Six Months Later
I BEND TARA OVER OUR brand new vanity, in our brand new master bathroom, in our brand new brownstone. Like, literally, signed the papers for this morning.
As soon as they handed us the keys, we headed straight over to christen the place.
We barely got through the door with our clothes on before we dropped in the middle of the living room floor. We’ve fucked all over the house—kitchen, stairs, bedroom—finally making it to the bathroom. Our intention was to wash off, but we somehow deviated.
I push Tara’s long platinum hair off to the side and rub my hands up and down her back. This day has been a long time coming. We’re finally in a good place, a healing place. I press my fingertips into the music notes tattooed on her skin. Her entire back is covered with a bright pink piece of sheet music. The same song that is tattooed on her leg. “Stars” by Grace Potter. She listened to that song compulsively for months as she recovered. In the middle of the sheet music is a huge graphic treble clef. The design is pretty sick and took close to a month to finish, but when it was completed, I could see the difference in Tara immediately. She hated her scars, and it showed. She was self-conscious and angry; many times internalizing what she truly felt until it bubbled over and surfaced in a panic attack. Today, she’s nearly the same woman I fell in love with. Fiery, vivacious, and outgoing. A sexual powerhouse.
“Look at me.” I reach around and clasp her throat. Tara opens her lust-filled eyes. “I want you to watch yourself come.” I rub my cock between her soaked folds. They’re steaming hot and swollen from overuse.
She pants in the mirror, her breath fogging the glass.
“Whose opinion only matters?” I ask as I tease her, poking just the head of my erection against her pussy.
“Yours,” she moans.
“And what do I say?”
“I’m beautiful,” she answers without hesitation. It took me a long time to convince her of that. That she was, is, and will always be beautiful, on the inside and out.
“Look at yourself and say it,” I order her. She shifts her eyes, her cheeks turning pink as she does as she’s told.
“I’m beautiful,” she says as I thrust into her, her voice rising two octaves.
“Say it again.”
With her eyes trained on herself, she says it again. “I’m beautiful!” I slam into her once more. “Oh!” She throws her head back and claws at the countertop. She’s so wet and needy, and I’m so hard and on edge.
“Don’t close your eyes.” I cup one breast and her pussy at the same time, lightly running my middle finger over her clit and rolling her nipple between two fingers. Both pieces of flesh harden under my touch, becoming two centralized erogenous pleasure points. Tara twitches as I watch her in the mirror. Her pink cheeks now a bright red. I pump slowly in and out of her, making sure her entire body lights up in blissful agony. I want to hear her moan. I want her to beg. I want to know just how fucking much she needs me, and she doesn’t disappoint. My sexually intrepid shortcake never does.
I wind her up so tightly, stimulating every part of her I can; she becomes a different person. A wild, horny, hard-up disarray completely dependent on me.
“Don’t close your eyes,” I groan, teetering on a needle-sharp point as I watch her eyelids flutter, fighting to stay open. “Look at me.” I punch into her pussy while still torturing both her clit and nipple. “Look. At. Me.”
We’re both heaving and quivering, like two starving untamed beasts.
“Oh fuck, you’re going to make me come,” she whines, pushing back onto my cock, her muscles spasming.
“Who’s the only man you come for?” I demand, clenching my jaw so tight I nearly crack a molar.
Tara pins me with her eyes, the blue cutting me with a knife-like arousal.
“Only you!” She shudders.
“Who’s the only man who eats your pussy?”
“You!” She squirms in my grasp.
“Whose cock do you wrap your lips around?”
“Yours!”
“Spread your legs for?”
“You!” She’s nearly crying, subdued in my arms.
“Who do you belong to?”
“You! Only you!” She screams as she finally flies off the handle, saturating my already slick cock.
That’s exactly what I want to hear. It’s what I want to hear every time we fuck because even though I may not be her first anything, I’m going to make sure I’m her last everything. Her last kiss, her last love, the last man she ever comes for.
Tara’s shrieking voice fills the room, and it’s like a symphony to my soul. For such a long time, she would barely let me touch her, but I vowed that my love would roar louder than her demons, and it did. Because here we are.
Love won out.
