The Anchor

by B. N. Toler

  At the airport, we hug good-bye and Parker kisses me before getting on his knees and kissing my belly. People around us smile and point and my face heats with embarrassment. But I don’t stop him as he says good-bye to my abdomen, even though I think it’s kind of ridiculous.

  When he stands again, he kisses me, hard, picks up his carry-on, and walks away.

  It’s been two weeks since I left Nikki in Holly Springs. I haven’t even had a chance to look for a job in the area because work has been so fucking crazy. My absence didn’t go over well and I’ve been brownnosing since I got back. The night I got back I found an email from Paul reminding me that the New York State Bar was coming up the last Tuesday and Wednesday in February. It’s months away, but the application deadline is in a few weeks. But it doesn’t matter. I’ll be moving to North Carolina . . . hopefully soon, and I’d already passed the state bar there. I’d replied to his email, letting him know I needed to speak with him about something important. I got an automated reply saying he was unavailable for the next several days. I still haven’t heard back from him.

  I’ve been working late hours and have barely had a minute to breathe, but Nikki and I manage to text most days and talk on the phone at least once a day. This isn’t ideal when I’m trying to woo her into a relationship with me.

  I can tell it’s beginning to wear on her. Her text this past Wednesday pretty much spelled out she was feeling forgotten.

  You can’t come back this weekend either?

  I’m sorry, beautiful. I’m swamped.

  There was a long pause and I imagined her sitting there, staring at her phone, thinking about how right she was that this wouldn’t work out.

  Finally, I couldn’t take the wait anymore so I text her again.

  I miss you. I miss those gorgeous eyes of yours, your dirty little mouth, and I miss how relaxed you make me feel. I’ve barely slept since I got back.

  Nothing for five minutes, and then:

  I miss you, too. We miss you.

  I closed my eyes and sighed. This situation sucked. I need to be with her, but I’m stuck. I text her back to get a good night’s sleep and then I got online and started looking for jobs near Holly Springs.

  I finally make it back to North Carolina and somehow manage a three-day weekend. I took a red-eye and land in Raleigh-Durham International Airport a little after two in the morning. John agreed to pick me up. I didn’t want Nikki driving so far so late. She’s just now wrapping up her first trimester, but she’s still exhausted.

  My eyes are dry as I ride the escalator down, dreaming about the cup of coffee I’m going to make John stop and get me. But coffee is soon forgotten as I catch sight of Nikki waiting for me at the bottom, holding a sign that says, ‘Baby Daddy.’

  The grin that takes over my face is almost painful. Her long, blond hair is down, billowing over her shoulders and she’s wearing this fitted trench coat with black hose and heels. Why is she so dressed up?

  When I hit the main floor, I drop my carry-on and sprint to her, picking her up and hugging her tight. She laughs and squeals as I twirl her before setting her on her feet and threading my fingers in her hair, pulling it so her head tilts back and her eyes focus squarely on mine.

  “I told you not to drive. You should be sleeping.”

  She smiles up at me, almost dreamily. “I couldn’t wait one more minute to see you.” I swallow hard, the happiness her words bring me feel almost choking.

  “Damn, you’re beautiful,” I growl before kissing her, hard. Her arms tighten around my neck as her searing kiss presses back, challenging me. She wants me just as badly as I want her. Finally, she pulls away and with a breathless sigh, says, “Car. Now.”

  We speed walk to the car, holding hands, giving each other knowing looks as we move. My fatigue has vanished as desire and excitement pumps through me. This woman revives me and calms me all at once. We make it to the car and stop in front of a large SUV; a Ford Expedition.

  “Whose car is this?” I ask as I glance around looking for her Audi.

  Nikki pops the back with the keyless entry and says, “I’ll explain later. Right now, I want you.” When I toss in my carry-on, I notice the second and third row seats are laid down. “Get in,” she orders as she climbs in and gives a small tug on my shirt. Grinning, I climb in and close the back door. She’s already undoing the tie of her coat. The lights from the parking garage overhead are dim, but it’s enough to see her perfect body in lace lingerie, with a black garter belt and thigh highs.

  Fuck me.

