CHAPTER TWENTY
Tucker
I have to say Laurie had some nerve. Showing up at NYC Concierge unannounced, making a scene in front of my employees, raining fire and brimstone with that curvy, fine form on display for all to see. I shook my head because fuck, it all belonged to me, and I loved seeing her rage, her energy, that earthiness brought to life.
And that’s what I love about the sassy female. Laurie’s not afraid to hold back, she tells me what’s real, calls me on my shit and that’s what a partner’s for, right? Someone to tell you when you’re off, earning your respect without putting you down. Okay, it hadn’t been the most tactful way of pointing out my weaknesses, but we could work on that, there were years ahead together, wrapped around each other, fighting, loving, laughing, while nurturing our mutual love. I knew now for certain that she was right for me, my missing other half, and I couldn’t wait to get the ring on her finger.
And I wasn’t too worried. Sure, Laurie had disappeared, some of her stuff was gone, a suitcase missing from the shelf, but she’d be back. Because she’d forgotten something important – the key to her old apartment. Oh yeah, I’d started paying the rent on that place over her insistent refusals. If the brunette wanted to keep an empty apartment as a back-up, fine, but I drew the line at her paying rent. I wasn’t going to let her keep forking over eight hundred dollars a month on a government employee’s salary, so I’d taken over the lease, my name at the top, and I had the key now.
And sure enough, come ten p.m., the front door creaked open, revealing my best girl looking a little bedraggled, dragging her suitcase behind her.
“Hey,” I drawled, eyeing her up and down. “How’s it goin’? About to attack me again?”
The brunette’s eyes immediately shot sparks, and I laughed aloud, loving the fire within.
“Very funny, Tucker,” she said, giving me the stink-eye.
“Very funny what?” I asked innocently, my hands up in the air.
“You know,” she replied huffily. “I don’t have the key to my old apartment anymore. You do,” she accused.
And I held my hands up again in a take-no-prisoners style.
“Of course I do, honey, I pay the rent on that place, or have you forgotten?” I asked smarmily.
My clown act really annoyed her and she frowned, a hot flush running over her cheeks and down her chest, disappearing into her blouse. Fuck, just the thought of those nipples turning rosy, becoming luscious red cherries made my dick pop out, my boner start singing.
But Laurie just shook her head, eyes closed, as if really tired. And suddenly a wave of concern came over me. My little girl had been walking around the city for hours now, dragging this suitcase behind her, probably seeking shelter in coffee shops, park benches, and the local McDonald’s. My heart twisted and I jumped up.
“Here baby,” I said, my tone rough, vacating my stool at the kitchen counter. “Sit down and I’ll get you something to eat.”
Because I stand by my previous assessment that Laurie would look better heavier, and I’d been working on that the past couple months, ordering trays full of food, high calorie options like mashed potatoes and chocolate cake whenever I could. I love my girl curvy and with just a little more, a little more heft, more swing, she’d be a fifteen on a scale of ten, her boobs, ass and hips the stars of the show.
And Laurie gave in, heaving herself onto my vacant stool with a sigh, but not before pinning me with a stare.
“But we have to talk,” she demanded. “And I mean seriously, Tucker, no clowning around.”
“Absolutely not,” I said with a wry smile. “My lips are sealed, you do the talking, I’ll cook,” I mimed, zipping up my mouth and tossing the key before turning to the fridge and digging out a carton of eggs. Oh yeah, Tucker McGrath’s Famous Four Egg omelet was coming right up, with a load of bacon and ham, topped off with gooey cheddar and a dollop of sour cream. Fuck yeah, that’s what my baby needed to keep her curves lusciuos.
And Laurie just sighed again.
“Tucker,” she said slowly. “I need to know why you didn’t trust me. Why you felt like you had to hide your real identity.”
I turned to her.
“What do you mean?” I feigned innocence, “I didn’t hide anything, you could have googled me any time. There’s a ton of shit about me on the web. Most of it false,” I added, my brow knotting.
And she glared at me again.
“Yeah, but I didn’t,” she snorted. “I was the dumbest girl on earth and I trusted you. I thought you were who you said you were, Tucker McGrath, delivery man and nothing more.”
I sighed. Laurie deserved a real answer, she was so precious to me, so amazing, and I owed it to her.
“Hon, I trusted you, I’m just more of a ‘see how the land lies’ type of guy,” I explained slowly.
A pause.
“What does that mean?” she asked, tipping her head.
I sighed again.
“I guess it means seeing how the land lies before making a decision,” I replied, beating the eggs, the rhythmic tinkle of the fork in the bowl strangely soothing. “I’ve had a lot of bad experiences baby, and I want to see what a woman’s like before I commit, really put myself on the line.”
