Cement Heart

by Beth Ehemann

  “I think Taylor’s gonna move here,” I told her.

  “That would be amazing!”

  “I know. I’m excited for the kids to have their aunt here. I think it’ll be good for them and an extra hand for me if I need it.” I walked back to the cabinet and grabbed the bag of goldfish crackers. “Sorry,”—I lifted them in the air—“I haven’t been to the store, so my snack selection is limited.”

  “Oh, please.” Kacie laughed and snatched some crackers out of the bag. “These are practically a food group at our house.”

  “So how is everyone else? Have you talked to Darla lately? Andy? Viper?” I poured some fish into a bowl and set it between us.

  “Andy’s good. Busy. Very busy. Darla is good. Things appear to be progressing nicely with the doctor.” She wiggled her eyebrows up and down.

  “Oh, really?”

  “Yep. He’s taking her to his hometown this weekend to meet the folks.”

  “Whoa.” I took a sip of coffee. “That’s kinda soon, no?”

  Kacie shrugged. “They’ve been seeing each other for like a month and a half, so not really.”

  “Wow,” I exclaimed in disbelief. “Has it really been that long already? It’s so strange, sometimes it feels like the accident was months ago, and then the next minute it seems like no time has passed at all.”

  “I know, honey. It’ll get easier.” Kacie reached over and rubbed my hand again.

  “Speaking of the accident, have you talked to Viper at all?”

  Kacie shook her head slowly and sighed. “No, actually. Brody is worried about him. He’s kinda gone off the rails.”

  “What do you mean?” I tossed a couple more crackers into my mouth.

  “I don’t know. It’s weird.” Her foot bounced up and down nervously. “They haven’t talked much at all, as far as I know. He’s almost always late for workouts, if he even shows up in the first place. Brody calls and texts… he doesn’t answer.”

  “Momma!” Matthew whined as he ran down the hall from the playroom. “Lucy and Piper are playing house and they want me to be the daddy. I don’t wanna be the daddy. I wanna be the monster who lives in the sewer.”

  I let out a hearty laugh while Kacie hollered down the hall. “Girls! Stop teasing him, please. Let him be whatever he wants.”

  “Sorry!” they both yelled back in monotone.

  Kacie looked at me and bit her bottom lip, trying not to laugh. “The monster in the sewer?”

  Still laughing, I rolled my eyes. “Clearly he’s been watching too much Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles lately. Actually, he’s been watching too much of everything lately. When I don’t feel like getting out of bed, it’s just become so easy to put the TV on for him.”

  “Oh, please.” Kacie waved me off. “Welcome to parenting. You don’t want to know how much TV the girls watch. You do what you gotta do to get through the day, right?”

  “Ain’t that the truth.” I smiled at her just as Maura started fussing in the monitor. “Oh,”—I set my coffee cup down—“I better grab her. I’ll be right back.”

  “We’ll let you get back to your day. I don’t want to take up your whole morning.”

  I stopped in the kitchen doorway and turned back to her, probably looking more pathetic than I’d meant to. “Do you have to go?”

  “Not at all. I just didn’t want to bug you.”

  “You’re not bugging me at all,” I replied, happy that she was staying. “You’re saving me.”

  Kacie smiled at me and sat back in the chair. “In that case, I’m all yours.”

  “Great!” I started up the stairs to the nursery. “I’ll get Maura, we’ll chat for a bit, and I’ll order a pizza in a while.”

  “You had me at pizza!” She giggled from the kitchen.

  “HEY!” PORTLAND SMILED and hurried over to me the minute I walked into Stumpy’s. Damn, she looked fucking hot. A little red T-shirt that dipped low in the front showed off her beautiful, full tits and tight black shorts made it hard for me to keep my hands—amongst other appendages—to myself.

  “How are you, baby girl?” I picked her up and spun her around.

  When I set her down, she looked past me. “Where’s everyone else?”

  “Just me tonight.” I held my hands up. “I came for the best burger in the state, and to see you, of course.”

