“Soon. Probably later tonight. I promised his daughter I’d stop by to help bake cookies for her daycare’s bake sale.”
“Then ask him then. You don’t know unless you ask, right? Maybe you’re being crazy about it. I mean, who knows? Maybe they’re talking about something to do with their daughter. Joint custody is messy work. I bet you it’s all in your head.”
I exhaled slowly. “Yeah, okay. You’re right.”
“I know,” Hannah giggled. “I always tend to be. I don’t mean to just ditch you, but I’ve got an advanced Spanish class in fifteen minutes. I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”
“Okay. Thanks for listening. You’re the best.”
I promptly hung up the phone and stuffed my cell back into my pocket, moving to pull a couple sheets of paper towel from the dispenser drilled just beside the bathroom mirror. After dabbing my face and eyes dry and took a deep breath and tried to calm my nerves. Hannah was right. Maybe I was just being crazy. Chuck didn’t strike me as the kind of guy who’d go behind my back like that. And it wasn’t like we were an exclusive pair. We hadn’t even had that talk yet. So I made myself a silent promise that the next time I saw Chuck, I’d ask before jumping to any of my own conclusions. I just hoped that the anxiety eating a hole into my chest didn’t kill me first.
12
Chuck
I was always really bad at saying no. Putting my foot down wasn’t something I was good at, both in my professional and personal life. When Sandy sat down and ordered us both coffees, I thought for sure I was in for a simple ten-minute conversation. But as Sandy rambled on and on, I quickly realized how easily minutes could bleed into one another. It had been almost an hour since I’d arrived, and Sandy still hadn’t gotten around to the point. She was a natural storyteller, just like me, which was probably why I found it so hard to find a break in her story to finally excuse myself. It wasn’t like it was difficult to listen to Sandy. She had a sweet voice, rich and thick like honey. I was pretty sure that I fell in love with the sound of her voice before I even realized I’d fallen for her. But that was years and years and years ago.
Things were different now.
“I should have seen it coming,” she said, sipping at her mug. “Carl just became so distant. I didn’t know what was happening. I thought we were happy together. And I know this must be hard for you to hear. I know now I should have been upfront with you.”
“It’s all in the past now,” I replied. “There were cracks in our marriage long before you and Carl. I just wasn’t paying attention to your needs.”
“Yes, but still. I should have been responsible enough to tell you I was unhappy instead of running around with Carl behind your back.”
I offered her a gentle smile. “That’s very kind of you to say, thank you.”
“I hate what our divorce has done to Clarissa. I’ve been debating having her see a family therapist.”
“Do you really think that’s necessary?”
“You don’t?”
I shrugged a shoulder. “I’m not sure. Clarissa seems as chipper as usual. Except now she knows how to demand things when she really wants them. I’m afraid she’s using the divorce as leverage. Now that I say it aloud, maybe she should see someone.”
“Just to process her feelings,” Sandy added, nodding in agreement. “It could be very beneficial.”
“She’s doing great at daycare, though. I’ve been told she’s reading at an incredibly advanced level.”
Sandy smiled wide and patted me on the forearm. “That’s our girl.”
“I was worried for the longest time that she wasn’t interested in reading. All of her daycare friends have tablets to distract them.”
Sandy clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes. “Lazy parenting, if you ask me.”
I shrugged again. “I don’t know. As long as it works, right?”
“Speaking of parenting, I think we should talk about us.”
“What about us?” I questioned, instantly on guard.
“Well, I’ve been giving it a lot of thought. I really do miss you, Chuck.”
I frowned. “You do?”
Sandy nodded, fluttering her long eyelashes. “I haven’t stopped thinking about you since the party. It was really good to see you again. I think I acted the way I did because I was jealous.”
I scoffed, “That much was obvious.”
“How’s that girl doing? Are you still seeing her?”
