Breaking Down Sydney (Sydney West #2)

by Brittney Coon

  My jaw dropped. To distract myself, I took a sip of coffee. “So, it’s on me?”

  He watched me while breaking a piece of bacon in two. “Your call, Syd.”

  I licked my lips. I did like to be adventurous. What would it hurt? It wasn’t like we’d be breaking any laws.

  “I’m game.” I tossed my napkin on the table. “You pay and meet me in the men’s bathroom.”

  I flicked my hair over my shoulder as I made my way to the restroom. Jason stared at me, awestruck. I loved surprising him.

  There was no one in the bathroom. I went into the last stall and sat my purse on the bar that ran along the wall for the handicapped. I fixed my hair and applied some lipstick while I waited.

  The door opened. I held my breath. It wasn’t Jason. I heard the guy pee and then leave.

  My stomach was in knots. Where is he?

  Someone else came in. He knocked on the door and whispered, “Sydney?”

  I opened the stall and pulled him inside. “What took you so long?” I hissed, locking the door.

  “Sorry, long line.” He held his hands up in surrender.

  I nodded, unzipped my jeans, and peeled them off with my thong. Jason undid his jeans and let them fall to his ankles, followed by his boxers. I folded the jeans before setting them and my thong on my purse.

  Jason fumbled with the foil packet, trying to open it. I ran my hand up and down his shaft and cupped his balls, fingering them like a pair of fleshy dice.

  His knees buckled and he inhaled sharply. “Damn it, Syd. You have magic fingers.”

  A smile took my lips as I knelt down to take his hard member into my mouth. My tongue licked his tip. It was cocked and ready to unload. I was about to take more of him when Jason grabbed my upper arms, pulling me up. His silver eyes were almost black with need.

  “I was going—”

  He kissed the corner of my mouth and said, “I don’t want to come inside your mouth, not today.”

  I lightly pulled on his lip ring with my teeth. He freed the condom and slid it on. I let his ring go and locked my lips on his. Our kiss deepened—tongues tangling and hands sliding all over.

  “I enjoy coming inside you,” he said into my hair, sending goose bumps down my spine.

  He picked me up and I wrapped my legs around him, leaning back against the tile wall. Jason bumped my entrance, moving his hands from my hips to my ass to keep me in a good position. I buried my hands in his hair as he plummeted into me.

  Each thrust made me feel higher, like a tick of a rollercoaster to its peak. I screamed his name over and over.

  The door opened and we sucked in our breath. A man peed and then left. We laughed nervously. I moved my lips along his jawbone. “You smell like red velvet. I love it.”

  He chuckled. “You smell like bacon.”

  I opened my mouth to comment back when he thrust himself into me deeper than before. My head flew back, hitting the tile. “Fuck me harder!” Jason did just that, making my walls pulse all around him.

  Jason felt right, like there had been a missing puzzle piece all my life and I was trying to hide it for so long. Then he came and filled the void in me, making me whole. The world didn’t seem as dark anymore.

  “Syd,” he breathed.

  “Mmm?” My body turned to liquid. Soon I’d be a warm pool of goo.

  He looked into my eyes and said, “You’re the only one I want,” and then he came undone as he filled the condom.

  “Baby, I love you,” I replied, closing my eyes and enjoying the waves of my own orgasm.

  Jason pulled out and stumbled back, trying to gain control of himself again. I couldn’t move. The world spun and my legs were useless. I leaned back on the wall to keep me from falling. He tossed the condom and pulled his boxers and jeans up before throwing me a cocky grin. As I inched my way to my own clothes, Jason slapped my ass, making a loud smacking noise.

  “What the fuck?” I said, giving him the evil eye as I stepped into my thong.

  “Couldn’t resist. I love your ass, baby.”

  I shook my head. “Ugh,” I replied, but my smile betrayed that I wasn’t actually annoyed.

  It was never pleasant to walk after having amazing sex. The evidence of what we’d done could be seen all over our bodies, from the top of my head with my messy dirty blonde hair and smudged red lipstick down to my wrinkled shirt. Worse, the ability to walk straight was impossible. Jason’s troubles were a wrinkled shirt, a bulge in his jeans, and the fact that he looked way too happy with me.

