Worth the Weight

by Eileen Palma

  “My fucking dog sucks at being wingman.” Jack reached down and grabbed the jacket and threw it towards the couch, sending both dogs racing after it.

  “You can’t get too mad at him. He’s the reason we met.” Kate pulled Jack back into a kiss. He tasted like the French fry and milkshake combo, sweet and savory at the same time.

  Jack worked his fingers over the top button of Kate’s shirt, fumbling with the tiny button. “Shit. They don’t make these things for people with sausage fingers.”

  “Let me.” Kate hadn’t had sex in more than a year. She wasn’t about to let some buttons get in the way. She moved Jack’s clumsy fingers and flicked each button open herself.

  “What the fuck is someone as hot as you doing with someone like me?” Jack put his mouth back on Kate’s before she could answer. Then he slid his hands over her shoulders so that her shirt fell to the ground.

  Kate could feel her nipples standing erect in her black lace demi bra, her breasts full and round. Jack cupped both of her breasts in his hands and trailed his mouth down to her nipple. He pulled it from the bra with his mouth, sucking it with just enough pressure to make a shiver ripple up from deep inside Kate.

  Diesel took that moment to hop off the couch and run towards them with Sarah Jessica Barker close at his heels.

  “Fuck Diesel. I never took you for a cock blocker.” Jack grabbed Kate’s hand and pulled her down the hall. He grabbed a few biscuits off the cookie jar on the kitchen counter on the way and threw them at the dogs. Then he opened a side door Kate hadn’t noticed before. He pulled her through the heavy wooden door, shutting it firmly on the whining dogs.

  They stood in what looked like the main entrance of the townhouse. The only light came through the stained glass on the front door. Beams of dark red and warm orange shone through the long corridor.

  The ceramic tile felt cold on Kate’s feet and helped to cool off the burning heat that was coursing through her whole body. Jack pulled her over to the heavy wooden staircase. He leaned her back against the rungs of the stairwell and pushed his mouth deep into hers. Kate could feel the square shape of a spindle digging into her back. She welcomed the discomfort because it helped keep her from losing herself so completely right away.

  Kate reached her hands under Jack’s shirt and pulled it up over his head. Jack wasn’t as fit as the guys Kate usually dated, but there was something very soothing about his softer stomach, like he was comfortable living in his own skin.

  Jack reached back and unhooked Kate’s bra. He slid it down, his lips following the trail of the strap as it fell to the floor. He moved his mouth back to her breasts, holding them both in his hands while he flicked his tongue back over her nipple, making it stand back up at attention.

  Jack moved his hands down to the front of Kate’s jeans. He worked his hands over her zipper while Kate responded just as quickly with his. Kate had Jack’s pants unzipped and pulled down while he was still trying to slide her skinny jeans off.

  Jack stepped out of his pants and underneath all those ironic tee shirts and loose jeans Jack was wearing black cotton boxer briefs that barely contained him.

  Kate was glad it was too dark for Jack to see how wide her eyes had gotten. All she could think was, I hope it fits, followed by, this is a UTI waiting to happen.

  Meanwhile, Jack still couldn’t get her damn pants down. He had gotten the zipper open and had edged the jeans down her hips, but he didn’t have a prayer in getting them over Kate’s ass cheeks. No matter how much Kate worked out, she was always going to have curves.

  “How the hell do you get these things off? I’d have better luck figuring out a Rubik’s cube.”

  “Start with the ankles.” Kate tried to maintain her sexy pose propped up against the stairs while Jack tugged at the narrow opening at her ankles. She held onto the stair rungs as Jack pulled. He managed to get the pants a few inches past her ankle.

  “I give up.”

  “Getting skinny jeans off is not a pretty sight. You might want to look away.” Kate grabbed the top of her pants and jiggled and shook a little to loosen her body from the denim suction cup. She cursed herself for eating all those fries. She managed to release her butt from the denim prison and then had to yank them down quick—like ripping a large strip of duct tape off her legs.

