Stand (Southern Heartbeats Vol. 1)

by Jennifer Rebecca

  I don’t let up on him. And before I know it he’s growing in my mouth. He tries to pull back, but I grab on to his hips with my hands and pull his body closer to me, his cock deeper in my mouth. He growls as he comes down my throat.

  I stand back up and pretending like that didn’t just happen, finish putting on my makeup with a little nude shimmery eye shadow and black mascara. My lips need no lipstick as they are swollen and pink, so I add a little clear gloss that’s cherry flavored.

  Cody is still standing there, gripping the counter around me, his cock still hang out of his pants. I just wink at him in the mirror, ducking under his arm I saunter to the closet, swinging my hips as I go knowing he’s watching and the look on his face promises retribution. Yipee!

  When we walked into Cody’s grandparents’ house everyone was already there and imbibing in the free flowing cocktails. I did not feel this boded well for the situation. The assembled crowd which included an angry looking Aunt Mable, both sets of Cody’s grandparents, his parents, a sour faced Joe, Sam and his wife, Holt, and the Mayor. Which I thought was weird. He looked to be his usual cranky self. Yay! How fun.

  We were all called to dinner and sat around the long dining room table. Cody’s grandfather at one end, his grandmother next to him. Aunt Mable fought the Mayor for the other end of the table and won, he still sat next to her. Cody’s parents sat next to him and that left me to sit in between Joe and Cody. Fuck my life. Do you even wonder how you end up in certain situations? Well, lately, that’s every damn day of my life.

  “Do you have any idea of what kind of a wedding you would like, dear?” Mrs. Reynolds asks me.

  “I’m not sure yet. It all happened so suddenly,” I smile at her.

  “Do you think you’d like to have the wedding here at the ranch?” His grandmother asks me hopefully.

  “That sounds lovely!” Mable chimes in. I look to Cody for help but he just smiles indulgently at me.

  “Angel can have whatever she wants. I’m just happy to be the man she’ll be meeting at the alter,” he says over the soup course. Deserter! Things went a little sideways over the prime rib and twice baked potatoes when the conversation turned to when.

  “I think you’d make a lovely June bride,” Mable says sweetly. I coughed on my delicious prime rib.

  “That’s a splendid idea! I think us ladies could put a wedding together for the beginning of June,” Mrs. Reynolds claps. “What do you say ladies?!” Which was met with raucous cheers from Cody’s grandmothers and Mable.

  “Don’t you think this is all a bit sudden?” The Mayor snaps.

  “I’m not sure how this decision concerns you,” Mable narrows her eyes at him and I can’t help but squirm. I see Cody flinch out of the corner of my eye, but he covers it well.

  “That’s unfair and you know it,” he says softly. I feel a tingle along the back of my neck but don’t have time to put any thought in it because Joe chooses that moment to pipe up.

  “I think the Mayor is correct. This is too sudden. You’re not thinking clearly, Angie. You’ve obviously been brain washed by this…this…sex fiend!” He shouts. I cringe and try and slither under the table but Cody stops my progress. One look at him confirms he’s smiling like a loon. Bastard.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I hedge, hoping Joe will realize his faux pas, but he just keeps getting more and more angry.

  “I fucking heard you,” he thunders. While I was sitting in the kitchen with your nut bag aunt.”

  “This is true. I was pretty impressed,” Aunt Mable tells the table at the same time the Mayor shouts at Joe.

  “Who are you to call anyone a nut bag? Actually, who the hell are you anyways?” He asks. “Actually, I don’t care. But if I ever hear you make threats or unsavory comment to Mable ever again, I will call the sheriff and have your ass thrown in jail.” The room was quiet for a bit until Holt chimes in.

  “I’m the sheriff and things have been a little slow lately. I’d do it just for entertainment value,” Holt says honestly. I’m so stunned at the crazy turns this evening is taking that I’m shoveling in my dinner hoping no one will direct the conversation back to me. Unfortunately, my luck is still a flaming pile of Steve’s crap.

