Chapter 18
My cell begins to ring on my desk at the clinic. Looking at the screen, I see Zoey’s name flashing. I’d been meaning to call her, but I’ve been so busy.
“Hello,” I answer on the third ring.
“Hey, Sierra!” She sounds cheerful and bubbly. “It’s been so long since we’ve seen you.”
“I know, I’m sorry, Zoey, I was planning on calling, but I’ve been so busy. What’s going on?”
“Jacey and I are meeting for lunch, will you come?”
“Yes! We need to catch up.” I smile into the phone, even though she can’t see me.
“That we do.” Her tone sounds suspicious. “How about we meet at that new pizzeria?”
“Sounds good to me! I’ll meet you there.” We hang up, and I look at the clock; I have one patient left before lunchtime.
I walk into the pizzeria. It’s a cute little place, and busy since it just opened up. I spot Jacey and Zoey sitting in a corner booth. All the tables are covered with red and white checkered tablecloths, the silverware is rolled in large napkins, and a spinning tray sits on the inner edge of the tables, along with shakers and a menu.
I call out, “Hey, ladies!”
“Sierra!” they say in unison and stand, both hugging me.
“Where’s everyone else?” I question.
Jacey responds, “Some couldn’t come; Chatty’s at home with Tinsley planning the wedding, and Ever had an appointment.” I was hoping to see Chatty since she had the baby. She had some complications since Destiny was born early.
Zoey smiles from ear to ear. “Yep, the guys are on dad duty today. We already ordered a pepperoni pizza, is that okay?”
“Perfect.” I smile as I sit in the booth; Jacey and Zoey sit on the same side. “How have things been?”
“Good,” they say together with narrowed eyes.
“What?” My eyes widen.
“Why didn’t you tell us what happened between you and Hacker in the past?” Zoey asks.
I shrug. “Because it really wasn’t my story to tell and it still hurts to think about.”
Zoey responds, “We could have been there for you, talked to him.”
I shake my head. “No, he had to figure it out himself. He wouldn’t have listened to any of you anyway, because we’re friends. I have more to tell you about myself.”
The waitress brings the steaming pizza and gets me a drink. While we eat, I tell them almost everything I have been keeping from them. All of my burdens, my story…I give every good, bad, and ugly detail of it.
“Sierra,” Jacey whispers.
“We’re terrible friends!” Zoey cries.
I laugh. “No, you’re not!”
“So, how is your brother?” Jacey questions with knitted brows.
“His good days are becoming fewer and fewer. He’s losing more of his memories.” Tears pool in my eyes.
“I’m so sorry. Alzheimer’s is a horrible disease, no matter if you’re in your 40s or 80s.” Jacey reaches over and squeezes my hand.
“It is.” I nod and wipe beneath my eyes with a napkin.
“Your financial situation. I want to help,” Zoey tells me.
“Oh, no it’s being worked out.” I leave out anything that has to do with Hacker.
Zoey points at me. “You’re leaving something out,” she accuses.
“Out with it, Sierra,” Jacey jumps in.
“Fine! Okay, so I might have gone to Stilettos for a second job.” I wince.
“You did what?!” they both whisper-yell.
“I went in there trying to get a job as a dancer.” I nod with pursed lips.
“Oh, my God!” Zoey begins laughing.
Jacey’s eyes widen. “What did Hacker do?”
“He humiliated and embarrassed me in front of everyone. Then I punched him in his eye and nose, and was about to puncture his dick with my heel.”
Jacey begins fist pumping. “You go girl! He deserves that shit.”
“Oh, my God!” Zoey repeats, now holding her stomach from laughing.
I continue with the events of me and Hacker. “Well, a couple months later, he showed up at my house and apologized for everything. How he treated me, the things he said and did, and he offered me a manager’s job. I took it and have been working there ever since.”
“So, you two are getting along now?” Zoey asks.
“Um. You could say that.” My face heats up and I imagine my cheeks are bright red. I’m almost 50 years old—I should not be blushing.
“You didn’t!” Jacey gasps and slams her hand on the table. “Holy shit! You did!” Now Jacey begins laughing.
“What, what did I miss?” Zoey looks between the two of us.
“They getting along, alright—in between the sheets!” Jacey laughs.
“Oh, my God! Quit laughing at my expense!” I try to hold back my own laughter and bury my face in my hands. When it’s said out loud, it really is a crazy story of how everything happened.
“What? No!” Zoey’s eyes widen, her mouth drops open, and her gaze cuts to mine. “Hacker staked his claim on you? Holy hell, this is getting good!”
