Trust the Push

by Kaylee Ryan

  “So, what? You’re just going to stand there and watch me until I’m done?”

  “Yep. Trust me, if you could see what I see, you would do the same damn thing.”

  “Don’t you need to shower?” I ask him.

  “Yep.”

  “Will you not be late?”

  “Nope.”

  “You could join me, if you want,” I offer, already knowing it will make me late, but the temptation is too great.

  “Nope. You and I both know that if I climb into that shower with you, neither one of us is leaving this room anytime soon.”

  He’s right, so I keep my mouth shut and let him watch me shower. The act is just as intimate as if he were actually in here with me. My heart races and there’s tingling between my thighs. When I’m done, he’s there with two towels. I take one for my hair and the other he keeps. He takes his time drying me, slowly raking the towel over my wet body. He’s taking care of me, which is also altogether new and exciting and a turn on. I know I can’t be late to meet Robin. I don’t want to be, so I keep my need for him to myself. For now. When he’s satisfied, he throws the towel over the shower door. I watch him as he adjusts his hard length.

  “Bree,” he rumbles. “You can’t look at me like that.”

  “Like what?” I ask innocently. I know exactly how I was looking at him.

  “Come here,” he growls, pulling my naked body into his fully clothed one. “Kiss me, so I can go. You’re too damn tempting.” Doing as he asks, I kiss him, teasing his lips with my tongue. “You’re going to be the death of me.” He laughs. “Get ready, and have fun. I’ll see you later?”

  “Yeah, I’ll see you later.” One more quick kiss and he walks out my door. The act reminds me that one day soon, when he turns and walks away, he won’t be coming back. When we started this, I knew I would fall for him, I know myself. I just had no idea that the fall would be this fast and this hard. How am I going to move on without him?

  I rush through getting ready, and manage to make it downstairs five minutes ahead of schedule.

  “I hope you weren’t waiting long,” Robin says. “I lost track of time.”

  I want to tell her that her son almost made me late, but I keep that titbit of intel to myself. “Not at all,” I say instead. “I just got here.”

  “I’m starving.” She links her arm through mine and leads me to the bar. “We’ll get served faster here than waiting for a table.”

  “Fine with me. I’m more thirsty than hungry.” We take our seats at the bar, and talk about the weather and what that means for Blaine and the race.

  “I’m sure he’s been on pins and needles all night,” she says, referring to Blaine.

  “Yeah,” I agree, trying not to blush.

  “He hates it when the weather delays or cancels a race. I swear that boy lives and breathes this sport.”

  Our food arrives before I can comment, and I ask the bartender for a refill on my water. We scarf down our BLTs, and head out. “Are you looking for something particular?” I ask as we exit the hotel.

  “Not at all, just a day out getting some girl time. I gotta tell you, it’s nice that you’re here. I used to be the only female except on days when Ashley could tag along. If you weren’t here, I would either have dragged Brian with me or just did whatever they wanted, so thank you.” She offers me a warm smile.

  “Hey, glad I could help.” We walk across the street to a small strip mall.

  “Oh, I’m going to go look at these scarfs,” Robin says, walking toward the back of the very first store we enter.

  I browse around, nothing really reaching out and saying buy me until I come across a burgundy shirt made to look like lace. It has pieces of thinner sheer material that makes it see-through in places, but not enough to really stand out.

  “I bought that exact one for myself the other day,” a girl about my age tells me. “I’m Sara. Would you like to try that on?” she asks.

  “No, it’s uh, not really me?” It’s more of a question than a statement. I usually stick to boring-casual or scrubs. This is out of my comfort zone, and I need some advice. Advice I’m hoping she offers.

  “Of course, it is. It would be perfect with your hair color. Try it on.”

  My mind wanders to what Blaine would think, seeing me in this.

  “Oh, what did you find?” Robin asks, scarf in hand.

  “I’m trying to convince her this shirt would look amazing on her with her hair color,” Sara explains.

  Robin pulls the shirt off the rack holding it up to me. “Ooh, you’re right,” she tells her. “Aubree, you have to try this on.”

  “It’s not really me, I mean, you can see through it.”

