Avery stood against the wet wall, pants around his ankles trapped by the work boots he didn’t have time to remove in their urgent moment. He reached behind Emily’s back, unclasping her bra and letting it fall to the floor with the rest of her clothing. He backed away from the wall, pulling Emily into his arms and pressing her against the wet surface.
His strong hand cupped her milky soft breast while taking it into his mouth. Emily’s body shook under his touch and she let out a long moan. She brought her lips to his neck, gently sucking before whispering into his shoulder, “I need you inside me. Now, Avery.”
In one swift movement, he lifted her up, pressing her against the wall as her legs wrapped around his waist. His mouth found hers once again, urgently kissing her, before sinking deep into her center, both groaning in pleasure as Avery took her up against the wall.
Their bodies crashed against each other in a rush of passion, oblivious to anything but the ecstasy they were feeling. With one last roll of her nipple between Avery’s fingers, she fell apart under his touch. “Oh, God! Oh! Avery!” she called out in between moans.
He thrust deep one last time before his own release flooded her sweet pussy. The room filled with their heavy breathing as Avery helped Emily to her feet again.
Just as she rounded the corner into the master bathroom, the bedroom door swung open, Tom and Becca stopping dead in their tracks when they found Avery mostly naked with his boxers still around his ankles.
“Oh, shit,” Tom said before turning to run back down the stairs. Becca was still slack-jawed, staring at Avery’s package as Emily popped her head out of the bathroom to see what the commotion was about.
“Excuse you!” she snapped while Becca walked away, still shocked.
“Damn, it’s going to be a bitch to get this paint out of my hair.” Emily laughed while she looked in the mirror at the damage. “Should I re-paint that wall? Or should we leave it as a memory?”
“Leave it. I want to think about fucking you up against the wall every time I walk into this room,” Avery replied, as chills spread across Emily’s naked body.
***
“Extra meat for Emily,” Avery said, sliding a paper plate with two slices of her favorite pizza across the dining room table. With a smile on her face she accepted the plate, before Becca interjected.
“I bet you love that extra meat.” She eyed Emily before turning to look at Avery, still embarrassed from earlier in the evening. Tom spit his soda straight across the table, narrowly missing Gran.
Emily shot her the evil eye. “Oh, don’t even go there, Becca. Don’t even.” She pointed her crust at Becca like it was a knife. The boys sat back watching the girls, as Gran just rolled her eyes, enjoying her first slice of pizza in a decade.
“Since we got so much done tonight, why don’t we go out for a couple drinks? We haven’t been to Nog in a while?” Tom asked the table.
It was true, since Emily and Avery started dating, at the end of his shifts, he was running to spend time with her, not grab drinks with his boys.
“You can pick up that obnoxious cat of yours, too, now that you’re getting settled,” Becca added. Emily had to admit she missed Flip. Seeing the blood all over her apartment had sent her into a panic until she remembered her little furry sidekick was with her non-furry one.
“I guess, I mean...you’ll be okay by yourself, right, Gran?” Avery asked her from across the sprawling white dining room table.
She looked back at him annoyed. “I’ll be fine. I haven’t lived to be seventy-two with someone watchin’ over my every breath.” She shooed him with her hand. He picked up his slice of pizza, taking another bite before leaning back in his chair and patting his belly, clearly signaling he was finished.
A short time later, the two couples pulled up at the small Daytona Beach hole-in-the-wall bar. Avery helped Emily down out of his truck, placing a chaste kiss on her lips and heading for the front door. It filled Avery with pride to finally be walking into someplace where he was a regular and really knew everyone with his girl on his arm. He rarely took women with him anywhere, but lately he couldn’t think of anything he wanted to do without her by his side.
“MARTIN, YOU ASS! Where the hell have you been?” A voice boomed from across the building as they approached the bar. A short, balding man walked up next to them, greeting him with a strong handshake and a huge smile.
“It’s been a while, where ya been hidin’?” the stocky man asked, pulling a pint glass down, filling it to the brim with Guinness and sliding it to Avery.
