Seven

by Susan Renee

  “Thank you ma’am. Have a nice day.”

  “You too Bryant,” she waves as I back out of the store.

  I head to the next place on the block, Bardstown Books, but don’t see her in there either. As I step back out onto the street my cell phone buzzes in my pocket, alerting me to a text.

  Sloan: Savannah’s here for you.

  Oh thank Christ!

  Me: Is she ok?

  Sloan: Don’t know but it does look like she’s been crying. She’s been

  here for about fifteen minutes. Didn’t want me to tell you she was here.

  What the hell?

  Why not?

  She really doesn’t want to see me?

  Me: DON’T LET HER LEAVE! I’ll be right there. Keep her safe!

  Sloan: She’s fine, Dude, what the fuck? Did something happen?

  I don’t even bother to respond to his last text. I jump in my truck and speed down the next few blocks. Standing outside the back door to the bar, I stop and force myself to take a deep breath to calm myself down. If she’s feeling beaten down and is overwhelmingly upset, I can’t run in there upset with her. I’m not upset with her. If anything I’m pissed at myself for what she’s gone through this morning. In one way or another, I’m directly related to the problem. This is all my fault and I now all I can do is hope that she’ll forgive me. Quietly I pull the door open and step inside. Sloan is standing against the wall outside my office fiddling with his cell phone, ready to ambush me with questions.

  “Hey man. Is everything okay? What’s going on? Did she get hurt?”

  My eyes grow large at the thought of someone physically hurting Savannah. “What do you mean did she get hurt?” I whisper so she doesn’t hear me. “Does she look like she got hurt?”

  “NO. No, calm down Bry.” Sloan shakes his head. “She looks fine physically…just a little tired and like she had been crying. She got here and didn’t know you were out. I wasn’t sure where you went so I told her you would most likely be back soon. She didn’t want me to bother you so I didn’t text you. But dude, you gotta see…”

  “You should’ve bothered me, Sloan. I was out looking for her! Rachel called and told me she ran out of work upset and she couldn’t find her. I’ve been looking everywhere.”

  “Oh…fuck. I’m sorry, man. Really I am, but if it makes you feel any better, it seemed to me like she got the therapy she was apparently looking for.”

  “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

  Sloan smiles and nods toward my office door. “See for yourself.” He turns and heads back to the bar to continue his work. I watch him walk away, completely unsure of what he’s talking about. I want to be livid with him for not fucking calling me but I can’t. He didn’t know why I left in the first place. At least she’s here. She came back.

  To me.

  Curious as to what Sloan meant about her finding therapy, I slowly turn the knob to my office door and step inside. I never knew a heart could feel so strongly - that one minute, one event, could cause a heart to burst into tiny floating pieces that immediately and lovingly connect to another person. I thought I loved her then, years ago, but I see her laying there peacefully asleep on a brand new charcoal grey leather couch wrapped in what looks to be a new throw blanket, and I’ve completely and irrevocably fallen in love with this girl all over again.

  I want to laugh out loud. I want to laugh with her and tell her how absofuckinlutely charming it is that she remembered what I had told her about my old couch. I want to tell her how astonished I am that she would even consider doing something like this for me, especially given the morning she’s had. I want to tell her how flattered I am that she obviously did this to stake her claim and I’m one hundred percent okay with that. And then I want to curl up behind her beautiful body on this couch and hold her in my arms, telling her over and over again how much I fucking love her.

  But instead, I slide into the office and quietly close the door behind me. Adoring the sweetness that is the angel on this new couch, I make my way over to her, lightly brushing her hair off of her face. Her breath shudders a few times, making me all too painfully aware that she had definitely been crying. I don’t know what compels me to do it but I pull my cell phone out of my back pocket, turn the ringer off and snap a few pictures of her as she sleeps. Quickly I shoot a text to Rachel to let her know that Savannah is safe and to not expect her in for the rest of the day. I’ll let her sleep and then I’ll spend the day with her if she’ll let me. Turning back to my computer I pick up where I left off with my inventory work, feeling more immeasurably whole than I’ve ever felt in my entire life.

