Loving Kate (Acceptance #3)

by D. Kelly

  Daniel fixes my panties and kisses me softly. “You’re minty,” I say as he pulls back and he chuckles.

  “No, you’re minty. I just taste like you.” We walk over to our swing and look up at the stars. “So how were the strippers?”

  I’m rolling my eyes. “So gross, as usual. I swear I don’t ever want to touch money without gloves again.”

  “Have you ever seen girl strippers?”

  “Nope,” I answer honestly.

  “Well, you’ll never want to touch money again once you see where they let the money go.”

  A chill runs through me as I picture money in some girl’s snatch. That’s just nasty. Daniel chuckles, knowing what I’m visualizing in my head. “I’m glad you’re here.”

  “Are you? You’re not disappointed we came before the strippers?” I realize my double entendre as soon as it leaves my mouth Daniel is laughing at me. I shove his shoulder “You know what I mean, McCormick.”

  “Seeing you could never disappoint me. I’m in love with you, soon-to-be Mrs. McCormick.”

  “You know, you keep saying that, but until that ring is back on this finger I’m technically still a free woman. Oh Roger…” I call out in a low voice, teasing.

  Daniel pulls me across his lap so I’m straddling him. He fumbles with his zipper and moves my panties over with his cock. I look around to make sure no one is here and he turns my face to his as he enters me.

  “Oh, hell yeah,” he says, looking me in the eye. “I think we need to have a chat about what is expected from you, Kate.”

  His hand finds the small of my back and he pulls me forward which makes him push even deeper inside of me. My eyes close and I revel in the sensation of him being so fucking deep right now.

  “Okay,” I tell him softly as I try and push even closer than we already are.

  He pushes the swing back with his feet and I have to hold on to the back so I don’t lose my balance. His hands find my hips and pull me back and forth ever so gently. Oh god, I think he’s hitting my g-spot like this, and from the smirk on his face, he knows it. I try to move faster but he’s in control one hundred percent.

  “You’re riding my dick, yes?” I nod but it’s not good enough. “Answer me, Kate”

  “Yes,” I cry out in a needy voice.

  “Whose name is on your back?”

  “Yours,” I cry out in desperation.

  “Do you want me to let you fuck me, Kate?”

  “Oh yes, Daniel, please.”

  I’m so frustrated I could cry. He’s holding me in place and that cream is still making me tingle. But I know he wants to come, too. Needs to come. I can see how tense his muscles are. It doesn’t matter how much I squeeze his dick on the inside, I’m holding it like a fucking vice and he’s still holding out.

  “Say it, Kate, and I’ll let you fuck me.”

  The stubborn part of me doesn’t want to give up so easily but the wanton little slut that lives inside me is already surrendering. “I’m yours, Daniel, only yours, forever and always.”

  That’s it. He lets go. He keeps the swing still and I’m able to ride him without us swinging all over the place. I pull his mouth to mine and scream inside it as my orgasm crashes over us with his releasing right after mine. My tongue meets his slowly and sweetly as his kiss brings me down gently from our high.

  “That was so fucking hot. I hope you ordered that cream.”

  I’m adjusting my panties and I probably look like a just fucked mess. After running my fingers through my hair, I reach up to do it again.

  Daniel grabs my hand and kisses it. “Stop. You’re gorgeous and I don’t care if you look freshly fucked because you are, and you’re mine, and no one is getting close to you tonight but me.”

  So fucking possessive. I love it.

  The beat of the music changes and I’d know that sound anywhere—we were just listening to it. It’s the stripper national anthem. We leave our garden paradise and walk hand in hand to where the action is. Jess runs up to us with Connor in tow.

  “You guys always sound so fucking hot.” If there is an inch of my body that isn’t red I’d be shocked.

  “How did you hear us with all the noise?” Daniel wants to know. Jess shrugs but Connor flashes a shit eating grin.

  “I saw you head that way and when the strippers came, we went to get you guys. We didn’t hear too much, just some possessive banter.”

  Oh my god.

  “I don’t want to hear you guys have sex, why do you like to listen to us?” I really want to know the answer.

