325 First Fights

by E. L. Todd

  I’d take her back to my place right now if she wanted, but I wasn’t going to persuade her to make it happen. When she was ready, it would happen. I could be patient. “Probably a good idea.” I kissed the corner of her mouth and dropped my hands. “Good night, Celeste.”

  She reluctantly let me go, the ghost of the kiss still in her eyes. “Good night, Blade.”

  When I walked into the bar hours later, I had the biggest and dumbest grin on my face.

  Cypress was the first one to spot me at the table. He sat beside Bree, and they both had big glasses of beer in front of them. “Someone got laid.”

  Amelia turned around in her chair and looked at me. “With a grin like that, I think he got a blow job.”

  Ace chuckled. “Spill it.”

  I joined my friends at the table and didn’t bother getting a drink. I was drunk off that kiss with Celeste. “Dude, she is awesome. Like, superawesome.”

  “Superawesome?” Bree repeated. “Are you five, and she’s an action figure?”

  I ignored her. “She’s French. She owns that coffee shop and bakery right next to Hippopotamus Café.”

  “Oh, I’ve been there,” Amelia said. “They have the best pie.”

  “I know,” I said. “I had a piece.”

  Ace winked. “Bet you did.”

  “So she’s from France?” Bree asked. “What part?”

  “Paris,” I said. “And she’s got the sexiest accent ever. I love hearing her talk. It’s like listening to porn.”

  Bree rolled her eyes. “That’s romantic.”

  “You really like this girl, huh?” Cypress asked. “Are you gonna see her again?”

  “Yeah,” I said. “I’m gonna swing by in a few days and ask her to dinner.”

  “Why don’t you just ask her tomorrow?” Amelia asked.

  Ace shook his head. “No. Go slow. If you move too fast, she’ll think you’re obsessed or desperate.”

  “Or just really into her,” Bree said.

  Cypress put his hand on her wrist and shook his head. “Leave it to the pros, sweetheart.”

  It was nice seeing them together again, but I was too obsessed with my own life to care at the moment. “She’s really smart, sweet, and funny too. She’s, like, the perfect woman.”

  “And you didn’t cross home plate?” Ace asked. “What happened?”

  “I didn’t want to push it,” I answered. “I really want a second date.”

  “Aww…” Amelia smiled at me. “How sweet.”

  “That is cute,” Bree said.

  “I tried to walk away, but she was the one who kissed me good night,” I said. “So hot.”

  “Sounds like she’s into you too,” Ace noted.

  “When do we get to meet her?” Amelia asked excitedly.

  The fact that Celeste was only here half the year complicated things. She would never be my girlfriend or a member of our group. “Probably never.”

  “Why not?” Bree asked. “We’ve always been nice to your girlfriends.”

  “And I never hit on them,” Ace added.

  “Well…” I spotted Lady near the doorway and assumed she was there for Ace. I had taken the last remaining chair, so I should probably pull up another one. But then I saw her walk to the other side of the restaurant and join a few girls. She saw Ace, but she didn’t acknowledge him. “Uh, Ace. What’s going on with you and Lady?” I nodded to the corner where she was sitting.

  Ace glanced then turned back to us. “We stopped seeing each other.”

  Amelia stiffened, and her eyes popped open in surprise.

  “When did that happen?” Cypress asked. “I thought you guys were cool.”

  Ace shrugged then crossed his arms over his chest. “Wasn’t feeling it. She started asking about being serious, so I cut her loose. Not much more to say.”

  Cypress pressed him. “What about—”

  “We’re talking about Celeste right now.” I hit both of my palms against the table. “All we ever talk about is your love lives. Now it’s my turn.” I pointed at my chest. “I’ve got an awesome girl, better than any other chick you guys have brought around.”

  “Just Ace,” Cypress said. “I’ve never brought anyone around.”

  Bree didn’t look at him, but a hint of a smile was on her lips.

  “What else is there?” Amelia asked, no longer stiff.

