Freezing

by Tarrah Anders

  “Yup.” He nods.

  “We ran into another last night at the corner store, so he walked me home and I invited him in.”

  “Last night?” Reed confirms, looking back and forth between us.

  “We passed out watching Thor numero dos, and he crashed in the spare room.” Her demeanor is more annoyed at her brother’s questions, like a child being interrogated by a parent, rather than fielding questions from a sibling. Her brother is likely judging the situation.

  “Mika, can we talk real quick?” Reed thumbs over his shoulder toward the room he just appeared from and she follows, looking back at me apologetically.

  I crane my neck to listen to their conversation. Luckily, they aren’t whispering.

  “Sup, big bro?” she says.

  “What’s he doing here, really?” Reed asks.

  “Just two adults, enjoying breakfast together.”

  “Where’s his shirt?”

  I stop myself from laughing.

  “He didn’t put it on when he came out of the room he slept in?” she conjectures.

  “Does he know about—?”

  “No. He’s at his father’s this week.”

  Who?

  “Make sure you tell Brad about Jare? I don’t want any unexpected heartbreak.”

  Does she have a kid?

  “Reed, we’re just friends.”

  “Sure, you are,” he says, retreating to the kitchen where I do everything in my power to keep it from being obvious that I was eavesdropping on their conversation. I start by sticking food in my mouth.

  “So, breakfast? Is there more?” Reed’s body language changes from protective to friendly.

  “Check the oven. I placed the leftovers in there to keep them warm,” I inform him around a mouthful of pancake.

  I look over to Mika and she shrugs as Reed comes and sits down beside her.

  With a large bite of pancake in his mouth, he waves his fork between us. “So, is this a thing?”

  Mika’s face flushes and I’m silent, unsure of how she wants either of us to answer.

  “We’re friends.” she says finally.

  “Where’s your shirt, dude?”

  “Reed!” She hits his bicep.

  “What? Who in their right mind cooks bacon without a shirt?” He has a good point there.

  “He’s wearing the princess apron,” she points out.

  “Just an FYI, there’s a much manlier apron in the mudroom. You don’t want to be caught dead wearing that girlie monstrosity again. Luckily, it was me and not Mom or Dad.”

  “Your parents just show up randomly too?” I ask.

  “They have from time to time.”

  “Dad would likely drill you question after question and then Mom would likely go one of two ways, but since you ooze heterosexual, she would likely flirt with you to make Dad jealous.”

  “Got it. Wear the manly apron.” I laugh.

  “Probably best with a shirt too. You make every other guy look like a chump,” Reed says, chewing on his bacon.

  “Noted.”

  “Are you done, idiot?” Mika rolls her eyes.

  “Never. I’m going to tease you endlessly for hiding this secret from me.”

  “I have no secret, you big oaf!”

  Watching the two siblings argue is endearing. However, my wish that my family would even acknowledge me burns even deeper than it did before.

  “Yeah, sure you don’t. Either of you.”

  “Why’d you bring me into this argument? I provided the breakfast,” I pout.

  “Shirtless, in my sister’s kitchen, after you obviously spent the night.” Reed laughs pointing his fork at me.

  It appears he’s not at all pissed off about me being here, so that’s a bonus. I’m curious as to what he thinks the secret is though.

  We didn’t do anything last night.

  Well, not together.

  Mika

  I’m mortified right now.

  Reed is being a typical big brother and picking on me in front of the guy that I like.

  Wait, do I like him?

  Lucky for me, he’s not making it a big deal that he’s Brad’s PO and he’s not outright being a dick. My brother is a good guy, and while he may seem scary, he’s truly the biggest teddy bear that I know.

  “What secret do you think you know?”

  “I saw the way you and Janet were on day one,” Reed says, pointing his fork at me.

