My Mistake (Stories of Serendipity #7)

by Conley, Anne

  Her fingers tugged at his hair until he was looking at her again. “Don’t you see? What if we wouldn’t be right here, right now, if we’d gotten together back then? Huh?” She kissed him sweetly. Just a peck on his lips to show affection and squeezed his neck again before crawling off his lap. “Now can we please stop talking about all that stuff? It’s depressing. Let’s focus on the positive. Okay?” She buckled her seatbelt. “What position do you want to try next?”

  Brent sniffed loudly as he rubbed his face with his hands. When his face emerged again, it was redder, but there was a trace of a pained smile. “I don’t deserve you.”

  “Sure you do.” She eyed his crotch appraisingly. “You ever done it against a wall?”

  Brent’s groan and his shifting his pants made Casey giggle. “Woman, you are killing me.”

  “Well it’s definitely something to think about for next time.”

  “I’ll be thinking about it, that’s for sure,” he muttered.

  Her stomach growled and they both laughed before Brent pulled off the shoulder and continued their trek into town for breakfast. It was almost noon.

  Chapter 10

  “I had no idea. I feel awful for not calling her.” Casey’s eyes watched the swirl of the cream as she poured it into her second cup of coffee.

  “She probably wouldn’t have answered, even for you. She’s in a bad place right now, and I’m a little worried.”

  They were seated in a booth in the back of Sam’s, a diner on the outskirts of Serendipity. There was a lunchtime crowd, but together, they seemed to coexist in their solitary booth, as if they were on an island in the sea of people.

  Brent was filling Casey in on Summer’s troubles.

  “I’ll call her this afternoon. Maybe I can get her to go to lunch with me tomorrow. We can commiserate or something.”

  Brent looked at her, his steely gray eyes intent on her face. “You don’t have anything to commiserate about. You’ve got me, now.” His mouth set in a stern line.

  She reached across the table for his hand, clasping it reassuringly. “Yes, I do. And so does Summer. But we’ve both been dumped recently, so we can commiserate. Don’t feel threatened by it.”

  “I’m not threatened.”

  The guilt of not seeing her friend before now turned to amusement at Brent’s transparency. He was jealous of a man he’d never meet, a man Casey had absolutely no feelings for anymore. It was cute. She squeezed his hand before letting go and blowing on her coffee. She watched him eat.

  Like everything he did, he was focused and purposeful. He appeared relaxed on the surface, but the stiffness in his shoulders and his stern mouth showed signs of tension. She knew he worried about his sister, they’d always been close.

  “I’m not mad about it or anything, just curious. But why haven’t you called Summer? You’ve been here several weeks haven’t you?”

  She nodded, eating the last bite of her omelet and chewing it before answering. “Yeah, I was just licking my wounds, I guess. I was talking myself into getting in touch with some people though. My mom is about to drive me crazy.” She smiled to herself. “She means well, but she hovers, you know? I was so glad when she went out of town and I had the house to myself for a week.”

  He watched her for a while, as she pushed her plate back and pulled her coffee cup forward to focus on. Then he swiped his toast through egg yolk and chewed thoughtfully.

  “When did you catch him?”

  She knew he was talking about Kevin. She could tell by the steely glint in his eyes. It told her to tread carefully, because he was ready to kick some ass. She’d seen him do it when she was thirteen, and he’d walked in on Casey comforting Summer after a boy had called his sister a horrible name. He’d demanded to know why she was crying, gotten that glint, and then proceeded to hunt down the boy and beat the shit out of him.

  “Don’t get mad at him, Brent. I caught him cheating on me over a year ago. The divorce has been final six months. I just couldn’t stand living there in our house, working at a job where all my co-workers knew him.” She smiled ruefully. “I got the house, he got the friends. I just wanted to be home.”

  “I understand.” His voice was soft and full of emotions Casey recognized. Brent and Summer had never known their parents and were raised by their grandma, Nana. She had instilled a love in the two children whose parents preferred partying to raising them. It was something the three of them had shared when Casey had gotten to feeling sorry for herself about her own alcoholic father.

