I took one last look at myself in the mirror, pleased with my appearance. Making my way back into the kitchen, my eyes widened and jaw dropped when I slid the screen door open and looked at my newly furnished and decorated backyard. There was a beautiful iron turquoise patio set, my favorite color. Soft lighting illuminated all around us, a grill that looked extremely expensive sat in the corner with so many dials I thought I would never be able to work it without his help. Which instantly made me think that he did that on purpose. There were tiki type decorations on the walls of the patio, making it look romantic yet masculine at the same time.
I stood there stunned as Jacob sat at the table, leaning back with his ankle over his knee, his fingers running over his mouth looking smug as ever, but sexy as sin. A mischievous grin displayed proudly on his handsome face, he hadn’t shaved in a few days and his facial scruff was doing all sorts of things to my lady bits. I squirmed at the thought of it against my pussy and his eyes went straight to the source of my discomfort. The table was set with all sorts of plates that were covered and a bottle of wine chilled in the center.
“When did you do all this?” I asked, bringing his eyes back to my amazed face.
“Today,” he simply stated not stopping the motion of his fingers from rubbing over his mouth.
“I… I don’t… I don’t even know what to say,” I breathed out, stunned beyond belief.
He grinned. “A simple thank you would suffice.” His eyes roamed all over my body. I blushed because I could tell he really loved my dress.
“No bra, huh? That’s how you’re playing it tonight?”
I shrugged, fully aware that I was wearing a cream colored dress. He cleared his throat and gestured for me to take a seat, pulling out my chair next to him.
“So… you know how to break and enter, fix stuff, cook, and decorate. You’re like my very own Martha Stewart.”
He laughed so loud his head fell back. “I’m a bachelor, if I don’t know how to cook, I’ll starve. I have two younger sisters and a mom, who have taught me a thing or two about decorating.”
I nodded. “How are Jessie and Amanda?”
“They’re good, both in college like you should be,” he said with a sly smile.
“How’s your mom? Alex says she’s doing better,” I answered, ignoring his comment about college.
He slightly nodded, leaning back in his chair again and moving his eyes to the table. I knew that was his subtle way of saying he didn’t want to talk about it. A few years ago, around the time I left and moved to Nashville, his parents divorced suddenly. It was a huge surprise to all of us since they always seemed like they were the perfect couple. At least I never saw anything that said otherwise. His dad, Lee, moved out and left his mom, Ginger, everything. They owned a grocery store not far from my house, where they sold all sorts of tourist stuff and food. They also preserved a farm on his grandparent’s old plantation in South Port that they only opened on Sundays, and I guess they sold it and split the profits.
His mom didn’t take the divorce well. From what I heard it was bad. Alex said Lee moved away and hasn’t been around for a while. I don’t know if that’s changed, but I’m assuming it hasn’t given Jacob’s shift in demeanor. I stood, catching him off guard, moving to sit on his lap.
“So… whatcha got for me?” I questioned, trying to lighten his sudden change in mood.
He smiled and kissed the tip of my nose, knowing exactly what I was doing.
“That’s a loaded question if I’ve ever heard one,” his tone happy and content once again.
I slapped his chest and tried to get off his lap, but he dragged me back on top of him, however, this time I straddled his lap with our faces a few inches apart.
“I thought we were going to eat?” I seductively feigned.
“I know what I want to eat.”
I cocked my head to the side, peeking at him through my lashes.
“But I’ll feed you first,” he added, placing a few pieces of hair behind my ears. “Go, before I change my mind and feed myself first.”
I reluctantly got off his lap, wanting to take him up on his offer, but a nervous feeling suddenly came over me so I reached for the wine, pouring each of us a glass. We hadn’t been together for a very long time, and I was nervous that it wouldn’t be everything he’s built it up to be.
I knew she was nervous, and as much as she tried to pretend and play it off by serving both of us some salad. Her deep breaths, that she didn’t think I could hear, gave her away. I let her believe that I didn’t realize what was going on because I didn’t want to ruin our date by talking about her insecurities that would quickly fade away as soon as I placed my hands on her.
I would remind her of everything and make it all go away.
We finished eating our salads and then we started on our steaks and loaded baked potatoes. She made the most delicious sound when she took her first bite of the steak and it made my cock twitch. I don’t think she knew the effect she had on me.
“And the man can cook,” she mumbled in between bites.
“I aim to please, baby.”
“Did you just quote Christian Grey? What’s next? A red room?”
“Christian Grey has nothing on me. By the time I am done with you, my name will be the only thing on your mind,” I confidently replied, making her smirk.
We ate in comfortable silence, and I noticed that Lily was downing the wine like she had something to prove. While I impatiently waited for dessert, and I’m not talking about her being the course. I went inside and grabbed my last surprise that was in the fridge. When I walked back outside, she was taking the last few bites left of my baked potato since she had eaten all of hers. I placed the tray on the table, wondering if she would even notice what I set in front of her. She stared at it for a few seconds with an expression on her face that I couldn’t read or pinpoint, and when she finally looked up at me, her eyes were glossy.
