by Holly Jaymes
She laughed. “You have my permission.”
Hallelujah. Both my hands went to the soft globes of her ass and squeezed as I pulled her even tighter to me and against my dick, warming it up, making it fill again. I desperately wanted to make love to her right there in the middle of nowhere in New York, surrounded by the beauty of nature. But I was well aware that we weren’t far from her grandparents’ home. And who knew if her sister was lurking around. So reluctantly I kissed her again and then moved away but still held her hand.
We sat on the banks of the pond and talked, although I’d be a liar if I said that I wasn’t frequently distracted by how fantastic she looked in her bikini. My hands itched to undo the string holding her tits in place. My mouth watered to suck her glorious nipples. But I kept my hands to myself and instead enjoyed the time just sitting with and talking to her.
I realized that being with her like this was something that I couldn’t remember ever experiencing. It was like I was a normal guy sitting in the middle of nowhere with a girl he liked. We were talking mostly about nothing and yet at the same time, the moment felt like everything. It was so amazingly normal. I didn’t know how long we sat together, but I could have stayed there forever. Soon, too soon, her sister’s voice called out from the woods that it was time to eat.
We got dressed and headed back toward her grandparents’ house. I wanted to hold her hand but I didn’t. Who knew who could be watching? Or maybe she didn’t want her family to know about us. So I would keep my distance as much as I could.
When we arrived back at the house, there was a flutter of activity as her grandmother and sister put food on the table. I stood to the side, feeling a little awkward, like I was invading their family space.
But her grandmother came up to me and put her arm through mine. “Now, you can sit right over there, next to Madeline,” she said as she drew me to a chair at the table.
“I hope those piranhas didn’t get to you,” her grandfather said.
My brow shut up to my forehead. “Piranhas?”
There was a snicker from the others at the table.
“Oh, yes. My lovely wife and I would’ve had more children if those Piranhas hadn’t gotten to me when we went swimming. Isn’t that right, dear?”
Was he saying piranhas had bitten off his dick? Instinctively, my hand covered my dick under the table.
Madeline’s grandma smiled. “Now, dear, let’s not embarrass our guest.”
Madeline and her sister let out a laugh. They were joking with me. Well, of course they were. Piranhas didn’t live in a pond in New York, did they?
Growing up, my family always ate dinner together. I was sure it was because my parents had read some parenting article somewhere that said families who ate together had smarter, better-achieving kids. It certainly wasn’t because they liked me and Oliver, although maybe they liked Oliver. But our dinners were nothing like the one I was witnessing with Madeline and her sister and grandparents. There was warmth, and laughter, teasing and supporting. But what struck me the most about it was how genuine and authentic the love they all had for each other was. My heart twisted in my chest. I couldn’t be sure if it was from envy that I didn’t get to have this, or a longing to be a part of it. Whatever it was, it left me with a melancholy.
Another aspect of dinner was the fact that they didn’t ask me anything about my work or how I got started in the business. Instead, they asked about my life growing up, of which I told them just the basics; I grew up in Southern California with an older brother and two parents. They asked about my interests which stumped me because I realized I didn’t really have any outside of Madeline. So I gave them a dumb answer that I liked to read and watch movies.
After dinner, we all retired to their sunporch. They turned the lights off and then Madeline and Nadine went out in the yard to collect fireflies. I knew about fireflies but I couldn’t ever remember seeing them in real life. At least not like this. They lit up the night, there were so many of them.
This world was so different from the one I knew. Most child stars who transitioned into adult stars never really had what might be considered a normal life. Especially if they had famous parents. But as I sat here with Madeline’s family, I realized that she had the ultimate in normal when she left the business at eleven. But more than just normal, she had a childhood filled with love and support. These were all really good people. As I watched the love and respect that flowed between them, I began to feel unworthy of them. After all, I was the man who only called his parents because he felt obliged to, not because he wanted to. I was the man whose parents were dismissive and disappointed in him. So clearly there was something wrong with me that made me unworthy of all these people. And especially unworthy of Madeline.
Coming up here had been a spur-of-the-moment decision. I hadn’t thought through what would happen beyond today or beyond the time we were working together. Was I being selfish asking her to risk her reputation and give herself to me, when I wasn’t a man who could give her more? Who could give her all this?
Living In The Moment
Madeline
When Theo and I first arrived back at the house for dinner, I was a bundle of nerves. I was nervous about what Nadine and my grandparents would think about having Theo there. And I was nervous about what Theo would think of my family. Underneath all that was the nerves about what I agreed to do with Theo. I had agreed to a clandestine relationship with him. While it was sort of exciting to think about sneaking around to be with him, it also suggested that it was wrong, and that didn't sit very well with me.
He said he’d reached the point where he didn’t care what people said about him anymore, but it was easier for him. He was already well-established and well-respected. I suspected he could do almost anything wrong and still the fans would love him.
But I was making a comeback. Being with Theo would leave me vulnerable to being perceived as sleeping with him to work my way back into the industry. I could see the tabloids talking about how a once-wholesome kid was now sleeping her way back to the top. The fans I did have from when I was a kid, wouldn’t like that. I couldn’t afford to have that type of publicity.