  My dick is rock hard in a second.

  When her coat is off and tossed aside, she crawls toward me, her stare honed on me, her lower lip caught between her teeth. “I’ve missed you,” she purrs as she runs one hand up my leg. Flipping around, I scoop her up and lay her back. She giggles as I stare at her, her long hair fanned out, her perfect, smooth skin soft, and her amazing smile on display. The lingerie she’s wearing is a one-piece, and it looks fucking amazing on her.

  “The crotch unsnaps,” she says, her hand sliding between her legs and rubbing herself.

  “Pull this down. I want to see your perfect tits.” She tugs down the lacy cups and places them under the swell of her breasts, which pushes them up.

  “I’m sorry,” I groan as I unbuckle my belt and undo my pants, freeing my throbbing cock. “I wanted to take my time with you but I need to be inside of you right now.”

  “Please,” she begs. “I need to feel you.” She tugs at the fabric between her legs, which unsnaps it, revealing her smooth, pink flesh. “I’m so fucking wet,” she moans.

  I place the head of my cock at her entrance and lay my body over hers, kissing her softly. “I’m yours, Nikki Reese. You own me.” Then I push inside her and we both gasp. I move in and out of her, slowly for a moment, but my need for her is too strong and my thrusts quicken. Her hands have slid under my shirt, her nails digging in to my sweaty flesh as I pound into her. The moment she comes, I know it. Her head arches back and her mouth parts as she cries out. And just as her high begins to ebb, mine barrels out of me, filling her, as I groan long and hard.

  We remain like this for a while, my dick still occasionally throbbing inside her, as we try to catch our breath. The windows are fogged and we’re covered in sweat, but we don’t move. She threads her fingers through my now damp hair and smiles a sleepy, yet sated, smile as she stares at me. “I’m so glad you’re home, Mr. Hayes.” And damn it, this actually is starting to feel like home.

  He wouldn’t let me drive back to the house. I want to argue with him that pregnancy doesn’t mean I’m an invalid, but I bit my tongue because honestly, I kind of like that he’s trying to take care of me. His attentiveness has grown on me. His large hand is resting on my thigh and I reach mine up and softly start scratching his neck.

  “Damn, that feels good,” he mumbles. “I have some good news, Nik.”

  “Really?” I ask.

  “I have an interview tomorrow. It’s at a small practice in Knightdale.”

  “That’s great,” I cheer. I’m surprised by how happy this news makes me. I’ve missed Parker and I want him here. Trying to “date” someone that’s never around isn’t exactly productive to our situation. But I’m still a little apprehensive. I’m terrified things are going to blow up in my face. But I know I have to give this a chance. Yes, for the baby, but it’s not just that. I’ve never reacted to man like this before. I think about him way more than I care to admit, and I know that has to mean something.

  His smile tells me he’s pleased with my reaction, and that makes me a little sad. I know he’s been worried I’d try to end this in his absence. I hate that I made him feel that way. “It’s not a sure thing, but I’m hopeful,” he adds.

  I remove my fingers from his neck and grab his hand from my thigh and kiss it. “Thank you for doing this for us, Parker. I mean, there’s so much uncertainty and you’re just jumping in feet first. It means a lot to me.”

  This time, he tak
es my hand and kisses it—his warm breath dancing across my skin. “You haven’t left my mind since the weekend you and Edie came into town. I know deep down that means something. God, Nikki. You’ve . . . consumed me. And I don’t care how uncertain it seems . . . it feels right to me. I want to know everything about you. I want to know how you like your eggs cooked, and the title of your favorite book, and the name of the first guy you ever kissed. I crave you.”

  My cheeks heat with his words. This man gets to me. “Over medium, Where the Red Fern Grows, and Lance Milton,” I tell him.

  “Was it good?”

  “What? The book?”

  “No. Lance. Was he a good kisser?”

  I laugh. “We were eight so he definitely didn’t have your level of expertise.”

  “Did you tongue him?” He’s teasing me. He grins as he pokes his tongue out and flicks it obnoxiously.

  Smacking his leg, I tsk. “You’re terrible. And, no. Lance was a little gentleman, unlike someone I know.”