I knew.
“How?” she said so faintly I could barely hear her.
“Half-Pint.”
Her face frowned and she lowered her eyebrows.
“She got the recipe from your mom.”
She bit her lip and looked down at the peanut butter, chocolate Rice Krispies Treats covered in caramel. It was her favorite dessert and we could never find them anywhere.
“I don’t know if it will taste as great as your mom’s, but I had to try.”
Tears streamed down her gorgeous face.
Shit.
“Kid, I didn’t mean to make—”
“No,” she wept. “Thank you, Jacob, this… God… I can’t believe you did this.”
“I love you,” I simply stated.
She peered up at me with her makeup running and her lip quivering, making it one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen.
“I know. I’ve always known.”
It wasn’t what I was hoping to hear, but it was good enough for now. She cried while she ate them, and it was probably one of the most adorable things I had ever watched her do. She said they tasted exactly how they were supposed to and that only made her cry more. I tried not to laugh at her, but the smile on my face was enough for her to realize that I was pleased.
We went through almost two bottles of wine, so when she started cheesing and grinning like a fool, I knew she was drunk as shit. She kept leaning forward on the table, making the view down the front of her dress almost unbearable.
Almost.
It didn’t stop me from taking in her creamy white skin that I knew felt like silk, the way her hair kept falling around her face, and the rosy flush of her skin. She cocked her head to the side with a mischievous glare.
“Whatcha lookin’ at, Mr. Foster?”
“What’s mine.”
She stood up, giggling, grabbed my hand and wobbled her way inside as I followed close behind her.
“Whoa, where did that come from?” she chuckled, tripping over her own damn feet, but I quickly caught her before she
fell. She led us into her bedroom. I knew where this was going when she sat me on the edge of her bed. I crossed my arms over my chest, amused with the show she was trying to give me.
“You’re my famous,” she laughed again, wanting to say favorite, I think, but I laughed too. It was contagious.
“I’m kind of surprised by how much wine you can take down.”
She nodded all proud of herself, wearing the sloppiest, but most adorable fucking look on her face.
“I think we should do things to each other.”
“Is that right?”
“Mmm hmm… I’ll go first and then you can go or vice versa… or we can do it at the same time. Unless you want to fuck and then… that’d be cool.”
“Do you have any idea what you just said, baby?”
She nodded again with that adorable face. “Yep… I have something to show you.”
“I’m sure it’s something I would really love to see.”
She grabbed the hem of her already too short dress and hiked it up little by little till it reached the top of her thighs. She peeked up at me through her lashes.
“You ready?”
“I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it before, Kid.”
“Nah-uh,” she slurred, pulling up her dress to expose her panties that had a picture of a cat’s face printed on them.
I busted out laughing.
I laughed so damn hard my stomach muscles cramped.
“Lily, is that a pussy on your panties?”
“Yep, do you wanna pet it? It wants to be petted,” she taunted, making me stand up.
“Un-fucking-real, I am in a pussy infested house and all I get is blue balls.” I walked to her and threw her over my shoulder. I slapped her ass as she giggles, carrying her back over to the bed to straddle my lap. She wrapped her arms around my neck and I gripped onto her plump round ass.
“Baby, you’re drunk.”
“Yessum.” She kissed all over my face.
“I’m not fucking you. Not tonight.”
She pulled away and tried to narrow her hazy eyes at me. “You don’t want me?” She pouted.
“I want you more than I have ever wanted anything in my life.”
She sloppily smiled.
“But not like this, baby. You are drunk tonight, and I want you to remember everything I plan to do to your perfect body. Do you understand me?”
She nodded. “Mmm hmm.”
I kissed along her collarbone.
“Does that mean you’re leaving me?” she asked, her tone soft and low.
With doubt in me.
In us…
It’s what I did to her.
It’s what I did to us.
“Fuck no,” I answered with a rough edge.
“Does that mean we can do a curl?” Her word for cuddle.
“Always,” I breathed out, trying to stop myself from going further down her neck.
“Mmm-kay.”
She reached for her dress and tried to take it off, but I reluctantly pulled it back down.
“Keep this on, Kid, I only have so much willpower left.”
I spanked her ass again, this time making her yelp and then picked her up, lying her on the bed, pulling back the covers around her. I took off my clothes, only leaving on my boxer briefs. Lily took off her dress, throwing it on the ground. She grabbed the shirt I was just wearing and put it on, exactly how she did countless times before. I loved seeing it on her, knowing it used to be her thing. I turned off the light before lying right next to her, pulling her as close to my body as possible, she came effortlessly. She sighed contently and passed the fuck out within seconds. I don’t know how long I laid there awake just holding her, taking in the feel of her tiny frame against my chest. Loving the feel of her in my arms again, never wanting it to end. I watched her sleep until my eyes gave way.
That night was the first time in a long time that I didn’t dream about her. I didn’t have to. She was in my arms.
And…
I vowed to never let her go again.
I knocked on the hotel door.
