Blurb

I love my life the way it is.

No commitments, no heartbreaks!

That’s until Josie enters my life.

One look at those perfectly structured curves and legs that could go on forever,

And I’m hooked.

But things are not as simple as they seem.

Josie and Blaine – they say we’re made for each other.

Until death, mayhem, trickery, and suspense follows us down what appears to be a dead-end road.

But guess what…

I found a new purpose to my life – Protecting Josie.

And this time, I am not letting her go…

Chapter 1

Blaine

I was posted up at the bar, having some drinks and scoping out chicks, like any other night for me. However, this Friday, I’d decided on a bar in West Palm Beach, an area a bit rowdier than the bars in Palm Beach that I normally frequented. I came here because I needed a change of pace, and I didn’t feel like dealing with stuck-up bitches who were only looking for one thing, deep pockets.

This bar, the Restless Wind, was a cool place to hang out in a relaxed atmosphere. It was a little dirty, a little shady, and full of normal, everyday people. West Palm Beach was a working town with lower to middle-class surroundings, people that worked hard for their money, and who liked to play just as hard. Palm Beach was for the rich people, the ones who owned companies, worked directly for the owner, or were trust fund babies.

I was a little of both. I’d taken over my parents’ law firm, and I had a trust fund, but that life bored me. It was the same thing, day in and day out. Coming out to the Restless Wind was exactly what I needed to break the monotony.

It was likely that I would see a fight while I was here, and wading through the chicks for a good one was definitely an interesting affair, but I didn’t have to worry about the silicone honeys only talking to me once I told them about the firm. I hated the damn business, anyway. I only worked their out of guilt and a sense of obligation. It had turned into a hassle and a headache.

I hated going home alone and that was precisely why I was here, to pick up my next honey to keep my bed loud and my loneliness at bay. Every night, I had a new chick. It had been a really long time since I’d picked up a woman that I kept around for more than a night. Finding a girl out here took some time, but getting them in my bed was easy, especially when I told them where I lived.

These chicks were the same as the Palm Beach ones, looking for their ticket to a more lucrative future. Only they didn’t have the fake tits and expensive makeup to get them there faster. Man, they had spirit, though. I loved a girl that was sassy and ready to give me some shit before I got her back to the bedroom. The girls out here were way more assertive as well, not just lying there with their tits bouncing up and down and their feet over their head. These girls liked to take control and get on top, riding me until the sun came up.

Tonight, I was determined not to let the loneliness get ahold of me. I would definitely take some beautiful broad back to Palm Beach with me. Hell, I might just take a girl across the street to the beach and bend them over the rocks out by the water. It would keep me from having to get them out of my place in the morning, something I didn’t feel like dealing with.

One thing all these chicks had in common was the fact that they were looking for their next husband. But not me. I wasn’t looking to find love and settle down. I had seen the family thing in motion, and I was not interested in becoming part of it in the least.

I had much better things to do with my time than raising some snot-nosed kid while my wife bitched at me for going to the bar. Besides, no commitment meant no stress and no heartbreak, which to me, sounded like the perfect kind of lifestyle.

These days, I had a hard enough time getting up and getting out of the house in one piece. I was surprised some days that I remembered to eat, much less take care of anyone else. I liked my freedom, I liked my quiet, and I liked to be able to combat any lack of companionship with a good amount of alcohol and a girl with her panties around her ankles, bent over a box in the back of the club. It was easy, clean, and simple, and I never had to worry about the drama and emotions of it all.

I learned very quickly, when you let your emotions, good or bad, rule your existence, you were easily fooled into thinking life was long and good. I knew all too well that it was total bullshit, and no one really got to live the dream with the people they loved. It was a fairy tale, and I hadn’t seen the least bit of proof to show me otherwise.

I was perfectly happy living off my inheritance, regardless of how dwindling it was, and not ever seeing the damn law firm again. My parents had been lawyers, and I had gone to school to become one because that was just what our family did. I could still remember the day so clearly in my mind.

I was off for spring break, and I decided to go home to Palm Beach instead of joining my friends in the islands. I hadn’t seen my parents since New Year’s, and I thought it would be nice to surprise them and see how their firm was holding up. I also wanted to get some rest before starting to gear up for finals.

My parents decided we should all go out on the sailboat, something my father had been dying to do all winter, but the storms had been so bad, he didn’t take the boat out of dry dock. We had spent hours getting the thing ready. When it was all set, we boarded her, and the three of us spent the day on the water.

That night, though, as we headed back to shore, a group of kids were partying too hard and hauling ass through the waves without their lights on. Before my father could react, we were on them and both boats capsized. I was the only one still breathing when they pulled me out of the water. I didn’t remember anything after the crash, but I did know that I was lying in the hospital, an orphan and the inheritor of my parents’ estate, including B & B Law Firm.

I picked up my whiskey and took a sip. My thoughts were drowned out by the shrieks and yells from across the bar. I turned around on my stool and looked over, realizing that those noises were coming from a very drunk bachelorette party. I loved these damn things. They were full of drunken women, hopeful for the future because their girlfriend was getting married, and ready to get laid by random guys, just like me. I turned back around and smiled, thankful that these chicks pulled me from my thoughts. I nodded to the bartender, and he walked over.

“Do me a favor,” I whispered. “Send that bachelorette party a bottle of your best champagne on me.”

“Absolutely,” the guy said, though I wasn’t even sure this bar carried champagne.

I waited until the bartender delivered the bottle before standing up and straightening my shirt and pants. I dressed down as much as I could when I came out to places like this, but my closet only got so casual. I chose to wear my Dior button-down, jeans, and my Sperry’s. As always, my blonde hair was perfectly coiffed, and my blue eyes glimmered and reflected the hopes of hundreds of wasted girls.

The girls cheered as the cork popped out of the bottle, and fizzy liquid flowed into their glasses. The bride-to-be raised the bottle to me, and I nodded my head, watching the other girls’ eyes flow over me hungrily. I stopped momentarily, looking past the horde to several women from the bachelorette party dancing to the music in the background. I knew I had found my prey for the night.

She swayed her hips to the music, dressed in a tight black dress and heels, with dark hair and beautiful matching eyes. She was a goddess of West Palm Beach bars. She did not fit in at all, but she probably wouldn’t have fit in over in Palm Beach, either. She was absolutely stunning in every way, and her curves were structured perfectly, aligning with her long sexy legs. Her tits were bouncy and real, and immediately, I pictured myself sucking her nipple right into my mouth.

I watched as she drank her bubbly and giggled with the other girls, her feet not quite firmly planted, but good enough to keep control of herself. Instantly, I knew this was my girl of the night, hands down, no questions asked. I had to have her. I scanned her hand for a ring but was pleasantly surprised to find that she wasn’t legally attached. Her friends looked up at me and giggled, catching her attention. She looked at them with a confused face and then turned back toward me, running her eyes from my feet to my head. She squinted her eyes and put her hands on her waist, challenging me almost. I wasn’t sure what she was thinking, but I knew where my mind was.

I moved in for the kill.

“Hi,” I said, leaning in close to her and smelling her sweet perfume. “Do you want to dance?”

She looked at me for a moment, biting her lip, obviously unsure of whether she wanted to take the plunge. That, or she was playing hard to get and already knew she was going to take the invitation. Either way, I didn’t care. I just wanted my hands on her body. She nodded, and I smiled charmingly, winking at her friends as I took her by the hand and walked her out to the dancefloor. I could hear the girls giggling behind us. Once out there, I wasted no time getting my hands on those curves, and I pulled her close, brushing my mouth across her cheek and pursing my lips at her ear. I could feel the goosebumps popping up on her skin, and I smiled, knowing I had won already.

“You look fucking amazing,” I whispered.

She giggled and then pulled back, looking deeply into my eyes. Something in my chest felt like electricity, and I diverted my attention, shaking the feeling away. I ran my hand down her arm as we swayed to the music. I wondered what her name was. She had to have a sexy name, something that screamed confidence but at the same time, showed a vulnerability for a handsome man in a club.

“What’s your name beautiful?”

“Josie,” she whispered. “You?”

“Blaine,” I said, smiling.

“Well, Blaine,” she said, slapping my chest with both hands. “I need some air. Walk me outside?”

I shook my head and took her by the hand, leading her through the crowd and out the door. She stumbled slightly, and I grabbed her arm, watching as she leaned down and took her heels off. She leaned her head back and took in a deep breath of air, still clasping my arm. I pulled her along, looking at her mischievously as we crossed the street and walked into the sand. She struggled to get through the cool, sinking grains, so I turned and scooped her into my arms, cradling her as we walked toward the crashing waves. She laughed loudly as I ran toward the ocean, pretending that I was going to throw her in. I set her down on her feet and looked down in her eyes. She was fucking stunning.

I wanted to waste no time getting things going, knowing that I was tired from a long day, and this girl right was definitely the cure. I leaned down and pressed my mouth against hers, happy to feel her immediately melt into my kiss. She reached up and wrapped her arms around my neck, opening her lips and allowing my tongue to slip inside. She tasted amazing, and I couldn’t help but give myself a mental high-five. She was the first girl I saw, and I got her out of that bar in record time. Talk about getting lucky.

Chapter 2

Josie

The bar was bumping, and all I could think about was how freaking lucky I just happened to get that night. There was this guy, who seemingly came out of nowhere, with perfectly done blonde hair, ice blue eyes, muscles that made me swoon, and the most charming smile I had ever seen on a man, and he was dancing with me. I didn’t know what I would have thought sober, but through my beer goggles, he was attractive, smart, successful, and seemed to be a pretty nice guy.

He bought my girl, Jane, the bride-to-be, an extremely expensive bottle of champagne and just told me how good I looked. He seemed like fucking Prince Charming compared to the guys that I met on a daily basis in West Palm Beach. He definitely seemed like he was not from the area, and I assumed he was from the ritzy part of Palm Beach, at least that was what his designer clothes were telling me.

I had drunk a serious amount of alcohol, the most I had drunk since I was in college. The shots they gave us were fruity and sweet and went down like water, but damn did they ever pack a punch. Either way, this hot and steamy blonde boy was making the room spin, holding me closely and dancing. Well, unless that was the booze spinning the room, but either way, it was definitely shaping up to be a top night for me. I could feel the heat of the bar starting to make me slightly dizzy.

“Well, Blaine,” I said after finding out his name. “I need some air. Walk me outside?”

He shook his head and grabbed my hand gently, pulling me through the crowd and out the door. As soon as the cool ocean breeze hit my face, I started to feel better, but apparently, my legs didn’t get that memo because I stumbled forward, grabbing onto Blaine’s arm. I reached down and took my heels off, destined to break my leg in the damn things. I leaned my head back and took in a deep breath, hoping it would help to sober me up just a little bit. Before I could open my eyes, I felt him tugging on my arm, and I started walking with him across the street and down onto the beach. The sand was cold, and my feet sunk right in, taking full advantage of my alcoholic knees. Blaine turned toward me and scooped me into his arms, running toward the ocean. I laughed loudly as he swayed my body over the waves before setting me down and looking at me with his gorgeous blue eyes.

He leaned forward and kissed my lips, and I immediately fell into him, letting my lips meld into his. It was this incredibly handsome man, kissing me on the beach as the waves washed over my feet and the moon was shining brightly in the sky. I don’t know what happened, but it was just like some ridiculous romantic movie.

The feel of his lips and the way the world spun around me with my eyes closed, buckled me at the knees. I hollered as my legs gave way, but Blaine reached out and grabbed me, lifting me back to my feet and holding me upright. He laughed as I swayed in his arms, looking up at his gorgeous face. This guy better freaking take me home because I wanted to see what he looked like naked.

“Whoa there,” he said, chuckling. “Careful. It doesn’t look like you’ve got your sea legs quite yet.”

“That’s okay,” I said, grinning. “I have this handsome sailor to hold me up.”

Well, at least that’s what went through my mind to say, but I was pretty sure the words were way more slurred than that. I could feel his strong hands around my body, his fingertips grazing the side of my breast. I wanted to feel his lips on mine again, and I couldn’t stop smiling like a complete idiot. This guy needed to get a move on because this beach and I were not getting along. However, his eyes went from mischievous to careful very quickly, and I could see his mood swiftly change. I hoped I hadn’t done anything wrong, but from the looks of it, his agenda had completely changed. Damn the alcohol, and damn the irresponsible taking of shots. This guy was a ten, or he might have even broken the scale.

“I should get you home,” he said, chuckling. “You seem to have had too much fun already tonight.”

He grabbed my hand and led me across the beach to the parking lot next to the club. He pulled out his keys and beeped the shiny new sports car sitting in the front. In my drunkenness, I was impressed, so I knew in my sober life, I would have drooled all over his car, though drool wasn’t entirely out of the picture as drunk as I was. When I got in the car, I crossed my arms and pouted, telling him my address to put in his GPS.

“This sucks,” I said. “I never get to go out. I’m always too busy teaching at school and taking care of my father. Why do I always have to be the girl that does the right thing?”

He looked over at me and laughed kindheartedly, hearing me but still determined to take my drunk ass home. I sat there for a moment, looking over his body, and I took a deep breath, letting my very low inhibitions take control. I reached across the car and ran my hand across his leg, grabbing his cock in my hand through his pants. My eyes widened slightly at the size of his dick, and he smiled, his eyes on the road. Before it could get fully erect though, he reached down and pulled my hand away, looking over and smiling at me.

“You have to stop,” he said. “I can’t concentrate on the road with you doing that.”

My smirk turned into a frown, and I sat back in the seat until we pulled up in front of my house. Before I could even fully get out of the car, I could feel a drunken sleep attempting to pull me under. Blaine’s strong arms grabbed me, and he walked me to the door, turning me toward him and kissing my lips softly. Immediately, that soft kiss got stronger, and before either of us realized, we were in a full out embrace, our tongues wrapped around each other’s and our hands all over our bodies. The heat and lust were too much for me to forget, so I opened the door and seductively looked back at him as he followed me inside.

When we got to my room, I turned and wrapped my arms around him, feeling his lips pressed hard against mine. My nerves shot through my stomach, and I wondered if I would be good enough for him. It had been quite a while since I had a man in my bed, and I was more than drunk. I wanted him to enjoy himself and really feel my body.

We backed up toward the bed but stopped as I unbuttoned his shirt, threw it on the chair, and took his pants off. As I slid his jeans down, his huge erection bounced back and forth, now only restrained by his boxers. I stood up and looked at him as he pulled my dress up over my head and ran his palms over my naked breasts. My nipples were erect, and I could feel the heat between my legs as he pushed me down on the bed and pulled my panties off.

I laid down on the bed as he sat on his knees, spreading my legs apart and running his fingers through my folds. His fingers were warm, and my pussy was wet, and feelings of pleasure pulsated through me. I reached my hands over my head and sighed as he pushed two fingers inside of me and slid them in and out, making the heat in my stomach ignite into flames. I pulled my legs up and lifted my pelvis, moaning low as he caressed my pulsing nub. I looked up to find his eyes fixated on my face, the lust covering every inch of his skin. He began to move his fingers faster and faster, pushing me out of my own mind and into the ecstasy of it all. I grabbed onto the sheets above my head and took in a deep breath, already feeling the orgasm in my stomach begging for release. I had never felt something so amazing in my life. As his thumb circled around my clit, I arched my back and held my breath, feeling the explosion in my belly take over my whole body. I twisted and writhed against his hand, my body shaking from the feelings pulsing through my muscles.

Immediately, he pulled his fingers out and scooted forward, leaning back to grab his pants and pull a condom from his wallet. He tore the top of it off and pushed the condom over his cock, before turning back and lifting my ass in the air. He grasped his shaft at the base and pushed forward, groaning as he entered me. I could feel him slowly glide forward, filling me fully as he touched down into my skin. Our bodies collided, sending lust deep into my chest. I ground my hips hard against his, lifting my body up off the bed. He groaned as he grabbed my body and pushed and pulled with it, sinking his cock deep inside of me.

He pulled out and flipped me over on my stomach, bringing me to my knees before guiding his cock back into me. He grabbed my hips and slammed his body against mine, fueling the fire within us both. I reached out and grabbed the headboard, trying to steady the bed since it was making a lot of noise. He began to slow his movements, grasping my ass and digging his fingers into me. I could feel his cock bulging inside of me, and I slipped my fingers between my legs and began to rub my clit. At first, I moved with his rhythm, but as the heat in my belly increased, my fingers began to tap faster against my hard nub. As if that were a sign, he picked up his pace once again, this time fast, but not as hard. I could feel him become needier as he pushed deep into me, grasping my sides with every thrust. I spread my legs wider apart and rubbed my pussy in circles, gently grazing his shaft as it moved up and down inside of me.

Suddenly, as my legs began to shake, he turned me back over on my chest and put his hands on mine, moving my fingers as it caressed through the wetness. The way he moved his cock was unbelievable, and I could see the muscles in his arms and chest begin to tense as I moaned out, not caring how loud I was at that point. My body began to convulse, waves of the second orgasm flowing wildly through my body. As my juices exploded onto him, he grabbed my hips and dove deep inside of me, holding it there and closing his eyes. A low growl escaped his throat as his cock pulsed back at my pussy and exploded with his seed. His hips moved just slightly as he pushed into me, feeling the pleasure of coming mirror my orgasm.

For several moments, we were stuck in that position, unable to even breath from the ecstasy in our bodies. As our muscles began to relax, he let out a deep breath and opened his eyes, looking down at me in wonder. From the look on his face, I did a good job, and from the feeling in my chest, I hoped this was not just a one-night occurrence.

