Chapter 16 – Ben

Knock, knock.

I groaned at the sound coming from my office door but refused to look up from my laptop screen. After a long and unfocused day, I had finally managed to read through whopping twenty-five pages of a financial report. It was a win not only because it was the one productive thing I had done all day, but also because the two hours it took me to read them had kept my mind away from my personal worries. For that reason, I really hoped that the nuisance on the other side of my door would just walk away.

Pushing my annoyance aside, I forced my mind to focus once more on the page I was reading and managed to read two lines before the godawful knocking sound echoed through my office once again. Frustrated as hell, I groaned and closed my eyes. Instantly, images of Jessica’s naked body covered in my seed materialized in the darkness. My cock hardened forcing me to quickly open my lids again.

Suddenly desperate for a distraction, I took a deep breath and barked, “Just come in.”

The door opened and, to my annoyance, Vanessa walked through the door. She had one of her up-to-no-good smiles on and a paper bag with my favorite little bistro’s logo on. Typically, her lunch time visits put a smile on my face, but after my night with Jessica, I felt nothing but disappointment at the sight of her.

“Hi, Mr. Walker,” she cooed as she closed the door and took a few steps in my direction. “Lisa told me you didn’t have lunch today, so I went to Gennaro’s and got you some gnocchi and chicken.”

“Thank you, Vanessa. Leave it at the coffee table,” I instructed in a cold tone.

With an angled brow, she took a few steps sideways towards the sitting area. “No Jessica today? Are you over her already?”

The questions made me angry. I wasn’t really sure why since I knew she had only asked because I had finally used her name after months of calling her, Jessica. Still, after my little adventure with Jessica in the living room, I knew I would never be over her and admitting that made me realize just how royally fucked I really was.

After our rendezvous, I walked Jessica to her bedroom and kept her company while she cleaned herself. As we talked, she wowed me once more with her intelligence and wit. I had never really enjoyed the company of a woman—at least, not of one I was actually attracted to— but I found myself enjoying hers more and more.

The mixture of beauty and sexiness combined with the innocence that was so innate to her was something I couldn’t ignore or resist—not that I wanted to, anyways. In fact, what I wanted was to make her utterly and completely mine. But she had a boyfriend, and I still had no game plan for how to keep Pam from fulfilling her threats. So, I simply kissed her good night and retired to my room where I spent the rest of the night rolling around in my king size bed as I attempted to find a way out of the impossible mess I had created.

When morning came, I arrived at the unfortunate realization that my attraction for Jessica was stronger than my desire for self-preservation. No matter what, I wouldn’t give Jessica up which left me with little choice and no security whatsoever. Knowing that Pam would arrive home soon and that I wouldn’t be able to hold myself around Jessica, I fled my own home before the sun came up, hoping to avoid both mother and daughter for at least a few more hours.

The combination of lack of sleep, the sexy memories in my head and the fear of what the hell I would do once I got home, resulted in my grumpiness and lack of focus. Usually, Vanessa would have been the perfect solution to both things, but today everything was different. Today, the only thing I wanted from her was the meal and a lot of distance.

I sighed and shook my head. With no warmth or care in my voice whatsoever, I said, “No, I’m not over Jessica. I’m just over you.”

Her eyes widened and her mouth opened in shock. “W-what?”

“I’m not fucking you anymore,” I said in a very clear and matter-of-fact tone.

The sight of her trembling lip made me want to roll my eyes. She was nothing more than a casual office fuck to me, and I was clearly just a stepping stone for her. I called her by another woman’s name, and she faked half of her orgasms because we both knew I wasn’t trying hard enough. And still, she was pretending to be upset. It was pathetic and, quite frankly, embarrassing.

With absolutely no patience, but still aware that I couldn’t afford to piss her off—a sexual harassment complaint would only make my life more difficult, after all—I got up from my office chair and walked to where she was by my couch. With a forced smile on my lips, I said, “Our time together was fun, but my life is very complicated right now. Because I consider you a friend and want you to better your life, I’ll contact HR and tell them to give you a permanent position with a good salary and all the benefits. However, you and I are done.”

“Are you also gonna tell me to shut up about what happened between us?” she asked with a kind sass I hadn’t seen before.

This time, I actually rolled my eyes. “Of course. It’s one of the conditions for your new position.”