  An hour later I hear movement on the couch. Savannah’s eyes open slowly and she blinks a few times before softly smiling at me.

  “Well hey there Sleeping Beauty.”

  “Mmm…” She wipes her eyes and brushes her soft hair back from her face. “How long have I been asleep?”

  “Only about an hour or so. I didn’t want to wake you. You just looked so damn beautiful and you obviously needed it.” Swiftly I step out of my chair and over to her on the couch. She scoots up enough that I can grab her legs and lift them on to my lap.

  “Yeah, yeah I guess.”

  I slip her shoes off and begin to massage her foot. She sighs as her eyes close momentarily.

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  She stares at me, unsure of what to say. Either that or she’s holding back the words she wants to say and can’t.

  “What is there to say?”

  “Well, do you want to tell me what happened at the salon?”

  “Did you sleep with Jamie Henders?”

  Fuck.

  She goes straight for the jugular.

  Be honest, Bryant. No sugarcoating.

  “Yes.”

  “When? Recently?”

  “Fuck no. I told you I haven’t been with anyone since Samantha walked into the bar to tell me about Ivy. It was at least five years ago.”

  I watch her breathe in and out as she contemplates my answer and carefully crafting her next barrage of questions.

  “How many times?” she asks curtly.

  “Once.”

  “Why only once?”

  Her question surprises me a little as if she doesn’t remember how much my life used to revolve around fucking lots of women. Until one day it didn’t anymore.

  “Uh, Seven, I…” I run my hand up and down my face.

  “Why only once, Bryant?” She’s not letting it go.

  “Why are you asking me this?”

  “Was she married at the time?”

  “Absolutely not,” I answer her assuredly.

  “Then why only once?”

  Jesus Christ.

  “Because I didn’t want her, Savannah. She was another one-night stand as were a lot of women back then. I told you how I used to live. I fucked a lot of women. More than you probably want to know about and to be honest, I didn’t keep notches on my bedpost. I just focused on living my life every day. I did what made me happy and that meant whatever made my dick happy. Jamie Henders never meant jack shit to me, Seven. She was never you.”

  She stares at my face for an awkward moment before she whispers, “Okay.”

  “Okay?”

  “Yeah. Okay.”

  “Wait, what’s that supposed to mean?” I ask confounded.

  “Look, I’m not going to waste my time being upset about something you did years ago, but you should know that Jamie Henders makes no bones about having had you in her bed at least once. She just…” Her eyes avert mine.

  “Just what?”

  “She just made it seem like you two were an item at one point, that’s all. This morning felt like I was back in high school all over again and the captain of the cheerleading squad was boasting about the blow job she gave to the quarterback of the football team.”

  I watch her for a minute, unsure of what to say. I wish I could say the right thing to make her feel better.

/>   “Come here.” I slide Savannah’s legs off of mine and motion for her to come sit astride me on this couch. When she does so, I hold her face tenderly in my hands and make sure she’s looking into my eyes when I speak again.

  “Savannah I need you to hear me when I say this. Jamie Henders and I never, and I mean never fucking ever, were an item. She’s been bitter towards me ever since the day she asked to see me again, expecting to get laid a second time, and I turned her down. I’ve never loved her a day in my life, not even in high school.”

  “I don’t understand, in high school you guys were…”

  “Never an item. Regardless of what she may or may not have said, we never dated. I never asked her out and she definitely never put her lips on my cock. A guy remembers those things, Sev. I wouldn’t lie to you about that.”

  “But she told everyone you guys had…”

  “I know she did. And I’m the douche who didn’t put her in her place. I allowed the rumors to spread because back then it seemed like that’s what was expected of both of us. But she was never the girl I wanted. Ever.” Still holding her face in my hands, I softly brush my lips against hers before whispering “It’s always been you, Sev. Nobody that I’ve ever been with can hold a fucking candle to what I feel for you.”

  I watch as Savannah’s eyes begin to water and a tear slips down her cheek. I catch it with my thumb and softly wipe it away.

  “Tell me what you’re thinking,” I request.

  “She’s a spoiled rich twat waffle who gets off on making everyone around her feel inferior.”