Chapter 3

Blaine

I woke up in my bed the next morning, wishing I was still lying next to Josie. I couldn’t get her off my mind, and after she walked me out and kissed me sweetly, I was pretty much done for. She had been so absolutely adorable while drunk, with her cute little quirks and the funny way that she pointed at me when she talked. She was completely different than any girl I’d ever hooked up with.

Normally, I went for the blonde bimbo with too much makeup and too much silicone. Josie was a natural beauty, with curves in all the right places, big beautiful natural breasts, and even after a drunken night and some really crazy sex, she looked hot as hell. I could still see her standing at her front door with messy hair and a sleepy face, leaning against the doorframe and smiling as I walked away. She was so different and so far out of my normal range of women, I couldn’t help but go against my normal routine and give her my number. I couldn’t bring myself to treat her like one of my normal hookups.

I sat up in the bed and ran my hands over my face, exhausted from how little sleep I’d gotten. However, after several hours of lying there, thinking about Josie, I figured I might as well get up and start my day. This girl was sweet, almost too sweet, and was the purest form of a woman I had met in a really long time, probably since my mother passed away. There was no way that I could put her in the same category as the other woman I’d been with. Josie was something special.

At the same time, I knew that I should make every effort to avoid her because I could already tell she was a threat to my normal, purposefully chaotic, lifestyle. She brought an order to things, just due to her presence. I sat there on the bed, thinking about how hot our sex had been, like we had known each other our whole lives. I read her body, and she read mine so easily. In fact, it had to have been one of the best orgasms I’d had in a really long time.

I knew there was no way that I was going to be able to move past this girl unless I just threw caution to the wind and went and saw her. I jumped out of bed and showered, knowing if I didn’t just go do it, I would lose the nerve and talk myself out of it. Besides, it could have seriously been the whiskey and the atmosphere. There was a very good chance that I would get there and realize it was a fluke, and that in the light of day, my interest dwindled quickly. Sadly, it wasn’t the fear of walking away that was bothering me. It was the fear of not being able to let go.

I got ready as fast as possible and jumped in my car, replaying the GPS from the night before. As I crossed over into West Palm, I could immediately see how different everything was. Instead of bodegas and fancy shops were convenience stores and specialty shops. The houses were smaller, the yards were minuscule, and the public transportation seemed to be moving triple the speed that it did on my side of town. When I pulled into her neighborhood, I could really see the difference in where I grew up versus here. The houses were tiny, and the yards were littered with cars and mowers that had been abandoned because they were broken and useless, not because they were showpieces like my car at my father’s old estate.

Several people were walking out to get their mail, and others sat quietly on their porch, sipping their coffee. All of them waved or smiled at me as I passed. I nodded back to them, pleasantly surprised by the warmth of this community.

Where I grew up, nobody sat outside, and the people were so rich, they felt as if the world owed them something. They would never go out of their way to greet someone from the other side, and at best, their hospitality was cold and condescending. I now understood why people from West Palm didn’t venture off to Palm Beach very often. The looks on the old, rich women’s faces would be enough to keep me away.

I pulled up in front of Josie’s house, which looked a bit more worn down than I remembered from the night before. I could only hope I didn’t have the same thoughts about Josie when I saw her. I parked the car and slowly walked through the overgrown yard to the front door. I knocked hard, stepping to the side as heavy footsteps approached. The door opened, and I stared at an older man, wearing a wife beater and shorts, round in the middle, with barely any white hair left on his head.

“Hi, my name is Blaine,” I said. “I am here to see Josie.”

I reached my hand out and waited for his response. He looked at me strangely and peered down at my hand, finally taking it and shaking.

“Right,” he grumbled. “Carl, my name is Carl. I’ll go get her for you.”

I looked around the neighborhood for a second, watching as Carl shuffled toward the back of the house, leaving the front door wide open. I felt slightly awkward not understanding Josie’s father or what role he played in her life. I did remember her mentioning that she had to take care of him, so I figured there was something wrong with him. Most men his age, that I knew, were pushing just as hard as they had at the beginning of their career and not even thinking about retiring yet. I made sure to take notice but not pass judgment, as I didn’t really know the whole story. Anything could have happened, and I could be making assumptions that would really hurt my chances with Josie.

I stood there for a second, staring at the open door before shrugging and walking inside. I assumed that he had left the door open to invite me in. I took a few steps inside and turned, closing the door. I looked around the room, trying to piece together a bit more about Josie. The place was small but cozy, and I could tell it had something of a woman’s touch. The couch was new, the television was relatively new, and the computer on the desk in the back corner had all the bells and whistles. As far as aesthetics, the floors were clean, but I could tell the carpet had been there a long time. To the right was a doorway into the kitchen, and I could see the off-white and gold tile on the edges. There was definitely some seventies influence in everything, and I assumed the large gold painted frame holding a velvet picture of Elvis was Carl’s influence, more than it was hers.

In all reality, I didn’t care what the place looked like as long as Josie was here, safe, and happy to see me. I knew I was probably intruding, not having called or texted before I just showed up. My mother had always taught me not to do that, but I didn’t really think about it until I had pulled up out front. Her father walked back out but didn’t even look at me. He sat down at the old desk and waved the mouse around on the surface. On the screen was some sort of online poker game, and he looked pretty gruff. I could hear the fake shuffle of the cards, and then I jumped. Her old man let out a loud growl and a few choice curse words at the screen, and I assumed that he had found himself with a bad hand. I never quite understood how the online poker thing worked, but I knew that if I were going to play a game, I much preferred the casino. Maybe, if Josie and I saw each other more than once, I could take her father out to the casinos, and we could have a little bonding time. I still wasn’t sure how all that worked, since I had stayed relatively single for many years now.

I stood listening to the ticking of a clock that I couldn’t seem to find on any of the walls. The house smelled like a fresh shower and leftover breakfast, what I assumed most houses smelled like. I usually picked my breakfast up and rarely cooked at my place, but I could still remember what my house smelled like as a child when my mother would wake up early and cook us all breakfast. She loved cooking bacon, and we definitely loved eating it. I wondered many years later if it was because that was all she knew how to make.

I looked up out of my daze to see Josie walk around the corner. She was clutching a furry pink robe closed in front of her that had seen better days. On her feet, she wore matching fuzzy slippers, and the rose color matched her cheeks. Her hair was dripping wet, and she wasn’t wearing a stitch of makeup. I assumed I had pulled her from her shower, and I realized maybe I should have called, after all. Then I wouldn’t have gotten to see her in her all-natural state, which was beyond breathtaking. She looked absolutely amazing, even more amazing than she did all done up at the bar the night before. She smiled at me and slapped her dad on the shoulder as she walked forward.

“Hey,” she said, confused. “It’s good to see you. Did I leave something in your car last night?”

“No,” I said, laughing. “I came to check on you. I figured with as much as you had to drink last night, you might feel pretty hungover.”

A smile spread across Josie’s face when she realized I wasn’t there for any reason other than to see her. She pulled her robe a little tighter and glanced back at her father, obviously not wanting to be too candid in front of him. I still couldn’t believe just how gorgeous this girl was in her all-natural state.

“Oh,” she said, laughing. “Yeah, I was hurting pretty good this morning. I couldn’t even remember what I had drunk, but my mouth tasted like juice and gummy bears, so I’m assuming the girls went shooter crazy. Nothing a few aspirin and some serious amounts of water couldn’t cure.”

“You know what my secret cure always was?”

She walked forward as if I was going to release a huge, hidden secret. “What?”

“A big, greasy breakfast,” I replied. “There is a place not too far from here if you would let me take you.”

She looked at me for a second, her eyes glimmering brightly. I could tell she either didn’t completely trust the situation, or she didn’t trust herself, but either way, my easy stance and charming smile would do the trick. I reached over and plucked a piece of lint from her robe and smiled as she blushed.

“Unless you’ve already eaten,” I said, looking over at the kitchen.

“No, I cooked my dad breakfast, but at the time, I wasn’t hungry.”

“So,” I said, stepping forward again. “What do you say? Let me take you out to breakfast.”

“Okay,” she replied. “Let me change out of this robe and throw my hair up, and we can go. You can sit down if you like. Make yourself comfortable. I’ll be out in a jiffy.”

She turned and walked back toward the bathroom, and I let out a deep sigh, happy that I was going to get to spend some time with her. Was it strange that I was feeling just as excited as she was? This might be a bad thing for my normal routine with women, but at that moment, I just didn’t care.

Chapter 4

Josie

My morning started with the spins, a super headache from hell, and a serious mental beatdown for my lack of responsibility the night before. I was being that typical girl, wavering between chastising myself and getting giddy as hell every time I thought about the hot sex and even hotter guy that I had hooked up with the night before. I got out of the shower, one of the few private moments I had in my day, and wiped the fog from the mirror. I stared at my tired face and soaking hair, glad to have washed the makeup and booze off my skin. I replayed my drunken state over in my mind, cursing at myself for being so reckless. I had a lot of responsibilities in life, and the last thing I needed to do was get wasted at a bar and end up putting myself in danger.

Blaine had been such a gentleman, from the moment I started dancing with him, but what if it hadn’t been Blaine? What if one of these skeevy West Palm boys had picked me up? I could have woken up in one of the beatdown areas, surrounded by creeps, and I would have had no idea what I had gotten myself into. Worse than that, I could have really gotten hurt. I was lucky that he showed up when he did. Just as I took a deep breath and thought about Blaine, my father knocked on the door, telling me some guy was there to see me. When I walked around the corner, I was more than shocked to see Blaine’s gorgeous blue eyes looking back at me with a smile on his face.

Never in a million years did I ever think that I would actually see Blaine again. I figured we would text a few times, try to make plans, and then fade from each other’s memories. I really thought it had been a seriously good one-night stand, but knowing men, there was no way I was going to see him again. But there he was, in all his glory, standing awkwardly in my father’s living room. It was rare to sleep with a guy within the first couple hours of meeting him, and then they actually had some sort of interest in you. I didn’t do that very often, but I was a girl who went to college, and as a social person, it was bound to happen every now and then. I drank way too much the night before, and even when I woke up that morning, I questioned myself as to whether my mind was playing tricks on me or if I had really had Blaine over. When I rolled over in my bed and smelled his cologne, I knew that it had not been a dream at all. Having him standing in my living room, though, was definitely not something I was expecting in the least.

I looked at him and tilted my head, curious and excited at the same time. Not only had he come over for no particular reason, he wanted to take me to breakfast. I thought for sure I had left something like my wallet or shoes in the car, and he came back to return them, but no, he was really there just to spend time with me. I was starting to feel like I was in the twilight zone, and I half expected him to tell me something crazy over eggs and bacon. I brushed my hair and grimaced at how fluffy it had become from the blow dryer. Having breakfast with this guy wasn’t the normal, everyday Saturday morning for me, and I really wished I had been able to straighten my hair and put on makeup. However, seeing that he was standing in my living room with my crazy father, I figured faster was better. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and smeared some lip gloss on my lips. The last thing I wanted to do was make Blaine wait. He was too damn hot to be standing around, waiting on my ass. Of course, I had to remind myself that he didn’t know me or my situation at all, so I might want to enjoy this because it probably wouldn’t last forever.

I hurried around the corner and into my bedroom, throwing open my closet and staring at my choices. I didn’t know where he was taking me, so I didn’t want to do a sweatshirt and shorts, but at the same time, I didn’t want to go nuts with a maxi dress and fancy sandals, either. These were the kinds of decisions I would normally mull over for hours, even days, before choosing something, but in the current situation, I needed to grab something and go. I pulled a pink sundress off the hangar and pulled it over my body, looking at how my curves fit the dress perfectly. I nodded my head and smiled, leaning down and slipping a pair of strappy sandals on my feet. I tightened my ponytail and squeezed my cheeks, trying to give myself some sort of color. It was summer in West Palm Beach, and I looked like a damn vampire with my fair skin and dark hair and eyes.

I looked in the mirror and swished the skirt of my dress back and forth, happy with my choice. I sighed at the bags under my eyes and shrugged, knowing there was nothing I could really do about it at that point. I reached over and grabbed my bag from the night before, making sure I had all my stuff, and headed back out to the living room. As I reached the opening, my father yelled out loudly, spewing a steady stream of curse words into the air. I sighed and took a deep breath as I rounded the corner to see my father still playing the damn game. My cheeks blushed immediately, realizing that Blaine was witnessing the ridiculousness of my father. He didn’t understand my family dynamic, and from the look on his face, he was being very understanding of that fact. I leaned over and kissed my father on the top of the head, listening to him grunt in response.

“I won’t be out too long,” I told my father. “There is egg salad in the fridge if you get hungry. I’m taking the keys to the car with me, so if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call my cell. I have it in my purse.”

“Yeah,” he said gruffly, looking up at me. “Have fun.”

The fact that my dad forced a smile and tried to be supportive of the fact that a man had come calling was a big step for him. In reality, he never really saw me doing anything out of my normal routine, but I knew that bothered him. However, he was my responsibility, and in order for me to go anywhere and feel comfortable, it took a bit of preparation, almost as if I had a child to take care of. Luckily, my father could make his own meals and generally take care of himself physically. I was more of a guardian than anything.

“Ready?” I looked up at Blaine and smiled.

“I am.” He smiled back and walked toward the door.

He looked over his shoulder to say something to my father but realized he was lost in his computer screen. I closed the door behind us as Blaine escorted me to his bright teal sports car parked out front. Immediately, I remembered thinking about how much I would like this car sober, and my drunk self was right on the money. It was sleek, shiny, sparkly, and had to have been almost brand new. The thing was luxurious and from my limited knowledge of cars, extremely expensive. Seeing that told me one of two things. Either he had a rich daddy, or he had some seriously fat pockets of his own to be able to cruise around in something like that. He definitely was not a West Palm Beach boy. That was for damn sure.

However, I didn’t really care about his money at all. It was just an observation that helped me start to piece together who Blaine actually was. I couldn’t remember him telling me anything about himself the night before, so in reality, the only thing I could do was piece together who I thought he was, though it was very likely that I was wrong. It didn’t matter at that point, anyway. I was just glad to see him standing there, waiting for me, something I never thought would happen. But I couldn’t deny that his car was pretty sweet.

Knowing that Blaine was obviously not poor made me a bit nervous about where he was taking me to lunch. I really didn’t like snobby rich people, and I wasn’t dressed to face those kinds of people at the moment. I assumed, though, that he would take me to a fancy brunch place or something, and secretly, I was dreading it. To my surprise, however, we zoomed down the road just a short way and pulled into the parking lot of Hal’s, a greasy spoon type of diner that had the best fried foods in the whole town.

I had gone there as a teenager with friends, when I could eat whatever I wanted and still have a rocking body. I wasn’t going to lie. I was pretty relieved to be there and not someplace with the rich and the famous of Palm Beach. I was just used to West Palm, no matter what people said about it. It was home, the place I grew up when times were simpler, and it had provided for me ever since then.

It was definitely more relaxing, knowing I was going to face Blaine on my own turf. He was intimidating enough as it was.

He walked around the car and opened my door, reaching down to help me out. As my hand moved across his, I could feel the electricity sparking through us. I stood up and straightened my dress, feeling his eyes on me. I linked my arm into his, and we walked inside, grabbing a booth in the back corner for a little bit of privacy. We both ordered a big sloppy burger and greasy fries. Then we sat back, talked, and ate for quite a bit of time. He was so funny and charming, and I felt that his candor was refreshing, even if it did take me by surprise at first. It was quickly becoming apparent that I liked him more and more.

“What do you do?” I asked.

“You can’t hold it against me if I tell you,” he said, chuckling. “I’m a lawyer. It was my parents’ firm.”

“That’s awesome,” I said, impressed. “Do your parents still work there?”

His face went blank, and I could tell he was guarding himself against me. I sat back and thought about apologizing, but if he wanted to get to know me, then he needed to start opening up, too. I wasn’t upset. I just wanted to know this stuff because it was important. He took a deep breath and softened his face.

“My parents both died in a boating accident in my first year of law school,” he said with an embarrassed smile.

“I’m so sorry,” I replied, feeling like I should have stepped back. “Were you at school?”

“No,” he said with a deep breath. “Actually, I was there. I was the only one that made it out alive.”

“That’s terrible,” I said, shaking my head. “Well, at least we still have you. You saved me from myself last night.”

I lightened up the mood and breathed a deep breath as his face turned to laughter. We spent several hours enjoying our food and talking. This guy had my attention, and he had it good.

Chapter 5

Blaine

I had always been such a guarded person, never opening up to anyone. I kept everything close to my chest, even to some of my closest friends. My inability to open up to people had gotten the best of me on many occasions, but at the same time, I had carefully crafted my walls so that I didn’t allow myself to get close to women, especially ones that were as easy to talk to as Josie. There was just something about her that made me feel incredibly comfortable. She was kind, caring, and extremely empathetic, something I was not used to with the women that I normally hooked up with. They were interested in my wallet, not my heart, and they were not looking for complications. I was a giant ball of complications since I found it important to keep people at bay. I didn’t want to be hurt, not after going through what I did with my parents. I also knew these women would expect me to be the bigshot lawyer, something I was not interested in whatsoever. However, sitting across from Josie and staring into her eyes, I couldn’t help the words that just kept spilling out of my mouth. I wanted to tell her everything, and I had little restraint.

“Ever since my parents died,” I said, looking down as she reached across the table and covered my hands. “I don’t know. I guess I’ve just been drifting.”

“Why do you think that is?”

“I wish I knew,” I said, smiling and taking a deep breath. “I don’t mind law, but financial law is really boring. I know it my parents’ business, but I have pretty much no interest in it at all. I find myself making excuses to get out of it, not caring that I’m living off the partners and my inheritance. I was so on track when they were alive, though I still wasn’t planning on working for their firm. I wanted to change lives, not wallets, and I hate the big corporate aspect of it all.”

