Chapter Ten
Libby
I hadn’t expected to hear from Tucker at all after Id acted like an idiot in front of him. He was so upset when he delivered the news just hours later: the house and so many of my expensive and beautiful things were already gone, made to look like they were given away, so that I couldn’t demand money for them. I wasn’t sure how to feel. I’d never expected to see those things again, unless circumstances forced me to go back to my old home.
But when Tucker relayed to me the news that the photos and albums that I’d been fighting to give Olivia, memories of her father and his childhood that she could keep with her for the rest of her life, had been destroyed, it was hard to hold back the tears. I asked Tucker to come over and have supper again, in exchange for some company, a little hand holding, and to translate the email he’d sent me into layman’s terms, since I was sure I was not completely understanding all the legalese he’d thrown in.
He offered to bring dinner with him, and that left me an afternoon to cry, lavish my sweet girl with attention, and get cleaned up before Tucker showed up, hopefully with enough pizza to make me sick, right before I passed out from the carbs.
I checked the pantry for baking supplies and got out Olivia’s little pink apron. Just as I was ready to make cookie dough and pretend the evil world of selfish grown-ups didn’t exist, she demanded a playdate with D’Ante, because he had Legos and didn’t mind if she wanted to play princesses. A quick call to Shaunte, and suddenly I was all alone for the day. When I mentioned Tucker was coming back and why, Olivia found herself with a sleepover invitation, and I had the house to myself.
I walked Olivia down the narrow street that bisected the gated community we lived in and, at her request, waited as she skipped up the walkway and knocked on the door, all by herself. Shaunte answered and D’Ante pushed past her and escorted his best friend in like she was a real princess. She gave him a curtsy and they disappeared inside the house without a wave or a goodbye. I laughed and waved to Shaunte, and heard her intonation of, “Good luck!” follow me as I strolled back toward home.
For a Saturday afternoon, the neighborhood was quiet, the children all playing inside because of the heat, and I suddenly felt very alone and vulnerable despite the bright sunshine of the day. It wasn’t until I was locking the door, and glanced out the window, that I saw a curtain move on a window a few houses down, and could have sworn I saw the man who Tucker had chased off the night before. I tried to forget the chill that had swept down my back and made my hair stand on end. I had a chance to make things right with Tucker. I wasn’t going to let some paranoia about an over-familiar neighbor turn me into a needy, pathetic, clingy wimp.
I took a second shower and locked the door, even though I was alone. I styled my hair with the doors open, however, so no one could walk up behind me without me seeing them in the mirror. As I was applying makeup, I realized that I had started acting like I was in an episode of Law and Order, and made myself close the bedroom door. Even so, when my phone rang, I just about jumped out of my skin.
My closet became the enemy, as I tried to pick out something that wouldn’t send the wrong message, but also didn’t make me look like an old, flabby dumpling. I finally settled on my favorite sundress, just as my phone buzzed with a message from Tucker, that he was about ten minutes out. I threw everything back in my closet, dumping it on the dressing bench and floor, and kicking the door shut.
I put a white wine in the fridge, and uncorked a red, because I didn’t know what he was bringing for dinner, and checked my makeup in the mirror by the front door. I couldn’t explain the butterflies in my stomach, so I ignored them, and quickly tried to pick up any messes Olivia had left around the house before he walked in.
The doorbell rang, with a light knock behind it. When I answered it, Tucker was almost hidden behind the takeout boxes of Thai food he’d brought. He went to the kitchen without a word, and I trailed him like the puppy that was missing from his side.
“Where’s Kennedy?”
“Well, when you told me that Olivia had a sleepover, I thought maybe Kennedy deserved one too. She’s at George’s for the night.”
“Wow. You going to be okay, going home to an empty house?” I teased.
“Maybe, if I had any intention of going home tonight.” I sucked in a breath and my stomach quivered.
“I didn’t ask you here to spend the night, Tucker. I don’t need to run into your arms every time the world is unfair.” He glanced up at me, then went back to dishing up dinner.
