Chapter 9
NO FREE MILK
WESLEY
“Why on earth would a man want to buy the cow when he can just get the milk for free?” Miss Ina asks Mackenzie.
I see a smile twitch in the corner of my girlfriend’s mouth. Libby, who has been attempting to get a rise out of the old lady since we sat down to Christmas dinner, tips her head to the side and puts on a look that’s way too innocent.
“How will they know if the milk’s not spoiled if they don’t test it out?” Libby asks.
Miss Ina huffs.
Swallowing down a chuckle of my own, I look at my mom. She’s sitting across from us, and I can see her shoulders shaking as she laughs silently.
When we arrived at the house and she was introduced to everyone, all my anxiety melted away. I should have known better than to be worried. There is no way Katie Reed would make anyone in her house feel uncomfortable. She made my mom and stepdad feel at home, and so did everyone else.
If I’m honest, today has been nice. When my parents divorced, there were no longer big holiday dinners with lots of family. It was mostly me with my dad on Christmas Eve, then with my mom on Christmas Day. Just us. Always just us. My mom didn’t have any family, and my dad’s family wanted nothing to do with my mom.
“Child, a man knows everything he needs to know about a woman the very moment they meet,” Miss Ina says. “You don’t need to give your milk away for him to know more. I met my late husband on a Monday and married him that Friday. He knew. We both knew what we were to each other—without any kind of taste test.”
I cough into my hand to cover my laugh.
“That’s amazing, Miss Ina, but the world is a different place now. Dating nowadays isn’t like it used to be,” Libby tells her truthfully. “Most people my age want casual relationships until they feel they are ready to start a family. Now most people I know don’t date seriously unless they are looking to have a child, and then they are only looking for someone they believe will be a good parent, not necessarily a good partner.”
“Bawww,” Miss Ina says loudly, tossing out her hand. “You kids and all your fancy gadgets. You’re always twittering, matching, and farmering.”
“Farmering?” Libby repeats.
I wonder what the hell farmering is.
“Just yesterday, I saw an ad trying to recruit women to be farmers’ wives on the television. What is this world coming to?” She shakes her head as her lip curls up in disgust. “You kids are so caught up in those gadgets you carry around in your hands that you don’t even notice what’s right in front of you anymore.”
“That’s very true,” my mom agrees, nodding her head. “But Libby is also right. Dating nowadays isn’t what it used to be.” She picks up her wineglass to take a sip. “Even at my age, it was hard finding someone who wanted more than just a hookup.”
“What is a hookup?” Miss Ina asks, frowning.
Libby leans to her side, “whispering” loud enough for everyone to hear. “It’s another way of saying that you’re giving your milk away for free.”
“I know that, girl.” Miss Ina glares at Libby, who smiles.
When we first got into the car that morning, I could tell that Libby didn’t know what to think of Miss Ina. I don’t know what changed, but about halfway to Long Island, something did. She started giving the older woman a hard time—and has clearly gotten a kick out of getting a rise out of her since then.
“We didn’t ‘hook up’ in my day. We didn’t live with each other for fun. We didn’t play house. We met, we got married, we moved in together, and we had kids. Then we stayed married until the day one of us died.”
“I’m glad it’s not like that anymore,” Libby says, looking around the table. “I know some people were happy, but there had to be a lot of people, a lot of women, who were unhappy and unable to do anything about it because society would have cast them out.”
Miss Ina shrugs. “You’re probably right, but this hooking-up business is not how you find someone you want to spend your life with. If you are constantly looking for the next hookup, as you say, you won’t know when you find the right one.”
“You’re probably right,” Libby agrees.
“I know I am. You and your sisters are sweet girls. You deserve to find nice men who want more than just to drink your milk.”
Hearing Mackenzie snort next to me, I look at her just in time to catch her covering her mouth. “Sorry.” She waves her hand toward Miss Ina, who narrows her eyes.
“This is the weirdest conversation I have ever heard,” Levi says, picking up his beer.
Fawn smiles at him, resting her hand on his chest—a hand that is now sporting an engagement ring. When he told me a week ago that he was going to ask Fawn to marry him at Christmas, my first insane thought was that he was a lucky bastard. A few months ago, my first thought would have been that he was a crazy fuck.
Mackenzie has made me want those things for myself—a wife, a family, someone to come home to at the end of the day. She’s my best friend. A best friend I have unbelievable chemistry with.
“Put down your darn phone, girl.” I look up just in time to catch Miss Ina snatch the cell phone out of Libby’s hand and toss it behind her onto the floor.
