Chapter 8 - Callie
We need to talk.
Those simple words are enough to strike fear into anyone who has the misfortune of being on the receiving end of them. I knew leaving Declan without saying more than a simple and hurried goodbye was a bad idea, but even knowing the consequences, I wish he hadn’t left me with the responsibility to reply to him sometime in the near future. “Ball’s in my court”, as he put it.
There is a bright side to that, though and it’s that I don’t have to give him an immediate answer. I have all the time in the world to think on it until I am ready to have a good talk with him.
Something keeps stopping me.
If I were to look at my situation as an outsider, I would tell myself to leave Declan and find someone else. Healthy relationships require communication. That is the one requirement you’ll hear from any love guru, talk show host, or self congratulatory relative.
So why is it that that’s the one thing I’ve been failing to do in this relationship? Talking to Declan comes easy to me when it’s about superficial things, but whenever it comes to sitting down and having a heart to heart about our partnership, I find myself floundering. I don’t want to talk about it because I still don’t know what I want.
Declan is wonderful. He’s everything I want in a man. Strong, gorgeous, wealthy, funny. But he has a history with Miranda, something he never bothered bringing up with me. He mentioned it, sure, but it was just vague enough that I couldn’t have and didn’t figure out that the she-demon he had dated was Miranda, of all people.
Declan is right about one thing. We do need to have a talk. One where he does most of the talking. He needs to disclose everything about his relationship with Miranda. That is the only way we’ll be able to move forward. I don’t need to know any details about how intimate they were, I just want to know that he’s not hiding anything from me. Communication works both ways and there’s not much I feel I need to disclose. Though, there is the possibility that he may still not know that Miranda and I are related, albeit peripherally. So maybe Declan isn’t the only one with some explaining to do.
I grab my phone and re-read Declan’s text for the eighth time since he sent it. It’s very clear that he’s just as anxious as I am to get into this discussion, hence him leaving it to me to reply whenever I deem it appropriate.
The hardest question I’ve been asking myself nonstop is whether or not I should continue this relationship. The ball is in my court and I could just leave it there. This relationship has been more hardship than anything thus far and I do have the option of leaving it as that. I could find another person who has a lot less baggage and work from there. I keep telling myself that Declan is my dream partner but is that even true? What do I know about him other than the superficial things; his wealth, good looks, and abilities as a sexual partner?
After much lonesome deliberation, I conclude that the most reasonable way to handle this is by giving Declan one last chance.
He and I seem to be on the same boat now, so that’s a start. Maybe if our discussion could start off as if the two of us had never met and were good at communicating with each other from the get-go, we could move on to having a more meaningful relationship. Then we could also benefit from being able to have sex for the first time, again.
When we see each other next, we’ll set everything straight.
I feel my phone buzzing, shaking me out of my overthinking. Who else could it be? If it’s not Sheila, it’s none other than--
“Hey, Ma, what’s up?”
“Could you please come over, Callie? I need someone here right now”, my mom begs.
“Yeah, sure, what’s going on?”
“Jacob thought it’d be a good idea to have a family lunch but unlike usual, Miranda and Jake actually decided to show up for it. They’re being as obnoxious as ever and I’d really like somebody on my side”, she claims.
“Is Jacob not on your side, Ma?”
“He being the mediator. He’s on both sides, meaning he’s not on anybody’s side.”
A distraction could be nice. Although I’ll be spending time with an all-around bitch and a perverted jack-off. That, paired with the fact that being around Miranda isn’t going to get my mind off Declan for too long might cause a problem. But my mother has been with me through thick and thin and helped me through some of my hardest times, so it’s only fair that I return the favor. Even if it results in a physical confrontation. It’s been a long time coming but I’ll quell my anger for as long as I can for my mother’s sake.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
After feeding my cats and making a little something for myself, I hop in the shower and mentally prepare for the luncheon ahead of me. Many scenarios run through my mind, a lot of them involving triumphantly ripping a patch of hair right off of Miranda’s scalp, or kicking Jake’s teeth in. The chances either of those things will happen aren’t likely but running these fantastical scenarios through my head is the only thing that’ll keep me from just staying in and thinking about Declan some more.
