Whiskey Lullaby

by Keren Hughes

  “And why do you do that? Read a mixture, I mean.”

  “Well because I’m wary of books that have nothing but five-star reviews. Although there aren’t many I’ve read that are like that, if I’m honest. I read the lower rated reviews because we don’t all read the same book and have the same feelings about it afterwards.”

  “Exactly. We don’t all love or loathe something. You may like something, but I may not, and vice versa. So, when literally everyone is raving about something, I just don’t trust that hype. There have to be people that didn’t like it, so I wait a while and see if they come out of the woodwork before making up my mind. Ultimately, whether I enjoy something or not is not dictated by either good or bad reviews. I like to give something a go and decide for myself. But it can take a while before I take the leap. Does that make sense?”

  “Totally. I’m the same about it being ultimately my decision whether I read a book that other people have hated. I’ll read it because it appeals to me. And whether I enjoy it or not is not based on other people’s viewpoints. So, yeah, I get it.”

  I’ll be honest, I enjoy finding things out about him, even the little things.

  “Working hard, I see,” Damien says, making me jump.

  “That would be my fault, sorry, buddy,” Rhett answers before I can speak.

  “And why’s that?” he asks as he grabs himself a beer from the fridge and walks around the bar to sit on his favourite end stool.

  “I was waffling on about reading the Witcher books.”

  “Oh, buddy, I feel you. I love the books. And that’s coming from a man who rarely finds the time to read. I devoured those books one a night until I was done. I have the graphic novels too. I probably still have the game somewhere too, although I don’t get as much time for games as I used to.”

  “Did the supplier agree to rectify the mistake?” I ask, interrupting their bonding time.

  “No. They agreed to deliver extra tomorrow, but at an extra cost. So, we’ll have to make do with what we have until then, which shouldn’t be hard. They basically said that it was signed for by Deb, so she should have been more aware of how many barrels were on the order. It’s my own fault though, but I didn’t realise that until after I’d had a go at the guy on the phone.”

  It’s unlike Damien to make a mistake. He’s the most organised person I know, but I guess we’re all flawed and prone to the odd mistake.

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah, I, umm … well, I ordered the wrong number of barrels. I missed off a number on the order. Stupid rookie mistake really. I should know better. But I’ve been getting headaches for a while now and looking at a screen just doesn’t help.”

  “Headaches, boss? Are you okay? Should you be going to the doctors?”

  “More like the opticians, I think. I should stop being vain and realise that if I need glasses, I need glasses. I just don’t want to admit to getting old, I guess.”

  “Dude, I need reading glasses too,” Rhett says. “I have done since I was twenty-one. I was the same at first, embarrassed by the need to wear them. I was young and dumb. Vain, like you say. But if you’re getting headaches from being on the computer and stuff, you should get yourself an eye test.”

  “I will, man, just been so busy lately. And yeah, vanity doesn’t help. I guess I have to face facts and just get it done.”

  Honestly, vain men refusing an eye test. How typical.

  ***

  As I finish my shift, I send Rhett a text before I can reconsider.

  >Fancy coming to mine? We could have a nightcap, maybe …

  I wait as three dots appear on the screen.

  >I’d love to. Are you sure? Don’t you have Hardin?

  >No, Mum is taking him to school in the morning. Any time I finish as late as this, she takes him for me so that he can go to bed at the proper time and I don’t have to wake him to bring him home.

  >In that case, shall I meet you there?

  >There’s a spare key to the back door inside a fake rock right next to it. Let yourself in. I’ll give it another ten minutes before I leave. Just make sure you aren’t seen, please, for me? You know people in small towns know everything about everyone.

  >Sure. I’m just leaving now. Damien is talking my ear off though.

  >He’s a good guy. Harmless unless you get on the wrong side of him.

  >Yeah, well, I’m just going to tell him the text was important, and I need to make a call. That way I can get going. Give me two minutes.

