by Heather Lyn
Resting her head on my shoulder, she wraps an arm around my neck, holding on tightly as she rocks her hips back and forth. I lightly rub her clit and her muscles clamp down on me. She’s close.
“Oh Grayson...fuck, you feel so good.”
“You pussy is squeezing me so fucking tight. You want me to make you come, baby? You wanna come on my hard cock?” I work my finger harder on her clit, making more rapid thrusts with my hips.
“Grayson, oh my God,” Kennedy cries out, arching her back.
I bite down on her shoulder as her orgasm takes over and she begins chanting my name, legs shaking as I continue fucking her through it. I only last a few more seconds before I feel my climax hit me. Growling through it, I grab Kennedy’s face to kiss her as I shoot into the condom. We’re both shaking and I collapse onto the bed, cradling her with me. Pulling out of her, I lie on my back and she rolls over, resting on my chest.
Kennedy is breathing heavy as she leans down to kiss me, smiling against my lips.
“That was amazing, Gray.”
“It was, wasn’t it?” I cup her toned ass in both of my hands, pulling her up to straddle my waist. “We’re so fucking good together, baby.”
“I love you, Grayson,” she whispers, rocking her hips gently.
“Mmm. I love you too, Kennedy. Give me ten minutes and I’ll show you just how much.”
Giggling, she takes my lips with hers, rolling onto the bed and taking me with her. I’m about to rip off the condom and replace it when I remember the shower is still running. Climbing off the bed, I go shut it off and get rid of the condom. I couldn’t have been gone more than two minutes, but Kennedy has curled up in the middle of the bed, the sheet over her bare body, fast asleep. Chuckling, I walk to the other side of the bed and climb in behind her, pulling her into my arms. She stirs lightly, rolling over and draping an arm over my waist.
“Love you,” she whispers, burying her face in my chest.
“I love you too, Kennedy. Sweet dreams, baby.”
***
Waking up to my alarm this morning was shitty. I wanted nothing more than to spend the day in bed with my girl, but I’m on shift the next twenty-four hours so I had to leave her sleeping in bed.
Heading into the kitchen area of the firehouse, I make a beeline for the coffee. I need a serious jolt of caffeine. Noah comes walking in a few minutes later, Hunter by his side.
“Good morning, sunshine!” Hunter bellows across the small space, causing us all to start laughing. Taking a sip of coffee, I walk over to them.
“Hey, pretty boy, how you doin'?”
“Doing real good, cupcake,” Hunter drawls, leaning against the island.
“Glad to hear it, princess.”
“Oh shut the fuck up, you guys. Not all of us are awake yet!” Noah grumbles, pushing me out of the way to get his cup of coffee.
“Someone’s got his panties in a wad. Was someone up all night worshipping Aubrey’s perfect pussy? Are you tired, widdle boy?” Hunter pouts his bottom lip, holding in his laughter.
“Fuck you, Daniels. For your information I was up all night with my dad moving Carmen back in, and I’m exhausted.” Noah takes his mug and blows on the hot brew.
“Who’s Carmen?”
“My little sister. And that’s all you need to know.”
“Little sister, huh? Oh, the plot thickens!” Hunter smacks Noah on the back, then heads over to the couch to flop down.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Noah mutters, shaking his head.
“Eh, don’t worry about it, Noah. Daniels is harmless. So Carmen’s home? Is she flying back up for graduation too?”
Noah shakes his head again and motions to the large circular table on the other side of the room. We go over to it with our coffee and sit down.
“What’s up, buddy? Everything okay with Carmen?”
“I don’t know, Gray. She was supposed to attend the graduation ceremony in what, three weeks? And then she calls Mom up about a month ago saying that she’s already taken all her finals and she’s moving home. She even opted out of the ceremony. I have no idea what the hell is going on. It feels like there’s something else happening that we don’t know about.”
“Damn. Hope everything is okay.”