“You . . . oh my god! You did not just do that! I was posting a photo of what the table looked like after we all decimated it!” Libby cries.
Miss Ina waves her off. “You can’t live life through a phone. You need to live in the moment by being present in the situation.”
She isn’t wrong about that. People now live on their phones. They date on their phones, communicate with family and friends on their phones. Face-to-face contact has become almost nonexistent.
“Yeah, but I wanted to share with my friends online who aren’t here to share it with me.”
“Share it with them firsthand when you see them. Not by taking a picture of the moment and sharing it on your Facesbooks or Intergrams,” she says.
I smile at that.
“It’s Facebook and Instagram. I don’t see the people I chat with online often,” Libby says.
Miss Ina frowns. “Then why do they need to see what your table looked like?”
“I don’t know. It’s just what you do. You share online what you’re doing and where you have been.”
“Well, it’s ridiculous, and it takes away from the occasion and the experience. When you’re enjoying a beautiful moment in life, really enjoying that moment, you can remember it in your mind’s eye years later. You can remember what you heard, what you smelled, how you felt. Sometimes the memory will be so clear you’d think you were back there all over again. No picture is going to give that to you. If you don’t put down your phone and look around, when you’re old like me and your sight is starting to go, you will have no memories at all.”
“You’re right,” Libby huffs. “But you still shouldn’t have tossed my phone.”
“You can get it after dinner,” Miss Ina says before looking over at a stunned Katie, who is holding her glass of wine inches from her mouth. “Thank you for dinner, dear.”
“Um . . .” Katie clears her throat. “You’re welcome. Thank you for coming.” She looks around the table. “Would anyone like dessert?” she asks, setting down her wineglass and standing up.
“I’d like some.” Mackenzie’s dad rubs her hand.
She nods once, then gets up and wanders from the dining room toward the kitchen.
“I’m going to go help my mom,” Mackenzie says.
“Sure.” I kiss the side of her head, and she smiles.
She scoots back from the table and gets up. Both Fawn and Libby follow her. Sitting back in my chair, I put my beer to my mouth and take a pull. Things are not at all uncomfortable, but Mackenzie’s dad hasn’t been his happy, talkative self since we got here. I can feel his strange energy coursing through the room like an exposed live wire. I don’t know what’s going on with him, but I think that Levi can feel it, too.
“I’m going to go have a smoke,” my mom says.
I look at her and lift my chin.
“I’ll go with you,” Miss Ina says, pushing back her chair.
My mom looks at her with a surprised look on her face. “You smoke?”
“Not anymore, but I did years ago. You can blow it in my direction for old time’s sake,” she says.
Mom laughs as she and Miss Ina leave the room.
“That old lady is crazy,” Peter mutters.
Levi and I both laugh, but Aiden doesn’t. He crosses his arms over his chest and glares at Levi.
“You and I have some talking to do, boy,” he says.
Levi holds up his hand in front of him. “I know. I didn’t ask you in person about marrying her, but I swear there was no time. I had it in my head that I would ask her later on today, but when I woke up this morning I knew I wouldn’t be able to sit with the ring in my pocket all day. That’s why I called instead.”
“You should have asked me in person,” Aiden says, looking disappointed.
“I know, and I’m sorry.” Levi runs his good hand through his hair. “You’re right. I should have asked you in person.”
Aiden looks at me, and I shift in my chair.
“If you’re planning on asking Mac to marry you, you better heed my warning. Come ask me in person. I better not get a phone call from you at one in the morning,” he says, looking back at Levi. “I wasn’t happy about that call. When you guys have daughters, you’ll understand how important it is.”
I make a mental note to tell him about my intent to propose to Mac in advance.
“I’ll remember that,” I say.
He grunts, glaring at Levi once more. Then he smiles at the girls as they come back into the dining room carrying pies and plates.
“Is everything okay?” Mac whispers as she takes her seat next to me.
“Everything is fine,” I assure her as her eyes take in the empty chairs across the table.
“What happened to your mom and Miss Ina?”
“They went out to smoke.”
“Miss Ina smokes?” Libby asks as she takes her seat once more.
“No, but she wanted my mom to blow the smoke in her face for old time’s sake,” I say.
She shakes her head. “That lady is crazy.”
“I heard that, girl,” Miss Ina says as she comes back into the room followed by my mom.
Libby rolls her eyes. “Good,” she mutters under her breath.
“I also heard that.”
“I think Lib just found a new best friend,” Mac whispers.
I laugh as Libby grouches something else under her breath that I can’t make out.