  Jack kicked the pants out of the way and palmed Kate’s ass cheeks, pulling her into him. She could feel him through her lace thong, hard and thick. Kate reached over to try to pull Jack’s boxers down but before she could get to them Jack was kneeling on the ground, pulling Kate’s thong down with him.

  Kate reached back and held onto the rungs of the stairs while Jack moved his mouth down her body. He grasped her arms and held them up high while he used his mouth to move aside her smooth folds of skin and thrust his tongue inside her. He massaged her with his tongue until Kate thought she would scream, then he sucked back her wetness while she clung to the stair rungs. Her orgasm came in a steady stream that he eagerly met with his mouth.

  Just when Kate thought she couldn’t take it anymore, she heard the unmistakable sound of the foil being ripped off a condom wrapper. Jack let go of her hands and slid his briefs down. Jack rubbed just his tip against her, gliding in her wetness. He rubbed himself back and forth over her until all Kate wanted was for him to be inside her, not caring that he might break her wide open.

  Then Jack slowly pushed inside of her, pausing each step of the way until she felt completely filled by him. He stayed there a minute, asking, “Are you okay?”

  “Oh God yes. Don’t stop now.”

  Kate let go of the stairs and grabbed Jack’s back. She lifted both legs off the ground and straddled him. She found his lips in the dark, tasting her own saltiness, pushing her tongue into his to match the thrusts that she was now leading with the power of her legs, strong and flexible from years of yoga.

  Kate pushed herself into Jack, clenching her muscles so he could feel her tightness. Jack let out a low groan. Then he picked her up and carried her to a small wooden table. He pushed off the pile of mail and newspapers and hoisted Kate up. She sat down, feeling the cold wood against her skin as Jack pushed himself into her over and over. Each time he went farther inside of her. She came again this time in one big rush.

  “That moment when you realize you’re happy.”

  Jack Moskowitz, Facebook Status Update

  Chapter Eleven

  “Mmmm. Good morning to you too.” Jack mumbled into the couch pillow that was pressed against his face.

  “Finally, he’s awake. I thought you were going to have to take me to practice.” Lauren’s voice carried from the kitchen along with the sound of silverware clinking against plates.

  “What the…” Jack opened his eyes and found Sarah Jessica Barker lying on the end of the couch licking his toes. He shuddered and quickly slid his feet away.

  “You want some coffee, Jack?” Kate smiled at him from behind the kitchen counter. She held a pot of fresh coffee that made the whole first floor smell like hazelnuts.

  “That would be great. Thanks!” Jack sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he took in the scene in the kitchen. Lauren sat at the kitchen counter with a stack of pancakes in front of her, while Kate poured a cup of coffee for Jack.

  Jack and Kate had made their way back in from the hallway and stayed up for hours on the couch talking. He vaguely remembered starting to drift off while Kate was telling a story about getting in some argument with her sister in the third grade over a Cabbage Patch Doll. The argument somehow symbolized their current relationship, but Jack fell asleep before he found out the exact meaning behind it.

  “Kate makes awesome pancakes. Come have some!” Lauren forked a slice of strawberry with a huge piece of pancake and shoved it in her mouth. She gestured for Jack to join them at the breakfast bar.

  “Perfect timing, Jack. I have a fresh stack all ready for you.” Kate flipped a pancake expertly from the f
rying pan onto a plate as Jack made his way over.

  “Hey, sleepyhead. You taking me to practice?” asked Lauren, before shoving another mouthful of pancake in her mouth.

  “Don’t I always?” Jack reached his arms up and stretched with a loud yawn.

  “I’m gonna go get ready.” Lauren jumped off the stool and headed upstairs.

  “But you didn’t finish your breakfast,” Jack called to Lauren’s retreating back.

  “Don’t worry. That was her third helping.” Kate put a plate of pancakes in front of Jack. They looked darker than the Bisquick ones he usually made and had chunks of oats sticking to them. His Mrs. Butterworth’s was noticeably missing from the table, with a bowl of strawberries in its place.

  “Wow. Thanks for making breakfast.” Jack scooped some fruit onto his pancakes.

  “I figured you could use a good breakfast after such a stressful night.”