“Working, had to spend some time up in Georgia, met this beautiful woman, and moved.” He let out a laugh while pulling Emily closer to him, slipping his arm around her waist in a public sign of ownership. “Yeah, I’ve been fuckin’ crazy busy,” Avery continued. “Skip, meet Emily Taylor, the love of my life. Emily, this is Skip, the best bar-keep in all of Daytona Beach.” The man nodded his head and gave her a wink before asking what she fancied.
“I’ll just have a Woodchuck,” she answered while looking around, taking in the Irish themed décor in the small bar.
“Bottle all right?” Skip questioned, bringing her back to reality.
“That would be fine.” Emily took the beer from him, taking a quick swig. The hard cider tasted heavenly against her warm lips. She swished it around her mouth before swallowing, taking in the full apple-like flavor. Man, I missed these.
As the group navigated through the small crowd, heading for a vacant table large enough for the foursome, a woman’s voice came from behind the crowd. “Avery Martin? Is that you?” Her voice was shrill with excitement and Emily immediately tensed against his side. He gave her a squeeze, maybe meant to reassure her, as they turned to see who was coming up behind them. A woman stood there in next to nothing, her small black dress barely covered her flat ass, and her too-big-boobs spilled out over the seam of the V neck top. She was almost a full foot taller than Emily. Her dark hair and even darker eyes looked familiar from somewhere, but Emily couldn’t place her.
Avery didn’t look pleased to see her. He plastered on a fake smile as he greeted her.
“Hi, Quinn, how have you been?” He gave her a nod, never taking his arm off of Emily, who Quinn was now staring holes straight through.
“Oh, just been busy at the hospital. Tons of overtime lately.”
Emily instantly placed her; she was a nurse from the hospital, one who had taken care of her at the Halifax Medical Center. Awkward!
“I’m sorry, I’m being rude,” Avery said, turning toward Emily. “Quinn, this is Emily Taylor, my girlfriend. Emily, this is Quinn Daniels. We work together on occasion.” When the words left his lips, Quinn looked as though she had just been slapped.
“Oh, Avery! You don’t have to be that formal! We dated for a bit. But it is nice to see you again, Emily,” Quinn said, placing her hand on Avery’s shoulder. Her ugly manicured claws made Emily cringe. What the hell had Avery seen in her? Jealousy twinged through her while they continued to plaster fake smiles on and exchange pleasant words, even though Emily wanted to smack her around for no damn reason.
“Nice to see you again as well, Quinn. If you will excuse me, I need to use the ladies’ room.” Emily started walking away, grabbing Becca’s arm on her way to the huge sign on the back wall marked restrooms. Avery glanced at the retreating women with a look of horror on his face.
“Oh, how I love ex-girlfriends!” Emily sang as they rounded the corner into the small, two-stall bathroom. Throwing her purse onto the sink, she stared into the mirror. She was nothing like Quinn. Quinn was tall, Emily was short, petite even. Quinn had huge boobs. Guys love big boobs! Emily had a pretty average chest, nothing like Pam Anderson back there. She stared at herself, continuing to make comparisons, showing her insecurity to her best friend. Long brown hair for the competition, short blonde hair for the girlfriend. Dark brown eyes for Miss Legs, and ice blue for Emily. The two women couldn’t be more opposite if they tried.
�
��Don’t let her get to you. Come on, that’s exactly what the bitch wanted,” Becca started. “You could tell she was jealous of you and how Avery is all over you.” She reapplied her lipstick, puckering her lips together before pointing her lipstick directly at Emily. “You have what she wants, and all she wanted to do was try to make you jealous. Don’t let that ugly bitch win.”
Emily gave her best friend a hug. She was right. Somehow Becca always knew exactly what to say to her. Being best friends for two decades would do that. They linked their arms and exited the bathroom, ready to tango if Miss Thing had anything else to say for the night. Emily heard the tail end of the conversation which quickly came to an end when Quinn noticed them.
