The next week goes by in a blur. Thomas doesn’t allow me to drive to school at all, and yet I know he doesn’t want to get caught with me in tow. I allow him to drop me off at what I think of as, our café, every morning.

On Thursday, I’m making my way toward the bench next to the café. It’s where I’ve been studying as I wait for Thomas’ last class of each day to end. He drives to the curb, and I hop right in the front seat and away he drives. My phone rings and I look down in surprise to see that it’s Jessa. I haven’t heard from her since we abandoned our dorm room together last week.

“Hello?” I ask, a little afraid of what she may say on the other end.

I hope that it’s nothing bad, but I remember when my sister finally went through with leaving her ex, I could never trust that her phone calls weren’t laced in some sort of devastation.

“Hey, how are you doing? I should have called earlier, I’m sorry it took me so long,” she murmurs. She sounds like she is slightly out of breath and I wonder if she’s hustling across campus.

I hum, not wishing to get into what exactly I’ve been going through, or what happened between me and Thomas. At least, not over the phone. “I’ve been good,” I admit.

It’s not a lie either, Thomas and I have been pretty good. We’re adjusting, and I’m willing to give him a chance without questioning every tiny little thing. I really want to though, but he’s been so open with any questions that I do ask, I find it hard not to relax around him.

“I’m going to the game Saturday, and I have an extra ticket. Will you come with me?”

I don’t know if Thomas has any plans on Saturday afternoon, but I would like to spend some time with my friend. I feel like I’ve been isolated from everybody but him recently. Not by his doing, but more by the circumstances of our relationship. We can’t be open, and with everything that’s happened, I’ve wanted to be with him. But, I think it’s time that I come out of my Thomas bubble, and spend an afternoon with my friend, especially since she’s coming out of her Cole bubble.

“I’ll come with you,” I state.

We talk for a few more minutes and we end our conversation just as Thomas pulls up to the curb. I quickly stow my books in my backpack and then hurry toward the car. I freeze when I hear a voice call out behind me.

“Hey Ines, where have you been, girl?” Alison shouts as she hurries toward me.

My hand is on the door handle of Thomas’ BMW and I turn my head, assuredly looking at her in horror. “Umm, just really busy with classes, and stuff,” I mumble.

“And stuff,” she states with a smile as she shifts to the side, and attempts to look inside of Thomas’ car. “Did you find yourself a daddy?” she asks, giving me a wink.

My face pales, and I shrug. “He’s a little older,” I admit.

“You’re smart. I mean, I knew you were from the moment we met, but I didn’t realize how smart. That’s what I should have done, too. These guys just want to fuck, and they don’t give a shit where. I need some oldie to take care of me. Hell, why fuck for free when you can get something out of the deal,” she grins. “Does he have any friends? A Brother?” she asks.

I really, really, want to tell her to get the fuck away from me, but I don’t. If she recognizes Thomas, she’ll have something over me, and a girl like her, no telling what she’ll do with the information. “I can ask him,” I lie.

“Sweet. You’ll call me?” she asks, taking a step back.

I nod and tell her, for sure, before giving her a little wave. My heart slams against my chest as I watch her turn around and walk away. I don’t move, staying frozen to my spot, waiting for her to completely disappear. Only when she’s completely out of sight, do I slip into Thomas’ car. He doesn’t speak until after he’s driving away from the café.

“Did she recognize me?” he asks quietly.

I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding and shake my head. “She didn’t. She didn’t get a good look in the car, but I was scared.”

“You need to take your own car to school from now on, I guess,” he grunts. I glance over at his steering wheel and notice that he’s got a tight grip and his knuckles are turning white.

I shake my head before turning toward the passenger window. “I can’t afford the gas to go back and forth every day,” I sigh. “I’ve been putting off finding a job, I guess I better get on it.”

Thomas snorts “You need money, just tell me, sweetheart,” he murmurs.

His words, they hit me like a freight train, like a slap in the face. Is he my daddy, just like Alison suggested? I never wanted him for that or needed that from him. His age is just part of him, but not the reason I’ve ever been attracted to him.

“I don’t want your money, or your handouts, Thomas,” I announce.

A few seconds later, Thomas pulls the car over into a parking lot and I look around in confusion. I slowly turn to face him. He’s got a murderous glare on his face and he’s breathing heavily. “You don’t want my money, or my handouts?” he repeats slowly.

“I just mean… that’s not what this is between us,” I say, suddenly realizing that he’s extremely angry at my words.