  His perceptions of love had been altered at an early age by his parents, then corrected as best she knew how by his Nana, and he treasured the love of a family like nobody else that Casey knew. His Nana and his sister had been the most important people in his life. She believed that he did understand her need for the familial love of her mom.

  “Whatever happened to your dad? He’s not around anymore is he?”

  “Don’t really know. Don’t really care.” Her stomach roiled at thoughts of her father, and the digesting food in her stomach suddenly turned acidic. “Don’t really want to talk about him.” She took a drink of her coffee to stop that train of conversation.

  “It’s okay. Just curious.” He finished mopping his plate with the last edge of crust before popping it into his mouth. “So, whatcha got on tap for today, little girl?”

  His use of the nickname he’d given her years ago turned the acid into butterflies, and she responded with her standard retort. “I’m not a little girl.”

  “Not anymore. That’s for sure.” His salacious wink brought to mind their erotic night and morning, and she flushed, suddenly wishing she didn’t have work to do.

  “I’ve got to finish some drawings and send them back. I’m not sure I have all the information though.” As she looked around the dwindling lunch crowd, she noticed a blond woman watching them. She smiled vaguely, wondering if she was somebody she was supposed to know.

  Brent brought her focus back to him. “So you still work for the same firm? Telecommuting?”

  She nodded. “For now, until they find a replacement of ‘my caliber.’ Their words, not mine.” She used air quotes, and he smirked at her. “I think it’s more trouble for them than it’s worth. The work’s dwindling.”

  “What will you do afterwards? When they find a replacement?”

  “Don’t know. That’s what I need to figure out. I’ve got the proceeds from the house sale, and they’re sizable. Enough that I can buy a place here and start some sort of business if I wanted. Real estate here is a quarter of what it is in Houston. The sky’s the limit.”

  “Didn’t you used to want to do something in advertising?”

  Casey hadn’t thought of that in years, since she, Summer and Brent had all watched Mr. Mom together. She used to make up jingles for different products and try them out on her friends. Surprised he’d remembered that tiny detail about her adolescent life. “Yeah, but not so much anymore. Although marketing would be cool and something I could do here in Serendipity. I haven’t noticed much of it besides vinyl banners everywhere. Some of these businesses around here need to go global. I could learn how to help with that.” She was musing. It wasn’t really something she’d focused her attentions on lately, but it sounded like it could work. Her eyes roamed the diner again, falling on the blond woman, who was now smiling at her. It was a creepy smile, one that sent a shiver down Casey’s spine. “Do you know her? She keeps looking at me.”

  Brent looked over his shoulder and stiffened.

  “What? You know her?” Casey wondered if it was an ex-girlfriend. Brent had to have a ton of them around town.

  “Yeah, she’s my vet. Lindsey Brown.” He smiled a tight smile at the woman and offered a reluctant wave. It made more questions pop into Casey’s head, but Brent tossed a twenty on the table and grabbed her elbow, ushering her out of the restaurant.

  They drove back to his house, holding hands in companionable silence. Mooch had been lying on the porch, head
in his paws, but when they pulled into the driveway, he jumped up and raced the truck up to the house, eager to greet them with barks and ‘hugs.’ Casey giggled at the dog’s snout in her crotch.

  “I had a really great time.” Brent walked her to her car, and she wrapped her arms around his steely torso and leaned her head on his chest, feeling bittersweet. She was so happy to have him in her life like this, and she didn’t want to leave.

  “Stay the night with me again tonight?” His voice rumbled in his chest against her cheek. “Now that I’ve finally got you, I don’t want to let you go for long.” He planted a kiss on the top of her head, resting his mouth there. She could feel his warm breath in her hair. “You can bring some of your things. I know my place isn’t very big, but you’re welcome to stay with me.” His hands at her waist dropped down to her butt, squeezing gently as he pulled her against his hips.

  She looked up at him, “It would save us a lot of money in gas, I’m thinking.”

