It's Monday morning and, as usual, I'm off to the diner to work. Trystan has started following me to work when he stays at the house, grabbing a breakfast sandwich and his coffee before he heads off to the job site. We've developed a nice routine, and DJ seems to be adjusting well. He doesn't mind having Trystan around, and they get along well. DJ listens when Trystan asks him to do something, not that I would expect anything less from my son, but you never know how children will act in this situation. Some can be extremely bitter that their parent has moved on from the loss, but not mine. I'm a lucky woman. Not only did I find a wonderful man who wants to be a part of our lives and cares for us, but my son seems happy. He likes him, and they get along great.
I pull into my typical spot alongside the diner, and Trystan parks beside me. He opens my door and takes my hand. It's a simple gesture, but I love that he's always holding my hand, letting the world know he's mine. I have a huge smile on my face because I'm so happy to have this man in my life. When we get inside, Misty greets us both with a good morning. She hands Trystan his brown bag with his usual order in it and bids him a good day.
"Bye, sugar. Have a good day."
"Bye, love you," I call out over my shoulder. My eyes go wide at my words. I knew I felt it and we've talked about how I was falling for him, but I hadn't actually said it.
He lifts my chin, forcing me to look into his eyes. "Thank you. You just made me a very happy man. I love you too." He plants a soft, sweet kiss on my lips and walks out the door. I'm frozen in my spot. I can't believe I just said that. I don't regret it, but I can't believe it came out either.
"Wow. Did you really just say that?" Misty asks. I nod, unable to say anything else. "Did you mean it?"
A smile spreads across my face as I stare out the glass door. "With all my heart."
She squeals excitedly, breaking me from my trance. "Oh stop." I laugh at her silliness.
"Stella and Trystan sitting in a tree, K.I.S.S.I.N.G. First comes love." I turn and give her my signature one eyebrow look.
She giggles and says, "What?"
"Can I get coffee?" Phil, one of the old-timers, shouts out.
"You sure can." I walk over to grab the coffee pot, ignoring Misty who’s singing the remainder of the song behind me. When I get over to the table, I greet the men with a good morning.
Charlie, being the pervert he is, responds, "Good morning, hot stuff."
I shake my head and hold out my hand. "Hi, I'm Stella. It's nice to meet you."
"I know your name," he growls and waves my hand away.
"Try using it." I wink to take the sting out of my rejection and pour them all some coffee. "Anyone else for more coffee?" A few of them slide their cups toward me.
"What's up with you and Romeo?" Fred asks.
"Yeah, you two are looking pretty serious these days," Phil adds.
I shrug. "I guess you can say that. I love him, and he loves me."
"Anyone who looks at you two can see that." Misty brings over a toasted English muffin and slides it to Phil.
He thanks her and then says, "You watch out for that ex of his. She's a real winner."
"Yeah, so I'm learning. She's already tried to make her presence known, but I was sure to let her know that Trystan is mine and she doesn't scare me."
"Good for you." Charlie pats me on the arm. I adore these men, even though they annoy me with their silly antics and flirting. They are sweet and genuinely care.
"DJ must love that you're dating his coach." Charlie smiles.
"He's fine with it. I was a little worried at first, but I think he misses having another man around. They've spent some time together playing on his gaming system and talking." I smile, thinking about the two of them duking it out over WWE Wrestling yesterday. "I think he needs a good man in his life, and I'm lucky to have found Trystan. Now if you gentlemen will excuse me, there's a diner full of people who would like my attention as well."
"Yeah, but you like the attention we give you more." Charlie winks. I shake my head and walk away.
The remainder of the morning goes smoothly. We've been super busy all morning, but I like being busy. It makes the day go by quickly. "Hey, before I forget again, Mason asked if DJ can sleep over this weekend." Misty leans on the counter I'm wiping down. "I was thinking Friday night and then we'll meet you and Trystan at the field on Saturday for the build."
I shrug. "Sounds good to me. That will give Trystan and I another night to ourselves.” I wiggle my brows.
"I wonder what you two will be up to?" She winks at me.
I shake my head. "We do more than that. All though that is pretty spicy too." We both giggle, but instantly stop when we hear the bell above the door ring. We glance up to see Sophia, Trystan's ex, coming into the diner which is interesting because she's never been in here before.
