The One Place

by Laurel Curtis

He laughed. As he spoke he lifted his hand and counted off fingers as he ticked off points. “Uh, yeah, I heard about it, Babe. Heard about it at the Wilsons’ when I was cleanin’ their gutters and Rhonda’s while I was fixin’ her faucet. Heard about it four more times when four separate people came to the farm to tell me about it.”

  I shrugged my shoulder and said, “I don’t like to take shit.”

  He laughed and said, “No kiddin’.” He face settled into a smirk and he told me what I had figured he would think. “I got the whole town talkin’ about what a god I am with my mouth. So I figure I don’t got much to complain about.”

  He sobered for a minute and spoke in a soft tone. “Seriously. You actually know what they were sayin’ was shit right? Nobody like you, Babe. No other model for you to be a cheaper version of.”

  Geez. Apparently, the town gossips were extremely accurate. But, it felt really good to have him say that.

  “I know, Tuck.”

  He smiled. “Good. Now you know people are gonna be watchin’ you like a hawk, waitin’ for the next crazy thing to come outta your mouth, right?”

  Oh, well. “They were already watching.”

  He grabbed my handed and whispered so soft that I wasn’t even sure I was supposed to hear, “My Talie.”

  I wonder what he would think of me if he knew how much shit I took from one individual for a prolonged period of time.

  ********

  We finished dinner and Tuck was getting ready to leave when he asked, “Think you can take tomorrow off? I wanna show you the rest of the farm and I also wanna get your shit and move it over there.”

  I thought about it and then decided I could probably do that. “I’ll ask John, but how about if I work breakfast and take lunch and dinner off?”

  “Sure, Babe.”

  He leaned in with just one hand on my hip and touched his mouth to mine. “Pick you up later.” He turned and headed for the door lifting his chin and flicking his fingers every so often. I was glad he went for a more PG kiss after my morning kiss and tell drama.

  ********

  I had finished the rest of my shift and John had said yes to my time off tomorrow when I heard Tuck’s motorcycle pull up outside. I said goodnight to Ruthie, as she was the only other girl left at that point, took off my apron, and pushed through door. Tuck was standing next to the bike in a forest-green henley, jeans, motorcycle boots and he had two helmets in his hands. One was a matte black half helmet (his) and one was an all black full face helmet (mine). I had to fight my desire to run full force and jump him. He looked so good. And for now at least, he was mine.

  I didn’t run but I did speed walk. When I got to him I got up on my toes, put my hands to his chest, and leaned in to touch my mouth to kiss. I even touched my tongue to his lips, which he opened without delay, and then slid my tongue inside and caressed his tongue for a change. He had such a unique taste. I was almost convinced I could survive on just tasting him and not need Coke anymore. Almost.

  When I pulled back, he shifted the helmets and grabbed my chin between his finger and his thumb. The sound of his voice almost sounded hoarse when he spoke. “First time you’ve kissed me, Talie. Like it.”

  Trying to avoid recognizing what he was saying, I said, “We kiss all the time now.”

  He shook his head. “Not what I mean, Babe. And you know it.”

  I did know what he meant. And now I knew I couldn’t bullshit him.

  He kept talking as he stepped back and held my helmet up to me. “Full face, as promised. Figured maybe we could go for a little bit of a ride before we go home tonight.”

  I thought about it, looked at the bike, looked back at Tuck, and decided, “Yes, definitely.”

  Shit. I didn’t even censor that before it came out. I blamed it on how good Tuck looked and the position riding his motorcycle would put me in proximity to him.

  I took my helmet, but before I put it on I thought of one more question. “What kind of bike is this?” All I could tell is that it was black and looked pretty kick-ass.

  “A Harley Fat Boy.”

  Awesome. I had no idea what that meant, but it sounded cool. I pulled my helmet on, tightened the chin strap and watched as Tuck climbed astride it. “Climb on, Babe. Got a ride to take and a woman to fuck when we get home.”

  My whole body shivered. And I climbed the fuck on.

