by Sam Crescent
They were both panting as the pleasure began to ebb away. He collapsed over her, wrapping his arms around her.
“I’m sorry,” he said, kissing her head.
“What are you sorry for?” she asked.
“I didn’t take my time. Give me a couple of minutes and I’ll take care of that.”
“Are you for real?”
“Yes. I know that wasn’t my best performance. I let the team down.”
She was laughing now. “You’re really not joking, are you?”
“Why would I joke about this? I promised you some really good sex, and I failed. I’ve got some serious catching up to do. Can you forgive me?” he asked.
“What we just shared was better than anything I had ever felt before in my life, and you think that wasn’t all that great.”
“I’m a perfectionist.”
“I think you’re amazing.” She cupped his cheek, and pressed a kiss to his lips. “I’ve never had a man go down on me like that.”
“Then it’s their loss and my gain.” He flicked his tongue out. “It’s one of my many specialties. Licking pussy, and fucking.”
“Don’t forget your talent with ink.”
“I won’t forget that.” He traced her back where he’d put her first tramp stamp. “I’ve marked your beautiful skin, and now I’ve tasted your pussy. There’s no getting away from it now, Trixie. You’re mine, and have been for a long time.”
“I can’t get over that you wanted me in high school. That was so long ago.”
“Did you know we had English together?” he asked. “You used to sit in the middle row, second seat.”
“You remember that?” she asked.
“My obsession was what kept me in school.”
“I was your obsession?”
“You always wore different socks.”
She was laughing now. “You saw that!”
“I saw everything. You’d wear different colored socks. Sometimes totally contrasting colors. One day you wore green and orange, purple and pink, blue and red. No one ever commented on your socks. I don’t know if they noticed or didn’t care. I saw it. It was your little rebellion I figured. Even then I saw a fire inside you that everyone else was trying to burn out.”
The smile dropped from her face. “I wasted so much time trying to be someone I never was. I woke up at twenty-seven years old, and realized that I’d done everything by the book and that I wasn’t happy. I mean, you’d think I would be, right?”
“Not necessarily.”
“I had the good job, a fantastic income, a guy to marry. I think I was even on the verge of buying a house, and it all came crashing down,” she said.
“You coming into the shop was one of the best things that ever happened to me,” he said, being honest with her. “I always wondered about you. I hoped you were happy. Graduation day, you looked so sad. Everyone else around you was happy and celebrating. You stood away from them, looking in, watching. I should have come to you then, and I didn’t.”
“I saw you that day. We stared at each other,” Trixie said. “I was going to come over to you, to congratulate you.”
“Someone walked between us, and I left.”
“You left.”
“It was the biggest mistake I made,” he said. “I could have kissed you that day, and not waited twelve years to do it.” With that, he kissed her again.
****
Sitting on a kitchen chair completely naked was not how she’d imagined spending the rest of her night. Nor was holding a bowl of cereal as Ace padded around naked. He made her feel so comfortable in her own skin, it was unreal.
“You sure you don’t want anything else to eat?”
Trixie shook her head. “It is so late, I do not want to even think about anything too big.” She took another bite of her cereal. “Is there a risk of your mom walking in and catching us?”
“Nope. She always turns up when I’m at work.”
“She doesn’t come to see you at work though,” Trixie said, knowing in the past three years she hadn’t seen his mother.
“No. She doesn’t. Our relationship is really complicated, and I don’t like her being in my place of work when I have to concentrate,” he said. “It messes with my head.”
He moved toward her, taking a seat opposite. His cock, while flaccid, was still impressive to look at. She couldn’t believe that moments ago he’d been inside her.
“She’s still your mother.”
“Yeah, well, I prefer her to stay away from work. Last time she was at my place, she kept convincing everyone there that they didn’t need to mark their bodies for life. She loves me and all, but she is not good for business.”
“Did you lose a lot of business?” she asked in between mouthfuls of food.
“Nope. I didn’t lose a lot. They just advised that I kept mommy dearest away from my workplace. I have, and business is indeed booming.”