  I can’t hold back my laughter. Leaning my head back on the couch I let out of hearty laugh. “Well there are two words I didn’t expect to come out of your mouth.” I grab her arms and pull her into me. She lays her head on my chest, sighing in comfort. “You’re right though for what it’s worth. She is a spoiled rich twat waffle and she does get off on hurting everyone around her. The sad thing is, everyone around this town knows it. She’s not doing any good for herself or her friends. She’s just digging herself a deeper grave.”

  “Good,” I hear her say. “I hope one day she trips and falls head first into it and never returns.”

  “Hey.” I rub her back until she lifts her head to look at me. “I’m sorry for what she said to you this morning. You didn’t deserve that and it’s my fault. I’m sorry.”

  She gives me a perplexed look. “How is any of this your fault? You weren’t there.”

  “I didn’t have to be there. One of her groupies saw me kiss you the other night during karaoke, so she knew finding you and putting you through the ringer was only a matter of time. She’s done it more than once – tried to ruin any relationship it looks like I may be having that doesn’t involve her.”

  “Ooh…” Savannah says. “So she’s just green with envy because you’re not interested in her.”

  “Yup. That’s exactly it. She thinks I’ll still allow the rumors to run through town but what I don’t get is why? She’s supposedly happily married and has been for a few years now, so I don’t get why she still feels the need to flaunt herself around these parts.”

  “What does she do?”

  I shake my head back and forth. “Nothing as far as I know. She sits at home with her little stupid yippee dog or walks around the town with her old friends playing Mean Girls all day.”

  “So that’s why she does it then.”

  “What do you mean?” I ask.

  “Because she’s a nobody now. She doesn’t work anywhere, she’s inconsequential to anyone in this town apart from her husband who is probably rich enough that he can have whoever he wants…maybe he doesn’t want her either…”

  She has a point.

  “Interesting theory. Regardless, I’m just sorry for today. If I had known she was in the area and out for blood, I would’ve told you to steer clear.”

  “It’s okay. I’m a big girl and can handle a little mean girl. Besides…” she says, running her hand along the back of the couch. “I needed some retail therapy and you needed a new couch.” She smirks.

  I reach up to kiss her on her neck as she leans her body against me to touch the back of the couch. “Mmm...it’s a nice couch too. You did a great job picking it out.”

  “You really like it?” she asks, rocking her head to the side to grant my lips better access to her collar bone. I continue grazing her skin as my hands slide up and down the sides of her torso.

  “Yeah, I do. It just…” My hands slowly slide up the inside of her shirt. “…needs one thing.”

  I hear Savannah gasp as my hands fondle her breasts. “What more could it possibly need?”

  She throws her head back and inhales deeply as I pinch her right where I know she’ll be the most sensitive. My lips linger on her neck and chin as they wait to connect with hers…to taste her. “It needs your scent…our scent.” I whisper in her ear. She responds in kind with a sexier than shit groan that makes my dick wake up and take notice. “Kiss me, Seven.”

  Like a lioness out for her hunt, Savannah’s lips crash with mine, biting my bottom lip and swirling her tongue with mine over and over again. Hastily I pull her top over her head and literally rip her bra off of her body, paying no mind to any type of clasp. One look at her sheer beauty and I thirst for more of her. She tugs at my shirt which I help her take off and then immediately my lips are on her, sucking, tasting, licking, biting. She slowly rocks herself forward and back, causing my dick to scream for attention. I want her in the worst way. I want to lay her out on this couch and push into her until there is nothing left for me to give.

  “Bryant…” She breathes. She covers my ear with her mouth swirling her tongue inside and out. It’s all I can do to remain seated here as she teases me with her body. “I want you. Please, I need you.” As she whispers to me her hands are on me, her right hand slowly tugging on the zipper to my jeans until she can reach inside to grab me.