  I feel myself grinning from ear to ear. Sure, I want to keep things between us hush-hush for now, but he’s the kind of guy that I could see a future with if he wasn’t leaving town. If he was staying and things got serious between us, then I could see my parents being happy for us. He’s the kind of guy a woman could take home to meet the parents and they’d get on like a house on fire.

  My heart pangs in my chest as I think of his departure. I don’t know how imminent it is and I don’t want to burst our little bubble just yet.

  Why does it hurt so much to think about what happens when he’s gone? Why did he have to come into town and catch my eye? Other guys have come and gone since Angelo, and I haven’t so much as batted an eyelid. I’ve been asked out and turned them down. I’ve been asked for my phone number and never given it to anyone. Why is Rhett Butler different? I’ve given him my number, I’ve cooked him lunch, I’ve slept with him; he’s the first man I’ve been to bed with since Angelo. If he wasn’t just passing through town, I could see us going on real dates. I could see a future. More than that, I find myself wanting to see a future in which we’re together. How the hell do I make sense of these feelings?

  >I’m waiting at yours. Haven’t turned any lights on in case anyone sees.

  I smile as I read his latest text. I can just see him sitting in the dark, waiting for me.

  >Give me five minutes to say goodnight to Damien and walk home.

  >See you then xx

  My heart takes flight as I see those little kisses. Sure, it might seem insignificant to some, but it’s the first time he’s put kisses on a text, and it makes me happy. I guess little things really do make a difference.

  Grabbing my coat and bag, I walk back into the bar and spot Damien sipping his whiskey, still sitting on his favourite stool. He’s nothing if not predictable.

  There was a time, a while ago, when I thought he might see me as more than a friend. I guess it was my mind playing tricks on me though, because he’s never made a move on me. He’s just always been a friend, and now my boss.

  “Night, boss. See you tomorrow afternoon.”

  “Night, Caleigh. Have a good one.”

  “You too, boss.”

  “Those barrels should come around three-thirty. Please do me a favour and tell Deb I’m sorry I thought it was her mistake in signing for the delivery. I’d tell her myself, but I’m off to see a band play over in Pedmore. I’ll talk to her when I’m back at work the following morning, but I don’t want her thinking I’m mad at her or anything.”

  “Will do, Damien. If I were you, I’d book that eye test soon. Don’t worry about Deb, it’ll be water off a duck’s back. Anyway, a nice long soak to soothe my aching bones is on the cards, so I’ll be off.”

  “Night, Caleigh.”

  I make the short walk home and let myself in quietly. I don’t know why I’m tiptoeing around when it’s my house, but I find myself doing it anyway.

  “Hey,” Rhett says as I turn the light on in the living room, making me jump out of my skin.

  I knew he was here, but he still scared the shit out of me.

  “Hey.”

  “I don’t think I was seen. I think we’d have the police here with their blues and twos if the neighbours thought there was an intruder.”

  “Can I get you a drink?” I ask as I toe my shoes off and feel instant relief.

  “Sure.”

  “Alcoholic or coffee?”

  “You did offer me a nightcap,” he says as he stalks
closer to me.

  “I have beer in the fridge, but I also have a bottle of whiskey in the cupboard.”

  “I’ll take a whiskey,” he replies as he wraps his arms around me.

  I place my arms around his neck and tug gently on his long hair. I say long, it’s shoulder length. I’m almost jealous because it’s so thick and gorgeous. I’m thankful he doesn’t wear it in a scruffy topknot. I know it suits some people, but I don’t think I’d like the look on him.

  Ghosting a kiss over my lips, he tastes like whiskey. I inhale deeply and smell something sort of woodsy. I love that he smells so masculine and sexy. Is it weird that I like it that much? Maybe, but I don’t care.

  He gently coaxes me into a deeper kiss, and I submit, parting my lips and allowing his tongue to dance softly with mine. It’s soft and tender, yet there’s a hint of desperation. Like he’s seeking solace in my kiss.

  “I thought you wanted a nightcap?” I ask as I break the kiss.

