Molly

By the time we make it back to the house, the dining room is filled with happy, excited guests. Beth and Shane are the center of attention, of course, and they’re surrounded by family and friends. It looks like most everyone is here, except for a few conspicuously absent people. Namely, Sam isn’t here, and neither is Cooper.

According to Lia, Sam took off for parts unknown, and Miguel left with him. Cooper’s still here at the house, but holed up in his suite. Shane’s attorney, Troy, left already too.

The food is delicious, and there’s leftover wedding cake, which is divine. Gina, the one responsible for the delicious food and the cake, makes a wonderful toast to the newlyweds.

Jamie’s parents are here, and his mom, Bridget, is happily chatting with Beth’s mom, Ingrid. It’s one big happy family reunion of sorts.

Jamie’s seated on my left, and Lia’s on my right, with Jonah beside her. Lia’s the life of the party at our end of the table. I never know what’s going to come out of her mouth. Jonah just sits back and watches her with obvious affection. I sneak a few glances at Jamie when I think no one’s looking, but Jamie’s mother and Elly catch me a few times.

Eventually, the party starts to break up. It’s late Sunday afternoon and most of the guests need to think about packing up and heading back to their respective homes. Apparently, Beth and Shane are going to stay for a few days and enjoy some relaxing privacy on the estate as they celebrate their wedding.

Jamie and I head upstairs, hand-in-hand, and we go to our respective suites to pack our belongings. Jake offers to drive us home, and he pulls his SUV up to the front of the house, and Elly’s husband, George, helps us load our bags and Gus into the back of the vehicle.

* * *

Back in Wicker Park, Jamie carries all our bags up to our apartments, and I take Gus for a quick walk to stretch his legs and let him take care of business.

I walk past Chloe’s tattoo shop, which is closed. I pass my shop, too, and just peek in through the front windows at the dark interiors to make sure everything looks all right.

Gus and I walk a few more blocks just enjoying some quiet time alone. When I’m with Jamie, I’m so focused on him that there’s little room in my head for anything else. He has a knack for occupying my thoughts.

It’s starting to get dark, so we turn back toward home. Gus is his usual happy and curious self, wanting to stop and sniff every light pole, mailbox, and planter we encounter.

I just happen to glance across the street and see a black sports car parked along the street. The car catches my attention because it’s the same model Todd drives. Immediately my heart starts pounding, even as my brain chides me for overreacting and tells me to calm down. That car model is a dime a dozen in Chicago.

When the tinted driver’s window slowly goes down, though, there’s a familiar face staring back at me.

What’s he doing here? If he just got released from jail on bond, why in the world is he risking rearrest by showing up in my neighborhood? He has no business here. Both his law office and his condo are way across town in Lincoln Park.

I ignore him and keep walking, although I picked up my pace. “Come on, Gus. Let’s get home.”

Out of my peripheral vision, I see Todd crossing the street on a path to intercept me on the sidewalk. I stop when he falls into step beside me.

“Is that his dog?” Todd says, scowling at Gus. “You’re walking the guy’s fucking dog?”

“You’re in violation of the restraining order,” I say, maintaining my calm.

He rolls his eyes at me. “What are you going to do, Molly? Call the police again? I was out on bail in 24 hours the last time. The next time, I’ll be out in half that time.”

I swallow hard and shake my head. “You won’t get bail next time.”

“Bullshit. I have connections, Molly, and you know it. I’m a fucking defense attorney. You can’t touch me.”

I don’t believe a word he says – he’s just trying to intimidate me. I resume walking, keeping my gaze straight ahead, trying to ignore the pounding of my heart. I can see my building from here, and I’m relieved to see Jake’s SUV is still parked out front. Jake steps out from behind the vehicle and walks around to open the driver’s door. My heart sinks. He’s leaving.

Just before he climbs into the vehicle, he glances my way and makes eye contact. I raise my hand in a half-hearted wave, willing him to notice that I’m not alone. Jake’s never seen Todd before, so he wouldn’t recognize him, but maybe he’ll put two and two together.

