Destiny

While Toby cleaned up his room, I cleaned the monstrous mess in the kitchen. I loaded the sticky syrup plates and was closing the dishwasher when two large arms wrapped around my stomach.

“Do you know how sexy you are, wearing my shirt, prancing your sexy ass around my kitchen?”

I relaxed in his arms and soaked in the scent of his body wash or cologne and the feel of him. “You’re insane. And Toby—”

“Is brushing his teeth. I couldn’t resist hugging you in my house. I’m sorry I have to get to work.”

“It’s okay.” I shifted in his arms and faced him. “Thanks for breakfast.”

Thanks for making this so easy and beautiful.

“Yeah.” His hands pressed against the side of my head, back into my hair and cupped the back of my head. “If Toby wasn’t going to come down any minute, you know I’d have your ass on that counter and I’d be eating my second breakfast of the day, right?”

Good Lord. A flutter hit me hard and fast. It started deep in my stomach and shot straight to my heart. Which might have stopped beating for a second and kicked into high gear when it re-started.

“Jordan—”

“Yeah. That’s the look I want to remember on your face when I’m thinking about you today. Now kiss me. I have to go.”

My hands went to his cheeks. “Always so bossy.”

“You like my bossy.” His head came down. Or I pulled him to me. I didn’t quite know what happened, who moved first, but his mouth was on mine, his tongue sliding against mine, our lips fused together and I was at risk of forgetting everything, including my name, when he yanked back. “Water turned off upstairs.”

My gaze slid in that direction and I pressed my hands down his arms to the skin beneath his navy-blue polo shirt, Carlton Resort and Spa embroidered over one of his pecs. “You’re so hot. Always have been.”

“You’ve always been the only girl I see,” he said, eyes glimmering, lips lifted at the edges.

When he talked like that, the world melted. My knees turned liquid. “Thank you,” I said, and heard steps pounding the stairs.

“Ready Mom! Where we going?”

“Someplace cool!” I shouted back.

“Where you taking him?” Jordan asked.

I was ready to tell him everything. It just wasn’t the time. Plans had to be made anyway and there were things to line up. “A surprise for him. I’ll tell you later?”

“You better.” He turned and reached out for Toby. “Hey buddy. I gotta take off. You be good for your mom, today, yeah?”

Toby’s grin was enough to light up the sky. “Yeah. Always am.”

“Please.” I snorted. “You’re a pain in my butt.”

Toby pointed his finger at me. “That must be why it’s so big.”

“Why you…” I leaped for him, and Jordan’s arm curled around my waist, holding me back.

“I’d run, man. Those are fighting words with a woman.” He could barely talk over his sudden, bursting laugh.

“I’ll get you!” I shouted, laughing so hard peeing my pants was a possibility.

“Yeah, yeah,” Toby said, sneaking back toward the stairs. “You’d have to catch me first and we all know how well you run.”

I fought against Jordan’s arm, pressing his hand away, laughing hysterically. “You are a runt!”

“Yeah, but I’m a fast one!” He turned and took off running through the living room.

“Let me go!” Jordan did immediately, and I almost fell to my knees, scrambled to my feet, and I took off after Toby, Jordan’s booming laugh echoed through the house.

“I’ll get you!” I shouted, chasing Toby up the stairs, but by the time I reached his room, his door was closed, and rattling the handle told me it was locked. “Hey, yeah…you better hide.”

Laugher hit my ears from the side of his door.

I turned, defeated, out of breath. Man. I was out of shape. Jordan stood at the bottom of the stairs. Both of his hands were propped on the banister, one foot on the bottom step. He looked regal and sexy. Professional and ready for a day on the course. Dress pants, shining brown dress shoes. The navy polo. He was such a man. Not the boy who’d taught me everything I knew about sex and then vigorously reminded me of all of it last night.

I brushed off the lustful haze he always put me in and shoved a finger in his direction. “And you are in trouble. I’ll get you later.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

“Go to work.” Laughter threatening again. God, I loved him. I couldn’t wait to tell him. “I need to get my clothes and get home.”

“Keys are on the counter. The truck should have gas in it. You can bring it back here later tonight for dinner and stay again.”

“Again?”

“Like I said, more room between Toby’s and mine here.”

Heat filled my cheeks, burned straight to my teeth. “Okay.” What else could I say? When it came to Jordan, I never wanted to tell him no.

