Arranged Love

by Lacey Wolfe

  “Hey, pumpkin,” he answered.

  “Why are you moving out?” She got right to the point.

  He cleared his throat. “One of us has to, and your mother loves the house—I don’t. Never did.”

  Kayla rubbed her temple. “Loving the house or not, that’s beside the point. Why?”

  “I know you don’t like it, but we are divorcing. And in order to go on with our lives, we have to start new ones.”

  “Is there someone else? Do you have…have…a…girlfriend?” Please say no.

  “No.”

  Kayla sighed. “Why won’t you two tell me anything?”

  “It’s our choice not to right now. Once we get everything squared away, we’ll fill you in. I promise.” He was quiet for a moment, then added, “I understand you don’t like this, and I’m sorry for whatever pain it’s causing.”

  “If you were really sorry, you’d tell me why,” she snapped. “I’ve got to go. Work to do.” She hung up.

  Kayla found herself emotionally torn up and needed someone to talk to. She laid her head on her desk, doing her best to resist the urge to cry. She wasn’t a child anymore. She shouldn’t be so torn up about the choices her parents were making. Obviously this was happening whether she liked it or not. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t be sad.

  She sat up, propped her face in her hands, and stared at the computer screen. Did Ryan know about this dinner, and if so, had he agreed to it? He knew the issues her parents were having. And now, somehow, she had to sit through dinner, watch them pretend, and yet inside, she’d know the truth. That was going to be the worst part of all. Pretending with them.

  Then again, isn’t that what she was doing? Faking it with Ryan for their parents. She was no different than them.

  Picking up her phone, she sent a quick text to Abbie. Heading to the gym. Meet me if you’re free.

  * * * *

  Kayla squirted water in her mouth. The elliptical was kicking her ass today.

  “You okay?” Abbie asked.

  “No. I’m really not.”

  “Want to talk?”

  Oh yeah, for hours. She had so much pent-up anger, she was worried once she started talking she wouldn’t shut up. “Do you really want to hear about it? It’s an earful.”

  “I’ve got ten minutes left on this machine. Might as well entertain me.”

  “Okay.” She wiped her forehead with the towel before wrapping it around her moist neck. “So, where to begin? My parents are getting a divorce and I’m at a loss as to why. They won’t share the details with me. And to make matters worse, Ryan’s family has set up a dinner this weekend for the families. My parents have agreed and said they’d pretend to be happy. Which got me thinking, how long have they been pretending? Then I got disgusted when I realized I was no different. I’m pretending with Ryan. Only sometimes it doesn’t feel that way. We’ve been fooling around and talking so much, it’s beginning to feel real. But a day doesn’t go by that he doesn’t somehow remind me that this will never be more.” Kayla stopped to take a breath. “And I’m just torn up. How did I get to this point? I have parents faking it and so am I.”

  Abbie was silent a second before she spoke. “Your life is fucked up.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  “Just go with it for now. Let your parents do what they need to do, and you and Ryan…” She paused. “You should probably stop fooling around with him. It’s only going to make things worse when he ends whatever it is you two have.”

  Kayla nodded, agreeing almost one hundred percent. The parts below the belt however didn’t agree with this idea. “Maybe. He’s just so…good.”

  Abbie smirked and her head motioned slightly, almost if she was agreeing. Which how could she? She didn’t know Ryan.

  “You’re right though. I think about him a lot. Too much since this is never going to escalate. Though he made it sound like we could do this indefinitely. The whole marriage thing, minus love. Which seeing my parents and where they are, seems like a good idea.”

  Abbie stopped abruptly. “Marriage?”

  “It’s nothing official or anything like that. We talked about—”

  “Kayla, you can’t sell yourself short. You’re letting your parents affect you way too much. And this Ryan guy. Your best bet is to drop him and find someone else.”

  Kayla was moderately surprised by her friend’s sudden change in behavior. Abbie typically didn’t show much emotion about anything. “I’ll definitely take your thoughts into consideration.”