Thomas nods slowly, his gaze leveling my own. “What is this then, between us?” he asks, but he doesn’t give me a chance to answer. “See, I thought that you were my woman? I thought that you were in my bed because you cared about me and that we were together, sharing a home, sharing everything?”

“Thomas.”

He holds up his hand and shakes his head. “I’m trying to rein in my temper, but honest to fuck, Ines. What do you think we’re doing here?” he barks.

I bite the corner of my lip and turn to face him completely. “She thought you were my daddy, okay? She thought that’s why I was with you. She could tell you were older, and you have a nice car. I didn’t want you to think the same because it’s not true, I love you,” I blurt out.

I slap my hand over my mouth, unbelieving that I just shouted my love for him in the heat of an argument, or at all.

“You love me?” he asks, ignoring everything else I’ve just said. I nod slowly, my eyes staying glued to his, too afraid to look away.

Thomas reaches forward, and wraps his fingers around my wrist, tugging my hand down. His blue eyes stay glued to mine, and I couldn’t look away, even if I wanted to. “You love me?” he asks again, his voice sounding a bit more urgent.

“I love you, Thomas,” I say.

He nods, leaning forward and pressing his lips against mine in a gentle kiss. “I love you so damn much, Ines,” he mutters against my mouth. “So damn much,” he repeats.

I shift my hands and wrap them around the back of his neck, slipping my tongue into his mouth, his meets mine and they tangle together while we kiss—passionately, wildly. I moan and scoot as close to the center console as possible, wishing I could climb over and show him just how much I love him—right here, right now.

“I’m taking you home,” he grunts.

My fingers tug on the hair at the nape of his neck. “God yes, please,” I whimper.

Thomas and I quickly settle in our seats, both of us panting and out of breath as he swiftly takes us home—home. He’s made it clear that it’s our home and I haven’t really felt that it could be, until this moment, until he confessed his love.

He pulls into his driveway and there’s a man standing at the front door. He parks, neglecting to open the garage door, his eyes on the man as well. “Stay here,” he grunts, opening the door and slipping out of the front seat.

I don’t stay behind, especially not when the man hands Thomas a large envelope. He walks away, his voice floating back. “You have been served.”

“Thomas?” I ask quietly as I inch my way up behind him.

He lifts his hand and runs his fingers through his hair. “I should have taken Monday off and gone to an attorney. I should have known. She’s served me with divorce papers,” he grumbles.

“What’s the problem, Thomas? Isn’t that what you wanted?” I ask, my body filling with sudden panic.

Thomas turns to me and drops his hands to his sides. Then he closes the short distance between us, and wraps his empty hand around my waist, tugging me against his chest, tightly. “It’s what I wanted, Ines. Never doubt that. However, there are advantages to filing first. That’s all I meant. I have no doubt that she’s frozen any accounts that we were joint on or emptied them out completely. She’s also assuredly going to try and take half of this house, and my retirement.”

“She can do that?” I ask as my eyes widen in surprise.

He chuckles and shakes his head. “She can ask and demand a hell of a lot, just depends on how mediation goes, or how the judge decides. This is going to be a rough couple of months. I wouldn’t blame you if you ran as far from me as you could, sweetheart.”

Lifting my hands, I cup both of his cheeks with my palms. “I love you, Thomas,” I announce. “I’m not going anywhere.”

His forehead presses against mine and I watch as he closes his eyes, inhaling deeply. “Thank God, angel eyes. I don’t know if I could make it, even a day, without you beside me.”

“Let’s go inside, look over these papers and try not to panic,” I whisper.

Thomas grunts. “Fuck these papers. I’ll make an appointment with an attorney. Let’s go inside so I can show you how much I love you.”

I hum. “That sounds even better,” I say breathlessly.

Thomas wraps his hand around my waist and picks me up with one arm. Together he walks us into his home—our home and continues upstairs toward our bedroom.

Once we’re in my guest room, I waste no time lowering Ines to her feet, then quickly removing every fucking inch of her clothing. When she’s completely naked, only then do I brush my lips across hers, before I kiss down her neck toward her collarbone. Ines wraps her hand around the back of my neck and arches her back, thrusting her tit forward, practically begging for my mouth to travel farther.

“On the bed, sweetheart. I want to see all of you,” I hum against her skin.

She shivers in my arms, then takes a step back from me. Her caramel eyes gleam with something mischievous and I can’t wait to see what her next move is. I watch as she crawls onto the mattress and then continues to crawl until she’s at the head of the bed. She spreads her legs wide and bends completely over, placing her cheek on the pillow, and her eyes glance back at me.

