More Than A Fling

by Amber Nation

  “Christmas Vacation!” She exclaimed and then rushed to take a seat on the edge of the couch as if she would burst if we couldn’t watch it right away. Wasn’t she supposedly tired?

  I turned on the movie and then purposely sat right beside her, not giving any amount of wiggle room even though I had the rest of the sectional at my disposal.

  “Seriously?” She looked down at our legs which were practically touching and then to me. “Haven’t you ever heard of personal space?”

  “That must’ve been one of those manners my mom didn’t instill in me,” I muttered, feigning a mock apology.

  “Oh bull, I’ve met your momma, you can’t use her as an excuse for your own lack of manners.” She shoved my arm before popping up off of the couch and going around my giant ottoman towards the other side of the couch. I knew she wasn’t expecting me to come after her because once my arms wound around her waist, she released a loud squeal. She tried to pry my arms away while she kicked her legs frantically. I flopped her down on her back and covered her body with my own. To add to her amusement, I skimmed my hands down her sides until I reached just above her hip bone. And I brought on a fully torturous tickle assault. She had tears streaming down her face and her chest was heaving as she tried to take in big gulps of air. “Stop, Dean!” She yelled. “I’m gonna pee!!” She yelled next and I automatically stopped moving my hands. When a woman yelled those three words, it was the universal signal for STOP, cease all movement.

  I allowed her to take a few deep breaths of air; my body was aligned perfectly in between her legs and with the close proximity that we were to one another she was bound to know that I was turned on. Once her breathing had almost returned to normal, I removed my hands from her waist only to bring them directly up underneath her arms. Each hand moved in symmetrical fashion as she fleetingly lost control over her body once again. “Dean! Please stop,” she said between fits of laughter. The sound of her infectious giggling traveled down my spine and in no time I was laughing right along with her. She was instinctively wriggling her body, trying to move away from my grasp. And as her body was fighting underneath mine she would brush up against my erection, only making me want to take her more. Her loose pajama pants would be so easy to slip down her legs. God, I needed her naked.

  She strenuously lifted her head up off of the couch cushion and started bringing her mouth towards my face. My first instinct was that she was attempting to bite me in order for me to stop what I was doing. I flinched back but not before her tongue darted out from her mouth and licked a line along my cheek. The wetness warmed my skin. If she really wanted to play games I could show her something for her to lick.

  I halted my hands in place and peered into her eyes while raising a brow, “Did you just lick me, really?” She pursed her lips together as if she was almost daring me to do something about it. “So what does this mean, since you licked me I’m yours or something?”

  She made no attempts to cover up her amusement, barking out a laugh directly in my face. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

  Dean and Julia bantering once again. Don’t tell anyone, but my heart actually swelled.

  I leaned on my forearm, still suspended above her, and took my free hand to grip my chest, “Absolutely, consider it one of my items on my bucket list. Can we mark it off yet?” I knew that I was treading on rough waters and at any moment she could tip my boat completely over. Was I a strong enough swimmer to endure the current?

  Expecting a sarcastic rebuttal, the only thing I saw was wanting, deep in her eyes as she stared at my lips. I leaned forward, not wanting to break the moment, and fused my lips together with hers. This time things weren’t going to be rushed or frantic. She was in my house so it was my chance to savor her completely. Show her exactly how a woman should be relished.

  Chapter 15

  Julia

  Dean was moving almost in slow motion. I could tell he wanted to take his time and live for the moment. But going slow didn’t work for me, it reminded me of making love and that’s not what we were doing. We were fucking, plain and simple. No, going slow would add the elusive grey area into the mix and I didn’t need that when my feelings had already begun to fall off-kilter and I was leaving in only a few short days. This was supposed to be nothing more than a fling, dammit. I had to think of something.