  Parker’s mouth curves to the side as his hand slides up my thigh until it reaches my core. As he applies firm pressure and glides his fingers ever so slightly, in slow circles, I swallow back the whimper I want to release. “Baby, I am a gentleman,” he insists, “in most ways. But when it comes to this . . .” And his hand presses harder, his thumb digging into my upper thigh, “I’m a fucking deviant.”

  I can’t respond. I’m too busy grinding into his hand, begging for more . . . pressure, or anything, to relieve the ache that pulses there. “Do you know how fucking hot it makes me to know I’m the first man to have you?” He slips a finger under the lace of my lingerie and rubs my clit. “Fuck, you’re beautiful.” My eyes pop open to find him glancing at me and back to the road, continuously. He removes his hand and lifts it to his face, inhaling deeply. “God, you smell good.” Then he licks his fingers, finishing with a long breath as he shakes his head and lifts his ass slightly and adjusts his erection before sitting back down and putting both hands on the steering wheel.

  He stares straight ahead. “Why me?” he asks suddenly.

  “What do you mean?” I manage through the haze he’s left me in. He didn’t make me come and I kind of hate him for it. Tease.

  “Why did you give it to me?”

  He means my virginity. Pulling my hair back, I twist and lay it over my shoulder. “I’ve been with other guys.” He cuts his eyes to me in question. “Obviously, not having sex, but I’ve done other stuff,” I clarify. “But I could never get outside of my own head to go all the way. I was so . . . I don’t know . . . not in the moment. But with you . . . everything in me reacted. I wanted you. And I was inside my head a little with you, but not for the same reasons as with other guys.”

  He rakes a hand through his disheveled hair. “How so?”

  “With you, I was worried . . .” I let out a small groan. I’m going to sound like such a little girl when I tell him this. “That you wouldn’t think I was any good. You are very . . . experienced,” I finished.

  He winces with my words, but doesn’t bother arguing with me. “You want to hear something funny?” he asks.

  “Yes.”

  “I was worried I’d scare you away. I wanted to make you feel like you were special because even that night, months ago, when I barely knew you, I knew you were a girl that would leave a mark.”

  “I’m glad it was you,” I admit. “No matter what happens, I’ll never regret that night.” And it’s true. Even with a baby on the way and the uncertainty of it all, that night with Parker was amazing.

  It’s still dark when I wake up. I’ve only been asleep for two hours, but I can hear John and Edie in the kitchen so I decide to get up and say hello before they head off to work for the day. Nikki and I crashed as soon as we got in and she’s curled up on her side, the blankets bunched around her. One thing I’ve learned? She’s a blanket hog. Quietly, I leave the bedroom and step gently down the hall. Just as I round the kitchen doorway, I hear a deep, throaty groan.

  “Fuck, baby,” John groans and grits his teeth as he stares down at Edie, his hand fisted in her hair as her head bobs back and forth.

  Motherfucker!

  I didn’t need to see that. Damn it. I clench my eyes closed and stumble back, attempting to leave the kitchen before they see me, but my shoulder catches the doorframe and I trip, landing hard on my ass. “Fuck!” I yell out.

  Even in my pain, I twist and hop up, planning on sprinting down the hall to save us all the embarrassment of facing each other right now, but my foot slips on the rug and I land hard on my knee. “Shit!”

  “Parker! What’s wrong?” Nikki cries as she comes barreling out of the bedroom with wild and panicked eyes, flailing a handgun. What the fuck?

  “Put that down!” Edie shouts as she sees Nikki, who freezes when she sees Edie, her gaze moving to me with a questioning look.

  “Goddamn it! Everybody calm down,” John growls as he passes by me, still tugging his suit pants up and buttoning them. When he reaches Nikki, he grabs her wrist and takes the gun from her.

  “My eyes!” I yell out, rubbing both with balled fists. “It can never be unseen!”

  “Nikki just almost killed you and you’re fucking whining about that?” John shouts as he points to the kitchen, indicating what I just witnessed.

  “But it was you!” I counter. “And Edie!” Who I can’t look at.