  “Well…she’s only here for a few months. Then she goes back home to Paris where she has her other café.” It was a deathblow when she told me. Repeating it out loud was even more difficult.

  “She’s only here through the fall?” Ace repeated. “Like, six months out of the year?”

  “That’s it?” Cypress asked incredulously.

  “Yeah,” I said with a sigh. “It really sucks.”

  “And she does that every year?” Amelia asked.

  “Yeah,” I answered. “It didn’t seem like she had any intention of ever changing her mind. All her family and friends live there.”

  “So that means this is just a fling, then?” Ace asked. “That’s not so bad. And you know she’ll always be around next year to hook up.”

  “I wasn’t really looking for a fling when I asked her out,” I said honestly. “So now I’m gonna have to make sure I don’t start to like her too much. It’ll bite me in the ass if I do. I finally found a girl who doesn’t bore me, and she’s unavailable. Why do I have the worst luck?”

  “I’m sorry, Blade.” Bree moved her hand over my shoulder, consoling me the only way she knew how. “You’ll find the right one eventually, probably when you least expect it.”

  “Yeah,” Amelia added. “Don’t be discouraged.”

  “And this French babe may not be as great as you think,” Ace said. “Maybe when you get to know her better, she’ll be flawed like everyone else, and you’ll lose interest anyway.”

  “Maybe.” But I highly doubted it.

  9

  Bree

  Cypress and I walked home in the dark, using our phones as flashlights since there were no streetlights. When we approached his house, Dino’s head was visible in the front window as he stood on his hind legs to look out.

  Cypress shook his head. “He knows better than that…”

  “Leave him alone. He just misses you.”

  “Misses you too.” Cypress stopped in front of his house, his arms by his sides. He glanced at the window before he turned back to me. “Since tomorrow is Sunday…you wanna sleep over, and I’ll make breakfast in the morning?”

  “Breakfast, huh? Like what?”

  A grin stretched across his face. “Pancakes, bacon, and toast.”

  “Ooh…that sounds pretty good.”

  “Is that a yes?”

  “Like I could say no to bacon.”

  “Great.” He grabbed my hand and walked with me inside the house. The last time I was here, I told him I wanted to call it quits. The smell of his house immediately brought back that memory, and I was surprised to see the table upright again. There was a new vase on top since the last one shattered.

  Dino greeted me with a slobbery kiss when I walked inside, and he pawed at my hips.

  “Hey, Dino.” I kneeled down and scratched him behind the ears. “Who’s a good boy?”

  He barked.

  “You’re so cute.” I kissed him on the head then followed Cypress into the living room.

  “How about I get a fire going, and we watch a movie together?”

  “That sounds cozy.”

  He started the fire and tossed on a few more logs. The TV was above the fireplace, and soon the living room was warm and comfortable. Cypress and I sat together under a warm blanket, and he rested his arm over the back of the couch. Dino lay in his special spot in the corner, happy to have us home.

  Cypress flipped through the channels. “How about Moana? You love Disney movies, and this came out a few years ago.”

  “Moana?”

  “It’s about a girl from Hawaii.”

  “Ooh�
�that does sound good. But you want to watch a kid’s movie?”

  “I want to watch anything you want to watch.” He turned it on and tossed the remote on the table. “It’s not like we’re gonna be watching much of it anyway.”

  Bumps formed all up and down my arms. He’d already asked me to sleep over so I knew what that entailed, but I still got chills when I thought about it. Cypress knew exactly what I liked, and he made love to me in the perfect way. But my throat still went dry, and I felt butterflies in my stomach, as if Cypress and I were a brand-new couple.

  The movie played for less than ten minutes before he made a move. He turned his face into mine and kissed me, his strong mouth feeling good against my soft lips. Soon, we were making out in front of the fire, his hand groping my chest through my shirt. His fingers migrated underneath my top and over my bra, gripping my tit with greater control than before. His fingers slid underneath the cotton, and he flicked his thumb over my pebbled nipple.