“Ines,” I groan at the sight of her pussy bared to me. It’s light pink, and I can tell that it’s wet even from where I stand.

I move as quickly as I can to remove my clothes, needing to sink my cock inside of her wet heat, needing to feel her around me. I’ll never get enough of her body, of how I feel when I’m buried deep inside of her. I’ll never get enough of simply—her.

I crawl up the bed behind her, my tongue grazing her from clit to asshole, she wiggles with a groan. “Is your pussy sore?” I ask, my breath blowing against her wet slit.

“I won’t dare admit it,” she breathes. “I need you too badly, and I don’t want you to give me some bullshit,” she moans.

I chuckle, rising to my knees behind her and lining my dick up with her wet center. I press the head of my cock against her, my eyes immediately falling closed at the feeling of her wet heat around me. She moans, pushing back slightly, but I lift my arm and slap my palm against her ass. “Shit,” she hisses.

Slowly I trail my fingers down her spine, gripping onto her shoulder as I slowly, completely fill her. “This is what heaven feels like, Ines,” I announce. “Every part of you feels like heaven, angel eyes. Love every part of you,” I murmur.

“You love my pussy,” she chuckles.

I reach back with my other hand and slap her opposite cheek, causing her pussy to clench around me. “I do love your pussy, sweetheart. I love your tits and your hair and your eyes too. But fuck, Ines, I just love all that is you,” I admit, gently easing out of her heat only to pump back inside.

“I love you more than I imagined possible, Thomas,” she groans.

My fingers tighten around her shoulder and I stop talking. I fuck her slowly, precisely, and with care of her assuredly aching center. Only when I feel her pussy pulse do I shift my hand between her legs and bring her climax to a head. It doesn’t take me much longer to fall over the edge as well, my release taking over and filling her body as my dick twitches inside of her.

Regretfully, I pull out of her and lie down beside her. Ines crawls over to me and lays her head on my shoulder, her breathing fanning my sweat-slicked skin. I groan when her fingers begin to trace little patterns in the hair there.

“Fuck, Ines. I never in a million years imagined that I could feel this… happy,” I admit.

She lifts her head, and rests her chin on my chest, giving me a bright as fuck smile, the one I absolutely adore. “That makes two of us.”

“You hungry? Want me to order takeout?” I ask.

She reaches up and touches her fingertips to my lips, tracing them. “We eat a lot of takeout, Thomas,” she says.

“I can’t really cook,” I admit with a grunt.

I groan when she crawls on top of me, straddling my hips, her wet pussy touching my soft cock. “Let me cook for you. Let me take care of you a little.”

Wrapping my hands around her hips, I give them a squeeze. “Only if you let me take care of you a little, too, angel eyes,” I grin.

“You play dirty,” she grins, lowering down, pressing her tits against my chest and grazing her mouth against my own.

I slowly slide one of my hands from her hip to her ass cheek and then I trail my fingers between her cheeks, slowly caressing her gorgeous ass. I want in there, and I’ll have it, one day. I’m in no rush, I can attempt to be patient. “I enjoy playing dirty, Ines, especially with you,” I mutter.

Ines arches her back, pressing her ass against my touch. I watch as her eyelids flutter closed, enjoying the way I touch her there. “I think you might enjoy a little dirty too,” I chuckle.

“Seems like I just might,” she breathes, her mouth dropping open slightly.

Shifting my hand, I slide it up her back and tangle my fingers in her thick hair. “Feed me, then we’ll talk about what taking care of one another looks like. I’ll tell you one thing right now, though,” I say. Her eyes fly open, and a look of surprise crosses over her face. “It doesn’t look like you working while you’re taking on a full load of classes. I enjoy my evenings with you, and I’m a selfish fucking prick. I want you right here when I’m finished with my day, I want you wrapped around me and I want your angel eyes pointed directly at me.”

Her lips turn up into a small grin. “Okay, Thomas. But no handouts,” she states.

“You’re my woman. Wouldn’t be a fucking handout anyway,” I grunt.

Ines lowers her face and presses her lips to mine before she scoots off of me. I already miss her heat and her wet pussy against me. I want her back where she was, but I keep my eyes on her as she slips on my shirt from the day, covering herself. She looks sexy as fuck. “Okay, crazy man. Let’s see what you have to cook.”

I watch her walk out of the bedroom we’ve been staying in and I decide right here and now if Danielle wants to be a bitch about wanting half of the house, she can have it. I need a new place anyway, a place for me and Ines, not a place where another woman lived or even stayed. We need a fresh start for our new relationship. New house, new furniture, new life.