  “Day one?” Brad and I say in unison. Brad’s leaning his chin on his hand in interest. And I’m racking my brain I trying to figure out what Reed could mean. Going through the moments of the past month or so, I’m stumped until I think about it harder. Day one. Day one, meaning the first day Brad came into the office. Shit! Shit! Shit!

  “Do you really want me to say this? In front of him?” Reed asks, gesturing his fork at Brad.

  “Um.” I look at Brad, and he’s got a smile on his face as he looks between the both of us. He’s obviously entertained. “Let’s just drop it, can we?” I ask, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

  “Breakfast and a show. While this has been enlightening, to say the least, I have plans for the day.” Reed wipes his mouth and stands.

  “And what, pray tell, brother, are you doing today?”

  “I’m going sailing with a lovely lady. Thanks for the delicious breakfast, Brad. Care to walk me out?”

  “Am I being arrested?” he jokes.

  “Shut up, wiseass. Follow me out, will ya?” My brother and Brad leave the kitchen area and walk to the front door. I lean over and watch my brothers hand on Brad’s shoulder. They’re talking, but Reed seems to be doing most the talking. When my brother disappears, Brad returns to the kitchen. I act naturally while chewing the last piece of bacon on his plate as he sits down and catches me. He grabs the piece remaining in my hand and smiles.

  “What was that about?” I question.

  “Oh you know, standard big brother things.”

  “Like?”

  “You fuck with her, you fuck with me and I’m watching you sort of things.” He shrugs.

  “Oh. Did he say anything else?”

  “Nothing much other than he’ll see me next week.”

  “Oh.” I’ve got nothing else to say.

  “He also told me to treat you right,” he says casually.

  “Okay.”

  “Yeah, he didn’t seem to bothered by me being here.”

  “Well, your case is pretty cut and dry, from what I understand. You’ll be done with your parole what, four months from now?”

  “Are there any strict rules about fraternizing with clients?”

  “Well, he cannot enter in a friendship or relationship with you during your supervision period as he cannot be overtly friendly or familiar. But afterwards, it doesn’t really matter as it would have nothing to do with his job anymore. This morning would be considered unavoidable contact because he didn’t know you were here when he walked in. What will likely need to happen is that if we continue to hang out, then he’ll need to report it to his superiors so it doesn’t reflect poorly on the agency, just in case.”

  “You know so much about all this. What about his sister fraternizing with me? And does hanging out with me present a conflict regarding your work?”

  “If you ever need a heart transplant or any sort of cardiac surgery, there might be a conflict of interest. If so, another nurse would tend to you, rather than me.”

  “So, if that’s the case, we can hang out, yeah?”

  “You want to hang out with me?” I ask with a hopeful smile.

  “No matter how hard I tried to fight it, yes.”

  Confused by his statement, I observe his features wondering what he could mean by that. Instead of wondering, I decide to be bold and ask.

  “You really want to dive into this?” he asks.

  “Well, it would help if you took off my princess apron.” So I can stare at your chest.

  He grins like the Cheshire Cat, as if I said
the second part out loud. Wait, did I?

  “Yeah, you did.” He winks as he takes off the apron and lays it across the table. He then crosses his arms in front of him on the table and looks my way.

  “Sorry, faulty filter.” I apologize, feeling embarrassed that my filter seems to be broken.

  “I prefer complete honesty, which also ties into my… I guess you can call it my story.” He takes a sip of his orange juice. “I won’t go into all the dirty details; I’ll save that for another time.”

  “You said you tried to fight it, fight wanting to hang out with me. Explain?” I bring him back around.

  “My goals since getting out of jail are important to me. And none of my goals include a serious relationship. So, you’re kind of like a curveball because I didn’t see you coming, but I can’t help but to want to swing away. When I said I tried to fight it, I means that I wasn’t intentionally trying to pursue you or be around you. You magically showed up, starting with the first day I met your brother. It was day two of my new life, your day one of meeting me.” He takes another sip, his eyes focused on my face.

  “Your goals, how are you doing on them?”