  “You should slow down on the potatoes, Angie. Actually, you shouldn’t eat them at all if you ever want to shed some of that fat,” Joe says to me. And you could hear a pin drop.

  “I think it’s time for you to go,” Holt says quietly, but firmly. “If you’re nice I’ll drive you to the airport. If you continue to be a jackass, I’ll take you straight to jail.” Joe just stands, dropping his napkin on his plate and follows Holt out the door. We all sat there in silence for a few minutes before I turned to Cody, not quite meeting his eyes.

  “I’d like to go now,” I say softly, humiliated.

  “Nonsense!” Principal Reynolds booms. “What you need is tequila,” which magically manifests in front of me. I immediately shoot it back and Cody’s grandfather fills my glass back up. I shoot that back too.

  “I think I’m ok now,” I rasp as the booze sears across my chest.

  “Not yet but you will be soon. What an asshole. Let’s get the cake, love. We’ll all feel better with cake,” his grandfather says. I’m not so sure. I’m feeling a little green around the gills.

  “Definitely. What her ass needs is cake. What a moron. I would feed an ass like that every day,” Cody’s dad says as his wife slaps his chest. “What? It’s a fantastic ass. Mark my words, son, don’t let her lose that ass.” My face is beet red and I will never be able to look anyone in the eye ever again. I feel Cody’s body shake with laughter next to me.

  “I won’t dad. In fact, I had that very thought the first time Angel joined Holt, Sam, and me for pizza at Father’s,” he tells the table. I just throw my head back and laugh because every word he spoke rings absolutely true.

  Angellica

  Taylor Swift’s “Out of the Woods” is blaring in my ears. Oh, fuck. My head is pounding in time to the alarm clock on Cody’s night stand. It’s not his alarm clock. It’s mine. The beautiful fucker is a morning person. So he’s off running and frolicking through the woods while I’m here trying to swallow a bag of cotton balls. Well, that’s at least what it feels like.

  I shut the alarm off and head to the bathroom to brush out the taste of where tequila died in my mouth. The feel of the bristles of my toothbrush on my tongue makes me yark. So I brush again. This time, giving myself the hairy eyeball in the mirror. Throw up and die, bitch.

  The shower is next. I’m pretty sure the tequila Cody’s grandad kept filling me with last night is seeping out of my pores. It’s not a good feeling. So, I throw up in the shower too, just for good measure. I’m standing in the shower under the spray. Just standing there looking at my toes. This is how Cody finds me.

  “Babe!” He shouts at me. I can’t help the wince. There is a conga line in my head. Cody jumps in the shower fully clothed. “Babe, they want to induct me into the Hall of Fame in New York,” he’s so excited and I love seeing it.

  “That’s wonderful,” I say in a whisper. I give him the best smile I can. But I’m pretty sure it’s a grimace.

  “Hangover?” He asks me with a smirk on his face. When I narrow my eyes he adds, “Amateur. Gramps and Tequila go back to his Army days. You should never drink with him unless you’re prepared for the consequences.”

  “I do not like this lecture. Get out or die,” I growl. He just laughs. Crazy bastard.

  I continue to soap up, wash my hair. I lean my face into the spray when I feel something poke me from behind. Nope. Not today, no sir. I finish washing the cleanser off my face and then step out of the shower and towel off.

  “You wound me, love!” Cody calls from within the shower.

  “You’ll survive,” I shout back. Wincing at the volume. “My head will not,” he just chuckles.

  I make my way into the closet and slip on plain cotton panties and a cotton bra. I’m not feeling
very fancy today. But it’s Texas and late spring early summer so it’s hot out. I button up a white sleeveless shirt that has pockets over the boobies and slip in my favorite red, pleated silk skirt with little blue and white flowers all over it. I add a tan leather braided belt and tan leather ballet flats.