Similar thoughts pop into my brain on the drive over to Jacob’s mansion. Before I know it, I have a presentable smile on my face to show off when Jacob opens the door to see a surprise appearance from his emotionally distant step-daughter.
“What on Earth are you doing here, Callie? I mean, it’s great to see ya, but gee whiz, I just wasn’t expecting you. What’s up”, Jacob excitedly asks me as he welcomes me into his open arms.
“Just thought I’d stop by. I left in such a hurry last time I was here, I figured I’d make it up by surprising you guys”, I lie.
“WONDERFUL”, Jacob cheers, “that is absolutely wonderful, I’m so glad to hear it. Believe it or not, we’re just in the middle of lunch. The whole gang's here!”
Jacob’s enthusiasm was palpable, and made me feel as though I shouldn’t jump to battling both of his children, awful as they may be. All Jacob has wanted since he married my mom, and even some time before then, was to merge our families seamlessly. Unfortunately for all of us, his two kids are malicious and don’t have any interest in anything that doesn’t better their lives.
I’m walked into the kitchen and see my mom seated across from both Miranda and Jake who are uncomfortably close to each other.
“Callie”, my mother shouts, “what a surprise!”
When she stands up to embrace me, she whispers into my ear, thanking me for arriving so quickly after our phone call.
“I’ll get a plate ready for ya”, Jacob cries out, hurrying off to prepare my meal.
As soon as I sit down, I feel as though my mother just dragged me into a lion’s pit with her. Jake and Miranda had their eyes trained on me, surely cooking up something wicked to say or do.
“What have I missed”, I ask nobody in particular as innocently as I can.
“Nothing. We’ve just been eating”, Miranda replies. “So Callie, how’s your boyfriend?”
Everyone turns to me.
“That’s right”, Jacob says from across the kitchen. “Amelia was telling me that you were seeing someone. Are we going to be meeting the fella?”
I looked at everyone, person by person. My mother seems to be as curious as Miranda about my dating life, albeit for different reasons. Jacob has a smile on his face, probably happy that I have something to talk about that doesn’t involve baking or catering. Jake on the other hand, looks heartbroken. Pissed off. Confused. He doesn’t need to say anything, his face says everything I need to know. For some reason I’ll never be able to wrap my head around, Jake thought I’d be saving myself for him. In his demented head, he truly believed he could emotionally wear me down enough that I’d actually consider fucking, or worse, dating him. Meanwhile, Miranda was enjoying herself. She was happy to see me so flustered and unsure of what to say next.
“He was never my boyfriend. Just somebody I was seeing. ‘Was’ being the operative word”, I tell everyone.
My answer did nothing to satisfy anybody.
“Oh no, honey, what happened”, my mom asks wrapping her arm around me.
I accept her embrace but laugh off the seriousness in her tone.
“It’s alright”, I insist. “It started out as a one night stand, and we saw each other a couple of times after that. But I don’t really know if I want anything serious right now, so we’re not seeing each other at the moment.”
“Smart”, Jacob notes as he places my food down in front of me. “Always keep ‘em wanting more. He’ll come crawling back in no time, I’m sure.”
It’s nice to hear some encouragement thrown my way but it’s only a matter of seconds before Miranda grills me further.
“Who is this guy anyway”, Jake asks.
Miranda readies herself to strike. “Yeah, Callie, what was his name?”
Damn it. Miranda and I aren’t the only ones at this table who know about Declan. I can’t tell if it’s Jake or Jacob she wants to piss off, but I’m not taking her bait.
“Unimportant is what it is. I may not be seeing him anymore, so let’s drop it.”
Having successfully changed the topic, I shift the attention over to Jacob. Nothing too personal, but once Jacob starts talking, it’s hard to get him to stop. I ask him if he’s got anything planned for him and my mom for summer, since it’s only a few months away. He spends the next twenty minutes talking about a tour of Spain’s countryside he’s been wanting to partake in since he was in college but was never able to, only because he was busy with more important matters or vacation destinations that interested my mom more than him.
“But this year, it’s my turn to choose”, he happily proclaims. “Aaand your mom thinks it’s a good idea for a summer trip.”