  “Always so practical. And here I was, thinking that insatiable sexual appetites were the argument to use.”

  “That too.” She stood on her tiptoes to kiss him as he leaned his head down to meet her lips. It began as a sweet kiss, but as she met his soft lips and tasted him, she couldn’t resist running her tongue along the seam of his mouth until he opened up with a groan, sucking her bottom lip into his mouth and picking her up to set her on the hood of her car.

  “Christ, Case,” he breathed into her mouth before taking it again, his tongue dueling with hers. His hands reached for her breasts and she arched into his touch, feeling hot desire sweep through her body.

  “Give me something to hold me over until I come back tonight.”

  Before she could finish her plea, his hands were at her waist, tugging at the drawstring that held the shorts up. Her hands undid the buckle of his jeans, tugging them open impatiently. When his fingers found her slick heat, he growled and yanked the shorts down to her ankles, leaning her back on the car as he shoved his jeans down to his knees.

  This time was urgent and frenzied. No words were spoken, just grunts and moans, as he put both of her feet on his shoulder and thrust inside her with incoherent mutterings. One hand reached under the hem of her shirt and pulled her bra down to knead her breast while he pumped in and out of her furiously. His other hand reached between her legs and found the bundle of nerves above her wet heat and stroked it in time with his thrusts.

  Casey couldn’t handle the sensations from so many pleasure zones at once. She exploded almost immediately, coming apart with a cry, then falling back to watch this man above her pistoning in and out of her with abandon. His eyes were on her and they were filled with wonder and something animalistic, primitive even, but he didn’t say anything as he moved his hand to the other breast, the other hand still stroking her nub. His hand rose to her neck, and the strength of his large calloused palm as it climbed up her chest to the sensitive skin of her neck made pressure build inside her again.

  She untied the knot of her shirt and pulled it up to play with her own breasts, watching his eyes glaze over as she pulled her bra cups down to expose herself to him. Teasing her own nipples and clutching her breasts, she came again as Brent slowed his thrusts, sending himself deep inside her. He squeezed his eyes shut as she climaxed, squeezing him into a shuddering climax of his own, as he roared his release to the pastures surrounding them.

  He dropped her legs and pulled her body to his, holding her against his chest. She trembled in his arms, trying to catch her breath while his ragged breathing told her he was doing the same.

  “Think that’ll hold you?” He finally breathed into her neck.

  She giggled. “I guess it’ll have to.”

  Chapter 11

  When Casey got home her body still hummed with pleasure. A goofy grin decorated her features, and she was humming something tuneless. She stopped humming though, as soon as she got inside. Something was wrong.

  She listened carefully to see if she could hear something off, but the house was silent. She paid attention to the crackle at the nape of her neck as she walked through the living room to the kitchen.

  Somebody had made themselves something to eat and left a mess. There was a partially empty chili can next to a paper towel that somebody had grated cheese onto. A plate with a few bread crumbs and a drop of chili on it sat in the sink. She looked in the bread box to find a package of hot dog buns with one missing. Checking the fridge, she found the hot dog package had a wiener missing as well.

  Her mother must have gotten home from her trip a little early and fixed herself lunch. Her mom did love her chili cheese dogs. That must be it.

  She shrugged, threw her dirty clothes in the laundry room and cleaned up the mess.

  Walking into her bedroom to get out fresh clothes for the day, she noticed her panty drawer was open, and she shut it, laughing at herself. She’d been so excited about her seduction plan with Brent she apparently hadn’t cleaned up after herself.

  After her shower, Casey was at her desk, getting ready to work a little when her mother came in the front door.

  “Hellooo?” She smiled to herself. Casey and her friends used to parrot her mom’s trademark greeting when she came in the door.

  “Hey Mom! I’m in my room!” She yelled back.

  “Hey sweetie.” Her mother swept in the room and landed a kiss on Casey’s cheek. She was covered in buttons and stickers proclaiming far left political views, some tasteful, some not-so-tasteful.