“Have you talked about maybe selling your part of the firm?”

“I could never do that,” I said, looking down. She grasped my hands tighter. “It is really the only thing I have left of them. It was their legacy, the company they built from the ground up. I remembered being a small child and my father working for someone else. When he and my mother split off to start their firm, it was like he changed for the better. I couldn’t sell that off. It was the man and woman behind the name that made it valuable to me, not the actual firm.”

“I’m sorry you have to go through this,” she said with a kind grin. “I am sure, though, once you have worked through this, you will see that you have much more of your parents than just their law firm.”

“I hope so,” I said, looking at her beautiful face.

“I understand that family problems can hit you hard,” she responded. “They can cut you down to the core and really change who you are as a person. My mother left when I was a sophomore in high school. My father, he has a serious gambling problem, and he put our family in a really bad spot. He’s gotten better because he has no choice, but she wanted me to come with her. In the end, I just couldn’t think about leaving my dad all by himself. Sometimes, I think about the what-ifs. What if I had gone with her? How different would my life have been? But I still wouldn’t change anything, except maybe get my father a little bit more help earlier on. He pretty much gambled away everything we had, and now, he is jobless and struggling. I support us on my salary, but I still can’t seem to get through to him some days. It’s like the addiction takes over, and he is another person.”

Everything was starting to make sense, from her comments last night, to the small house in West Palm, and the way her grumpy father sat at the computer, playing online poker games. Her inability to go out on a regular basis was completely clear, and I realized that she was the one taking care of everything. I admired just how kind she was. I went through my life, forcing myself to not care about anyone, just doing what was best for me. All the while, this beautiful girl was across the city, caring about everyone she came in contact with, even me with my sad story. She didn’t know me from Adam, but she sat there and listened to my story, comforting me whenever she could. She had been through hell and back with her family, and I couldn’t imagine having to take care of a grown man while in high school. She’d been just a child.

My mother was a lot like Josie, kind to a fault, and often because of that, she’d been taken advantage of. I remembered talking to her about it, asking her why she continued to do it if she just got constantly hurt in the end. She told me she would rather help one person and be beat up by ten, than appease ten people and let one person fall to the wayside. She would listen to anyone, and she had some really good relationships with the staff of the house because they knew they could go to her and talk about anything. I could see it took a toll on her some days, just as Josie’s plight took a serious toll on her, but I could also tell that neither of them would do anything different.

When breakfast was over, we didn’t race back to the car. Instead, we continued talking, walking along the stone paths that lined the edge of the beach. It was so quiet and relaxing out here, and there weren’t a million snobby girls, making sure to get their perfect tan while clicking a hundred selfies until they got the “perfect angle.” She talked about her life growing up, what exactly she lost through her father’s addiction, and asked me questions about my parents that people so often forgot to ask. Everyone got so caught up in feeling sorry for me, they never talked about the time when they were alive. They never really listened when I said that my parents were good people. But not Josie.

She wanted to hear the whole story. As I talked, I felt almost like I could take in a deep breath and not be stopped by my own emotions. There was something so refreshing about getting these things off my chest, almost as if a weight was lifted from my shoulders. I think she might have felt the same way, as I could see her let out a deep breath as she peered out over the water. She was even more beautiful at that moment than the first time we kissed. It was so different and scary, but at the same time, I couldn’t keep myself from wanting to be close to her. There was something special about this girl.

My heart felt lighter as we walked along, listening to the waves, listening to each other, and listening to our own thoughts. It had been the first time I had ever let anyone in as far as I had let Josie, and I had only just met her the day before. I didn’t know if it was the clouds, the air, the ocean, or just the way that Josie fit so perfectly in my life, but in the short amount of time that we had spent together, she had unlocked something inside of me that pushed me to keep her right there at my side. I didn’t know how she did it, and I wasn’t sure she even knew how she did it, or that she even had, for that matter.

She looked up at me and smiled as we strolled along, and I smiled back. It wasn’t a forced smile, the kind that makes you feel like you were being tricked, but a real, genuine smile, something I hadn’t felt like doing in a long time. I grabbed her hand and pulled it to my chest, lifting it up and kissing the back of her hand. Everything felt so perfect and so right with Josie. She made me feel more comfortable with myself and with her than any person had my entire life. I wanted to freak out, but my heart said no, so I went with it, making sure to keep her as close as I possibly could. I didn’t want the day to end.

I was excited to see that she wasn’t ready to rush off after our walk. We strolled down to the open-air markets and looked at all the goods for sale. We laughed and joked as we walked through the crowds, not looking for anything specific, just browsing and prolonging our time together. They had really neat stuff out there that I had no idea about. West Palm was such a mystery to me. There were all these extremely hard-working people everywhere, but they all wanted or needed so many things. I knew that my privilege awarded me certain luxuries, ones that most of these people would never experience, but I still wanted to understand their lives. Josie was definitely complex, and I wondered if that was a normal thing for normal people. I had been through quite a bit, but it paled in comparison to a lot of the sights and scenes I saw walking along.

We stopped and grabbed a couple of seats at a beach volleyball tournament that we happened to stumble upon. Josie scooted close to me, and I smiled, feeling her arms wrapped around mine. An older couple looked over at us and smiled, thinking that we were a long-term couple, something that would have normally triggered me to take off and run. With Josie, though, it seemed to be the perfect fit. I didn’t want the day to end, which was why when it hit dinner time, I was disappointed that she had to go home to cook dinner.

“My father won’t eat if I don’t make dinner,” she said, smiling. “It’s really the only time he holds a conversation with me anymore.”

“I want to see you again, soon,” I said, not wanting to waste any time. “Can I see you tonight?”

“I wish,” she said. “It’s Saturday, and my father always struggles on Saturday nights. It used to be his night to go to the casinos, so I stay home to make sure he doesn’t go.”

I drove her back to her house and stared at her from the driver's seat. I reached up and moved a lock of hair from her face, leaning forward and kissing her nose. She blushed and then sighed, looking up at her house. I could tell she didn’t want to go inside, but I knew that she needed to do it. I was just making it harder.

“I don’t want to leave here without knowing I’ll see you soon,” I whispered.

She smirked and reached down, grabbing my phone. She opened the contacts and put in her contact information. When she was done, she turned it off and handed it over to me.

“Text me,” she said happily. “We will figure it out.”

I watched as Josie climbed from the car and walked up the walk, waving before opening the door and going inside. Immediately, I felt as if I were at a loss without her near me. It was truly the strangest feeling in the world.

I drove off, stopping at the stop sign and pulling out my phone. I sent her a text, knowing it would make her smile. I texted, “I miss you already,” and I was positive it was the truth.

Chapter 6

Josie

I walked into the house, both on cloud nine and grounded from the reality that I had to come back to my life. I loved my father, of course, but a part of me yearned to be free from his addiction. I had dealt with it my whole life, and I was doing the job my mother couldn’t stand by and do. I understood why she left, but that didn’t make it any easier. I knew if I left him there alone, he would end up in a really bad place.

Standing in the kitchen, I couldn’t get my mind wrapped around dinner. I was too busy replaying the day over and over again in my head. Blaine had opened up to me, and I had opened up to him as well, and it felt really good. There was almost a weight lifted from my chest as I strolled along the beach next to him, talking about all the things that I kept well-hidden my whole life. My phone buzzed, and I looked down at it, reading Blaine’s text. How adorable was that? He missed me already. That text shot me back in the right direction, so I walked over to the cabinets and pulled the spaghetti sauce out. I looked over at my dad, who was still plopped in front of the computer, playing hand after hand of poker, and I sighed.

It never failed that as soon as something good happened to me, I suddenly was struck with the realization that my life was a bit of a mess. But it was my life, and I needed to take the positives with the negatives. I thought about Blaine and the day we spent together, and I began to hum a tune I remembered my mother humming when times were good. I pranced around the kitchen, creating the most delicious spaghetti I could from the ingredients that we had. My mother always added, what she called, the special ingredients before putting the spaghetti together for everyone. So, doing what my mother taught me and feeling giddy and jolly from the day, I went to work.

When the noodles were done boiling, I drained them well and put them back in the pot, adding three tablespoons of margarine, some salt, and some garlic powder. I stirred it all up and breathed deeply, loving the way the house smelled like a home when dinner was cooking. I added the sauce and continued to mix it up, realizing that in my Blaine haze, I had made enough spaghetti for an army. I laughed to myself, figuring we would be eating it as leftovers for a few days.

I was so engrossed in the conversation Blaine and I had, it was hard to concentrate on anything else. I was not only taken back by how much he opened up to me so quickly, but by how much I opened up to him as well. He really seemed like the kind of guy that was going to be completely guarded, kind of like I was, but once we got rolling in our conversation, it was hard not to just let it all out. On top of all of that, when I listened to his story and then told mine, I was shocked at how much I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. It wasn’t very often that I described my life to anyone, as my father’s issue was a bit embarrassing, and I hated the advice people tried to give me. But letting Blaine in felt so good.

When I first met Blaine, I thought that he seemed like a guy whose life was perfectly put together. He looked like a man that had the perfect job, perfect family, and perfect life, but he was hiding just as much as I was. He had some dark secrets from his past, and even though I wanted to help him, I knew that the best thing for me to do was hold his hand and listen, hoping that allowing him to talk to me about it would be just as therapeutic for him as it was for me. I wasn’t sure if he felt that way, but the look on his face as we talked made me think it was.

Dad and I ate in silence. My thoughts were on Blaine, and my father’s were where they always were, gambling. I knew the therapist said having him use the free online poker site was not going to help him, but at the point that I signed him up, I was at my wit's end. I couldn’t keep him from the casino, and I couldn’t afford for him to continue to squander the little bit of money he had left. The site didn’t let you gamble with money, purchase anything, or use your own cash. It was simply a poker game with other people, virtually, that you used your points for. Since I signed him up, I hadn’t noticed him go out one time to the casinos, which he used to sneak out to almost every night, even when he was trying his hardest to fight the addiction. It didn’t help that when my mother left, he pretty much just gave up, not caring what happened to him.

When we were finished, Dad went over to continue his game, and I started to clean up from dinner. Cleaning up was the part I hated the most, but I found giving my father responsibility meant he would rush through, leave dirty dishes, and I would end up having to clean everything again. I tried to talk to him about it, but it never seemed to get through to him, so I just took over the responsibility. As I set down the dishes in the kitchen, my phone buzzed again, and I smiled as Blaine’s face came up on the screen. He wanted to know if he could see me tomorrow. I wanted to scream “yes” a thousand times, but I was scared he would get burned out on me. Should I play hard to get? I texted him back with, “Idk,” and he instantly took the bait. Our conversation then exploded into a flirtatious back and forth.

Blaine: : (

Me: Aww no sad faces.

Blaine: You can fix that, you know.

Me: Oh yeah? How?

Blaine: Well, I can think of many different ways.

Me: Hey there mister. I have innocent eyes.

Blaine: Didn’t seem that way the other night, lol.

Me: You seduced me.

Blaine: I’m pretty sure it was the other way around.

I laughed reading the text, thinking about how drunk I was and wondering if I looked even half as sexy as I felt. In my sober mind, I figured I looked like a bumbling idiot, trying to dance, and falling all over the place. Either Blaine liked clowns, or I wasn’t as bad as I thought I was. Either way, I loved his little flirty texts, and I was happy to have someone like him to take away my boredom as I babysat my father on a Saturday night. Maybe one day, he could come over and watch movies with me while we were there.

Blaine: If you don’t choose a place or time to see me, I’m going to come over there right now and torture you with an endless bout of tickling.

Me: Oh no! Okay okay, I relent. Pick me up at two tomorrow.

Blaine: And where is it that I am taking you, milady?

Me: Lol. To the zoo. It’s one of my favorite places.

Blaine: Perfect. Then I will see you at two, beautiful. Have sweet dreams tonight.

Me: You too, handsome.

I shook my head, smiling and looking up at my father who hadn’t noticed a thing. I sighed and grabbed a blanket, posting up on the couch until bedtime for my normal Saturday night movie marathon. I used to be so jealous of my friends on these kinds of nights. They were out there, partying it up, getting crazy, going on dates, and just having a normal life. Instead, I was twenty-eight, sitting on the couch, and babysitting my father so he didn’t get himself in trouble with the wrong people. I knew roles were supposed to reverse when parents got older and children grew up, but I didn’t think it would happen quite this soon. I rested my head on the back of the couch and hit play on the DVD, having decided on a slew of romantic comedies to keep me occupied. If I couldn’t keep Blaine off my mind, I might as well give in to the fantasy and fill my night with hopeful love stories.

Several hours later, my father went to bed, and I locked up the house and hid the car keys. At least if I did that, I would hear him searching for them, and he never was very discreet. I told my father goodnight and shut myself in my bedroom. As I changed into my nightgown, I closed my eyes and listened to the ocean through the open window. That was always something I felt so lucky to have, the ocean across the street. I knew people paid millions for oceanfront property, and I had been lucky enough to take over my parents’ place, which had been my grandmother’s before that. I could remember so many nights lying awake in bed as a little girl, listening to the waves. Now, though, I was lying awake in bed thinking about Blaine.

I wasn’t sure what he saw in me. Sure, I took decent care of myself, always had pride in my appearance, and was incredibly dedicated to being a good person, but I was a nobody. I was a lonely little school teacher in West Palm Beach, with an addicted father and a runaway mother. I didn’t have anything but time to offer Blaine, and with the current situation I was in, I didn’t even really have that much time. He had come from an affluent family and affluent community, something I knew little to nothing about. Still, despite all those fears and doubts, I couldn’t help but feel incredibly lucky, for the first time ever, that I was in that bar that night.

I pushed away all the doubts and laid my head down on the pillow, pulling the blanket to my waist and curling into a ball. I let the feel and look of Blaine’s tight muscular body run through my thoughts. He was so sexy and tan, and his blonde hair and blue eyes added to that rich, bad boy charm. I could tell he was used to getting what he wanted, and the difference in his personality the first night versus today was telling. He wanted to be around me, and it wasn’t just the chase. Hell, he already caught me once. He could literally go to a bar and pick up anyone he wanted, but instead, he was negotiating a date with me and taking me to see all the fuzzy animals at the local zoo. I couldn’t imagine it was a place he frequented on a regular basis.

I wondered what it was like to wake up next to him in the morning, his arms wrapped tightly around me. He had left the other night right after sex so that we wouldn’t wake my father, but I really wanted him to stay. I wanted to wake up in his warm strong arms, his body pressed against mine. I wanted him to wake me up with the big, hard cock he had filled me up with. I sighed as I closed my eyes, drifting off to sleep with visions of Blaine’s body running wild through my soul. That man had me hooked.

Chapter 7

Blaine

I was more than excited to get to Josie’s for our date. I had been up most of the night thinking about her, wondering where all the walls I had built went. Apparently, from the first time I laid eyes on her, they’d all come crumbling down. But I wasn’t scared about it anymore, and I knew that I had to give in and see where this all went. This girl was amazing in every way that I could imagine, and I wasn’t going to let my past dictate my future anymore. I pulled up out front of her house and got out of the car, feeling waves of nerves and excitement billow through my chest. I knocked hard on the door and waited, expecting her father to answer. To my surprise when the door opened, Josie was standing there, looking sweet as always. She invited me in so she could grab her bag, and I looked around for Pops, but he was nowhere to be seen. I figured maybe he was in his room, locked away from the poker for a few hours.

When she came back out, she was gleaming, smiling from ear to ear. Her gorgeous dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail, her makeup was subtle and illuminating, and she was wearing jeans and v-neck shirt that showed just a hint of that amazing cleavage I knew she had hidden under there. It took everything in me not to cancel the zoo trip and jump her right there in the living room. We left the house and climbed into my car, putting the top down on the gorgeous September day. It was almost fall, but you couldn’t tell for a second out here in sunny Florida.

I usually hated crowds, especially crowds of children, so to say I wasn’t excited about the zoo would be an understatement. However, I couldn’t help but feel content and happy at the look on Josie’s face. She was so adorable at the zoo, just like one of the kids. She pulled me from cage to cage, exploding with excitement when one of the furry, adorable animals stuck its head up. It seemed they liked her as much as I did because every time we went up to an enclosure, all the animals’ eyes were on her. There was even a moment where a small baby monkey played on the edge of the cage where she was standing. Her enthusiasm was catching, and I found myself having a really good time with her by my side. The way she interacted with the animals and the children made me realize why she was a school teacher. I could imagine she was probably a pretty damn amazing one, at that. We bought elephant hats and walked around laughing at each other and eating ice cream. It was like a perfect day I never imagined I would be included in.

When we were done at the zoo, we were both starving, so I drove us to dinner at an upscale beachside restaurant that I had been to with my parents when I was graduating high school. The place was beautiful, but the views and the sounds of the waves were what I came there for. After we had ordered and the wine had been poured, we sat back, looking out over the ocean. The sun was setting, and the sky was a mix of oranges and blues. It was absolutely stunning, not to mention the scenery on the other side of the table was pretty fantastic, too. I could tell she was thinking about something as I watched her run her finger around the top of her glass.

“What’s on your mind?” I asked.

“The future,” she said, sighing. “I was just thinking about all the things I want to do, if my dad gets better that is.”

“Oh, yeah?” I asked curiously. “Like what? Tell me about your dreams.”