I let go, beating into her brutally from behind, squeezing her body as my muscles strain almost painfully.
I tingle from head to toe right before I blow like a stick of dynamite, coming as deep inside of her as I possibly can. The entire world disappears, save for my violent release and Tara’s sweet, tight pussy.
I shiver through the aftermath, my body drained of every ounce of energy as I lay like a demolished pile of cinder against her back.
“I don’t think I’m going to be able to walk for a week.” Tara speaks with her cheek pressed against the marble.
I can’t help but smile. “I love making you sore.”
“You do a great job.” I hear her wince.
“I can’t help it. Your pussy is better than drugs.”
“How romantic.” She laughs.
“What can I say? I’m the sweet talking romantic type.”
“Ha!” Tara laughs so hard both our bodies shake.
“Did I say something funny?”
“Yes. You’re keeping your promise.”
“Which promise is that?”
“To make me laugh as much as you make me come.”
“It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.” I look down at her and grin.
“Can I tell you a secret?”
“Of course, you can.”
“I love you,” she says sweetly.
My grin twists into an idiotic smile. “That’s not a secret.”
“I guess not, but I wanted to tell you anyway.”
“You can tell me anytime, anywhere, any way,” I let her know happily.
“I’ll remember that.”
“That's all I can ask.” I nuzzle my nose in her hair and inhale.
“CJ?”
“Mmm?”
“I have cum dripping down my thigh.”
I push off Tara. “Is that your subtle way of telling me to get the hell off you?”
“Yes.” She laughs hysterically and the joyous sound vibrates straight through my chest, lighting me up like the Fourth of July.
“I'll get the bags out of the car.” I kiss her quickly and pull her up. We’re a bit of a hot mess; our hair is tangled and out of control, and our faces flushed.
“Sounds like a plan.” Tara heads over to the shower and turns the faucet on. “I'll be waiting.” She steps under the spray, waving her hand to send me along.
I cock an eyebrow at her. Dismissing me? She’s lucky she’s cute.
I grab my clothes off the living room floor and pull them on before I head outside. Parked on the curb is my brand new baby, a cherry red BMW M6. Five hundred and sixty horsepower under one ultra-sleek hood. Since I’m now a permanent New York City resident, I needed a reliable mode of transportation. At least that's how I sell myself. A successful entrepreneur has to look the part. Wink.
I grab our bags out of the trunk, running my finger along the shiny bumper before I jet back inside. We came prepared with soap and towels, knowing full well what our intentions were. I hop in the shower with Tara and help her wash her back. How chivalrous of me. We both know it’s a race against the clock now as we’re scheduled to catch a plane. To Hawaii, to see Ellie and Kayne, with her parents. Do you see how many problems there are for me in that sentence? Although we are fully out and fully a couple, there are still some people who aren’t happy about it. Mainly, Alec, Tara’s father. I’m pretty sure he hates me and is plotting my death. I’m not looking forward to thirteen hours in an enclosed space with him twenty thousand feet in the air. I will be steering clear of all exits during the trip.
Tara and I dress quickly and then head out. We’ll be living out of the same suitcases for the next week and a half before we have to get back to the city for Tara’s first rehearsals. The last six months have been a series of ups and downs for her, but through it all, it has brought her a lot of clarity. Around the time she decided to get her tattoo, she also informed me a friend from NYU was putting together his first, very small, off off-Broadway play and asked her to audition. She said no at first, but after a little convincing, she decided to go for it. I’m a firm believer of following your dreams, and I wasn’t going to let Tara slide on this one. Especially after everything she went through. She landed the part that day and has been preparing ever since. She’s very dedicated and very serious about doing the character justice. Her work ethic is just one more attribute to add to the pile of things that impress me. I don’t know how I got so lucky, but I’m sure as hell not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
About an hour later, we pull up on the tarmac where the jet is waiting. Alec and Monica are already comfortably seated when we board. Tara gets a huge hug from both of them, and I get the stink eye from Alec. Luckily, Monica likes me, so I receive a warm reception from her.