  “I want something else more,” he replies huskily.

  Even the timbre of his voice has my insides liquifying.

  “And what would that be?” I play dumb.

  “Well, I could tell you, or I could show you. You choose.”

  “How about you tell me, then you show me?”

  “Well now, I think I could do that,” he says with a wry chuckle.

  He tugs my hair and tilts my head back before leaning in and stealing another soul-searing kiss that has my toes curling into the carpet.

  “I think first of all,” he says as he peppers kisses down my neck, “I would peel you out of these clothes. Then, I would lie you down and use my fingers and tongue to draw out your first orgasm. I’d watch you squirm as I suckle your clit, whilst my free hand would roam up to your breasts and play with your nipples …” He trails off to kiss up to my ear.

  My body already feels like somebody lit the match and is just waiting for me to combust, and he hasn’t even done the things he’s talking about.

  “I’m imagining you’re already hot and wet, so I’d slide two fingers inside you and fuck you with them until you can’t stand the overwhelming sensation anymore. Then,”—he ghosts another kiss over my lips before pulling back and looking into my eyes. He holds my gaze as he continues—“after you’ve come for me, I’d strip naked and watch my hard cock as it sinks inside you. I would trap your hands above your head with one hand, while I take my time, build a steady rhythm. My free hand would grip your hip as you buck to meet me thrust for thrust.”

  “Fuck, Rhett.”

  “I’d seek to build a punishing pace, fucking you good and hard until you’re screaming out my name like a goddamn curse and a prayer.”

  I squeeze my legs together, but it doesn’t abate the feeling at all. Warmth pools in my abdomen, and pretty soon, I’m sure it will consume me whole.

  “Does that sound like something you’d want?”

  “Yes,” I say on a sigh.

  I can’t fathom another thought except him fucking me so hard I’m seeing stars. I want to seek oblivion with him.

  Suddenly, he sweeps me off my feet with his hand beneath my legs. Cradling me to his chest, he walks to the bottom of the stairs before pausing.

  “I forgot condoms.”

  “There are some in my drawer. I might have gone into Pedmore and stocked up,” I say as I feel a blush creep across my cheeks.

  “We had the same idea then, because I did that too.”

  His face morphs into a sexy grin before he leans in for a chaste kiss. He carries me upstairs and pushes my bedroom door open with his foot.

  Lying me down reverently on the bed, he peels my skirt off, followed by my red lacy panties. I blush again as I realise that I wore a matching lacy bra in the hopes that he’d be peeling me out of my underwear tonight. I couldn’t know for sure, but I know I hoped it would happen.

  I sit up so I can take my top off, but he shakes his head at me, and I drop my hands.

  Rhett moves up the bed and sits next to me, pulling me close for a kiss before his hands grip the hem of my top and pull it up over my head.

  His eyes dart to the red lacy bra and I swear his eyes bug out of his head as he looks at my cleavage. Bringing his hands up, he cups my breasts and brushes his thumbs over my nipples, making them pebble instantly.

  Leaning to one side, he kisses down my neck to the hollow of my throat. He trails kisses down to the swell of my breasts and then in a line down the valley between them. At the same time, I feel him unhook the clasp of my bra and the straps fall down my arms.

  He sits back up, pulls the straps from my arms and discards it to one side. He looks at me, his gaze intense. An emotion I don’t have time to decipher flits through his gaze before he pushes me back to lie on the bed.

  I lie still, my naked flesh breaking out in goosebumps as he trails a hand over my body. He starts at my collarbone and then makes his way down to the apex of my thighs. It makes me shudder and gasp as he moves deft fingers over my skin. I can’t seem to stop watching him, my eyes are glued to his every move.

  “You are so beautiful, Caleigh.”

  I want to speak, but it’s like I don’t remember how to form words. My brain is just a fog of lust.

  “I want to make love to you, not just fuck like rabbits. I don’t want sex for the sake of sex. I want more.”

  My heart races as he confesses his desire.

