Chapter Twenty-Three

 

 

 

Jared

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stephanie didn’t spend every night at my place, but she started spending more time there than she did at her own home. I wasn’t complaining. I preferred the nights she was in my bed.

When she did stay the night at my place, we didn’t meet at Java Express. Instead, we had coffee in my kitchen and I kept us stocked up on unhealthy breakfast options for my girlfriend to eat. I even had donuts delivered every Friday and she joked that I was marriage material after that.

We still hadn’t had sex. I was letting her decide when she was ready. I had no problem with waiting because I knew when we did have sex, it was going to be amazing.

There was no way to pinpoint exactly when it happened, but I was in love with Stephanie Gibson. I don’t think falling in love with her was something that happened suddenly but rather something that built up like a slow burn. All I knew was that I couldn’t imagine not having Steph in my life.

We had to postpone our date when Briana had come down with a cold the Thursday before. We didn’t want to take any chances of Chris getting sick so she and Marco agreed to watch him the following weekend. So two weeks went by before Stephanie and I could go out on a real date.

During those two weeks, one of her predictions came true.

Christopher laughed.

It didn’t happen all of the time and was usually reserved for when he was tired and loopy, but his little giggle was an amazing sound. The first time he laughed had been right after a bath when I was dressing him. He was tired and I called Stephanie’s name, something he found hilarious because he instantly started giggling. Steph had come running and he giggled for another couple of minutes while she recorded him with her phone.

“Make sure you give him his lovey at bedtime or else he won’t even entertain the idea of going to bed,” I told Briana on Saturday night as she bounced my son in her arms. She rolled her eyes in a way that was so much like her sister that I almost laughed.

“So you’ve said twice before. Go away. We’ve got it.”

Chris seemed charmed by Briana but was a bit weary of Marco. They had both arrived about thirty minutes before and I knew they were capable but that didn’t stop me from being nervous.

“He’ll be fine, Jare,” Steph said as she walked down the hallway, looking breathtakingly beautiful. She was wearing another sleeveless dress, this one she claimed was coral when I called it pink. It gave me a sneak peek of her breasts but stayed modest, reaching her knees. The back, however, was the best part. It dipped so low that I was pretty sure she wasn’t wearing any underwear. She had another pair of fuck-me heels on her feet, these silver, and I appreciated the effect they had on her legs.

Her hair was pulled back into a low knot on the back of her head with a few pieces framing her beautiful face. She had make-up on but it wasn’t very much because she honestly didn’t need it.

I’d let her choose my outfit, which included a pair of grey slacks and a green- or emerald if you asked my girlfriend- colored button-up shirt. I tried to tame my hair and shaved my face just for the occasion.

“Damn, Steph. You look amazing,” Briana said with a grin. “Doesn’t she look great, Marco?”

Her husband nodded his head. “Perfect. You’re a lucky guy, Jared.”

Yes, I was.

Chris also saw Stephanie and he started to squirm in her sister’s arms while focusing his blue eyes on his favorite person. When she didn’t take him from Briana, he started fussing.

“Hey, none of that.” Stephanie stepped forward, causing Chris to stopping whining and smile. Instead of taking him, she grabbed his hand and pressed her lips to his tiny palm. “Bri and Marco are pretty cool. Don’t try to talk them into giving you beer, mister. It won’t work.”

The baby continued to smile at her like she was the sun. That smile slowly disappeared when she backed up and grabbed some silver purse thing. My son’s lips turned down into a pout and his eyes looked between me and Stephanie in utter betrayal.

“Goodnight, sweet boy,” Steph cooed softly. “Sleep tight.” She tugged on my arm. “Let’s go. It’s only going to get worse the longer we stand here.”

“Have fun, guys. We’ve got this.” Marco offered us a wave just as Chris began to cry. I felt Stephanie hesitate slightly but I knew she was right. If we didn’t go then, we never would. With her hand in mine, I tugged her out of the condo.

“We could just bring him with us,” she suggested as we waited for the elevator. I chuckled and shook my head.

“He’ll be fine in just a few minutes.”

Kenneth was at the desk and he smiled when he saw us. He held the door, bidding us a good night, and I led her out to my car. I helped her into the passenger seat, not letting go of her until she was in even though she was perfectly capable, and headed around so I could get in behind the steering wheel.

I smiled at her while turning the ignition. “Ready?”

“Beyond ready,” she replied with a nod, buckling her seatbelt. “This date is about six months in the making, you know.”