  My hand moved from the back of his neck and down his chest, feeling the concrete under my fingertips. My hand trailed to his jeans, and I got the button undone at the top and his zipper down. Like a teenager, I stuck my hand in his pants and grabbed his hard cock and began to stroke him gently.

  His kiss intensified, and he moaned into my mouth while I jerked his nine inches. His hand slid into my unbuttoned jeans, and he found my throbbing clit. He rubbed it hard as he kissed me, getting me off with just his hand.

  I jerked him harder and shuddered against his mouth, feeling my body tighten in preparation for a climax. Knowing we were doing something so juvenile as married adults somehow made it sexier.

  Cypress must have known I was about to come because he pulled his hand away.

  I moaned in protest. “Cypress…”

  He yanked his boxers and jeans down to his knees and then helped me get out of my clothes. His long cock lay against his stomach, rock-hard and throbbing to be inside me. When my bottoms were off, he positioned me to straddle his hips and sink onto his length.

  I took every inch of him, moaning loudly as he stretched me like every man should stretch his woman. I took him balls deep and sat still, treasuring the feeling of all nine inches of him.

  Cypress moaned louder than I did, and he dug his fingertips into my ass, squeezing my cheeks aggressively. My shoes were still on because I hadn’t taken them off, and they sat on either side of his knees, rubbing against his skin every time I made a move.

  Cypress’s eyes were lidded and heavy as his hands glided up to my chest, and he squeezed my tits through my bra. He ground his hips slightly, his cock rubbing against the sides of my tight channel. “Fuck…”

  I hadn’t even begun to move yet, and we were both already crippled by how great it felt.

  Cypress sat back against the couch and then lifted me up, pulling his length out until only his head was inside. Then he pulled me down again, sliding through my wetness until he was balls deep again. Every time he was completely sheathed, he moaned. “So fucking good…”

  When I saw the desire in his eyes, he made me feel sexy. It pushed me to be more adventurous, to be more confident. My hands pressed against his chest, and I used his physique for balance as I moved up and down and rocked my hips at the same time. I took his length over and over, my pussy soaking his cock in my arousal.

  Cypress grabbed my hips and controlled their tilt, making me grind my clit against his body at the perfect angle. My nub was on fire, and I panted through the pleasure, forgetting to move when it felt too good.

  He pressed his face to mine and kissed the corner of my mouth, his tongue swiping over my bottom lip when he finished. “I love you, sweetheart.” He pulled me tighter against him as he thrust up with his hips, taking over the momentum.

  When he said those words to me, I didn’t know if he expected me to say them back, or if he just wanted to say them. He had a special place in my heart, but I couldn’t say I was there just yet. When the moment didn’t change, I assumed he was okay with that. All he wanted was for me to know how he felt. Or maybe he fantasized this was another time, back before I hit my head and lost all my memories.

  But watching him adore me and listening to him worship me heightened my experience and sent me over the edge. I came with my nails digging into his skin and a moan screaming from my throat. My arousal splashed all over him, soaking him all the way down to his balls. “Cypress…”

  “I love watching you come for me.” He dug his hand into my hair and gripped me harshly, putting me in the perfect position for him to move harder. He thrust his hips and hit me deeply, giving me all of his length over and over.

  I knew he was about to come inside me, so I reached behind me and massaged his sac with my fingertips, giving him the extra touch he needed to explode deep inside me. “I want your come.”

  “Jesus fucking Christ.” He pulled me entirely down his length as he released, filling me with his mounds of seed. He collapsed back against the couch as the blood flushed into his cheeks. His eyes were just as lidded as before, but now his jaw was squared and he looked even more handsome than usual.

  I rested against his chest and pressed my face next to his. I was hot and covered in sweat, but I wanted to be near him anyway. I wanted to share this connection that we had, to let it grow into something more. “I liked the movie…”

  A ghost of a smile stretched his lips. “Yeah, me too.” He turned off the TV with the remote before he rose to his feet, keeping me attached to him with a single arm. He carried me into his bedroom down the hall, his cock still buried inside me where it belonged.