"What can I get you?" Misty asks her, trying to sound professional but it's really hard with her.
"Oh, I just need a minute with Stella." She investigates the stool before slipping her long, lean body onto it. It's too bad she's such a bitch because she's really pretty. She has long silky blonde hair, brilliant bright blue eyes, and a body that most women would kill for. It's too bad she doesn't realize that her attitude makes her ugly, and I absolutely hate what she did to Trystan. I think anyone who could cheat on a man serving his country deserves to spend a lifetime alone.
"What do you want?" I ask with my brows raised and attitude lacing my voice.
She puts up her hand. "I want to know what it will take for you to leave Trystan. I want him back, and there's no way he’ll walk away from you."
I burst into laughter. "Even if I did leave him, what makes you think he would go back to you? You know damn well he doesn't trust you."
"He just needs time. He needs to be reminded of how good we are together. I love him."
I shake my head. "You make me sick. You had an amazing man, someone who was loyal and dedicated to making you happy, and the second he left for training, you spread your legs for someone else." I shake my head. "You had your chance, and you blew it. There's not a chance in hell I'm walking away from Trystan. I love him too and unlike you, I won't disrespect him. Now get the fuck out of here before I have you thrown out."
Her body radiates with anger as she stands from the stool. "You have two choices..." Her words trail as she narrows her eyes at me. "You can walk away, or you can deal with me. Either way, I will get Trystan back." I walk out from behind the counter.
"Are you threatening me?" I step up to her and look her dead in the eye.
"You better believe it."
A small grin plays at my lips. "Make sure you know who you're threatening. You're not messing with just anyone. You're messing with a city woman, and I don't take kindly to threats. You stay away from us."
She slowly backs away and then walks out of the diner, glancing over her shoulder one last time to see if I'm behind her. Once she's gone I grab my phone and text Trystan.
Stella: We have a free night Friday. I want to go back to the range.
Trystan: Okay, why?
Stella: Sophia was just here. Let's just say I'm not taking any chances. I'm done with people messing with my family.
Trystan: I'll fucking kill her.
Stella: No need. I got this. Are you coming to my place tonight?"
Trystan: You better believe it.
Stella: See you soon.
I can't believe she just wants me to leave this be. How the hell am I supposed to do that? My ex is threatening the woman I love, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let anything happen to her or DJ. I need to get this out of my head so I can finish my work day, but this conversation isn’t over. We’ll be discussing this tonight after DJ is in bed.
"Dude, what is wrong with you? You look like you want to rip someone's head off." Rick pats me on the shoulder.
"I do. Sophia was just at the diner threatening Stella."
His brows shoot up. "How did she handle it?"
"I don't know the full story yet." I chuckle, thinking about how Stella handled her at the carwash. "But knowing Stella, she probably handled it well. Sophia came by the car wash and when Stella told her to fuck off, she left without even getting her car washed."
Rick shakes his head. "You have one strong woman."
"She is." We go back to installing the floors we've been working on. "I think that's what makes this so hard."
"How so?"
"I want to protect her, keep her safe, and she keeps showing me she can hold her own. Stella's not afraid of Sophia in the least, but I don't trust Sophia one bit. I'm not sure what she's up to, but she has something up her sleeve." I wish I knew what she was planning. A smile spreads across my face as I lay another piece of wood flooring. I think it's awesome that Stella wants to go back to the range. I'm sure it's not easy to know Sophia wants to come at her, especially after what happened to Dylan. She lost the man she loved and the father of her child, and now my stupid bitch ex comes along threatening her.
"I wouldn't trust your ex either. She's a shady bitch, but what can you do?"
"Make sure my girl can protect herself. Friday night we're going to the range again. I think it's time I get her something to keep at the house in case I'm not there."
"Dude, your girl fires a gun? That's fucking hot." My head whips around, stunned by his statement. "You know what I mean. I'm not going to go after your girl. I have Rhonda, but it makes me want to see if she’ll go." Rick holds his hands up in a defensive manner.
"Yeah? Well you fuck up with Rhonda like you did in your last relationship, and you won't find it so hot when she's pulling that shit on you."
