Post Breakup Sex

by Sibylla Matilde

  Because Sophie was back in my arms… forever.

  “Welcome back, sweetheart” Denny said as he gave Sophie a quick hug. The band had just finished up for the night, and they were getting ready to tear down. “Brannon, we’ve got an extra hand tonight, so you two can run along if ya want.”

  As he turned to grab his jacket, Sophie grabbed his arm. “Denny,” she gasped, “you lost the bet.”

  “Feckin’ hell,” he replied, holding out the forearm that had newly inked letters trailing down it, large and bold, spelling out WANKER. He glowered at Sophie and I. “It’s yer fault, the two of ya.”

  “Our fault?” Sophie gasped. “Why is it our fault you lost the bet?”

  “Because the bet was about you two,” he grumbled. “Well, you two and Justin.”

  Sophie’s mouth dropped open. “Us and Justin?” she squeaked. “Oh my God, Denny, please tell me it wasn’t what I think it was.”

  “I never thought ya’d have it in you, Sophie,” Denny laughed. “Turns out, ya had ‘em both in you.”

  Sophie whirled around to plant her face in my chest, a bright blush flaring at her cheeks. “Oh my God, Brannon,” she groaned. “You told him?”

  “I didn’t,” I said as I eyed Denny, trying really hard to look pissed even though this whole conversation was actually kind of hilarious.

  “Nah, Justin couldn’t wait to tell me,” Denny laughed.

  “Fucker,” I growled, even though I couldn’t quite wipe the smile from my face, “I’m gonna have to kick his ass again.”

  “I would appreciate that,” Sophie muttered in a muffled groan.

  “Well,” I glared at Denny, “I can guarantee you it won’t happen again. From now on, nobody, male or even female, touches Sophie but me.”

  “Agreed.” Her voice was barely audible, but loud enough for me to know that she was perfectly fine with that.

  A few weeks later…

  Sophie and I lay in bed. Our bed… in our apartment.

  A lazy Saturday morning, just like the Saturday before and the one before that. Like all the Saturdays yet to come.

  Yesterday was Sophie’s birthday. I’d wracked my brain, last-minute shopping trying to get her the perfect gift. But what do you get the girl who had everything, but gave it all away to be with you?

  Even worse, she didn’t want anything. Nothing. Nada. Every time I asked her, she’d look at me with a smile in her blue-green eyes and say, “I have what I want. I have you.”

  So I was a complete wreck. I couldn’t figure it out. I couldn’t even fathom what could possibly be worthy of her. Money wasn’t the issue. We weren’t loaded, but the shop was doing pretty well, and I had managed to tuck some away. Sophie had gone back to work for Lily part-time and had also taken over the billing for the garage. It was amazing how much better the shop ran with someone watching the income and expenses a little closer, and she definitely had a head for numbers.

  So it really wasn’t that I couldn’t spend a lot. With Sophie, though, it almost felt like I’d let her down if I did spent a lot.

  In the end, I bought her a little silver ring. It wasn’t gaudy or glitzy. It wasn’t outrageously expensive, but it was artfully crafted. A dainty ring of filigreed silver, twisted together with a deep blue-green gemstone in the center, cut in the shape of a heart. It reminded me of my wrist tat. Only it was now full with the color of her eyes.

  A ring in general seemed ridiculously cliché, but this one… it sorta of seemed to fit.

  On my way back from Butte, though, I started to second guess myself. A ring. Fuck. I just bought her a ring. Granted, it didn’t look like an engagement ring, but was she going to think I was proposing?

  Shit, was I proposing?

  I wanted to marry her eventually. I had no doubt in my mind. But was she ready? Would it be too soon? Would she freak out?

  I almost turned around and went back to Butte to get her a necklace instead. Or too. Yeah, too, not instead. Because that ring really was perfect for her. Maybe I could find a necklace that went with it. And earrings.

  But then she’d be freaked that I spent so much.

  In the end, I thought to myself, Do or die.

  So I gave her the ring. We sat on the couch and I made her do the whole ‘close your eyes’ thing. When I told her to open them, she looked up at me as though she was searching my face for the meaning. I almost vomited a proposal right then and there, but she saved me by speaking first.

  “It’s like your tat,” she whispered tearfully.