Red flags started to pop up all over my vision, sirens wailing inside my skull. I didn’t like where this was going. Why was Sandy bringing Lara up? Where did she intend to lead this conversation?
“I don’t think she’s really any of your business,” I said.
Sandy hummed, pursing her lips together into a thin line. “Oh, come now. If she’s spending lots of time around you, that means she’s spending time around my daughter. I want to know Clarissa isn’t picking up any bad habits from someone like her.”
“‘Someone like her?’” I echoed in disbelief. “What do you mean by that?”
“Oh, come on, Chucky. She’s obviously just with you for your money. I mean, look at her. She must be ten years younger than you. And she doesn’t exactly strike me as someone who was brought up… How do I put this delicately? She doesn’t seem like she understands our ways.”
“Our ways?” I echoed in disbelief, words dripping bitterly off my tongue.
“Class. I’m talking about class, Chucky. Who knows what terrible things she learned growing up in the hood.
“Stop talking,” I warned, forcing the words through clenched teeth.
“Are you two even serious about each other? Don’t you think a young girl like her would be scared off by the fact you have a daughter? Trust me, girls like her aren’t looking for that kind of a commitment.”
“Trust you?” I snorted. “Why should I trust the woman who cheated on me with my agent?”
Sandy leaned back in her chair and frowned. “I said I was sorry, Chucky. You know I’m sorry. I’m just trying to do what’s best for Clarissa. You know I only have Clarissa’s best interests at heart.”
“And how exactly do you plan on doing that? By trying to convince me to –what? Break up with Lara? Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Did I strike a nerve?”
I glared at my ex-wife, nothing but disgust building up in my heart. “You’ve always been a manipulative bitch,” I grumbled. “You can say shit about me all you want, Sandy, but don’t you ever try and use Clarissa or Lara against me. I love them both very much, and I would rather throw my whole career away for them if it meant we could all be happy.”
Sandy blinked, momentarily stunned. “You love her?”
I nodded, personally shocked that the words came out all on their own. “I really do. Lara is a lovely girl. She’s smart, she’s funny, she’s gorgeous, and she’s really good with Clarissa.”
“Now wait a minute, Chuck, I was just–”
“What were you hoping to accomplish? Were you trying to make me leave Lara so you could swoop in and use me? I’ve already given you fifteen years, Sandy. I’m not about to make the same mistake twice. Go find another agent with low standards and see if he gives you a roof over your head.” I raised my voice, too furious to control my volume. “The only gold digger I see around here is you.”
Everyone in the café looked over at us, some of them snickering behind their hands. Sandy’s face turned as red as her hair. She tried to hide behind a café menu, but the embarrassment had already settled in. I stood up immediately and grabbed my coat off the back of my chair, pulling it on in great haste.
“Now, if you don’t mind, I have to go find Lara and tell her I love her. Please refrain from contacting me about personal matters. If you’re not calling to check up on Clarissa, I don’t want you calling at all.”
“Chuck, wait, I didn’t mean to–”
I didn’t even give her time to finish her sentence. I left briskly through the café’s front doors and s
tarted down the street, speedily making my way to Ramen Books.
13
Lara
Love was a weird thing. It could find you in the strangest of places. Two strangers sitting side by side on the bus could be perfect for one another and never know it, not until something pushed them together and set their stories in motion. Love could find you on the dance floor of a busy nightclub, the combination of fruity drinks and disorienting flashing lights leading you straight into the arms of your unknowing other half. For me, love came in the form of a book. I hadn’t fallen in love with Chuck when I met him the first night of the workshop. I’d fallen in love with him long before that through the words he’d written and didn’t even know it. I grew up with those books, used his stories to escape and visit all kinds of forbidden realms and meet a wide range of colorful, memorable people. I first fell in love with his words, and then I fell in love with the man behind them.
