Just Sex

by Heidi Lynn Anderson

  Kat opened the door and smiled. Desire filled him. It seemed to happen to him every time he saw her. “I’ve missed you.”

  “I’ve missed you too,” she said.

  “Are we alone?” He tugged her to him and stepped inside the door.

  “Yes.”

  He would never tire of the way she felt in his arms. “Let me show you how much I missed you.” J.J. yanked her white T-shirt over her head.

  “Oh well, let me help you with that.” Kat wiggled out of her pants and giggled.

  The sound of her laughter sent blood right to his groin. Love and lust flowed through J.J. in searing waves.

  They dispensed with their clothes and stood in her living room panting.

  “I’m so wet for you. I need you to do me, hard and fast.”

  “Oh my God, Kat.” He grabbed her and planted a hot kiss on her lips. He needed to imprint himself on her. J.J. needed to mark Kat and make her his, only his.

  He turned her and bent her over an antique Queen Anne chair. Something animalistic overtook him. J.J. growled and thrust into her hard and fast, marveling at how perfectly they fit together. Didn’t Kat know she was made just for him?

  Kat moaned, her perfect pussy milking his cock. He pounded into her, needing to fuck her deeper than anyone before him. J.J. wanted him to be the only man her body knew. His cock bumped her G-spot and hit her cervix.

  Spikes of pleasure rippled through him. He bit his bottom lip to stop from exploding. Kat screamed and bucked under him.

  The sounds that came from her pulled at his balls. His muscles convulsed.

  “Oh fuck,” Kat bellowed. “Yes, J.J.”

  The words sent him over the edge. His hot spray washed into her.

  Her spasms pushed J.J. out of her pussy. He collapsed and Kat fell onto the chair.

  J.J. stood her up, turned her around and pressed a tender kiss on Kat’s forehead. He wanted to take care of her.

  “One continuous orgasm can make a girl lightheaded.”

  He chuckled, tucked her into a hug and kissed the top of her head. “I love you.”

  Kat leaned away and smiled. “I love you.” She glanced at the mantel clock. “My mom and Sam will be back with my dad soon. We need to get dressed.”

  There she goes again, one foot out the door. He let go of her and bent to retrieve her T-shirt.

  She took it from him. “Come to dinner. We’re having spaghetti and meatballs.”

  “What do you want me to bring?” He jerked on his jeans.

  “The wine.”

  J.J. felt all the blood leave his face.

  Kat rested her hand on his cheek. “What?” She rubbed her thumb over his skin.

  “Nothing.” He brought his hand to hers. “What kind of wine do your parents like?”

  Realization must have dawned on her. “You don’t know wine.”

  “Not to the level that your parents probably do. If it doesn’t come in a box, I don’t know shit.”

  She smiled and let her palm slide to his shoulder. “Go to Rocky’s liquor store and ask for a good bottle of Chianti.”

  Relief filled him. “I will do you proud.” He let her go and headed to the door. “What time do you want me back?”

  “Dinner’s at six, so be here at five-thirtyish.”

  “See you then.” J.J. shut the door.

  * * * * *

  Kat hung up the phone with Patty and glanced at her watch. Five forty-five, he’s late. She stirred the homemade sauce and checked on the meatballs.

  Sam ran into the kitchen and skidded to a stop. “Mom!”

  “How many times do I have to tell you to stop running in the house?”

  “Sorry.” He grabbed a handful of grapes from the bowl of fruit on the kitchen table. “Can I go over to Nick’s for dinner and a sleepover?”

  She tapped the wooden spoon on the pot. “Is it all right with Nick’s mother?”

  “Yes, she said to call her and she’ll come and get me.”

  “Okay. You can call Nick back and tell him it’s okay with me.”

  Sam ran off in search of a phone.

  “The phone’s right here.”

  He dashed back. “Thanks.”

  “Slow down! Stop running.”

  I wasn’t,” he called from the other room.

  The doorbell rang. Kat wiped her hands on a dishtowel and slid her fingers through her hair. “Coming,” she called when the doorbell rang for the second time.