“Yay! It’s good because I’ve got a job, and you are very talented.”
“Thank you.” He was eating, and she was eating. “Spit it out. Whatever is going on in your head, just let me have it.”
“You don’t know everything I’m thinking.”
“I know you like my cock, and you probably want it again, deep inside you.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not thinking that. I’m curious about what happens tomorrow.”
“We get up. If you’re a good girl, I will make you breakfast, and then we’ll go to work.”
“Just like that?” she asked. “I’m new to this whole one-night stand thing.”
Ace held his hand up. “Wait, whoa, who said anything about a one night stand?” he asked.
“I don’t know what this is.”
“Now I feel very used,” he said, making her smile. “Honey, one-night stands do not linger over dinner, even if it’s cereal. It’s late, and this is dinner. I’d call this a backward date.”
“Sex and then food. It’s the best way to go. I couldn’t have sex if I was totally full,” she said. “You know, I just thought. I love Italian food. Spaghetti and meatballs is probably not authentic Italian, but it’s my favorite. Could you imagine getting all hot and heavy on that kind of food?” She wrinkled her nose. “I think I would barf.”
He burst out laughing. “Only you could think about food that would make you sick after sex. Just so you know it is duly noted, and I will make sure that you don’t visit any Italian places before I want sex.”
“This is fun,” she said.
“You know this means you’re my girl.”
“What do you mean?”
“No offense intended. I don’t stick my dick in just anyone. I’m a guy, but I’ve changed a lot as well. I’ve not been with anyone in a long time, and I want this to work between us.”
“Work?”
“Yes. I want you to be my girl, Trixie. I wanted it over twelve years ago. I’m not going to wait around for you to leave again. I’m laying my cards on the table. I want you for my own. The sex is amazing, but I want forever.”
Her heart began to pound. “I didn’t know you were the forever kind of guy.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me. I won’t freak you out just yet. This is, after all, our first official date.”
She licked her lips, and then stared down into her cereal. Her stomach was in knots. “I wanted you,” she said.
“What?”
“Twelve years ago. I stared across that field, and if you had still been there, I wanted to go to you.” She smiled, thinking about it. “It’s crazy how many times I have thought of that one moment. If you had still been there, I probably wouldn’t have gone to college, or tried to change places.” She shook her head. “It’s surreal how one moment can change our entire life.”
“You would have gone to college, Trixie. Your path was chosen for you.”
“Exactly, and if you hadn’t gone, and I had the guts to go looking for you, I think our lives would have been different.”
<
br /> He was silent, and she had nothing else to say. Looking back there had been so many moments in high school. The times they had bumped into each other and they had done that often. One time had been in the library, and he’d helped her with the books that had fallen out of her hands. Someone had distracted them. Moving on, they had been standing together in the dinner hall, and she had wanted to say something fun, cool, and witty. The line had gone, and she had remained silent. Every chance over their high school years had been wasted in one way or another, and she wasn’t going to waste another moment.
Chapter Five
The following morning, Ace woke up, and he smiled. He couldn’t recall the last time he had been this happy. Trixie lay asleep beside him, and he reached out, touching her cheek to make sure she was real. She was breathing, and warm, and everything was … perfect.
The sun was shining, and he looked at the clock to see it was a little after seven.
“I don’t want to wake up,” she said, moaning. “I hate mornings.” She shoved her hand beneath her, and those pretty brown eyes looked back at him. “How can you be smiling?”
“Would it be crazy to say that I’ve been dreaming of this moment for a long time?” He touched her shoulder, recalling last night. After their cereal, he’d taken her again bent over the coffee table. Only when she had begged for more and he’d given her a fourth orgasm had he found his own release. Still, he wasn’t satisfied, and he had taken her again throughout the night in this bed.
Never had he been so sated and yet so hungry for more. Stroking his hand from her shoulder down to her hip, he gripped her tightly.
“Do you have any idea what you do to me?”