  “What does that matter?” Edie asks, sounding somewhat offended.

  “Because . . .” I struggle for words. How can she not understand she’s like . . . well, her?

  “Get a fucking grip, Parker,” John snorts.

  “What the fuck is going on?” Nikki asks, her eyes wide with confusion.

  “Where the hell did you get a gun?” I huff as I move to stand. Edie tries to help me, but I use the wall, more or less. I can’t even look at her right now. The suction. The head bobbing. I feel like I just witnessed my little sister blowing a guy. It’s not sitting well with me.

  “What?” Nikki asks, as if my question is ridiculous. “I have it for protection.” John points the gun to the floor and drops the magazine.

  “You have no idea how to shoot. You could have killed us,” John grumbles as he shakes his head.

  “Suit, everyone is fine,” Edie says, in an attempt to defend her best friend.

  “You,” John points to Nikki, “are going to learn how to shoot. We’ll start this weekend.”

  “You know how to shoot?” I ask stupidly.

  Edie and John snort. “Horse farms equal foxes and coyotes.” He looks back to Nikki. “If you’re going to have this gun, you need to know how to use it.”

  “Okay,” Nikki concedes. “I didn’t mean to scare everyone. I just heard Parker shouting and panicked.”

  John cuts his eyes to me. “Yeah, well . . . Parker just had a little shock, is all.”

  “What happened?” Nikki asks, again, as she crosses her arms.

  “I-I was giving Suit a . . . blow job in the kitchen and Parker walked in on us,” Edie admits. I’m still not looking at her, but I just know her cheeks are pink with embarrassment. Hell, my face is probably bright red.

  “Jesus, Edie.” John snorts at her crassness.

  Nikki’s eyes widen as her lips lift in a bright smile. “You were blowing him in the kitchen?”

  “Yeah,” I murmur. “She was.”

  “Sorry you had to see that, Parker,” Edie says, but I still can’t look at her.

  “I’m sorry I interrupted. Think I’ll head back to bed now,” I mumble and grab Nikki’s arm, and limp with each step, leading her toward our temporary room. We need our own place.

  As I pass John, he grumbles, “Fucking cock block.”

  Once we’re back in the room I flop on the bed and cover my eyes with my hands. “I want to burn my retinas to remove that image.”

  Nikki laughs as she stands at the end of the bed. “Poor you,” she teases. “You had to see a hot girl giving a hot guy a blow job.”
<
br />   “You would’ve freaked out, too.”

  She snorts. “You have no idea what living with them or near them entails. I catch them doing something dirty at least once a week.”

  “Oh, God.”

  “Yep.”

  “I’m scarred for life.”

  “You’ll get over it.”

  “We need our own place . . . immediately.”

  “I think I found a place. Maybe we can look at it this weekend.”

  “Good,” I grumble as I rub my eyes again, trying to clear the image of Edie on her knees in front of my best friend. “The sooner the better. I don’t think I’ll survive witnessing something like that again. I mean it. I’ll never forget it.”

  Nikki smiles as she lifts the large T-shirt she’s wearing over her head and tosses it aside. “I think maybe I can make you forget.” Her breasts are full as she bends down to slip her panties off. I want them in my mouth. My eyes pop open wider as she crawls up along my legs and tugs at my shorts. “Oh, yeah?”

  “You just keep your eyes on me, Mr. Hayes. I’ll make you forget all about it.”

  And damn. She does. She makes me forget about anything and everything but her and me.

  “What time is your interview?” I ask Parker as I stand in front of the closet. After I did my best to help him clear his mind of what he considers the most horrific event ever, we slept a little longer. But now it’s time to get our day started.

  “Around four this afternoon,” he answers. “I thought maybe you could go with me.”

  “To your interview?”

  “There are some shops nearby. I thought you could do some shopping until I finish, but afterward . . . I was thinking we could go to my parents’ house for dinner tonight. They live right there in Knightdale. We can tell them about us and the baby, together.”

  I remain facing the closet, hoping my anxiety isn’t obvious. He wants to tell his parents. He wants me to meet his parents. “Are you sure you’re ready to tell them?”