CHAPTER TEN
RORKE
I know women have it rough with their periods and shit, but try waking up with a boner every morning of your life. Worse yet, try hiding the dozen or so you get in the waking hours. Not fun. The ole six to midnight thing can hurt, and if your shirt lifts, you’re embarrassed as hell.
And the people who design men’s dress pants don’t seem to know to take the swelling that occurs into account. And morning wood is the worst, because you always have to pee, so you either end up trying to lean over or peeing in a damn arch.
This damn thing will not go down this morning. I’m sure women are hyperaware when they have their monthly visitor. It’s the same for us guys. When you’ve got wood, your dick is the only thing you can think about.
Come to think of it, the same thing happens when Sterling’s around. Fuck, thinking of her isn’t helping my present situation. My dick twitches just a little. Poor guy’s not been used, except by me, in quite a long time. There’s a serious lack of single women in this town.
Lifting my head, I yell, “Go down!”
My head flops back on the pillow. Damn, I’d like her to go down. I remember exactly how her lips felt that night. No girl had ever done that to me before. And even though she’d never done it before either, it didn’t matter. I’ll never forget the look on her face. She looked so vulnerable.
She had the same look last night. When she looked at me from the dock, I could tell she was crying. Every muscle in my arms ached not being able to comfort her. And when she said goodnight later, her eyes were still red and filled with tears. I apologized for not telling her about her dad’s problems at the church, and I think she understood. It really wasn’t my place. I’m not sure whether some of those tears were my fault because I didn’t tell her. The thought of her shedding a single tear over something I did doesn’t sit well with me.
I need to check on her.
Suddenly, I realize I’m not thinking about my cock anymore. Thank fuck, my hard-on has gone down. The thought of Sterling crying was the remedy for that situation. I get dressed, grab a protein bar, my phone, and keys, thinking I’ll call her on my way to my parents’ house. I know my dad needs me to help him out over the summer. There are fences to mend and hay to bale.
Sliding the door open, I head towards my Jeep. I can’t believe what I’m seeing. My entire Jeep is covered in pink heart sticky notes. And I mean every inch—the hood, the windshield, the doors, even the spare tire on the back.
“Take that Levi!” I laugh out, knowing my brother is enjoying watching this unfold.
A huge smile on my face, I circle my Jeep. A few minutes ago, I was suffering with the world’s biggest boner, but now it’s my heart that’s swelling. Yep, she’s given me a heart boner!
How many sticky notes does this woman own? And how did she pull this off without me knowing? And what the hell does it mean? I snap a picture with my phone, laughing, and begin to circle my Jeep in disbelief. Did she do this to the inside, too?
I open my door, finding only one pink heart in the middle of the steering wheel. It’s the only one with a message on it. Meet me at ten at the bakery.
Shit, it’s almost ten now. I race around, pulling the notes off my windshield and windows, but leave all the other ones. I don’t have time to take them off now. Then I speed towards town, a trail of pink hearts behind me.
When I pull in front of the bakery, Sterling is standing on the sidewalk dressed in a blue lace shirt and white skirt. She looks incredible, as usual. When she spots me, she squats down, laughing so hard it looks like she’s about to piss herself. If any of my students see this, they’ll have a field day. I get out and admire the disaster that is my Jeep. Half the hearts are gone. The ones that are left are torn up, or barely hanging on. Somehow, there are two on my headlights that are in perfect condition.
But the most perfect thing is the sound of Sterling giggling, her green eyes wet with tears from her laughter. “You drove through town like that?” she asks.
“I didn’t have time to take them all off,” I say. “Is this your way of punishing me?”
“This is my way of making up.”
“I can think of better ways,” I say, placing my hands on her waist. “So we’re alright?”
She nods. “The thought of someone I love being hurt because of me . . . Well, I’m not sure there’s anything worse.”
“That why you don’t let anyone get close to you?” I ask and notice her eyes widen.
Women always think men don’t notice shit, but we aren’t all idiots. Especially when we care about a woman. Ladies, if a man doesn’t seem to pay attention, it’s probably not a good sign. Because when a man loves a woman, he’ll know even the smallest things about her. What’s her favorite color? What it means when she’s quiet. Does she like sweet or unsweet tea? When to hold her. When to hold her tighter.
“It’s best to keep my circle small,” she says.
I take both her hands, creating a little circle, and she smiles up at me. “So why are we at the bakery?”
“Daddy won’t let me intervene on his behalf. So I’ve decided to focus on their anniversary, and celebrating that. I want to make it special. I need your help,” she says.
She’s got it.
We spend the rest of that day, and the whole week, making sure everything is perfect. I can’t believe she pulled this all together so quickly, although I’m not sure why it surprises me. Sterling is a force of nature. I’ve seen her juggle a conference call with her office while at the same time drawing up a sketch for the buffet and party tables for her parents’ anniversary.
I’m sure no one in Fall Springs has ever seen a party like the one that’s coming. Sterling says she’s mixing New York and Alabama. We spend the week with caterers, tasting food. There’s only one bakery in town, and they couldn’t replicate her parents’ wedding cake, so Sterling flies someone in who could. We taste dozens and dozens of flavors of cake until they have the chocolate taste her momma likes just right. I follow her around store after store while she picks out new clothes for her parents for the big surprise trip she planned for them. Flowers, table rentals, lighting, caterers—she didn’t leave a detail undone. And she swears everyone to secrecy, so the surprise isn’t ruined.