  “I don’t think stressful is how I would describe it. But I definitely worked up an appetite.” Jack grabbed the carton of milk off the counter and poured a stream of it into his coffee until it turned the perfect shade of light brown.

  “Oh, I did too.” Kate pulled a strawberry from the plastic package on the counter and took a large bite, her lips pressed against the moist fruit. If Lauren weren’t right upstairs, Jack would’ve grabbed Kate and taken her right on the counter.

  “Sorry I fell asleep on you last night.”

  “That’s okay. I was pretty tired too.” Kate had piled her mass of waves into some kind of bun on top of her head. A few stray curls escaped so that they grazed her neck. She was wearing those bright blue jeans with Jack’s faded Chelsea Prep dodgeball team shirt with no bra. Jack gulped down some coffee.

  “You ready, Uncle Jack?” Lauren bounded into the kitchen with a pair of warm-up pants thrown on over a leotard and her gym bag over her shoulder.

  “Give me five minutes.” Jack shoved one last forkful of pancake into his mouth and washed it down with more coffee. He ran to the bathroom and washed up and brushed his teeth in record time. All he could think about was getting Lauren to the gym so he could get back home to Kate.

  “I’ll stay here and clean up the breakfast dishes while you guys are gone.” Kate was already scraping Lauren’s leftover stack of pancakes into the trash.

  Jack shrugged his shoulders. “You really don’t have to clean. But I would love it if you were here when I got back.”

  Jack and Lauren did their usual speed walk to the gym so that she wouldn’t be late. As soon as Jack got Lauren out on the gym floor, he practically ran the whole way back home.

  Sarah Jessica Barker and Diesel both jumped at the door as soon as Jack pushed it open. He leaned down and gave them both equal pets and scruffs on the tops of their heads. He pulled two thick rawhide bones from the kitchen cabinet over the sink and ripped the shrink wrap off both in record time. He wasn’t about to let the two dogs get in the way again. He tossed one bone on each end of the couch and the two dogs raced to get one. They settled in to work on their bones, while Jack looked for Kate. He could hear the shower running in the downstairs bathroom.

  Jack opened the door and a rush of steam pushed its way out. The bathroom smelled of his evergreen bar soap and Barbasol shaving cream, manly scents that were a sharp contrast to the curvy silhouette of Kate’s naked body in the frosted glass shower door.

  “Jack? Is that you?” Kate called over the sound of pulsating water.

  “No. It’s the Fresh Direct guy.” Jack yanked his shirt off and immediately sucked his gut in. The queen of fitness had only seen him naked in the cover of darkness so far.

  “In that case, come right in. I’ve always wondered what sex with the delivery guy would be like.”

  Jack didn’t need to be asked twice. This was the scenario of more than one fantasy of his over the years. Jack dropped trou and opened the shower door. The warm steam wrapped around him.

  Kate’s blond hair rippled down her back like a mermaid’s. Water trickled over Kate’s breasts, streaming down her stomach and dipping between her legs where she was waxed clean. The whole scenario was like something out of Penthouse Letters.

  “Come a little closer and I’ll help clean you off. You must be sweaty from delivering all those groceries.” Kate pulled Jack under the warm water. She opened her mouth and water poured into Jack’s. Kate tasted like his wintermint toothpaste as Jack ran his tongue over hers.

  Kate moved the soap-filled pouf across Jack’s chest and down the curve of his stomach like he was some fitness God, not the kind of guy who lived on takeout and hadn’t been to the gym since Clinton was in office.

  Kate trailed the pouf down lower and the feel of her fingers playing peek-a-boo through the mesh was maddening. Jack was almost painfully hard beneath the layer of suds. Kate wrapped her fingers around him and moved her hand up and down while gently squeezing at the same time. The warm water showering down made Jack more sensitive to her touch and he had to press his hand into the shower wall for support.

  Just when he couldn’t take it another second, Jack grabbed the pouf from Kate and swung her around so her back was facing him. Jack lifted Kate’s hair and moved his lips across the nape of her neck. He trailed the pouf up Kate’s arm, his touch goose bump light. He moved his hand over her shoulder and in the dip between her breasts while he layered kisses from the back of her neck to the heart shaped beauty mark on her collar bone.