“I want to start a non-profit,” she said, smiling. “As a teacher, I see kids from all walks of life. As a teacher in West Palm Beach, I see children that don’t have anything. They come to school without supplies, clean clothes, shoes that fit, and a whole slew of other things. As teachers, we try to do what we can to help, and we give our kids what they need to be academically successful, but we all know those aren’t the only factors that come into play. It’s hard to learn when your shoes hurt your feet or you come to school hungry and cold. I want the non-profit to raise money to donate to these kids. I don’t want to donate money to them. I want to donate the supplies, clothes, food, and whatever they need to have a healthy and bright start in their education. Otherwise, we will have another generation of dropouts, high crime rates, and poverty. We have to break the cycle somewhere.”

Her spirit and generosity were so admirable, and I couldn’t help but be inspired by her willingness to give to others. There had to be a way that I could help her achieve this dream, a path I could help her get on to make this non-profit something that would actually work. My thoughts ran quickly through my legal knowledge. I had a background in all areas of law, but I’d grown up with a financial set of parents. There were so many things that she could do, and knowing her, she wouldn’t want to take a cent of the proceeds for anything for her own use. It was very clear that money was not the first thing on her mind. In fact, it didn’t even seem to be on the list of top ten things she cared about.

“How about you?” she asked.

I looked up at her with surprise, realizing that I had never really thought about it. She took me extremely off guard. My life had been pretty much set up for me with no real option to stray from it. I had spent so many years being forced into what my future was that I hadn’t ever really taken the time to think about what I wanted. I felt that it was a frivolous thing to think about since I didn’t feel that I had much choice in the matter, so I pushed it to the back of my brain and left dreaming for other people. I realized, after getting to know Josie, there really wasn’t a perfect situation for dreaming. You either chose to follow your dreams, or you laid down and took what society set up for you. I guess I had laid down and taken it for so long that the idea of dreams had become somewhat of an enigma.

Before meeting Josie, I hadn’t thought about anything other than the fact that I had no path. I was wasting away in an endless cycle of booze and pussy, and I hated everything there was about the law firm. I didn’t want to practice law, at least not for the schmucks we had as clients. I didn’t want to deal with the constant influx of rich, stupid people in my life. Most of the people I knew never felt what it was like to go through hardship, to be pulled from the brink and be given a second chance. Josie definitely got my wheels turning. I thought about it for a few minutes, sipping my wine and looking out over the ocean. Josie could see I was lost in my thoughts, so she smiled and waited for me to work it out in my mind. She was so damn patient, it was amazing.

“I’ve never really thought about it,” I said, rubbing my chin. “My life has always pretty much been laid out for me. I didn’t have the opportunity to really be given the choice.”

“I don’t believe that,” she said, smiling. “My life wasn’t really what I planned, but in between the moments of darkness, the light was there to give me the ability to dream for the future. In fact, I think that was what kept me sane all of these years.”

“Maybe you are right,” I said, amazed by her intelligence and wisdom. “I don’t know. I do like law. I just really hate the people our firm caters to. I think that if I could take the firm and make it my own, I could bring in some cases for people that weren’t the rich assholes that deserve their misfortune. People that really need help but can’t really afford anyone better than a court-appointed attorney. Those are the people that I really want to see get help. So many of them slip through the cracks, get guilty pleas because they don’t understand the system, and then end up in prison. It's that cycle of degradation that you were talking about, only with crime and adults. I guess it all ties together since those adults were once children, facing the same issues your kids face. It’s crazy to think that the lack of help as a child leads all the way up to these lives where people still don’t give a shit about them.”

“It is sad to think about, really,” Josie said, still looking out at the ocean. “And as a society, we should be standing up for that, but instead, we are too worried about our own pockets and our own lives. What are we if we don’t take care of each other?”

“You’re right,” I said, smiling at her and shaking my head. “I don’t know. I guess those are things I can definitely start to think about.”

I told her I didn’t know, but I knew there was one dream that I wasn’t shouting from the table at the restaurant. There was one dream that I didn’t think I would ever achieve, no matter where my career or life went. I knew at that moment, what I really wanted was to settle down, buy a house, have a family, and live that dream that my father had experienced. My parents were amazing people, and I wanted to enjoy life just as they had, with the family included in that. It was a crazy thought that was floating through my mind, and I knew it was the first time I had ever thought that way. But how could I not with Josie sitting there, listening to me?

Part of me wanted to take her into my arms and tell her just that, tell her how she had blown my mind since the first words that came out of her perfect little mouth. The other part of me knew that we had only been seeing each other for a few days, and getting too serious about our relationship at this point had the potential to chase someone away. Josie was the most amazing woman I had ever met in my entire life, and the last thing I wanted to do was scare her away with dreams like that. So, instead of bombarding her with dreams of grandeur and family, I held it inside, hoping one day that I would have the chance to let her know.

She was the most perfect woman I had ever met. She had these dreams that didn’t benefit her, but instead, benefitted the kids, the families, and the community. She thought selflessly about others, and I could see that she would give the shirt off her back if it promised a bright future for someone else. I wanted to make sure she had all of these things. I wanted to make it so she could have all of her dreams and have a life where she was treated like the queen that she was. There were a lot of women out there who felt like they deserved to be treated like that, but Josie was the first one I had ever met that actually deserved it. What made it even more special, was the fact that she didn’t even know how much she needed to be given those things. One day, I was determined to show her.

Chapter 8

Josie

After dinner and the intense conversation we had, we walked out onto the beach, enjoying the cool air, the sand under our toes, and the crashing of the waves beside us. The ocean had always been such an emotional place for me. The vastness of it made me think about how amazingly small we were. People enjoyed the waves and the water, but it was home for many, a strength that protected us from weather that had the ability to take us out, and a calming push and pull that connected all the way up the moon. I smiled to myself as I shook the thought from my head, realizing that I had gotten deep with that last thought. My hand brushed against Blaine’s, and he grabbed onto me, looking over and smiling as we walked along.

The cool water of the Atlantic rolled up over my feet and almost hit the bottom of my rolled-up pant legs. The sky was beautiful, and the air was the perfect temperature. Blaine and I had spent the evening bonding over more things in life, and I had this feeling in my chest that told me things couldn’t get any more perfect than they were right at that moment. As soon as that thought crashed through my mind, Blaine stopped me and pulled me close, kissing my lips gently. I was absolutely wrong. This was topping the list for the night.

At first, his kisses were tender, soft, and emotional, but as we discovered our bodies pushing against each other, the heat began to rise between us. He opened his mouth and ran his tongue across the crease of my lips, opening them up and inviting himself in. Our kiss grew deeper and deeper, and my hands clenched onto his muscles through his thin, gray t-shirt. Passion erupted between us, a passion even deeper than the one I experienced with him that first night.

The water rushed up to our legs, but it didn’t deter us. Our hands began to run down each other’s backs, and goosebumps ran down my neck as he rested his hand on my hips, pulling them into his. I could feel the outline of his large, semi-hard cock against me. The heat in my stomach quickly moved downward and the juices began to flow, pooling in my satin panties. His cologne smelled amazing, and by the time our lips parted, I was breathless and needy.

He stared deeply into my eyes and tucked the hair blowing against my cheek behind my ear. He leaned in and kissed me again, this time soft and gentle. He moved his lips to my cheek and lingered there, his skin barely touching mine. I breathed deeply, my heart beating crazily in my chest and my mind on something other than conversation. I wanted him so badly, and I was hoping that he would keep walking toward his place, which I knew wasn’t far from there. I wanted him to lay me down and take advantage of my body. I wanted to feel his mouth against mine and his tongue all over my skin as I melted beneath him.

When he pulled back and kissed my forehead, I felt a little disappointed, but I followed him back toward the car that was parked at the restaurant. I wasn’t sure why he wasn’t making a move, and part of me was slightly bothered by it. It was obvious that he wanted me and was attracted to me, and it wasn’t like it would be our first time. I was really hoping that he was going to invite me back to his place and get hot and heavy, but instead, he walked me back to the car and opened the door for me. I sat there thinking about it as he climbed inside and put the top of the car up. It was getting chilly outside, and I hadn’t brought a jacket. Before he could put the keys in the car, he leaned over and kissed me again, smiling as he pulled back. I put my hand over his and turned toward him, deciding that I wanted to ask him about the first time we had sex.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Anything,” he said calmly.

“What do you think about the fact that we had sex so soon after meeting each other?”

I sat there looking at him, waiting for him to respond. He was being thoughtful about his words, and I wondered what was going through his mind. I could feel my nerves bubbling up in my stomach, but I pushed them back, not wanting to change the subject. I really wanted to know. Between the flirting, the kissing, and the emotional bonding, I figured he would be trying to get my clothes off already. I watched his eyes as he put his hands in his lap and let out a long breath. He smiled and looked out the window, obviously nervous to tell me the truth.

“When I first met you,” he said. “I had every intention of taking you back to my place, having sex, and never calling you again.”

“Wow,” I said, chuckling at the response I wasn’t expecting.

“I have been terrified of getting hurt for so long that I had built up a wall,” he explained. “I didn’t have relationships. This bond that we have isn’t something that I have ever felt before. I was a playboy, loving and leaving as fast as I could. I’m not saying I’m proud of it, but that was my game. It was pretty much the only thing I did with my free time. I told you I had wandered since my parents died, and that was where I wandered to. I filled the loneliness with temporary distractions.”

“I appreciate your candor,” I said, reaching for his hand.

“But after I made love to you at your house,” he said, turning toward me. “I knew that you weren’t one of those girls. As I drove home that night and woke up the next morning with you on my mind, I knew that there was something different and unique about you. I thought you were amazing from the first slurred, drunk words that came out of your mouth. I knew you had the biggest heart right away. I was drawn to you, and I still am, in a way that I could only imagine my father being drawn to my mother. I couldn’t treat you like the other women. I couldn’t lump you in with just another hookup. So, I didn’t, and I let you crash through those walls I thought I’d built so sturdily.”

I smiled, listening to every word that he said. It didn’t bother me that he was a playboy, and I pretty much had already figured that out on my own. What I didn’t realize was why he was that way. I didn’t realize that he was pushing people away so hard because he was so traumatized by his parents’ death. He had obviously loved them very much, and he couldn’t bring himself to allow anyone else into his heart. It was raw and truthful, and I respected him for telling me the truth instead of giving me some line he thought I would want to hear.

“I have never been so honest about my life with anyone, ever,” he said, chuckling. “I told you more in the first twenty-four hours of knowing you than I’ve ever told anyone else. I’m not even that honest with myself most of the time. But you are special, unique, and I feel a connection with you that is safe and comfortable. What I just told you about sleeping with a different girl every night, that isn’t a normal thing for a guy to admit to a girl that he’s interested in, but I don’t want there to be any secrets between us. I have to be honest with you, I have to let you know who I really am, and I have to take the chance of not knowing how you will react. There was no other way around it in my mind, which is crazy, because I’m a lawyer, and there is a way around everything in our world. But as I stood there looking at you, I knew that if I lied, I would one day have to come clean, because I didn’t plan on going anywhere. I didn’t want any other girl in my life, and a weight had been lifted off my chest that I had been suffocating under for far too long.”

I looked him in his big beautiful eyes and knew that everything he was saying was the honest to god truth. There wasn’t one hint of a hidden agenda written anywhere on his face. Butterflies fluttered wildly through my stomach, and I took a deep breath, trying to formulate a response.

“I understand,” I said softly. “I had no time for relationships in my life with the way my father is, and my mother was gone. I had no patience for games or misunderstandings, and I had no want or need for any drama in my life. When I saw you, all I thought about was how gorgeous you were and how long it had been since I had gotten laid. I was wasted, but when your lips touched mine, you sobered me up really fast. By the next morning, I was beating myself up for not giving you my number. I thought about you all day, and when you showed up for breakfast, I was beside myself with excitement. I kept my life a secret, too, for reasons I’m sure you could understand, but with you, I felt that you were my safe place. I wanted you to know everything about my life so that there were never any secrets. However, now I feel like we are both waiting for the other shoe to drop, nothing could really be this perfect, right? At least, that’s what I ask myself in the morning.”

“I think it can be,” he said. “And I think it is.”

“Then what are you waiting for?” I laughed and squeezed his thigh. “Invite me to your place, and make passionate love to me. I don’t want to go through another night without feeling you inside of me.”

His eyes widened, and he grinned, turning on the car and putting his hands on the steering wheel. He looked out the front window, and his smile got wider and wider. His hand moved down to the stick, and he shifted us into drive.

“You know what? You’re right.” He chuckled. “I have been trying to resist the urge, wanting to get to know all of you without you thinking I was just in it for the booty.”

“Well, I don’t think that,” I said. “And there is nothing wrong with having a little bit of both.”

“I can’t resist you for one more minute,” he said.

I leaned over and kissed his neck, nibbling at his earlobe as I pulled back and sat down in my seat. He sped out of the parking lot and hit the road in his sports car, weaving down the road toward his place. He looked over at me and took my hand, smiling and rubbing his thumb over my palm. I could feel an excitement in my chest mixing with the desire to get him naked. I was pretty stoked to see where he lived, and I was even more excited to feel him inside of me. The heat in my stomach bubbled and twisted as I watched his blue eyes darting over the road as we drove. If I could have taken him right there, I would have.

Chapter 9

Blaine

I had lived in my place for years and had done a bunch to it to make it feel like home. However, as I pulled up and walked Josie inside, I was seeing my place with a fresh set of eyes. I hadn’t really ever thought about the many different aspects of my life until Josie came around. She really had a way of making me feel like I needed to take a good, long look at things. Not to mention the fact that she was so adorable when she was faced with something new and exciting. I could see how well she would be able to relate to the kids that she taught. Just like at the zoo, when she saw my house, I could see her endearing and natural curiosity sparkle in her eyes. She was giddy, like a kid on Christmas, and she really did care about getting to know every part of my life. I had only known her a few days, but it felt like a lifetime. At the same time, it didn’t feel long enough. I had completely forgotten that I hadn’t brought her to my house before.

Outside, she stood staring up at the five thousand square-foot beach house. Her eyes scanned the white shutters, perfectly manicured grass, and flowers planted along the walkway. I didn’t keep up with yard work since my thumb was more orange than green, but I had some of the best landscapers in Palm Beach to make sure it was neat, tidy, and beautiful from all angles. As we stepped inside, I started to feel slightly awkward. I lived in the lap of luxury with maids and housekeepers keeping every inch of my place clean and sparkling at all times. The floors were redone every few years, the furniture was updated to match the current trends, and the electronics were the best that money could buy. I spent my wealth freely and without restraint, but thinking about Josie’s meager home with run down furniture and old flooring, I couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable showing off my place. I wasn’t purposefully showing off or trying to rub her nose in my wallet. I was pretty sure she already knew that, but it didn’t make me feel much better.

I thought about the velvet picture of Elvis, the overgrown lawn, and the old, stained tile floors in her home. My house was mostly white with exuberant colors blasting from the paintings on the walls. I was pretty sure there wasn’t even a hint of velvet anywhere in my home. At the same time, though, that house was her father’s, and with his issues, I could see Josie holding on to anything that he hadn’t already pawned or sold to feed his gambling addiction. I couldn’t imagine how it would feel to have your own father be so helpless to his vices that he would diminish the comfort and security of his own home at his child’s expense.

As we walked through the living room, Josie stopped and stared up at the eight-foot-tall canvas hanging on the wall. She gasped at the colors vibrating from the space, and I smiled, realizing that she liked art, something I didn’t know about her. I smiled and took her hand, pointing out the stainless steel open kitchen, which she gawked at. I showed her the living room, where she plopped down on the white sofa and ran her fingers over the fabric. Then I took her to my favorite part of the house, the deck. As we walked outside, I heard her “ooh” and “aww” for the fifth time since coming into the house. The sound of the waves crashing in my beach backyard was soothing, and she stared at the infinity pool that reflected the sky. I leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, proud that she loved my house the way she did.

“Everything is so perfect,” she said, laughing.

“Yeah, well, that’s not my doing,” I said, sighing. “I have a housekeeper and a maid that keep everything perfect for me. I was actually kind of a messy kid growing up.”

“Really?” She looked surprised.

“Yeah, I blame it on the fact that mother always picked up behind us,” I said. “I never thought about it until I went to college, and my dorm looked like a nuclear explosion. I forgot no one would come behind me and clean up.”

“Yeah, I’m kind of a neat freak,” she said, smiling. “So, I got you.”

“I’ll be right back,” I said, remembering the bottle of wine in the fridge.

I left Josie standing on my deck, looking out over the ocean. I loved to watch her. She was so fascinating, and I was constantly wondering what was going on inside of her brain. I pulled the expensive bottle of chardonnay from the wine cooler and plucked two glasses from the cabinet. As I walked outside, she shook her head and turned around, smiling.

“It’s so beautiful,” she said. “I can’t believe you get to live here.”

“I take it for granted sometimes,” I said, popping the cork out of the bottle and pouring two glasses. “I won’t lie. I am a very lucky man to have a life like this.”

I handed her the glass of wine and clinked her glass, sitting down in the chair for a second as she walked to the edge of the pool. She sipped her wine and stood staring out at the sunset, the colors so beautiful behind us. The sun was already below the horizon, and the stars were shining brightly overhead. It was my favorite time of day, when you could experience the beauty of dusk in one direction and the twinkling stars in the other. Adding to it, Josie looked absolutely gorgeous in front of the colors and the lighting from the pool.

I stood up, putting my glass down and walking over to her. I put my arm around her waist and looked out at the ocean, feeling her tremble slightly at my touch. She turned her face toward mine, and I looked deeply into her eyes, reaching my hand up and caressing her cheek. She leaned her head into my hand, and I smiled, moving down toward her and pressing my mouth against hers. Her lips tasted like the sweet wine she had been sipping, but there nothing compared to how sweet Josie really was. She was more than anything I ever felt like I deserved. She was kind, sweet, and so fucking sexy. Her heartbeat was picking up. I could feel it as my hand moved down to her neck, and I couldn’t imagine a more perfect scenario.