At the same time, I couldn’t say no to him. The truth was I missed him and wanted to be with him as well. And so I agreed, although I wasn’t sure what I’d agreed to, beyond spending time with him. As we sat on the banks of the pond to talk, we didn’t discuss how this relationship, or whatever it was, would work. There were no words that suggested this could be something more than just two people who were attracted to each other and spending time together. There was a part of me that was bothered by that and at the same time when it came to Theo, I would take whatever I could get. That made me feel a little pathetic and desperate. At the same time, I knew it had taken a lot for him to come up here to see me. He’d felt a little vulnerable too. What a pair we were making.
During dinner, I was reminded how wonderful my family was. They took him in and accepted him, showing an interest in him as a person, and not a celebrity. Of course, with my parents and then me, they didn’t care much about celebrity. My grandparents had been around enough showbiz people to know that that wasn’t really what made a person.
I was surprised at how uncomfortable Theo looked when they asked about him and his family. But then I remembered how vague and evasive he’d been with me when I asked about his family, and it made me wonder if his childhood hadn’t been as wonderful as mine. If that was the case, I grieved for the little boy that he’d been that hadn’t known the love and support that Nadine and I had with my grandparents
That evening, my grandparents offered to let Theo stay the night in their guestroom, but he declined, saying he needed to get back to New York. I was a little disappointed because I wasn’t ready to say goodbye again yet. But I could tell he was a little bit uncomfortable around my family. I wished there was a way I could help him understand that my grandparents and even Nadine were very open, welcoming, and understanding people.
At the same time, it would be awkward to have him under the same roof and in the guestroom. I’d be tempted to sneak in there and touch him all over. So, at the end of the evening, I walked him to his car.
“Here’s the script.” He reached into the back seat of his car and pulled out one of the binders there.
“So, it wasn’t just a ploy?” I asked jokingly.
“It was my excuse to come here,” he said with a sheepish grin.
I smiled, feeling all warm and fuzzy inside, even as a little part of me was wondering what was going to happen. I pushed that unsettled feeling out of the way. I needed to live in the moment, and in this moment, Theo Wolfe was smiling down on me.
“Are you going to kiss me goodbye?”
His gaze glanced up to the house. “Not if there are prying eyes.”
I gripped the front of his shirt with my fingers and tugged him closer. “Anyone who’s watching would be extremely disappointed if you didn’t kiss me.” And then I tugged him closer, plastering my lips over his. Thankfully, he sank into the kiss, his hand wrapping around me, pulling me close as his lips parted and his tongue snaked out to dance with mine. Theo Wolfe really was a great kisser.
We said our goodbyes and I watched as his car pulled out of the drive and headed back to New York City. When I entered the house, I had some speculative looks, but no direct questions about what was going on with me and Theo. I always appreciated that my grandparents respected my privacy. I supposed they figured that if I needed to talk to them, I would.
I wasn’t so lucky with Nadine. That night when we went to our room, each in our little twin bed, she pulled the covers up to her chin and said, “Okay, little sis’, time to spill the tea.”
“There’s really not that much to spill.” I climbed into my own bed, settling into the soft sheets.
“I know there must be something going on because when I came back to get you for dinner, Theo Wolfe was sitting next to you in his underwear. And I might add, he looks very good in his underwear.”
I took one of the throw pillows and tossed it at her. “Don’t be looking at Theo in his underwear.”
She laughed and rolled to her side to look at me. “See, I told you there’s something going on.” She tossed the pillow back.
I sighed and rolled onto my back, crossing my hands over my belly. “To be honest, I don’t know what’s really going on. I suppose it’s like you and your boss boyfriend; two people enjoying the moment but with no clear sense of what the hell’s going on.”
She didn’t say anything at first and I wondered if maybe I had upset her by bringing up her own relationship situation. Finally, she said, “Do you suppose it’s worth risking heartbreak to have a moment in time with someone?”
When I had thought of being with Theo in terms of risk, I hadn’t really thought of my heart. I was more concerned with my reputation and my future in the business. But now that she brought it up, the risk of heartbreak added a new element to what Theo and I were doing.
I couldn’t say if I loved Theo, but I felt something. Initially, when he showed up and told me that he was only there to bring a script and that Corrine had told him we needed to fix whatever had broken between us, I was immensely disappointed that he wasn’t there to see me. And then when it was clear that he was there to see me, I was ridiculously happy about it, which in hindsight, suggested that I had feelings for him. It meant that it was possible I could get my heart broken if I let myself fall too far.
“I’m not sure I’m the right person to ask that question to,” I answered Nadine’s question.
“Who would I ask? I mean if I asked Gran and Pop-Pop, they of course would say yes, but if I asked Mom or Dad, they’d say no. So who do you ask?”
“I guess maybe it’s something you have to decide for yourself.” I rolled to my side, tucking my hands under my cheek as I peered over at her. “How much do you feel you’re willing to risk?”