To say I was nervous the entire flight to Ohio would have been an understatement. I told my parents that I was going to check out a few colleges with some friends. Normally they would have put up an argument, but I think they were relieved that I would be out of the house for a few days. Away from all the chaos with my mom’s cancer and Lucas being a father now. It took me a few weeks to convince Jacob to let me come visit him. He had been acting a little strange after he got back to Ohio from spring break at Alex’s. He told me he was just tired and overwhelmed from his last semester in college and preparing to take the LSAT for law school.
“Surprise!” I enthusiastically shouted.
“Hey, Kid,” he answered the door with a huge smile on his face and I jumped into his arms. He picked me up off the ground and I wrapped my legs around his waist.
“How did you get here? I was just about to come pick you up. I thought your flight was landing in thirty minutes.”
“I missed you, I wanted to surprise you,” I said into the nook of his neck. “I’m so happy to see you.”
“Me too, sweet girl, me too.” He kissed the top of my head and then placed me back on the ground. “How was your flight?”
“Uneventful,” I replied as he took my bag and guitar from the doorway to set it on the king size bed.
“One bed?” I arched an eyebrow, giving him a smug smile.
He chuckled. “Did you want me to get two?” he implied with the same cocky smile.
I jumped onto the left side of the bed, laying my face on the pillow. “I sleep on this side.”
“What if I wanted that side?”
I grinned. “Then I can sleep on you.”
“I’ve shared a bed with you before, Kid. I’m pretty sure you’ll sleep on me regardless.”
I laughed. I had slept with him, Lucas, and the other boys several times. Our families were all friends since before we were even born. I grew up with all of them, taking vacations together every summer and endless amounts of sleepovers. It was never sexual, but I knew this time with Jacob it would be different.
Much different.
He placed his hands in his pockets with a look on his face that I couldn’t place.
“Now what?” I questioned, turning over to lean on the headboard. “What sorts of fun stuff do you have planned for us?”
“First, I thought I would show you around Columbus.”
“And then what?”
“I would feed you. Maybe if you’re a good girl I’ll even take you to a movie,” he smirked.
“Like on a date? Or did we skip that whole step and moved right onto being boyfriend and girlfriend?” I asked as my heart beat out of my chest, needing to know the answer.
It’s the only thing I thought about on the flight here, well not the only thing. I was sixteen and most of my friends weren’t even virgins anymore, they had all experienced something. I had been kissed, twice, both times by Jacob, I don’t know how any of this stuff worked, but I knew in my heart that I wanted it to be Jacob.
I always had.
He wouldn’t have let me come visit if he didn’t want me, right? Especially since we were sharing a bed…
“How about we take one step at a time? Huh? You’re here, I’m here. Let’s go with it.”
I bit my lip, not exactly the words I wanted to hear, but not entirely awful either. I guess I could take that.
“Okay.”
He reached out his hand for me and I quickly took it. We left the hotel and went to our first destination, The Jack Hanna Zoo and Aquarium. He held my hand the entire time, guiding me through the zoo and all the animals with our private behind the scenes tour. Jacob knew I loved animals, it didn’t matter what kind it was, if it was furry, I loved it.
“Awe! Look at the babies. I want to take one home,” I said, looking inside the lion cub cages.
“Do you want to hold one?”
I immediately looked
at him with a bemused expression on my face.
“I take that as a yes,” he chuckled, nodding behind me. A man appeared out of nowhere opening the gates for us to follow. We had to stay toward the back until he brought one of the cubs over to us.
“This is Yoshi, he’s six months old,” the trainer informed us, setting him down on the ground. I crouched down to pet him and he wouldn’t stop licking my hand.
“Yoshi loves the ladies,” he added, making me laugh.
Jacob took some pictures of us. I was sad to leave Yoshi, but we needed to move on. The next room we walked into had a huge circular aquarium placed dead center.
“Wow,” I sighed, letting go of Jacob’s hand and walking around in complete amazement of all the colors represented by all the different fish and sea life. “I can’t believe there are that many fish! You don’t see this in the ocean at Oak Island.”
“That you don’t. Just a bunch of fucking sharks.”
“Oh, I love this one!”
He looked at the chart. “That’s a Clarion Angelfish.”
“I love this one, too!”
“That’s a Koi.”
“What about that one?”
“A Regal Tang.”
I pointed to hundreds and he named off each and every one.
“You know what’s missing?” I asked, glancing at him.
“Hmm?”
“Lobsters.”
He laughed at me.
“I’m serious. Look at this thing.” I pointed at it. “There’s a castle, a pirate ship, bright blue gravel, all the tropical plants, and all these beautiful fish. Where are the lobsters?”
He shrugged in a typical guy way, finding my banter amusing.
“One day I’m going to have a fish tank just like this, but mine is going to have lobsters, so it will kick this fish tank’s ass.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“A great plan.”
He took me to Jeni’s Ice Cream, which I guess was a pretty big deal in Columbus. When we walked in I understood why. My family was known to have a sweet tooth. It was actually a running joke that we could probably live off sweets if needed. This place had every flavor of ice cream under the sun available.