Vidalia

⊱✿ ✿⊰

Every day since I returned, Champagne hits me with a million questions as soon as I walk through the door. My answers never satisfy her gossipy nature, and her mother, Diamond, states I’m hiding something. They watch me full of suspicion while Reg only pats my back and says he’s glad I’m okay.

Most days, I appreciate my brother’s casual nature. Right now, I wish he were more affectionate. Mostly because I miss Gunnar’s warm presence.

My nephew claims he slept in my bed every night I was gone. “I was practicing for when the baby comes,” he proudly states.

I think to ask where I would sleep in this scenario, but the kid is too excited about bunking on his own. With her brother in the top bunk, Princess says she could finally stretch out.

“I’m getting too big to share with a boy,” she announces.

I smile at their excited announcements because that’s what I do. Never complain. Don’t expect too much. Stay out of the way. Be useful enough to have value.

I still behave as I did as a teen when my mom kicked me out. Not much of a surprise considering I sleep in the kids’ room, don’t own a car, and choose shifts at Walmart that’ll work around Champagne’s schedule. Even at twenty, I live like a child. My arrested development lands squarely on my shoulders.

How did I manage to feel more adult while living a lie with Gunnar than I have all these years in my real life?

“So, is this guy rich?” Fern asks while meeting me for lunch at the Subway inside Walmart during my break.

“I don’t think so. He has more money than I do.”

“Who doesn’t, Vi?” she asks, bouncing her baby, Gaylon, on her lap.

Ignoring her comment, I help her three-year-old, TJ, eat his kid-sized sandwich. He’s a cute boy, looking more like his pretty mom than his fat-head father. Poor Gaylon is all Taylor, though.

“I’m confused about this guy,” Fern says, wanting juicier dish. “Did he force himself on you?”

“Of course not. This entire conversation would be different if he had. I seriously doubt I would have started by saying I missed him.”

“Yeah, probably not, but you never know. Girls are weird. That’s why I’m glad I have boys.”

Studying her boy, I sigh. “I found myself fantasizing about Gunnar and me with kids. I’ve spent years convincing my boring butt that marriage and kids isn’t my dream, but the minute I meet a guy I like, I’m ready to get barefoot and pregnant.”

“That’s how I felt with Taylor. As soon as I saw him, I wanted to put my legs in the air and start procreating.”

My mind flashes to her husband’s fat head, and I can’t imagine anyone looking at Taylor with anything besides mild pity. He’s a mess of acne and odd facial hair. When Fern looks at him, she swoons over a dream boat, always making me wonder if she was simply hard up for any man.

Except maybe other women are blind to the Gunnar I’ve fallen for. Do they see a rough biker with a banged-up face –– a.k.a. Ogre –– while I find him panty-wetting handsome? Does fate make us shiver over someone who’d cause anyone else to simply shrug?

Everything seems so damn simple now. Why my mom gave up her independent lifestyle for my dad? Lamar Cornish was her perfect match, even if he seemed like a fool to everyone else. When she lost him, Mom grabbed any man who reminded her of Dad.

While her reasoning certainly doesn’t make me like her more than before, I finally get why she changed. Dad was “the one,” and her life chasing bands felt insignificant compared to what she had with him.

⊱✿ ✿⊰

Long after my lunch with Fern, I’m struck by how Gunnar might seem like the wrong choice in the way my dad was for my mom. Except he’s the perfect choice for me. The only one, in fact.

Staring at the ceiling from my top bunk, I know sleep isn’t coming tonight. My heart hurts with every breath and only seeing Gunnar again will ease the pain. I’m not sure I can face him yet, though. What would I even say? What would I want to happen besides finding the comfort his presence will bring me?

I don’t know the answers to my questions, but I still climb down from my bed. In the living room, Champagne and Diamond talk about a TV show. Reg is likely in the master bedroom, dozing off while watching sports news.

Once in the bathroom, I text Gunnar before I talk myself out of making a move.

“It’s late, but I need you,” is all I can think to tell him.

As if he’s been waiting for the message, he immediately replies with, “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

Sneaking back into my bedroom, I’m careful not to wake the kids while I track down a pair of shoes and my pink windbreaker. I also shove a few days’ worth of clothes into my purse.

Champagne doesn’t notice me until I open the front door. “Where you headed?”

“Out with a friend.”

“What friend?”

“Bob,” I say, shutting the door behind me.

The house doesn’t have much of a porch to keep me from getting wet in the light rain. Even so, I don’t want to stay inside where I’ve pretended for too long. My brother gave me a home when my mother refused to let me remain in hers. Forever grateful, I’ve lived under the thumb of him, Champagne, Diamond, and even the kids. They didn’t take advantage of me as much as I offered them whatever they wanted to avoid the same fate I had with my mother.

I no longer want to offer them anything. I’m burned out on selflessness. Now I crave my happiness over everyone else’s. They can’t offer me what I need anyway. Only Gunnar can.

A black SUV pulls up to the curb, and the passenger window rolls down.

“Vidalia,” he says in a hoarse voice.

Hurrying through the rain, I open the passenger door and climb into the SUV. Gunnar immediately pulls a blanket from the back seat and hands it to me.

“Thank you,” I say, covering my shivering body. Finally, I force myself to look in his eyes, finding them as sad as I’ve ever seen. “You shouldn’t have lied to me.”

“I know.”

“You made me think someone tried to kill me. Do you have any idea how scared I was?”