  “And the color of your eyes,” I said, feeling totally lame for the words that were coming out of my mouth, “because you filled my empty heart.”

  Total cheese, I know, but it had the desired effect. She launched herself at me, kissing me firmly and, the next thing I knew, we were rolling around naked on the floor.

  Well, not totally naked. Sophie had on the ring.

  Now, the following morning, we lay in bed. And she still only wore the ring.

  “Bran, there’s still a problem,” Sophie said softly, her face pressed against my chest.

  Problem? I felt the icy chill of dread fill my veins. A panicked shiver. My hand froze in place where it had been combing back her soft hair. “What’s that, Sophie?”

  “I’m still Sophie Buchanan,” she whispered, shaking her head.

  Um…

  “Soph, you’re not the same girl you used to be.”

  “I know, but I still have the same name.”

  Ask her, half of my brain screamed.

  Fuck off, the other half yelled back.

  So, like a douche, I quoted Shakespeare. “A rose by any other name, Soph.”

  She lifted, propping herself up with her arms to catch my gaze. She looked totally serious, almost tearful. “I don’t want to be Sophie Buchanan anymore.”

  Do it, reckless Brannon thought.

  No, you’ll scare her away, cautious Brannon warned.

  Quite frankly, I was afraid to open my mouth because I wasn’t sure which part of me would come out. I held my breath and waited for her to continue.

  “I want to be Sophie Forrester.”

  Both sides of my brain went silent. Like, there wasn’t a thought in my mind. Totally barren. Tumbleweeds.

  “What?” I asked.

  “I want to go by your name,” she whispered nervously.

  “Fuck me,” I murmured, “are you proposing?”

  Her eyes widened and she shook her head, just a little too emphatically. “I don’t want you to feel like you’re being pushed into anything. We don’t have to get married right away. You don’t have to marry me at all if you don’t want to,” she quickly explained. “But, you know, I live with you, and I… I’d love to be Sophie Forrester.”

  She was rattling on, the way she tended to do when she got nervous. I liked what she’d said, though, and wanted to shut her up before she changed her mind.

  So, in one swift movement, I rolled us, her onto her back and me on top of her, and I kissed her. Long and hard until I felt her body relax and go limp underneath me. And a little longer for good measure. When I finally lifted my head, her eyes held a dreamy cast, her soft lips parted and her breathing had become labored.

  “You know I am going to tell all the Mofos you proposed to me, right?” I grinned.

  “I didn’t propose, Bran,” she whispered with a small smile.

  “Yeah you did.”

  “No,” she shook her head.

  I kissed her again. Longer and harder.

  “Yeah,” I whispered against her lips. “And I’m saying yes.”

  “Bran—”

  I kissed her again. This time I brought her whole body up against mine, parting her sweet thighs as I slipped inside her.

  “Okay, fine,” she gasped. “I did.”

  “If it helps, Soph,” I murmured, groaning a little as she tightened around me, “I’ve been wanting to ask you since I gave you the ring.” I looked down at her to see a sparkle of happy tears fill h
er eyes.

  And then I kissed her again.

  And then I did more.

  The End

  Look for Denny’s book

  scheduled for release in the Spring of 2015

  Available on Spotify: *Post Breakup Sex ~ Sibylla Matilde

  Kina Grannis – Delicate

  Kings Of Leon – Charmer

  The Black Keys – Sinister Kid

  Florence + The Machine – Shake It Out

  Kings Of Leon – Use Somebody

  The Vaccines – Post Break-Up Sex

  KONGOS – Come With Me Now

  Kina Grannis – Use Somebody

  The Wreckers – Lay Me Down

  Hozier – From Eden

  The Black Keys – She’s Long Gone

  Kings Of Leon – Coming Back Again

  Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Spread Your Love

  Foo Fighters – Everlong

  The Dirges – Better Days

  We Were Promised Jetpacks – Medicine

  Echosmith – Cool Kids

  Arctic Monkeys – Do I Wanna Know?