Noah and I have been best friends for over twenty years, so I’ve pretty much watched Carmen grow up. She turned twenty-one last summer, and we took her out for her “first beer.” We aren’t stupid; we knew it was her first legal beer. But she’s always had a good head on her shoulders, and she was going to school up in Boston to get her business degree. Carmen’s always wanted to own her own little coffee shop and bakery.
“Have you talked to her?” I ask, pulling my cell phone from my pocket.
“Not really. She sent me a text last week, and she hadn’t gotten home when I left Mom and Dad’s last night. I guess she’s already found an apartment, since she’s only gonna be staying with them for a couple weeks.”
“Has Aubs talked to her? I know they get along well.”
“Not that I know of. Something’s off, and I’m worried.” Noah drains his mug and slams it down on the table in front of us.
“I’m sure it’s nothing, Noah. Carmen tells y’all everything, so if something was wrong she would’ve told you.”
Glancing down at my phone, I see the text waiting for me from Kennedy.
Kennedy: Miss you, handsome.
Grayson: Miss you more, babe.
I don’t get a chance to read her reply, as the alarms in the station go off and we have to go to our first call. It’s a small house fire and we get it taken care of quickly. When we get back to the station, I grab my cell off the kitchen table.
Kennedy: Have a good shift, Gray. See you tomorrow.
Grayson: You gonna stay at my place tonight?
Kennedy: Thinking about it.
Grayson: I want you in my bed when I come home tomorrow.
Kennedy: I have work tomorrow, goofball. I’ll be gone by then.
Grayson: Call in sick.
Kennedy: I can’t. The kids need me.
Grayson: I need you too, baby.
Kennedy: Grayson, I have to work. I love my job.
Grayson: Fine! Love you.
Kennedy: Love you too. Be safe.
Grayson: Always, darlin.
“Hey, we’re gonna go run some drills!” Looking up, I see Noah standing in front of me, chainsaw in hand.
“Got it.” I shove my cell into my pocket and head out after him.
Three hours later, we’re all dripping in sweat and we’ve learned some new techniques that should be helpful. I head straight for the showers to get cleaned up and I’m only just rinsing the soap from my body when the damn alarms go off again. Not bothering to dry off, I throw my clean clothes on and race out to the bay. It’s a three-alarm fire at an abandoned warehouse and I instantly know this is going to be a long fucking day. Maybe even night.
CHAPTER 13
Kennedy
It’s been a little over a week since dinner at Grayson’s parents’, and it’s been a hell of a week. I got another letter from my mother, which is starting to piss me off. I’m not really sure what her end game is, but she can’t possibly be delusional enough to think that sending me letters after years of no contact will make me write her a check. I know I need to tell Grayson about it, but I don’t want to. It’s silly, but it’s so embarrassing.
Summer break is only a month away and I cannot wait. I am so ready for sleeping in, trips to the beach, and margaritas. Grayson has a trip planned for us with Noah and Aubrey to Myrtle Beach the week school lets out. We’re gonna do a bachelor and bachelorette getaway for them, and I plan on sitting my ass on the beach the entire time. Being with Grayson has me so excited for things again, and I’m really looking forward to everything.
I’m hanging out with Aubrey tonight after we get off work. The phrase “Thank God it’s Friday” has never felt truer than it does today. I’m at my apartment getting ready for w
ork when I feel my stomach rolling. Biting back the nausea, I finish drying my hair, but it’s short-lived because I soon find myself dry heaving over the open toilet. Once I’m done losing the contents of my stomach, I flush and brush my teeth again. A couple kids from my class have been out with a stomach bug, and I really hope I’m not coming down with it. Luckily I feel better by the time I head out the door to work. I have the windows down and the warm breeze feels nice. As I drive to work, I let my mind drift.
Grayson and I have been officially together just over a month, and while I genuinely didn’t expect things to become so serious with us, they most certainly have. It feels like this is where we’re supposed to be. He was right; we did do circles around each other for almost a year. I’m pretty sure I was already half in love with him when he confessed his feelings to me. We’ve been spending all of our free time together, except for the one day a week Aubrey and I spend together, usually wedding planning. She and Noah are getting married in September and I cannot wait for the wedding. For the first time in a long time, I feel secure and happy. Life is really fucking good.