* * *

Like I knew would happen, disbelief and a complete un-awed tone filled Toby’s voice as we pulled into the parking lot of Carlton Middle School. “This is the cool place you wanted to show me?”

After we got back to Tillie’s and I showered and dressed for the day, I made a few phone calls, and fortunately, Brooke had been one of them.

She was standing at the front of the school, her car parked in front of mine in the school drop-off lane.

“Thanks for meeting us,” I called out as I got out of the car. Toby dejectedly climbed out from his side and met me at the sidewalk.

Thank goodness for maybe friends whose father-in-law was still the middle school principal. Andrew’s dad had also been the principal when we were in middle school. And maybe I was calling in a favor, but a part of me not only wanted to have Toby see the school he would go to if we stayed, but the twelve and thirteen-year-old girl in me who was hated and despised and made fun of also needed the closure. To walk through these walls and see a building, lockers, classrooms, the sweaty smelly locker rooms and remember that it’s a place, not a brothel for evil pre-teens where they hold séances to prepare for their next attack.

Overdramatic? Probably. Hopefully.

“Come on,” I said to Toby. I rested my hand between his shoulder blades and pushed him toward Brooke.

“Hey guys!”

“Is this okay?” She’d said it was on the phone, but she didn’t need to get into trouble for me. “You’re sure.”

“Sure I’m sure. John’s here during the week working anyway. He said it’s not a problem as long as we don’t graffiti the walls or anything.”

“Not really my plan for today.” I assured her with a smile and turned to Toby. “Okay. So this place isn’t cool, but if we stay, it’ll be your school. And I want you to walk through these halls, look at the rooms, and think if this is what you really want to do too, okay?”

He’d brought it up to me last week. I’d talk to him about it on the way here. He was the one leaving his friends and school and everything he already knew. If we stayed, that choice would be in large part, up to him. Although after seeing him with Jordan this morning there was no way he would say no.

A school wouldn’t change that. Still, having more information at his disposal would help him.

“Yippee,” he muttered.

I winked as Brooke laughed. “He’s so excited.”

“No doubt as excited as mine would be if I made them come to school weeks early, too. Let’s go.”

We toured the school. Brooke focused mostly on showing us the sixth-grade wing and all the elective classrooms. She told Toby which teachers were cool and why before she took us to the gym. She had even printed out information about their last year’s middle school basketball program.

By the time the tour was done, and we were walking back to our cars, I could have pulled Brooke into my arms and kissed her.

I didn’t, because I wasn’t weird—although Brooke probably wouldn’t mind, because she was crazy. I’d never laughed so hard on a school tour thanks to her, and even Toby had chuckled a few times.

“So?” She swung the keys into her palm. “What’d you think, Toby?”

He shrugged. “It’s a school. Smaller than I’d go to back home. Doesn’t look like it’d suck, though.”

“A thrilling recommendation we’ll be sure to put on the new enrollment paperwork.” She winked at him.

“Thanks again,” I told her. “You and Andrew and the boys doing anything today?”

“Nope. Yardwork. Cleaning. All the fun stuff no one tells you sucks so bad before you become an adult.”

“No joke.” Toby opened the door to his side of the car and slid in. I watched him go, frowning.

“He okay?” Brooke asked.

“Yeah. Probably just a lot on his mind.” I grinned at her, held my hand over my eyes to block the hot afternoon sun. “Thanks again for today. I don’t know what we’ll do yet, so if you wouldn’t mind not saying anything…”

It was a lot to ask. She was obviously better friends with Jordan than I was with her.

“Hey, as long as you and Jordan are working to move on from everything, I’m for however that comes about. But don’t make me keep it too long. I suck at secrets.”

“School starts back home in two weeks. We have to figure it out soon.”

“Are you ready for that? Dropping everything there, your whole life, and taking a chance here again?”

Until she’d asked that very question, I had been. There was something about hearing it out loud, wondering if I was doing the right thing, and for the first time, I didn’t have Tillie to go to for advice. “It’s a lot to consider,” I finally said. “It’s a big risk.”

“Could have big rewards. Just don’t hurt him again? I’ll keep what you’re thinking a secret, but I also think before you get too far down the path you’re headed, you and Jordan need to talk about it. Last time you shut him out—”

“Last time I was a scared kid.” I’d turned defensive. Felt that bubbling anger awakening in my blood.