“I don’t know. Is that morning wood? Or for me?” she asked.
He laughed, biting her neck. “I’ll be right back.” He left the bed, taking care of his business, washing his hands as he did. He spun around and found Trixie there. “I need to use the toilet, and your mom is on the phone.”
“I didn’t even hear the phone ring,” he said.
“It was your cell, and old habits die hard. I answered saying ‘Ace’s parlor’.” She winced. “I’m sorry.”
He pressed a kiss to her head. “I will go and deal with pancakes and my mother.”
Leaving the bathroom, he pulled on a pair of briefs, and grabbed his cell phone. “This is really early in the morning even for you,” he said.
“Did you not want me to know about your girl?” she asked.
“I was worried you would scare her off. What’s up, Mom?”
“You’re not going to tell me who she is?”
“I think you’ve got an idea.”
“The Dean girl?”
“You know it. Keep all of your negative crap to yourself though. I don’t need to hear that she is so far out of my league and stuff like that,” he said.
His mother huffed. “I wouldn’t dream of saying stuff like that.”
“We were in town a long time ago, and you saw her. You leaned down and said that I could only ever look at a girl like her. Girls like her were made of better stuff than me.” He remembered it very clearly. It was one of the reasons he’d never tried to pursue Trixie when he was younger. Of course, this was during that time that his mother wasn’t the best person. It was also around the time his father left.
He heard his mother sniffle. “I was a horrible person. You were right for her, honey. I’m … wow, I’m awful.”
“It’s fine. We’ve talked about this before. I’ve forgiven you. There’s no need to bring it up.”
“She was a quiet girl even then. Always in her own little world. Do you like her, Ace? I know something hasn’t been right since she got back to town. She never talks to her mom or anything.”
“I love her, Mom. I’ve loved her for a long time, and I’m not going to lose her or let her go.” He had been a nervous wreck when she first came into his parlor asking for the ink across the base of her back. He’d nearly screwed the design up just because touching her had given him pleasure.
In the past three years of her working for him, he had wanted to ask her out, to change the dynamics of their relationship, and he hadn’t. He’d held back as he knew she wasn’t ready, or in the right place.
“I’m going to marry her, Mom.”
His mother screamed. “When do I get to meet her?”
“When I know you can keep my own plans to yourself. Give me time with Trixie. I don’t want to lose her.”
He opened his kitchen cupboard taking out the pancake mix he had already made the day before. “Do you think you could give us some space?” he asked.
“Of course, I will. I won’s say anything.”
“And no surprise visits either. Call ahead first, okay? I don’t want to mess this up, and she may freak out if my mother is here for some reason.”
“Consider it all done. I’m so happy for you, Ace.”
He hung up the phone after she said goodbye. It was only going to be a matter of time before she made her appearance.
“Is everything okay with your mom?” Trixie asked, coming out of the bedroom. She wore one of his shirts, and it came down to her knees, making her look sexy.
“Yes, everything is fine.” He didn’t find out what she wanted, but he’d call her back after breakfast.
“I have no spare clothes. Will you drop me off home before we head into work?” she asked, taking a seat at his table.
“Of course. I always have pancakes with bacon and eggs. That good for you?”
“Sounds great. I’m starving.”
“We worked up an appetite last night, and a bowl of cereal wouldn’t cut it.” He whisked the eggs and milk into the batter, and let it sit on the side. “So, I was thinking that tonight I could pick up a movie, a pizza, and we could spend tonight together. What do you think?”
He didn’t realize that he had tensed up waiting for her answer until after she gave it.
“I was going to suggest the same thing.” She stood beside him. “Would you like me to make the eggs? I love scrambled eggs. Do you have maple syrup? I drown my pancakes in the stuff. Totally bad for you, but I think it’s one of the reasons I got these hips.”
“Then I’m going to keep an endless supply because your hips are a thing of beauty.”
****
“This is going to look so sick,” the kid said.