  “Call us voyeuristic,” Jess says as she leads him away.

  We keep a safe distance from the female strippers. Now it’s my turn to be possessive. What stops me cold in my tracks is Mike. There are four strippers here and two bodyguards, but I heard Connor say earlier that he has an in so they can actually touch the strippers. Which means he ordered from a high end company and they fuck on the side for cash—a lot of cash.

  This girl already has her top off and Mike is sucking on her tits. I really don’t need to see this. Daniel sees exactly what I’m seeing but just shrugs it off.

  “Seriously? You’re just going to shrug that off?” I yell, pointing at Mike.

  “Kate, calm down,” he says and closes his eyes slowly, counting to ten before opening them. He pulls me close and turns me to the crowd. “This is what happens at bachelor parties. Nothing you are seeing right now is anything out of the norm. Their bodyguards are here to stop it when it gets to be too much. As long as the girls enjoy it and get their money, this is what happens. It’s why Jake hates strippers and why I’m not too fond of them, either. Just take a minute and watch. Don’t watch Mike, but watch everyone else.”

  I’m pissed, beyond pissed, but I do what he asks and lean back into him while he holds me tightly in his arms. Connor is getting a lap dance from another topless stripper. Jess is guiding his hands, shoving money into her bikini bottoms, then sliding up and cupping her boobs. It’s actually kind of erotic because Jess is not only giving him permission, but she’s guiding him on how to do it. Then the stripper leans down and Connor sucks her nipple into his mouth while Jess kisses the stripper.

  Holy Fuck!

  Daniel whispers in my ear, “It’s completely erotic and completely disturbing all at the same time, isn’t it?” I’m at a loss for words so I just nod. My eyes seek out Jake and April but I don’t see them anywhere. “They went inside almost as soon as you guys got here. All they need is each other, the strippers were pretty much all for Connor. Jess gave him her blessing, too, so remember that. They go to strip clubs and she knows what it’s like.”

  My eyes go back and look at Mike. The stripper is gone and he’s sitting alone, drinking something from a tumbler. It’s probably whiskey. I pull Daniel in his direction and he reluctantly follows. Mike stands up when he sees us and pulls me away from Daniel, hugging me fiercely. Daniel looks pissed but I hold my hand up letting him know it’s okay.

  “I’m so sorry, Kate, you should have never seen that. I should have never done that.” He’s drunk babbling.

  “See what, Mike? What do you think I saw?”

  He pulls back and narrows his eyes at me. “I know you saw me sucking on that stripper’s tits, Kate.”

  “Sit down, Mike,” I tell him firmly and we all sit—me in Daniel’s lap and him right across from me. “All I saw was my friend trying to cope with something painful in a way that isn’t likely to be helpful.” He nods and when he lifts his eyes to mine again he’s crying. Mike has always been an emotional drunk.

  “I’m so mad, Kate, and I don’t know how to not be so angry with her and with myself. I have this beautiful little girl and I lost two years with her. But then I feel like such a selfish bastard because at least I get to have her and I didn’t get Lila Hope at all. We didn’t get her, Kate, and Hailey is her sister and she’ll never get to know her. So how can I be mad? How can I be mad when I have this beautiful little girl walking around with my eyes
and Misty’s hair?”

  Daniel squeezes me tighter and I take a deep breath. “Mike, tomorrow you go talk to Misty when you’re sober and you guys work this out. You both made mistakes, but you guys are head over heels in love with each other. I don’t know how many people in our lives that can happen with but I’d like to think it doesn’t happen more than once or twice. You’re both at fault, so maybe you guys should stop assigning blame and just agree to move forward. Plan the future together, get married, make me some more beautiful nieces and nephews, and just enjoy they time you all have together now. That’s the best advice I can give you.”

  The stripper music stops and they leave with the rest of the party following behind them. With Jake inside with April and the strippers gone there’s really no more reason to stay.

  “Come on, Mike. Let’s get you to bed so you’ll be coherent enough to sort this out with Misty tomorrow.” Daniel helps him up.