With Jacob then going on and on about previous trips he’s taken abroad, the rest of our family lunch goes off without a single hitch. Miranda manages to keep her mouth shut, and Jake sat there eating Miranda’s leftovers, occasionally shooting me devious glances.
My mother helps Jacob take everybody’s plates and cutlery over to the dishwasher but kisses me on the top of my head before leaving; a second thanks for helping make the lunch as painless as possible, though it’s her own husband she should really be thanking.
But it’s when I’m left alone with the two demon children that Miranda chooses to strike for real.
“Callie’s dating Declan”, she quietly says to Jake.
My heart drops. Time stands still as I prepare to be lunged at by an enraged Jake. His knife and fork may have been taken away but that doesn’t mean he still couldn’t gouge my eyes out with his own two hands. But instead, he smiles.
“Declan… No shit, Mr. Grew himself. Congrats, Callie. You’re dating a disgraced businessman losing money by the day”, Jake chuckles.
“What? What are you talking-- First of all, I’m not dating him anymore. But he’s not losing… He’s crazy rich”, I mumble.
“He sure was before Miranda w--”
Before he can finish his sentence, his sister elbows his arms with brute force. He immediately realizes that he’s said too much but it’s enough for me to put two and two together. Time and time again Declan told me that his ex-girlfriend had fucked him over ‘in more ways than one’. But I’m just now realizing what he meant. Somehow, Miranda ruined him financially. But how is that even possible? From what I saw, Declan was living the life of a wealthy playboy. There wasn’t anything in his expensive apartment replete with expensive belongings that would say that he’s not prospering.
Another lie by omission.
And of course, I don’t find out I’m being lied to from him but by these two. I can’t even confront him about lying, either. Otherwise, I’ll be outing myself as somewhat related to these jackals. But then, I’d be the one lying by omission, wouldn’t I?
But this time, I understand why he would lie. Struggling financially isn’t something one normally brings up on a first date or one night stand. And it quite frankly isn’t any of my business how well off he is. It’s just the fact that Miranda is involved in all of this that makes me feel as though he should come forward about something.
For better or worse, it’s time that I give Declan a call. We both have things to come forward about, and I figure it’s best if the two of us have something to come clean about.
Without saying another word to Jake and Miranda, I get up from the table and start making my way towards my mom and Jacob to thank them for the truly unforgettable luncheon. My mother receives me warmly, as does Jacob, but before letting me go, he looks down at me and asks me if he could ask me for a small favor.
“Depends on the favor”, I answer warily.
“Like I said, it’s a small favor, nothing outside of the ordinary for you. Your mother and I are hosting a charity event this weekend and I still haven’t chosen a caterer. Would you be interested?”
A charity event he’s hosting. Jacob is known to brush elbows with some very influential people on a regular basis, if he’s hosting a charity event there’s no doubt that some of these people would show up. And if I was catering, there would be a good word of mouth going around about my bakery.
Not that I need it. My bakery is doing fine now as it is.
But some extra help is always welcome.
I take Jacob’s offer but not for the business. For family. I’m unsure why it’s taken so long for me to warm up to my mom’s significant other but I’m finally coming around. Family helps family, so there’s no reason not to take this job.
“WONDERFUL”, he cries out again. “Oh, I’m so glad you decided to show up today, Callie. You just saved me a butt-ton of time I’d have spent calling bakeries all over town. You’re the best! Believe me, you won’t regret it. I’ll make sure your name and your bakery’s name is feature on the invite prominently.”
“That’s not necessary”, I insist.
“Nonsense! Only the best for my daughter!”
He holds me tight once again and lifts me off the floor. I don’t need to have eyes in the back of my head to know that my mother is enjoying every second of this interaction. Once he sets me back down, I turn around to see her smiling ear to ear, as expected. I bid them all farewell, but not before hearing some haunting last words from Jake and Miranda.
“See you this weekend”, they said simultaneously in a tone not unlike the twins in The Shining.
I’m in a hypnotized daze the entire ride home. Sheila and I will have a gig this weekend so that’ll keep my mind occupied but I will no doubt have to watch out for Miranda and Jake trying to sabotage my work. With each passing day, my list of worries grows, all thanks to the family my mother decided to become a part of. I don’t blame her, but… well, it is largely her fault.