  As we walked through the restaurant holding hands, there were a few glances thrown our way. A woman in her Sunday best dress gave me a look of disgust, like I was a dirty sinner. A man in his mid-thirties winked at us. He approved. A waiter only shook his head at us before taking someone their drinks. Others were in wonderment. We pressed on, moving toward the door, not muttering a single word.

  As we got into his Jeep and drove away, I thought about how I had fallen deeply, perhaps even madly, in love with Jason. He didn’t give up on me in California. I smiled at our unbelievable memories: when we first kissed, stealing Scooby-Doo at the state fair, going to Emilie Autumn’s concert. I remembered Jason following me to Arizona, meeting my mom, being there for the death of my father, singing Emilie Autumn’s song in a room full of people, and saving my life. I closed my eyes, seeing that tree up north again with our initials carved into it. He was the man I thought was a myth, and by the grace of God he was not only my boyfriend, but also a fantastic lover and a wonderful friend.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Though life tried to bring me down with a death in the family and a shooting at school, my head was still in the clouds. I had my health, my best friend, a wonderful mom, and Jason. The hardships were going to be a substantial teaching tool when I opened my therapy office after I graduated.

  The next month passed away swimmingly. Jason and I ate lunch together every day and slept in my dorm room. Hunter and Amelia stayed at the apartment, but invited us over a lot. We watched movies and played card games. Amelia’s trash talk became second nature to us all. My classes and job were treating me right. I had nothing to complain about. The campus was no longer on lockdown, and the world was looking up. We were happy. Jason even spent Thanksgiving at my mom’s house. Everything in life seemed to be perfect, enough so that I wondered when the other shoe would drop. Nothing was happily ever after.

  Finals were a week away. My job gave me less hours so I could have more time to study. It was an endless cycle. All that kept me going was coffee, talking with Amelia, and late nights with Jason.

  “I’m tired of studying! I swear if I vomit it would have these terms embedded in it,” I said, throwing my notebook across the room.

  Jason jokingly pushed my shoulder. “That’s disgusting, Syd.”

  We were lying on our stomachs on the floor. There were books scattered everywhere and a mess of pages with scribbled handwriting laid on my bed.

  “We’ve only been doing this for two hours.” Jason kissed the top of my head, trying to soothe me.

  I huffed. “That may be true, but we’ve been studying for days.”

  “Wanna take a break? We could rent a boat on the lake or walk around the park to clear the mind. Maybe go see a concert at the casino.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

  Even though he was joking, I wanted to take him up on his offer. Anything to be free from statics, brain maps, math, and the rest of the shit I needed to know.

  A whine came from deep within me. “Finals are torture. I remember that picture on Facespace explaining what each letter stood for.”

  Jason’s eyebrows furrowed. “I never saw that.”

  “No? It’s supposed to mean ‘Fuck I never actually learned shit.’” I giggled.

  He chuckled. “Clever.”

  “I thought it was hilarious.”

  “You did learn something, didn’t you?” Jason studied me with those intense eyes of his.

  I forced a smile. “Of cour
se I learned stuff. I’m just not good under pressure. I’ll have everything in my head, then the test is laid in front of me and I blank.”

  “Fear, that’s normal. I’m sure you’ll do fine.” He bumped his shoulder against mine. “Wanna trade? You can take my tests on coding for computers and how—”

  “No,” I said, sticking my tongue out. “Computers hate me.” My eyes burned. I rubbed them, rolling over onto my back. “I need to pass these classes. There is no way I’m retaking them. I don’t have that kind of time or money.”

  Jason took my hand and enlaced his fingers with mine. “You’re going to pass, think positive. Then we’re going to celebrate over winter break.”

  “What do you have in mind?” I loved seeing our hands together. It was like they were molded for that one purpose.

  He kissed the pad of my thumb. “My mom and sister are going to visit.”

  “They are?” An invisible hand was clenching my insides. All I wanted was to fuck Jason, and talking about his family coming in for a visit sent a swirl of emotion through me.