  Straddling the bike, I put my feet where he showed me and wrapped my arms around his waist. He didn’t have to tell me to hold on tight. He started it up and before I knew it we were on our way down the road. We headed in the direction of the farm but kept driving right by it into the night on the dark, country roads.

  Riding the bike was exhilarating and I couldn’t get enough of being pushed so close to Tuck’s back with my hips and thighs tucked around his. When he would stop, he would put his hands on my thighs. I was thinking that riding this bike with him was the ultimate foreplay.

  But as we rode and the silence wore on, my thoughts went right back to the place they always did. Jenny.

  My thoughts picked up where they most often left off. What was the turning point for Jenny?What made her lose her backbone and go back to him? For me it had been witnessing his propensity for violence first hand combined with threats about people I loved, but mostly not being prepared to get out safely. He knew all sorts of cops and judges so I didn’t trust that route. Could it have been the same for her? She never mentioned anything of that magnitude, but then again she never mentioned anything. I think she was trying to keep me as a friend but hold me separate. Maybe hoping she could spare me from being in Andrew’s sights at all. She had loved him once, but had obviously noticed he wasn’t who she thought he was. It had to have been something big for her to go back with him. Something she’d be willing to sacrifice herself for. Every time I thought about this my thoughts always went in circles. I never got anywhere. Hopefully I would figure it out someday. There was no way I’d be able to carry out any sort of revenge against Andrew without all the facts.

  That was part of the reason that getting away and having time to myself was always part of the plan. I needed time to get all the facts straight. I also wanted to have time so that he would suspect an attack from me less and less until he was totally caught off guard. But the most important motive was wrapped in my arms and legs in front of me. If for some reason things went wrong and I didn’t make it out of it, I wanted to have this. I wanted to have had a life.

  I looked up to see that we were pulling up in front of the house already. As usual, my mental ramblings had caused me to zone out of a major chunk of time again.

  Tuck pushed the kickstand down and unwrapped my arms from around his waist. “Climb off, Babe.”

  I did as I was told, climbed off, undid my chin strap, and pulled my helmet off. I shook my head out to get my hair out of its matted state, but I wasn’t too worried because I still needed to take a shower after working all day. So, I told him, “Um, Tuck. I need to take a shower. Do you mind if-”

  “Don’t gotta ask me, Talie. This is your place now, too. You can do whatever you want.”

  Okay. That was nice. But it would also take a lot of getting used to. I had lived with a man, but it had been quite a bit different. I had literally needed permission for pretty much everything.

  I nodded and started to head for the front door when he caught me and put a hand to my cheek. “I could feel you thinkin’ behind me almost the whole ride. Seems we both got some demons that we’re gonna need to get off our chests. But I’m selfish and I want tonight to be somethin’ different. So we’re gonna put off talkin’ ‘til tomorrow.”

  Thank God. I wasn’t ready to talk.

  Tuck saw the relief on my face and added, “We’re gonna talk, Babe. Just not tonight. Now get in there and shower. Then meet me in bed. No clothes.”

  Well, that got a shiver. Back in a better mood, I took off for the house.

  I went in the front, up the stairs, and down the hall into Tuck’s bathr
oom. I turned on the shower and started stripping off my clothes.

  Good news, Tuck brought my razor too, so I would be able to shave. As a matter of fact, it looked like he pretty much brought everything I owned and going there tomorrow to “get my shit” was just a formality he wanted me to have.

  I stepped into the shower and went through the routine, my mind mostly on what was about to come when I got out. I was anxious, but I was mostly just ready for it to happen. I wanted to live up to his expectations. I knew that once everything got started, I wouldn’t be nervous anymore. It would probably feel completely natural like everything else between us had.

  I got out of the shower and lotioned myself completely. I combed out my hair too, but after that there wasn’t much else to do. Maybe tomorrow on my way home I should stop and get some makeup and a hairdryer. Not for all the time, but it wouldn’t hurt to put some effort in sometimes. That was a good idea, so I added it to my plans for tomorrow.

  I walked out of the bathroom wrapped in my towel to see Tuck in the bed, hands clasped behind his head with elbows up and out, staring at the ceiling, and the sheet sitting right at his waist leaving his abdomen and chest on display.