  “Rhett, I …” I trail off as he dips a finger between my legs and toys with my clit.

  I can’t form a coherent thought, never mind words, when his touch threatens to consume me.

  ***

  The kitchen smells like fresh coffee while I walk around in just a t-shirt and a pair of panties. I gather ingredients for the perfect fluffy scrambled eggs and some bread to toast.

  Rhett sits at the breakfast bar drinking his coffee, but I feel his eyes burning a hole in the back of my head.

  “Are you going to come and learn how to make the best eggs, or are you going to keep staring at my ass?”

  “That’s a tough choice,” he says with a laugh.

  I turn to face him, spatula in hand. “Get your ass over here and watch the master at work, so that you can learn to cook for yourself.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he says with a salute.

  I don’t know what made me let him stay the night. I don’t even think it was a conscious thought, it just felt natural. Plus, I ended up waking this morning with him spooning me, which felt pretty goddamn amazing.

  We ended up collapsing, exhausted and satiated in one another’s arms after he made love to me just like he promised. But then I awoke at three o’clock this morning because he was trailing a hand over my body and I felt his fingers dip between my legs. I pretended to be asleep as he slid one finger inside me, but I couldn’t help as I began panting when he rubbed his thumb over my clit and worked me into a frenzy.

  That ended up in rough, fiery, passionate sex. The kind of sex that makes your whole body come alive and start to burn from the inside out.

  “So, first of all, you can crack the eggs into the bowl in case you end up getting any shell in there,” I say as I hand him the eggs and an empty bowl.

  While he cracks the eggs, I let my mind wander back to the events of last night.

  I can’t remember a time when I’d ever been so wanton. I mean, sex with Angelo had always been amazing, but he’d never held his hand around my throat in the middle of the night whilst he fucked me so hard that I began to see stars and thought I might pass out.

  It had been my idea for Rhett to do that. It wasn’t so much a suggestion, it wasn’t discussed, I just took his hand and put it to my throat. He didn’t hurt me, but holy shit, he’d made me come so hard.

  I’ve read books and seen things played out on TV, but never thought I’d experience them first-hand. Never thought I’d want to. But Rhett brings out something in my I didn’t know existed. There was something raw, primal even, about the way we acted. It was pure ecstasy, powerful
and addictive.

  “What next?” he asks, breaking my train of thought.

  We cook the perfect eggs, light and fluffy, just like they should be. We pile them on top of the buttery toast and eat at the breakfast bar.

  After a second cup of coffee, I stand and wash the dishes. Rhett stands beside me with a tea towel and dries them ready to be put away. Such a routine, mundane thing to be doing, but as I watch him in my peripheral vision, I feel this happiness fill me.

  If life is short, and moments are but fleeting, then I want to capture each moment and squeeze as much joy from it as possible. I’m beginning to think that life is about creating passionate, happy moments, and I shouldn’t let anyone stand in my way of enjoying every last one of them. I’ve stood in my own way until now, and I’m making a conscious decision not to do that anymore.

  “Hey, whatcha thinking?” Rhett asks as he nudges my hip with his.

  I realise I’ve been holding onto the plate for too long whilst being stuck in my own head.

  “Just daydreaming, I guess.”

  “About how I’m going to take you back to bed and we’re going to stay there until you need to shower before work?”

  “Oh, are you now?”

  “Yes.”

  His answer is firm, accepting no argument from me. Not that I’d want to argue with spending the day in bed with this handsome, amazing man.

  “Then let’s go.”

  I place the plate I’m holding on the draining board and take Rhett’s hand in mine.

  Once we’re in my room, I strip myself of what little I was wearing, before turning to strip Rhett out of the t-shirt and boxer shorts he’s wearing. When we’re both naked, we stand facing each other. We’re not touching, but I can feel his gaze sweep over me from head to toe as though he’s tracing the lines with his fingers. It’s tangible, and the air feels electrically charged as he moves to stand toe to toe with me.