I understood that people sometimes fell in and out of love. It was a fleeting thing, a fickle thing. It was never like the movies or on television where boy meets girl and they lived happily ever after. Love took work. It took dedication and time. People who did their very best to strive and be better for the other person would be rewarded with a love only knowable to them alone. As I stocked the shelves of the bookstore, I allowed my mind to wander. I was sure I felt that way about Chuck, that this wasn’t some fleeting moment between us.
I cared for Chuck, probably more than anyone ever before. I loved the way he looked at me, loved the way he touched me gingerly and kissed me sweet. I loved the sound of his voice and how patient he was with both his students and his daughter. Just to be close to him was enough to set my heart at ease. When we were apart from one another, I always felt anxious. When I was in class, or working in the bookstore waiting for the next workshop class, I itched to be near him. There had always been an empty space beside me, and with Chuck absent, the emptiness only seemed to grow. I really was falling in love with him, and I’d only realized when Sandy had forced her way back into the picture. Absentmindedly, I ran my fingers along the edges of the hardcover book I was supposed to be arranging alphabetically on the shelf. It was easier to focus on the sensation of raised ink beneath my fingertips than it was thinking about Chuck and Sandy together, having a good time.
The little bell above the door chimed, signaling that a guest had just entered the shop. I forced a polite smile and turned, even though my entire face felt heavy with stress and worry. The feelings immediately subsided when I realized it was Chuck who’d just walked in. I raised my eyebrows in genuine surprise. His hair was a bit of a mess and his cheeks were rosy, like he’d run all the way here.
“Lara,” he panted.
“What are you doing here?”
“I needed to speak with you. There’s something important I have to tell you.”
“Uh, excuse me, miss?” a woman standing at the cash register called to me. “Can you ring me through?”
“I’ll be right there.” I turned to Chuck. “I’m sorry, now’s not a good time. Can it wait?”
“It really can’t.”
“Hello?” the woman huffed. “Can I get some service, please?”
“One second, ma’am. I’m in the middle of work, Chuck.”
Just as I turned to leave for the front register, Chuck took my hand. He laced his fingers with my own, as though to tie me down and stop me from moving forward.
“Lara, just wait a second,” he begged.
I took my hand back. It hurt me to pull away, but now wasn’t the time nor the place. “You should get back to Sandy,” I told him. “She’s probably waiting for you.”
“I– Wait, what? You saw us together?”
The woman at the cash register grumbled, “I’d get better service at Chapters.”
Chuck rolled his eyes and sighed. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his wallet, quickly pulling out a twenty-dollar bill. He flashed the money at her and said, “I’ll cover it. Can you please leave us alone now?”
She scoffed and turned to leave, muttering under her breath, “Rude.”
He ignored her, eyes completely focused on me. “Lara, I can explain.”
“Are you getting back together with her?” I asked, following Hannah’s advice. She was right. She always was. If I had questions, I needed to ask and hear the answers from no one else but Chuck. “Is that why you were at the café together?”
“God, no,” he breathed. “You have nothing to worry about, Lara. I was pretty sure Sandy wanted to get back together. I think she was even prepared to use our daughter as leverage, but I don’t want her. I want you.”
I blinked in disbelief, licking my bottom lip in deep thought. “Really?”
Chuck nodded. “Lara, I can’t remember the last time someone made me as happy as you make me. And I wanted to tell you that and assure you that Sandy and I, we’re done. We’ve been done for a very long time, and nothing is ever going to change that. I know my workshop ends in a couple of weeks, but I’d really like to see where this goes. You’re an amazing woman, Lara, and I really want to give us a try. I think I’m in love with you.”
A massive wave of relief washed over me, leaving the tips of my toes and fingers tingling with adrenaline. Hannah had been right not to jump to any conclusions. The smallest bit of guilt settled on my tongue. I knew Chuck wasn’t the kind of guy to sneak around behind my back. He was too good, too sweet for that kind of thing. That was when a warmth bloomed in my chest, an undeniable and barely containable happiness erupting from within me.