  A few moments later, Abbie excused herself. “I’m sorry. I’m not feeling well.” She hurried off.

  Kayla pressed the cool down button on the machine. Perhaps next time she saw Abbie, she’d ask her what that was all about. Had she been hurt in the past or done something similar to what Kayla and Ryan were doing?

  * * * *

  Ryan stared at his phone screen as it rang in his hand. It was Abbie, again. This was her fifth time calling in the last hour. She wasn’t taking the hint that he didn’t want to talk to her. The phone finally quieted. Should he turn it off?

  He pressed the button that put the phone on vibrate. As he slid it into his pocket, he felt the buzz on his butt cheek. He removed the phone to double check it wasn’t Kayla. He had a new text from Abbie.

  Call me or else I’m coming over there.

  He certainly didn’t want her coming over. He dialed her back, and she answered immediately.

  “It’s not nice to ignore people.”

  “It’s not nice to annoy people either.”

  “I made a mistake when I left you for Taylor. It was stupid and I want to rectify it.” She sounded desperate.

  He laughed. “There’s nothing to rectify. What you and I had is dead. I can’t help it if Taylor didn’t turn out to be all you hoped for. But you disrespected me when you fucked him in my bed. I want nothing to do with you.”

  “What you and I had was real.”

  If it had been real, it would’ve lasted. “Let me make this easy. I’m not interested, and I’m seeing someone. It’s serious.”

  She was quiet a moment, and he hoped that meant she got it. “I don’t think it’s serious with her.”

  Ryan rolled his eyes. “I don’t care what you think.”

  “Just give us another chance, please,” she begged.

  Had her boyfriend dumped her? Ryan couldn’t grasp why she wanted him back so badly. “Are you still living with Taylor?”

  “Yeah, but as soon as you—”

  “Goodbye, Abbie.” He ended the call.

  As he set the phone down on the table beside him, he almost wanted to call Taylor and fill him in on the situation with his girlfriend. He grunted. Yeah, right. Abbie was his problem, not Ryan’s.

  His phone vibrated again. That’s it. He was turning the stupid thing off, and if Abbie proceeded to bother him, he’d get a damn restraining order against her. This was getting ridiculous.

  He picked up the phone and as he switched the screen on, he saw it was an email from Kayla. All his anger suddenly washed away and his mood lightened.

  Ryan,

  Our parents want to have dinner. As in my parents and yours, with us. I can’t sit there and watch my parents pretend to be happy. I get what you and I are doing is fake, but I can’t stomach watching them put on an act as well. I’m rambling. I just don’t understand, and neither of them will tell me anything.

  My dad’s moving out. This is all becoming so real. I can’t do this dinner. Do you think you can fake a stomach bug? I’ve had my feel of fake stuff for the time being.

  -K

  He reread the email. Kayla’s father was moving out. He couldn’t imagine how she must be feeling right now. Her parents were adults and it was their choice, but seeing the way Kayla was so torn up about it made him glad he’d decided against having kids as well. Love…it was evil. Why so many people wanted to do it, he didn’t know. But he wanted no part of it.

  I’m sorry to hear about th
is. I’ll call my mom and see what I can do. I’m here if you need me.

  -R

  First thing tomorrow, he’d call his mom and come up with some excuse. He could always use work. He’d been using it for years. And with his job and the hours he worked, it was totally believable.

  Chapter 10

  Right now, Ryan was Kayla’s least favorite person. He’d done his best to get out of the dinner with the parents, but it hadn’t gone as planned. His mother had guilted him into it by making him feel horrible about all the money she’d spent and so on for the occasion.

  Needless to say, he and Kayla hadn’t been getting hot and heavy anymore this week. She’d kept to herself, claiming it was because of a deadline. But he wasn’t stupid. He was the king of using work as an excuse.

  As he drove down the road toward her home to pick her up, he found his palms sweating. He was nervous. Not only about the dinner, but about seeing Kayla. His heart beat at a faster speed and his breath was short. Damn it. He knew what was happening. He was beginning to care for her. It was all her parents’ fault. If they weren’t splitting up, he wouldn’t have gotten so involved in her life.