  “Well, I’ve got one out of the way, and the others are works in progress. Can’t expect everything to happen overnight.”

  “But obtainable?”

  “Indeed.”

  “Get a job?”

  “That’s the first one.”

  “And now, you’re totally cool with hanging out, even though your goals haven’t all been met?”

  “I think it’s a good idea. Besides, why deny myself some perks of the free life when getting my life on track is my second goal. If us hanging out is something that can contribute to that, then fuck yes.” He smiles.

  “So, we’re hanging out?”

  “How about we just call it what it is?”

  “And what’s that?”

  “I think hanging out is far from what we’ll be doing. We’re not teenagers; we’re adults. We’re attracted to each other, correct me if I’m wrong. We can call it dating, call it fucking, call it seeing each other, let’s just not call it hanging out. There are all sorts of different way to describe it, we’ll just pick whatever we want to call it,” he says, standing up and coming towards me. He stops in front of me and makes room to stand between my legs as I look up at him from my chair.

  “Oh yeah?” I feel my heart wanting to beat out of my chest. It’s not overly hot in here, but I feel like I’m in a sauna just from his nearness.

  “Definitely.” His hand glides up my arm, the length of my neck and stops to cradle my jaw. His other hand mimics the motion on the other side of my face. He leans in, runs his nose along my right cheek and breathes me in. My heart beats faster and I feel like putty in his hands even though he hasn’t done anything yet.

  Chapter Eight

  Brad

  I didn’t even kiss her. I ran my nose down and across her skin. I inhaled her scent and my fingertips ran down half of her body in a frenzied manner.

  But I knew once I started kissing her, that I wouldn’t stop. She looked frustrated when I pulled back and said I had to leave. I promised her I would come over tonight and cook her dinner. With her eyes betraying her eagerness, she nodded as I plucked her pouty bottom lip between my thumb and forefinger and kissed her cheek.

  Before leaving, I see the fire in her eyes; I see the change in her breathing and the flush on her skin. She wants me as much as I want her, which is intoxicating. Having gone so long without having a woman’s hands on me. The soft curves of a woman, the moans and the scent of perfume. I would have burst as soon as my cock came anywhere close to her pussy. I need to make sure I regulate myself before going back over there tonight, which means taking myself in my hand and choking my cock with thoughts of what I want to do to her.

  I had to go. I joined a work basketball league. We play every Saturday morning and then get a late lunch as a group. This was one of the new addition to my lifestyle, to add a different element of social interaction with others, something I never did before. After a week working at Omega, Dale invited me to join the team, which in addition to Dale and me, includes guys from several other departments. I am not the best basketball player. What I lack in point scoring, I make up for with my speed and stamina, which makes me good at defense. Unlike half the guys we play, I don’t get winded from running back and forth across the court. My aim is shit, but everything else is cool. The guys we play against are usually pretty cool guys as well, so that’s an added bonus.

  It’s late afternoon by the time we’re finished with lunch, and Dale and I are the last two guys standing around in the parking lot.

  “Since last night was a bust, do you want to go shoot some pool tonight?”

  “You asking me on a date, man?” I tease.

  “Honestly, you’re not my type.”

  “Oh yeah, what’s your type, big guy?” I joke with him.

  “Oh, the usual, shorter than me, nice olive skin, freckles. I love freckles. Oh, and this is a must, tits and a vagina.”

  I playfully put my hand over my heart and give him a look of mock-scorn.

  “I actually have plans tonight.” I smile.

  “Plans, with another human being?”

  “A female of the species, no less.”

  “Do tell… Tell Dale everything.” He tries to stay serious but fails miserably as a smile is tugging at the corners of his mouth.

  “Not talking about it. We don’t gossip like chicks!”

  “But if you have a smile on your face on Monday, can we converse by the water cooler?”

  “Never.”

  “Bitch.”

  “Ass.”