Taking a bite of pie, I sit back and enjoy the quiet hum of conversation and laughter.
When it’s time to go, I wish I didn’t have to.
“Well, today was fun,” Mom says as the town car pulls to a stop outside my apartment to let her and Peter off. Since Libby decided to stay out on Long Island with her parents, she suggested Mac take her bed and I take Mackenzie’s so I won’t have to sleep on the couch again at my place. I’ve learned the hard way over the last few days that it’s less comfortable than I thought it was when I purchased it after moving here. I would much rather sleep in my bed with Mac, but I’ll take what I can get.
“It was fun.” Mac gets out to hug my mom on the sidewalk. “We will be back in the morning for breakfast.”
“Sure thing.” Mom kisses her cheek, then gives me a hug and a kiss.
Peter gives Mac a hug.
Watching them head toward my apartment and disappear down the steps, I wait until I see a beam of light appear inside, then disappear behind them as the door closes. I get back into the car with Mac.
“You two better not keep me up all night, banging around,” Miss Ina blurts into the quiet of the car. I fight back a laugh. I almost forgot that the old woman was still with us.
“Miss Ina, we’re only going to sleep. You don’t need to worry about us disturbing your slumber.”
Mac sighs, so I give her knee a squeeze.
“Good. This world is going to hell in a handbag,” she huffs, crossing her arms over her chest as she looks out the window.
“Maybe we should find you a boyfriend, Miss Ina,” Mackenzie suggests, pulling out her phone. “They have a dating app for older people.”
“Have you lost your mind, child? Does it look like I would ever need to find male companionship with the help of a telephone?” She crosses her arms over her chest again.
“Put like that, I guess not!” Mackenzie laughs.
“The day the portable phone was invented, the human IQ must have dropped ten points,” Miss Ina mutters.
“Hey, that’s not very nice.”
“No, it’s not nice. But it’s the truth,” she replies as the car pulls to a stop in front of Mackenzie’s building.
“Whatever . . . ,” Mackenzie grumbles back.
Shaking my head at the two of them, I open the door. I get out, then help both women out of the backseat. I take Miss Ina’s arm and help her up the steps to the front door. She refused to bring her walker with her today. Even though she’s been getting around pretty well, I did notice that later on in the evening she started favoring her right leg more than her left—showing that she’s in pain, even if she would never admit it. Once we’re inside the house, Mackenzie takes over helping the older woman. I open the door to Miss Ina’s apartment and let both women in.
“Thank you. Even though you didn’t exactly give me much of a choice, I had a very nice time today,” Miss Ina says.
Mackenzie kisses her wrinkled cheek and helps her get settled on the couch.
“You’re welcome to come with us tomorrow for breakfast,” I invite her, knowing that she’s alone.
“No, you two enjoy yourselves. I’m going to spend the day at home, resting.”
“Are you sure?” Mackenzie asks, taking her walker over to the couch and setting it up right in front of her.
“Yes, dear.” Miss Ina pats her cheek.
“All right, Miss Ina,” Mackenzie agrees.
She takes my hand and leads me toward the door.
“Have a good night.”
“You too!” Miss Ina calls out as we leave.
Heading up the stairs to Mackenzie’s place, I watch her ass move in the high-waisted slacks she has on. Slacks that are molded to the dip of her waist and the flare of her hips and ass that I wouldn’t mind biting.
“Did you have fun tonight?” she asks.
I pull my eyes from her ass to catch her smiling at me from the top step.
“It was nice,” I say.
She laughs, putting her hand against my chest. “We are not having sex, mister. Did you not hear Miss Ina? She doesn’t want to listen to us getting it on, and believe me, she would hear it. You can’t be quiet enough to get it past her.”
“What about in the shower?” I ask, pressing against her back as she unlocks the door to her apartment.
She looks at me over her shoulder. I watch her pupils dilate, then her tongue comes out, touching her bottom lip.
“I don’t think my shower is big enough for the two of us,” she says before looking away from me, pushing the door open, and stepping inside.
She takes off her coat, and I shut the door before I take off my own jacket and toss it on the back of the couch. I take just a second to glance around.
“The walls seem solid.”
“She’d still hear us.”
“How do you know that?” I ask, feeling jealousy curl around my middle at the idea of her in here with another man and making the sounds I’ve come to crave from her.
“I know because Libby and I can hear the people upstairs from us getting it on all the time. We can hear them no matter where they are—in bed, in the shower, in the kitchen. We hear it all. So I know Miss Ina would hear us. Since she is just now starting to like me, I’m not going to jeopardize that for some penis.”