She seemed to think about it for a minute. “I don’t know. I would hate to end up like Mom and Dad. But I suppose there’s always a chance I could end up like Gran and Pop-Pop, or at least somewhere close to it, right?”
“Yes,” I agreed.
“It’s too bad there isn’t some type of guarantee or way to know for sure.”
It was the same thing that she brought up in the car yesterday. It appeared that she was looking for some proof that what she was feeling was real or that the relationship she was having with her boss would last. But I was pretty sure that there were no guarantees and no foolproof way to know if something would last forever or not.
I went back to what I had told her the day before. “I suppose a lasting relationship happens in the day-to-day. You have to work at it and not get complacent or let something get in between you two. You can’t spend too much time apart like Mom and Dad did. And you can’t let your own ego be more important than everything else, also like Mom and Dad did.”
She turned onto her back and lifted her arms under her head. “You’re really no help at all, you know that?”
I laughed. “I’m sorry. But I’m the little sister. I’m supposed to get all these answers from you.”
She snorted. “Yeah, well, when I have them, I’ll let you know.”
I slept in the next day, and like the day before, I found my grandparents in the kitchen making breakfast, this time their famous western omelet, and Nadine was out on the sun porch with coffee. This time she was on her phone and seemed to be texting someone.
I grabbed my own cup of coffee and went out to join her, looking out over the backwoods of the house and thinking maybe of taking another hike or walking over to where I knew there were wild blueberries and picking some.
“How would you feel if we left after breakfast?” Nadine asked me, putting her phone down beside her and picking up her coffee.
“You’re my ride, so if you need to get back, I can be ready.” I studied her, wondering if something work-related came up. “Is there something wrong back in the city?”
“He wants to know if I’ll see him for dinner tonight.”
“By he, you mean your boss boyfriend?” I asked.
She nodded. “We’ve never gone out to dinner before. What do you suppose that means?”
I shook my head in amusement at how analytical my sister was being in this relationship with her boss. “I don’t know. It seems like maybe it’s a good sign, don’t you think?”
She grimaced. “I don’t know. Maybe he wants to take me out in public to break up with me. You know I’m not one to make a scene in a public place. He probably knows that.”
I rolled my eyes. “If he’s the type of guy to do that, then you’re probably better off without him. And of course, it’s quite possible that it’s the opposite. Maybe he’s wanting to take the relationship into something more serious.”
“Except, we’re not supposed to be dating. We could get fired.”
“Maybe he’s figured out a solution around that.”
All of a sudden, she looked horrified. “You don't think he’d fire me just so he could date me, do you?”
I let out a loud laugh because she was being hilarious. At the same time, I could understand the craziness going on in her brain. I certainly had some of that going on whenever I tried to figure out what was between Theo and me. My solution was just to go with the flow in the moment and not worry about what could come. Yes, of course, I wanted to be careful so that my seeing him didn’t influence my future, but in terms of whatever future Theo and I had, I was just going to play it by ear and see what happened.
My grandparents were slightly disappointed, but certainly understanding when we packed up and headed back to the city so Nadine could meet with her boss boyfriend for dinner that night. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited to get back to New York and to see Theo, and where this thing between us might go. The hundred-mile trip back seemed to take longer than the drive to my grandparents, and I supposed that had to do with the eagerness of wanting to get home and se
e Theo.
When we arrived home, we both hurried up to the condo. Nadine immediately disappeared, taking a shower to get cleaned up for her date that evening, despite the fact it was still a couple hours away. Because I wanted to give her moral support, I stayed with her, helping her choose her dress and giving advice on her makeup and hair, even though I really wanted to take the elevator up to the twentieth floor to see Theo.
Finally, I was sending her out the door down to meet the car to take her to the restaurant. I hoped to hell that he had good news for her. I hoped he cared for her, because it was crystal clear that she cared for him.
Once she was gone, I checked myself to make sure that I was presentable too. I didn’t dress up fancy or do my hair and makeup, but I did want to look nice. When I felt presentable, I left the condo and got into the elevator riding up to the twentieth floor. I walked down to Theo’s condo and knocked on the door, surprised by the skitter of nerves I felt. I hadn’t let him know that I was coming. I hoped he was surprised in a good way. I hoped he wasn’t entertaining somebody else. If he was, I’d have to punch him in the throat. But no, Theo wasn’t like that now. He may have had a reputation as a ladies’ man, but I knew him well enough to know that it wasn’t who he was anymore.
The door opened and Theo stood there in running shorts with no shirt and sweat gleaming off his chest. Yum. My body quivered.
“Madeline,” he said with a look of surprise.
“I’m back.” I wanted to grab him and run my tongue over every inch of his sweaty, sexy chest, but since I wasn’t quite sure if he was eager to see me, I stayed where I was.
He stepped forward and reached for me, but then immediately stepped back. “I'm just back from a run. I’m all sweaty. I don’t want to get you messed up.”
“I don’t care. You look really sexy.” I stepped in, planting my hands on his shoulders and doing exactly what I wanted to do, sliding my mouth over his pec and gently sucking his nipple.