Pulling into the parking lot of the elementary school, I climb out and grab my stuff off the backseat. Heading inside, I peek into Aubrey’s classroom. She waves with a huge smile, and I wave back before heading into my classroom next to hers. Tucking my stuff into my small closet, I hear my phone ping from my purse, a new message from Grayson.
Grayson: Hey, babe. Have a good day of work. Bad news though. Chief has a ton of overtime he’s handing out to us all, so I’m gonna be working all weekend.
Kennedy: Seriously?
Grayson: I know, babe. But I wanted to get it over with. We each have to take a full weekend shift at some point this month, and with our trip next month I didn’t want Noah and me to get stuck working then.
Kennedy: Yeah, that makes sense. Okay, no big deal.
Grayson: I love you, Kennedy.
Kennedy: Love you too. Gotta go.
Sighing loudly, I blow my bangs out of my face and turn my phone onto silent, tucking it back into my purse. Looking up at the clock, I see that I still have a few minutes before I have to be outside to greet my kids, so I go over to the door that connects my room to Aubrey’s and stick my head in. She looks up from what she’s doing and grins.
“Hey, Kenni. What’s going on, girl?”
“Grayson has to work overtime all weekend. It sucks.”
Aubrey nods and stands up. “Yeah, Noah is too. But now we can hang out longer. Girls’ weekend! Why don’t we go shopping for our trip next month?”
I can’t help the huge smile. “Yes, let’s do it! We’ll meet at the mall when we leave today, and then we can stay at my apartment for the weekend.”
“Sounds good, Kenni.”
We make small talk for a few more minutes and then head out to get our kids. As I stand and wait for them, I can’t help feeling excited for this weekend. I’m going to miss my crazy-ass boyfriend, but I’m really looking forward to some much-needed girl time with Aubs. I’m also hoping to talk to her about my mom and see what she thinks I should do about it.
***
Luckily the workday flies by and I’m soon packing up my stuff. As I leave my classroom, I don’t see Aubrey, so I go out to the parking lot and throw my stuff into my car. As I make the drive to the local mall, I think about buying some new lingerie to make up for not seeing Grayson all weekend. Maybe I’ll video chat him in it, make him miss me even more. As I pull into the mall’s parking lot, my phone starts ringing in my purse. Pulling it out, I see it’s that same number my mother’s lawyer, boyfriend, whatever he is, calls me on. I hit the ignore button and throw it back into my purse.
I don’t know how much more of this I can take.
Climbing out of my car, I stroll inside, heading for the food court. I seriously need a cup of coffee. I’ve just gotten in line when my phone starts ringing again, Aubrey this time. I answer and tell her where I am. I’ve just placed my coffee order when she comes bounding up next to me, a huge smile on her face.
“Hey, girl! So guess what?” She’s bouncing up and down.
“What?” The guy hands me my coffee and I give him my debit card.
“Noah just called me. He said that he and Gray just booked the place for our trip next month. He rented a little beach cottage like twenty feet from the beach.”
“No way. That’s gonna be awesome!” I take a sip of the coffee, wincing when it burns my tongue.
We stroll through the mall, talking about our excitement over her wedding and this trip. We go into one of our favorite stores and I immediately head towards the summer racks. I need new clothes. Well, okay, I don’t need clothes, but I want them. I love shopping, and I haven’t bought any new clothes in quite a while. Armed with my coffee, I know I’m going to put a good dent in this rack. Aubrey is talking to me about something wedding related when my phone starts ringing. Assuming it’s Grayson, I answer it without looking.
“Hello?”
“Ms. Grant, hello. I’m glad I caught you. This is Mark Bryant again.”
“I’m sorry, but you need to stop calling me. Please.”
Sweat breaks out over my skin and my heart starts to race. This makes five calls over the past couple days. That, along with the four letters from my mother, has me thinking that maybe this isn’t going to go away.