  He laid me down on the bed then pulled off my Keds and socks. He still hadn’t pulled out of me yet, and now I wasn’t sure if he was going to. Last time I was here, he pumped me with so much come I could barely walk.

  He watched my expression as he slowly pulled out of me, his cock still big even when it was soft. He balanced back on his ankles and removed his shirt before he yanked the rest of my clothes off. Once we were naked together, he tugged the sheets over us and got comfortable beside me in bed.

  We became tangled up together, one person underneath the sheets with our dog at the end of the bed. The picture frame was still on the nightstand, and his wedding ring sat on his left hand. He’d put it back on once I asked for another chance, and I never imagined how relieved I would feel once he was wearing it again.

  “Just so you know, I snore.”

  I chuckled. “Yeah, I remember.”

  “Well, it’s gotten worse over the years. And Dino snores too.”

  “Now I wish I snored.”

  “I don’t,” he said with a chuckle. He kissed my shoulder then pressed his face into my hair, inhaling my scent. “I miss this so much. It used to be my favorite time of the day.”

  “Why?”

  “We’d make love and talk before going to sleep every night. Just the two of us. No work. No friends. Just us.”

  My hand moved over his defined knuckles, feeling the hills and valleys of his hands. “It is nice…”

  “There are times when I want to bring up something from the past, and I remember you don’t have any memory of it. It’s hard for me to keep track of things.”

  “Then maybe you should start from the beginning. I don’t mind hearing about how we used to be. What were you thinking of saying?”

  He spooned me from behind and kept his face buried in the hair at the back of my neck. Every time he exhaled, some of his breath moved through my strands and grazed against my bare skin. It was warm and sexy, and I found myself looking forward to every breath he took.

  “I was going to say there was a time when marriage wasn’t important to me. In fact, I didn’t want to get married at all. Didn’t seem like something I’d be interested in. Even when we were dating the first time, it didn’t really cross my mind. And now…I love being married. I love being with you every day and every night. It makes me realize how little I had before since I have so much now. That’s something I woul
d think about almost every night while we lay next to each other, that I’m lucky to have this. And now that you’re back…I’m happy again.”

  I was glad I couldn’t see his face because I thought I would start crying if I looked at him. It was heartfelt and sweet, and it made me wish I remembered everything we’d been through. It made me wish I could tell him I loved him when he said it first. “I wish I could remember everything.”

  “It’s not your fault,” he whispered. “Don’t feel bad about it. I’ll remember enough for you.” He tightened his arm around my waist and pulled me closer into his hard chest. When we were skin to skin like this, I could feel the warmth of his body and the pounding of his heart.

  “I’m sorry I’ve been so difficult, Cypress.”

  “It’s okay,” he said quickly. “You’ve been through a lot. If I lost my memory, I know I would be freaking out.”

  “You’ve been very sweet to me, and I’ve never really given you a chance.”

  “You’re giving me a chance now, and that’s all that matters. It’s okay if you don’t love me right now. It’s okay if you don’t trust me. Those things will happen in time. I know they will.” He pressed a kiss to the back of my neck and snuggled directly behind me.

  “Did we talk about having children?”

  “Yeah. We wanted to have two kids. One boy and one girl.”

  “When did we want to have them?”

  “Actually, we were about to start trying before your accident. You said you wanted our kids to be close in age to Rose and Lily.”

  “Oh…” If I hadn’t lost my memory, I’d be a mom right now. I could potentially have two kids, or at least one.

  “But there’s still time. When you’re ready, we can have them.”

  “And we were going to raise them in my house?”

  “Yeah. I lived with Amelia until this place went on the market. I went to the owner and told him about the situation, so he let me buy it privately.”

  “Oh…”

  He fell quiet, his breathing growing even behind him.

  “Cypress?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Why did you fight so hard for me? Why didn’t you just let me go?” I knew he said he loved me, but I thought there had to be a stronger reason than that. “Eighteen months is a long time. At the time, you thought there was no chance of me recovering. Anyone else would have left.”