“But you didn’t talk to him.”

She’d scored a direct point. I took it and nodded. “Point made. I will, but I want to get a few ducks lined up first.”

“Good. Have a great day then. We’ll see you soon?”

“Yeah. Most likely.”

I climbed into my car, waited until she pulled forward and once we were on the road, I switched off the radio music. “So? What’d you think?”

“It’s a school, Mom. I don’t care.” It wasn’t the positive answer I was hoping for. Still, he had a point. I’d taken him to a school. Which meant, I had more research to do for him.

“All right. I’ve got brats or taco fixins for lunch. Either of those sound good?”

“Tacos, Mom. Always tacos.”

I shouldn’t have even asked.

* * *

“Jordan,” I whispered into his throat, trying so hard to stay quiet. It was nearly impossible.

As soon as we’d known Toby was asleep, Jordan had tugged me up the stairs from where we’d been watching a Royals game. He threw me on his bed, stripped off his clothes. Then mine, tugging down my shorts with a wild frenzy like he hadn’t had me last night.

Then, he’d settled his mouth right there taking everything he wanted from me for dessert, instead of the second breakfast he’d said he wanted earlier.

After, he rolled us, slid on a condom with expert precision, me watching every movement of his body, toned and so perfect, that line of black hair from his belly button to his hard, waiting cock for me, before he laid back, gripping my hips, and demanded, “Ride me.”

I was working him furiously, unable to slow my pace. His fingers dug into my thighs, and I had my hands braced by his shoulders, the friction against my clit so heavenly delicious another orgasm was quickly building.

“Fuck.” His teeth were at my shoulder. His own manic pace no match for me. His desperate need to have me and the way he could withhold in order to give me time to go again amazed me.

He was incredible. In bed and out of bed. All the time.

And then he leaned back, gripped my breast and sucked on my nipple. The harshness stung, made me cry out, but it was the last thing I needed. The pain of my nipple shot a spark straight to my core and that fire that had been building, simmering, slowly growing, exploded.

My body spasmed. My sex clenched around him. I shoved my face into his shoulder again, panting and mewling as my entire body shivered and let loose from the orgasm.

“Fuck you feel good.” His hips thrust harder. I tried to claw at his shoulder, ride him through his own climax, but I was limp, useless.

“I can’t move,” I whimpered, my breathing as fast as a marathon runner near the end of the pace. His hands went to my hips and he rolled, keeping us connected and then I was beneath him, his chest against mine, his mouth on mine. He kissed me while he slammed into me, over and over again, gripping my thighs, lifting and spreading them until I knew I’d feel that ache of well-use the next day.

And he did something magical, moved me in a way that had every nerve of mine misfiring like a rocket. Before I could stop it, another climax hit, harsh and fast and on the edge of painful but so damn beautiful, I had no choice but to bite my tongue to keep from crying out his name.

“Shit shit shit,” I panted, feeling him move quickly, jerkily before he pounded into me again, dropped his face to the side of mine and cursed while he pulsed and expelled his own climax inside of me.

“I love you,” I whispered, unable to hold the thought back I’d been thinking since the moment I walked into his house earlier that night.

His body froze. The muscles flexed on his lower back and even while he was still settling from his own orgasm, his arms pushed up, his face inches of mine.

A thunderstorm raged in his eyes, in the fierceness of his expression. “What’d you say?”

It’d been a mistake. Too soon. I shook my head. “Nothing—”

“Love me. That’s not nothing, Des.”

My name on his lips. The quirk of his. “You love me.”

The urge to flee, to run and escape to a safe space clawed at me. I shoved at his chest, wiggled beneath him, but he had me pinned. He must have seen the panic in my eyes setting in because his jaw went tight.

“Destiny—”

“I shouldn’t have said it. Not yet. Not then.”

“No better time to say it than when you’re so overwhelmed with it you can’t hold it in anymore.”

Oh God. A heavy breath fell from my lips. And it hit me. His expression wasn’t jaded and filled with fury I’d done something wrong. It was filled with the same burning need I had to speak it, only he’d had the control to hold it back.

And again, another realization.

There was no reason to run from him and flee when he was the person, the only person outside Toby and Tillie I’d ever want to run to. My backbone unfurled and strengthened one vertebra at a time.

I licked my lips and looked him square in the eye. “I love you, Jordan Marx.”