The four of us settle in for the long ride; Alec and Monica strapped in across from Tara and me. I feel Alec’s glare as Tara snuggles up next to me and falls asleep. It will be six am when we land and seven by the time we get to Ellie and Kayne’s. I’m hoping a well-rested Alec will tolerate me better in the morning.
Alec is as blue collared as they come, he’s a hard-working, hands dirty, don’t fuck with me kind of guy. You can’t help but have respect for him.
It doesn't sit well with me that he doesn't approve of our relationship. I see how well he gets along with Kayne and can only be optimistic that with time, he’ll come around. But his disapproval isn't going to stop me from being with his daughter. I know I’m the best thing for her. No one will love her, take care of her, or support her better than me. So I’m not going to rest until I prove myself.
Both Tara and Monica keep assuring me that he’ll warm up, but it’s been close to six months and the ice hasn’t thawed yet.
I glance over at Alec just before the cabin lights dim for the night. Tara is already fast asleep and so is Monica. He’s staring at me, and only me, his green eyes sharp under the fluorescents.
This trip is going to be so fun.
IT FEELS STRANGE BEING BACK.
I gave up my apartment a month ago, moving all my stuff into storage until we closed on the brownstone. It will be shipped to New York in two weeks, and then Tara and I will start working on the place to make it feel like home. She already has all kinds of decorating ideas and a honey-do list for me a mile long. This new dynamic in my life is very strange, yet I’m adjusting to it surprisingly well. I guess I never realized, with the right person, how easy being domestic could be.
“Miss it?” Tara asks as we walk off the plane and into the warm tropical climate.
I inhale the fresh island scent and take her hand. “Not as much as I thought I was going to,” I reply honestly.
“Do I have anything to do with that?” She bumps my hip flirtatiously.
“I’m going to say just a little.”
“Just a little?” Tara pouts.
“Okay, maybe a lot.” I smile, stealing a quick kiss.
I glance behind me even quicker to make sure Alec isn’t trying to stab me for the public display of affection.
Waiting for us on the tarmac is a bouncing Ellie and a laid-back Kayne.
Ellie nearly knocks Tara over once her feet hit the pavement. Watching their reunion sort of reminds me of Cara and Camille. I clasp Kayne’s hand as the family says their jubilant hellos.
“How are things?” Kayne asks loud enough for only me to hear as we load the bags while everyone else climbs into the truck.
“Good.” I glance over at him. “Really, good.”
“That’s what I like to hear,” he says boastfully as he shuts the trunk.
I throw him an insulted look. “Like I would let it be any other way.”
“Look, man, nothing personal, but this is my wife’s sister, and she loves her dearly. I just don’t want a reason to cut your nuts off, ya know.”
I stare at Kayne dumbfounded. “Jesus Christ, man. I was your handler for six years. I kept you alive, and I helped you save Ellie. When are you going to cut me some slack?”
“I cut you plenty of slack.” He hits me on the arm. “I didn't kill you in New York after I found out you snuck off to sleep with her.”
I swear I turn red. “You have a lot of balls judging me. After everything you did to Ellie . . .”
“Juice, don’t even fucking go there.” He cuts me off right at the knees. “And I'm not judging you. I’m fucking with you.” He pushes me. “When did you lose your sense of humor? I thought you were the comedian?” He smiles broadly, his mischievous eyes glinting in the morning light.
“Hey, you two!” Ellie yells from the front seat. “Are you coming or are you going to continue your bromance in the trunk? I know it’s been a while since you’ve seen each other!”
“Pipe down, woman. We’re coming.” Kayne winks at me before he walks over to the driver's seat and hops in.
I inhale a deep breath. Have I lost my sense of humor?
“Everything okay?” Tara inquires as I slide in next to her.
“Fine.” I try to convince her, but she sees right through me.
“Maybe this trip wasn’t a good idea,” she whispers.
“Of course, it was. You wanted to see Ellie, and I want to do whatever makes you happy.” I hear Alec grunt behind me, but I ignore him. I lean in closer to Tara. “I’m a big boy. I can take care of myself.” I lay the charm on thick. “Okay?”
“Okay,” she relents. She knows the crap I get from Kayne and her father, and she hates it as much as I do. But if that’s the price I have to pay to be with her, I’ll gladly do it.