“Now you listen to me. You owe your mother. Your father did a number on her and she wasn’t taken care of properly when he up and left her—”
“I do not owe her anything! She was the one with the drinking problem. My father left me the money, and I will not give it to her so she can continue to drink her life away. Stop calling me, or I will be forced to take legal action against you. Just stop!”
Throwing my phone into my purse, I look up into the concerned blue eyes of my best friend. Taking a deep breath, I force myself to calm down.
“Kenni, what’s going on? Is everything okay?”
Nodding, I force a smile.
“We’ll talk later, okay, Aubs? Right now I want to shop and enjoy myself.”
Seeing her hesitancy, I give her a big smile and then go back to rifling through the clothes. I do my best to keep it off my mind, but it’s hard. I looked up this Mark Bryant a couple nights ago and it seems that my mother is now living in Knoxville with this man. He appears to be decent on paper, but a good person wouldn’t be allowing a drunk person to badger her estranged daughter for money. I have no idea what’s going on or what to do about it.
***
Aubrey and I have had a long afternoon. It’s almost eight at night and we’re only just getting back to my place. We shopped for about an hour and then decided to get manicures. I’m exhausted and am so glad we had a fast dinner out. I need my bed. I have a headache and all I want is to change into comfy clothes and relax.
Aubrey follows me into my apartment and we toss our purchases onto the couch. I go into my kitchen and grab a bottle of aspirin, taking a couple with some water before turning around to find her standing behind me with her hands on her hips.
“Okay. So, we have two movies to choose from. We can either watch Dirty Dancing or Footloose. What should we watch?”
“I don’t care. You pick.” I take my water into the living area and plop onto my couch, digging my phone out of my purse to see a couple texts from Grayson. I ignore them and toss my cell onto the coffee table. A second later, Aubrey takes a seat next to me.
“Okay. What the hell is going on, Kenni?”
I let out a groan.
“I have no idea. I’ve been getting calls from someone I think is dating my mom. And she keeps sending me letters.”
She’s staring at me with wide eyes.
“Are you serious?”
“Unfortunately. He called me again while we were shopping.”
“Jesus, Kenni. That’s ridiculous. What does Grayson think?”
I can’t meet her eyes, my cheeks burning in shame.
“Holy shit! You ha
ven’t told him? Kennedy Grant! How can you keep this from him?” Aubrey shrieks, jumping off the couch.
“I am not keeping it from him. I just don’t want to bother him with it.”
“Just tell him. He knows about everything. He isn’t going to judge you for it.”
“He’s so protective. He’s going to freak out! I don’t want to upset him.”
My stomach rolls at the prospect of telling him, and I race to the bathroom. I flip the toilet seat up and pull my hair back, emptying the contents of my stomach. I feel Aubrey come up behind me as I’m finishing, a washcloth in her hand. She hands it to me and I graciously take it from her.
“You okay?” she asks quietly.
I shake my head. “No, I’m not. I feel like shit all of a sudden.”
She reaches out to place her hand to my forehead.
“You’re burning hot. You must have a fever. Why don’t you go to bed and I’ll head home?” Aubrey reaches out to rub a hand up and down my back.
“No, I’m okay. Why don’t you grab Dirty Dancing and we can watch it in my bed?” I give her a weak smile and she nods in agreement.
I head into my bedroom and change into a pair of yoga pants and one of Grayson’s T-shirts, then climb into my bed and snuggle under the covers. Aubrey comes in a minute later, tossing me my cell phone before putting the movie in. When it’s ready, she reaches into my drawers and grabs one of my nightgowns. Aubrey changes while I check my messages from Grayson, and I decide to call him. Luckily, he answers.
“Hey, baby! Did you and Aubrey have a good time tonight?”
“Yeah, got some stuff for the trip next month. Now we’re gonna watch a movie in bed.”
“You okay, babe? You sound tired.” I can hear his concern and I feel bad.
“I’m okay, Gray. Promise. Just not feeling so hot. I think I might have the stomach bug that was going around the school. As long as I don’t puke again, I’m good,” I joke.
