by J. Daniels
Fuck. Me.
“I will,” I promise without a single thought.
Christ, this woman has the ability to unhinge me like no other. I need to get the subject off that text. I’m going to get hard if I don’t. And damn, if her persistence isn’t the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.
She wants me to respond. She needs it. And I hate making her feel like I ignored her.
But I need to focus on something else, so I do.
“Do you know if Tessa’s busy this weekend? I need to work on Saturday night and I’m going to have Nolan. I was hoping she’d babysit him for me.”
“I don’t know. She’s got a lot going on right now,” she states tensely, avoiding my eyes.
A lot going on? Tessa? Her summer plans consisted of tanning and chasing after Luke. But Mia seems uneasy all of a sudden, so I decide not to pry.
Her eyes return to mine and she smiles. “I can watch him for you if you want.”
“Yeah?” I ask, completely stunned by her offer. I shouldn’t be surprised at anything involving Mia, though. The girl seems to astonish me with each passing day. “You don’t have to do that. I can ask the old lady that lives a few houses down from me. She’s watched him before when no one else could.”
She smiles wider and cocks her head playfully. “Do you think Nolan would rather spend the evening with a princess that knows her way around a wooden sword, or an old, smelly lady that probably has an absurd amount of cats?”
“An absurd amount of cats?” I arch my brow at her, finding her thought process completely amusing.
She gives me a raised eyebrow in return. “Oh, I’m sure she has them. All old women become crazy cat ladies. My grandmother did. She had eleven roaming through her house.” She scrunches up her nose at the memory. “It smelled really bad in her house. You don’t want Nolan to make this face, do you, Ben?” She points to herself, trying to keep the unpleasant look going but cracking into a smile after a few seconds.
I chuckle. “No, I guess not. I’m sure he’d have more fun with you anyway.” She nods in agreement, smiling as if she really is looking forward to giving up her Saturday night to babysit. Could this woman get any more perfect? “I’ll owe you big time for this, so start thinking of ways I can repay you.”
She pulls her bottom lip into her mouth and grabs the sunscreen off the chair next to her. “Oh, I already have a few ideas.” She’s staring right at me, and the heated look in her eyes is hitting me where I don’t need it to. “I think I’m burning. Would you mind?”
Fuuccckkk.
No. I don’t mind. Not in the slightest. I’m only a man. I’m not a god. I can’t say no to Mia when she’s staring up at me like she wants me to do more than just rub sunscreen on her. Because that’s exactly how she’s staring at me. Ask my cock.
I grab the lotion and clear my throat as she spins around in her chair, offering me her back.
This is a test. A test to see if I can handle touching Mia as a friend. Because friends apply sunscreen to each other, and can do it without it being sexual.
I begin applying the lotion onto the warm skin of her shoulders, feeling the goose bumps pop up against my touch. She drops her head and moans softly, causing my cock to twitch like a fucking traitor. But I ignore it, moving down to her back. She moans again, a bit louder this time as I lift the string of her bikini, making sure to cover the area before I put it back in place. I’m only being thorough. I’d hate for Mia to burn and be in any amount of pain.
Just being thorough.
“That feels so good. I forgot what your hands felt like on my body.”
Good God. I don’t want to react to that. This is like her text messages, only worse. I can’t hide behind the screen of my phone and jerk off with my free hand. And my cock is having difficulty not reacting.
I pretend like I don’t hear her and run my hands down her lower back, smearing the lotion on. She does that damn whimpering sound, and all the blood in my veins rushes straight to my dick.
That’s it. I have to get out of here.
I pick the bottle of sunscreen off the ground and drop it over her shoulder and into her lap.
“I gotta go. I’ll drop Nolan off around three on Saturday.”
I walk away from her with my hard on, thinking back to her last text message about being able to tuck it away, making it less obvious. I do just that with an agitated shake of my head.
“Oh, okay. See ya!” she yells out, but I don’t turn to look at her. I can’t.
Christ, the fucking sounds are filling my ears again, and I need a release.
