The New Rule: (The Casual Rule 2)

by AC Netzel

  He turns around, his arousal evident by the massive hard-on he’s sporting and kneels down on the bed.

  “What have you got going on there?” I ask, staring at his erection.

  “I think you know exactly what I have going on,” he says, playfully crawling over my body.

  The salacious look he’s giving me sends a charge straight to my sex…. Wet and throbbing for him.

  I need this connection and I know he does too.

  “Fuck, Julia,” he growls, trailing kisses from my stomach to the crook of my neck.

  “Yes, Ben. That’s exactly what you’re going to do. Fuck Julia.”

  ~o0o~

  I stretch in bed after an epic make-up sex groveling session. Remorseful Ben sure knows how to apologize.

  “Just so you know... my ex-boyfriend and I recently took a break. You were my rebound.”

  He raises a brow. “Your rebound?”

  “Yup… my revenge fuck.”

  He stares at me thoughtfully then smiles. “Okay, I can live with that.”

  I smile at him. A true, happy smile.

  “Julia, how did I ever let you go?” he asks sincerely, his gaze tender. The way he’s looking at me is extraordinary; I see him falling in love with me all over again. And that look makes me fall in love with him all over again.

  “You were an idiot.”

  “Yes, I was.” He chuckles. “What can I do for you today? Name it and I’ll make it happen.” He smiles wide, revealing the laugh lines that crinkle around his eyes and his dimples. It’s the motherload of all perfect smiles.

  “Food.” After all the make-up sex, I thought my answer would be a no-brainer.

  “Stay here. I’ll make breakfast for the most beautiful, forgiving woman I’ve ever met.” He kisses my shoulder then sits up. “Shit, my clothes are still in the dryer.” He grabs a towel from the floor and wraps it around his waist. “I’ll be right back.” Bending down, he gives me a quick peck on the cheek.

  As he walks past my bed, he stops and admires the missing chunk of wall that I refer to as the “sex gash”. It’s the damaged spot on my bedroom wall where the headboard bashes against when we get busy. He smiles slyly.

  “You’re pretty damn proud of yourself, aren’t you?” I tease.

  “I won’t rest until I fuck you so hard, I knock this wall down.”

  I tilt my head back and laugh. “You sure know how to romance a girl with your sweet talk.”

  He laughs as he walks out. Once he’s gone, I sit up and look around my room. I think about Saturday, how things went full-circle for us… the best to the worst to the best again. I don’t know if I’m fooling myself… but I feel at peace for the first time in a long time.

  I rode the wave and it took me all the way to the shoreline where I’m finally grounded.

  I scan the floor for my robe when I hear the unmistakable sound of the front door the apartment slamming shut.

  “You stupid fuck,” Allie yells. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know she’s yelling at Ben.

  Crap.

  Quickly, I jump out of bed and scramble for my robe.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you? You broke her heart, you fucking asshole. You hurt my friend, you hurt me,” she continues yelling.

  The f-bombs are flying this morning.

  My hand is on the doorknob, about to run out and save Ben, when I think better of it. I remove my robe, dropping it back on the floor and crawl back into bed, pulling the blanket over me. I smile to myself as I listen to Ben deal with Allie’s wrath.

  Maybe I’m still harboring a little anger.

  Chapter 24

  I open my eyes and see Ben sleeping beside me, his arm draped across my stomach. His long lashes are fanned against his cheek, dark beard stubble grown in, and his perfect lips opened slightly. Yum.

  I puff a quick breath into my cupped palm and sniff. My newly invented nonscientific test rate today’s morning breath a passing grade. Good, I didn’t feel like climbing out of bed just yet.

  It’s been four weeks since we imploded and I can’t imagine us in a better place. To ensure that we never get near an unfixable situation again, we’ve adopted a new rule: communicate, communicate, and then communicate some more.

  Ben renamed our rule: Communicate then fornicate.

  Typical man.