  By the time I’m done tying my curls up in a messy bun and applying a light amount of makeup, Cody had beat me down stairs. Granted he wears workout clothes to school. He was in the kitchen laying scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast on plates at the island and pouring cups of coffee to go with. God, I love this man. Where my stomach was previously sour, the smell of the eggs and toast got me. I picked up a toast square and delicately nibble the edges. Okay, this is okay. I sipped some black coffee to burn the rest of the booze out of my gut and then hesitantly picked up my fork. After two or three bites, I was suddenly ravenous and before I knew it, my breakfast was gone. Huh, how did that happen? So I reached over and took two more bites of Cody’s eggs before sticking my plate in the sink to rinse. Cody just laughed.

  We loaded the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher and headed to school together. He drove me to work in my jeep and in the parking lot we parted ways with a quick promise to meet for lunch. I was feeling so much better by the time I got to my office. But still, I’m never drinking again.

  There’s only a couple of days left before graduation and school lets out for the summer. I’m only here to make sure no one breaks their arm or worse on slip n slides on the field or faking sick so they won’t have to take their finals. The answer is no you’re not dying of the plague. And yes, you do have to take your finals.

  A couple hours into the day, but still a ways off from lunch, Cody pops his head through my door. I’m a little surprised to see him because he said he wouldn’t be by until noon. He smiles at me and I can’t help but smile back. He brightens my day.

  “You alone?” He asks me.

  “Yeah,” I look at him with a question in my eyes. But he just walks in and shuts the door behind him, turning the lock.

  Cody slowly paces towards me with a certain twinkle in his eye that I’m not sure means I should be excited or I should head for the hills. He stops in front of where I’m sitting in my chair and holds a hand out to me. I take it and slowly rise from my chair. Still not sure what’s going on here.

  “I missed you,” he tells me.

  “I missed you too,” I smile at him.

  He slowly walks me backwards towards my exam tables. He keeps gently pushing me back. Rubbing his hands up and down my arms. When my butt hits the back of the table, he slowly slides my body up to sit on it, his hands gripping my hips and his eyes never leaving mine.

  “But today, you put this skirt on to punish me.”

  “I did no such thing,” I say sternly as he pushes my skirt up my thighs, nodding seriously.

  “You did and that’s not very nice. So now, I can’t wait for lunch time,” he tells me as he slides my plain panties down my legs, pocketing them. Dirty bastard.

  “Okay,” I breathe as he slowly presses my knees open and leans in between. His fingers dig into my naked hips as he licks me. Slowly at first but quickly he picks up speed. Nipping and kissing as he goes. My legs are shaking, trying to close on their own but he mercilessly holds them open. I grab onto his hair and rock against him, biting my lip to keep from crying out, I come. He wipes his mouth along my inner thigh and rolls my skirt back down. I’m still trying to catch my breath when he leans over me and whispers.

  “Now we’re even for last night,” and he winks at me.

  “Okay,” is all I can manage. I’m so damn witty and sharp. No wonder all the boys are beating down my door.

  “I have one more meeting this morning before lunch. Do you have more work to do?” He asks me.

  “Oh, yeah. I have more parents to call and tell them they forgot to get their kid a tetanus shot and need to do so before training for fall sports picks up,” I tell him.

  “Ok. But I want to talk to you about New York,” He tells me. “So, come and get me when you’re done. Say about an hour?”

  “Okay?” I guess. “I’ll meet you in an hour. But what about New York?” I ask.

  “Come with me?” He smiles like a little boy as he asks me. I nod. My heart pangs for a little boy with sandy brown hair and golden hazel eyes. A little boy that steals my heart every day by giving me his dad’s goofy, crooked smile. Too bad that’s just a dream.

  It’s just past forty minutes since Cody left me with promises of New York and his Hall of Fame induction. That’s a big deal. I would need a nice dress and I would probably throw up being judged by all those people. But I’m so excited. I can show him all the places I loved growing up. I am practically skipping down the hall to the sports offices. But just outside the door, I hear heated words being exchanged.

  “Do you really think you should marry her?” The Mayor asks.

  “I really think it’s none of your business,” Cody shoots back.