  He pulled into the driveway. To honk or not? Ryan chuckled. His mother would kill him if he beeped his horn for a date. Ryan climbed out of the car and headed for her front door. He knocked, stepped back, and waited.

  The door swung open and a whole other set of emotions flooded him. Kayla stood there, her long locks curled under, teasing him to twirl one. She wore a black dress that fit her like a second skin. And as his gaze roamed down her body, he was greeted by a pair of black stilettos that made her calf muscles look rock hard.

  Not being able to control himself, he wrapped one arm around her waist, and the second on her neck, pulling her body snug against his. She groaned in protest, but he quieted her with a kiss. Pushing her inside, he kicked the door shut behind him. He swung her around and pressed her against the door. He nudged her legs apart with his knee, and nuzzled his body fully against hers, letting his cock tell her exactly how he was feeling.

  “Ryan,” she moaned.

  “Damn it. You turn me on. There is no way I can leave here without fucking you first.”

  “We’ll be late.”

  “Look at me.” He tilted her face in his direction. “I. Don’t. Care.”

  “Late is good.” She winked.

  Ryan yanked her dress up above her waist. “Let’s be Doug and Tatiana.”

  She giggled. “Why?”

  “Because I plan to fuck you hard against this door, Tatiana.”

  She chewed on her bottom lip as she wiggled her panties down and kicked them away. He wasted no time getting the bottom half of his clothes off. Kayla wrapped her arms around his neck and he lifted her.

  “Hold on tight.”

  “Oh, I will, Doug.”

  He rubbed his cock back and forth against her wet folds. Crap. He’d forgotten to remove a condom from his wallet. She whimpered, her hips urging him to enter.

  “Stop teasing me,” she complained.

  “I need a condom.”

  “Fuck the damn condom. Just get inside of me.”

  He trusted she was clean, but this almost felt like playing with fire. And Ryan never slept with a woman without covering up. But would Doug?

  Her back arched and her moist pussy dripped. He’d never had sex bare. What made it worse was she was okay with it and wanted him now.

  Without another thought, he glided his cock into her sweet center, feeling every bit of her wrapped around him. It was so warm. And it was as though her insides were made simply to pleasure him. This wasn’t going to last long. It felt way too good. But before he lost himself fully in her, he needed to stay focused and pull out right before the big bang.

  Not being able to hold back any longer, Ryan began to pump into her at a fast speed. Her fingers curled into his hair, and her back arched. He wished he’d removed the entire dress so he could bury his face into her breasts.

  “That. Feels. So. Good!” she cried out.

  And he couldn’t agree more.

  “Oh God!” she panted.

  Her muscles tightened around his dick, and as she rode out her release, her walls milked him. It felt really damn good. Too good. His orgasm was building fast. He needed to get it under control, but as her wet pussy stroked up and down his cock, he got lost in the feeling, forgetting to pull out as his seed spilled out inside of her. Leaving him feeling like pure ecstasy.

  Kayla unwrapped her legs from around him, her body returned to standing. Ryan buried his head into the crook of her neck, feeling spent.

  “I forgot to pull out,” he said.

  “It’s okay. It’ll be fine. We both kinda got lost in the heat of the moment.”

  He looked up and into her face. “It can’t happen again. I don’t want to be a father.”

  She pushed him back and tugged her dress down. “Chill, Ryan. You’ve made your feelings on marriage and kids clear since I met you. Don’t worry. Besides I’m on the pill.” She brushed past him.

  “I—”

  “I’m going to clean up a bit. There’s another bathroom down that hall.” She pointed before disappearing into her bedroom.

  Ryan sighed and picked up his discarded clothing. In the bathroom, he stared in the mirror. He needed to get himself under control when it came to Kayla—or else he might break his own rule.

  * * * *

  Kayla overheard Mrs. Newell telling her mother, “Ryan has been so much happier since he started seeing your daughter.”