“I thought you didn’t have any time for a relationship, Avery? Why would you lie to me?” Her tone wasn’t hurt, though. It was more like pissed. Avery clearly looked uncomfortable until he saw Emily. She wrapped her arm around his hip, placing a kiss on his cheek. If she wants to play games, bring it on. I got more games than Milton Bradley, bitch!
Avery leaned in for a kiss and Emily eagerly obliged. Tom quickly wrapped himself around Becca, only a few feet away. You could slice the tension in the room with a knife as the two women flashed fake smiles back and forth, poor Avery in the middle. Tom quickly realized what was taking place.
“Why don’t we go grab that table for a few before we head out? I gotta be in before six.”
The couples took his suggestion as gospel and started to move. Before leaving Quinn’s company, Avery and Emily wished her well, gushing over how nice it has been to see her again. Not.
“What the hell was that about?” Tom asked when they were safely tucked into the table, out of an ear shot of Quinn.
Avery had sweat beading on his brow, and was obviously uncomfortable, a place where he unfortunately felt at home. “She’s crazy. We went out like three times. Just dates. Nothing else, ever. I never even brought her to my damn house!” He ran his hands through his blond hair before continuing, “She was one of those crazy-blow-up-your-phone types, so I just started ignoring her. She didn’t get the hint until a couple of weeks before I met Emily.”
Tom gaped at him in shock. “I didn’t think you guys had seen each other since the winter?” He questioned him, lifting his bottle of Bud Light and taking a swig.
“That’s the fucked up part! We haven’t, and she didn’t get the hint. It’s been months, dude!” Their exchange continued as if Emily and Becca weren’t watching the back and forth like a tennis match. It shed some light on the subject, though, and made Emily feel much more secure in her relationship. Although with one psycho creeping around already, she didn’t want to add a crazy ex-girlfriend to the mix.
“I’m tired,” Emily said, followed by a long yawn. “Why don’t we cut out so I can pick up Flip tonight?” She missed her tabby furball. It has been too long since he snuggled up in bed with her, taking up all of her leg room in the giant bed. Speaking of beds, thankfully Tom and Avery had put hers together back at the house, or they would be sleeping on the floor tonight. Earlier in the evening, the biggest priority had been making sure Gran was all settled in. As much as she’s complained about leaving Georgia, she seemed to be settling in without issue in Florida.
“Yeah, I second that.” Tom yawned. “I’m just gonna stay at your place tonight, okay B?” Tom asked Becca with a kiss. They were far more cozy than just hooking up. Becca never let guys actually spend the night.
“Let’s blow this popsicle stand,” Emily said as she stood up and they all followed suit.
***
“How’s Mommy’s fuzzy boy? Oh yea, scratchy scratchy, he likes that. Oh, right above the tail. Mommy missed you, Flip,” Emily cooed to her cat, completely ignoring Avery as they lay in bed. The orange tabby strutted back and forth in front of Avery, marking his territory before hopping off the bed and barreling down the stairs.
“I hope he doesn’t scare the shit out of Gran.” Avery laughed with the image of Flip trying to snuggle up in bed with her and freaking her out. If they heard any screams in the middle of the night, he would for sure be the culprit.
“When do you go back to work this week?” Emily questioned Avery. His unpredictable schedule always confused her. She was thinking about buying a dry erase board for the fridge in the kitchen, and another for her office just to keep track of when he would be gone. She was skittish of being alone, especially with Jared on the prowl. He’d left her years earlier. None of this made sense to her.
“I go back in two days for my first forty-eight hour shift. Tom is only sharing twenty-four of that on duty, so the other day he’s going to come here and stay in the guest bedroom. Just until the security system is in place.” He pulled her close and kissed her forehead. “What are our plans for the next two days, love?”
“Tomorrow I have a business meeting at noon with my lawyer. He’s going to be filing some paperwork for me. I wanted to go back to Home Depot and get a couple more cans of paint, do some unpacking, and find a desk for my office.” She looked so happy talking about all she had planned. “Oh, and there’s some patio furniture in the garage. I want to pull it out so I can sand it and paint it for the back deck. I think Gran would like to spend some more time out there.”