I should feel better than I do right now. I was able to help my mom survive a dinner with her stepchildren, and I have a catering gig that’ll bring in a lot of business. But all previous worries aside, now I have to worry about the man standing at my front door.
“Declan?”
“Callie”, he blurts out, surprised. “I’ve been trying to call you, but--”
“I’ve been with my family. What are you doing here?”
Declan walks away from my front door and right up to me, taking both of my hands in his.
“I couldn’t wait for you to call me back. I want-- Needed to see you again. I want to work through all the problems between us. Please, I… I can’t be away from you. I understand that we didn’t get off on the best foot, but--”
Interrupting him again, I place my index finger on his lips. “Would you like to start again, Mr…?”
He’s stunned. I’m stunned. But there’s no way we’re going to be able to move forward unless we go back to the beginning and start once more. This time, without lying about who we are or about our lives in general. I look up at him and see that he understands this.
“Grew”, he says breaking into a smile. He brings both of my hands up to his face and kisses the back of my right hand. “Declan Grew. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms…?”
“My name is a Callie Owens. World renowned baker”, I joke.
Thankfully he registers that as a joke and note a lie, and laughs along with me. Hearing him laugh feels so new. I know for a fact that I’ve heard him laugh before but with all the arguing and complaining we’ve both done, I feel as though I’m hearing him laugh for the very first time. He laughs so hard he almost sheds tears.
“Are you going to invite me inside?”
This is the first time he steps into my home. I’m pretty sure I cleaned it enough before I went to go see my parents, but just in case, I should try and move things to the bedroom quickly. There’s no chance of me leaving in the middle of the night since we’re at my place, and since we’re rekindling what we have between us, I expect him not to try and sneak out after making love.
“Only if we wake up next to each other”, I finally answer.
He smiles even wider. “It’s a deal.”
I jump up and held up by Declan’s strong arms as I fiddle with my keys behind his back, trying to unlock the door to my place.
I won’t lie. Kissing him again was something otherworldly. Every time we spend time away from each other, the energy between us when we reconnect takes over my brain. My raw need for sex with him controls me. And right now, it’s made me put my brain on autopilot.
Since it’s his first time inside my apartment, I have to blindly guide him by holding my hands out and sort of moving us both through the hallway leading to my bedroom. He seems to be enjoying this, since he’s gone from trying to look at his feet to make sure he’s not going to trip over anything to closing his eyes shut and leaving the directions to me. Purely by some miracle, we make it to my bedroom safely having made out the entire time.
That quick make out session was enough to get my loins fired up. The second Declan set me down on my bed, my legs opened up and showed him just how ready I was to be taken. He could have ripped my jeans off then and there, but instead he lifts up my shirt and takes my left nipple in his mouth. He swirls his tongue around it while keeping a strong grasp on both of my thighs. His mouth moves from my chest down to my stomach and soon, I feel him unbuttoning my pants.
After helping him slide my jeans off, he stares down at his next meal covered only by a thin layer of cotton. He places his tongue on top of my underwear and pushes it into me until he can taste the wetness dripping off of me, forming a small dark circle on my undies, sure to turn into a stain.
After tasting enough of me through an intimate barrier, he finally takes off my underwear and allows me to feel his tongue directly on me. He plays with me, teasing me for a long time by running kissing just between my thighs and my pussy, only licking my clit every few beats.
“Please”, I beg him. “I want more.”
I hear him chuckle but my eyes have rolled back too far into my head to see his gorgeous smile. But my begging did get him to end the foreplay and get right down to business. Declan starts to go down on my ravenously. He spreads his tongue out as wide as he can spread it and slowly drags his tongue from my vagina to my clit, making sure his tongue stays between my lips. He surprises me in the best way by first distracting me, flicking his tongue against my clit repeatedly, and then inserting two of his fingers inside of me. I let out an audible gasp of surprise that in turn, takes Declan by surprise.
“Shit, are you okay? Should I have started with one finger?”
“It’s okay”, I tell him. “It just feels so fucking good. Don’t stop.”