I wasn’t into romance very much, especially since the women I’d gone after before Josie really didn’t need romance to pull them into my life. But right there on that porch, I felt like the scene couldn’t get much more romantic. With the disappearing light on the horizon, the crashing of the waves, the soft lights from the pool, and the extremely sweet wine, I wanted to freeze time right there. I didn’t want to move from that spot, and though my mind was pulling me toward her, my body had other ideas. Her skin was so soft, and she breathed lightly as our lips moved seductively over each other’s.

I reached down and took the glass from her hands, setting it down on the edge of the deck. I turned toward her, putting both hands on each side of her face and pulled her into my kiss. I pressed hard against her face, pushing my emotions into high gear. She groaned softly as I enticed her lips open with my tongue and tasted every corner of her mouth. She reached her arms up around my neck and pressed her tits against my chest. I could feel her chest heaving up and down, her breath increasing and the kiss becoming something more, something primal. I ran my hands down her back and cupped her ass, picking her up into my arms and wrapping her legs around me. I didn’t want to move my lips from hers for even a second, so I walked carefully back into the house and across the living room. As I turned to go down the hall, she grasped onto my neck, sending waves of passion through my body. I turned my head and dug into her kiss, harder and deeper.

As we entered my room, I walked toward the bed, releasing my lips from hers and carefully laying her across the plush white comforter. She looked up at me with heaving breasts, her eyes darkened, and her hair now pulled free from the ponytail and spread across the bed above her. I climbed toward her and tossed her sandals on the floor. Slowly, I reached up and unbuttoned her jeans, pulling the zipper down. Her pale white skin glistened over the top of her blue satin panties. I pulled her jeans down and took them off, one leg at a time. She sat up slightly as I inched her top up and over her head, tossing it to the side and kissing her lips as I unclasped her bra. Her large perky breasts bounced out, her nipples hard as rocks.

I moved my face down her neck, trailing my lips over her skin as I rubbed my hands up her stomach. She breathed heavily as my mouth moved over her tits, sucking her nipple into my mouth. I could feel her hand glide through my hair as I nibbled and sucked at her heaving breasts. While my mouth did the work on one, my hand massaged the other, and I held back my desire to completely ravage her perfect body. She deserved to be cherished, to be held, and to be shown just how much I wanted her. I wanted to worship every inch of her, to the point that neither of us could stand it any longer. She leaned her head back and moaned as my body pressed against hers, her legs already spread apart and waiting for me to come to her.

I moved from her breasts and kissed down her stomach, shifting my head from side to side until I reached the edge of her panties. I pulled them down slightly and licked her skin, feeling her body clench in anticipation. I lifted up, pulled her panties from her body, and looked down at her bulging pussy. I scooted down on the bed and took off my shirt and shorts, throwing them to the floor and laying on my stomach. I could tell she wanted my mouth on her, but I wanted her to want me so badly, she couldn’t stand it. I pushed her legs up and leaned into her upper thighs, kissing her skin and grazing it with my tongue. She arched her back and lifted her hips, inviting me in, but I wasn’t going to fall for it. I ran my tongue down each of her thighs, watching her body writhe and wiggle beneath me. She reached down and grazed her own body with her hands, touching right above the folds of her wet mound.

I pulled my body forward, dragging my rock-hard cock beneath over her pussy, feeling her hips widen and her legs open up around my waist. She groaned as I pushed down, feeling my shaft rubbing against her wetness. My mouth met hers, and she reached up, pulling my head down and kissing me with passion. She ran her lips across my face and sucked on my earlobe, sending chills down my spine. She was so damn sexy, I could barely contain myself. As she let go of my ear, she leaned up and puckered her lips, whispering softly, but deeply.

“Put your mouth on me,” she said.

Chapter 10

Josie

He was almost torturing me, but at the same time, he worshiped my body in a way that no man had ever done before. He made me feel like my body was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, and he had spent the last, I don’t know how long, kissing and licking every inch of it. Every inch except for one, that was. At first, I was nervous, knowing that the last time, I had zero inhibitions from the copious amounts of alcohol I had consumed. However, as soon as he took my clothes off and touched every part of me, he quickly put those fears to rest. It was shaping up to be ten times as good as the first time, and when were together that first night, I thought it couldn’t get any better.

I leaned back on the bed, and he moved his head back down toward my wetness. He pulled my thighs apart and pushed my legs upward, hooking them over his shoulders. I gripped onto the comforter as he pushed his warm, wet tongue through my folds and licked me from top to bottom. I moaned loudly, feeling free to express myself as he circled back and flicked his tongue against my clit. My body shook slightly from the electric shock that pulsated through my body. I felt his hands move up and pull my pussy apart, his mouth covering my nub and his tongue moving over it in waves. My back arched at the feeling, and I lifted my hips from the ground, feeling him move with every twitch of my body. His mouth felt so amazing against me, and I could already feel my orgasm beginning to simmer. I had never been with someone who could get me off so fast and make me come so damn hard.

As his mouth moved over my clit, his fingers trailed through my juices, and I groaned as he slid two fingers in and out of me, his thumb grazing my ass. I ground my hips against his face, feeling a growing impulse to let loose and go crazy. I wanted to feel him slam into me, his cock twitching inside of me, but the feeling of his mouth was so amazing, I didn’t think I could let it go until I covered him with my juices. He turned his fingers over inside of me and flicked the tips of them, sending waves of pleasure through my pussy. I screamed out as he began to move faster and harder, his mouth matching the speed of his hands.

I reached up over my head and grabbed the pillow, wanting so badly to explode. I could barely handle the pressure against my body, and the feeling of his big, swollen fingers fucking me hard. He pushed his head up slightly and started to flick his tongue over my clit. I reached down and grabbed his head, intertwining my fingers through his hair as I ground my pussy against his face. I could feel his lips curling up into a smile as my body began to tense and the heat in my stomach exploded.

My body arched, and my heels dug into the bed, scooting me backward as I began to come. He reached up and grabbed my hips, pulling me back toward his face as my body shook beneath his mouth. He ran his tongue through my whole pussy, sopping up the juices and pushing my orgasm harder and harder. My head flew back, and my tits bounced up and down as the waves of pleasure pulsated through me. Before I was completely done, he jumped up and ripped off his boxers, scooting forward and grabbing his shaft. I opened wide, letting him know how badly I wanted to feel his cock inside of me, and he took no time pushing deep and hard inside of me, filling me fully and lingering there for a moment as I moved my hips in a wave motion, up and down his abdomen.

He wiped his face and looked down at me, his hands barely touching my body as I pleasured myself against him. Normally, I would need time to rebuild my stamina, not even coming close to another orgasm for quite a while, but as his cock twitched inside of me and my body danced around it, I could feel that I was going to have a really hard time holding back on the second one.

I screamed out in ecstasy and gritted my teeth, pushing toward him, wanting more, even though his shaft was fully submerged in my wetness. He grinned down at me before grabbing me by the waist and lifting me upward until I was almost resting on my shoulders. I grabbed onto the headboard as he took a deep breath and began pounding into me as hard as he could. With each move inward, his body overwhelmed mine, forcing me to hold my breath to hold back from coming all over again.

The comforter was twisted like our bodies, and I let out my breath, a deep loud moan escaping as he dug his fingers into my side and rubbed my clit with his other hand. He scooted his knees back and lowered me down a bit as he spread my legs wider apart and slowed just enough to make sure that every inch of him was inside of me. I could feel every single fold and wrinkle in his shaft, and I pushed my body into his as he thrust forward. Faster and faster, our bodies began to collide again, but this time, I could see all restraint fade from his eyes. I took in a deep breath as waves of ecstasy exploded from my body, sending me spiraling into the orgasm I had held back. He groaned and gritted his teeth, slowing enough to feel my pussy pulsating around his cock. I moaned with every wave, reaching down and grabbing his hips as he pushed deep into me. As my body began to release warm juices around his cock, he groaned loud and fell forward, digging into me as deeply as he possibly could, releasing his own pleasure. His muscles shook, and his head hung low as he slowly let out the air in his lungs. I could feel his raging cock pulse like a heartbeat inside of me, and I knew that he had finally reached his climax.

When his body relaxed, he fell to the side, breathing heavily, but he immediately pulled me into him. He kissed my lips, and we laid there, quietly recovering from that amazingly hot sex. As my heart began to slow down, I looked up at the alarm clock across the room and groaned, knowing I was going to have to leave. I really didn’t want to. I wanted to stay and fall asleep wrapped in his warm body. I wanted to wake up in his arms, feeling his manly grasp on me, and even reach down and wake him up with hot, sensual morning sex. I had just finished having two amazing orgasms, and I was already looking to fuck him again. I almost laughed but thought it might be taken in the wrong way.

“I don’t want to, but I have to go home tonight,” I said, sighing. “I have school in the morning.”

He groaned, pulling me even closer and nuzzling his head into the nape of my neck. I didn’t have the willpower to move, so we laid there for a little bit longer until he finally let out a sigh and pulled himself upright. He looked down at me and smiled, his eyes dark but this time, not with lust. I could see his emotions swirling around in the starry coloring of his blue eyes. He kissed me and then got out of bed, pulling on his clothes and picking mine up, neatly laying them on the end of the bed. I groaned, got up, got dressed, and laid my face on his chest in the darkness of the room. He kissed the top of my head and led me out of the house and back to the car. We hopped in, holding hands, and drove off toward my house.

The mood in the car was really somber, and I couldn’t help but worry that things were going to change. I was worried that I took the risk of pulling him back into bed, and in the end, that risk would be the end of something that was already so incredible. But I didn’t know what else to do at that point. I felt so close to him, and I wanted to be even closer. It wasn’t like he didn’t enjoy it as well, but the quiet of the car made me nervous, no matter how hard he grabbed onto my hand. When we pulled up to the house, he opened my door and walked me up to the front door. Immediately, as he leaned in, all of my fears quickly evaporated. His lips pressed into mine, and his arms wrapped around my body. It was one of the most passionate kisses I had ever experienced. I could barely keep my feet on the ground, and I felt like we were both hovering in the passion of the moment. He pulled back and looked deeply into my eyes, calming any nerves I might have.

“I really don’t want to let you go,” he whispered.

I smiled at him and let him pull me into a hug. I rested my head against his shoulder, thinking about how amazing everything in my life was starting to become. I had everything I ever wanted, except for a healthy father, which was something I was more motivated than ever to get started on again.

“I’ll text you,” he said, kissing my forehead and turning to walk away.

I shook my head and leaned against the door, watching him as he walked through the overgrown yard to his completely out of place car. I smiled as he looked up and flashed one of his charming smiles, waving at me before climbing inside. I wanted to run after him and go back to his place, but I knew I had to keep my head on my shoulders and keep my job.

I went straight to my room and closed the door, butterflies flying through my chest as I changed into my pajamas and set my alarm. Once I was in bed and had the covers pulled up, I listened to the sound of the waves across the street. Instead of me drifting right off to the sound, I sat there replaying every single moment of the last two hours. His skin, the smell of his body, the sound of the groans coming from his chest, the look of lust in his eyes, and everything else that happened. I grabbed onto my pillow, feeling like I was no longer anchored to the earth. That had been the most erotic experience of my life, and Blaine was one of the sexiest men I had ever been with.

I felt like a schoolgirl after her first kiss, thinking about the way his body tasted against my tongue and feeling the flitter of electricity in my chest. I had been worried for no reason, but he quickly had taken care of that with the passionate kiss on the front porch. Everything seemed like one of those girlie, romantic movies I used to gorge myself on. But now, with Blaine in my life, I was living my own romantic movie. Only mine wasn’t really a comedy. Hopefully, our love affair turned out like one of the good ones, with us sailing off into the sunset, wrapped in each other’s arms. I knew at that moment, I wasn’t going to let Blaine get away from me for anything.

Chapter 11

Blaine

I hadn’t been into the office in nearly a month, but today, I was motivated to get back in there and actually put some work in. Josie was so inspirational on so many levels, and after I had dropped her off the night before, I went home and really thought about our conversation over dinner. She was right. Everyone had things going on in their lives, things that could really mess them up on many levels, but that didn’t mean they should stop their lives and kill their dreams. I felt like it was harder for me to realize than others because I had the means to just give up, while other people fought for their dreams while supporting their lives and their families. So, at nine in the morning on Monday, I showed up at my firm’s office and completely shocked pretty much everyone inside. As soon as I walked through the door, jaws dropped, and I could see Anderson Brady, the managing partner, get up and walk over with a smile.

“Blaine,” he said, shaking my hand and patting me on the back. “How are you?”

“I’m doing well,” I said. “Everything looks great.”

“Yeah, it’s going well,” he said, smiling. “What can we do for you today?”

“I think it’s time I made some changes in my life,” I explained.

“I like how that sounds,” he replied. “Come on, let’s go into my office.”

I followed Anderson across the hall and into his office. Anderson had been a friend of mine since my father and him were in law school together. My father trusted him to carry on the legacy of the firm, just as he had trusted me. I didn’t quite hold up my end of things, but I was ready to get back in there.

“So, tell me what’s going on,” he said, laughing and sitting down behind his desk.

“I’m ready to jump back into things and put this degree to good use,” I said. “I want to bring in some clients that are maybe on a sliding scale. I don’t want to just deal with the richest of the rich anymore.”

He smiled. “You sound like your dad. I think this is all fantastic. What made you change your mind? I knew that you were struggling after they died, and you really didn’t like the field we were in.”

“A girl,” I said, laughing. “Not that she wants me to work, but she made me realize some things, some important things.”

I knew it sounded stupid to say a girl changed my mind, but I would be lying to myself if I thought that I could have come to this conclusion on my own. Josie was a force to be reckoned with, but she was also extremely kind and very intelligent. She knew as much as I did that I needed to chase my dreams, and I had the perfect outlet to do that.

“I can’t wait to meet her,” Anderson said. “Tell me about her.”

“Well, she’s a school teacher in West Palm,” I explained. “She, uh, she’s not like any girl I’ve ever dated before. She doesn’t have a fairytale story about growing up. She definitely has had her fair share of things thrown at her, but she is light and lively and really knows how to cut right to the core of me.”

“You haven’t known each other long?”

“No,” I said, laughing. “She kind of came out of nowhere and really just stole my heart. She’s really something else. She had a rough childhood, and she was forced to make some hard choices at an age when she should have been hanging out with friends, not becoming the leader of a household. But it’s really turned her into a humble and empathetic person. She doesn’t see the dark side of things very often. She reminded me that a lot of people go through tough times, but our dreams for the future are what keep us going and give us hope. I realized I had completely given up on everything when Mom and Dad died, and I don’t want to do that anymore. I want to know Dad would have been proud of me.”

“Well, she sounds like a smart woman,” he said, chuckling. “I’m really happy for you, Blaine. And we are all really happy to hear you are going to start working again.”

“Thank you, Anderson,” I said, standing and shaking his hand.

“I’ll send my secretary over to brief you on things and get you up to speed,” he said, reaching for the intercom. “Mary?”

“Yes, Mr. Brady?” she asked through the speaker.

“Can you get together all the files on clients and cases that we are currently considering, and then take them over to Blaine’s office and give him the rundown?”

“Absolutely,” she said, hanging up the phone.

“Thanks, Anderson,” I said, walking out of the office.

I sat with Mary and listened as she listed the potential clients who needed help but didn’t have the financial ability to hire the firm full-time. I took the files and thanked her, making a stack on my desk to start looking through. I knew I would be on my own with these clients until I could prove it lucrative. Then, I could hire a team to help me with this aspect of the business. I sat there flipping through the files, reading their testimonies and figuring out who I needed to start with. Just talking about Josie in Anderson’s office got my brain hooked on her, and I had to put down the file because I couldn’t focus. I picked up my phone and sent her a text.

Blaine: I can’t stop thinking about how sexy you are.

I sat there for a minute, smiling to myself as I looked through the next file and waited for Josie to text back. When she replied, it was a blushing emoji face, and I laughed, shaking my head. I told her she was definitely not blushing last night. That sentence sent images of our hot and sultry bodies clashing against each other in ecstasy. The phone buzzed again, and I looked down at what she wrote.

Josie: I forgot to turn the ringer off on my phone. When you texted, all my students burst into laughter.

Blaine: Whoops!

I laughed to myself, picturing her standing at the front of her class and having the students laugh as her phone rang. Then, she picked it up and saw what I sent her. I could already picture the blush moving over her face and the students giggling in the background. She was so damn sexy, even pictured as a school teacher. Of course, I might be picturing her a bit differently than she actually looked up there. I doubt she wore a skirt with a thigh-high slit and left her blouse unbuttoned several buttons so her bra would peek through. I mean, every guy in history has had the naughty school teacher dream at least once in their adolescence. Now, I had the real thing. I thought about her day and looked over at the clock, wondering what she was doing at ten in the morning. I wasn’t even sure what grade she taught, so it was hard for me to know what her schedule would be like.

Blaine: You have plans for lunch?

Josie: I do. I tutor kids on my lunch break every day.

Blaine: You are perfect.

Josie: Lol. Hardly. How’s the first day at the office going?

Blaine: Good, I’m going through files.

Josie: Sounds like fun. I am waiting for the students to finish their tests. It’s a quiet day.