  Since he’s been meeting with Dr. Larkin regularly, he seems to be more at peace with himself and the world in general. I fought my inner-nosey and make it a point not to ask him what they talk about. It’s clear he’s focusing on things that are important and slowly letting go of some of the bad stuff and pressures he held on to. The bricks that once built the invisible wall have been slowly coming down. Some we knocked down together, most he did on his own.

  We’ve developed a genuine appreciation of what we share on a profound, new level.

  I’m sad he’s still not writing and I hope he goes back to it someday. He’s been active in the charitable projects his grandmother helmed, taking her place on the Board of Trustees for some. His background in finance has worked to their advantage. It’s like he’s found his second calling, a new purpose. I don’t think I’ve seen him more fulfilled.

  Things are good and I’ve stopped worrying about the other shoe dropping.

  His hand curls around my waist and he pulls me close to him, his warm, naked body pressed against mine.

  “I thought you were sleeping.”

  “No, just thinking about last night,” he says softly.

  “Anything in particular?”

  He tilts his groin against my leg, his erection rubbing against my skin, and he smiles wickedly.

  “I have to go to work. We don’t have time for fun and games this morning.”

  “I’ll write you a late note.” He slides his hand across my stomach and heads south, straight to my sex, his index finger lightly gliding over my folds.

  “Ben,” I warn unconvincingly.

  “It’s been so long,” he complains. “How about a morning quickie?”

  I laugh. “It’s been six hours.”

  “Too long. I have meetings all day with the board of trustees and blue-haired ladies at the museum. It’s an important meeting, a lot of negotiating and planning. I’m tense. I need something to take the edge off and only you can provide this something. Think of it as an act of charity. A charitable fuck.”

  “Because having sex with you otherwise would be such a chore?”

  “Yes. Morning sex lessens the risk of depression. Orgasms relieve tension and stress.”

  “So you want to have sex for mental health reasons?” I ask.

  “It’s a scientific fact it will significantly improve my well-being.”

  I laugh. “Oh? Now you’re a scientist?”

  “I wear many hats.” He presses two fingers between my folds, massaging them against my clit in slow circles, occasionally rubbing diagonally.

  “You don’t play fair,” I groan, closing my eyes, my legs instinctively spread wider apart.

  “I’m not playing,” he murmurs. “I’m pleasuring.”

  He plunges a finger inside me, in and out, in and out… inciting a moan from the back of my throat. My back arches up as we move in tandem. His palm covers my sex as he massages my clit. It drives me wild when he holds the most intimate part of me in his hand. He owns me and he knows it.

  He leans in close to me and nibbles on my earlobe, his tongue tracing it lightly. His breath warms my skin and sends an electric current tingling through my body.

  “You’re wet. You want it, Julia?” he whispers in my ear.

  “Yes,” I breathe, writhing on the bed.

  “You might be late for work,” he teases.

  I crack open an eye. “I hate you.”

  “No, you don’t. You love me because I do this to you.” He plunges two fingers inside me while massaging my clit with his thumb. He hooks his fingers slightly, hitting the exact spot that sends me jumping out of my skin. My muscles clench tight a
round his fingers.

  “Ohhh,” I groan as tingling sensations flood through me, my muscles convulsing around his fingers, and I find my release.

  Ben quickly jumps off the bed and spins me around, pulling me to the edge of the bed. I grab the end of the mattress, fisting the sheets in my hand.

  He stands at the side of the bed, holding me up from the back of my knees, then lifts my hips off the bed and thrusts deep inside me, filling me completely.

  “Touch your tits,” he pants as he thrusts hard into me, once, twice, three times.

  I cup my breasts, making small circles around my nipples, squeezing them together. I know watching me touch myself is turning him on—and that’s turning me on.

  His gaze is fixed on my naked body, watching my fingers circle my hardened nipples. He bites down on his bottom lip and groans. He pounds hard inside me again and again.

  That’s all it takes for Ben to lose control. He stills and finds his own release, pulsating inside of me.

  Once he floats back down to earth, he eases out of me and I scoot back up in the bed. He joins me, pulling me close to him and kisses the tip of my nose.