He doesn’t. He finger fucks me for a long time, and it makes my eyes flutter, it’s so divine. Declan knows exactly what does my body good and it sure as hell isn’t milk. It’s his touch. Whether it’s being in the throws of coitus or just a tight hug, I feel a sense of euphoria when he touches me. He moves my legs on top of his shoulders and exchanges his fingers for his tongue. He digs his tongue deep inside of my and moves it around my vaginal walls.
“Do you have a condom”, I ask him.
“Did you really think I come here with packing a couple of boxes of condoms?”
He’s perfect.
While he prepares himself for some safe sex, I push myself a bit farther back on the bed to give Declan some more room.
He climbs on top of me and I can sense him listening to my breathing. He knows how turned on I am, he just wants to draw this out as long as possible. Declan wants me to need him more than I need air. And that’s the moment, right now.
“Don’t make me wait any longer, Declan. I want you and I want you now.”
“Say no more”, he whispers as he puts his index finger on my lips.
Not another word is exchanged between us. Declan sneaks his hands underneath my shoulder blades and widens my legs with his. He slowly moves his hips close to mine and that’s when I feel it. His head inches inside me bit by by, carefully opening my vagina. Despite having had sex before, it feels like we’re fucking for the first time. It feels like a pattern that’s developing. Every time feels like the first because so much time passes between sessions, and the enormous size of his cock. It’s a monster I’m surprised I can handle without crying the entire time.
No tears this time or anytime. I take his entire cock with some whimpers. Men love to hear women whimper underneath them. But even if he didn’t want to hear it, it’s not as though I could have helped it. The way he stretches out my walls is unlike anything I’ve ever felt. And I’m saying that after having felt it twice before.
He places his hands on my shoulders and holds on tight to start pumping into me. Though he starts off slowly, it’s not long before he starts pounding me so hard I wouldn’t be surprised if I ended up with some pelvic bruising. It’s the best kind of pain. It teeters right on the line of pain and pleasure but stays enough in the pleasure territory where I don’t have to stop Declan from the magic he’s allowing me to be a part of. I am currently a tool for his pleasure, but in that same vein, I would say that he is a tool for mine. We perfect each other’s sex life.
Because Declan had spent so much time with his face buried between my legs, it didn’t take long for me to start feeling the small, tumbling waves of orgasmic pleasure. I was nearing a climax. I wanted to hold off for as long as I could so Declan wouldn’t feel pressured into finishing quickly, but there wasn’t much I could do to keep myself from doing so. As much as I want it to happen, I ask Declan to slow down.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong’, I tell him. “In fact, you’re doing great. It’s just that… I’m really close to cumming.”
“So?”
“You don’t mind if I cum a bit quickly?”
I hear him chuckle. “Not at all. That’s the whole point, isn’t it? We’re trying to cum and enjoy every second of it, aren’t we?”
“We are.”
“Then don’t let me stop you, babe.”
Even though we had stopped, hearing him call me ‘babe’ got me right back to where I was. In just a few more thrusts, I was able to reach my climax. I screamed at the top of my lungs, but this didn’t stop Declan. Though I had just now experienced my climax, he was already working towards his. Maybe some women would take offense to this, but I enjoyed every second of it. I had already finished so every pump into me that followed was one of many cherries on top. Declan used me as a fucktoy. I never thought that that’s something I would desire to be but having him fuck me knowing that his only goal at this point was to make himself cum was so hot. He only cared about himself and used me until he finally shot his load into me.
He collapsed on top of me immediately after and stayed there until he regained his breath. After cleaning up and disposal of the used condom, he actually kissed me and thanked me for taking him back, though, we never really had much of a discussion about it.
I’ll have to admit it’s a bit odd to be in the same bed as Declan without being passive aggressively told to leave or feeling the need to do so. We both have things we need to get out in the clear.
Post coital bliss shouldn’t be ruined by such a serious subject. It seems as though every time we have sex, I ruin things by bringing up our relationship. There are many things that could be brought up during the discussion that could ruin the perfect moment we just shared. Maybe he truly is just stringing me on to get back with Miranda. Or maybe he’ll be repulsed when I tell him she and I are stepsiblings.
The talk will happen. But I should just enjoy this moment as it is. Declan is by my side with a huge smile on his face. We just had more great sex. Things are perfect at the moment. And I’ll let us sit in it and enjoy it.