  “Goodnight, Katie Grace. I love you bigger than the sky.”

  Maybe this is how we’re staying safe; this was our thing before we ever dated, never while we dated. And now that we’re just friends we’ve reverted back to it. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

  “Goodnight, Michael Matthews. I love you bigger than the sky.”

  Mike

  My head hurts so bad; I haven’t drunk that much in a really long time. I’m supposed to meet Misty in an hour and I hope by then the ibuprofen and coffee will kick in because the shower did absolutely nothing for me.

  Kate and Daniel walk in with a box of donuts and hold it out to me. I reach for one greedily, hoping something will soak up all the excess alcohol in my system. Kate hasn’t looked me in the eye yet and then it hits me like a ton of bricks. She saw me fucking a stripper’s tits with my mouth last night.

  Shit!

  Thankfully, my asshole senses kicked in before I took it any further. Sucking on a stripper’s tits is usually a pretty forgivable offense. But for Kate to see me do it, that’s just wrong on so many levels. When I finally meet her eyes, she smiles at me.

  “Now that you remember the bad part of last night, do you remember the good?”

  I reach for another donut and think and it eventually all comes back to me. “Forgive her and move on. That’s about the gist of it, right?”

  “Well, that and you both made mistakes that need forgiving. Remember, you’re the one who pointed out to her that you’re the king of fuckups and if there’s anyone who won’t judge it would be you.” She has a mind like no other, she always has. This woman never forgets a thing.

  “Right,” I reply.

  “Finish your coffee, or if you want to, we can hit Starbucks on the way home but my parents are bringing Lucas back and they’re timing it perfectly so they can meet Hailey, too.” Daniel says as he reaches for the box of donuts.

  I’ve really got to tell my mom soon.

  “Okay. This coffee isn’t doing shit for me so let’s get out of here and hit Starbucks.”

  Daniel grabs a rainbow sprinkled donut and wraps it in a napkin. He shrugs his shoulders. “What? I figure little girls like sprinkles, right? If your aunt and uncle can’t spoil you, who can?”

  Very true.

  “So how was your party last night, Kate? Did you get a lap dance?” Daniel laughs and she looks super uncomfortable.

  “Let’s just say that getting a lap dance from a guy is not nearly as interesting as watching you guys get one from a girl.”

  “And,” Daniel interjects, “Kate has a newfound affection for using Purell after touching money.”

  “Now that is fucking hilarious.” She pauses and puts her hands on her hips.

  “You guys think it’s so funny but male and female strippers have asses. And some girls tie two and three bills together and wrap pretty little bows around a male stripper’s dick. So yeah. Purell.”

  Shit. I never thought of that, and from the look Daniel gives me, he never did, either.

  “Ha! I knew that would get you guys. See? It’s just gross.”

  Five minutes after we get back to their house, Rick and Bev show up with Lucas and a big dollhouse. It begins already—the spoiling of the grandkids. When Rick told me he was making me a co-owner of the company, it fully hit me that he really considered me like a son. I guess it shouldn’t surprise me they’d want to treat Hailey like a granddaughter. We barely have the chance to say hello when the doorbell rings again. When I open the door, Hailey jumps in my arms.

  “My Daddy!” she cries out and my heart is now a puddle on the floor.

  “My Hailey Mae!” I say back to her and she giggles. “Come on in,” I tell Misty who is still hovering at the door. Daniel introduces Misty to his parents and then I introduce them to my little girl.

  “Hailey, this is Grandpa Rick and Grandma Bev.” She smiles at them but she’s being a little more reserved today. When Kate comes back in from changing Lucas, though, she drops the shy act real quick.

  “Auntie Kate! Frozen?”

  Kate laughs and pulls it off the shelf. “Look what I bought special for when Hailey comes to visit.”

  She jumps up and down. “Mommy, Daddy, look it! Frozen!”

  “Come here, Hailey.” I squat down next to the dollhouse and open it up. There are some big chunky dolls inside and some furniture, too.

  “Ooohhh!” she exclaims in awe.