Laurie blushed a little at the word “commit,” and I could understand why. We were entering into serious territory here with conversation about the future, about what we might be for the long-term. Of course we’d bantered in the past, joking, always playful, but this was the first time we were talking as two adults about our future, without my dick in her body in some way, shape or form. So I buckled down, really focusing.
And the brunette was no one’s fool, tilting her head to the side and looking at me speculatively
“But don’t you think you should have been honest with me from the get-go?” she asked. “I mean, it’s not exactly great if a relationship starts off based on a load of lies.”
I sighed deeply. I could see what the girl was getting at, and she had a point. But I had a point too, and I wanted to find some way to compromise, find middle ground to settle on.
“Baby of course,” I said slowly. “But I try not to see it as lies, it’s more omission.”
“You mean lying by omission?” Laurie interjected quickly. Damn, this girl was sharp, exactly my type.
“Sort of,” I conceded. “I didn’t want to tell you who I was and what I do for a living because I wanted to get to know you first. Is that so wrong?”
The brunette paused for a moment.
“But how could we get to know each other authentically if I didn’t have even basic facts about you?” asked Laurie, head cocked. “It’d be so fake, so misleading.”
Shit, this girl deserved a Ph.D in psychology, she was psyching me out mentally on all fronts, winning the game before it even started.
But I made another go of it.
“Laurie, honey,” I said gently, “Please try to see it from my perspective. I’ve been hunted by women on all sides for twenty years now, and I’ve put up barriers. Just like you’ve put up barriers too,” I said, wandering into taboo territory.
The girl paused again.
“You mean, how I moved in with you in a week? Or how I slept with you within five minutes, when we didn’t even know each other’s names? Those barriers?” she said wryly.
And I laughed because the brunette was right, but my point was that she had walls too, she didn’t put herself all out there from the get-go either.
“Baby,” I began again, “the barriers you have are different from mine. Because of your divorce,” I said slowly, “you’re really sensitive to betrayal and guys misrepresenting themselves. So this … situation,” I stumbled a little, not sure what to call it, “hits you in an especially sore spot. I’m me, I’m Tucker, there’s just more to me than you realized.”
And surprisingly, the brunette didn’t fly off the handle.
“I know,” she said nodding. “I know I’m sensitive because my ex did a number on me, it was like I’d married a stranger. So yeah, I didn’t want to make the same mistake again, and when it turned out you were different from what you portrayed, I was angry,” she said with a deep exhale.
“Angry?” I asked, eyebrows raised, my hand stilling for a moment on the frying pan. “More like a murderous rage.”
“Okay, really angry,” she corrected ruefully. “I lost my shit, I admit it. And Tucker,” she said quietly, “I’m sorry I made such a scene, I’m sorry I showed up at NYC Concierge and embarrassed you in front of your staff.”
I thought about torturing the brunette a bit, making her writhe, but the girl looked so genuine and remorseful, that I took pity. Besides, I loved Laurie and only wanted her to be happy, to see those lips smile once again, to see her eyes sparkle.
“Honey, there was nothing better than you coming to the office today, filled with fire, life, so beautiful, spitting epithets with that sweet mouth. All I wanted to do was let everyone know that you were mine,” I said seriously, putting the pan down. Who gave a fuck about omelets? I just wanted this woman to know how much I loved her, how much I adored everything about her.
And Laurie looked up again, her eyes meeting mine, hopeful, soft.
“Really?” she asked quietly. “I didn’t humiliate you, didn’t make you hate me?”
And I stroked her cheek then, that softness velvety under the rough tips of my fingers.
“Baby, the opposite,” I murmured against her mouth. “I was thinking of making it permanent.”
And she closed her eyes, leaning into me, lightly licking my lips with her tongue.
“You mean, moving back in together, both of us on the lease, me giving up my old apartment, that kind of permanent?”
And I chuckled then, growling deep in my throat.
“No honey, not that kind. This kind,” I said, removing the velvet box from my pocket. “Look baby, open your eyes and look.”
Because Laurie was under my spell already, I could see the fire in her eyes, the deep burn within, how much she wanted it, her body soft and ready against mine. But first, there was the important business of getting engaged.
And languidly, the brunette opened her eyes to look at my gift, not understanding at first, her gaze dazed, her movements still slow. Because I’d popped open the lid to reveal the sparkler and it was blinding under the kitchen lights, the facets throwing dazzling rays everywhere, overwhelming in its brilliance.
“Tucker, is it …?” she whispered, almost not breathing.
“It is,” I confirmed, dropping a kiss on her nose.
And what do you know, the ring fit perfectly, sliding onto her finger like it belonged there. Because it did. I’ve found my virgin, found a gorgeous, sassy, sexy woman, and Laurie was my everything … and always will be.