I’m practically holding my breath to see what Jake’s going to do. To my utter relief, he closes the driver’s door and walks around to the sidewalk, facing me, his hands on his hips as he watches our approach.

The moment Jake takes a step in our direction, Todd turns and jogs across the street, heading quickly back to his car.

“Is everything all right?” Jake says, when he reaches me. He’s talking to me, but his gaze is tracking Todd’s movements.

I take a deep breath. “No, not really.”

“Was that your ex?”

“Yes.”

“I thought he was in jail for violating the restraining order?”

“He was released this morning on bail.”

Jake’s eyes narrow as he watches Todd drive past us. “Cocky son-of-a-bitch,” he says.

“He thinks he’s above the law. That the laws don’t apply to him.”

“Narcissistic bastard.”

I laugh. “Yes, he is.”

Jake puts his arm across my shoulders. “Come on. I’ll see you to your apartment. Jamie needs to know about this.”

Jamie. That’s my real concern. I don’t think Todd would actually hurt me, but I know he’d hurt Jamie. “I’m afraid for Jamie,” I say. “I think Todd’s out to hurt him.”

Jake chuckles. “Is Todd armed?”

“I don’t think so. In all the years we were together, he never showed any interest in getting a gun.”

“Then I wouldn’t worry about Jamie,” he says. “If it’s hand-to-hand contact, Todd doesn’t stand a chance.”

When we approach my building, the door opens and out steps the young man who lives in the first-floor apartment. Based on the towering stack of boxes he’s holding, it looks like they’re moving out. The guy props the door open with a brick.

“Hey, pal, don’t prop the door open,” Jake says, retrieving the brick and setting it inside the foyer. “This building has a secured entrance. Leaving the door propped open kind of defeats that, right?”

“Oh, sure, gotcha,” the young man says, continuing down the steps to his DIY moving van.

Jake walks me inside and up the stairs. He watches down the stairs as my neighbor carries several boxes out the door, letting it swing shut behind him.

Jake frowns. “I don’t like having other occupants in the building. They might do something stupid, like prop the door open.”

I laugh. Jake has no idea how right he is. “Mrs. Powell is forgetful, and she’s let Todd into the building several times, thinking he’s my husband.”

My bags are sitting right outside my door. I unlock my door, then turn back to Jake. “Thank you,” I tell him. “For the ride home and for coming to my rescue just now.”

“No problem. Any time.” He gives me a bear hug and pats my back. “I’m glad you came to the wedding. Jamie’s been alone for a long time. It’s good to see him happy.”

Speaking of Jamie, I hear his door close and watch him walk toward us.

“I’m taking off now,” Jake says, slapping his brother’s upper arm. “Why don’t you ask Molly who she ran into outside?”

Jamie turns toward me. “You saw Todd?”

“You kids have a nice evening,” Jake says, heading for the stairs. “You, too, Gus.”

Jamie takes hold of my hands. “Tell me what happened.”

“I saw Todd outside a few minutes ago. He was parked on the street, and when he saw me walking with Gus he came over and spoke to me.”

Jamie’s brow furrows and he shakes his head. “Your ex is nuts. He’s just asking for jailtime.”

“He thinks he’s above the law. He thinks he’ll get off again if I call the police.”

“He’s wrong.” He pulls me into his arms and kisses the top of my head. “Can I come in and hang with you for a while? We could watch a movie, maybe order carryout later. I’ll bring a bottle of wine.”

I slip my arms around his waist and melt into him, loving the solid warmth of his body. “I’d love that.”

* * *

It’s my turn to pick the movie, so we watch one of my favorites – Pitch Perfect. I can watch that movie over and over without getting tired of it. I figure Jamie will be entertained by the music and it won’t matter so much that he can’t see the action. We crash on the sofa, with Gus lying on the floor and Charlie stretched out along the back of the sofa.

Partway through the film, Jamie stretches out on his side along the sofa, and I lie in front of him. He wraps his arm around my waist and holds me close. Throughout the movie, I hear him humming along with the familiar melodies, his voice a rich baritone that makes my insides quiver with delight.

