by Shyla Colt
Giving chase, I pause to gather two handfuls of snow. Packing it tightly as I run, I pull back my arm and aim. The snowball sails and hits its mark.
“Ouch!” A snowball flies past, hitting his accomplice.
Delta giggles and squats down, making more. “Come on, we have to be ready to counter an attack.”
The boys stand their ground and begin to stock their own arsenal. Joining Delta, I feverishly make round missiles to launch at the surprise attackers. We battle until our hands are numb.
“We call a truce,” the taller of the two boys yells. His face is red with exertion, and he’s breathing just as hard as I am.
I look at Delta, who nods.
I cup my hands around my mouth. “We accept!”
The boys salute and turn, disappearing into the evening as quietly as they arrived.
“We make a good team,” Delta says.
“We do indeed.”
“I had a great time, but I’m frozen to the core. We need to warm up. I know a great place to get hot chocolate.” She takes my hand and leads me away.
I allow it, knowing with her is exactly where I want to be. My watch lights up and vibrates. I notice my mother’s name and tap to open the text. We need to talk. For the first time in a long time, I make her wait.
Chapter Four
Delta
I study him as we watch old re-runs of Star Trek. There’s a childlike joy present as he watches the episodes I know he knows by heart. His lips occasionally move as he mouths the words along with the actors. Snuggled under a fuzzy blanket, close enough for our bodies to touch, I soak up his heat, content with our progression. We’ve spent every couple of days together at his house and out to less crowded spaces. I’ve put off asking these questions, but it's time.
“Sam?”
“Hmm?” He continues to watch the crew of the Enterprise on their away mission.
“Can I have your attention, please?”
He pauses the show and turns his body toward me. I’ve learned trying to have a serious conversation with him while he’s engaged in doing something else can be frustrating for both of us.
“What do I need to wear to the party?” I ask, starting with the lesser of the two evils.
He shrugs. “Wear whatever you want.”
“No.” I shake my head. “I meant to ask what style the dress code is.”
“Oh. I always wear a tuxedo.”
“Okay, so black tie.” I sigh. “I need to get a dress.” I toy with the blanket, rubbing my fingers over the softness. “There’s something else I want to talk to you about.”
“Okay.” He blinks.
My stomach clenches. “Since I’ll be meeting your family and friends at the party, it seems fair that you meet mine beforehand. Nothing too stressful. Just a night of board games and snacks at our house.” I look at him.
“Board games?” He sits up straighter, and his eyes brighten with what I’ve learned to read as interest.
“Yes, we’re huge tabletop players. I could probably even persuade them to break out the Star Trek game.”
“How long do we have to stay?”
“A couple of hours, less if you need that. You can text me the entire time.”
His leg bounces, and I hold my breath. “How many people will be there?”
“Four counting me.”
He goes still.
“Sam?”
“I’m thinking.” He rubs his fingertips together, and I hold my ground. Rushing him wouldn’t be fair. My friends were curious and putting them off longer would begin to look suspicious. I haven’t told them about Sam’s diagnosis because I wanted to avoid any preconceived notions. I also didn’t want to hear the comparison. Sam isn’t the only one nervous about how he’d be received.
“When?”
“Friday at about seven.”
“I’ll be there at seven.”
“Thank you.” I rise up on my knees and duck down to catch his eyes. Moving slowly, I cup his hands. “I know this is a huge deal for you. And I want you to know how much I appreciate you doing it for me.”
He glances away and looks back. “Your family is important to you.”
“So are you. You become more important to me with each day that passes, honestly. My day isn’t complete without our morning and night texts, at least.”
“I text you a lot during the day.”
“I think the way you check up on me throughout the day is sweet, Sam. It makes me feel good to know that you’re thinking about me and that you care. If you did anything that bothers me, I would tell you.”
He swallows hard. Uncertainty fills his gaze.
“You don’t believe me?” I’m shocked by the intense disappointment that rises.
“I dated someone before you for three years. She got upset with me a lot and never explained why. I was always confused about what I did wrong. It was a ...” he pauses, “difficult and unhappy time in my life. I don’t want to repeat that.”
I squeeze his arm. Damn, he’s fit. “We won’t.”
“I tried to please her by purchasing the things she asked for and taking her out to the places she wanted me to. It worked for that moment.” He rocked slightly. This was distressing to him. “Even though she knew it made me uncomfortable. I thought that as what relationships were, compromising to make the other person happy. People often say one thing when they mean another.”
I see the invisible wall erect between us. The picture he’s painting makes my heart and stomach ache. Someone took advantage of him.
“Not me.” I cup the other side of his face and force his eyes to meet mine once more. “I don’t mind working to earn your trust, Sam.”
He hums, refusing to answer.
“Right now, I want to get to know you.” I bite my bottom lip. “And touch you.” I trail my fingers down his face, looping my arms around his neck. “Would that be all right?” I massage the tension from his neck. “Do you like this?” His throat bobs, and I watch the desire darken his espresso-colored eyes to a coal-black. “Am I moving too fast?”
“No.”
I stop.
“No. It’s not too fast,” he clarifies.