Vanessa held my gaze for a few more seconds, then sighed and turned away. “Make it a good job, please. I’d hate for your wife to learn about me—or Jessica.”

The forced smile slipped from my lips, and my jaw tightened at her threat. I was honestly getting sick and tired of being threatened by women but decided to push the thought out of my head knowing I had more important things to worry about.

As I grabbed my lunch and walked back to my desk to eat, I felt like a weight had been taken off my shoulders. I had promised Jessica that I would be hers alone, and now that I had fulfilled my side of the bargain I was finally excited to go home and see her. I knew I still had the Pam situation to deal with, but something within me said that as long as I had Jessica beside me, everything would work out.

Reinvigorated, I poured myself into work and, before I knew it, my day was done, and I was driving back home. Both Pam’s and Jessica’s cars were parked in the garage when I finally arrived home. To my surprise, there was also a beat-up truck parked in my driveway. I frowned at the sight as I got out of my car and walked home.

Loud music and the smell of burgers grilling assaulted my senses as soon as I walked through the front door. Still frowning, I followed the scent and the sound to the back of the dining room and out the French doors that led into the patio where Pam stood alone by the grill.

“Hi, Pam,” I said, looking confused from the beautiful set table to my happy looking wife.

At the sound of my voice, Pam turned to look at me, and her smile grew even bigger. “Hi, Ben! I was hoping you wouldn’t be home too late today. Grab a beer, the burgers will be ready soon.”

“Okay. Those smell really good,” I said as I grabbed a bottle from the fridge at the far corner and approached her. After kissing her on the cheek, I asked, “What’s all of this about?”

Pam stole a sideways glance at me and smiled. She opened her mouth to reply, but before she had a chance Jessica’s voice echoed through the open space. “It’s good news, but she won’t tell you until the burgers are on the table. Mom takes her traditions very seriously.”

My cock twitched, and my lips curled into an involuntary smile as I turned around to glance at Jessica. She was wearing a pretty, flowery dress as she entered through the double doors with a bowl of buns in one hand and her motherfucking boyfriend clinging to the other. Her eyes were angry as they stared at me, but I didn’t give a shit why. Every thought in my head was instantly consumed by a murderous rage at the sight of them all cozy like.

I opened my mouth to give Jess and that prick a piece of my mind, but Pam spoke reminding me that we weren’t alone. “Damn right, I do. Traditions are important and this weird family we got here certainly needs some.”

As much as I didn’t want to pay attention to my—fake—wife, I forced myself to. “Well, honey, I’ve never had many traditions, but anything that involves burgers sounds good to me.”

Pam smiled at my words, and then asked, “You remember Trey, right Ben?”

I turned to glance to Jessica and Trey once more and almost laughed at the terrified look on his face. Forcing a smile, I nodded and took a step in their direction. “Of course, I do. How could I forget Jessica’s boyfriend?”

From the corner of my eyes, I saw Jess squirm at the last word in my question. Or maybe it was the serious, angry tone I used to say it. Either way, I appreciated the sight as I extended a hand to greet the boy.

“Hello, sir,” he greeted as he placed his hand on mine with a hefty dose of hesitation. I didn’t really blame him for it since I had crushed his hand the previous time we met, but this time I was determined to be on my best behavior and shook his hand nicely.

Jessica stared from her boyfriend to our handshake to me with pain in her eyes. Considering that I had dismissed Vanessa while she was here, at my house, with her sorry excuse for a boyfriend, I had no idea why my niceness toward the boy pained her. Still, her discomfort pleased me. She had to be punished for what she was doing to me, and I would make sure she got what she deserved.

“Just call me Ben,” I told him in an open and friendly tone. Honestly, I had no desire to be nice toward that asshat, but since it seemed to put Jessica on edge, it would be my mission for the rest of the evening. “I feel like I didn’t give you a proper chance before and I should. So, how about you and I sit and enjoy our beers while the women finish their tradition?”

A broad smile curled on the boy’s face. He instantly released Jessica’s hand and walked toward me. “Sounds good to me, Ben.”

“Perfect,” I muttered with one final long glance at Jessica.

After a quick trip to the fridge to grab Trey a beer as well, we sat at the table and talked. There wasn’t a particular subject to be discussed, he just asked about my company and talked about his band. To be honest, I didn’t pay much attention to half of it. My focus was solely centered on the nervous energy that seemed to pulse from Jessica as she watched us from afar.

