Thirty-Eight

Julia

“I can’t believe you made me wear this,” Austin said.

We’d just pulled up in front of Sutton’s house. He got out of the car and tugged on the Captain America T-shirt I’d gotten him for Halloween when I went out that morning, looking for something to wear.

“Shove it, Wright. Walk around naked if you prefer.”

He laughed. “I just think I’m more of an Iron Man guy myself.”

“Of course you are,” I droned sarcastically.

“But maybe we should have gone with the Hulk. Doesn’t he end up with Black Widow?”

His eyes scanned the black leather pantsuit I’d stuffed my body into. It all fit once everything was in place, but it’d been ridiculous, getting to that moment.

“All right. Take off your clothes, and I’ll paint you green.”

He laughed as we walked up to Sutton’s front door. “Captain America, it is.”

“Smart choice.”

I knocked on the door, and I heard Sutton yell, “Coming!”

She pulled open the door to the house she and Maverick had lived in together. I couldn’t believe that she still lived here with all the memories. Or maybe she just couldn’t let go of it yet.

“Thanks for showing up, y’all,” Sutton said. “I’m still trying to get Jason into his costume. He loved it when he picked it out at the store, but now, it seems he’d rather be a streaker.”

“We’re happy to be here,” I said, pulling Austin inside.

We’d volunteered to walk Jason around the neighborhood with Sutton for Halloween. I’d known that she needed the company and that it would be hard for Austin to come right back to life in Lubbock on a party night. Halloween had always been a night to get wasted unless you had kids. So, the whole thing worked out for us.

“Yeah. I’m excited to steal some of Jason’s candy,” Austin said.

Sutton waved him off. “Be my guest. I don’t want to eat it, and he’ll be bouncing off the walls with all of that.”

She disappeared into one of the bedrooms and appeared a few minutes later with Jason decked out in a bright yellow Minion costume.

“Oh, he’s adorable,” I gushed.

Jason’s eyes lit up when he saw Austin and me. He toddled over to Austin and held his hands up. “Up!”

Austin laughed and pulled Jason into his arms. Seeing them like that made my heart swell. But one look at Sutton’s face, and I saw all the happy what-ifs flash before her eyes.

“Why don’t we get going?” I suggested.

“Your outfit is cute, Julia,” Sutton said. “I look like a mom. No time to do my hair or anything.”

“We can watch him if you want some time to get ready before we go,” I suggested.

“Who do I have to impress?” She turned away from us and took a steadying deep breath. “Okay, let’s go.”

She got out Jason’s stroller filled with goodies for him and a bag for the candy, and then we were off. Jason made it through three whole houses before being too tuckered out to walk. Austin threw him up onto his shoulders from there, and Jason squealed in delight at the attention. This was how it was supposed to be. This was how an uncle was supposed to act with his nephew.

By the time we made it to the last house on the street, Jason was fast asleep in the stroller with a bagful of candy that he’d never eat.

“He’s going to sleep so well tonight,” Sutton said.

“And then he’ll have a sugar high all day tomorrow,” I said.

“Oh, yeah, I’m so looking forward to that.”

Sutton got Jason into bed before coming back out to the living room.

“I just…I’m glad someone else was here for that. I didn’t know if I could do another thing alone.”

“Well,” Austin said, “if you ever need anything, even just a night off, then give me a call. You deserve it.”

“Really, we’d love to do it,” I said.

“I appreciate it. Most days, it’s okay. But holidays are the worst. So, it was good to have you here. I think I’m going to try to crash some while he’s actually asleep.” She sighed. “Pretty lame, huh?”

“Nah,” I said. “You sound like a good mom.”

Sutton beamed at that. At this point, it was all she really had. “I’m going to take y’all up on babysitting. I could use a day off for real.”

We laughed and nodded before leaving Sutton’s house. Both of us sagged as soon as the door closed.

“That was…hard,” I admitted.

“I feel so bad for Sutton. I wish we could do more.”

“Time. That’s what she needs right now.”

“Yeah. And for us to be there for her.”

I nodded my head. “Agreed.”

“Also, that barely took any time at all,” Austin said as we walked to his car.

“Why don’t we…go back to my place?” I suggested hesitantly.

“We can do that,” he said. “If you want.”

“Yeah. Let’s do it.”

I tried not to second-guess inviting him into my personal space. I wanted him there. I wanted us to work. It was almost a little scary, how easy it was to be with him again. Almost as if his absence had made me fall for him even harder. Not to mention, there was the box of letters I had in my apartment. Those had brought us together more than anything else ever had. And I loved exploring the man those letters had helped me find.

We made it to my apartment fifteen minutes later. I quickly turned off the security system and then reactivated it once we were inside. Austin was quiet as he surveyed my new place.

“What?” I asked self-consciously.

“Oh, nothing. I like it. My head was just elsewhere.”

“Want to talk about it?”

“It’s not serious or anything.” He turned to face me.

I felt a sudden rush of emotions. Austin was here. In my apartment. We were together. Sober. Three months ago, I never would have thought that was possible.

“You know, you can still talk to me.”

“I was just thinking about Jason,” Austin said.

He took a seat on the couch, and I followed him, sitting next to him. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and held me close.

“What about Jason?”

“If I hadn’t gone to rehab, I never would have gotten tonight with him. I would have had some other stupid plans that involved getting drunk. I wouldn’t have remembered the night either. And…I wonder how many other things I missed because of alcohol.”

It was a sobering thought. He’d been a high-functioning alcoholic for so long that he definitely missed a lot of those kinds of moments.

“Even though I was present for shit, I only remember those things through a haze of alcohol. Like Sutton’s wedding. One of the most important days of her life, and I don’t have a recollection of anything past the ceremony.”