  Hozier – Take Me To Church

  Kings Of Leon – I Want You

  Hozier – Like Real People Do

  Thirty Seconds To Mars – Stay

  Calvin Harris – Summer

  Zedd – Stay the Night (feat. Hayley Williams) - Zedd & KDrew

  Lady Gaga – Poker Face

  Concrete Blonde – Everybody Knows

  We Were Promised Jetpacks – Peaks and Troughs

  The Wreckers – Stand Still, Look Pretty

  We Were Promised Jetpacks – Safety in Numbers

  Concrete Blonde – Roses Grow

  Florence + The Machine – Never Let Me Go

  The Black Keys – Fever

  We Were Promised Jetpacks – Act On Impulse

  Chris Trapper – Avalanche

  Florence + The Machine – You've Got The Love

  Florence + The Machine – Spectrum

  Butch Walker – Bed On Fire

  Hozier – Work Song

  Nick Mulvey – Fever To The Form

  Jessie Ware – Say You Love Me

  Rancid – Indestructible

  Thirty Seconds To Mars – A Modern Myth

  Beck – Unforgiven

  The Chain Gang Of 1974 – Sleepwalking

  Breaking Benjamin – I Will Not Bow

  William Fitzsimmons – Fortune - Acoustic

  Ed Sheeran – Bloodstream

  Concrete Blonde – The Sky Is A Poisonous Garden

  Radiohead – Street Spirit (Fade Out)

  Thirty Seconds To Mars – Alibi

  Josephine – I Think It Was Love

  We Were Promised Jetpacks – Conductor

  Susie Suh – Here with Me

  Jessie Ware – Wildest Moments

  The Script – No Good in Goodbye

  Sarah McLachlan – In Your Shoes

  Olly Murs – Dear Darlin'

  Hozier – Cherry Wine - Live

  Christopher Jak – Breaking

  Kings Of Leon – The Face

  Jessie Ware – Tough Love

  Jon Peter Lewis – To Make You Feel My Love

  Ed Sheeran – Thinking Out Loud

  You+Me – You and Me

  Beyoncé – XO

  OneRepublic – Love Runs Out

  Florence + The Machine – Dog Days Are Over

  Thirty Seconds To Mars – Do Or Die

  I think acknowledgements are almost as hard to write as the book itself. There are so many people who do so much to motivate me along the way, even if they don’t know it. So I try to include everyone and doubtlessly fail. So, first of all, to YOU… all the readers and people who friend me on Facebook and Goodreads and Instagram and all those other places. Thank you so much for your support. Some of you have been there with me since I started this a little over a year ago. Some were there even before. Some of you are a little newer. But I wouldn’t be able to do this if you didn’t seem to find me worthy. I’m not that masochistic. LOL.

  Also, I get a ton of writing inspiration out of music, so thanks to Deborah Gutierrez for introducing me to Hozier. And Emily Smith-Kidman for suggesting Bloodstream by Ed Sheeran (great song!). And Michelle Campbell for Olly Murs, even if he did skew B-dog for me for a bit. And to Pamela McGuire, Ashley Sutton, Lily Maverick Wallis, Danielle Reid, Mindy Sue, Jane Page Deeney, Ecaterina Moldoveanu, Odette Bowes, Nicola Heatley-Willis, Laura Scranage, Nicole Baylor, Nikki Edgar, Billie Helms, Teri Maxwell (even though she just kinda gave me shit about how I asked for it), and Gemma Harding. You all suggested music for the playlist. I listened to each and every song. Some went in this playlist and some went to a future inspiration list. Music feeds my soul, and I greatly appreciate that you shared your favorite songs with me. And thanks to Taylor Swift. It was really hard to get down to 69 songs in my playlist, and, without her pulling all her music off Spotify, I'm not sure if I could have done it because I was kinda digging Shake It Off.

  HUUUUUUUUUUUUGE thanks to Shell (who bagsied Denny) and Beth (who bagsied Cody), my phenomenal ‘alpha’ readers. The P and the other H in our weird little HPH. I honestly don’t know what I would ever do without you guys. My rocks. You get me.