I put us into reverse and chuckled as we turned out of the parking lot. “I remember the first time I saw you in that coffee shop. You were so damn friendly, even when the barista told you they were out of whatever pastry you ordered. Then you stared at the case and debated out loud what you wanted instead. I think I was hooked then.”

“Yeah?” She reached over and squeezed arm. “The first time I saw you in Java Express, you were listening to an older gentleman tell you all about the projected weather for the week while he waited for his coffee. You already had yours and the conversation was boring as hell, but you talked to him and humored him because you knew he was enjoying the conversation. That’s when I was hooked.”

I stopped at a light and turned to smile at Stephanie. She leaned in and gave me a quick kiss right as the light changed again.

Despite the fact that we were on our first date, conversation continued to flow easily between us. We had agreed ahead of time not to talk about Chris, a topic we both could easily get lost in, and so we spent time exchanging stories and learning new things about one another.

I took her to a steakhouse in North Phoenix and the ambiance inside was pretty romantic. We sat at a table across from one another and I don’t think the smile left Steph’s face for a single moment.

“What’s your middle name?” she asked randomly after the server had dropped off our dessert. I watched her take a bite of the mud pie and grinned when she groaned happily.

“Michael, after my great-grandfather. Nothing too fancy. What’s yours?”

“Nicole.” She wiped her face with napkin and dove in for another forkful. “At least yours has some significance. I think my mom just couldn’t pick between Stephanie and Nicole so she used them both.”

I chuckled softly and took a bite of the dessert. “Stephanie Nicole. It suits you.”

Once dessert was gone, I drove us to the Desert Botanical Garden and smiled at her confused expression.

“This might be corny, but they do flashlight tours at night. I thought we could take in the sights together.”

A look of awe crossed her face before she leaned across the console and pressed her lips to mine. I returned her kiss eagerly and we stayed in a passionate lip lock for several moments. I pulled back, ignoring the desire to strip her down in the car, and offered her a small smile.

“So, that’s a yes?”

“Definitely a yes.” She grinned and her eyes stayed on me as I exited the car, quickly heading around to get her door for her. Once our hands were connected again, I led her to the entrance and bought our tickets.

I’d only brought one flashlight but that was more than enough. We wandered down darkened pathways that were illuminated with dim lanterns and cast shadows around the tall cacti, flowers, and other living plants that surrounded us. There were other people around but I hardly noticed them as we strolled.

“This is beautiful,” Steph murmured as we stopped on an incline, giving us an overhead view of the gardens below. I nodded and dropped her hand so I could wrap my arm around her waist.

“It’s perfect.”

We stood there, not saying anything, for about fifteen minutes. It wasn’t until a loud group of teenagers disrupted our peace that we began to walk back towards the front of the park. She stopped me once to give me a long, languid kiss, and we were both out of breath by the time we separated.

“Thank you for the perfect date, Stephanie.”

She smiled and ran her thumbs along my cheeks. “I should be thanking you.”

I kissed the tip of her nose and we resumed our trek to the front. Neither of us spoke as we got back into my car and I glanced over at her.

“I’m not ready for our date to end. What would you say to a nightcap?”

“I’m completely on board with that idea.” She offered me a blinding smile. “Is it breaking the rules if I text Bri to check on Chris?”

I chuckled and shook my head as I drove us out of the parking lot. “No, but only because I’ve been considering doing the same thing.”

She tapped out a quick message to her sister and was smiling when I pulled into the parking lot of the bar I’d picked.

“Bri says that he stopped crying two minutes after we left and promptly forgot about us. He’s asleep in his crib and they’re trying to watch a movie so we need to quit bothering them.”

We both laughed out loud and I headed around to her door once I had the car off. I offered her my hand and she took it immediately, dropping her cheek to my shoulder as we walked to the front door.

The bar wasn’t anything fancy, just a place I had heard some of the guys at work say they liked to go to. It wasn’t packed inside but it was fairly busy since it was a Saturday night. TVs lined the area, most of them full of baseball games, and I led Steph to the bar where an available stool was. Once she was on it, I stood next to her and leaned in close.

“What do you want, sweetheart?”

“An Orange Peel IPA if they have it,” she said loudly to be heard over the cheers. I nodded my head and held my hand out to the bartender. He walked over and I ordered two of her drink.

The bottles had just been placed in front of us when a loud voice called Stephanie’s name. We both looked to the left and a large man was walking over with his arms out. Stephanie let out a squeal and jumped off her stool, right into the guy’s hold.