  His eyes came to me when he noticed I was in the room. “Come here, Baby.” He was using a gentle voice. It must have been obvious that I was nervous.

  I walked around the bed to the side he was on and sat down next to him. He sat up and put his hands on my hips over the towel. He leaned forward slowly and pressed his lips to my jaw. Languidly, he placed kisses all along my jaw, down my throat, and back until he got to my mouth. He pressed his lips to mine and I opened for him. His hands still at my hips but occasionally gently rubbing up my sides, he tilted his head and stroked my tongue with his. My body started to take over and my mind blanked. God, just his kisses and I could feel the rush of liquid between my legs. I melted towards him and he took this as a signal to reach up and undo my towel, slowly pulling it open. Once he had it open, he put his hands back to my hips and pulled me down so that I was laying in the bed under him. He took the towel and threw it to the floor beside the bed. His hands went from my hips and up and he palmed both of my bare breasts with his mouth still on mine making magic. I could feel him hard against me. I obviously was having the same effect on him that he was having on me. God, it made me feel powerful that I could do that to him.

  One of his hands let go of my breast and traveled its way down to between my legs. His mouth broke from mine as he touched me. “Fuck, Talie. Already soaked for me. Fuckin’ love that.”

  His words acted as a catalyst to turn me on more. “Fuckin’ runnin’ outta you.” He groaned, I moaned, and I reached for him.

  I wrapped my hand around him and moved down and then back up over the top using gentle pressure. He liked it. “Fuckkk.”

  His forehead dropped to mine and, his voice rough, he whispered, “Gotta be in you, Babe. Can’t take it. You on birth control?”

  Shit. Believe it or not I had forgotten all about that. I was, I mean I had been. No way was I going to risk getting pregnant with Andrew’s baby. But when I took off, it was in my bag that blew up and I hadn’t even given it a thought since.

  Tuck read the answer on my face. “Relax, Babe. We’ll use a condom. I don’t want anything between us, so we’ll just have to get you to the doctor.”

  That made me think of something else. “Have you ever had sex without a-”

  “Never.”

  Okay, that was good. “You’re different, Talie. Told you that. Wanna be as close to you as possible.”

  Well, that was really good. “Okay.”

  He grabbed a condom from the nightstand and spoke as he rolled it on. “Ok, Babe. Climb on top. Your show first. Want you to show me what you like.”

  I started to get nervous, but he didn’t give me any time. He lifted me up, twisted me, and set me back down straddling him. He lifted me again, positioned himself at my opening, and settled me down onto him. Sweet mother of Jesus, he was big. But he was also perfect. Like he was made for me.

  He reached up palming my breasts and said, “Body is so fuckin’ hot, Baby.” Pausing for a second to growl he continued, “Need you to move, Babe.”

  Oh. Yeah. Right. It felt so good just to be full of him that I had made no progress further than that. I lifted up just holding onto the tip and then sank down. “Oh, God.”

  I started pounding up and down, increasing my speed and adding a twist and grind at the end of my downward movement. He reached down and started circling my nub with his thumb. It felt fucking delicious.

  My mind was blank with my fog of pleasure and I kept going, faster and harder.

  Through his own pleasure, Tuck ground out, “Fuck, Baby. Yeah, that’s it. Fuckin’ ride me.”

  It had been building and building for me and at his words I lost it. “Tuck, Oh God. I’m gonna come, Baby.”

  “Give it to me, Talie. Let go.” At his command, I let go and came by far the hardest I ever had in my life. As I tumbled over into the abyss and lost the ability to move, Tuck flipped me onto my back and kept pounding into me. “Jesus, Baby. Yes.” Three final strokes and he lost it. “Fuckkk. My Talie.” We were both glistening with sweat, and I had never been so grateful to ruin a shower.

  He kept gliding in and out of my gently as we both came down, and it was beautiful. He pulled out of me and touched his forehead to mine. As he did this he whispered, “Another reason we gotta get rid of the condoms, Babe. Don’t like leavin’ you so soon after.” He touched his lips to mine and then climbed out of the bed and headed for the bathroom to get rid of the condom.

