Sweet Thing

by JA Huss

  The ride out to the Amherst country club takes almost an hour. They live in a very upscale neighborhood with massive homes, large, green lawns, and a gate around the entire place.

  The Spring Fling is a horse show and golf tournament for the kids of the neighborhood. Aria neither rides nor plays golf, so for her, it’s just a high-end block party.

  She already told me that most of the kids she lives around go to school locally and only she and her sister commuted to the city for school. She didn’t really know why, but I did.

  Mr. Amherst loves his family and he probably felt like working in the city and living in the suburbs would take a lot of time away from him and his daughters. He enrolled them into a school near work so he could have commute time with them. Aria already told me her mother didn’t work a regular job, but instead sat on the country club board and was in charge of the various parties and functions. And she stayed home with them when they were little, driving them to and from their various classes until they left for school in the city in high school.

  I admire their division of parental labor. I truly do. Because I could imagine it was hard for Aria’s mother to give up being more involved in her girls’ lives so her husband could have his turn too.

  And that just makes this whole thing even more agonizing.

  They are the perfect family. They love each other, they are committed to one another, and they put the good of the family unit above personal need.

  And when they find out their eighteen-year-old daughter is dating me—well, that’s going to rip them apart.

  I don't want to do that. I really don’t.

  But I won’t give her up. I know she’s off limits but I just do not care.

  I think I’m falling in love with Aria Amherst.

  “Are you even listening to me?” Ozzy says.

  “Hmm?” I say, dragging my eyes of the view outside my window to stare at him.

  “I just asked you about that house on State Street.”

  “What about it now?”

  “What is up with you?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’re so fucking distracted these days. Oh,” he says. “Oh, no.”

  “What?”

  “It’s that young one, right? You’re still dating that young one, aren’t you? I’ve asked you to come out with me and Danielle twice over the past two weeks and I just get flat nos.”

  “Which one is Danielle again?”

  “Funny,” he says. Then he opens his mouth to question me more, but thankfully we pull to a stop in front of the country club and he gets distracted. “Well, all right now. This is some setup right here. Reminds me of home.” He sighs.

  “Yeah, me too,” I joke. “Horse shows and golf tournaments have always been my thing.”

  Ozzy side-eyes me. “What’s gotten in to you, man?”

  “Nothing,” I say, opening my door and stepping out. “I’m good. Let’s go drink some good whiskey and smoke cigars like assholes.”

  “I’m in.” Ozzy laughs. “Let’s go.”

  We walk up to the front of the club and immediately spy Mr. and Mrs. Amherst wearing spring fashion—light-colored linen suit for the Mr. and pale peach dress for the Mrs.—as they chat up their neighbors in the lobby.

  “Oh, Mr. Herrington. Mr. North. So happy you could make it.” He extends his hand to each of us, then introduces his wife.

  But I’m not looking at his wife.

  I’m looking at his daughter. Because Aria Amherst appears through a set of double doors coming out of the garden party tent looking like a sweet little thing who has fucking on her mind.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN - ARIA

  “Come here, Aria,” my father says. “Remember Mr. Herrington and Mr. North?”

  “I sure do,” I say, beaming at Ryker’s partner Ozzy, then at Ryker. He looks so nice today. Light gray slacks, a tan button-down shirt with no tie, and a short gray jacket. I have an urge to walk over to him and straighten his lapels, then kiss him on the cheek.

  Such an urge to touch him right now.

  “Nice to see you again,” Ozzy says.

  “You as well,” I say. “But if you’ll excuse me, I’m going out to the barn to look at the horses. I’ve always loved show day when they’re all prettied up.”

  I smile at Ryker one last time, then turn, making sure my short spring dress twirls, and walk back outside to the barns. Hoping Ryker will meet me out there soon.

  It’s not soon, but Ryker does eventually show up. Poking his head into stalls and asking questions of all the girls showing today.

  They swoon over him instantly and that makes me proud, not jealous. So I wait my turn, trying my best to be patient, as he makes his way down the shed row towards the bench I’m sitting on.