  “Grandma Bev and Grandpa Rick bought this just for you. Can you tell them thank you?”

  “Thank you,” she says sweetly and then turns back to the toys.

  Misty looks uncomfortable and I’m ready to get this over with. We say our goodbyes and get into my truck. “Do you mind if we go to my house?”

  I really didn’t know where we would go so her house is as good as anyplace. “No not at all,” I reply, but the rest of the drive there is completely silent.

  When we enter the house, I realize it’s the first time I’ve ever been inside. It’s small but cute. It must be hard for her to be here; her grandma was a mom to her.

  “How are you doing?” I’m not a complete dick; I’m worried about her.

  “I’m okay. It’s hard but we knew it was coming and had time to plan, but it still hurts,” she says tearfully.

  She slides a box over to my feet. “This is for you to look at. You can borrow it and take it home, make copies, whatever you want.”

  “What is all of this?” I think I know but I want to hear her say it.

  “It’s every documented memory I have from the time I found out I was pregnant until now. Pictures, videos, ultrasounds, it’s all in there.”

  “Misty, why didn’t you ever tell me you were pregnant?” My voice is pained; this is killing me.

  She takes a deep breath and wrings her hands together. “I called you for two weeks and you never once returned a call or even a text. I realized I’d been played and it hurt so badly because I was already in love with you by then. So my grandma told me to move on, that I deserved someone better who would not only return my phone calls but love me back. And I agreed with her because it was the truth.”

  “Makes sense so far.” Because, really, what else am I going to say? It does… I was an ass. Still am, depending on who you ask.

  “When I found out I was pregnant, I flipped. I knew there was no way I could be a good mom, especially since I had to work and go to school, too. But my grandma did it. She was a single mom at a young age and then when my mom got knocked up and took off. She raised me, too. She told me she was in this with me for the long haul as long as I never went looking for you. She said you had to come and find me and it would prove you loved me.”

  Okay, that is not what I was expecting. “Misty, I came back months ago, though.”

  Her hands are now squeezing the couch cushions to death. “I know, but my grandma was so sick and I knew she didn’t have much time left. I thought if I told her she would be angry and there would be nothing she could do about it and it would just make her condition worse.”

  She paus
es and takes a deep breath. “The night she died, I told her and she was happy, Mike. She said she could go home to God because you were here to take care of us now. She died peacefully a few hours later.” She’s crying hysterically now. “I didn’t have the heart to tell her that it wasn’t true. That you were so mad at me you were probably going to take my little girl away from me.”

  “Oh God. I’m so sorry, excuse me,” she sobs and flees from the room, leaving me to wonder how the tables just completely turned on me in a way that I just want to comfort her and make things okay.

  After a few minutes pass and she still isn’t back, I go looking for her. There are only three doors down this hall and the first one is the bathroom. Following the sounds of her sobs, I end up in the back bedroom. She shares this room with Hailey. It’s nice and neat but it’s really small. Misty is lying on her bed, facing the wall and sobbing.

  “Misty, it’s okay,” I tell her, rubbing her back. “As much as I hate to say it, I get it now. I forgive you, if you can forgive me, too.”

  She doesn’t say anything for a long time but eventually her sobs slow down and she quits hiccupping. “I forgave you the second I had Hailey. She is everything right in my world and I wouldn’t have had her had it not been for you.”

  “We have to have a serious talk.” She sits up and nods her head. “I’ve missed too much. I’ve missed two years of memories and milestones I can never get back. I understand why, and I can admit my faults and even admit it probably worked out better this way. If you had come to me then, I would have never tried to connect with Kate again. I wouldn’t know about Lila Hope, and I would still be moping around, pining for her, but I would have blamed you for causing the rift.”

  “Damn,” she whispers.

  “Yeah, damn. Thank my friends for that epiphany. They pulled my head out of my ass the night Kate was with you at the hospital.”

  “Regardless, I’ve missed a lot and I’m not going to miss any more. So I want Hailey to live with me…” Her eyes fill with tears. “…and you, Misty, I want you both to move in with me.”