He throws a small piece of flooring at me. "Fuck you. You know I'm not typically like that. I'm not Sophia. That was a drunk mistake that I paid for. Now I’m moving on." He shakes his head.
"Hey, boss." Jack walks into the room. "It's quitting time, and Billy and I are done in the bedroom. Can we bounce?"
"Yeah, you're good." He looks at me. "You can get out of here too. We'll finish in here tomorrow."
"Sweet." I jump up from the floor, strip my knee pads, and practically run to my truck. I can't wait to get to Stella's. She's making dinner and we're hanging in tonight, but I want to talk to her about what happened today.
When I get to the house, DJ is sitting on the front steps with Mason. "Hey, boys."
"Hi, Trystan. Mom's inside making dinner."
"Okay." DJ looks off to me, so I back up a second. "What's wrong, DJ?"
"There was an issue at school today, but he's afraid to tell you."
"Mason!" DJ shouts. "Dude, I thought you were my boy." He shoves him slightly.
"I am. That's why I said something. He needs to know what's happening."
I take a seat on the steps next to them. "One of you needs to start talking." I look between the two of them. This day is getting worse by the minute.
"Landon is being bullied at school. DJ tried to stand up to the kids today, but it didn't go over well," Mason explains.
"DJ, what happened? Did you tell your mom?"
He shakes his head. "We all know Landon doesn’t have the coolest clothes, and he often wears the same things. It doesn’t seem like he has a lot.” He sighs, “Today the school bullies were laying it on thick. They were pushing him around calling him 'low life Landon.' I tried to get them to stop, but they wouldn't listen. Finally, the vice principal came and everyone scattered. The problem is two of the bullies are on our team.”
“Let me guess, Ethan and Colton." DJ sighs and nods his head. "They sat there chanting and encouraging it like this kid isn’t a teammate. It was so messed up. Landon was practically in tears.”
"What did your vice principal say?" If he tells me that he didn't defend Landon, I'm going to flip my shit.
"I told him what happened, and he took Landon to the office with him. I don't know what happened after that. I told Ethan he was a jerk and he needed to grow up. He just laughed and said ‘What are you going to do about it? Run and tell your new stepdaddy?’”
“I will talk to both Vincent and Ethan, but I can’t go to the school because it’s not my place. Daisy has to deal with that side of it. All you can do is be there for Landon, okay?” They both nod.
"Everything all right out here?" Stella asks from the door when she sees me talking to the boys.
"Yeah, I'll fill you in later." I get up from the steps and pat DJ on the shoulder.
"Mason, your mom wants you to head home. Your dinner is ready. Do you want a ride?” He lives on the next block so we often drive him home, but it’s not too far for him to walk.
"No, thank you. I’ll walk." Both boys stand from the porch. Mason fist bumps DJ and says, "Later, bro."
"Later." DJ walks into the house with me. Stella looks like she wants to say something, but she holds her tongue and I'm glad. I'd like to have a chance to think about how I'm going to handle this. Again, one more thing we need to talk about tonight.
After dinner, DJ helps clear the table and clean up as usual, but I can see he is still lost in thought. "I think I'm going to shower and chill in my room."
"Okay. I'll check on you in a little bit," Stella tells him.
As soon as he's out of ears reach, she turns to me and says, "Tell me he’s okay."
"He'll be fine. I promise. He caught some kids bullying Landon at school today and when they realized it was Ethan, Colton, and their crew, they were mad at him. I told him I would speak to Vincent and Ethan about what happened. I think I’ll do it before the build on Saturday and then pair them up.
Her brows furrow as she leans on the counter listening to me. "I heard them whispering on the porch, but couldn't make out what they were saying."
"Ethan encouraged the behavior, chanting ‘low life Landon’ with the other kids.
She sighs, "Kids are so mean to one another."
"They are. Landon was brought to the vice principal’s office, probably so they could call his mother. I'll talk with him tomorrow as well to see if I can figure out what happened."
She stands from the chair and runs her fingers through my beard. "You are so sweet to worry about him. How can I help?"
"I'm not sure yet, but when I figure it out, I'll let you know." I press my lips to hers. "I love you so much."
She giggles, "I love you too."