She was so adorable, and she’d just given me another reason to admire her. She taught school all day and then gave up her lunch break so she could tutor some more. I was curious as to what type of teacher she was. Was she the strict one, with lots of rules? Was she the cool one everyone liked? Or was she the sweet one that everyone wanted to hug? Something inside of me told me that she was most likely the sweet one that everyone wanted to hug. She was so caring and understanding that I could see her talking any kid down off a “sugar high, acting out as class clown” ledge. I bet the parents loved her, too, especially since she taught in a poorer area and paid a lot of attention to the students that were struggling. I couldn’t even start to imagine teaching a classroom full of snot-nosed little punks. On top of that, I knew just how difficult parents could be. I didn’t envy her at all. She was a stronger person than me.

Blaine: So, can I see you tonight?

Josie: Sure.

Blaine: Awesome, I’ll pick you up at seven if that’s okay.

Josie: Sounds perfect. Have a good day.

Blaine: You too, sweetness.

I smiled as I sent the message, feeling full of happiness but not wanting to look like a complete nutcase. I tossed my phone to the side and started going through every one of the files, really delving into their cases. I called the clients with any questions I may have had. All of them seemed worthy of our expertise, but I was going to have to pick the ones that needed attention right away. There was no way that I was going to be able to handle all of those cases at one time. There were a couple of them, though, that could wait, and I called them to go over the sliding scale my father had worked up before he passed. I figured if they agreed, I could let them know that their case would be dealt with, but that it was not due for quite a bit of time, giving me the ability to work on other cases that had to be handled immediately.

The day seemed to drag by, especially with me checking my phone every five seconds. But, despite my moments of regret where I wished I could take a nap, I put in a full day of work, not leaving the office until after five. I was proud of myself for weathering the storm and making my first day back really good. All but one of the files decided to go with the scale, and most of them expressed their excitement to have me as their attorney. I guessed the family name was useful for something more than just to impress other people in high society.

At the end of the day, I updated Anderson before jetting out of the office, heading home to change my clothes. I wanted the night to be chill, and all I was worried about was having Josie in my arms. The rest was just details. After I changed, I sped over to her house, parking out front and walking up to the door to greet her. I missed her and had only been away from her for half a day. I was starting to turn into a complete puss, but I didn’t care. I was crazy about the girl. I just couldn’t believe how deep my feelings had gotten for Josie in the span of a week. She was on my mind constantly, and she had this way of making me smile, even when I was struggling to make it through a day. I had never experienced feelings like those before, no matter what girl I was seeing.

The night before was absolutely amazing, and I loved every single second that I spent with Josie. As I reached the front door, I took a deep breath, really excited to see her. I could only pray that tonight turned out just as amazing, if not more than all the nights before that one. Things just kept getting better and better.

Chapter 12

Josie

I was extremely excited to see Blaine. I had been thinking about him all day. When he knocked on the door, I jumped up from the couch, ready to go. I opened the door and threw my arms around him, squeezing him tightly and feeling his arms around me. It had been a long day, and after I knew I was going to see him that night, I couldn’t help but watch the clock. It ticked by so slowly, and when the final bell rang for school, I was up and out of there. I was so proud of him for going back to the firm and chasing his dreams. It was exactly what I knew was inside of him all along.

He walked me to the car, grasping my hand tightly and opening the door for me. I watched as he walked around to the driver’s side and jumped in. He buckled his seatbelt and put his hands on the steering wheel, looking over at me and smiling.

“So, what exotic location do you want to explore tonight?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” I said, sighing. “I’m not really in the mood for any crazy adventures tonight. How about we go back to your place, and I’ll cook you a good, home-cooked meal?”

“That sounds amazing to me,” he said, smiling. “I mean, I’m not one to turn down a hot meal. Netflix and chill seems good to me tonight.”

“I like the Netflix,” I said, laughing. “But chilling wasn’t exactly what I had in mind for later.”

He laughed as I winked at him and put the car in drive, pulling away from the curb and heading back toward his place. I was pretty excited to get to spend the evening at his house. I loved the fact that it was so beautiful and clean, and the ocean was literally his backyard. Even when you were inside, if you listened hard enough, you could hear the waves crashing on the shore. It was spellbinding, and I knew that as soon as I got there, I could relax and spend some stress-free time with this amazing man.

As we drove, I tucked my phone in my purse, just in case my father happened to call. Blaine looked over and grabbed my hand, pulling it into his lap and smiling. I loved how he needed to always be touching me in some way. I really wanted to have a night where I just slept in his comfortable bed, wrapped in his strong arms, and feeling his chest heaving as he slept. It sounded silly, but I really felt that one of the most intimate things you could do with someone was sleep in their bed, cuddled in their arms. It was like the emotional side of intimacy, just being close to each other and being completely comfortable with it all.

When we got to his house, I immediately made a bee-line for the kitchen, excited to finally get to cook something in a real kitchen, with new appliances. I really loved to cook, which was why most nights, I didn’t mind cooking my father food. The biggest thing I hated was the fact that we couldn’t afford really good ingredients like Blaine could. I did the best with what I had, and usually, I could at least make my father the kind of food that he liked. He was kind of picky, and I’d been forced to call my mom for recipes after she first left. Luckily, she didn’t take her recipe cards with her, so I’d been using them ever since then.

I looked through the cabinets, amazed at how much food he had stocked up. He was insane with his house, and I was pretty sure, after getting to know him, it wasn’t likely that he used the food in the pantry very often. I pulled out all the ingredients to make some delicious fettucine alfredo and went to work, making the sauce from scratch and adding some steamed broccoli to the top. It was absolutely delicious when I tasted a bit off the spoon, and I was excited to have him try it. He came over and took out the plates and silverware to set the table, kissing me on the cheek as he walked by.

When the table was fully set, I walked over, putting the noodles, sauce, and broccoli carefully on the plate. He pulled out a bottle of white wine and filled our glasses, making sure to not spill it. When we sat down, he tried his meal, and I held my breath, waiting for his reaction. He chewed carefully, looking for all the flavors that I had put into it.

“Wow,” he said, wiping his mouth. “This is absolutely amazing.”

“Thank you,” I said proudly. “It’s one of my favorite dishes.”

“It’s been so long since I had a home-cooked meal,” he said. “My housekeeper keeps the shelves stocked with food, but I rarely eat anything. I am pretty sure she takes the stuff home that is about to expire so that food isn’t wasted. I almost don’t eat certain things so I can make sure she has a good bounty at the end of the month. I pay her through a service, but I am almost positive she only gets a fraction of what it costs me to have her there. She told me last year, she didn’t even get the entire bonus I gave them. After that, I decided that any bonuses would be paid by check directly to them, and not through the company. I would switch, but then I would lose her, and she keeps me together.”

“That was the most spoiled thing you’ve said to me,” I said, laughing. “Your housekeeper keeps your life together.”

“First world problems,” he joked.

“You have a big heart,” I said, smiling. “Even if you try to hide it from everyone.”

“Seriously, though,” he said, taking another bite. “This is delicious. Thank you.”

I beamed, knowing that he really liked my cooking, something I was very confident in. I loved cooking for other people, and I always thought that if my teaching career ever imploded, I would open a restaurant and cook whatever I wanted. It would be good, home-cooked food from scratch. I had worked up a whole business idea in my head that incorporated the non-profit I wanted to start and other ways that I could help the community. It was definitely a pipe dream, but I enjoyed thinking about it, especially when things started to get rough at home. I guessed I was a dreamer, someone who hid behind a fantasy to escape the stress of their reality. I was realistic about it, and I didn’t always do it that way, but I definitely would retreat to those dreams whenever I wanted to get my mind off of things.

We sat quietly and enjoyed our meal. It wasn’t an awkward silence, but instead, it was just two people enjoying each other’s company over a hot meal and some wine. I loved this part of the day, and I found that it was even better, sharing it with Blaine. We both finished our plates at the same time, leaning back and stretching with full bellies. He yawned and rubbed his stomach, looking up at me with a smile.

“That was delicious,” he said. “So, what’s for dessert?”

“Me,” I said, feeling extra feisty.

We sat there for several moments, half-laughing and trying to figure out if we were serious. His eyes began to darken as I lifted my foot up, running it up his thigh and across his crotch, hidden from view by the table between us. I could feel his cock starting to grow as his pants tightened under my foot. I leaned in a bit further and pressed down, running my leg across his and pushing down on his dick. He groaned and took the napkin out of his lap, tossing it on the table and leaning back in his chair. For several moments, our comfortable silence turned into intense lustful silence, and I could feel my pussy begin to get wet. He was so sexy, sitting across the table in his polo and jeans, and instantly, I was turned on by the noises coming from his throat.

He reached down into his lap and pushed down on my foot as it worked its way up his hard shaft. He got rock-solid fast, and I could only imagine how uncomfortable that was for him in those pants. I looked over at him and caught his deep, dark stare, wondering what was going through his mind. I had wanted him all day, and now that I had him in front of me, I was just waiting until we both buckled under the pressure. He took a deep breath and put my foot down, sliding his chair back and standing up. I watched as he walked around the table and grabbed me, pulling me to my feet. He put his hands on my waist and lifted me up in the air, turning and setting me down on the cold granite countertop behind us. I could feel the heat of passion in him as he ran his fingers down my chest and began to unbutton my top.

Before he took it all the way off, he pulled my pants and my panties off with a rush, obviously losing some of his self-control. He pulled my body forward and yanked my legs apart, diving his face down in between my legs. He reached up and stroked through my folds, sticking out his tongue and licking the length of me. I reached down and ran my hands across the smooth granite, moaning loudly at the feeling of his mouth on my skin. He groaned into my pussy, responding to my cries of passion. His fingers moved down, and he looked up at me as he slid two of them inside of me. My head flew back, and I grabbed my tits, squeezing them hard as he fingered me. His mouth curled up into a smile as I gripped down on my breasts and breathed heavily at the feeling of his fingers inside of me.

He licked my clit several times and then stood up, gripping the countertop as leverage. He leaned forward and kissed my ear as he continued to push his hand in and out of me. His hot breath against my neck added to the buildup.

“You like that?” he asked.

“Yes,” I moaned loudly.

“You want it harder?”

I nodded my head up and down. He bit his bottom lip and began to finger fuck me as hard and as deep as he could go. I screamed out in ecstasy, feeling him pushing me closer and closer to orgasm. I wanted him so badly, but his hands moved like magic, caressing the inside of me like nothing I had ever felt before. He leaned back over and began to lick my clit at the same speed as his fingers. I reached my hand down and grabbed his hair, feeling my resolve to hold off begin to crumble inside of me. The heat in my stomach was inflamed, and with every lick of his tongue and every flicker of his fingertips, the blaze grew bigger and bigger. I leaned back on my elbows, breathing loud and deep, screaming out every time he plunged his fingers deep inside of me. He looked up at me and smiled, flickering his tongue against my nub before closing his mouth and sucking hard on it.

“I’m going to come,” I screamed out, holding his hair.

As soon as the words left my mouth, he picked up the pace again, and without a thought, I exploded into orgasm. My legs shook wildly around his head, and my body twitched beneath him. That was a welcome surprise, but it was far from over.

Chapter 13

Blaine

I could feel her body tensing and shaking beneath me as she came hard into my hand and mouth. I loved the way she felt, the way she tasted, the way she sounded, and everything else about her hot fucking body. I gripped her hip and continued to move my fingers in and out of her, pushing her orgasm to the next level. I could feel her pussy contracting against my fingers, and I wished at that moment, it had been my cock. She was so tight and so sexy, I was having a hard time resisting her. However, I didn’t need to resist her for very long. Before she was even done with her orgasm, she grabbed my face and moaned her words.

“Oh, God,” she screamed. “Fuck me, please.”

I inhaled deeply and let it out. There was no holding back anymore. No more teasing. No more letting the heat build up between us in a slow burn. I needed her as badly as she needed me, and I couldn’t wait another fucking second to bury myself inside her.

I pulled her from the counter and spun her around, bending her over the countertop. I stepped forward, unbuckling my belt, unzipping my pants, and pulling my cock out of my boxers. I didn’t even feel like I had enough time to take my pants off completely. I pushed her legs open and grabbed my cock by the base of the shaft. Before I pushed into her, I sighed, reaching into my back pocket and pulling a condom out of my wallet. I tore it open and pushed it on my dick, resuming the position and fingering her quickly to get those juices flowing. She reached across the counter and hung on as I thrust forward, pushing my shaft through her juices and deep down inside of her.

I could hear the muffled moans escaping her lips as I fucked her, pushing in deep and then slowly pulling out, feeling every ripple in her pussy. Everything about this woman was amazing. I put my arm on her back and grasped her shoulder, thrusting forward and listening to the moans that matched my movements. I reached my other hand around her waist and rubbed her clit, feeling her body getting tenser and tenser. My hips began to move quickly, and my body slammed against hers. The sound of our skin slapping against each other echoed through the house, and the cabinets shook as I began to lose control. I pulled both hands to her waist and fucked her deep, rolling my head back as my cock bulged and pulsated inside of her. She grasped tighter to the counter and screamed out.

“Fuck, I’m going to come. Don’t stop.”

I was exactly where she was, and I gritted my teeth as our bodies collided over and over again, until I could feel the rush of pleasure surging through every muscle in my body. I groaned loudly, pushing up on my toes as I sank deep inside of her, my seed bursting out of my cock. My hips continued to push inside of her, trying to go as deeply as possible as she climaxed, sending waves through her wetness and vibrating down my shaft. My body shook, and my knees went weak, forcing me to lay my body across hers. I pressed my lips against her neck, trying to catch my breath. My heels touched back down, and I slowly pulled out of her. She turned around, slowly holding herself by the counter and shaking her head.

“Wow,” she said with a breathless chuckle.

“I’m sorry,” I said, breathing heavily as well. “I couldn’t help myself.”

“Don’t apologize to me,” she said. “You should do that more often.”

When we were collected and she had slipped her clothes back on, I took her hand and led her over to the couch. I flipped the television on and put on some comedy that didn’t take a lot of brain activity to concentrate on. She curled up under my arm and pulled her legs up beside her. We sat watching the movie, my thoughts focused on her and the way she made me feel. I was aware of every movement she made, and as she ran her hand down my chest, I couldn’t help but notice. I could tell we were still under each other’s spell, and the heat between us never seemed to dissipate. I had just fucked the hell out of her an hour before, but I still couldn’t get my mind off that sexy body and tight pussy.

When the movie ended, she tilted her head up toward mine, and electricity shot through my chest. I leaned down and kissed her, pulling her into my lap. At first, it was gentle, but it quickly became more heated. We sat there making out, pulling at each other’s clothing, ready for round two. I couldn’t believe that we had gotten to the point where we couldn’t keep our hands, among other things, away from each other. I couldn’t control myself for even a second when I was with Josie, and what started as a kiss, quickly turned into more. I took her right there on the couch.

Neither of us had a ton of energy left, but the sex was hot, regardless of motion. When we both had finally hit our climax once again, I laid my head on her chest and rested as she stroked my hair, pulling the blanket on the couch down over us. I could hear her frantic heartbeat in her chest, and I realized that this woman had gotten the best of me, and I didn’t want it to stop.

“Will you stay the night with me?”

“I wish I could,” she said, sighing. “I’ve been thinking about how I want to fall asleep in your arms, but I have school in the morning, and you are quite a ways away. On top of that, I have been worried about my dad and want to be there for him if he needs me.”

“Is he okay?” I asked.

“I mean, as okay as he’s ever been,” she said, shaking her head. “He’s been disappearing a lot more lately. I’m worried that he’s been hitting the track again. There are some seriously shady characters there, ready to pray on a man like my father. I want to be there when he gets home. I don’t want him to leave and end up on one of his long benders where he is gambling away what he doesn’t have. When he runs out of loans, he ends up coming back, taking all the electronics, and pawning them for more gambling money. I can’t even tell you how many times I have bought the same exact television from the pawn shop down the street from the house. It got to the point where the owner knows me and sells it back to me for what my father pawned it for.”

“Is that why I haven't’ seen him lately when I’ve come to pick you up?”

“Yeah,” she said, looking down at me. “He’s in and out so much, and he has started to learn when he can come and go without being noticed. I mean, I can’t be there with him every second. Someone has to make the money. Luckily, I give him an allowance for whatever he needs, and it's not enough to gamble with. Other than that, he has no ability to get to the money.”

I was frustrated with her response, not because I was frustrated with her, but because she was in this situation to begin with. She talked about it so nonchalantly, but I figured for her, it was old hat. She had dealt with it since she was a teenager, and before that, I was sure she took notice of what her mother was going through. At that point in her life, she should have been living the dream, having friends, going out, being with me in my soft, cushy bed. Instead, she was rushing home to catch her father sneaking out as if he were her child and she was trying to keep him out of trouble. I couldn’t even start to imagine what she went through on a regular basis. She was completely exhausted every time I saw her, and I assumed she wasn’t getting very much sleep.

Although her response irritated me, I understood that she was willing to go through hell and back with her father, no matter how much it affected her. All the understanding in the world, though, couldn’t take away the fact that I wanted her close to me where I knew she was safe and happy. For now, however, I was going to respect her wishes and not try to step in and save the day like I really wanted to. I knew there was no easy answer to any of this, and I would have to take her lead on the subject.

We got dressed and took a few more sips of the wine from dinner before leaving the house and jumping in the car. We pulled out of my neighborhood and headed for her place on the other side of town. As we drove down the strip, the waves crashing in the dark next to us, I couldn’t help shake thoughts of her father. I wanted to do anything I could to make life easier on Josie, but I didn’t even know where to start. She had become the expert on trying to fix a man that really didn’t want to be fixed in the first place.

“Is there anything I can do to help with your father’s situation?”