Straddling his lap, I move my massage farther down his body to his shoulders, experimenting with touch. He’s at half-mast in my lap. I want to grind down, but I’m afraid it might overwhelm him, and the last thing I want to do is stop. It’s been so long since I touched someone like this and had them touch me in return. He cups my ass, dragging me along his rapidly swelling length. I dig my nails into his back, rocking with him—my core clenches.
“Your pussy is so hot. I can feel it through your tights.”
I moan. “Sam,” I whimper.
“I want to feel how wet you are, Delta. I want to taste you.”
“Have you been thinking about that?” I ask.
“Every day.”
“Did you touch yourself while you thought about me?”
“I thought about gathering all your slick and coating myself with it. How good it’d feel and smell while I stroked my cock.”
The flood gates open in my panties as my clit begins to throb. “Why don’t we turn that daydream into a reality?”
He blinks. “First, you need to get on your knees.”
I unwind my arms from his body and slowly slide down his larger frame, trailing my nails in my wake. He cringes slightly.
“Too light.”
I dig my nails in more, and he gasps. “Better?” I study his face as I kneel and rake my nails down his abdomen and thighs.
“Yes.”
The shaky tone makes me smile. Being in control of such a large man is a heady experience. All that stands between me and his bare skin is a thin pair of black lounge pants. He opens his legs.
“Come here.” Scooting in, I peer up at him, awaiting his next command. He grabs a handful of my hair and tugs my head back, leaning down. “Do you want to see exactly what I imagined?”
“Yes.”
“Then put your face in my lap.” He pushes my face down, and I allow it. I nuzzle him with my nose. He smells like fabric softener and something musky and male. I wrap my lips around him through the fabric, and he presses me in nearer, and I close my lips around him.
“Such a hot mouth. I bet your pussy is even hotter.”
I moan, and his dick twitches.
“Suck me.” His deep voice is commanding. I obey, wrapping my lips around his head. Soaking the cloth, I suckle. He hisses. “Harder.”
I comply, and he pushes his hips up. I move opposite, creating friction.
Grinding, he picks up the pace. His pants get wetter and wetter as my mouth slides up and down smoothly. I pause at his tip and suck. A salty flavor seeps through.
Releasing him, I turn my head to look up at him. “I want to taste you.”
He shoves his pants down. His large cock springs forward, long, thick, and purple headed. Pearly white beads drip from his slit. I drag the tip of my tongue through the sticky, salty substance.
“You taste good, Sam.”
“Have more then.” He pushes in farther.
I take him in, struggling with my gag reflex as he taps against the back of my throat. He pulls back. I grip his hips hard, stilling him. Sliding up and off him again, I circle his head with my tongue. “It’s okay. I can take it.” I grip his base.
He puts his hand over mine and squeezes. “No light touches.”
I tighten my hold, and he growls. “Like that.” He moves my hand up and down. I catch the rhythm and take him to the back of my throat, breathing through my nose as I open up. Hollowing my cheeks, I lose myself in the motions, squeezing my throat. He thrusts faster, and my eyes water. He yanks on my hair, pulling me back. I release him with a pop.
“Come here,” he says, guiding me off the floor and into his lap. He keeps his hard cock between us. “Lift your skirt.” My hands shake as I push the black wool skirt over my hips, entirely on display.
“These are in my way.” Grabbing my tights, he tears them apart. I cry out. The act is like a physical caress over my swollen clit. His long fingers stroke the band of my light blue underwear with the gold Star Trek emblem. “Did you wear those for me?”
“Yes.”
He dips his hand underneath and strokes my slit with the tip of his long finger. “And you soaked them through?”
Licking my lips, I nod.
“Let me hear the words, Delta.”
“Yes,” I rasp.
“Just like I imagined you would.” He adds a second finger, caressing my clit between them as he slides down and circles my entrance. Removing his fingers, he holds them up to the light. “Look how pretty you are coated on me. I want to taste you.”
“So taste me.”
His fingers disappear behind his perfect lips. A look of pure bliss passes his face. I nearly come apart as he hums, sucking them clean like I’m a delicacy. “You taste even better than I imagined.” He dips his fingers in again, bringing the shiny slick to his pulsing cock. The thick vein that runs underneath it begs for my tongue.
“Look how good we look together.” I want to feel it cleave me in two, filling my long-neglected cunt. Quickly removing what’s left of my stockings, he lifts me up and leans back. “Get me wet.”
“Are you clean?”
“I showered before you got here.”
“Tested.” I struggle to make my lust-filled brain function properly. “Have you been tested? I have, and I’m on birth control.”
His eyes widen. “Yes. I should have asked that before.”
“It’s okay.” I breathe hard as he slips between my wet lips. “Yes.” Leaning back, I close my eyes, enjoying the feel of him moving between my folds and tapping my clit, over and over.
“So warm and wet.”
“For you,” I whisper. His dick twitches, and I whimper.
“I could come like this.”
“Oh God,” I whisper as my walls contract. “Me too.”
Gripping my hips, he moves me faster. “Can we come like ... this?”
“Please.”