I get in my truck, liking the distance my parking spot gives me from her, and pull out my painful hard on. I stroke it fast, keeping my grip tight to not prolong my climax. I need to do this and get the hell out of here before I fuck everything up.
“Aw, fuck.”
I think of her mouth wrapped around me, those full lips teasing the head and pressing softly to my shaft. She’d take me in all the way, I know she would. Her mouth can handle everything I give her and I won’t hold anything back. I’d grip her hair and thrust my hips into her eager mouth, and she’d suck me until her cheeks hollowed and her eyes watered.
“Oh, God. Yeah.”
She’d swallow because she’d know that I’d love it. She’d love it, too, because she’s my dirty girl. My filthy little angel that tells me her panties are soaked. And then she’d ride me, hard and fast, her perfect tits bouncing in my face. I’d suck on them until she screamed like she did the other night. I’d tell her that I’d be coming all over them soon, because I would. She’d get off on my words, my mouth, and my cock, and then she’d come perfectly around me. Her skin would blush across her chest, blooming up toward her neck as she threw her head back. The sight of her orgasm would push me over the edge. I’d come inside her, this time without a condom, because I need to fucking feel her.
I’d bury my face in her tits, my cock in her pussy, and I’d fucking give her everything.
“Fuck.” My thighs tense, and I can feel my release surging through me. I open my eyes and grab a few napkins out of my console, holding them against the tip while I come by myself for the countless time this week. I wipe myself clean and then crumple up the napkins, shoving them into my cup holder.
I feel better, but not by much. I can still see her tight little body in the distance, and I want the real thing, not just the fantasy. But that isn’t going to happen. It can’t happen. Not yet.
I start up my truck and pull out my phone, scrolling to her last text.
Mia: I was so unbelievably horny today. Guys are lucky. They can just tuck their erections away and go on about their day like they aren’t sporting wood. Girls can’t do that. I had to change my panties twice before lunch.
After I reread it six times, I finally give her the response she wants.
Me: Even a tucked erection is still obvious. Trust me. And you aren’t the only one that’s been unbelievably horny lately.
I press send and get the fuck out of there before I do something I’ll regret. I’m only a man, Goddamn it. She wanted me to respond to her, so I did. I can handle dirty text messages with the girl that I’m falling in love . . .
Fuck me. That’s what’s happening. I’m falling in love with Mia Corelli.
“OKAY, BE HONEST. Tell me if I’ve completely outdone myself here.”
I place my hands on my hips and survey the massive amount of babysitting supplies I picked up at the store.
“I’ve got chips, cookies, popcorn, ice cream, mini cupcakes that I had to get because they have little shields on them.” I stand on my toes to see the rest of my purchases better. “Organic chocolate milk, organic strawberry milk, carrot sticks, grapes, and pita chips.”
“He’s going to freak out when he sees what you did back there. And did you just say carrot sticks?” Tessa calls out, strolling toward me from the direction of the bedrooms. “Seriously? He’s three. He’s more likely to use those as mini swords.” Her eyes widen
at the sight of my purchases. “And he’s one kid. Jesus Christ, Mia. Have you ever babysat before? This is enough to feed a small army.”
I nudge her with my elbow. “Yes, I’ve babysat before. But I didn’t know what Nolan liked, so I kind of got one of everything. Ooohhh, check it out.” I reach over the bags of chips and grab the two Red Box rentals, holding them out for Tessa to grab. “I got Frozen and something called Mike the Knight. I figured that one was right up his alley. The little cartoon knight reminded me of Nolan, minus the dimples.”
“Wow.” Tessa shakes her head and hands me back the movies. “You’re making a serious play, aren’t you?” She sits on the edge of the couch, smiling widely at me. My puzzled expression gets across exactly what I’m feeling, prompting her to elaborate. “You love him,” she states with a satisfactory smile.
“Sure, yeah, I love Nolan. How could you not love him?”