  “Nice club you have here, Miss Amherst.”

  “Why, thank you, Mr. North. But you should see the house.”

  He grins, then shakes his head and looks down at the ground as he sticks his hands in his pockets. “I don’t think so, Aria.”

  “Why?” I ask, all pouty and sad. “There’s a path through the woods right there.” I point to the blacktop path. “And on the other end is my backyard. Don’t you want to see my bedroom?”

  He looks around, nervous. “Not today, sorry.”

  “OK,” I say. “But I’m going home now. I need a nap.”

  And then I do the flirty turn again and begin walking towards the path in the woods. I get just out of sight and then I wait, ducking behind a tree.

  He sees me once he rounds the bend. “This is a bad idea.”

  “We could go back.” I shrug. Like I’m not dying to take him up to my room. But I am, of course. It’s going to be very hard to see him anymore. I can’t just make excuses to go into the city every weekend. This might be my one chance for weeks. Hell, I might not see him until I move into the dorms for college in the fall. I can’t waste this chance.

  “Aria.” He sighs. “You’re killing me.” But then he extends his hand, and I take it, and we walk through the woods like a couple. Like a real couple.

  My house is only a ten-minute walk from the club house and we spend that time catching up on our week. He’s been busy with the redevelopment project, I’ve been busy with getting ready for finals. And just when I think he’s the height of self-control and this afternoon won’t turn out the way I planned, he pushes me behind a tree and kisses me on the mouth.

  “Oh, God,” I moan into our kiss. “I’ve missed you so much this week.”

  His hand slides underneath my skirt and finds that spot between my legs that drives me wild.

  “I want your fingers inside me,” I beg.

  “Let’s go inside,” he says. “Show me your room.”

  I reluctantly back away and take his hand, pulling him. He hesitates, but only for a moment. Then we are practically running through my back yard. Past my old play set. Past my old play house. Past all the childish things I used to do here.

  I open the French doors that lead to the dining room and he follows me in, not bothering to close them. And then we’re going up the stairs, his hand on my ass, pulling on my panties as we reach the second floor.

  He pushes me against the wall, pressing his hard cock into my hips as he kisses my mouth. “We might not make it to the bedroom,” he says.

  “Oh, no, mister. You’re not getting out of this house until you fuck me on my bed.”

  He laughs and starts tugging me down the hall, searching for my room.

  But it’s easy to find. There’s a princess tiara painted on the door with my name underneath.

  “Oh, fuck. You do not have a—“ But then he pushes the door open and finishes his thought. “Yes, you do. You dirty little princess.”

  I do have a princess room. I’m talking a full-on mural of my own private kingdom, a knight on a white horse, and a rainbow on the ceiling.

  “Fuck me,” I say, walking over to the four-poster bed and turning around. “I wish you could tie me to this bed and s
how me what men really do with women in that position.”

  He looks at me like he might eat me up. Or eat me out.

  I make it easy for him. I kick off my sandals, slip my panties down my legs, and push them aside with my toes. Then I climb onto the bed, my feet resting on the bedrails, and open my legs.

  “Hungry?” I ask.

  He walks towards me untucking his shirt.

  We’re going to fuck with clothes on, I already knew that. And he’s right. It’s sexy. Fucking with clothes on means you have limited time, you could get caught at any moment, or you can’t be bothered to care.

  Either way, when he unbuckles his belt and opens his pants to grab his hard, thick cock, wetness begins to pool between my legs.

  He takes a few steps towards me, closing the distance, and then places his hands on my knees and opens my legs wider.

  I stare down at his cock, resting just above my pink bedspread, and rearrange my skirt. Then I look up into his eyes and say, “First time in this bed.”

  He grabs my knees and jerks me forward so my ass is barely on the edge of the mattress, then grips my hips and slips his cock inside.

  “Oh, God,” I moan. I’m getting used to him, but it still hurts a little every time he enters me. “You’re so big,” I say. “So big. Too big for me.”