I dig my nails into his shoulders and rock with him. I squeeze my thighs tighter, core flexing in a silent plea to be filled. The friction has me flowing like a fountain. The touch of his cock against my bundle of nerves has my head spinning. My stomach muscles clench.
“I’m close.”
“Come for me. Soak my cock and take me with you, baby.”
The nickname on his tongue pushes me the extra few feet into oblivion. My back arches as I shudder. Colors burst behind my shut eyelids. He continues to move me back and forth once, twice, and warm seed floods between my folds. Spent, I slump against him, burying my nose in his neck as I rest my head on his shoulder. Panting, he grips my hips. The thought of bruises branding me long past tonight appeal. The last relationship had been a learning experience. This is different. I liked being told what he wanted and lead. Letting go tended to be challenging, but with Sam, it’s effortless.
SAM
I pace back and forth in front of the door while Delta watches me quietly. I keep waiting for her to show her annoyance. Things are going so well, it’s a struggle not to fall wholly under her spell. Memories of Allison and her dual personalities creep in when I least expect them to.
“What’s wrong, Sam?” Delta asks.
“I’m waiting for you to show your true self.”
Her lips turn down at the corners. “What do you mean, my true self?”
“People who’ve known me my entire life don’t get me the way you do. I don’t understand how this connection we have can be real.” I snap my fingers. “And now we’re going to meet your friends, and I’m worried I’ll screw it up or you’ll get mean.” I want to stop babbling. I’m sharing everything whirling around in my brain, and like a plane crashing, I can’t disengage.
“I’m sorry you feel that way, Sam. It sounds like your last girlfriend did a number on you.”
“Allison wasn’t very nice.”
“No, she wasn’t,” Delta whispers. “There’s really nothing I can say that will put you at ease. These things take time. I can promise you I’m willing to work on it as long as you are.”
The lack of denial calms me. Her words are facts I can follow and trust in. She offers me proof over time instead of words without real meaning. Anyone can say things but showing is different. It takes dedication, honesty, and action. I pause to study the face I’m learning to decipher. Would I be able to see deceit if she was lying? Thoughts like this could drive me insane if I allowed them.
Pulling out of the thought loop that’ll lead to a spiral, I take a deep breath from my belly and release it slowly. This feeling is temporary. I’m here to meet her family and play a board game. I can handle this for the next hour or two. I can only control my response. However they choose to feel it is not my responsibility. My brain quiets, and I regain control of my overactive brain.
“I’m ready to meet them.”
“Are you sure? Because we can call this off and set it up for another night.”
“No. I’m here now.” I grit my teeth as she unlocks the door and steps inside. Following her, I’m greeted by the scent of Christmas. I take my time unbundling and removing my boots. I admire the organization of the hooks with names and boot trays. We walk into the main living space. Three people look up from their positions on the couch. A short, Asian woman with long, black hair, a round face with almond-shaped brown eyes, and a rounded bump encased in a black sweater. Rose. Her husband, the lean, red-haired man to her left, studies me with his greenish-blue eyes. Duncan. Duncan stands and helps his wife, Rose, rise.
“Duncan, Rose. This is my Sam.”
My Sam. She claimed me, and I like it. The action soothes my raw, still frayed nerves. She grips my biceps tightly with both her hands. I like the feel of her smaller hands holding me.
“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” Rose says brightly. She grins, looking from me to Delta.
“Same.�
�� I nod.
“Sam, this is Rose’s husband, Duncan.”
“I’m reduced to being Mr. Rose now? Wow, this pregnancy is changing a lot.”
Delta snickers. “I wasn’t finished with the introductions. I was going to add my brother, but then you got impatient.”
Duncan smiles. “It’s nice to meet you, Sam.”
He sticks out his hand. I force back my hesitation and shake his hand quickly.
“Likewise.” I’m too uncomfortable to meet either of their gazes directly and hold it, so I revert to partial eye contact.
“Last but not least, this is the final member of my family, Flynn.”
He looks at me with a blank expression I don’t even attempt to read. “Sam.”
“Flynn.” The exchange is far less painful than the previous two. He’s the person I was most worried about meeting. The history he has with Delta goes beyond friendship. They dated for a long time when they were younger.
“Can we start the game now?” Flynn asks.
Delta glances at me, and I nod. “Sounds good to us.”
“Sorry,” Rose says softly.
“For what?” I ask, confused.
“He didn’t mean to be rude,” Rose explains.
I blink, surprised. “I didn’t notice.” Rose glances at Duncan, who shrugs. I’ve missed something. We move into the dining area. A long, dark wood table with benches has been set up with the game, paper plates, and bowls of assorted snacks. There are carrot sticks and celery with ranch dip, a fruit spread, and chips and pretzels.
Rose and Duncan sit at the end of the table. Flynn sits with his back against the wall, and we take the bench opposite him.
“Why are you sitting over there, Delta? You always sit next to me.”
Delta glances up. “Because I’m sitting with my date.”
Flynn huffs.
I tense. Mine.
As she presses her body into my side, I clench and unclench my fists.
“Remember, we talked about how things will be different now?”
“Yeah.” He narrows his gaze at me, and I stare back.
He let her go. It’s too late for him to change his mind. I grab her hand and grip it tight.