  “I love you,” he whispers.

  “I love you too.”

  “Even though I’m going to make you late?”

  I chuckle. “Yes, you’re a bad influence but I can’t help myself.”

  “I know the feeling. I have something for you,” he says, pointing his chin toward the nightstand next to me.

  I turn my head and see a black velvet box sitting on the nightstand.

  “When did that get there? It wasn’t there last night.”

  He smiles devilishly. “Magic.”

  “Magic, huh?” I raise a brow and smirk.

  “MmmHmm. Open it.”

  “Okay,” I answer cautiously. I grab the box from the table and glance over at Ben. He looks a little uneasy.

  Slowly opening it, I tilt my head slightly. It’s a key on a silver heart-shaped keychain. I look at Ben with a confused frown.

  “It’s a key to my apartment,” he explains.

  My eyes widen as I look down at the key then back at Ben. I know this is a huge step for him. HUGE. And it shows how far my commitment-phobic boyfriend has come, how far we’ve come.

  My eyes tear up. “Ben.” It’s all I can say.

  “It was time. It was time a long time ago. I want you to come and go as you please.” He tilts his head side to side with a sly grin. “Well, mostly come.” He raises a brow.

  I shake my head and ignore his not-so-subtle innuendo. “Is this your version of going steady?”

  He laughs. “Something like that. I don’t want you to ring a doorbell to come in. I just want you here.”

  “I’m going to miss watching that doorknob turn.”

  “You don’t have to accept it.”

  “Changing your mind already?” I ask.

  “About you? Never.”

  I glance at the alarm clock. “I really have to go.”

  “I know. So do I. Busy day ahead. Meet back here for dinner?” he asks.

  “I’ll let myself in.” I wink, holding the keychain up and dangling the shiny silver key in front of us.

  ~o0o~

  It’s one of those Fridays at work where all you do is stare at the clock and wish it moved faster. Most of the morning was spent with my “organic” psycho author and his zombie tales. Our “normal to weirdo” conversation ratio was about ten to ninety… with weirdo winning out by a landslide.

  I peek at the time at the corner of my desktop screen, grab my cell, and send a quick text to Allie.

  *Having dinner with Ben tonight. Probably staying there.*

  *It’s not too late to pick up the poison.*

  Allie can hold a grudge longer than anyone I’ve ever known.

  *He gave me a key to his apartment.*

  That shows he’s committed.

  *Does he plan on taking it back?*

  *Of course not.*

  *Changing the lock?*

  *Allison!!*

  *I suppose we could always key his car with it.*

  *That’s not funny.*

  *It’s a little funny.*

  I ignore her remarks and text her back.

  *I’ll see you tomorrow. Say hi to Vince.*

  *Don’t say hi to that guy you’re sleeping with.*

  I know Allie has secretly forgiven Ben. She just enjoys yanking his chain and making him work for it. Like she said, she wants me happy and Ben makes me happy. I shake my head and send a text to Ben.

  *Hey handsome. What are you up to?*

  *In meeting with tough negotiator.*

  *Use the Martin charm. Trust me… it works on men and women.*

  *Don’t think it’ll work on this guy. Emilio’s for dinner?*

  *Perfect. See you later.*

  Chapter 25

  “Hi Andy,” I say to the doorman.

  “Miss Conti.” He tips his hat slightly, smiling at me as he opens the door to Ben’s building.

  Humming to myself, I walk into the elevator. I press the button to the twentieth floor. Smiling widely as the elevator ascends, I dig through my bag for the shiny heart-shaped keychain I got this morning. I fist it in my hand and hold it close to my heart. A month ago, I’d never thought I’d feel so lucky. But I do. In some ways, the storm we weathered was worth it. It forced us to focus on what was important… Us… and now we’re here. Not taking anything for granted.

  I stare down at the doorknob that always turned my stomach into a butterfly frenzy and smile again. This is our next step. And it’s a good step.