  “You’re a dirty little thing,” he says.

  “Hey,” I coo. “You’re the one who wanted me to watch porn with you. All the girls say that and the guys love it. But here’s a secret,” I say, cupping my hand to my mouth. “You are too big, Ryker. You’re so big I can feel you pressing up against my stomach when you—“

  He thrusts inside me with a grunt. Gripping my hips so tight, I can feel them bruising.

  “Yes,” I moan. “Yes. Fuck me hard, and fast before we get caught. And this time,” I say, “come inside me. I want you to fuck me hard on my bed and come inside me and—“

  He pounds me. Hard. He’s never taken me like this and I love it. I love it!

  “Yes,” I say. “Harder. Faster. Make me come before my parents get home.”

  He grabs my hair, seemingly out of control. But I’m not afraid. He’s never out of control. He pushes me so my back bounces on the mattress, and then pounds me so hard, there’s nothing but grunts and groans and the sound of his thighs slapping against mine.

  “Come,” he commands. “Come, right now!”

  I do. I gush all over him. Squeezing his cock with my pussy until he stops, then lifts his head back and groans.

  And that’s when I feel it. That’s how it feels. Because for the first time ever, he comes inside me.

  I am in bliss. I am in heaven. I am complete and we are perfect together.

  And then all of that fades away when I hear—

  “Aria? Are you in here?”

  —and realize my mother is coming up the steps and my bedroom door is wide open.

  CHAPTER TWENTY - RYKER

  “Is she up there?” Aria’s father calls. “Aria? Are you here? The back door was open.”

  “Maybe you should get the gun,” her mother whispers.

  Oh, shit.

  I’d like to say there’s enough time for me to get my pants up and look completely normal. Like I didn’t just have sex with their daughter, in their house, in her princess bedroom, on her bed.

  That doesn’t happen. I get my dick tucked away and Aria kicks her panties under the bed and straightens her dress. But if my hair looks anything like hers, this is nothing more than a futile attempt at innocence.

  “Mr. North?” Mr. Amherst asks.

  “Aria?” Mrs. Amherst asks.

  “What exactly is going in here?” her father asks.

  “Um…” we both say at the same time.

  “Did you just… were you just…” He looks at me with an incredible expression of betrayal. That’s the only way to describe the look on his face.

  “Look,” Aria says, “This is all new for us and—“

  “New for you?” Amherst asks, looking at me, then at Aria. “This is the boy?”

  “Boy?” I say.

  Aria looks at me and frowns, then looks at her father and says, “Yes. This is the boy. We met that night of the board meeting and then again on my birthday. We’ve been dating a little ever since.”

  Amherst works his jaw a little. He’s not a big guy. And he’s in his fifties, so he’s not going to punch me.

  At least I didn’t think he was. But he does. Right in the eye. “Get out of my house,” he says, giving me a push towards the door. “Get out of my house and don’t you ever come back here again, you sick son of a bitch! The deal is off. Do you hear me? The deal is off!”

  “Daddy,” Aria says. “Just listen, OK?”

  “Get out!” Amherst says again, pointing at the door.

  I glance at Aria’s mother, who is silent and unreadable, then mutter, “Sorry,” and walk out.

  The whole time I’m walking down the path through the woods, Ozzy is texting me. What the fuck happened? Where the fuck are you? Amherst called off the deal and said to ask you why.

  I ignore the texts, but he’s waiting for me in front of the country club. “Dude,” he says. “Do you know what’s going on? Amherst is pissed. He fucking blocked my number! What the hell happened?”

  Our car is waiting, so I just get in. Ozzy hesitates for a moment, like this can’t possibly be happening but getting in this car will make it so. But then he realizes he has no choice and walks around to the other side and slides in next to me.

  “You want to tell me how the fuck a deal we’ve been working on for over a month just suddenly disappears in one afternoon of country clubbing?”

  “I’m dating his daughter,” I say flatly.