  “Awww.” She grinned and batted her eyelashes at me. “Well, sit wherever you want. I’ll be out in a minute to take your order.”

  She turned and walked back to the kitchen while I made my way to the table we all normally sat at together. I knew it seemed silly to have one person at an eight-person table, but I didn’t care. It was ours and I was sitting there.

  The Twins game was playing on the TV above my head, but I was too busy watching Portland strut that hot little ass of hers around the restaurant to care. The way she walked was more entertaining than any baseball game I’d ever seen.

  She sighed as she walked up to my table and gave me a big grin. “Okay. What can I get you tonight¸ Viper?”

  “I’m gonna have an order of potato skins and a burger, medium.”

  She chewed on her juicy bottom lip as she wrote down my order. “Got it. What to drink?”

  “Just a root beer, please.”

  “You and your root beer.” Tilting her head to the side, she narrowed her eyes at me. “You get that almost every time you come here. Not a lot of people order that.”

  “I’m full of surprises.” I wiggled my eyebrows up and down at her. She rolled her eyes and started to walk away, but I called her back. “Hey!”

  She turned back and rested her elbows on the table.

  “Let me ask you something, Portland.” I leaned in close. “I get asked at least once a day for my phone number from random women. You’ve had my number for a few months now. Why haven’t you ever used it?”

  Her cheeks flushed as she shrugged and looked down at the table, nervously picking off an old sticker. “I don’t know,” she said in a low, shy voice. “I’m not sure how long I’m staying here, and getting involved with someone makes things messier, ya know?”

  “I don’t know. My life is hockey. Nothing more. Nothing less. If you ever change your mind, just remember it doesn’t have to be messy.” I smirked at her. “At least not outside of the bedroom.”

  “Oh my God!” she squealed, her face growing as red as her T-shirt as she laughed and walked away.

  For the next hour, every time Portland was at my table or near my table, I tried to convince her to come home with me. After being turned down for the tenth time, the group of women playing pool in the corner started looking better and better. The tallest of the group, a leggy brunette, kept staring at me, then looking away every time I stared back.

  She thought I was smiling at her, when in reality, I was laughing. Did girls really think that worked? The play-shy-to-try-to-get-you-to-come-over thing? Fuck that. If you want to come over and say hi, say hi.

  To my surprise, she did just that a few minutes later.

  “This is going to sound really weird,”—she giggled as she came over to my table—“but my friend and I have a bet going about you…”

  Weak. I’ve heard that one already.

  “She thinks you’re a famous hockey player, but I told her no way.” She giggled again and shook her head, her bangs swishing back and forth. “Who’s right?”

  “Not you.”

  She gasped as her mouth fell open.

  Looks big enough.

  “You are a famous hockey player!” She clapped her hands together and jumped up and down. “That’s so exciting. I’ve never met anyone famous before. What’s your name?”

  “Viper,” I answered as she dragged the chair back from the table and sat down across from me.

  “Oooh, sexy.” She licked her lips and lifted her eyebrows once at me. “I’m Jade.”

  And just like that, was a done deal.

  THREE HOURS LATER, we crashed through the front door of my hous
e, barely inside before we started ripping our clothes off. We were both naked from the waist up, bumping into this wall and that wall like bulls in a china shop, when we finally made our way to the hall. She pulled away from me and started toward my bedroom when I gently yanked her hand back.

  “No, not that one. In here.” I led her to the guest room.

  “This is your room?” She turned her nose up slightly as she looked around the room. “I figured it’d be… I don’t know… decorated better?”

  “Did you come here to bash my paint colors or fuck me?” I growled as I crashed into her, claiming her mouth and shoving my hands into her hair.