  “Just wear a nice black or even burgundy bra or cami underneath,” Sara tells me.

  “Go.” Robin hands me the shirt and gives me a little nudge toward the dressing room.

  I smile all the way to the dressing room. My back is to them so they can’t see my goofy grin. Today is great. Shopping with Robin is another new experience, one I wish I could repeat often. After pulling my Bishop Racing T-shirt over my head, I take the shirt off the hanger, and try it on. Unhurriedly, I fasten the buttons and take a look. It’s V-neck, showing just a hint of cleavage without being obscene. The sheerness is not as bad as it appears once you have it on. Luckily, today I have on another black bra, and it looks good.

  “I wanna see!” Robin yells into the dressing room.

  Slowly, I open the door and walk out.

  “Wow, Aubree, that looks great on you.”

  “Yes, and we have a new line of lipstick, one this exact color that would set this off. Leave the shorts and the flip-flops, this is a cute outfit. I’m going to have to wear mine like this,” Sara says, dashing off to, I assume, grab the lipstick.

  “It’s not too much?” I ask Robin.

  “You’re young, and it looks great on you. I say go for it.”

  “Where would I wear it?” I ask her. “I wear scrubs to work, and I have a uniform for the track.”

  “Wear it out.”

  “I don’t go out. Not really.”

  “Huh, well, we’re going out tonight. We’re going to spend the night again, since the storm is slow-moving and see what happens. I’ll gather the troops. It’ll be fun,” she says.

  Just the thought of wearing this for Blaine, and the heat in his hazel eyes is enough for me to buy it. “Okay,” I agree. Robin claps her hands and cheers.

  “Here you go.” Sara hands me the lipstick. “We’re having a sale right now too so I can give you both twenty percent off.” She winks. “It’s friends and family only, but we’re friends, right?”

  “Yes,” Robin and I say at the same time, and the three of us laugh. After we make our purchases, we hit a few more stores. I buy some lotion, a bottle of water because I’m still thirsty, and I find a cute black and white cell phone case. It’s plaid, but it makes me think of Blaine and racing, so I buy that too.

  “I guess that’s all she wrote,” Robin says when we exit the final store.

  “Yeah, but we got some good buys,” I say, holding up my bags.

  “We did.”

  “Thank you for today,” I tell her, fighting back the emotion that’s clogging my throat. “This is a first for me. I’ve never really been shopping with a mom, or a mom figure, so today was… nice. Thank you.” My voice cracks.

  “Anytime, Aubs.” She reaches out and hugs me, well, tries to with her bags in her hands. “You need a shopping buddy, even when the season is over, you call me. The men in my life live in that garage. I’m always up for some girl time.”

  We make plans to do it again soon on our walk back to the hotel. I meant what I said. Today was a great day. One that I’ve dreamed about having. I hope Blaine realizes how truly blessed he is to have his parents in his life.

  Mom and Aubree stopped by the hotel bar where we’re still playing pool and sipping on beer. I have to make an effort to not drink her in. It’s only been a fe
w hours since I’ve had my hands and lips on her, but it seems as if it’s been years.

  “Who’s winning?” Mom asks, taking a stool. Aubree follows her lead and takes the one next to her.

  “We’re playing pea pool,” Dad tells her. “So far, Rick is out and the rest of us are still in.”

  “I think they were gunning for me,” Rick grumbles.

  He’s not wrong, but this game makes it impossible to do so. I have no idea which numbers he drew, but that’s not to say that if I did, I wouldn’t have tried to knock him out.

  “So, Aubree and I decided we all need to go out tonight, blow off a little steam. This girl Sara, at one of the boutiques we went to, said there is a place just a block from here called Stagger. Says that’s the place to be,” Mom says.

  Dad laughs. “Sounds like a plan, babe,” he tells her.

  I watch as Mom bumps her shoulder into Aubree’s with a wink. “What do you say? Seven? We can eat there. Sara says they have great food.”

  “You’ve been busy today,” I tell them.

  “Girl time,” Mom replies. “We had a good day, huh, Aubs?”

  “Yeah.” Aubree holds up her bags. “We found some deals.”