  “You’re…” He laughs, then stops laughing abruptly. “No. No. No. Please tell me that the eighteen-year-old is not Aria Amherst.”

  “I wish I could. Well, that’s a lie. I’m actually pretty infatuated with her.” I look at my partner and best friend and I don’t know what else to say except, “Sorry.”

  He huffs out an incredulous laugh. “You’re sorry? You just blew up a two-hundred-million-dollar deal because you want to date a child and all you’ve got to say is sorry?”

  “She’s eighteen,” I say. “She’s not a child.”

  “Not only is she a child,” Ozzy says, “she’s the goddamned daughter of the man who was giving us the money to finish the project. Do you have any idea how fucked we are right now?”

  “I have a pretty good idea,” I say.

  “Do you?” he asks. “You’ve been checked out for weeks and now I know why. You’ve been fucking her, haven’t you?” He runs his fingers through his hair, messing it all up. “I can’t believe you did this.”

  “I’ll talk to him, OK? He’s just… surprised right now. Aria and I will—“

  “There is no Aria and you, Ryker. Not anymore. You’re gonna give this guy the rest of the weekend to cool off and then on Monday you’re going to pick up that phone, beg his forgiveness, tell him you’ll never even look at his daughter again, and then hope to God he gives us this loan. That’s what you’re going to do.”

  “No,” I say, shaking my head.

  “No? No to which part? Because none of this is optional. No girl is worth two hundred million dollars.”

  “I’m not breaking up with her. If she wants to call it off with me, fine. I’ll move on. But I’m not breaking up with her.”

  “You’re going to throw away everything we’ve worked for over one girl who will maybe last another month, at most?”

  “That’s not what this is.”

  “Don’t tell me.” He laughs. “You’re in love with her?”

  I shrug and hold up my hands.

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake. I get it, OK? Mid-life crisis and all that. It sucks getting old. We all want to recapture our youth. But dude, you’re blowing up your whole life over a girl who will use you to fulfill some older-man fantasy and then toss you aside the second a hot
, buff, twenty-five-year-old comes along.”

  “Fuck you, Ozzy. You don’t even know her.”

  “I don’t need to know her. I’ve dated her. I’ve been where you are, Ryker. I’ve had my share of teenagers and believe me when I tell you, not only are they boring and stupid, they’re not looking for a long-term thing with an older man unless they’re poor and they need a sugar daddy. And Aria Amherst is the exact opposite of that. She has everything, why the fuck would she want you?”

  I know he’s right. I do understand this. Staying with me is a huge step down for Aria. She can only lose. But I don’t care. I look Ozzy straight in the eyes and say, “Then let her do that. But I’m not breaking up with her.”

  He stares at me for a few seconds. Then he shrugs and says, “Then I’m breaking up with you. Consider yourself bought out.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE - ARIA

  After Ryker walks out there’s an awkward silence as my parents just stare at me in my bedroom.

  “What did he do to you?” my father finally asks.

  “He didn’t do anything to me, Dad. We’re dating!” I’m trying to be calm, but not really pulling it off. I just got caught having sex in my bedroom with a man almost twice my age.

  “You are not dating!” my father roars. His face is all red with anger and he’s breathing so hard I want to tell him to sit down before he has a stupid heart attack. “That man is a predator!”

  “He is not. And we’re in love!” I’m not really sure that’s true. But we were definitely heading in that direction. “And this was all my idea, anyway. You can’t blame Ryker for what just happened. I dragged him up here and—“

  “I don’t want to hear anymore,” my father says, putting his hands up to his ears. “You’re grounded, Aria. Until further notice. I trusted you in the city. Your mother and I both trusted you because you’ve always been the responsible one. The sweet one. The good one. And you betrayed our trust with… with… very bad decisions!”

  “I didn’t betray you,” I say. I’m starting to get angry. “I like a man. That’s all I did. I fell in love with a man. And I don’t see what the big deal is.” I look to my mother for help but she’s frowning at me. “Mom,” I say.