Just when I thought we were done, Sterling calls me in the middle of the night with a new idea—fireworks. I try to tell her she’d done enough. I try to tell her there are probably all kinds of permits needed. But have you ever tried to tell a woman no once she’s got her mind set on something? Fucking impossible!
Tonight’s middle of the night call brings a whole other set of worries. Does this woman ever sleep? My eyes half-closed, I answer the phone knowing it’s Sterling, and yawn out a hello.
“Maybe I should add a vow renewal for Momma and Daddy?”
I think it’s really too late to be making changes, but knowing Sterling, she could probably pull it off. “I think it’s going to be great, as is. They’re going to love it.”
“Momma will love it. Daddy won’t, but that’s okay. The trip is more for him.” She releases a deep breath. “Did you check the weather?”
“Clear all day.”
“Okay, your parents will have Momma and Daddy out of the house at eleven. The event rental company is coming at eleven thirty.”
She keeps rattling off details. I’d be lying if I said I could keep up. All I know is, I need to be there at five minutes after eleven. I figure she’ll tell me what to do then.
But I’m wrong. It seems like the only thing she really needs me to do is just be beside her as she runs the show. I wonder if this is how she runs her business. She’s not bossy. She’s not ordering everyone around. Instead, she seems to trust that everyone knows what they are doing, and she’s just there keeping the ball rolling and thanking everyone. There’s kindness in the way she handles people. I’ve seen the other side of her. I know she can be ruthless when she needs to be, but she doesn’t use it unless she has to.
And I’m the man beside her the whole time.
The size of this event makes me think hard about being with a woman that brings in more money than me—a lot more. I’m a teacher, so that’s not difficult to do, but the difference in my income and Sterling’s is not even in the same galaxy. Can I handle that?
She looks at me from across the yard, a little smile on her lips. There’s my answer, right there. I can handle anything as long as she looks at me like that. She walks over, her hips swinging, her tits jiggling enough to let me know she’s not wearing a bra.
“I’m sure you can feel my crazy,” she says, giggling a little.
I take her hand, pulling her inside her parents’ house. I still haven’t kissed her. For days, I could tell she was waiting for it, and that’s just what I wanted, to make her think of nothing else, to make her want me, crave me. Because if there’s one thing I know about Sterling, it’s that when she decides she wants something, there is no stopping her. I needed to show her that what she wants is me. But anticipation only works for so long, then you run the danger of being too late.
My body presses against hers, pinning her to the back door. Her eyes roam the edges of my face, her fingers gently playing with my hair.
The first time we kissed, she did the same thing. We’d escaped to the barn after the funeral, and she’d been crying. From up in heaven, Levi must’ve been egging me on, because I wrapped my arms around her, and held her for what seemed like hours. A few tears in my eyes, she pulled back, studying my face, and ran her fingers through my hair. When I kissed her then, I had no idea where it would lead. I could’ve never imagined. Okay, I could imagine. I’d imagined it many times, but never thought it would actually happen.
I know exactly where I want this kiss to go now. We don’t even have to move from this spot. I can take her right up against the door. My lips hover over hers, her chest rising and falling, my cock hard as a rock and pressed against her stomach. The warmth between her legs calls to me, and I bend my knees, pushing into her. She grinds right back.
“Just a kiss,” I whisper, unsure whether I’m telling myself or her.
We never just had a kiss. We went from kissing to sex in the same breath. And while I want her naked in my bed, I want her for more than one night this time, more than just this summer. I want that more. I’m not going to make it easy for her to dismiss me, dismiss this as a one-night stand or a summer fling.
I’m not going to make it easy for her to leave me. I’m going to make it damn near impossible.
Winding my hand in her long brown hair, I lower my head, letting my breath tickle the skin of her neck. Her body trembling, gently I trail kisses up her neck, letting my tongue linger ever so slightly. She tries turning her head down to me, desperate for my lips, but I grip her hair a little tighter, controlling the moment.
“Rorke,” she begs breathlessly.
I know she’s used to being in control. Hell, the woman is responsible for more orgasms than any man could ever be. Lifting my head to look in her eyes, I say, “I know you’re used to being in control of your pleasure. But that ends right now. When you need an orgasm, I’ll provide it. When you want a kiss, I’m your man. You may be the woman on top, but I’m the man holding you up there.”
She smiles, saying, “Then kiss me.”
Leaning down, I plant a sweet kiss on her forehead, feeling her smile widen. And when my lips touch hers, her mouth opens slightly. Taking it slow, savoring this moment, our tongues softly find each other. It’s familiar but new at the same time. Telling myself we have more than this moment, more than this night, I kiss her deeply, trying to control my greed. Her hand slides over my chest. Silently, I curse the fabric of my shirt, wanting to feel her skin on mine, yearning for her touch. My craving to fuck her is only tempered by my thirst for her taste. And she’s got no idea what that her innocent little gesture is doing to me.
As soon as I think she’s about to end the kiss, she pulls me tighter. If she leaves it up to me, I’ll never stop.