  She let out a pleasant moan as our tongues slid around each other’s mouths, sucking and teasing. Her hand slid down my stomach and into my jeans, wrapping around my hard dick. That was the kind of girl I liked—no need to romance, no need for an hour of foreplay, just straight down to business. I unbuttoned her jeans and stepped back as she wiggled out of them and hopped onto the bed. Shoving my own jeans down as fast as I could, I grabbed a condom out of the nightstand and rolled it on. I jumped into bed in one swift movement, grabbed her legs, and hooked them around my waist as I pushed my cock into her roughly. She let out a loud gasp, and part of me hoped it wasn’t too hard for her, but mostly I didn’t care. I needed a pussy to get lost in, and she was the willing recipient.

  My hands were wrapped tightly around her thighs, lifting her ass off of the bed just a little so I had better control of how hard I fucked. Her fingers grabbed my wrists and her nails dug in as she opened her mouth and closed her eyes, thoroughly enjoying it.

  I didn’t hold back.

  I couldn’t hold back.

  I closed my eyes and crashed into her over and over and over.

  “Lock your legs around me,” I said gruffly. Still not getting the leverage I wanted, I leaned forward and grabbed the top of the headboard with both arms, giving me the extra boost I needed.

  “Oh, yes!” she called out as I drove into her as hard as I could. “Oh, fuck! Yes!”

  Ten seconds later, my balls tightened and I came hard with four long grunts. I opened my eyes and looked down at Jade. Her eyes were wild and she was biting her lip, trying not to smile.

  “What?” I slid out of her and tossed the condom in the garbage before heading into the connected bathroom.

  “Nothing.” She giggled, rolling over to face the bathroom doorway. “That. It was hot. Intense.”

  Please. On a scale of one to ten, it was a six at best.

  I stood in the bathroom doorway, wiping my dick off with a towel, and stared at her. She wasn’t the most beautiful girl I’d ever been with, but she was definitely cute and she seemed pretty cool, not as ditzy as most of the others. Typically, I would have already been in my kitchen getting money out of the cookie jar, but that night I was willing to break my own rule and let her stay, assuming she wanted to.

  “You gonna stay or do you wanna go?” I asked as I pulled my pants on.

  She shrugged. “What do you want me to do?”

  I glanced down at her lying innocently on my guest bed, oblivious to the fact that I’d just used her to try and forget the last two months of my life, and something in me ached. I surprised myself when I responded, “Stay. Please.”

  MY PHONE BUZZED for the fifth time before I even considered rolling over and looking at it. I was lying in bed on my stomach with my hands under the pillow as I cracked one eye open to see my blue voice mail light blinking.

  “Who was it?” Jade yawned as I rolled my eyes.

  “I don’t know. I obviously didn’t answer it,” I said sarcastically.

  She moved in close and hooked her arm over my shoulder, annoyingly hugging me from behind. The cuddling had been a nice change last night, but in the daylight she was just another girl who’d been had in my guest bedroom. Before she could get comfortable, I lifted her hand and slid out from under it, grabbing my phone off of the nightstand on the way out to the living room. Three new voice mails. Two from Brody and one from Gam.

  Gam! Shit!

  I cringed and hit the button to listen to her voice mail.

  “Hi, Lawrence, it’s me, your old, delicate grandmother, who’s just suffered the unfortunate humiliation of being blown off by her grandson. Do you find it as ironic as I do that I am the one calling to check on you? Anyway, I’m going to go make myself some lunch now, seeing as how you’re not here and I’m starving. Maybe we can try again next week and you’ll actually show, assuming I’m still alive and kicking. Give me a call and let me know you’re okay, please. Love you.”

  Might as well check out the voice mail from Brody too.

  “Finkle, it’s me. Where are you? You missed workouts—again. Call me.”

  Deciding I didn’t give a shit about his other message, I turned my phone off and tossed it onto the coffee table. I closed my eyes and let my head fall back against the couch.

  “Penny for your thoughts…” She sat on the other side of the couch, wrapped in a bedsheet.

  First, why the hell didn’t you get dressed? Second, how the fuck am I gonna get you out of my house?

  “Nothing,” I sighed, closing my eyes again.

  “Well, here’s the deal…” I felt her move in closer. “I have to run because I have some errands and stuff to do today, but how about later I come back and we have a repeat of last night?”