  Will his mom and sister like me? What if we don’t get along? Jason might leave me if his family doesn’t approve. Then opening my heart up would’ve been for nothing, and God knows what will happen to me.

  “Yeah, they missed me during Thanksgiving so they’re driving here for Christmas. Maybe they could come over to your mom’s and we could have a huge get-together,” he said, turning a page of his textbook. “Maybe we could drive up north and spend some time in the snow or go to Butterflyland. It’s not that far away.”

  I swallowed the ball of fear in my throat. Not only did he want me to meet his family, but he wanted them to meet my mom? He wanted us to go out and do stuff? It felt too real. Our relationship was deep, almost getting married kind of deep.

  “Butterflyland sounds cool. My mom would love it. Driving up to the snow would be a good weekend trip, I guess.” I sat up to stare at a map of the brain so he couldn’t see the fear in my eyes. “Snow is fun for a little while, but I’m not a fan of being numb.” I frowned at the idea of being surrounded by freezing, white slush. It always gave me a cold if I was around it any longer than a few days.

  “Butterflyland it is then.” He kissed my palm. His eyes were hypnotizing. “You do seem to get cold easily. Your hands and feet are always like ice.”

  I gave him a shy smile. “Can’t help that. The doctor said I suffer from poor circulation.”

  “Body heat will help.” Jason climbed on top of me, kissing his way down my neck.

  I giggled. “I thought we were studying.”

  “We are. Human biology. That’s important, don’t you think?” His hands were on my hips as he moved up to take my shirt off.

  “Oh yeah.” I arched my back, lifting my pelvis to meet Jason’s groin. Jason slipped my shirt past my head and tossed it aside. He traced my spine up to the clasp of my bra. He moaned as I lifted my pelvis again, grinding it against him.

  Jason picked me up and placed me on the bed. After shedding all our clothes, Jason slid on a condom. He entered me with force, making me grab onto the sheets and dig holes into the bed. I closed my eyes as my walls pulsed around Jason. He always knew how to cheer me up.

  Chapter Thirty

  It was official, the semester was over. Finals were finished! I passed them all. Winter break was going to be the best yet. Amelia, Hunter, Jason and I were going to spend Christmas with my mom. Plus, Jason’s mom and sister were driving over for a week. Butterflies attacked my gut when I thought about Jason’s family meeting me, but I was also excited. Part of me always wondered where Jason came from. He once asked me to meet his family while we were in California and I lashed out at him. Now I was preparing to meet them at my mom’s house. How times had changed.

  We drove to my childhood home in two vehicles. I parked my Charger on the side of the road and Hunter parked Jason’s Jeep across the street. In the front yard were all the Christmas items my mom got out every year. There were two deer on either side, a river made from blue lights, Santa’s sleigh a few feet behind the deer, a blow-up Snoopy with a Santa hat on by the front door, and multi-colored lights hung on the house. I swallowed my anxiety as we walked toward the front door. My mom was what I called a Christmas hoarder. Entering her house around the holidays was always chaos. It was the reason I’d never want a Christmas tree in my own home for a long time. I was tired of this holiday.

  The living room had a seven-foot-tall tree with ornaments and tinsel. On the top was a fiber optic angel. Holiday-themed stuffed animals and pillows littered the furniture. Thanks to one of my mom’s friends, even the pictures on the walls were wrapped like presents, all except the Wall of Sydney.

  Christmas had thrown up in the kitchen. It was a snowman theme. Anything and everything had snowmen: the plates, the spatulas, and even the damn clock. All rooms were victim to her obsession. It was quite embarrassing. The neighbor boys helped her put up the lights and the animated animals in the front yard. Jason thought it was cute. I hoped he was lying to make me feel better. If he was secretly a Christmas hoarder too, we were so over.

  “I love your pictures,” Amelia gushed, looking at the wrapping paper over the pictures in the living room. “So simple, yet makes the room come together.”

  My mom smiled as she handed out tea. “Thank you, Amelia. Glad someone has good taste.” Mom shot me a look before going back into the kitchen.