“Liam! What are you doing here?”

The big guy chuckled and squeezed her tight. “A bunch of us came out to see the game. What are you doing here? You’re dressed way too classy to be in a joint like this.”

Before she had a chance to answer, a second big guy who looked to be related to the first appeared and hauled Steph against his chest. I relaxed, aware that she obviously knew the guys, but that relaxation disappeared when the second guy placed both of his hands on Stephanie’s ass and leaned down to kiss her.

She turned her face away from his and used both hands to push against his chest. I made it to her side at the same time and wrapped my arm around her waist, shoving the big guy back with my free hand. He stumbled a bit, obviously drunk, and focused his gaze on me with a frown.

“What the hell?”

The first guy, the one Stephanie had called Liam, placed a hand on the second guy to hold him back. “Whoa. You just basically mauled Stephy in public, bro. Calm down.”

Stephanie’s back was to my front and my arm was still around her waist, but she took my hand in her own and moved until she was by my side. She looked over at me and shook her head.

“I’m sorry. He’s been drinking.”

The second guy looked at Steph. Then me. Then back to Steph. “Are you on a date, babe?”

She nodded her head and squeezed my hand. “Guys, this is my boyfriend, Jared. Jare, the drunk twin is Troy and the scruffy one is Liam.

Ah. The famous Troy.

“Sorry about that,” Liam said with an apologetic smile. “Troy has a hard time breaking ten-year-old habits. Especially when he’s been drinking.”

“Boyfriend?” Troy was frowning as he stared at Stephanie. “You have a boyfriend now?”

“Yeah, Troy.” She used her free hand to reach out and squeeze his bicep. “You’ve had a lot to drink. You should probably head home and sleep it off.”

Liam nodded and slapped his brother’s back. “Stephy has a point, T. The game sucks anyway. There’s no way the D-backs can rally to win.” He focused his brown eyes on me. “Steph’s been like a sister to me for eleven years. Treat her right or you’ll have us to deal with.”

I jerked my chin in acknowledgement and she let go of my hand so she could give each guy a quick hug. She stepped back and grabbed my hand again while we watched them both walk away. They were almost to the door when Troy glanced over his shoulder with a sad look on his face, and I felt Stephanie’s body relax once the two were out of sight. She turned and looked at me, her cheeks slightly pink.

“I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?” I asked, running my fingertips down the side of her face. She leaned in to my touch and her eyes fluttered closed for a second. When they opened again, she released a long breath.

“Because my ex-boyfriend just felt me up right in front of you.” She placed both of her hands on my waist and hooked her fingers into my belt loop. “He’s a really nice guy, I swear.”

“I don’t doubt that.” I leaned in so that our foreheads were touching. “You have no reason to be sorry and no reason to be embarrassed.”

I could tell she was still bothered, though, so we both drank our beers and decided to call it a night. The ride home was quiet and neither of us moved to get out once I had parked in my spot. I looked over at Stephanie and she was staring back at me.

“In the six weeks since we’ve been together, you’ve been served papers by your ex, had to confront my drunk ex-boyfriend, and haven’t even gotten laid. Do you regret it yet?”

“Oh, sweetheart.” I reached both hands out to touch her face, letting my thumbs gently sweep along her jaw. “The papers would have come no matter what and that confrontation with your ex wasn’t hardly even a confrontation. And the sex? The pleasure of talking to you, laughing with you, holding you, kissing you… Not even sex could top any of that.”

She pitched forward suddenly and slammed her lips against mine. I wrapped my arms around her tight as we kissed zealously. Teeth clashed together, limbs were cramped in the small space, and her chin caught me in the forehead, but we somehow ended up with her straddling me in the front seat. That gorgeous pink dress had bunched up around her waist, giving me access to so much of her smooth skin along her back and thighs.

I was a goner. I gripped her hips and guided her down against where I was painfully hard. She let out a moan and moved again. Her hips established a rhythm against mine and we kissed like the world was crumbling around us. Stephanie’s moans turned into pants until her whole body was completely tensed up. I gripped her thighs, keeping the motions going and watched as she shuddered in pleasure with her eyes closed and her mouth slightly slack. The most brilliant sight in the world was accompanied by the most brilliant noises. I almost lost control myself but managed to hold on while Steph came down from her orgasm. She slumped against me and fought to catch her breath.

“That was so amazing that I can’t even find it in me to be embarrassed,” she mumbled against my shoulder and I laughed quietly.