  He brought his leg up under my covered knee and moved it towards my stomach. I felt his warm hand encircle my bare ankle up under my pajama pants. My breath hitched in my throat as he continued to run his hand up my calf, ascending towards my knee. After he finally released my mouth, he began trailing open-mouthed kisses down my neck all the way to my collarbone, stopping only because of the barrier of my flimsy t-shirt.

  Whatever I was thinking before about needing to go fast flew out the window when he sat back on his haunches and lifted his own shirt over his head, throwing it to the ground. The heat that coursed through me at the sight of his bare, sculpted chest was enough to render me completely useless. He brought his hands up under my arms to help me into a sitting position before he fiddled with the bottom edges to my shirt. In one fell swoop my arms were above my head and my shirt had joined his along the floor. My nipples pebbled at attention once they were met with the cool air. Goose bumps broke out along my naked torso at the anticipation of what was to come. And hopefully this time it would be me.

  I wondered why things between us fell into place so easily and felt so right. I was waiting for the anxiety to present itself at the mere thought of giving whatever this was between us a chance. Maybe it was hiding, buried deep in the recesses of my soul, and would make itself known at the most inopportune time.

  Dean raised up from his position on the couch and picked up my hand that was resting on my pajama-clad knee. I briefly thought he was going to end up moving this party to his bedroom, but when he pushed me back onto his overstuffed ottoman I wasn’t sure of anything anymore.

  He hooked his fingers under my pajama pants and quickly dragged them down my legs until they too, were hanging out with the pile of clothes among the floor. Dean went down to his knees in front of me, his hands clasping both of my knees before prying them apart. When I felt the startling sensation of his tongue licking over the bare flesh of my inner thigh all the way to my weeping core, I released a breathy moan.

  I looked up to find his eyes locked on mine as he ascended up my body and pressed a kiss on my pubic bone, directly above where I needed him the most. I could push his head down in between my legs and silently demand he did his diligence, but this was Dean we were talking about. He got off on making me struggle for things, in no way would he make this easy.

  “Dean, baby, I need more!” I could see a thrill shivering through him and I knew it was because I called him baby. I didn’t have time to dwell on the nickname because in that same exact second he plundered his head between my legs grabbed ahold of my clit between his teeth and sucked, hard. I was already so completely riled up that I knew it wouldn’t take me long to find my release. I felt as his fingertips traveled up began circling around the very edge of my core before diving into my wet heat.

  I was panting, growing closer and closer to orgasm when Dean took his mouth and fingers completely away. I wanted to protest, I wanted to scream and kick with an unabashed tantrum. But he quickly pushed his pants down his legs, lined up his throbbing erection and slammed it home. My legs encircled his waist of their own accord as I placed my hands along his cheeks so I could pull him in for a kiss. “Fuck me, Dean! I need you to fuck me hard!” My kiss was frantic and demanding, spilling all of my feelings of want in that one lone kiss.

  His mouth worked against mine, swallowing all of my cries as he continued to thrust himself inside of me. “Perfect, Julia. So fucking perfect,” his voice was rough against my lips as the onslaught of my orgasm began to build again. My thighs tightened around his hips as the rush of pleasure exploded and my orgasm took over. My hips bucked, trying to get closer to him as his hands reached under
neath me to grab the flesh of my ass. I felt a hard bite at my shoulder as he sunk his teeth into me and pumped into me furiously once, twice, three more times until his own release spiraled through him. He slumped forward, each of us trying to get a handle on our wild and labored breathing. Sex had never been like this, I was afraid that I was already addicted to Dean’s touch. No one in Nashville would be able to compare to the explosive chemistry that we shared in and out of the bedroom. I didn’t want to think about the future because that’s not what I needed. This was supposed to be a one-time fling and nothing more, could I even allow myself to hope of something more to come from this?

  I never got the chance to answer that question, not even wanting that statement to cross my mind. Everything was ruined and I knew that I couldn’t trust myself around him.

  Dean slowly began to pull out and I felt a major wetness seep out while he was doing so. I knew what had happened before he even said a word. Bile rose to the back of my throat at the risk we just took. How could I be so stupid?