“The fresh air will do her good. Back home all she did was sit out on the front porch,” Avery agreed with her. “Sounds like you have a lot of stuff to get done in two days.” He chuckled and pulled her close.
“Go to sleep, Avery.” She laughed, pulling his face to hers to share a goodnight kiss before rolling over. He joined her, spooning her in his arms and pulling her as close as he could against his body.
“Dream of me, and that hot wall sex we had earlier,” he whispered into her ear before closing his eyes.
“You dirty, dirty boy,” she whispered back to him, turning the lamp off, closing her own eyes and snuggling back against his body.
***
Avery’s short two days off from work had flown by. The entire house was painted, Emily had started working on the patio set and was still searching high and low for a desk, but the bulk of the house was finished. The hard part was out of the way and the easy decorating would flow, it was always the easiest part of the project for Emily.
An appointment had been made for a new security system to be installed in three days, at the start of Avery’s seventy-two off from work. Tonight, Gran and Emily would host Amelia and Ben for dinner. Her sister had been upset to hear Emily was choosing to move back into their late parents’ home. The animosity over the property had always been there, but it was thicker than ever now. The realization that Emily would make the house her home, instead of selling it or, letting her sister and her douche-bag husband move in was causing a sibling war.
As Gran helped prepare the casserole for dinner, Emily tried to prepare her for what she would get from Amelia and Ben. “She’s all about appearances, and Ben, well he’s just a flat-out uppity asshole. Just wanted to give you a real heads up, Gran.”
The older woman waved her off, dismissing her forewarning of the couple. She carried the dish across the kitchen and placed it into the refrigerator until it was time to pop it into the oven. “If she’s related to you, Suga’, she can’t be that bad.” Gran gushed. In their time together, they had become close. Gran reminded Emily a lot of her own granny who’d passed when she was a young teen. They were both old-fashioned southern women who were sticklers for tradition. But her own granny would have rolled over in her grave if she knew her baby Emmy was shacked up with a man before he had put an expensive set of wedding jewelry on her ring finger. As she took the trip down memory lane, thinking of her granny, she became melancholy. Out of all the people she’d lost in her short life, her gran was one she missed frequently. Of course, she longed to have her parents back, but Granny was just different.
Flip started scratching at the tall glass patio doors. The white French style doors opened up onto the worn deck. Since the move, the cat had taken to strutting on the
deck railing as a hobby. He wouldn’t go far, so Emily didn’t worry about the Atlantic swallowing him like Moby Dick.
She opened the door and he flew out with glee.
“Ya know, Em, that cat damn near scared me into my grave the other night.” Just as Emily had predicted, Flip had found the newest warm body in the house and shacked up with her. In Flip’s eyes, she was a traitor for inviting Avery into the bed they once shared. If there was one thing that damn cat could do, it was hold a grudge.
Emily’s phone started ringing and she jumped. The smallest things still make her jump with fright. Stupid phone.
A few moments later she had her very first client thanks to her grandpa. Although she would be doing the job pro bono, she was still excited that her business would slowly start coming together. Between the grandson of her grandfather’s business partner, Becca and a couple of other friends, she would be doing three more rooms over the next two months. She penciled Mr. Johnson in for the following Thursday afternoon, a week from today. That gave her only a short time to finish up her second floor office. She mulled over her schedule. Tomorrow she would have the day to look for a desk, then Saturday, Sunday, and Monday Avery would be off from work. Wednesday she had a follow up appointment at the hospital with her general practitioner and an afternoon follow up with her neurologist. They both wanted to keep a close eye on her progress since her head injury. She was remembering more. The amnesia had almost fully subsided, thank goodness. Most things that had to do with Dr. Hart still remained fuzzy and unclear.
After a couple rounds with Google MD, Emily learned negative memories were less likely to be regained after head trauma similar to what she had suffered. She didn’t really care to remember Jared as long as he would leave her the fuck alone from here on out.
Crashed Page 14