“You’re in love with me?” I giggled breathlessly.
He nodded again, entirely adamant. “I am.”
A huge smile spread itself across my lips. “I’m in love with you, too,” I admitted, so happy I was practically vibrating where I stood.
Chuck cupped my face and took a step forward, closing the gap between us. He kissed me hard, not caring that we were in the middle of my workplace in the middle of the day in the middle of several onlookers. I was pretty sure Alistair whistled in approval somewhere in the back corner of the store, but that very well could have been my imagination.
“Can you take the day off?” he asked me quickly before finding my lips again.
I hummed into his mouth, content. “I don’t think my boss would allow it.”
“I allow it!” I heard the old man shout from the back. “But just this once, you hear?”
All the heat in my body pooled into my cheeks, radiating out of the top of my head with the intensity of a bonfire. “Thanks, Alistair,” I shouted back. I took Chuck’s hand and dragged him out of the store as quickly as my feet could carry me, too embarrassed and too high to do anything but run.
We somehow managed to get back to our apartment complex. Since my apartment was closest to the elevators, Chuck and I wound up stumbling inside. He didn’t seem to care that my apartment was half the size of his, or that I hadn’t done the dishes yesterday evening, or that there was a pile of laundry lying in a heap on the bathroom floor. The only thing Chuck seemed to care about was kissing me and holding me as close as possible. I kicked the front door closed and practically ripped his jacket off of him, dropping it to the hallway floor as I struggled with the buttons of his shirt. Chuck pressed me up against the arm of the living room couch and didn’t stop, forcing my knees to buckle as we both fell backwards onto the cushions.
In between a flurry of heated kisses, I managed to pry Chuck’s shirt off and undo the front of his pants, pulling the waistband of his boxers down so that they rested just beneath his balls. He helped me slip out of my shirt and jeans, not even bothering to pull my underwear off before spreading my knees apart with demanding hands. I hooked my legs over his hips and closed my eyes, memorizing the taste of his mouth and the absolutely perfect pleasure-burn when Chuck pressed into me, pushing the fabric of my underwear to the side.
He hungrily kissed his way down my jaw and neck, squeezing my breasts as he thrust into me w
ith a steady rhythm. I moaned in his ear, hooking my hands around his neck to draw him in. Our tongues slid over one another, wrestling for dominance. I sucked hard on his bottom lip. When I came away, his mouth was red and swollen and fantastically hot. The couch springs creaked squeaked beneath us, and only grew in volume and frequency as Chuck picked up the pace, hitting me in just the right spot to have me seeing stars.
“Oh,” I groaned, tossing my head back. “Oh, God, just like that.”
“You like how I fuck you?” he growled against my ear.
“God, you feel amazing. You’re so damn big– fuck.”
Chuck scooped his arms beneath my head and neck and held me tight, cradling my body as he pounded into the couch. A tight coil of pleasure started to build deep inside of me, sparks of fire igniting my insides as I drew ever closer to climaxing. Our hot breaths bounced of each other’s faces, making for an intoxicating cloud of warmth. I breathed him in, noting the smell of his cologne and the way his mouth tasted of coffee and chocolate.
“I love you,” I gasped against his lips. “I love you, Chuck.”
“I love you, too,” he breathed. “Fuck, I’m close. I’m so fucking close, Lara. I’m going to cum.”
I dug my fingers into his strong back and carefully dragged my nails down his skin, squeezing my legs tighter to encourage Chuck’s movements. “Cum for me,” I panted.
With a few more frantic thrusts, Chuck moaned loudly and shuddered as he rode wave after wave of pleasure. I came hard, too, the tight walls of my pussy pulsing and overheating with desire. I kissed Chuck on the cheeks, on the tip of his nose, smiling all the while in satisfaction. All of my senses were overcome, and the knowledge that Chuck was mine and mine alone had me practically melting against his touch.
14
Author Next Door: A Single Dad Romance Page 7