Once Pam and Jessica finally joined us at the table, I grabbed my beer bottle and raised it to offer a toast. “A toast, to my lovely wife, this fun meal she prepared and good company. May Trey and I always be this blessed.”

Pam and Trey cheered at my words, but Jessica just stared at me with the hottest fire I had ever seen in her eyes. I could tell that she was beyond annoyed by my words and the warmth I was showing her boyfriend and mother, but since she was the one who had started this, I simply didn’t give a crap. I was angry as shit at her, and if me being nice bothered her like that, then that was exactly what I was going to do.

There was an amicable conversation as we enjoyed the delicious homemade burgers Pam prepared. To a passerby—and, probably, Pam and Trey as well—the dinner was just a relaxed and fun family event, but for Jessica and me it was anything but. Every second we were forced to sit together with our official significant others, made the atmosphere between us grow heavier and more intense with guilt, questions, hidden lust, memories that didn’t want to stay in the past and a growing sense of possession that was hard to control.

The whole thing was painfully awkward and equally sexy, which meant that by the end of our meal, my cock was so hard I could barely sit still. The flush in Jessica’s cheeks and the pebbled nipples that were visible through her dress were further proof that she was as aroused by this situation as I was.

“Okay, mom,” Jessica said once all of our plates were clean—apparently trying to make the night end faster. “Now that we’ve eaten, are you gonna tell us what this burger dinner is all about?”

Pam’s face beamed with excitement, but as I peeled my gaze from her daughter to look at her, I saw a hint of apprehension as well. Because she was a dear friend and a part of me felt guilty over the silent angry eye fuck happening between her daughter and me, I placed a hand over hers for support and received a smile in return.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Jessica staring daggers at my tender gesture toward her mother. Although making her jealous hadn’t been my goal, I couldn’t help the fluttering in my gut or the twitching in my cock at the sight.

“As you know, a few months ago I applied for a promotion,” Pam started after a long breath, commanding both Jessica and me to stop our little fight of wills and pay full attention to her. “Well, this morning when I landed my supervisor told me that I got it. After twenty years of hard work, I’m finally going to serve first class on international flights.”

Overjoyed for her, Jessica yelped and clapped her hands while I tightened my grip on her hand and brought it to my lips for a congratulatory kiss. Even Trey jumped in with kind words, but before our celebration was complete, Pam raised her hand and shook her head.

“I’m not done,” she said in a more contrite tone. I raised my eyebrow, and Jessica demanded to know what else she had to say. With a deep breath, Pam added, “The post is in Paris. I’ll have to live there for at least two years.”

Panic at the thought of having to go away flashed in Jessica’s face as she stole a quick glance at me before looking back at her mother. “I’m super happy for you mom, but I can’t go with you.”

Seeing her daughter’s expression, Pam smiled a small, sad smile and nodded. “I know, honey. You have school and a life here.” Jessica nodded as Pam continued, “I thought you could stay here, with Ben, until you’re done with school, and I’ll come visit as often as I can. But, if you want me to stay, I’ll stay.”

With my heart pounding a million miles per hour, I looked at Jessica with anticipation at what her answer would be. To my surprise, a little smirk formed on her lips as she innocently said, “Of course, I’ll miss you like crazy, but this is your dream, and I’d never keep you from it. As long as Ben is okay with it, I’ll be fine.”

Sweet relief filled my body at her words. It was as if life was handing me the answer I had been looking for all day. With Pam permanently gone, Jessica and I would be free to live our affair without fear of getting caught by her mother. It was the perfect solution.

Or it would be if it wasn’t for Trey.

With all eyes on me, I looked at Pam and said, “I could never deny you your dream, dear. It won’t be the same without you, but Jessica and I will manage.”

Now that her only impediment was solved, Pam’s shoulders relaxed and her smile widened to the biggest grin I had ever seen on her face. For the next half hour, Jessica and I stole loaded and forbidden glances while we talked about her mother’s exciting adventure. Meanwhile, all I could think about was how to convince Jessica to ditch the weasel so I could finally make her mine.

Then, out of the blue, Jess excused herself to go to the bathroom. Knowing it was now or never, I waited a few seconds and then told Pam and Trey I had to make a phone call and followed Jess inside the house. After a whole day waiting and agonizing over what would happen between us, I was finally going to get this mess over with and make Jessica mine. Halle-fucking-luiah!