  Kat opened the door to find J.J., his arms filled with five different kinds of Chianti. “Hi, sorry about ringing the doorbell twice, but these are not easy to hold on to.” He pushed past her and set them on the entry table.

  Sam flew by a few minutes later. “Nick’s mom is here.”

  “Hey, come back and give me a kiss.”

  Sam rushed to Kat and kissed her on the cheek. “Bye, Mom.” He looked over to J.J. “Bye, Mr. Adams.”

  She waved at the leaving car and closed the door. “That kid is always on the move.”

  He snaked his arm around her waist and placed his lips to hers. Kat’s mind always emptied when he kissed her.

  He released her. “Mmm, you taste like sauce.”

  “Do you like it?”

  “Let me taste again.” J.J. nipped at her bottom lip and invaded her mouth with his tongue.

  A throat cleared behind them. He rested his head on Kat’s forehead for a brief moment to collect himself and turned.

  Her father held out his hand. “Hello. I’m Axel.”

  He rubbed his hand down his pant leg. “Hi, sir, I’m J.J. Adams.” He took the other man’s hand and gave it a hard shake.

  “Nice to meet you, J.J.”

  Bev walked in. “Axel, do…” She stopped short. “Oh hello, J.J.”

  He straightened. “Hello, Mrs. Harper. How have you been?”

  “Just fine. And you?”

  A timer sounded in the background. “The pasta’s done.” Kat hurried back to the kitchen. “Dinner’s in five minutes.”

  “Can I help?” Bev called after Kat.

  “Could you set the table, please?”

  J.J. grabbed the wine and followed Kat into the kitchen. “What do you want me to do with these?

  “Let my dad deal with it.” She dumped the massive amount of spaghetti into a colander. “Could you please take the bread out of the oven?”

  He grabbed potholders off the rack and opened the oven door. Heat filled the space. “Smells good.”

  “Thank you.” Axel came up next to J.J. “It’s the only thing Bev allows me to make in the kitchen.”

  J.J. set the bread pan on the trivet Axel set down.

  Axel picked up a bottle of wine and examined it. “Wow, you really went all out.”

  “I bought the Chianti that was recommended.”

  Axel chuckled and patted J.J. on the back. “Son, you did a good job.”

  He understood why Kat loved her father the way she did. The man had a way of making you feel comfortable around him. Did Kat realize she had that same quality?

  “Let’s go to the dining room,” Kat said.

  They all moved into the dining room.

  “Sit next to Kat,” Bev said to J.J.

  Axel opened the wine and screwed on the aerator.

  J.J. sat and unfolded his napkin.

  “J.J., Kat told me that you had a hectic day,” Axel said.

  His hands fumbled his napkin. Yeah, fucking your daughter.

  Kat placed her palm on his thigh. She must have read his mind. “I talked to Patty before you got here and she told me about your afternoon.”

  He cleared his mind. “Yes, I took five new jobs today.”

  Kat scooped pasta onto a plate.

  “That’s good to hear,” Bev said. “Anyone we know?”

  “No, I don’t think so. All of them just moved into a new neighborhood in town.”

  A knowing smile crossed Bev’s lips. “Oh, one of Ron’s developments?”

  “Stop it, Moth
er!”

  J.J. found Kat’s hand under the table and gave it a gentle squeeze.

  “No, they got my number from one of my other clients.”

  Axel poured the wine. “This looks good, honey. Let’s eat.” He handed J.J. a glass. “So, what are your plans with my daughter?”

  Kat choked. “Dad, he has no plans. I’m moving to Maine in the summer.”

  He set down his wineglass with a thud. He was going to stop this once and for all. “I do have plans for us!”

  Kat wiped her mouth with her napkin. “We’ve discussed this and we decided that it would be better if we called it quits in June.”

  “No, you decided we’d call it quits.” J.J. stood. “I don’t want to call it quits. I love you.”

  “I won’t have you throw your life away on me. I can’t give you a future.”

  “My future is for me to decide, not you. I want to see where this goes, but you’ve put a time limit on this relationship.”

  She threw down her napkin. “That’s right, I did. I have more to lose than you.”

  “Like hell you do. I have just as much to lose as you,” he yelled.