We’re both too comfortable and cozy to want to go out again tonight, so we order Thai food and have it delivered. When the food arrives, I run downstairs to collect it, while Jamie gets a bottled of chilled red wine from his apartment. We spread our feast out on the coffee table and enjoy our food with red wine sipped out of fluted wine glasses.

When we’re done eating, we nestle back onto the sofa again. He’s engaged in the movie, but occasionally I feel his lips in my hair, or along the back of my neck, which makes me shiver.

“What’s it like?” I ask him, leaning back against him. “Listening to a movie when you can’t see what’s happening on the screen?”

“It’s pretty easy to follow the story,” he says. “Filmmakers invest a lot of resources into their soundtracks and special effects. I can pretty well figure out what’s going on just by listening to the audio effects.” He laughs. “To be honest, I saw this movie twice with Lia when it first came out years ago. Mom wouldn’t let her go to the theater alone, so I offered to take her. So this one, I actually saw.”

I can easily picture Jamie as a big brother taking his little sister to the movie theater. I’m sure he was a very good big brother – very protective of his younger siblings. I’m sure he’d make an equally good father one day.

“Do you ever think about having kids?” I ask him.

He tightens his arm around my waist. “Sure. I grew up in in a big family. I always figured I’d have a family of my own one day.”

My bottom is tucked against his groin, and I’m hyperaware of how his erection is pressing against me. When his fingers drift south and slip beneath the waistband of my sweats and into my panties, I suck in a breath, and my insides start quivering.

He laughs softly. “Don’t mind me. Just enjoy the movie.”

When his index finger slips between the folds of my sex, sliding through my wetness, I gasp. “That’s easy for you to say.”

My mind short circuits at that point, and I lose all track of the movie. I press my face in to Jamie’s bicep, which is currently my pillow and concentrate on just trying to breathe as his finger strokes my clitoris, teasing me, arousing me, body and mind. I grow wetter, achier with each brush of his finger. He rubs tiny circles on the little knot of flesh between my legs, fairly vibrating with pleasure as I squirm in his embrace.

I close my eyes and whimper helplessly as the pleasure builds. “Jamie.” 

“Hmm?”

He brushes my hair aside with his chin to expose my throat for hot, deep kisses. I know he’s definitely going to leave marks as he sucks on my skin.

His finger is relentless in its torment of my clit, circling my flesh and teasing it, pressing and stroking. My hips start moving on their own, lifting to meet his touch, to increase the pressure right where I need it.

“That’s it,” he murmurs, his voice low and hoarse.

I’m clearly not the only one affected here. I can feel his hot breath on the back of my neck and the muscles in his arms are taut.

He nudges my legs farther apart so he can glide his finger into my opening, which is flushed and slippery. He curls his finger inside me, stroking the front wall of my sex, jacking up the pleasure until I’m practically panting. I can’t help the sounds coming out of me, and they quickly escalate into breathless gasps and whimpers.

“I want to feel you come, just like this,” he says.

“Jamie – ”

He lowers his mouth and sucks on the tender skin beneath my ear. Tingles course through me from the sensation of his mouth on my sensitive skin. Combined with the swelling pleasure deep inside me, it’s more than I can bear.

My body stiffens helplessly as an orgasm sweeps through me, leaving my insides quivering and my heart beat racing. 

Jamie rolls me to my back and looms over me, drinking in the sounds I’m making. He coaxes my mouth open and slips his tongue inside, stroking mine, sucking gently as my hips rock through the residual tremors of pleasure.

He pulls his finger out and sucks it clean, which blows my mind.

“Can I stay the night?” he says, his voice little more than a deep rasp.

He’s clearly aroused and very much on edge. I reach between us to caress his erection. My fingers outline the length and shape of him through the fabric of his sweatpants, and he groans as he presses his face into my neck.

“Is that a yes?” he says, part laugh, part groan. “God, it had better be. I don’t think I can take much more.”