  He came back quickly and brought a wash cloth with him when he did. Him taking care of me like that was another thing I figured only worked because it was him. Someone else probably would have made it seem corny or something. But with Tuck it was just right. Then again, everything with Tuck so far was right. Even having me get on top had been the perfect thing to do. I was so used to not participating when Andrew forced himself on me, that I just laid there. This had forced me to take control for myself. I loved every fucking second of it. And I was pretty sure, I was starting to love the man responsible for it.

  He threw the wash cloth back into the bathroom, turned out the light, and climbed back in bed with me. With an arm around my waist he pulled me to his body and turned me so that I was on my side with my head on his chest and my leg intwined with his. He murmured, “Sleep, Baby,” and then kissed me on the top of my head.

  I laid with my arm across his waist tracing his tattoo while he ran his fingers through my hair until I drifted off to sleep. Just like he told me to.

  Just on the cusp of sleep, I heard him whisper. “My Talie. Magnificent.”

  Chapter 16

  Secrets

  I was on my way to the store from working the breakfast shift.

  Tuck had woken me up with kisses to my throat and breasts and then fucked me again. I could really get used to that kind of a schedule if we kept it up. We had showered together, keeping the fooling around limited to making out because we were on a time crunch, and then he had dropped me off at work in the truck. I told him about my plan to walk home after my shift and stop for makeup and other supplies and he altered that plan by telling me to get supplies and then walk to the apartment and call him instead. That way we could get the rest of my stuff. I was agreeable from being topped up on orgasms so I acquiesced.

  Now, I had finished work and was headed to the pharmacy that was a few store fronts down from the internet cafe. As I approached I saw Ruthie and Bobby across the street, so I slowed my step. Presumably, Ruthie would be on her way to work, but I noticed that Bobby’s voice sounded harsh.

  “If you don’t show, I’m gonna have to fuck someone else!”

  My head whipped toward them to see Ruthie starting to get upset.

  She put her hand on his bicep in a placating gesture. “Bobby, please! I promised Steph I would help her two weeks ago! I can’t back out!”

&
nbsp; He ripped her hand off her arm and growled, “You know how it works, Ruth. You’re not gonna give it to me, I’m gonna get it somewhere else. You choosin’ some bitch over me is not my problem!”

  Why was Ruthie staying with this guy? She was so sassy and self-assured with me. Why was she being so different with a guy? I didn’t want to cause a bad scene to become even scarier so I stayed out of it, but I would have to talk to Tuck about this. I couldn’t believe he hadn’t stepped in by now. He seemed to really like and respect Ruthie. It didn’t make any sense to me.

  Not wanting Ruthie to see me watching I ducked into the pharmacy quickly. I hastily made my way around the store and gathered supplies- makeup (God, I had forgotten how hard decisions were when you were being a girl), a hair dryer, a round brush, a straightener, a curling iron, new razors and shaving cream, girly smelling lotion, deodorant, and a box of tampons. I knew I would be needing those at some point, but with my sudden departure from birth control and the stress I had been through, I wasn’t exactly sure when it would be.

  I bought a lot more stuff than I had originally intended, so I decided to call Tuck and have him pick me up at the pharmacy instead.

  ********

  I saw Tuck pull up and pushed open the door with my back, since both my hands were full.

  When Tuck saw me he burst out laughing. Through his hysteria he almost shouted, “Jesus, Babe. You got more shit in your arms than you got in your whole apartment!”

  Yeah, this was hysterical. “If you ever get over your fit of giggles, do you think maybe you could give me a hand?”

  Tuck kept laughing but reached out and took all but one of my bags. “Does this mean I’m gonna see you all gussied up like you were that night at the Lizard again? Oh, fuck, and those shorts. Please tell me you’re gonna wear those shorts again.”

  I put him out of his misery quickly. “Sorry, those shorts were Ruthie’s. I already gave them back to her.”

  He shook his head. “Nope. That’s not acceptable. We have to get those back from her. I need you to start out in those shorts and end up fuckin’ you.”