  A chill swept through Casey. “Are you just now getting home?”

  “Yes, I told you I wouldn’t be home until this afternoon, didn’t I?” Her mother’s eyebrow quirked up knowingly. She’d told Casey at least half a dozen times, until Casey had finally snapped, proclaiming herself an adult and not needing to know every detail of her mom’s itinerary.

  “It’s just that somebody was here, and I thought you’d come home early.”

  “What?”

  She told her mom about the chili cheese dog ingredients, and her mom insisted on calling the police. Her mother’s alarm ratcheted up Casey’s nerves a notch.

  “Who do you think it could be?”

  “Honey, there’s no telling, but somebody was in this house while we were gone, and that’s enough to get the police involved.” Her mother stopped. “Where’d you say you were?”

  “At Brent’s.” She wasn’t about to give her mother details.

  “Baum?”

  Casey nodded.

  While her mother picked up the phone, she said, “At least now you’re reconnecting with some of your old friends. Not healthy for you to be cooped up in this house all day.”

  Casey listened while her mom gave as many details over the phone as she could and then watched her hang up.

  “They’ll send someone over to take a statement from us.”

  “I’m going to attempt some work until they get here. This is a big job and I have a deadline.” Casey turned to go to her room, her mother following.

  Casey rolled her eyes. She missed having a place of her own, without her mother following her around, as well-intentioned as she may be. She sat at her desk chair and bent over her drawings, trying to get her mind back on work. She needed to quit thinking about intruders, and Brent. Unfortunately, the adrenaline kicked in and the enormity of the situation hit her. Her pulse pounding in her ears, she tried to block out her mother’s voice behind her and concentrate on her work, even though an unnamed stranger had been inside her house, eating a chili dog in the last twenty-four hours.

  “So how did you and Brent reconnect?” Gloria’s voice came out in a hushed whisper, as if someone was sitting in Casey’s closet listening to them. Her mother was sitting on her bed behind her wringing her hands nervously. Apparently she needed to get her mind off the intruder as well.

  Casey stifled her sigh, giving up on work for the time being. “He’s working on Mr. Jackson’s roof. He saw me one day and stopped by to say hello.” Apparently, talki
ng banalities with her mother was helping her too, as she sensed her heart rate returning to normal, as well as her voice.

  “That’s nice. I always thought he liked you, even though he was probably a little old for you.” Her eyes took on a twinkle that meant she was thinking thoughts that would likely embarrass Casey. “He’s not too old now, is he?”

  Casey felt her face flush and she dropped her eyes. “No. He’s not, Mama.” She might as well go ahead and tell her. “In fact, I stayed the night with him last night, and he asked me to stay with him some more.”

  “As long as you’re happy, you can do whatever you want. You’re an adult now.” Her mother sighed and looked at her hands. “I haven’t brought it up, because I wanted you to bring it up first, but are you doing okay? With the Kevin situation?”

  Casey nodded. “Yeah, Mom. I am. I was okay with it when it happened, I just needed to get away from the constant reminders of his cheating. All of our friends sort of picked a team, and most of them picked Team Kevin. They didn’t see what I saw in him. It sucked. All that negativity was bringing me down. So I came home.”

  Her mother smiled, crinkling the corners of her eyes. “I’m so glad you did. I missed you.” She paused, a frown marring her features. “He was pretty good at putting on a friendly face, wasn’t he?” Casey nodded, remembering how Kevin could go from yelling at her in the kitchen to laughing with friends in the living room in thirty seconds. Her mother embraced her then, before leaving the room. “Is Brent working on Mr. Jackson’s roof today? Do you think he might want to eat dinner over here?”

  “I think he is, and I’ll find out about dinner. Thanks, Mom.” She pulled out her phone and shot Brent a text about dinner as her mom left the room, then Casey hunkered down to get some work done.

  About an hour later, the police arrived to take her statement. She was in the middle of explaining what she’d found when Brent busted in the door.

  “Casey!” He bellowed loud enough to make the police officer reach towards his gun.