  “Fuck! I didn’t use a condom.”

  It was Wednesday morning. Three days before I was originally supposed to leave and a full day since I’d talked to Dean, not for his lack of trying. I rolled my suitcase through the kitchen and laundry room of Eden’s house and left it sitting right next to the garage door. I was extremely thankful that most of the snow had melted and I was able to switch my return ticket to an earlier flight. It took heavy coercion and two hundred additional dollars just to do so, but I would’ve paid two thousand, just to get away from Dean Parker.

  Sure, it was a dual effort in forgetting the condom but I felt as if I just couldn’t be around him any longer. In no time my barriers came tumbling down around him and I let details get thrown by the wayside. Such impactful details that could’ve led to a tiny human growing inside me right that second. I wasn’t cut out to be a mother, the thought alone terrified me and rattled me to my core. He had apologized so profusely that I almost wanted to cave and have mercy on him, but then I’d be back at square one once again.

  The horn honking out in the driveway caused me to hurry up making sure the house was completely secured. I quickly ran through the house making sure all the lights were turned off and checked the lock on the front door before rushing through the laundry room. Grabbing the handle on my rolling suitcase, I pulled it through the door to the garage before turning around and making sure that door was locked and secured as well. As I walked out through the garage I wasn’t expecting to see Dean leaning against the driver’s side door to the cab. His face was hard as stone and his movements were terse as he spoke to the cab driver.

  I had almost reached the front of the yellow vehicle, when he promptly put the car in reverse and backed out of the driveway before quickly speeding off. I dropped the handle to my suitcase and threw both of my arms in the air. “What the hell, Dean? That was my ride to the airport!”

  He spread his legs out so his stance was wide and crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes to me. “I’m taking you to the airport.” I opened my mouth to protest, “I’m not fucking playing, Julia. If you want to leave early to get away from me, fine. But I’m going to be the one to drive you to ease my mind a bit that you make it there.” His tone was hard and didn’t leave any room for bullshit. The hussy that I was had to squeeze my legs together by his take-charge attitude.

  I said nothing as I grabbed the handle to my suitcase again and began walking towards Dean’s garage. He released a long, drawn-out sigh and looked up to the clear sky, most likely asking for patience. I didn’t ask him to scare off my ride and take me himself; actually I preferred it if he didn’t. I hadn’t even told him that I was leaving for this very reason, I wasn’t good at goodbyes. I was trying to make things easier on the both of us.

  It was time to steel myself in armor and pretend I wasn’t in the present with this gaping hollow feeling in the center cavity of my chest. This is why I didn’t deal with gushy feelings, I’d rather not feel like this, I’d rather be numb and not feel at all.

  Chapter 16

  Dean

  The damn woman was so infuriating. She wasn’t even going to tell me goodbye. I heard a horn coming from next door, so I rushed to grab my coat and ran outside. When I saw the yellow cab sitting in Baylor’s driveway, my heart sank. She wasn’t supposed to leave for three more days. We hadn’t even sat down and worked anything out. My feet carried me over to the driver’s side where the middle-aged bald man took his leisurely time, turning the crank to partially roll down his window.

  “Yeah?” He barked through the crack.

  “Where is the fare headed?” I checked in the garage to make sure she hadn’t come out yet.

  “It’s none of your business,” he immediately snapped back. He mustn’t be aware that he was messing with a severely pissed-off man who would stop at nothing to get the woman.

  My patience was almost nonexistent and I thought he could tell by my tightened jaw and clenched fists that were resting against the paned glass.

  “She’s headed to the airport,” he finally spoke as he faced forward.

  I slipped my hand into my back pocket and pulled out my wallet. I grabbed a fifty dollar bill as I heard the door inside the garage slam. I folded the bill in half and shoved it in between the parted glass before pushing myself away from the car. “Hurry up and get the hell out of here.”