A yawn escapes me. "What do you want to do tonight?"
"You look tired and it seems like DJ needs some alone time, so why don't we watch TV in bed?"
I nod. "I am a bit tired. We busted tail on site today trying to finish the floor in the living room, and we only got about half done." She can play it off that we're only going to watch TV in bed, but she knows damn well that's not going to happen. I can't get my fill of her, and she's past the point of worrying about DJ. He's old enough to know to knock, and typically once he passes out he's done for the night. It boils down to if we are awake enough at that point since we both get up early.
"I'm going to check on DJ, and I'll meet you in the room."
I press my lips to hers one last time. "Sounds good."
I quickly strip and climb into bed, trying to debate how I should bring up the situation with my ex. I want to know that she's really okay. She comes back in and quickly changes into her nightshirt before climbing into bed. "How is he?"
"He's okay. He's lying in bed watching YouTube on his phone as usual. He looks like he's in a better place now that he's distracted."
"Good. I'm glad."
"I'm sure he'll be fine."
I nod. "And how are you?"
"What do you mean? I'm fine."
"You're not worried about Sophia?"
She shrugs. "I am, but I'm not going to let it consume me. She's going to do what she wants, but she needs to be prepared because this mama bear is doing whatever she has to do to protect her family."
I lean over, rubbing my nose against hers. "I love how strong you are."
She smiles. "You do?"
I nod. "I do. Please do me one favor." I press my forehead to hers.
"Anything," she whispers.
"Be careful. I don't trust her."
"Neither do I." I press my lips to hers, and she pokes out her tongue licking at the seam of my lips. "I don't want to talk about her. I want you to make love to me."
My lips cover hers, and our tongues collide. My hand instantly goes into her hair, pulling her head to the side to deepen the kiss. I climb on top of her and kiss up her jaw to her ear. I lick down the throbbing vein in her neck. Her hips grind against my already hard cock, begging for friction. I reach my hand down into her panties to find she's soaking wet and oh so ready for me. "Please, Trystan. I need to feel you inside me."
"I'm sorry, but I need to taste you first." I slip her panties down her long, lean legs, tossing them to the floor beside us. Her hips jerk, and I waste no time. I lap up her essence and then suck her clit into my mouth. She bites her lip to stifle her moan. She's so vocal, and I love it. Her hips grind against my face as I lick and suck on her clit. I typically like to savor her and make her work for her orgasm, but we're both tired and we have a long day tomorrow. I slam two fingers deep inside her pussy as I continue to devour her clit. It's all she needs to explode. Her muscles tighten, clenching my fingers.
"Yes, Trystan," she moans.
"Shh, baby." I chuckle. "DJ is going to hear you."
She giggles. "I'm sorry."
I kiss my way back up her body, stopping only to pay special attention to her beautiful breasts. I love how they fit in my hand, allowing me to play with one while I suck on the other. "I hope you're ready for another because I'm ready to feel that pussy clench down on my cock the way it did my fingers." She bites her lip, blushing at my comment. I line myself up, slipping my cock balls deep inside her warm, wet pussy. She looks up at me her eyes half closed. "Keep them open, baby." She does as I ask, looking into my eyes as I roll my hips gradually, picking up the pace. "God, I love you."
"I love you too," she whispers, lifting her hips to meet my thrust. "You feel so good." Her breathing changes with the pace of my hips.
"Come on, baby. I need to feel it," I growl as I hold on to the little control I have left. She wraps her legs around my hips, changing the angle slightly, and it's all she needs. Her muscles tighten, and her pussy milks me as I slam into her one last time. "Yes, baby," I growl, emptying every last drop inside of her. I collapse to my elbows, panting on top of her. "You are so beautiful, and that was amazing."
She presses a kiss to my lips. "I agree."
"Thank God. I'd hate for you to tell me I didn't do my job." I chuckle. "I'm going to go clean up. I'll be right back." I press a kiss to her lips one last time before I put on some lounge pants and make a bee-line for the bathroom across the hall. I hear DJ snoring softly from the hall, and it causes me to smile not only because that means he didn't hear us, but because he's not letting what happened at school today get to him. I need to let Stella know. She'll feel better and hopefully will sleep as peacefully as he is.