“I don’t know,” she said, sighing. “I mean, I’ve been doing my very best to keep him accountable, but he gets in these moods where he is tired of me watching him like a hawk. So, when I’m not looking, he runs away, forgetting that he will have to explain himself to me when he comes back. I’ve been trying to help him for many years, trying to offer him coping mechanisms, alternatives, and anything that I can to get him off this train, but he just snubs me. He won’t even check into the gambling program the hospital had given him information on the last time he was mugged by the casinos.”

“He was mugged?”

“That is what he said,” she replied. “I mean, I don’t even know what to believe anymore. He has been doing really well lately, but it’s about time for him to have another relapse. They always seem to be lurking around the corner with him. I’m just afraid he is going to get caught up with the wrong people at some point. I know he has a problem, but the last thing I want to see is him get hurt.”

We pulled up in front of the house and looked at the dark windows. I could see her worried face, and I wondered if her father was inside sleeping, or if he’d stayed out, wandering around town, looking to get his next gambling fix. She was at her wit's end with him and was seriously starting to consider bringing someone else in for another intervention. Personally, I didn’t know how much longer I could just stand by and let her be dragged through the mud. Her father could be ninety years old and still have this problem. She couldn’t spend the rest of her life taking care of him like he was a child. I sighed and looked over at Josie, who was staring at me kindly.

“I want you to know I’m always here,” I said, taking her hand. “Anything you need, you just pick up the phone and call. I know you can be stubborn, but I mean it. No matter what time it is, you can always look to me for support.”

I leaned over and kissed her sweetly, thanking her for an amazing night. I took in a deep breath and watched her get out of the car, walk up to the door, then turn around and wave at me. She was an amazing woman, and she knew that she could count on me for anything. The question in my mind was whether she would actually do that when the time came.

Chapter 14

Josie

I was having one of those days where I just wanted to crawl under the covers and go back to bed, hoping the day would either restart on a better note or pass by. My mind was all over the place. When one of my students puked all over another student, I really felt like I was going to have an emotional breakdown. To make matters worse, my father was not home when Blaine had dropped me off, and he never showed up back at the house. I tried to call him several times, but his phone was either off or dead. Even when the phone would ring, he didn’t pick it up, and my emotions ranged from terrified to pissed off in the blink of an eye.

I got the sick student cleaned up and sent them both down to the office to call their parents. One needed a change of clothes, and the other just needed to go home. The janitor cleaned up the mess and left the room smelling much better. When lunchtime rolled around, I was dreading my tutoring. I was hungry since I didn’t eat breakfast, and I needed some quiet time. The feeling didn’t last long, though, as I looked up at the door and smiled, seeing Blaine walking into my classroom. He set a bag down on the desk and looked around the room. He had surprised me with sushi for lunch, something I loved, but barely ever had time or money to get.

“You didn’t have to do this,” I said, pulling the trays out.

“Yes, I did,” he said, winking. “I wanted to make sure you were getting a healthy lunch when you gave up your free hour to tutor your kids. Someone needs to take care of you.”

I was completely taken back, blown away by the amount of caring and kindness he was showing me. From the sounds of his stories from the past, he was not this nice before me, and I wondered what had changed so deeply inside of him that he’d transformed from the rich playboy to the doting and generous boyfriend, or whatever label accurately described what was going on between us. I was just happy to see his face, food or not, and I offered for him to sit down and eat with me. I laughed as he pulled up one of the small chairs that surrounded the small tables across the room.

“What grade is this?”

“I teach fourth grade,” I replied. “And then I teach focused American History when they start moving from classroom to classroom. It really changes every year, but I like this grade because I get to teach a little bit of everything except art, music, and physical education. Art would be fun, but the other two, I would be absolutely useless.”

“You want to come veg out at my place tonight?” he asked, rubbing my head. “We’ll just cuddle under the blankets and watch movies.”

“I would love to, but I really want to stay at home and wait for my dad to get back,” I replied.

“He still hasn’t shown up?”

“No,” I said, sighing. “He’s not answering his phone, either.”

“Well, why don’t I come over there and wait with you?” he offered. “There’s a really great action movie I’ve heard rave reviews about. We can order some pizza and be lazy together.”

“Okay,” I said hesitantly.

I was having a hard time having him back over to my house. He lived in the lap of luxury, and part of me felt bad for forcing him to hang out in my tiny little house. Still, I couldn’t deny the fact that I really didn’t want to be alone, staring at the door and waiting for my father to walk in. At that point, I was about forty-eight hours away from filing a missing person report. Either way, I didn’t want to force him to come hang out at my shitty place, but I couldn’t muster enough care to tell him no.

Surprisingly, he seemed excited about the thought of coming over, his eyes widening and his face changing expression. He continued to talk about this movie with a bounce in his step, as if he really thought it would be something that got me going. Just hearing him blabber on about the movie made me feel better, and I realized that whenever he felt excited about something, I did too. It was like his emotions were rubbing off on me. I thought it was interesting and wondered how it worked in the opposite situation. Would his sadness or anger change how I felt?

The feeling of excitement and all of his plans for this movie were infectious, and he quickly buoyed my confidence until I was at the point where I was really looking forward to him coming over. In fact, I couldn’t wait for the school day to be finished so I could stuff myself with pizza and curl up with Blaine on the couch. It sounded like the perfect ending to a shitty day. At least I knew that no matter how I felt when I got home, I could count on him to bring my spirits up, even if I was destined for a pizza-induced coma and a bad action movie. I couldn’t complain. Blaine had been so sweet and patient when I forced several chick flicks onto him, and now, it was my turn to return the favor. It was Blaine’s turn to be treated like a king.

At the end of the day, I sat through an incredibly boring staff meeting and then headed back toward my house. The sushi for lunch had been perfect, and it gave me the boost of energy I needed to get through the last few hours of the workday. I was excited to meet up with Blaine in a couple of hours, but that mood was crushed when I came home to an empty house. The note I left for my dad was still sitting on the computer keyboard. He hadn’t come home at all, and his phone was still going straight to voicemail. I didn’t even know what to do, so I changed my clothes into something comfy and cleaned up the house, waiting for Blaine to get there.

A couple of hours later, there was a knock at the door, and I raced over, hoping it was my father, but it wasn’t. I smiled and hugged Blaine, inviting him inside. My father still hadn’t shown up from his hiatus, and I knew that we were now well into one of his rogue relapses. I was getting tired of pulling him out of them. I had no idea where he had gone, and I figured it must be the casinos since the track wasn’t open at night, and the casino usually comped hotel rooms for those spending money at the casino. But where had he gotten money from? I had checked all the electronics, and he hadn’t taken a thing.

I pulled Blaine over to the couch and flipped on the movie, burrowing myself against his body. He pulled one arm around me and held me close as he called and ordered the pizza from the place down the street. When the pizza got there, I was starving. We watched his movie and chowed down on some really good pizza. Everything seemed to be going perfectly, and I loved the feeling I got as we sat around, acting like we were a serious couple. At that point, I thought it was safe to say that we were in a committed relationship, regardless of the fact that I hadn’t taken the time to have that conversation with him. Those talks were always awkward, and there was always a good chance that the two people talking would fail to come to the same conclusion, leaving the situation at a crossroads. Unfortunately, crossroads were not at all what I was looking for, so I dropped the idea and went back to watching the movie.

The movie that Blaine picked out was pretty good, and to my surprise, I was really enjoying the action parts in the scenes. I didn’t know if it was pent-up aggression or just my thoughts and feelings changing, but I could totally see myself blowing up my enemies. The biggest problem was, I really didn’t have an enemy, not one I could see anyway. I was not going to go pissing off my father in the state that he probably was in at that point.

We watched the rest of the movie in silence, happy to just be in each other’s arms. However, as night fell, I could hear my heart beating louder and louder, and I knew that I needed a distraction. Blaine was so handsome, sitting there on the couch, and I lifted myself up, putting my legs over his and straddling him. Instantly, we forgot all about the pizza or movies, and instead, ended our evening in a lovers’ embrace. His mouth tasted so amazing, and his eyes looked at me darkly as I rubbed my fingers down his arms. I stood up from him and led him back to my room, ready to get it on.

When we walked through the doors, I knew it was my turn to show him just how much I wanted him. I unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off his shoulders. I looked into his eyes, leaned forward, and kissed his neck as my fingers fumbled with his belt. He chuckled and helped me pull it from the loops in his pants. I pushed his hands away, unzipping his pants and letting them fall to the floor. I looked up at his eyes and ran my hands down his hard body, into his boxer briefs. He gasped as I grabbed onto his already hard shaft and ran my palms over it. For several moments, I stroked his cock, watching him sigh deeply and close his eyes. His muscles tensed in his shoulders and arms, and I slowly pressed my lips against his warm skin.

I trailed down his belly as I kneeled in front of him, looking up as he watched me pull his boxers down to his ankles. His cock spilled out of his shorts, bouncing around in front of me until I grabbed hold of his erection and ran my lips over the tip of his cock. Slowly, I opened my mouth and slid it down over his bulging dick, feeling it move through my mouth and down into my throat. I grasped the base of his shaft and stroked as I pulled my head back and dove back down again. A loud groan escaped his throat, and I smiled, knowing I was doing a hell of a job.

Over and over again, my lips moved over him, sucking hard as I pulled back. My hand reached up and massaged his balls, and I could feel his fingers moving through my hair. He grabbed hold of my head and began to move my mouth up and down his cock, the intensity swelling with each stroke. He pushed me down hard, and I deep-throated him. My eyes watered as I sucked from the back of my throat. There was barely any room to spare as his raging hard-on swelled in my mouth. I came back up for air and gazed up at him, tears welling in the corners of my eyes. His cock was so perfect, and I wanted to keep going until he couldn’t take it any longer.

Chapter 15

Blaine

It was the first time I had felt her lips completely wrapped around my cock, and I couldn’t help but stand there, completely paralyzed by it. As she pushed her head down, taking all of me into her mouth, I could feel the sucking sensation in the back of her throat, and it was absolutely amazing. Everything in the man part of my brain told me to let her keep going and then blow a load all over her, but I wanted to feel her pussy wrapped tightly around my cock.

I had my fingers intertwined in her hair, and I had to pull my hands away, feeling the orgasm welling up in my stomach. Just watching her on her knees, enjoying having me in her mouth, was enough to send me over the edge. Couple that with the way her soft lips felt wrapped around my shaft, and I was having a hard time not just letting it all go right there. In fact, I was concentrating so hard on not coming, I was starting to forget how amazing it felt.

I reached back down and pulled her head off my dick, pulling up on her face as the pressure building in my stomach began to lessen. I pushed her onto her bed and watched as she ripped her clothes off her body. Her round, perky tits bounced up and down as she scooted up on the bed. She leaned against the headboard and smirked at me as I walked forward and climbed onto the mattress. I was in no mood to play games at that point, having held back my explosion. I grabbed her ankles and pulled her onto her back, listening to her giggle as her head hit the pillow. I laid down on the bed and motioned to her, watching her climb over on top of me and straddle my waist.

She reached down between her legs and grabbed onto my cock, sending electric pulses through my body. It was bulging, red, and swollen, and I could feel the nerves on edge beneath her fingertips. She smiled mischievously as she positioned herself over my shaft, licking her hand and rubbing it between her legs before slowly lowering herself onto me. Immediately, she began to bob up and down on my dick, and I couldn’t help myself. I reached forward and grabbed her waist, giving her extra oomph as she bounced up and down. I could feel the wetness between her legs begin to increase, soothing my aching cock. I gripped her hips tightly and held her still, thrusting my cock upward into her. She screamed out and leaned her head back. Her body rubbed against mine as she rode me hard.

Her hips began to swish in circles every time my cock lowered out of her, and her clit rubbed against my skin. It was hard as a bullet, and I couldn’t help but hope that she was about to come all over me. As my body pushed faster, her screams grew more intense. Suddenly, she reached down and tapped her clit, arching her back and throwing her head backward. I could feel the rush of juices flowing over my dick, and her body shook on top of me. She reached up and grabbed her tits, screaming out loudly.

“I love you,” she said breathlessly, throwing me off slightly.

I didn’t slow down, though, and as her pussy pulsated around my shaft, I let my inhibitions go. She came hard, and when she was done, I pushed her backward onto the bed, climbing on top of her and ramming into her. She screamed out in ecstasy as I sat up and pounded into her. After three or four thrusts, I pulled out and fisted my cock hard in front of her. She smiled and leaned up on her elbows, throwing her head back and waiting for my cock to explode. Finally, after several strokes, I groaned loudly, feeling the release that I had been looking for since her lips were around my shaft. The hot stream of come flew from my dick and splattered across Josie’s chest. She moaned as I came just as hard as she did, spraying her with my seed.

Finally, when the last bit of come had dripped from my cock, I sighed, falling onto the bed and turning toward her. Her cheeks were flushed red, and I could tell she was embarrassed by what she’d said. Sure, it had thrown me off, but then it was followed up with the best damn orgasm I’d ever had.

“I’m sorry,” she said, looking down at the bed. “I know it is too soon to be saying I love you.”

“Don’t apologize,” I responded. “There is absolutely nothing to be sorry for. I feel the same exact way. I just didn’t respond because it surprised me.”

“Yeah,” she said, laughing. “It was kind of an awkward time to say it.”

“I think it was perfect,” I said, leaning forward and kissing her lips. “And I love you, too.”

She smiled big as my lips pressed against her. For several minutes, we lay there with our lips moving over each other’s, our emotions pouring out in kisses and heavy glances. Her hands came up around my shoulders, and she pulled me into her, her warm, perky breasts rubbing over my chest. My cock began to respond to her sensual nature, and things started to heat up once again. However, as I reached my hand for her breast, she grabbed it, looking toward the closed door and shushing me. I heard the sound of someone coming in the house.

“It must be my dad,” she said, jumping from the bed and pulling on her clothes. “I’ll be out in a second.”

I watched as she rushed into the bathroom to fix her hair, which was definitely wild and all over the place. I pulled on my cock and groaned, apologizing to him for all the strain he had been through over the last few hours. I pulled on my jeans and t-shirt and fixed my hair in the mirror on Josie’s wall before sneaking from the room and walking toward the living room. I could see Josie’s father walk from the kitchen into the living room, his face tired and worn. I knew it was time that I had a talk with the man. He needed to know exactly what he was doing to his daughter. As he turned toward me, I saw the large purple bruise across his chin.

Did someone punch Josie’s father?

I had to push that thought from my mind in order to get my point across, without sounding harsh or angry. He needed to know who I was and that I was in Josie’s life now. He had to start seeing his addiction for what it really was, a life-altering issue, and not just for him. I had no illusion that this would help anything, but I couldn’t go another day watching Josie freak out because her father kept jumping off the deep end. I loved her, and it was my turn to take care of her and protect her from the things she might not even realize were hurting her. Her father was one of those things, and although I understood it was difficult, I knew helping him was ultimately helping her.

“Josie has been worried sick,” I said sternly. “Look, man to man, you need to start respecting your daughter. Everything she does is for you, and I am staring at a completely exhausted woman almost every day. It is not her job to take care of you. I understand that you have a problem, and it’s not something new. It’s been going on for so long, you’ve been suffering through this from the first hand of poker you ever played. The thing is, though, you have to stop hurting your daughter and all the people around you. I would be more than happy to help you and get you into some treatment that could really help you.”

I stood there for a moment, watching him power up his computer as if he hadn’t heard a word I said. I gave him time, knowing a statement like that was probably hard to fully process. I knew it was hard on Josie, but I couldn’t imagine how hard it had been for him, having lost his wife and now being in danger of losing his daughter as well. All because of the gambling addiction.

“Mind your own business,” he grumbled, waving me away.

My heart sunk a little. I had completely wasted my breath trying to talk to the man. He had given up on everything, from treatment to life, and the dull look in his eyes told me everything there was to know about the man. He had given up like I had, figuring the people in my life were either gone or on their way out the door. It made me incredibly sad so I backed off, having said my piece. Just as I decided to end my conversation, Josie walked from her room and smiled at me, glancing at her father’s face, but hiding the shock she was obviously feeling. I hated that she didn’t feel comfortable enough to have me help her, but I also understood that I was new in their life, and she was used to handling these types of situations on her own.

I walked toward the door, hearing her tiny footsteps following after me. It was definitely time to go, and I could tell by Josie’s silence that she needed some alone time with her father. All I could do was support her choices and be there for her whenever she needed me. I walked to the door and opened it, stepping out onto the porch and watching her follow me out. She slowly closed the door and turned to me, a thankful look on her face.

“I’m sorry we have to cut the night short,” she said, pulling me close to her. “As you can imagine, I have a whole lot of questions for my father.”

“I know,” I said, smiling. “Just remember what I said. I am here for you, no matter what. If you need me, just call, and I’ll come right over. You are not alone this time around. I’m here for you.”

“Thank you,” she said, leaning in close to my ear. “I love you.”

The words flowed from her mouth and into my brain, sending shocks to my chest and stomach. I kissed her softly and pulled back, looking deep into her eyes. She smiled, knowing what I wanted to say and leaned up, kissing my nose. I watched as she walked back inside her house and shut the door behind her. The words, “I love you,” made me feel like the luckiest man on earth. I seriously felt like I was floating on cloud nine, unable to plant my feet on the ground. Time after time, I had watched my friends fall in love and start to act differently, and now, I knew why.

Josie was the first girl I had ever actually loved, and the feeling was absolutely amazing. I jumped into my car and headed off, replaying the thought over and over again in my head. I loved this girl, and it wasn’t just any love. I knew I would love her for as long as I had air in my lungs. I knew I would want her every time I was around her, and there was no stopping that. Despite the intrusion of her father and his addiction, this night had been the best one in my entire life. I had finally realized what being in love was all about, and I never wanted the feeling to end.