“That was beautiful. That image will stick with me for a long time.” I kissed the top of her head and she sat back up. Her blue eyes stared at my face for a moment before she shifted back against the steering wheel and trailed her fingers down my chest.

“My turn.” Her hands had just reached the top of my pants and she had moved back a little bit more when the horn suddenly and very loudly went off, causing both of us to startle. Stephanie’s head hit the roof of the car and I quickly glanced around after remembering we were in a parking lot. We stared at each other for a moment and both burst out laughing.

“Let’s go inside,” I told her and she nodded in agreement.

“Probably a good idea, City Roast.” She let me help her maneuver across the console and fixed her dress. I stood from the car and adjusted my pants so that I didn’t give everyone a show in the lobby. Afterwards, I went around to her side of the car and helped her out, holding onto her as we strode towards the door.

Kenneth just smirked at us, letting me know he was well aware of what we were doing in the parking lot. Stephanie seemed to be thankfully oblivious to it as we stepped onto the elevator.

“Thanks for a great first date, Hart,” she whispered as we came to a stop on the twenty-first floor. She leaned in to give me a quick kiss just as the doors opened and I smiled at her.

“It was perfect.”

Briana and Marco were sitting on the couch watching TV and both of them turned their heads when we walked in. She smiled and used the remote to mute the sound.

“How was your first date, lovebirds?”

Stephanie rolled her eyes and kicked her heels off by the front door. “Amazing. This guy even held the doors for me and everything.”

“Damn.” Marco grinned at us both. “Pulling out the big guns, Jared.”

They stood from the couch while Briana went over their evening with the baby. Her husband wrapped his arm around her shoulders and chuckled softly.

“There was a few times where I think he thought Bri was Steph at first glance but would do a double take and start crying all over again.”

“Seriously.” Briana let out a long, exaggerated sigh. “He gave me feelings of inadequacy.”

Jared nodded his head and squeezed my shoulder. “Imagine how I feel. Think you two are going to have some of your own?”

Both of them shook their heads at the same time and the four of us laughed. Bri pressed a kiss to Marco’s arm and smiled at me. “Maybe in a few years. We’re too selfish with our time right now to bring babies into the mix. Besides, there are plenty of nieces and nephews to borrow when we need a fix.”

Stephanie wrapped her sister in a tight hug and I shook Marco’s hand. He exchanged hugs with his sister-in-law and they left my place hand in hand.

The two of us didn’t say anything as we walked down the hallway and Stephanie automatically turned into Chris’s bedroom. She didn’t stop moving until we were in front of the crib and staring at the sleeping baby. Her head dropped to my shoulder and she released a long sigh.

Chris was in the middle of the crib, on his back, and clutching a lovey in his little fist. The light from the hallway allowed us to see his peaceful face and I couldn’t help but smile.

We stood there staring at him for a few more minutes before I took her hand and tugged her out of the room. We headed down to my bedroom and Stephanie threw her arms around my neck the moment we were across the threshold. Our lips met in a frantic kiss and I lifted her off of her feet so I could walk us to the bed.

My body was almost vibrating with anticipation. The thought of having sex with Stephanie Gibson had all of my blood rushing south and I couldn’t wait. Hell, the thought of seeing her naked was a treat all on its own.

Even though she was basically living with me, I had only caught glimpses of my gorgeous girlfriend naked. A few times I’d walked in on her changing or just getting out of the shower but the only time I’d had a chance to really examine her is during the times she was in her bathing suit. We spent a lot of time at the pool on the fifth floor terrace and Stephanie in a bikini was a sight to behold. She had the perfect sized breasts, ones that overflowed in my palms during our make-out sessions, and a curvy waist that begged for me to grip it while I made love to her. Not to mention that ass that filled out her bathing suit bottoms perfectly.

She was my idea of perfection.

I pushed her back onto the bed and followed, covering her body with mine. She sank her teeth into my lip and moved her hands so she could start working the buttons on my shirt. The shirt had just come off of my shoulders when a loud cry sounded over the baby monitor.

“No,” Stephanie whined sadly at the same time I let out a quiet groan and pulled back from her.

“This must be his revenge for leaving him earlier.”

Chris’s cries intensified and Stephanie laughed while pulling herself out of bed. “Probably. I’ll get him.”

Before she walked out of the room, she leaned in and gave me another long, sweet kiss. It took all of my willpower not to hold her to me. I watched as she left the room to go tend to my son and had to shake my head in disbelief.

I was a lucky bastard.