Trixie leaned against the doorframe watching as Ace inked a superhero on the guy’s arm. He was nineteen, nearly twenty, and he had originally asked for a tattoo on his dick. Ace, being the guy he was, told the kid to fuck off. There was no way he was going to touch any guy’s cock.
“It’s going to be something.”
“This man is the rock. I mean totally. My girl is going to love this.”
“You’ve got a girlfriend?” Trixie asked. Ace gave her a smile but said nothing.
“Yep. She’s my rock, and she totally got her own ink as well.” He moved around, and Ace snapped at him. “Sorry, dude, wanted to show your girl a picture of mine.”
Trixie stepped into the room and looked at the picture. The woman had long black hair, heavy makeup, but she also had a superhero tattoo on her stomach. “She’s beautiful.”
“She’s my girl, and has been since we were little kids. She’s like my rib, right?”
“Rib?” Trixie asked, looking at Ace once again. Was this some kind of slang she hadn’t grown up with?
“Like a guy has one less rib than a girl right? Some people think that your rib is attached to your girl. Well my girl is like my lost rib, and she’s totally bitchin’.”
“I have never heard that, but I do think that is really sweet,” Trixie said, handing him back the picture, and keeping her distance.
“I wanted to do something special. I’ve got a ring, but I wanted to show her I mean for life.”
“With the tattoo?”
“Yeah, lady. It says for life, right? Marking your skin, she’ll know I’m not messing around and that I mean forever.”<
br />
“You won’t get forever if you keep moving,” Ace said. “I can only do so much, and you keep taking deep breaths.”
“Shit, man, yeah, I’m sorry. How do you tell a girl that you love her and want to spend the rest of your life with her? It’s not something you just come out and say.”
“Why don’t you ask my girl there what she’d like?” Ace said.
“Lady, would you let me on some ideas?”
“Me?” she asked, placing a hand to her chest. “I don’t think I qualify for any of that. I’ve never been married or had anyone want to spend the rest of their life with me.”
“You do now,” Ace said, giving her a pointed look.
Okay, this was getting … yeah, she didn’t know what was happening, only that she was tingling all over.
“If it was me, and I’m a thirty-year-old woman, I’d want to be told the truth. I don’t need anything fancy, no flowers or anything, but you’re young.”
The kid groaned, flopping down. “Do you know how often we hear that? You’re too young to know what you want, and you are just supposed to have some fun. Life is not about taking it too seriously. It drives me crazy. Why do I have to be an old dude to realize that I love someone? Huh? Tell me that. Is a switch magically like flicked when I reach an age that my body deems old enough?”
Trixie shrugged. “You have a point.”
“Love is love no matter what age you are.”
“You can love anyone you want,” Ace said. “No one has the right to tell you who to love.”
“You know a thing or two about love, righteous dude.”
Ace changed the ink pads on his gun. “You see that woman right there?”
“Of course I do, dude, not blind.”
“I have been in love with her since kindergarten.”
Trixie stared at him, shocked.
“No shit! Rock on, lady. Are you two like together?”
“I never told her how I felt,” Ace said.
“No.” He prolonged the word making it last.
“I didn’t tell her how I felt at all. In fact, I didn’t even speak to her at all. I spent a lot of time thinking about what to say and never saying it. Someone convinced me that she was so far out of my league that there was no point in trying.” Ace went back to working on the kid’s tattoo. “Eventually, I got used to looking without saying a word. Then one day, she left. I heard bits of information about her over the years. The college she graduated from. The high-powered job, and then I heard about her upcoming wedding with some guy that thought he was good for her.” Tears filled her eyes at the pain she heard in his voice. “Then one night I decided to stay open late. I don’t even know why I did. I was sketching out some new designs, and lo and behold, she walks back into my life. For three years she has been in my life, and not once have I told her how I feel. What I’m trying to say to you, don’t wait around trying to please everyone else. If you love this girl, really love her, then you need to tell her. Don’t waste any time like I did.” Ace looked at her. “I know I wasted time, and I won’t allow for any more time to be wasted.”