  I stood up and walked to my cookie jar, suddenly wanting her as far away from me as possible. “That sounds great, but I have plans.” I walked over and handed her cab money. “Thanks, though. It was fun.”

  She stared down at the money and frowned. “What’s this for?”

  “Cab fare.”

  Narrowing her eyes, she looked at me sideways. “I followed you here. My car is out front, remember?”

  “Oh.” I tried to think back to last night but couldn’t. “My bad. Well, you can keep it anyway.”

  I could feel her anger from five feet away as she jumped off of the couch, wadded up the money in her hand, and threw it at me. “You dick! I’m not some hooker!” She stomped off to the guest room, reappeared a few seconds later in her clothes, and glared at me on her way to the front door.

  “Thanks again!” I called after her.

  She slammed the door, and that was the last of Jade.

  LIKE AN EMBARRASSED dog that just got caught pissing all over the carpet, I tucked my proverbial tail between my legs and climbed the front steps of Gam’s house, holding a bouquet of flowers.

  It took her a minute to get to the front door, and when she did, she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at me. She glanced down at the flowers I was carrying and back up at me. “There better be a flask in that bouquet.” She opened the door and let me in.

  “I really am sorry,” I said a few minutes later, propping my feet up on her coffee table.

  “Mmhmm.” She glared at me playfully out of the corner of her eye as she carried a blue vase with her new flowers in it over to her dining room table and set it in the middle. Sighing as she sat down in the chair across from me, she crossed her arms again. “You know this is the third time you’ve blown me off recently, right?”

  “Third? No way,” I defended.

  She nodded sternly. “Oh yes it is, my friend. I wrote each date down on my calendar.”

  I frowned. “Why would you do that?”

  “Just in case I needed to prove it. Do I?”

  Sighing, I threw my hands up in defeat. “Nope. I give up.” She really did have a calendar in her kitchen and she kept meticulous records. I had no doubt scribbled on three different squares was something about her asshole grandson not showing up when he was supposed to.

  “What’s going on with you?” Concern filled her voice.

  “Nothing. I’m fine. Why?”

  “Oh please.” She rolled her eyes. “I know you better than almost anyone. You’re not fine. Is it the accident?”

  Just the mention of the accident made my chest tight. I’d t
ried very hard over the last couple of months not to talk about it with anyone, but Gam wasn’t just anyone. She did know me better than anyone, so I had to give her just enough to keep her happy without really getting into it.

  “Of course it still bothers me.” My head fell back against the couch and I stared up at the ceiling. “He was my best friend. I talked to him every single day, and now he’s just… gone.”

  “Have you talked to him since the accident?”

  I lifted my head off of the couch quickly and looked at her like she was nuts. “How much whiskey have you had this morning?”

  “Shut up, you brat. I’m serious. Have you been to his grave? Have you talked to him? It might help.”

  “No. I can’t go there.” I shook my head. “I’m not ready.”

  I stood to grab my buzzing phone out of my pocket. Brody was calling.

  “Who is it?” Gam asked.

  “Brody.” I set my phone on the coffee table. “I’ll call him back. He’s probably calling to yell at me anyway. I’m not in the mood.”

  “Why would he yell at you?”

  My text message alert sounded, and I sighed as I picked my phone up again. “I missed another workout.”

  Sure enough, a text from Brody.

  B: Coach Collins wants to talk to you. Call me ASAP.

  Shit.

  “Hang on a minute, Gam. I need to call him back real quick.” I dialed Brody’s number and stepped into Gam’s kitchen for a little privacy.

  “Where the hell are you?” Brody answered.

  “Wow. Good morning to you too.” I laughed.

  “Where. Are. You?” he repeated.

  “At my grandma’s. Why?”

  “Collins wants you to come in. Today. He’s going to call you, but I figured I’d give you a heads-up first.” Brody sighed into the phone. “He’s pissed, Viper. He had a closed-door meeting with Fletcher and Leipold today.”