  Putting the key in the keyhole, I turn it. The butterflies are having a party in my stomach as I listen to the front door unlock. I know it’s only the sound of a door unlocking, but to me, it’s beautiful music.

  Slowly, I open the door and walk into the apartment. It feels right, but strange at the same time. I guess I’ll get used to it, eventually.

  “Hello,” I call out.

  No answer. Maybe I beat him here. I drop my handbag on the small table near the coat closet and walk into Ben’s apartment. It’s so quiet. And so damn clean.

  Gliding my hand across the leather couch, I make my way to the hallway bathroom to freshen up. As I pass the Coin Shrine, I hear the unmistakable sound of his laptop’s keyboard keys clicking away.

  I lean in the doorway with my hand over my mouth and watch him typing. I know I should go, but I can’t bring myself to leave. He’s writing. He’s actually writing again.

  He stops and swivels his chair around.

  “Hey,” he says quietly.

  “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to disturb you. Go back to your writing. I’ll watch some TV or something.”

  “No, it’s fine. I’m done for the night.” He closes the laptop and stands from his chair. He walks over to where I’m standing, wraps his arms around me, and kisses me sweetly.

  “Mmm, minty kiss,” I say. “It’s nice to see you writing again.”

  “I had a burst of inspiration.”

  My grin is so wide my face hurts. It’s as if all the broken pieces of Ben are repairing themselves right in front of me and it’s magnificent to witness.

  He smiles back at me revealing the dimples that turn my legs to jello. I frown when I notice right next to one of those sexy dimples, is what looks like a small bruise.

  “You have a mark on your cheek. What happened?”

  “One of the blue-haired ladies I met with hit into my elbow and the pen I was holding jammed right into my face. I’m lucky it missed my eye.”

  “Aww, poor baby. Little old ladies beating you up?” I give him a quick peck on his cheek then lean into him for another hug and inhale deeply. “Ugh. You smell like cigars.” I gag, waving my hand in front of my nose.

  “Some guy on the subway platform was puffing away.”

  “They’re not supposed to smoke there,” I grumble. I hate the smell of smoke, especially cigars.

  “He didn’t seem li
ke the type to fuck around with. I already got my face beaten in by the blue-haired ladies. I met my brawling quota for the day. I’ll change out of these clothes.”

  “There’s a stain on that shirt anyway. It looks like grease. My mother puts a dab of plain old dish detergent on the spot to get grease stains out. Try that.”

  “I scarfed down a slice of pizza for lunch in between meetings. The oil was dripping all over the place. I’ll try the detergent later.” He shakes his head, exasperated. “It’s been one of those days. I hope you don’t mind, I picked up Emilio’s instead of going out. I thought it’d be nice just to eat-in and relax here tonight,” he says, his lip twitching.

  What’s the twitch about? That’s his lying twitch. I bet I know. In Ben-speak “relax” means “Get Julia naked”. He’s trying to speed things along.

  Such a man.

  “No, that’s fine,” I answer, pretending I don’t see through his plan.

  “Good. Give me five minutes and I’ll get dinner.”

  “I’ll get it,” I offer.

  “Just relax. I’ll be right back.”

  ~o0o~

  I turn around to walk into the living room when a familiar nosey voice inside my head beckons me to peek at his Work-in-Progress. I wonder if he’s back to the baseball book or trying something new.

  I know I shouldn’t peek, but I’m not going to waste the few minutes I have arguing with myself over something I know I’m going to do anyway.

  I tiptoe to the laptop, sit down and lift the screen. The document he was working on is still up. It’s like he’s handing it to me.

  I cock my head after reading the first line, placing my hand over my mouth as tears well up in my eyes.

  Love is strong and gentle

  Love is wonder and discovery

  Love is complicated and simple

  Love is tender and bold

  Love hurts and it heals

  Love is frightening and fearless

  Love is stormy and serene

  Love is sunshine and rain

  Love’s not easy

  But it’s worth it

  Love is why my heart beats

  And my heart beats for you

  For me

  Love is you