  “I get it,” he placates. “It was fake yesterday, but that jackass is gone now. Why does she still have a ring on her finger?”

  “How about because I love her and I’m going to tell her it’s always been real for me,” Cody shoots back and all I can think about is he loves me. Cody loves me!!!

  “Love,” the Mayor sneers. “Do you really think love will keep you happy for the rest of your lives? Do you really think love earns you the right to marry my daughter?” Hold up. What?

  “That’s rich seeing as you’ve been hidden in the shadows her whole fucking life,” Cody shoots back.

  “Oh, and you think she’s going to keep on loving you when she finds out you knew the deep dark family secrets the whole fucking time. Stay away from her. Let her go back to New York and stay there where she belongs,” he thunders. I hear footsteps but I am too stunned to move. The door swings open and there is the Mayor in the door way, behind him is a shell shocked Cody.

  “Angel, it’s not what you think,” he says walking towards me.

  “Stop,” I shout. “Is it true?” I asked them, lowering my voice to just above a whisper.

  “Yes,” Cody says softly. “But I wanted to tell you.”

  “That doesn’t matter!” I scream. “You lied.”

  “I didn’t lie. I just didn’t tell you.”

  “A lie of omission is still a lie,” I say firmly.

  “I told him not to tell you,” the Mayor tells me.

  “Was I just not good enough?” I ask him before holding up a hand. “Wait. I don’t want to know. As far as I’m concerned. You’re getting your wish. I’m going home and I never want to hear from either of you again. I will not ever beg for the affections of any man be it my lover or my father,” I shrug off their excuses and wasted breaths.

  “Angel,” But I was already gone. I’d turned on my heel and was walking as purposefully as I could with my head held high. I almost didn’t flinch when I heard Cody scream out one last time. “Angel!!” But like I said, I was already gone.

  Cody

  Nothing matters any more. Everything is…blank. Or at least, that’s what I’m telling myself. Really, everything hurts. I thought Kimmy ripped my heart out. I was wrong. So fucking wrong. I didn’t know what it was like to have and to love a good woman. And then I did. And then I subsequently lost said good woman and my life turned to shit. Not really. Everything is still the same. I’m still the head football coach for Tall Pines High School. I’m still the son and grandson of some amazing people. I still have friends in this town. Although some, like Sam, are defecting to Angel’s side. And I can’t blame them. I wish I was there too.

  But I’m here. Sitting on the floor of my living room because the couch was too good for the likes of me. Actually, I got

  from work; saw the couch and all I could think about was tickling Angel on the couch. Fucking Angel over the arm of the couch. So I grabbed a bottle of scotch, and sat on the floor. The floor is my friend, it doesn’t judge me.

  I also
no longer sleep. I kind of just battle nap in between bouts of anger at everyone who told me to lie and self-loathing over how I could be such a moron. I just go back and forth back and forth. Never coming to a resolution.

  Then in the mornings, I get up feeling like shit. And smelling of booze. So I tie on my running shoes and add some more punishment to my life. I run harder and farther. I work out longer when I get home. It is the only thing I have that even remotely takes some of the ache in my heart away. Not completely. Never completely. But if a little is all I can get. I’ll take it. That’s where I am. Those are my days. Lather, rinse, mother fucking repeat. It has been three days.

  There’s a knock on my door and I answer it with a scowl on my face. I totally don’t care. There is absolutely no one I want to see with the exception of Angel, and I’m pretty sure she wishes I were dead. I am not surprised to see my scowl met by two scarier scowls. From my best friends, Sam and Holt; Who are holding brown paper bags and pizza.

  “We came to tell you we’re here to watch the game,” Sam says.

  “But really we’re here to get you drunk and talk some sense into you,” Holt finishes.

  “Go away,” I tell them.

  “No,” they say in tandem. I sigh and move away from the door, granting them entrance.

  They head right to the coffee table and put the pizza boxes right on top. Holt, the more responsible of the two, goes to the kitchen and grabs the roll of paper towels and the bottle opener that magnets to my fridge.