“I’m not spending the night here because the world was unfair to you, Libby. I’m staying because I am tired of both of us not saying what we mean. I want to help you, and I’m not leaving until we have a solution that is best for Olivia.” I released the breath I was holding and made myself busy so he couldn’t see my embarrassed blush. Of course he was here about business. That I’d thought he wanted anything else from me was my own stupidity.
He set plates at two of the place settings at the table and I added a glass of wine next to each. I waited for him to seat himself, but he stayed standing until I joined him next to the chair he was holding onto.
“You look lovely, Libby,” he said softly as he pulled out the chair for me. My hands shook and my knees were rubber. I swallowed hard and tried to smile at him.
“You want us to just say what we mean, Tucker, really?” I asked, stepping up close enough that I could feel his breath on my face. “Okay. Tonight, I’m going to do what you say, and let you know how I feel.” I leaned up and kissed his lips, gently. Even as I did it, my brain was screaming at me to stop, step back, give myself an escape route.
My body even complied, after that first soft contact, I pulled away, afraid to look in his eyes. His fingertips appeared in my line of sight, as I stared down at the floor. He tipped my chin up, and brought his mouth down on me with bruising strength, driving his tongue into my mouth as his hands roamed my body. When he finally released me, I stumbled back into the wall and held on, afraid my legs would finally give out on me.
“How hungry are you?” He asked, with a warning glint in his eyes. I shook my head, equal parts exhilarated and afraid, and he pulled me against him again.
“We should go upstairs.” I offered, but he shook his head.
“We should go to the living room. I won’t make it upstairs. I need your dress off, and you on me. Now.” My eyes flew wide at his command, but he lifted me off the floor and held me as he kissed my neck, his hands under my rear holding me high enough that I could wrap my legs around him.
“This isn’t what I thought would happen,” I gasped, as he yanked my dress down over my hips and let it fall to the floor.
“I think we should stop thinking so damn much and just let go. I want you, Libby, but I care about you, too. Let me give you what I have and let’s see where it goes from there.” I nodded numbly, and he kissed his way down my body, gently lowering me to the sofa and kneeling in front of me as he reached my belly button. He spread my knees apart and kissed me lower, his mouth a hot, wet lightning rod on my skin, stoking my fire with every stroke of his tongue, and building the flames with his fingers as they slid inside me, slowly, gently thrusting over the front of me and dragging me to the precipice as the pressure built inside me. I dug my fingernails into his back, just to stay afloat, as his tongue replaced his fingers in me, thrusting and stroking me while I begged him to let me take off his pants so he could finish with me.
He ignored my pleas and spread my knees farther apart, his hand and mouth pushing me closer to release, ignoring my wishes until I couldn’t stand it anymore. I grabbed his hair and pulled it until he had to follow, and I reached for his belt with my other hand.
“I need you inside me, Tuck. Please, just give me this.” He stared into my eyes as he undid his belt and pants, dropping them to the floor with even less ceremony than my dress. He picked me up and swung me around so that he was sitting on the cushion, and I was straddling him. He was so hard, he was pressed against his stomach, and I curled my fingers around his shaft and pulled it back just far enough to sheath him inside me.
The sensation was almost too much, and he held me close and whispered sweetness in my ear, as I found my bearings. I lifted off him and pushed back down, setting my rhythm long and slow, trying to hold off long enough to bring him before I came, but the slick heat of him inside me, as he kissed my neck and shoulders, his hands on my breasts and ass, were too much, and I clenched tight around him as I came in wave after wave of pleasure, deafened to my own cries as I felt him press me down hard on him. He throbbed and spasmed inside me, spilling into me with a growl as he held my hips down on him.
He laid his face against my breasts, rubbing them with his cheek. I was paralyzed, too heavy with afterglow to pull myself out of his arms, and I laid my head on his shoulder and let him hold me, even while I held him inside me. Dinner could wait a little while more, I decided, as I snuggled down to touch more of his skin. We only had so long before my brain began to win again, and my heart needed as much of him as I could get.