She wanted to have a baby, but she’d spent so long telling herself that there was no way… Now that she had apparently proven herself wrong, she wanted to laugh and cry and celebrate.
Rose, her tall friend who looked like Barbie would if Barbie was a hippy, stood there and grinned at her on the threshold. Summer gave her friend a hug and welcomed her inside. “Did you do a test?” Rose asked.