  “Kayla too. She’s got an extra pep in her step. Perhaps this is leading to much more,” her mother said.

  “We can only hope! Ryan got hurt so bad by an ex. We weren’t sure he’d ever see someone again seriously.”

  “Let’s keep praying.”

  They both giggled.

  Kayla walked away from the kitchen doorway, not wanting to hear any more. Having heard how excited they were about this made her feel wrong for deceiving them. But she had to admit, Ryan made it easy. God, the man was an incredible lover. And not just that, she enjoyed the time they spent together. The emails they shared. She found herself missing him when she wasn’t with him.

  She could have it all with Ryan. He’d only just started mentioning marriage. Up until recently he’d been against that, but something had changed. In his mind, with love out of the equation, they would make it. And obviously her parents had once loved each other and now they didn’t. Maybe back in the day when marriages were arranged, life was better. Less heartache. Less wanting someone to change. Ryan and she would accept one another. Not demand that the person who was a workaholic get off the computer just to snuggle and watch TV with the other. Though, watching television with Ryan, curled up into his side sounded like a perfect evening.

  Kayla took a deep breath, held it a moment, and released it.

  “Are you hiding?” her father asked from behind her.

  She spun around. “Maybe.”

  He grinned. “Can I hide with you?”

  “You do realize you’re on my not-speaking-to list, right?”

  He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “You do realize that even as mad as you might be, I still love you and plan to talk to you.”

  “Doesn’t mean I have to talk back.”

  Her father chuckled. “You’re so stubborn. Good luck to Ryan.”

  “Did I hear my name?” Ryan walked over and joined them in the corner.

  “Yes. I was just telling my daughter that I wish you all the luck in the world. She’s a tough one.”

  “She isn’t so bad.” Ryan winked at her.

  “See, Dad. Some people happen to get me. That’s why things are going to go far between Ryan and me.” She gazed up at Ryan, watching as his expression changed.

  “Oh, yeah? I like to hear things are getting serious.” Her dad cleared his throat. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna see when the food will be ready. I’m starved.”

  Af
ter he’d disappeared toward the kitchen, Ryan grabbed her by the waist and pushed her against the wall. “A future, huh?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, I think so. I’ve been giving it a lot of thought.”

  His lips brushed against her cheek. “I think we could have a very happy future.”

  She had no doubt. If she got to have this man pressing his body against her on a daily basis, she’d be happy for sure.

  “Time to eat!” Mrs. Newell called out from the kitchen doorway.

  “Let’s get this show on the road.” Ryan took her hand and led her toward the dining room.

  A spread of food was arranged on the table. It was mainly appetizers such as potato skins, mozzarella sticks, chicken strips, along with several types of salads. The pasta salad caught her eye. It was loaded with pepperoni and olives. She couldn’t wait to dig in since most of the foods were her favorites.

  “Just take a seat. We’ll pass everything around,” Mrs. Newell said. “I’ve got pitchers of water, tea, and lemonade.”

  “What do you want?” Ryan asked Kayla.

  “Lemonade.”

  He took her glass and went to get her a drink. When he returned, they began passing the dishes around. Moments later, her plate was full of the high-calorie foods.

  “This all looks so good. I can’t wait to try a bite of everything.” Kayla took a sip of the sweet, yet bitter lemonade.

  The conversation was light in the beginning. Mainly about the food. Kayla spoke a little bit about her work, and Ryan did the same. She enjoyed hearing him talk about his job and the good he tried to do. But she could also sense his frustration, especially on what he was currently working on.

  Kayla glanced over at her parents. Seeing them sitting there, they didn’t seem like that miserable couple she assumed they’d become. Instead, she caught them sharing a look. She couldn’t pinpoint what the look was, but it seemed like one of those looks where they spoke through their eyes. Maybe there was still hope for them. Her mother caught her staring at them and pushed away from her father. They went back to eating their food and not paying attention to each other. Kayla was confused.