I put my hand up to stop her. “Wait! I wouldn’t say he staked his claim; we’ve had sex a couple times, that’s it.” I shrug, trying to play it cool.
“Let me tell you about the Sinners men: If you fuck ‘em once and they come back for seconds, you’re stuck with them for life. They’re not going anywhere,” Jacey tells me. “What does he call you?”
“He calls me Red.”
The two look at each other then back to me. “You’re so claimed,” they say, in perfect sync.
Huffing, I say, “You two spend too much time together.”
Zoey puts her hand up, halting all conversation. “This means you get to come to the club!”
“I would assume so!” I nod.
“Hallelujah.” Zoey waves her hands in the air, being overdramatic. “We get our friend back!”
All three of us bust out laughing. We stay for a while longer, talking and laughing. I’ve missed them so much.
It’s Sunday afternoon; Stilettos is closed, so I wonder if Hacker would want to come over for dinner.
Picking up my cell phone, I get in my contacts and call him.
“Hey, Red.” I smile at the nickname. “What’s up?”
“Are you busy?” I bite my lip and begin pacing.
“No. You need somethin’?”
“No, I just thought, maybe since Stilettos is closed you maybe would want to come over for dinner. I’m cooking.” I’m so nervous—what if he says no?
He doesn’t even hesitate. “I’ll be there. What time?”
“How’s seven sound?” My smile is ear to ear.
“Sounds perfect. See ya’, Red.”
“See ya’, Hacker.”
I put my phone on the kitchen counter and look in the refrigerator. I have everything I need for lasagna, so I begin preparing it.
After I have the table set, I jump in the shower, make sure to shave all the important places, and get ready. I decide on casual jeans and a t-shirt.
“Sierra, someone is here,” Cash calls from the front room.
Hacker’s early! I rush to get the bathroom cleaned up and run to the front door. I open it and there he stands, looking sexy as always in his usual attire: a t-shirt, his club vest, jeans, and riding boots.
“Hey!”
“Hey!” he repeats my greeting with a smile. He wraps one arm around my waist and pulls me into his chest. His lips slam into mine, and I freely open my mouth, deepening the kiss so our tongues can duel against each other for a passionate second.
“Sierra! That’s gross!” Cash says behind me. We break apart, both of us laughing.
“Come in,” I tell Hacker. “This is my nephew, Cash.”
“Hey, Cash, it’s nice to meet you.” Hacker holds his hand out, and Cash takes it, giving it as firm a shake as he can manage.
“What’s your name?” Cash asks him.
“Hacker.”
“Cool.” Cash nods. “You ride a motorcycle?”
“Yeah, you like bikes?” I wave my arm for Hacker to follow me. We go into the living room and sit on the couch, Cash settled comfortably between us.
“I don’t know. I’ve never been on one.” Cash shrugs.
“Maybe I could take you for a ride sometime?” Hacker looks at me with a hopeful smile.
“Really?” Cash’s eyes light up. “That would be so awesome!”
The buzzer for the lasagna goes off. “Cash, go wash your hands. It’s time for dinner. Hacker, you can sit at the table. I have to go get Mark and Shelly.” When everyone is seated at the table, I bring the lasagna, bread, and salad into the dining room, setting each item on the table before pouring everyone a glass of water.
“Hey, guess what, Dad!” Cash gets Mark’s attention excitedly.
“What, buddy?” Mark looks at his son across the table.
“Hacker said he would give me a ride on his motorcycle.” Cash smiles.
“That’s good.” Mark looks down at his plate of food. “I’m done.” He gets up from the table and goes back to his room.
Shelly points with her thumb over her shoulder. “I’m just gonna go check on him.” I nod.
Cash looks upset. “Did I say something wrong?” It’s not that he said anything wrong, but I know Mark, and he’s upset about not being able to do stuff like that with his son—but another man can.
“No, no. Finish your dinner.” The three of us eat silently.
When we’re done, Cash looks at Hacker. “You wanna go shoot some baskets with me?”
“Sure.” Hacker smiles. They get up and while they go outside I clean up the table.
I join them outside when I’m done in time to hear Cash ask, “Did you really mean it? When you said you would take me for a ride?” I smile; he’s so excited about the motorcycle.
Cash is growing up so fast; he’s not that little boy anymore. He’s grown his light brown hair out and has that old Justin Bieber style going on where he jerks his head to move the bangs out of his eyes. It makes me laugh every time I see him do it. Everyone goes crazy over Cash’s bright blue eyes and the lashes any woman would kill to have.
“I used to take my son riding with me, and he loved it.” My smile falls at Hacker’s response.