Gunnar doesn’t answer because there’s no easy response.

“You had no right to trick me. Who does that crap? No one, that’s who.”

“I know, and I am sorry, but you would never have given me a chance.”

Wrapping myself tighter in the blanket, I roll my eyes at his logic. “You don’t know that. You asked me out once, and I said no, but I still thought about you. I wondered if you were different because I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Instead of letting me choose to seek you out or asking me again after I’d thought about how I liked you, your solution was to pull a stunt to keep me locked up in your parents’ house.”

“You weren’t actually locked in,” he stubbornly points out.

“Really, Gunnar? You think that makes it okay? I didn’t leave because I thought I could die. You told me that guy might come after me.”

“I know, but I don’t know how to fix what I did.”

“You deserve to lose me. You shouldn’t be rewarded for your lies. You see that, right?”

Gunnar nods slightly, but I’m not buying his sad sack routine.

“You don’t think you did anything wrong, do you?”

Turning to me in the car, he sighs. “I knew the entire time it was a weird, wrong way to force you to get to know me. I knew that, but I also knew you and I were special together, and you needed to give me a chance.”

Crossing my arms, I glance back at the house and wonder if Champagne is spying on me.

“Can we drive somewhere?”

“Where do you want to go?”

“Somewhere quiet where no one can watch us.”

Gunnar looks ready to ask another question but shifts the SUV into drive instead. I lean my head against the window and watch him.

“Your mom is really nice.”

Smiling easier now, Gunnar nods. “Yeah, she is.”

“She told me to tell you to be patient.”

“I will be.”

“How long will you wait?”

“However long you need. What else am I going to do? I need Vidalia Cornish, and there’s only one of you.”

I smile like a big dope. Gunnar’s scent relaxes me, and I’ve missed his presence. Back at the double-wide, I always knew he was nearby. I’d often find myself smiling just thinking of him.

Forgiving him feels both right and wrong. I mean I want him, and he wants me. I know he did wrong. He does too but doesn’t care. The question is how much I care and what I’m willing to do to punish him?

Gunnar parks on a quiet street not far from his club’s bar. Before he can turn off the car, I’ve opened the door and climbed out.

“Open the back doors and join me.”

Gunnar is frowning when I shut the door on him. I hear the locks click, and I open the door. Once in the back seat, I pull off my wet jacket and drop it on the floor.

“I’m a man, and probably not such a smart one,” Gunnar says, joining me in the back. “As a dumb man, I’m assuming we’re back here so we can fool around.”

“Your dumb man brain would be correct,” I say, tugging up my nightgown and turning so I can straddle his strong legs. “I missed you.”

His fingers are under my nightgown before my lips find his. Gunnar caresses my back, teasing my spine and awakening the heat between my legs.

“You fucked up,” I whisper and grind my slit against his erection. “You’re still on my naughty list, but you’re working your way onto the nice one.”

“I’ll do whatever you want and give you whatever you need,” he says, pressing his forehead against mine. “Just don’t pull the cold shoulder act again.”

Cupping his face, I stare into Gunnar’s eyes. Even in the dark SUV, I see their panic.

“Nothing about you and me is healthy, but I don’t care. I’d rather be happy than healthy, and you make me happy.”

“I’ll never lie to you again,” he whispers against my lips.

“Yes, you will. I’ll probably lie too, but we’ll figure everything out.”

His lips cover mine, and I drink in the man I’ve craved for days. Damp clothes struggle to tear free from our warming bodies, but my panties tear effortlessly in Gunnar’s frantic hand. I don’t think of condoms, not with my forever guy. I only want to feel him inside me.

Despite my arousal, I struggle with his size.  His cock feels massive between my legs, but I won’t be denied. I lift my nightgown and press Gunnar’s hands on my breasts.

“Do you like my nipples?” I ask him in a rough voice.

“They taste like candy.”

“Make them hard, and you can suck them all night long.”

Gunnar’s hips lift, instinctively seeking more of my heat. Moving slow and steady, I work more of him into my body. Gunnar rolls my tender nipples between his rough fingers, and I feel my entire body light up. Without even trying, my pussy welcomes more of his flesh until I’m completely full.

“Fuck,” I groan, leaning my head back against the headrest. “I can’t believe my first and only lover is so damn massive.”

“I am the only man you’ll ever need,” he says and places his hands on my hips to guide me.

I hold onto his shoulders and follow his lead. Staring into Gunnar’s eyes, I watch him watching me. We aren’t fucking as much as making promises. He crossed lines he shouldn’t have, and I walked away when my fears became too painful. That was the past. This raw moment is the beginning of our future.

“I love you,” I tell him, moving faster and taking control. “I can’t survive without you.”

Gunnar nods, unable to explain how much he needed to hear those words. When he finally speaks, all he can say is, “I don’t care if I’m obsessed. You’re worth it.”

Wrapping my arms around his neck, I grind down on his cock. We both groan from the pressure of my tight pussy tightening around his size. I know he’ll come soon and fill me with his seed.

Spilling his cum into my welcoming pussy, Gunnar moans my name like I’m both his savior and the end of him. I hold him tightly, comforting him in the way he’s always so willing to do for me.

“I love you,” I whisper into his ear. “I belong with you.”

Gunnar nuzzles his head against my shoulder and exhales three days’ worth of worry. I stroke his head and promise I’m his. I might never understand how such a powerful man can fall apart with me, but his desperation mirrors my own, and I’ll be forever grateful for his persistence.