  “Have fun. If your plans fall through, I’m down to be your fallback date,” Dale yells over his shoulder as he walks to his car.

  “Thought I wasn’t your type?” I yell back.

  Dale takes an assessing look at me, as if he’s taking my inventory. “Definitely not my type, but I’d pity hang out with you.” He laughs and gets in his car.

  It’s been a while since I’ve had this kind of ribbing, back-and-forth conversation with anyone. Jacob was the last person that I had this sort of conversation with. I feel a slight twinge of longing for my family, but quicky push it aside to remember that I need to be in the present. While I was in prison, I kept to myself and didn’t make friends. I ate with my cell mate, so conversation was not much to speak of, since he was mute.

  I didn’t anticipate finding friendship with new people would be as easy as it’s been. I’m welcoming all these positive changes to my life, including the possibility of romantic involvement. A part of me is terrified that she’s going to turn out to be a liar and a cheat, someone who will try to ruin my life just like the last chick did. What a mess that became, a mess that ultimately ruined my life and sent me to jail.

  Shaking my head, I try to get my head out of the negative thinking and realize that I’ve been driving home on auto-pilot. I park the truck in the driveway and look up at my house. My empty house. My house has never had many visitors, so I’m unsure why it being empty bothers me so much now. I shake my head again and make my way up the steps to the porch.

  I’m almost done rinsing off my day in the shower when I remember what I need to do if I’m going to see Mika tonight. I take my cock in my hand and turn my back to the water, since water sucks as a lubricant. My other hand is flat against the tiles as I hang my head and stroke my shaft tightly. My mind drifts back to last night, when I settled into Mika’s spare bedroom. My head was on the pillow, my mind active from where I was, when I heard a soft moan, which grew in volume as did her very audible breathing. Her place is older, so the walls are thin, and every sound seemed to echo off the hardwood floors, making them seem louder than I’m sure it really was. When I heard her hiss out yes, I wrapped my hand around my cock and began fucking it to the rhythm that I was imagining that she was using. I used last night’s jack off session with the sounds she was giving me
as a soundtrack for right now. It took a while, with some light tugging of my balls and some squeezing of the head before I felt that sensation at the base of my spine. My climax still catches me off guard. As my cock spurts and my spine straightens, I throw my head back and grind my teeth while groaning loudly.

  Mika

  I’m not quite sure what to expect tonight when Brad comes over, but wishful thinking has me shaving everything. And I mean everything. It’s been so long since I’ve had a guy with romantic interest in my life, that this whole having a guy come over who isn’t Jared’s father is practically unprecedented.

  Is Brad going to follow through with a real kiss? Are we going to make out? Are we gonna go all the way and fuck?

  Do I want to fuck him? Hell yes, I do!

  Why am I so vulgar? Because you haven’t gotten any since before Jared was born.

  Ugh, I need to tell him about Jared. I need to stop thinking about Jared while I’m thinking about sexy time with Brad.

  My mind has been going in all directions since he left me this morning with wet panties. We didn’t kiss, even though it was all that I wanted. He grazed his lips across my skin, while his hands moved around my body languidly. After he left, I took a cold shower because I’ve heard time and time again that they help when you’re worked up. Except when I got out, I was still aroused, so much so that I lay on my bed with my legs spread and Mr. T. in my hand.

  I busied myself for the rest of the day with household chores, with butterflies in my stomach each time I thought about Brad.

  I was stepping out of the shower when a knock echoed through the house. Securing my towel around me and wringing out my hair, I rush to the door and pull it open to Brad’s back. He’s standing at the end of the porch with his hands in his pockets. He turns when he hears the door open and his mouth opens but no sound comes out. He instantly moves to the door as I scurry back. He closes the door and places his back to it. His chest is heaving and his eyes are burning as he looks me up and down.

  “You trying to give me a heart attack?” he breathes.

  “I would be the best person to be around if you were having one,” I joke.