  Which brought us to now, me white knuckling the steering wheel in my car. Seemed to be a common theme with Julia. Just a little over a week ago we were in an extremely similar but different situation, but no less tense. Her shoulders were stiff and her back ramrod straight. She was completely on edge and wouldn’t let her defenses down for a second. She looked to be ready for a fight at a moment’s notice. Any form of communication would be better than what was taking place right now.

  My heart panged in my chest and I longed to take her hand in mine. I didn’t know if she was scared of the possibility of being pregnant. She needed to know that I regretted nothing and if she was indeed carrying my child I would embrace her and the baby into my life with open arms. This could really be a blessing in disguise.

  I loosened up my hold on the steering wheel and spoke just above a whisper. “Would it be so bad?”

  She looked at me with her mouth gaping open as if she was flabbergasted I would’ve asked such a question. “Would it be so bad if I was pregnant? Yes, Dean, yes it would be awful.”

  My stomach sank. At least I had her answer even though it wasn’t one that I was particularly expecting. No further elaboration from her as to why it would be so awful though. “Why? Why would it be such a terrible thing, Julia? Why can’t you open up to me, don’t you hate keeping people out?” My voice had risen now to where I was almost yelling.

  She slammed her fist down on the dashboard, the sound resonating throughout the small space of the car and screamed at me. She took all of her pent up frustration and rolled it into one outburst and let it all out. “You want to know why I keep most people out and why Eden is the only one who knows me the most? Hell, she doesn’t even know this part. My first husband abused me, he took all his frustration and anger out on me and beat me numerous times within an inch of my life!” Hearing what I had obviously suspected did nothing to squash down my temper; if anything it made me want to lash out at the man who had attempted to break Julia. “He pursued me because he knew I had money, although as I’ve told you, I’ve never touched my trust fund until last week. And he didn’t like that. So I was his own personal punching bag. I used to be sweet and naïve and was fucking stupid because I stayed with him because I thought I loved him and I was afraid that if I left he would stop at nothing to hunt me down and kill me. It took my nanny coming to visit me and seeing the evidence of his beatings for me to get away from him. I took the stand at his trial and my heart literally crumbled in my chest leaving an empty cavity.” Tears were mercilessly streaming down her face and she took a moment to take a deep breath before she cont
inued on. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, that my strong Julia had been through so much. “I fought to become this person, this shell of what I used to be. It’s all I know now. Then I met Paul and knew since he had money he would want nothing to do with mine. He didn’t physically hurt me, but I emotionally took a beat-down. He was jealous, and in so many words jealousy is manipulation. And that was his major goal, to manipulate me. Once he was out of my life I vowed that I wouldn’t ever let another man hurt me. So I stuck to flings, one night stands, relationships that couldn’t get messy. Then I met this wonderful guy, he didn’t take any of my bullshit and I finally thought that I could be myself around him. So, naturally I let my walls come crumbling down. Things got hot and heavy and I loved every second of it, but I got careless.” The fact wasn’t lost on me that she was discussing us. She wiped another tear off of her face. We had arrived at the airport and I had parked near the front entrance. I went to reach for her and she moved herself out of my reach.

  “And he wants to know why it would be the end of the world if I was pregnant with his baby. I’m not mother material. After what I’ve been through in my lifetime I never wanted to bring a child into the mix. The fact that when I felt your reaction I felt dread all the way down to my bones and bile in my throat at the thought of me having a baby proves that. I can’t do this, Dean.” She looked so weak, nothing like the strong woman I knew she could be. She was breaking my heart. Breaking it apart into little pieces by her own hands. “I’m a coward, I wasn’t even going to say goodbye to you, I was going to run away like the shameful bitch that I am.” She placed her hand on the handle to open the door. This was it, she was leaving me. My feelings didn’t matter at all. “Take a bow, Dean, you made the cold bitch believe in love again. And look where it got us.” She turned her body away from me, ready to tuck her tail between her legs and run.