  “Mmmm Savannah…” I close my eyes and allow myself to feel her hands on me. Her strong grasp, the way she squeezes me, this girl is my personal heaven. Her touch lights my skin on fire, stirring a frenzy inside me that can only be calmed one way. While she holds me, I fantasize about her smooth hands, her warm lips, and her soft moan. The lust-filled expression she gives me is priceless, like she can read my mind and I’ve just said the magic words. She shimmies off my lap, leaving me bereft of her warmth but proving a stellar floor show as she unabashedly steps out of her leggings and panties. She kneels on the floor between my legs.

  Holy fuck this is hot.

  She pierces my eyes with hers as her mouth slowly devours me.

  Shit.

  My eyes want to roll back into my head while I experience the ecstasy of her mouth, but I’m also a man who likes to watch his woman work. I grab her hair with my right hand and pull it back so I can see her lips around me. “Good God woman, you know how to make a man lose control.”

  I hear her moan while I’m in her mouth. The vibrations causing me to harden even more than I already have. “That’s better,” I hear her say. I watch in anticipation as she licks the length of me before sliding her mouth back down over top as far as it will go. When she finishes I practically drag her back up onto the couch so she’s straddling me, ready to take the ride of a lifetime right along with me. As she lowers herself onto me, we both shamelessly sigh into each other. She initiates the rhythm as she raises herself up on her knees and lowers herself back down.

  “Christ, Savannah. You feel…”

  “I know.” She kisses me once, twice, three times. “Take me, Bryant. Please. Take all of me.”

  Her need for intimacy with me not only reassures me of her love for me, but makes me feel like she looks at me as the one person who can give her exactly what she needs. Her complete trust in me is all consuming as I wrap my arms around her, loving her, protecting her. Quickening the pace between us I thrust into her again and again until the inevitable explosion is near.

  “Ahhh” Savannah crie
s out as she wraps her arms around my neck, meeting me thrust for thrust. My hands work their way under her, my fingers dangerously close to being able to tease all of her most sensitive areas. The mere proximity of my fingers to those spots causes her to scream out one last time before her body convulses against mine, her arms squeezing me tighter. Her body, warmly caressing me, causes me to lose control with her.

  Sitting on this beautiful new couch, the girl of my fucking dreams wrapped in my arms and panting down my neck, squeezing my body between her knees, it’s more than I could have ever asked for. We sit like this for minutes, both of our bodies calming in tandem. I feel her shiver slightly before grabbing the throw blanket beside me and tenderly covering her so that she stays warm.

  “Do you love me okay, Bryant?” she asks sweetly. Immediately a smile comes to my face as she takes Ivy’s phrase and turns it into her own.

  “I asbofuckinlutely love you okay, Sev. Do you love me okay?”

  I feel her before I hear her. She nods her head up and down. “Yes. I love you more than okay. I hope you like the new couch.”

  I chuckle, lightly feeling both of our bodies move as I laugh. “Babe, it’s the best fucking couch in the whole damn world, and I don’t ever want another one.”

  Chapter 26

  Savannah

  “Red sky at night, sailors delight. Red sky at morn, sailors take warn.” I look out my apartment window at the beautiful hues of pinks and reds in the sky as I lay in my bed. It really is stunning even though I know it’ll mean gloom and doom later in the day. My mother used to tell me that when the sky was red at night, that meant the next day would be a beautiful one, but if the sky was red in the morning, that meant rain. Of course today would be a rainy day. Why wouldn’t it be? It’s one of the days out of the year when I wish I could just stay in my bed all day, not talking to anyone.

  It’s July seventh.

  It’s Peyton’s birthday.

  I hate the number seven. Everyone says it’s a lucky number, but for me, it’s the bane of my existence. It was my nickname for years in school thanks to Bryant Wood. It was my age when I fell and broke my leg. It was the one answer to the only question I missed in the school math league tournament as a freshman. It was the number of final papers I had during one semester of college. It was also the number of days late Peyton was before she was born. She was due June thirtieth, but of course she took her little old time arriving. I should’ve known she would be seven days late, but then again, when she did finally arrive I gave up on the notion of seven being my unluckiest number. After all, my baby girl was born on the seventh day of the seventh month. There was nothing but happiness and joy that day and forever after. My curse had been broken…or I just had a new perspective on life. Either way, life was grand…until it wasn’t anymore.