  Tears ran down Kat’s face. “Well, maybe we should just call it off now then.” She stormed out of the room and ran up the stairs.

  He gazed around the room. Axel and Bev had left sometime during the argument. He stalked to the bottom of the stairs. “Kat, we need to talk this out.”

  “We’re done!”

  The finality in Kat’s voice sliced his heart in two. “Fuck it!” J.J. stomped out of the house. “I need a drink.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  J.J. sat at the bar, pouring Jack and Cokes down his throat like water. Amy Mayfield sat on the stool next to him. “Hi, J.J.”

  He swallowed the last of his drink and motioned to Fred for another. “Hey, Amy. His tongue felt heavy in his mouth. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m here with the old gang playing pool. Do you want to join us?”

  Fred placed the drink on the bar. “Last one, J.J., then I’m calling you a cab.”

  “Whatever.” He gave Fred a salute.

  “I’ll drive him home, Fred,” Amy said. “He looks like he needs another.”

  “Okay, but if things get out of hand, you’re all out.” Fred turned and ambled off.

  J.J. didn’t want to subject his high school girlfriend and friend to his bad mood. He took a fortifying sip. “You don’t have to drive me home. I’ll get a cab.”

  She placed her hand on J.J.’s arm “What’s wrong?”

  He yanked his arm away. It didn’t feel right to have another woman touching him. “Women.” J.J. gulped his drink. “I finally found a woman I fell head over heels in love with and she thinks she can’t give me what I need.” Pain stabbed at his heart. “Isn’t that for me to decide?” He slammed back his drink and stood on unsteady legs. He had to hold the bar for support.

  Amy grabbed J.J.’s arm again and led him out of the bar. “I’ll drive you home.”

  * * * * *

  Kat maneuvered her SUV into a parking spot. She cut the engine and looked at J.J.’s apartment. A blonde walked away from his door. From her vantage point, Kat could not see the girl’s face. All she saw was short little shorts and a tight tank top. A dagger hit Kat in the chest. “That son of a bitch! He didn’t waste any time getting someone younger and skinnier.” She hit the steering wheel. “I let one man do this to me and I won’t let it happen again.”

  She turned over the ignition and jammed the car in drive. She spun out of the parking lot and barely missed a parked car. Fury blurred Kat’s eyes. She almost ran off the road twice. Kat pulled up to Patty’s house. She shook uncontrollably and rested her head on the seat back. “Why do I fall for men who are assholes?” Grief filled her soul and she wept.

  Patty knocked on the driver’s side window. “Kat, honey, are you all right?”

  Her gaze moved to Patty and Ron. She just stared at them.

  Ron wrenched open the door and scooped up Kat. “What happened?”

  Pain pulsed in her soul. “J.J. fight. Young…pretty…girl,” she stammered and buried her face in his chest.

  Ron carried Kat into the house and laid her on the couch. “Patty, call her house and find out what happened.”

  “Should we call J.J.?” Patty asked.

  “No,” she said and rolled into a ball and wept.

  Patty ran to the phone. When she came back, she said, “J.J. and Kat had a huge fight.” Patty sat next to Kat and rubbed her back. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “No.”

  Ron walked to the liquor cabinet and grabbed Kat the tequila. He poured three fingers in a glass and moved back to the couch. “Here. Drink this.”

  Kat took the glass and swallowed it in one gulp. She fell back and closed her eyes. “J.J. and I are over. I saw him with another woman.” Kat scoffed, “Actually, she was a little girl. She couldn’t have been more than twenty-one. What was I thinking?” A heart-wrenching sob flowed from her. “Do you think he was seeing her while he was with me?”

  “There has to be an explanation,” Patty said.

  “I know what I saw.”

  “What did you see?” Ron asked.

  She pushed herself up. “I drove over to his apartment to apologize. When I got there, I saw a beautiful girl walk out of his apartment.” She wailed. “How stupid could I be? I gave him my heart. I will never do that again.”

  Ron kneeled in front of her. “It could have been a pizza delivery girl.”

  “It doesn’t matter who she was. I can’t be with him anymore. We don’t have a future. I don’t have anything to offer him. I’m just a dried-up old cow.” Kat folded herself in the fetal position. “I was stupid to think I could make J.J. happy.”