  Jack slid his hand down and rested it right above the slick mound between her legs. Jack leaned over and kissed Kate while he brought the pouf between her legs, gliding it back and forth in the bubbles of soap. Kate groaned as she moved her body to meet his touch. There were so many suds, Jack couldn’t see where Kate ended and he began.

  Kate turned back around, pressed both hands into Jack’s cheeks and brought his mouth to hers. Water rained down from the showerheads as they kissed. Jack lifted Kate up and she straddled him with those strong legs of hers. Jack pushed through the suds, the water causing friction as Jack moved slowly at first, just wanting to be part of her.

  Kate dug her fingers in Jack’s back, daring him to move further inside her. He pushed her up against the shower wall and moved until they became one person.

  Jack found Kate’s mouth again as water streamed down on top of them. They kissed each other in only the way a new couple does, with abandon and without wanting to pull away first.

  When prickles of cold water started lacing in with the hot, Jack eased himself off Kate.

  “Where have you been all my life?” Jack was well aware this line was about as cliché as it got, but he really meant it.

  “Around the corner.” Kate grabbed the shampoo.

  “Here, let me.” Jack took the bottle from Kate’s hands and squirted a dime-sized amount in his palm. Kate leaned her head back while Jack massaged the lather into her scalp. He started at the top of her head and slowly worked his way down to the base of her head. Then he worked his hands over the layers of tangled curls.

  “You’re a man full of surprises.”

  Jack helped rinse the shampoo out of Kate’s hair just when the last of the hot water finally ran out. Goose pimples lined her skin when Jack turned the spout off. Jack pulled one of the hotel-sized thick white towels off the towel rack. He wrapped it around Kate and watched as she grabbed a hairbrush off the counter and pulled it through her knotted hair.

  Jack wrapped the towel around his waist and opened the bathroom door, releasing all the steam into the hallway. Sarah Jessica Barker and Diesel were snuggled up against each other with their bones, waiting right outside the bathroom door for their owners.

  “You guys are too much.” Jack stepped over the dogs and left Kate to get dressed.

  Kate came out of the bathroom wearing the jeans from the night before and buttoning her white shirt. Jack thought she looked even better without makeup, her cheeks scrubbed pink and her eyes shining bright.

  “Shit.” Kat
e frowned and grabbed her phone off the coffee table.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I have eight missed calls from Dana. I better call her back.” Kate slid her finger over the phone and held it to her ear.

  “What’s the matter?” Kate shoved her feet back in her shoes and grabbed her black blazer off the edge of the couch.

  “Can’t you just tell me over the phone?” Kate shook out her wet hair with her fingers and the waves instantly sprung into shape.

  “Be there in ten minutes.” Kate shoved her phone in her back pocket.

  “Everything okay?”

  “I hope so.” Kate grabbed her bag off the couch. “I hate to do this. But I really have to go.”

  “We wouldn’t want to keep Dana waiting, would we?” Jack pushed aside Kate’s shirt collar and pressed his lips against her neck. Her skin was smooth and still a little damp from the shower.

  Kate sighed. “If you keep doing that, I’ll never get out of here.” She pulled away from Jack. “I really do have to go.”

  Sarah Jessica bounded over to her playmate and nuzzled his snout with hers. He flipped over and she started pawing at his belly.

  “These two are not ready to say good-bye to each other,” said Jack.

  “I’m not either.” Kate reached down and leashed up Sarah Jessica Barker, much to her dog’s dismay.

  Jack stepped closer to Kate and wrapped his hands around her hips. He pulled her closer to him and locked his lips back on hers. Already, they had their own language.

  Finally, Kate pulled away. “I’ll call you later.”

  As soon as they walked out, Diesel ran to the closed door and whimpered.

  “I know, Buddy.” Jack leaned down and scooped up his dog and brought him over to the couch.

  Jack grabbed his cell phone off the coffee table. As much as he didn’t want to bring down his post-Kate high, he would have to call and check in with Harper while Lauren was still out of the house.