  Why do I, all of a sudden, want to pull her into my arms and kiss her? I want to hear all about her day shopping, and I even want to see what’s inside those bags. I can almost guarantee knowing Bree, and the fact that she was with my mom, it’s nothing at all scandalous, but it caught her attention long enough to buy it, and I want to hear all about it.

  “I think I’m going to go up to my room and freshen up a little,” Aubree says, standing from her stool.

  “Oh, don’t forget to wear that cute shirt you bought,” Mom tells her.

  “You sure?” she asks.

  I’m fascinated by how well the two of them get along.

  “Definitely. You might find a nice young man to spin you around the dance floor.” Mom winks.

  I want to tell her that Aubree has a nice young man, one that she in fact raised, but I bite down on my lip to keep the words from spilling out. The thought of some other guy hitting on her pisses me off. Maybe going out tonight isn’t the best plan, but I don’t see a way out of it.

  “Okay. I’ll see you all in the lobby at seven.” She doesn’t even look at me as she turns and walks out of the bar.

  I want to follow her, but that would be obvious, and she would hate that. I agreed to the terms and now I have to live up to them. I watch her until I can no longer see her before turning my attention back to the game. That’s when I find all eyes on me. “What?” I ask as if I’m innocent.

  “Nothing.” Kevin grins before lining up and taking his next shot.

  Mom excuses herself to take her bags up to their room, and we stay downstairs to finish our game. This one takes the longest and if I didn’t know any better, I’d say Dad, Jacob, and Kevin are missing their shots on purpose. It’s as if they know I want to go to her.

  “What? You guys suddenly forget how to play pool?” I ask them.

  All four of them, even Rick who’s been out of the game since the beginning, cracks up laughing.

  “You got somewhere to be, son?” Dad smirks.

  “Nope.”

  “Uh-huh.” He laughs, taking his shot and finally, he makes it.

  The game goes on with the guys missing as many as they hit, which is not like them. When we finally finish, it’s just a few minutes before seven. I’m convinced now more than ever that they were doing this on purpose. Delaying the game.

  “Your mom just texted me and said they’re on their way down.”

  The five of us wander out of the bar and into the hotel lobby to wait for them. Kevin calls Ashley to check in, while Dad, Jacob, and Rick look at the weather. I should be doing the same thing, in fact, any other time it would be me who is pulling up the weather keeping an eye on things, but right now, all I can focus on is the gorgeous redhead who is striding toward me with my mother. As they draw closer, I take in what she’s wearing, and with just one glance, I’m ready to lose my mind.

  “Ready?” Mom asks.

  “Lead the way,” Dad says, holding his arm out for her.

  I let them walk a few steps ahead before I lean in close to her ear. “Are you trying to out us?” I ask Aubree.

  She stops walking. “What are you talking about?” she whispers. Her eyes dart around to make sure no one can hear us.

  “That outfit.”

  “You don’t like it?” I can hear the hurt in her voice.

  Knowing the risks, I grab her arm and pull her behind a tall column in the lobby. “Fuck, Bree, I more than like it. It’s going to be damn hard to keep my hands off you.” Her warm body pressed against mine is so damn tempting. All I want to do is drag her back to the room.

  “Yeah?” she asks, hopeful, shuffling her feet.

  “Don’t do that,” I warn her. “Don’t look at me with those big green eyes. I can’t seem to resist you.” I lean in and kiss the corner of her mouth.

  “We better go.” She turns to walk away, and I stop her, pulling her into my chest.

  This time, I kiss her on the lips, just a soft peck, but it’s her lips against mine so I’ll take it.

  “Checkmate, you act like you missed me,” she teases.

  Her teasing makes me smile. She’s really started to open up and come out of her shell. It’s as if she’s gaining confidence every day. I like to think I have something to do with that. The thought of being that person for her, it does things to me. Makes me want more than an end date. I realize that I did miss her, more than I thought possible. “I missed these lips,” I say, instead of telling her the truth.

  “Come on.” She pulls out of my hold and steps out from behind the pillar. We’re able to slip up behind the others, and it seems like they didn’t even miss us. That gives me hope for sneaking some time with her tonight. I can only hope this place has dark corners to hide in.