  Patty pulled the throw from the back of the couch and wrapped it around Kat. “Get some sleep. We’ll deal with this in the morning.”

  Kat didn’t think she would ever sleep again. “It hurts so much,” Kat bawled.

  * * * * *

  J.J. woke to the sound of pounding. He rolled over and pulled the covers over his head to stop the sharp pain from drilling into his brain.

  “Open the fucking door.” Ron’s voice bored into J.J.’s skull.

  “Go away,” he said.

  The noise became louder. J.J. sat up. His stomach pitched and bile rose in his throat. “Okay, I’m coming.” He stumbled out of his bedroom to the front door and opened it. “What?”

  A huge fist landed between J.J.’s eyes. He staggered back. “Fuck.” Blood trickled from his nose.

  Ron pushed into his apartment. “What the fuck did you do?”

  Confusion muddled J.J.’s brain. “What?” He wiped at his nose. “Ron, what are you doing here?”

  “Listen, you asshole. Kat’s at my house all pissed off and hurt because you’re sleeping with someone else after one fight.”

  “I’m not sleeping with anyone.” His head spun. He leaned against the wall. “What would make you think something like that?”

  Ron shut the door. “Apparently, Kat drove over here last night and saw, and I quote,” he made air quote signs with his fingers, “‘a younger, skinnier little girl’.”

  His legs felt like rubber. “Shit.”

  “What the fuck, man?”

  “I went to the Shady Horse last night to drink away my mad. Kat has been keeping me at arm’s length for weeks now. Fuck.” J.J. scrubbed his hands over his face. “I love Kat, but nothing I do or say seems to convince her that we can be together.” He staggered to the couch and flopped down onto the soft cushions. “Amy’s an old friend from high school. She was at the bar last night and offered to give me a ride home.” His head wanted to split in two.

  “That’s not what Kat thinks. She’s at my house, heartbroken.”

  He rested his head in his hands. “Fuck. Let me get a shower and you can drive me to my truck. Then I’ll go and explain everything.”

  “Try to talk this o
ut instead of fucking like rabbits.” Ron sat in J.J.’s overstuffed chair.

  “We don’t just fuck like bunnies.”

  “Mmm.” Ron picked up a landscaping magazine. “Make it fast.”

  Silence hung in the air like a lead balloon. “Ron, I swear nothing happened.”

  “I want to believe you,” Ron turned a page. “But Kat was so sure.”

  “If Kat can’t trust me, then what were these last three and a half months?” He stood and made his way to the bathroom.

  Kat’s eyes felt like sand-filled holes in her head. She curled up on Patty’s sofa and let Ron’s words from last night play in her head. “Yeah right, the pizza delivery girl. My ass.” She hugged herself tighter. “I will never let anyone hurt me like this again.”

  The door to the garage opened and Ron strolled in. “Kat, are you awake?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m giving you a warning. J.J.’s on his way over.”

  She shot off the couch. “What? Why?”

  Ron grabbed her hand and led her to the sofa. He pulled her down with him to sit and wrapped his arm over her shoulder. “I went over to his apartment to punch him out. When I got there, the man had the mother of all hangovers. He told me his side of the story and I believe him.”

  Relief and pain flooded her. “I don’t care what he said. We are not right for each other.”

  Ron’s arm slid off Kat’s shoulder. He took her hand. “I don’t know if you are right for each other or not. All I know is that I have never seen you so happy.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure I look happy.” Kat waved a hand over her face and leaned into Ron. “I’m leaving in a few months.”

  “Yes, but you don’t have to. You can travel back and forth and there are phones and video calling now.” He smiled. “You can have Skype sex.”

  “That doesn’t fix the fundamentals of what’s wrong with us.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like, J.J. says he doesn’t want kids. I see the way he looks at me when I’m with Sam. I can’t ask him to give up that. What if he decides he wants kids in five or ten years from now? I don’t have the parts to have another child.” Kat stood and folded the throw. “It’s better to cut this off now before it becomes too painful for all involved.” She slid her feet into her sandals. “Tell J.J.…”