“It’s a big penis,” I remind her, taking a step in her direction.
She takes a step back.
“It is a big penis, but until your mom and Peter leave, he and I are going to have to be penis pals,” she says, making me chuckle as I back her up against the wall next to the front door.
“Penis pals? What kind of relationship is that?”
“Friends from afar.” She rests her hand against my chest.
“I don’t want to be friends from afar. What if I just use my mouth and leave my penis out of it?”
“I’d still want the penis at the end, so the answer is no.”
“You love him?”
“I’m madly in love with your penis, but he needs to stay away from me tonight.”
“What if I just use the tip?” I say.
She laughs hard, dropping her forehead to my shoulder, her body shaking.
“There is no way you could just stick in the tip and not try to fill me with your cock,” she says to make me groan.
“Don’t say ‘cock’ or remind me of what it’s like when I fill you with it. He misses you too much. These last few days have been torture.” I grind against her. “Let me eat your pussy, gorgeous. At least let me get a taste.”
“Don’t talk like that.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t ask at all. Maybe I should tie you up and just take it.”
I kiss up her jaw to her ear, listening to her breathing turn into tiny, shallow pants. They are killing me slowly.
“Do you want that, gorgeous? Do you want me to take the choice away from you?”
“No,” she whimpers as I unhook the button of her pants and zip them down.
“Are you wet?”
“You know I am.”
“You’re always wet for me, aren’t you?”
“Yes.” Her nails dig into my shoulders as I slide my fingers between her folds. She’s drenched, and my mouth waters at the idea of getting it on her. “Wesley . . .”
“Yeah?”
“Please don’t tease me.”
Her head falls back, and I kiss down her neck.
“I don’t plan on teasing you. Kick off your boots,” I instruct.
She does, which makes her shrink a couple of inches. Unbuttoning her top, I slide it off her shoulders, then reach behind her and remove her bra, adding it to the growing pile on the ground.
“Miss Ina is going to be so mad at us,” she breathes against my lips.
I want to growl that I don’t give a fuck, but I know if I do she will shut this down.
“She won’t even know.” I help her out of her pants, then lead her over to the couch. “Kneel away from me, gorgeous.”
“What are you going to do?” she asks, looking at me over her shoulder. Seeing her hair down, her mouth soft, and her big eyes, my dick throbs.
“You’ll see.” I help her onto the couch, then kneel down on the ground behind her. “Now, bend at the waist until your face is on the cushion. If you need to scream or moan, you do it into that cushion.”
Cheeks pinking, she bends forward and her ass rises into the air. When I see her in that position, I have to remind myself that this is for her, not me—okay, so it’s kinda for me, too. Taking hold of her hips, I blow across her wet sex and lean back to watch as goose bumps break out across her smooth skin.
“Fuck, I want inside you.”
I run my fingers down her sex. Her hips buck before I follow my fingers with my tongue and lick up her center. “Remember, you need to be quiet,” I remind her when she moans. I fight the urge to smack her ass. Rubbing it and grabbing a handful, I squeeze hard. “I want to spank you. I want to see my handprint on your skin. I want to feel you contract around my tongue when my hand makes contact. You want that, too, I know you do.” I slip one finger inside of her, then another, pumping them slowly while tonguing her clit.
“Wesley . . .”
Her breath catches as she says my name, and I tighten my hold on her ass while speeding up my fingers to bring her closer to the edge. Feeling her thighs start to shake, I pull on her clit, sucking it and flicking it with my tongue. Hearing her scream into the couch cushion, I give her one final lick.
She shudders while whimpering.
Getting up off the floor, I take a seat on the couch and pull her into my lap before adjusting her against my chest. Pushing her hair out of her face, I kiss her forehead, then each of her eyelids and her lips.
“Are you okay?”
“I think so.” She smiles up at me from under her lashes before letting them slide closed once more. “I miss sleeping in your arms.” She snuggles closer, pressing her nose against my chest.
As her breathing changes and her body relaxes against mine, I study her. Even with all the time we’ve been spending together the last few weeks, I still don’t know which girl she is, the sexy siren I had sex with the night we met, or the woman who can talk about baseball like she works for the Mets. Then again, I don’t think I want to know. I like the idea of trying to figure her out for the rest of our lives. I like that she will maybe always be a little bit of a mystery to me.
Dropping my lips to her forehead, I hold them there and whisper, “I think I love you, Mackenzie Reed, and it scares the shit out of me.”