“That has to be hard.”

“I knew it would feel like this. Or at least, I was warned about it. But it’s one thing to talk about it in rehab and another thing to experience it in person. Just something I have to live with.”

“At least you’re making an effort to make new memories. Sober memories.”

“Yeah, I feel like I wasted most of the last ten years. I don’t want to miss anything else.”

I tilted my head up to meet his dark eyes. There was remorse there. True remorse. What I’d seen from him in the last two days wasn’t an act. Of course, I hadn’t thought it was. But seeing him torn up like this showed me how much he’d really changed. For him to even think about all the experiences he’d missed out on because of alcohol was self-reflective in a way that the old Austin never would have come to terms with.

“I’m so glad you’re here with me,” I whispered. My lips hovered an inch from his.

“Me, too.” His eyes darted to my lips and then back up. “You know something?”

“What’s that?” I whispered, aching for a kiss.

“I love you.”

My heart stopped, and butterflies erupted in my stomach. “You do?”

He nodded. “Should have told you that a long time ago.”

“Well, you know something?”

“No. What?” he asked, brushing his nose against mine.

“I love you, too.”

No other words had to be spoken. We’d both been holding that in for so long, neither willing to really dig into our feelings, that it was as if a dam had broken.

Austin and I cleared the distance between us at the same time. Our kiss was full of the love we’d been denying. His lips were soft and inviting. His tongue promised all the dirty things my mind drifted to with him this close. His hands roamed over my tight bodysuit.

He leaned me backward on the couch, covering my body with his. I wrapped one leg around his waist. Our hips pressed tightly together, and heat rushed through me.

“Fuck,” I groaned as he started to circle his hips in place against me.

All coherent thoughts fled my mind. There was just the feel of him against me and the desire to be in a hell of a lot less clothes.

One hand slid down the side of my suit and then reached around to grab my ass. He broke off the kiss to trail his mouth down my neck and across my collarbone. I could feel him, thick and ready for me, through his jeans. I couldn’t help myself as I pressed my pelvis up. He pushed back, sliding his dick against the thin material covering my body.

“How the hell do I get this off?” he asked. He slipped his hands up and down my sides, hoping to find an easy way to get me out of this suit.

I laughed and tossed my head back in exasperation. “This is the worst outfit ever for this.”

“It’s hot as fuck, but I’ll cut it off if I have to.”

Austin gripped my arm when I offered it to him, and he pulled me up off the couch. I dragged him into my bedroom and showed him the tiny zipper in the back. He tugged it down. He whistled softly through his teeth when the zipper rounded over my ass.

“Julia,” he groaned.

His lips touched the base of my neck and then slowly worked down my back, vertebra by vertebra. Then, he kissed my tailbone and lower. His hands splayed over my ass cheeks as he thoroughly kissed each of them.

I tugged my arms out of the sleeves of the suit in my haste to be naked. He helped me drag it the rest of the way down my body until it was in a crumpled pile on my floor.

He turned me back around to face him. “I missed everything about you while I was gone. But this body…” He shuddered. “You are my undoing.”

His thumbs brushed against my nipples until they hardened into points. Then, he took one in his mouth, sucking on it, until I writhed beneath his touch, and when I was purring in his grip, he moved to the other one.

“We’re…we’re going to have to get you out of that shirt,” I muttered, trembling from his touch.

My eyes dropped on that Captain America shirt. It showed off those biceps and that chest. But, fuck, I couldn’t wait until it was off.

“I…I think I didn’t get you the right size anyway.”

He laughed. “It’s a bit tight.”

“Um…yep.”

“Guess I’m not a Captain America guy after all.” He stripped the shirt off over his head.

And then…yes. I trailed my nails down his pecs, down those abs, and to that V. Then, I hastily removed his remaining clothes and saw all my other favorite parts of him that I loved to run my hands down.

Austin threw his head back and moaned when I palmed his cock in my hand.

“God, I want to get inside you,” he said. “Want you to know just how much I love you.”

I licked around the head of his cock before popping it into my mouth. His hand went through my hair, tightening ever so slightly. I released him from my mouth with a smirk and then crawled back on the bed. He followed after me, his cock jutting out toward me.

Austin settled down between my legs, hiking them up around his hips. He leaned forward onto his elbows to stare down at me. I gripped his biceps as he eased inside me, stretching and filling me to the hilt.

His gaze was intent on me as he pushed my hair out of my face. He didn’t move at first, and I squirmed under him.

“What?” I whispered.

“It’s different this time.”

“Better.”

“It was always amazing,” he said, “but this time, I just feel more connected. I’ve…I’ve never felt like this before, love.”

“Me either. It’s a little scary,” I confessed.

“I’ll take it slow.”

He leaned forward to kiss me and then started moving, keeping to his word. I couldn’t even describe how good it felt. His body pressed against mine. His cock sliding in and out of my pussy. Our breath mingling in the space.

There was no rush. We had all the time in the world. And, still, he barely had to move as our bodies eased together and then apart and then back together. We weren’t just fucking, like we always had before. For the first time, we were really making love.

While I liked both options, when we finally came apart at the same time, my orgasm hit me relentlessly. I saw stars. My mind went blank. I probably could have spoken in tongues.

Nothing compared.

And I realized that nothing ever would with Austin.

Being away from one another for those three months was the best decision of our lives. I’d found my art again. Austin had stopped drinking. We’d both healed. It had been necessary. Without it, we never would have gotten to where we were right now. We never would have been able to move on. It had taken that time to show that we were strong enough separate…but better as one.

We might be works in progress separately.

But, together, we were complete.