Chapter 16

Josie

I was exhausted. Between the hot sex with Blaine and the fact that I stayed up all night trying to find out who punched my father, there wasn’t a whole lot left of me. My father refused to tell me what was going on, and he’d turned to his computer screen, completely ignoring me. I stormed away and shut myself in my room, raging mad.

I stuck my neck out every single day for that man, and he had the audacity to hide his whereabouts from me. He didn’t have any respect for all the things I did for him, and even after all this time, I still couldn’t help but feel hurt by that fact. When I went to bed, I still couldn’t sleep. I laid awake in my bed, thinking about my father. Although I acted tough on the outside, on the inside, my thoughts were much more kind and caring for my dad. I was terrified that he had fallen in with the wrong group of people, taking loans that he could never afford to pay back, and satisfying his gambling addiction with that.

I had no idea what to do about this new twist on his old problem. I had seen him get tangled up with the wrong guys before, and it never turned out pretty for anyone. They had beaten the crap out of my father, and I had to empty my savings to pay back all the money he was indebted to them for. I was lucky that it appeased them, but I knew if it happened again, it would not be as simple or clean. I didn’t know what to do, no matter how hard I thought about it. If my father had gotten himself into trouble again, it meant I was in trouble, too. I had every right in the world to know what happened, but still, my father sat silent.

I was so incredibly frustrated by that man, and I was still pissed off the next morning after a restless night. I got dressed and made it to school early, not wanting to sit at my father’s breakfast table in an awkward silence. I sat down at my desk in my empty classroom, pulling out my phone and realizing that Blaine had texted me. I was so caught up in my father that morning, I had completely missed his texts.

Blaine: Hey there, beautiful. Do I get to see you tonight?”

Josie: I wish I could, but with my father back, I need to sit down and have a heart-to-heart with him. I need to focus on him now, knowing that things cannot continue to go the way they have been. I can’t take much more of it.

Blaine: I understand. Did you find anything out about the bruise on his chin?

Josie: No, he won’t talk to me about it. I’m getting the silent treatment like my students give me.

Blaine: I’m sure he will tell you in time.

Josie: I’m sure. Anyway, speaking of students, mine will be here soon. I’ll text you later and let you know how everything went.

Blaine: You better. Love you, sweetheart.

Josie: Love you, too.

I smiled as I read the texts out loud, excited that I could say those words and know that they were true. I went through the rest of my day in robot mode, just trying to get to the end of the day without any emotional outbursts. When school was over, I took a deep breath, knowing the only thing I had to look forward to that night was forcing my father to admit to me what he had done. I wanted Blaine to be by my side so badly, but I also knew my father barely talked to me, much less my new boyfriend that he probably didn’t even recognize.

When I got home, my father was still sitting at the computer and didn’t even look up to say hello to me. I walked into the kitchen and started dinner, pulling out a pot roast and potatoes because I knew it was his favorite meal. I thought maybe if I got him in a good enough mood, he would open up to me a little. At least, that was what I hoped would happen. Whether it would work or not was a completely different story. I stood there in the kitchen, thinking about everything while dinner was cooking. When I pulled it out of the oven, I set the table and called my father over to sit down. He grumbled something and walked over to his seat, looking at the food but not changing his expression.

While we were eating, I ran over what I wanted to say in my head several times, trying to come up with the words that would break through to my father. Ever since he had fallen deeper into his addiction, he had blocked me out and had become incapable of any emotional connection with me at all. It was really difficult to get to the root of any of his problems when he refused to talk to me about them. He had long passed the arguing stage where he tried to convince me he was fine. Now, he just grumbled and whispered under his breath. The fact that he was so miserable broke my heart, especially since I could clearly remember my father as a jubilant and kind man, who loved me very much. Even after his gambling addiction took hold, he would come home and thank me for staying when my mother up and left.

“Dad,” I said, putting down my fork. “I want to talk. Something has got to change here. We can’t keep living like this. I don’t know who did that to your face, but I can see that you are back on a dangerous path. If you can’t open up to me, I can’t help you, and I’m terrified that something horrible is going to happen to you. I love you so much, and it kills me to see you getting hurt.”

I stopped and stared at him, waiting for a response. He pushed the food around on his plate and mumbled something to himself. He shoveled some potatoes into his mouth and went on with his meal, ignoring everything I was saying. However, as a fist started pounding loudly on the door, he could no longer ignore his surroundings. I watched my father’s face go from angry to fearful very quickly, and his fork tapped against his plate as his hands began to shake. He was absolutely terrified, which made me scared to go to the door. I sighed and pushed my chair back, but he reached out and grabbed my arm, shaking his head. We sat there silently for several moments, hoping that whoever it was would think we weren’t home and would leave.

However, as I went to sit back down, the pounding started again, and I realized this was no random person at the door. It had to be whoever my father had pissed off recently. I took in a deep breath and shrugged my father’s hand from my arm. I got up and walked over to the door, hoping that it wasn’t as bad as it seemed. I needed to know just what we were facing and how deep my father had gotten into trouble. I didn’t have the kind of money saved like last time, so I prayed it was minor compared to that. I took another deep breath and opened the door, almost afraid to look up at the people standing in the doorway.

I tilted my head as I stared out at a tall, thin man with slicked back black hair and a very tall and large woman with a scowl on her face. She looked like she already had plans for me, and I grabbed tightly to the doorknob to stop my hand from shaking. I looked back at the man and stared at him as he flashed a huge smile.

“Hello there,” he said with a thick Italian accent. “I’m Paulie. I’m a friend of your dad’s.”

I stood there staring at him, knowing my father didn’t have any actual friends. This guy was not your typical suburban guy, and I knew he was here on business, not pleasure. Before I could say anything, Paulie’s eyes shifted behind me to my father sitting at the table. His grin turned menacing, and he pushed past me before I could even think about inviting him inside. I turned and watched as he stood next to my father at the table and leaned over into his face. My father was gritting his teeth and listening to Paulie curse at him under his breath. The woman shoved past me, and I turned, closing the door behind us.

I turned back toward them and watched as the woman followed after Paulie. I couldn’t help but notice the coldness in her eyes. When she looked at me, it was like she was looking through me, and it was an eerie feeling. Paulie was still standing over my father, casting his shadow onto the wall and obviously bullying him. I couldn’t completely hear what he was saying, but I didn’t like the tone of his body language at all.

“What do you want?” I asked, needing to find out the details and get these people out of the house.

“Oh, there is no financial attachment to this debt anymore,” Paulie said, standing up and looking at me. “There was a bit of money owed, but I worked something out that would take care of the debt.”

I didn’t know what he was talking about. If there was no debt left to pay, then why were they here? I didn’t give a shit at this point, so I stepped forward with clenched fists.

“You hear that, asshat,” Paulie said shouting at my father. “You are so weak, and now, your daughter will pay the price for your debt.”

“You guys need to leave, now,” I said sternly, trying not to show just how nervous I was. “I’m serious. Get out of my house.”

“Harry,” Paulie said, snapping his fingers at the large woman.

She stomped over to me, grabbed me by the back of the neck, and leaned me backward so I knew it was time for me to listen. Paulie grabbed a napkin from the table, and as he wiped his mouth, he chuckled and walked over to me. He pulled his face in close to mine and yanked at my arms, twisted behind my back.

“The cops are going to be here really soon,” he whispered, running his hand down my face. “You are going to agree with everything that they say, and you are not going to mention that we were here. If you don’t agree with the cops, or you tell them anything about this little business, then I will kill your precious father. I am done playing these bullshit games.”

Paulie stepped forward again, and I could smell the whiskey on his breath. I turned my head to the side and closed my eyes as he grabbed my breasts and squeezed them. He looked at me and ran his finger down my cheek, clicking his tongue. I felt absolutely disgusting, and I just wanted to make him leave my house.

“You should really think about your choices,” he whispered. “When you do, remember that there are worse things that could happen outside the prison. Stay straight with the story because there are a lot scarier things that could happen to you if you don’t go to jail and take the fall for this.”

Paulie nodded his head at Harry, and she dropped me, pushing me forward onto the floor. I sat there, watching as he walked out the door and into the street. I felt completely helpless and dirty, and the fear had bubbled back up into my stomach. I didn’t know what my father had gotten us into, but it seemed to be really bad. This time around, they were making house calls, which meant that they were serious about everything. Just as my life had started to get simple, this bomb was dropped on me. Only this time, I hadn’t seen it coming at all.

Chapter 17

Blaine

Although I couldn’t be with Josie tonight, supporting her through this difficult time in her life, I knew that I could at least sit back and relax, enjoy a glass of wine, and celebrate my first few days at the office. I hadn’t heard from Josie all evening, so it was surprising to me when my phone went off and her face popped up. I grabbed it, assuming since she never called me, it must be somewhat important. When I put the phone to my ear, I could hear Josie crying and saying something to her father. My heart sank, realizing something bad must have happened.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Blaine,” she said, panicked. “Oh, God. Everything is such a mess.”

“Take a deep breath,” I said, trying to understand her through her sobs. “Tell me what happened.”

“These two people came to the house,” she said after breathing deeply. “It was a man and a woman, and they threatened me. I really don’t know what’s going on. I feel completely disoriented.”

“Everything is going to be okay, just take a deep breath,” I told her. “There is nothing that we can’t handle together. Tell me everything that happened.”

“Well,” she said, sniffling. “They said that my dad owed them a lot of money, but that they didn’t want money to pay off his debt anymore. Instead, they had another idea, and it involves me. It was terrible. The woman put me in a choke hold, and the guy groped on me, telling me I better go along with it. I don’t know what to say or do.”

As soon as I heard her say that he was planning something else and it included her, my mind instantly went to a dark place, imagining what kind of terrible things could be done to my sweet, innocent Josie. I was so angry that the wine glass I was holding shattered instantly in my hand. I groaned as blood began to seep out and drip on the hardwood floors. I shook the excess glass from my hand and sat there for a moment, trying to put together the jagged pieces of the puzzle that Josie just handed me. Her father had really gone and done it this time, not only putting himself in danger, but dragging Josie along for the ride. I knew I should have gone over there. I just didn’t want to overstep my boundaries, and I wanted Josie to make her own decisions. Whoever these clowns were that put their hands on my girlfriend, they had some kind of diabolical plan, but I couldn’t quite see what was coming.

I stood up from the couch, with Josie still on the other end of the phone that was stuck between my shoulder and my ear. I walked over to the sink and started to clean the glass out of my bloody hand. I winced each time I pulled a piece out, letting the water run over the bleeding wounds. As the glass fell into the sink, I could hear sirens on the other end of the line. Josie’s breath quickened, but I figured that she had called them after the people had busted into her house. It was a good thing she was getting the cops involved. She didn’t need to handle any of this on her own.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“The police are here,” she said, sobbing.

I wasn’t sure why she was so upset about the cops, but at least she would get to make a report, and maybe they would do something to keep her safe while they looked for these assholes. She had been through a lot, and I really wanted to go there and be with her. I thought, though, it might better to wait until after she had dealt with the cops. These things were confusing enough without adding another face to the picture. I wasn’t there, and although that pissed me off to no end, there was nothing I could do to help the cops. I figured I would just be in the way if I showed up while they were there. Josie was tough, and I knew she could handle this. I had complete faith in her abilities.

However, as I watched the blood from my hand, I began to hear shouting on the other end. At first, it was muffled, but then, as the phone fell from Josie’s ear and hit the floor, the voices became more clear. There was way more than one or two cops there, and they were shouting for Josie to get on the floor and put her hands over her head. There was a bang that sounded like someone slamming a door shut, and the officer started to read Josie her Miranda rights. Immediately, I grabbed the towel from the edge of the sink, wrapping it tightly around my hand. Nerves shot through my stomach, and I ran through the house, throwing my shoes on and grabbing my car keys. I left the house and jumped in the car, speeding out of the neighborhood.

Josie had just called me, telling me she was attacked, but for some reason, the police were arresting her. Nothing was making sense, but I knew I had to get to her as fast as I possibly could. As I drove along, the houses passed by me in a blur, and the realization that my girlfriend was going into police custody hit me hard. She was the sweetest and kindest person I knew. There was no way she’d committed any crime that would warrant the police bursting into the house and arresting her like that. I couldn’t even imagine how terrified Josie was at that moment.

When I got to the house, I parked down the block, allowing space from the police. The entire area was already taped off, and it was crawling with cops. It looked like a murder scene, only there was no body and no criminal. I pushed through the crowd and up to the tape, reaching down to lift it and go under. A police officer stepped forward and put his hand up.

“I’m sorry sir, you can’t go past the tape,” he said in a deep voice.

“I’m the family lawyer,” I argued.

“I’m sorry, sir,” he said. “This is a police crime scene now. No one is allowed past the tape.”

A crime scene? My mind began to swirl. Immediately, I was terrified that something had happened to Josie. I scanned the area, looking everywhere for her, but she wasn’t standing outside. I had been on the phone with her when the cops arrived, so unless one of them killed her, she had to be inside with the police. I nodded at the cop and moved back, walking toward the front of the sectioned off area. There were several officers standing around the trashcans, and one of the officers held what looked to be a large knife that I had never seen before. There was dried blood on the blade, and they were obviously logging it into evidence. What did a butcher knife in a trash can and two obvious mobsters have to do with Josie, or her dad for that matter?

I stood there for several moments before two police offers walked out of the door, followed by Josie with her hands handcuffed behind her back. One of the other cops had a firm grip on her arm and was leading her toward his squad car. I didn’t know what to do, but I wanted Josie to know that I was there. I reached my hand up in the air and began to wave it.

“Hey,” I shouted. “Josie!”

Josie looked across the crowd, her face landing on mine. Immediately, her eyes popped open, and she looked at the cop leading her to the police car for transport. I slapped my hands down to the side and let out a deep breath, frustration setting in. I watched as Josie approached the car, still looking over into the crowd for me.

“Hey, let me in,” I shouted to the cops. “I am her lawyer. Let me in the car with her, please.”

Every single cop turned their backs toward me, completely ignoring my request. I grunted angrily and turned, running back to my car and hopping in. As soon as I pulled up toward the house, the cop car carrying Josie sped off for the precinct. I followed closely behind, looking up at Josie as she turned and peered out of the window. Her face was incredibly calm, and I could tell whatever was going on, she knew she had to keep her emotions in check and follow along as much as possible.

When I pulled into the precinct parking lot, I watched the cop car pull around back to unload Josie into the holding cells. I walked into the front and told the clerk my client had just been brought in, and I needed a chance to speak with her. The woman looked at me like I was nuts and then told me that she needed to be processed first. She looked over my shoulder at the waiting area and nodded her head in that direction. I had no choice but to sit and wait, knowing that I would get the ability to talk to her soon. When she was done with processing, they led her back to the interrogation room, and I stayed put in the lobby, waiting for my turn.

The woman at the front desk nodded her head at me, and I walked over, smiling charmingly. She looked behind me and around the room, making sure that no one was listening. She leaned over the desk and began to whisper.

“She is done with processing, and now, they are going to ask a ton of questions,” she said. “This young lady has to invoke her right to an attorney before you can go back there. I’m sorry. There is nothing I can do about that.”

“She doesn’t even know anything about that rule,” I said with frustration. “You might as well wait for her to admit to being the tooth fairy.”

“I know,” she said. “Hopefully, she’s watched Law and Order and can pick up some cues from that.”

“I can’t believe this is happening,” I exclaimed. “This is total bullshit. “

“As soon as I hear anything, I’ll let you know,” she said with a sympathetic tone.

I nodded my head and smiled, grateful that at least one person in the precinct actually gave a shit about Josie. I didn’t know what made them think that she was a criminal, but I had to get her out of there. I walked back into the lobby and waited, pacing the floor as I ticked through the things in my mind. I had so many emotions flooding through my mind, from anger to sadness, to fear, and then to a gut-wrenching feeling of hopelessness. There was nothing worse than watching someone you loved get taken into a situation like this, unable to understand her rights, and put to the test by the hard-ass cops. I could already see Josie now, sitting in the interrogation room with tears flowing down her cheeks.

I took a deep breath and sat down in one of the chairs in the waiting area, starting to understand that it was going to be a long day if I didn’t do something about this. But what? I didn’t have any rights, just because I was an attorney. I really wished my father was there at that moment. He would have kicked the door in, picked up Josie, and marched out of the station, enraged at how they were treating her with no real support or representation. As a lawyer, I knew what they could do in an interrogation room, but all I could do was wait and hope that my arms would be wrapped around Josie’s body soon.

Chapter 18

Josie

“How do you know, Eliza Barber, Ms. Gray?”

The police were interrogating me, and they had been for many hours. I was exhausted, and the only thing they offered me was a cup of coffee. Everyone looked at me so angrily, as if they were positive that I was a cold-blooded killer. I was terrified of every person that came into the room. It was like a crime drama show. There were people pretending to be nice, people pretending to be assholes, and others that just asked direct questions, wrote something down, and left.

I had no clue what was going on, but I didn’t want to incriminate myself, so I just denied every allegation they threw at me. In reality, I wasn’t lying. I really had no idea what these detectives were talking about. They threw pictures of a dead woman in front of me, witness testimony of seeing a girl that fit my description, and told me that they had evidence that I was the murderer.

I shook my head when I first heard that. There was no way they could have evidence on me. Obviously, I hadn’t killed anyone. Well, it was obvious to me, not so much to the cops who kept grilling me. After I denied any connection to the murder, the female detective left the room and then came back carrying two plastic evidence bags in her hand. She tossed them down on the table in front of me and looked at my face. One bag held a large knife, and the other one contained a bloody, ripped up shirt. I shook my head and looked at her confused.

“We found that knife, the murder weapon, wrapped in that shirt, the victim’s shirt, in your trash can,” she said.