Tessa had already started to shake her head as soon as I said Nolan’s name. “No, that’s not who I’m referring to.” She pauses, giving me the chance to connect the pieces on my own. It doesn’t take me long.
I wave her off with my hand. “I do not love Ben if that’s who you’re foolishly referring to.”
No. I’d know if I loved Ben. I want to bang his back out, but that’s not love.
“It is, and you do. Or you’re at least open to loving him now. You’re not just trying to impress my nephew with all of this.” She motions toward my snack pile. “And you’re desperately trying to pull him out of the friend zone he so stupidly put you two in. How many slutty text messages have you sent him?” she teases.
Tessa and I never keep secrets from each other. Hell, she was the one who suggested the scandalous text message idea after I told her that I wanted Ben to see me as more than a friend. She predicted he’d drop everything and come at me hard after the first one I sent. But no, I’m either really bad at getting someone hot with my words, or he’s completely immune to them.
I cover my eyes with my hand and grunt my frustration. “Not enough, apparently. I threw my best stuff at him and he barely flinched.” I drop my hand and look at her. “I’m running out of ways to spell this out for him.”
She stands up and walks over toward the sliding glass door. “Get naked. That’ll definitely spell it out.” She waves and smiles at what I assume is Nolan. “Don’t tell my brother about the pregnancy, okay?”
I walk up to her, putting her hand in mine. Nolan is in Ben’s arms, swinging his sword in the air as they walk around the pool.
“It’s your news to tell, not mine. And the first person that needs to know about it is Luke.”
After the initial shock of the possible pregnancy sank in the other night, Tessa and I stayed up for hours talking about it. She was scared, but she was also really happy about having a baby with Luke. The only problem was the two of them weren’t supposed to be serious. And throwing a baby into the mix would definitely change that.
She sighs heavily. “I’ll tell him. I’m just waiting for the right time.”
“Like tonight?” I ask, smiling at Nolan’s face as it comes inching closer to the glass. Tessa shrugs her response. “You can do it. You know he cares about you. And if you need me, I’ll be right here.”
She leans her head on my shoulder as the boys come up to the door, sliding it open.
“Hey,” Ben greets me with a smile as he steps inside the house, placing Nolan on his feet.
I am once again stunned into silence from the sight of him in his uniform, unable to give him anything besides a goofy grin at the moment. But my God, he makes that uniform look downright sinful. I’m tempted to go commit a major felony in hopes that he’ll pat me down or better yet, strip search me.
Nolan runs right at me, wrapping his arms around my legs and snapping me out of my lustful thoughts.
“He’s a little excited. The maniac wouldn’t even take a nap today because he was too wound up to come over here.”
I laugh and rub Nolan’s head, seeing him lift his face to me. “I couldn’t take a nap either.” I bend down and put us face to face, dropping my smile and trying to stay serious. “I tried to take a nap, but there were all these dragons in my bedroom.” His eyes immediately twinkle with interest, doubling in size. “They might still be back there. Can you go check it out for me?”
“Yeah!” he yells with pure excitement, his little legs quickly taking him down the hallway.
Tessa nudges Ben’s shoulder, barely moving him an inch. He smirks at her and she smirks right back before looking over at me.
“I’ll see you tomorrow sometime.” She gives me a knowing look and motions with her head toward Ben without him noticing. “Get naked,” she mouths, earning herself a stern look from me before she walks out the door.
I will definitely not be getting naked unless Ben undresses me, and at the rate we’re going, I don’t see that happening any time soon.
“Here’s all his stuff.” Ben drops the duffle bag that is on his shoulder onto the couch, opening the zipper. “Pajamas, toothbrush, a few books that he likes me to read to him before he falls asleep, and this.” He pulls out a stuffed dragon that looks well loved. It’s worn and frayed at the edges. “He can’t go to bed without this, but don’t give it to him before bedtime because he’ll take it everywhere and I’m afraid he’ll spill something on it and I won’t be able to wash it. If something happens to this thing, I’m completely screwed.”