  And my beta readers (OMG, I hope I don’t forget any of you) - Ashley, Chris (who has bagsied Drew), Dawn, Emily, Lily (who bagsied Brannon), Laura (who nominated me for the ALS Ice Bucket challenge, despite my threats that I would make her a bar slut), Pauline (ditto), Tara, and Terri. Also, Diane, Nicole (who bagsied Justin), and Tammy who beta read and then went through it again to proofread, too. You guys totally make me seem much smarter than I am. Thanks to my Irish experts, Dympna, Ruth (who just asked me to name a bar slut after her), and Lee who helped keep Denny from sounding like a leprechaun. I hope to come back to Ireland again sometime to see you. It’ll be great craic. :D

  To my Flannel Squad girls - Michelle, Beth, Dawn, Ashley, Nicole, Diane, Jane, Nikki, Chris, Arabella, Ecaterine, Catherine, Stacy, Cherry, Lily, Janina, Chantel, Danni, Tina, Jen, Lisa, Angela, Pamela, Jennifer, Erica, Carrie, Laura, Rhian, Jen, Tracy, and Sam. OMG… you guys are incredible. Some of you pop in and out, some are there often. But you all do so much for me and make flannel give me warm fuzzies for a whole new reason.

  To my Smut Sisters - Amy, Beth, Teri, Adriane, Terri, Jill, Dympna, Alexis, Kadene, and Kelly. Through all the trials and tribulations, I love you guys dearly. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without you.

  Finally, to my husband and kids who seem to be more surprised these days if I actually do cook dinner. Or clean. Or watching TV with them without the computer on my lap and my iPhone in my hand. This writing gig makes things kind of weird for you, I’m sure, but you carry on and support me and give me crap to keep my ego from blowing up too big. I seriously love you. To my son… no, your friends cannot read my books. For that matter, I don’t want you to either. To my daughter, thank you for having no interest whatsoever in reading my stuff. You have no idea how much I, as your mother, appreciate that. And to my husband, I love you more than any cover model or actor or musician (yes, even Jared, Chris, Henry, and Sam/Jamie). None of them could EVER make me laugh like you do.

  Sibylla Matilde grew up in the mountain valleys of Southwest Montana, and grew up exploring the alfalfa fields on the back of a horse. She attended a two-room schoolhouse 1st through 6th grade where she had same teacher the whole time. Beginning at about age 12, Sibylla discovered historical romance, feeding off of work of Jude Devereaux, Lisa Kleypas, and Karen Robards. She loves a book that can make the reader run the gamut of emotions, from the sweet glow of new love to gut-wrenching heartache. She always has stories floating around in her head, living in some fantasyland until she writes them down to free them. She is a true romantic, a bit of a Pollyanna, and a deeply emotional soul.

  Music is her emotional trigger. Growing up with a Wagnarian-opera-loving mother, Sibylla grew up with music that digs deep into her soul and pulls out emotion. The sound
track to her life includes different genres and generations. She looooooooves Thirty Seconds to Mars (rather obsessively, actually) with a little Kings of Leon to mix things up, and pimps them out regularly to all her friends through Spotify. She also enjoys watching Met Opera HD broadcasts at her local movie theater, and hopes (listening Met?) to someday see Diana Damrau reprise her role as Mozart’s Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte – The Magic Flute.

  Sibylla lives with her husband, Mike, a man who she firmly believes saved her from her self-destructive, hot mess self. He makes her laugh every day, even when things seem to be falling apart around them, and has proved to her that love really can heal a shattered soul. In almost 20 years, they have never had a fight, but argue regularly with their two teenage kids who have, unfortunately, inherited their father’s quick wit (unfortunate as it is a quick wit that Sibylla, herself, definitely does not possess – there is a reason she is a writer and not a stand-up comedian), and live a quiet life with their two weird little rescued Chiweenies. Wait… teenagers and little yap-dogs? Okay, maybe not so quiet. :)

  She kinda likes it. And, if you enjoyed Post Breakup Sex, be sure to let others know. Reviews mean the world to indie authors!

  Website:

  www.SibyllaMatilde.com

  Email:

  Siby@SibyllaMatilde.com

  Facebook:

  Friend me https://www.facebook.com/sibylla.matilde.5

  Fan page https://www.facebook.com/SibyllaMatilde

  Twitter:

  https://twitter.com/SibyllaMatilde

  Amazon:

  http://www.amazon.com/Sibylla-Matilde/e/B00HHISEQ0

  Goodreads:

  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7226522.Sibylla_Matilde

  Pinterest:

  http://www.pinterest.com/LETObsessed/

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7