  Stagger is packed. It seems as though this Sara girl gave Mom and Bree the right information. Dad leads us to the back corner to an empty table, which is surprising considering the amount of people that are covering the dance floor.

  “What can I get you ladies to drink?” Dad asks.

  “Just a water, dear, oh and one of those pineapple upside-down cake shots.” She smiles. “Get Aubree one too.”

  “No, just a bottle of water for me.” She reaches into her pocket to pull out money and Dad waves her off.

  “I’ve got this.” He walks off toward the bar.

  I’m sitting next to her this time, and no way in hell am I going to lose my seat to Rick or even Jacob, so I stay put. I’ll grab something later.

  “You not want anything?” Mom asks.

  Just Aubree. “Nah, I’m good for now. I had a couple earlier.” It’s not a complete lie.

  “You okay?” Aubree asks once Mom and Kevin are in a conversation. Jacob and Rick followed after Dad for drinks.

  “Yeah.” I place my hand on her leg under the table. I can’t seem to keep my hands off her. I’ve never had that issue before. I’m a grown man who can control his urges.

  Until Aubree.

  Now I’m doing and saying things I don’t usually say, thinking things I’ve never thought, and I’m not exactly sure how to handle it all.

  “Here you go, ladies.” Dad hands Aubree and Mom each a bottle of water and a small plastic cup half full of something that I’m sure is fruity and sweet knowing Mom.

  “Aubree, these are so good. You can’t even taste the alcohol.” Mom holds up her plastic cup.

  “I really shouldn’t.” Aubree tries to get out of taking the shot.

  “I’m right here,” I whisper in her ear. “I’ll get you where you need to be safe and sound. Trust me. Just have a good time.”

  “I’m not much of a drinker,” she tells us.

  “Just one,” Mom says. “I really want you to taste it.”

  My mother is one of those people who is really hard to say no to. Sh
e’s genuine, a “what you see is what you get” kind of person, and you can tell that within seconds of meeting her.

  “Just this one,” Aubree concedes.

  “You don’t have to,” I say for the table to hear.

  “No, one won’t hurt, but I’m not really a fan of not being in control. Of not having the assurance that I’ll get home safely.”

  “You’re safe with us,” Rick chimes in.

  I keep my eyes trained on her instead of turning to glare at him. It’s a struggle to do so. “I’ve got you,” I say, not caring if any of them hear me. “Have fun. I promise you I’ll get you back to your room.”

  “Thanks, but this is plenty.” She grabs the cup and taps it against Mom’s.

  I watch her as she tilts it back and takes a small sip. “Wow, this is really good.” She smiles at my mother and tilts her cup back, finishing off the shot.

  “Told you.” Mom gives her a satisfied grin; she downed hers in one go. “I’m not really much of a drinker myself. Hate the taste of beer, and why anyone would drink whiskey to burn your throat is beyond me, but the fruity stuff I can handle.”

  “That tasted like an actual pineapple upside-down cake.” Aubree laughs.

  “Oh, honey, stick with me. I got the sweet and fruity covered.” Mom laughs, holding up her hand for a high-five, which Aubree returns immediately.

  The night flows on with good food, laughter, and talking. It’s nice to unwind a little. I don’t move from my seat beside Aubree. When she yawns for the third time in a row, I’m ready to drag her cute ass back to the hotel.

  “You wanna go?” I ask her.

  “You look exhausted,” Mom tells her.

  “I don’t know why I’m so tired,” she says over a yawn. “I think I’ll head back to the hotel.”

  “I’ll walk you.” Rick stands, but so do I.

  “I’ll go. I want to check on the hauler anyway. You all be safe.” I point to my parents. Mom is smiling wide while Dad nods, letting me know they will indeed be safe. I wave to the others, and they all return the gesture, even Rick. He’s smirking, and that tells me all I need to know. He knows I’m invested and he’s pushing me toward her. Good to know I don’t have to punch one of my closest friends over her. I never thought I would be that guy, but with Aubree, everything is new.