  Hunter twirled Amelia. She giggled and kissed him. They sat on the couch together, drinking tea. He laid his arm over her shoulders. She rested her head on his chest. They were…cute.

  Jason nudged me and motioned toward the Wall of Sydney. “I love that she didn’t touch these. That’s my favorite.” He pointed to the end picture of me in a velvet red dress holding Barney.

  I laughed. “I was two and my mom said I wouldn’t stop crying for Barney, so the photographer finally gave him to me.”

  He twirled a piece of blonde hair around his fingers. “You’ve always known how to get what you want,” he murmured, kissing my lips.

  I grabbed handfuls of his soft hair, pulling him in deeper.

  “You kids are addicted to each other,” Mom joked, coming back in with a plate of Christmas cookies.

  We broke away from one another. I leaned forward and whispered, “Baby, an only child knows how to get whatever she needs.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Jason kissed my cheek and took off for the front door. “They’re here!” he shouted, going outside.

  I ran my hands over my shirt for the hundredth time. My stomach twisted itself into a ball and my heart thundered in my ears.

  Amelia touched my arm. “Hey, Syd. Didn’t you hear me?”

  “No, what did you say?” I licked my lips. My body shook as I watched Jason hug his mother and sister through the window. They smiled and talked. They all turned to greet Hunter, who came outside. I never saw him leave the living room.

  “You’re shaking like a leaf.” She gave me a sideways hug and pushed me toward the door. “You got this, Syd. Go meet his family.”

  My mom threw me a smile, nodding at the door. I took a breath and forced myself out the door. Never in my life did I think I’d have a boyfriend, let alone be serious enough to meet his family. It took all my strength to walk to the black Cadillac Escalade and curl my lips into a friendly smile.

  Jason took my hand and pulled me in close. He planted his hands on my hips. His touch burned me, making me feel loved and trapped at the same time. “Mom, this is Sydney,” Jason said proudly.

  A woman about my height sat her purse on the hood of the Escalade and grabbed me by the shoulders. “Look at you, you’re so beautiful!”

  The wind swept her almost white blonde hair over her shoulder, making it seem alive. I stared into her kind, silver eyes. So that’s where Jason got his eyes.

  “Thank you…” I said, unsure what to call her.

  She gave me an apologetic smile. “Call me Ellie. It’s so nice to put
a face to the name. Jason talked a lot about you.” Her gaze flicked to her son. “When you went back to Arizona, he’d only talk about missing you.”

  Jason kicked a rock. “Stop it, Mom.”

  Hunter laughed, hitting Jason’s shoulder. “You were such—”

  Ellie shook her head, running a hand up and down my arm. “Hunter, you were missing your girl too. Don’t play—”

  A girl with long blonde hair with pink highlights grabbed my wrist and pulled me away from the crowd. “Once they start they never shut up. I’m Kylie.”

  “Nice to meet you. I’m—”

  “Sydney, I know. My brother has it bad for you.” She looked me up and down, as if rating me on a scale only she could see. “Hmm, you seem cooler than what Jason was saying.”

  My face screwed into confusion. “Come again?”

  Her icy blue eyes sparkled with humor. “The way he described you was like you were some kind of supernatural being, not human like the rest of us.”

  “Oh,” I said, still lost.

  “Leave Syd alone, Kylie,” Jason growled, snaking his arm around my waist.

  She held up her hands. “Just seeing if she was human, J. You made her sound unreal by saying her eyes were like the ocean and her—”

  He tried to kick her leg, but she jumped back, laughing. “Stop it,” he said under his breath.

  I stole a glance at Jason and saw red in his cheeks.

  “We’re not even inside the house yet and you two are fighting. Will you two ever get along?” Ellie said, grabbing her purse and walking to the front door.

  “Children,” Hunter said, shooting Jason the bird and jogging to catch up with Ellie.

  Kylie straightened the leather belt on her green dress. “Mom has a point, J. You need to grow up.” She took my wrist and said, “Come on, Syd. I want to get to know my future sister-in-law.”

  Wait, what? Did Jason tell his family he wants to marry me? Panic rose in my chest, making me see red spots.