“You have a son? Where is he?” Cash is definitely a talker; he will give someone the third degree.
“He passed away with his mama a long time ago. He was your age.” Tears blur my vision.
“My mom passed away when I was two.” Cash shoots the ball into the hoop.
Hacker grabs the ball and stops their game. “Hey, buddy, you have Sierra, though, and she takes real good care of you, right?”
“Yeah.” Cash nods.
“Then you’re a real lucky kid. And your mama is up there,” Hacker points towards the sky, “watching down on you.” Hacker tosses the ball back to Cash.
“Yeah, that’s what Sierra and Shelly always tell me.”
I cut in. “Cash, it’s time for you to get ready for bed. Say goodnight to Hacker.”
“Night, Hacker.” Cash waves and runs into the house.
“Sorry about that.” I give him a small smile.
“No, he’s a great kid.” Hacker smiles and begins walking towards me. “You want me to go so you can go to bed?”
“No.” I bite my lip, shake my head, and smile. I take his hand in mine. “I want you to stay.”
“Good.” He leans in, planting his lips against mine.
I take his hand in mine and lead him into the house, then to my room. Shutting the door behind us, I turn to gaze at Hacker. I slowly begin removing my clothes, his eyes never leaving mine. He follows suit, removing his as well, and there is no rush between us.
I take the few steps I need to be able to run my hands along his bare chest, feeling every muscle of his toned body. I slowly kiss my way across his chest, and he spins us around before laying us down on the bed with him caging me in. He spreads my thighs with his hips and lines up to my entrance, slowly pushing himself inside of me. His body rolls against mine without roughness, without a need to chase our release. It’s just him and me uninhibited, fueled by the want we have for one another. Together we satisfy our need, our passion, and our hunger. My quiet room is filled with soft sounds of pleasure, and my hips move upwards to match his every move.
He pulls back, and we stare into each other’s eyes, searching for something unknown. Reaching up, I cup his cheek with my hand and I smile. This is what I needed at this exact moment and he knew that. He leans down, softly touching his lips to mine, but I deepen the kiss, sliding my tongue along his. I let him feel every ounce of need, lust, and craving I have for him.
He picks up his pace; my cries mix with his groans, intensifying the closer we get to finding our release. My nails scratch and dig into his back as my hips move faster, keeping up with his rhythm. My building orgasm grows stronger. “I’m about to come.”
“I know. I feel it! Come for me, Sierra. I’m right there with you.” I shatter underneath him, my orgasm consuming every fiber of my being. I burrow my head farther into the pillow and I’m ready to close my eyes, but he stops me.
“Give me those eyes.” I gaze up at him as I fall even more in love with this man. His own release takes hold of him. He bites down on his bottom lip, keeps his focus on me, and he falls into a sated bliss. I love seeing him lose control.
Neither one of us moves a muscle until our breathing has slowed, and only then does he pull out. I’m instantly cold from the loss of connection. He goes into my bathroom, brings out a washcloth, and begins cleaning me up. He crawls back in bed with me and I suddenly have this ping in my stomach.
“Hacker?”
“Yeah, Red?” We roll to our sides so we face each other.
“I need you to tell me if this is just fun for you.”
“What are you goin’ on about?” His brows pull down and he reaches out, pulling one of my thighs so it’s draped over his.
“It’s just…watching you with Cash, I don’t want him to get attached, and frankly I don’t want to, either, if this is just fun for you.”
He skims his thumb over my cheek and pushes my hair behind my ear. “For the first time in a long fuckin’ time I feel like I could be moving forward. I had plenty of time for fun, so no, it’s not just for fun.” He gives me a teasing grin. “Although fuckin’ you is pretty damn fun.”
“If you ever want out or it gets to be too much, just tell me, okay?”
He sits up in the bed and I join him. “Where’s this comin’ from?”
I shrug. “I lost my husband because of Cash and Mark living here. Stephen never wanted kids, and then when I moved them in it only took six months for him to hand me divorce papers. We had a rocky marriage anyway, but that sealed the deal.”
He turns my head to look at him, his eyes wide. “Stephen, as in the guy I beat the shit out of?”
I nod. “The one and only.”
“Listen, Red, you didn’t lose your husband because of Mark and Cash. You lost your husband because he’s a fuckin’ pussy and wouldn’t man up to support his wife. I’m glad I beat the shit outta him now. Wish I would have known back then; I would have done worse damage.”
“Hacker!”
He chuckles. “I’m not goin’ anywhere. Understand?”
“Yeah.” I nod.
“Good, now let’s go for round two.” He sits up, grabs my legs, pulls me down the bed, and shows me just how much of a man he is.