I laugh and watch him stuff it back into the bag. “What time is bedtime?”
“Between 8:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. He might pass out before then though, since he’s running on no nap.” Ben turns his head and glances over at the kitchen counter. “Wow. You are definitely prepared.” He smiles at me with a teasing look. “Expecting more children?”
I shove his massive shoulder and move past him. “Oh ha-ha. This isn’t all just for Nolan. I’ve been known to put away a massive amount of snacks when I’m entertaining.”
“Take that! Leave Pwincess Mia alone!”
Ben and I both turn our heads. “What is he doing in there?” he asks. I shrug with a sly smile, and he narrows his eyes at me. “Well, now I’m curious.”
I follow him down the hallway, knowing exactly what I am going to see when I look into my bedroom. I didn’t just go grocery shopping today.
“Daddy. Look at all these dwagons!” Nolan is swinging his sword at the inflatable dragons that surround my bed. They range in size; some are as small as his stuffed animal and others are bigger than him. “I’m gonna kiwl dem all!”
I cover my mouth with my hand and chuckle next to Ben, feeling his eyes on me.
“Where did you get all these?”
“The party store in town. They have everything there.” I watch Nolan bop one of the larger dragons in the head. He seems to be enjoying himself immensely. “Totally worth the twenty bucks.”
“God, you’re incredible.”
Our eyes lock, and I see how much he means what he’s just said. That is definitely one quality he has that I absolutely love.
Ben is honest, completely authentic when he speaks to me. I never doubt anything he’s ever said and I know I never will. Of course, I’m sure he means I’m incredible in a friendly sort of way since he’s not pinning me up against a wall.
We stare at each other while Nolan continues slaying the dragons in front of us.
His gray eyes are bright and filled with adoration. It is the look I want Ben to reserve just for me. The look he’s given me several times before. At the dam, standing in his parents’ living room after we discovered each other by the pool, and in his truck. It’s the look that teeters us on the edge of the friend zone, because I’ve never been looked at by a friend this way before. I want Ben to say something else to me. I want to hear more of his honesty, and for a split second, it looks like he is going to give me what I want. But instead, he breaks our connection and glances down at his watch.
“I gotta go.” He looks at me again with the same
tender gaze. “I probably won’t be back until close to 12:30 a.m., but if you need anything, just call me.”
I place my hand on his arm and squeeze it gently. “We’ll be fine. Go arrest some bad guys, Officer Kelly.”
My voice doesn’t waver at his title, but I can’t deny the rush of adrenaline that spikes through me when I say it. I wink at him and move into the bedroom, scooping up a few smaller dragons.
Nolan looks at me and beams as I sit on the edge of the bed, watching him slay the biggest dragon in the room. I laugh at him and turn my head, hoping to see Ben standing there, but he is gone. And I know that I shouldn’t feel disappointed because I will see him later on tonight, but I can’t help it.
At least I have one Kelly boy to keep me company while I think about another one.
Nolan was like this tiny ball of energy that seemed to recharge the more he moved around. I’d never seen a kid go from one activity to another with such gusto. After he had slain dragons for a good hour, he had a snack and wanted to watch his Mike the Knight DVD. But he didn’t sit still during that. He jumped around in front of the couch and swung his tiny sword in the air, mimicking the movements on the screen. We colored a few pictures, made a fort out of the extra bed sheets I found in the closet, and blew bubbles on the back patio. I saw his first yawn, the only indication he’d given me all night that he was slowing down, at 8:20 p.m. After changing him into his pajamas, I brushed his teeth and grabbed the books out of the duffle bag.
He settles under the covers in one of the spare bedrooms, holding his stuffed dragon in a death grip. “Wead that one fiwst,” he says in a sleepy voice, pointing toward a book about trucks.
I prop against the headboard and hold the book out in my lap, reading in a soft voice. He closes his eyes when I am halfway through it, but I finish it anyway. After giving him a kiss on his forehead, I quietly exit the bedroom and plop down on the couch with my phone.
