Once Upon a Love Story

by Beth D. Carter

  She took him to the café attached to the gym and ordered them both an egg white omelet, hers with ham and cheese and his with spinach and mushrooms. Their talk centered around the workout, comparing hers with his.

  After, she offered to drive him home. Once again, he folded into her small car and stared at her as she took the freeway back to the PCH. The day was bright and sunny and there was a nice breeze off the ocean as they headed toward Malibu. She turned onto his drive and wound her way up the road to his house.

  “Wow,” she said. “It’s even more impressive during the day.”

  “Please come inside,” he urged.

  She nodded and shut off her engine.

  He knew the windows were even more breathtaking during the day, offering a view of the sparkling ocean. Delilah walked up to them and looked out in awe.

  “This is amazing,” she said with a touch of reverence in her voice.

  “I know,” Caleb murmured, coming to stand next to her. “I can’t believe my friend grew up here.”

  Delilah turned to look at him. “Where did you grow up?”

  “In Alaska,” he answered. “I was born and raised in Fairbanks, went to college there to get my undergraduate degree in natural resource management. From there I got a postgraduate degree in forestry and agriculture then took some classes on Alaskan specific courses such as food and fisheries. I was lucky in that I got the post I wanted in the Far North at the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Reserve. River Ice borders it to the northwest.”

  When he stopped speaking, she blinked at him, as if she was unsure of what he’d just said.

  “My parents still live in Fairbanks,” he added, feeling the need to fill in the silence. When she didn’t say anything, he knew he had to change the subject. History seemed to be a touchy subject with her. “What time do you have to go to work?”

  “I have to be there at nine.”

  “Okay. That gives us…five hours.”

  “Four. I have to have time to get ready for my first dance.”

  “Right.”

  He couldn’t stop staring at her. She smelt like vanilla with a hint of lavender. He took a step closer to her and her eyes immediately filled with desire. Slowly, he raised his hands to cup her face and she leaned into him. That was all the allowance he needed.

  His head swooped down, and his lips landed on hers with an intensity that blew him away. Her mouth parted and his tongue swept in to meet and tangle with hers. He pulled her body into his, crushing all her curves into his hard angles. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him close. His dick hardened immediately, and she ground her pelvis into his, making him groan with pleasure.

  He couldn’t seem to keep his hands off her. Every time he was near her all he wanted to do was sink into her heat. All he could envision was thrusting his cock into her over and over and until she screamed his name as she came. Even now the visions were driving him mad.

  She pulled back to look into his eyes. “Where’s your bed?”

  He closed his eyes. As much as he wanted to drag her there, he didn’t want her to feel as if she owed him anything. It took every ounce of decency and honor in him to say, “No. You don’t have to, Delilah.”

  She pressed a finger against his lips. “Last night was about me. This time I want to pleasure you.”

  He tried swallowing the lump in his throat, but his mouth was so dry it was like the Sahara on his tongue.

  “Where’s your bedroom?” she asked again.

  He pointed down the hall. She took his hand and led him in the direction where she said his bedroom was and once inside, she stopped to look. Like the rest of the house, it was almost barren. The bedsheets were bunched and tossed around. He’d never been one for making his bed. He’d always argued that they would be slept in again and guests weren’t likely to wander in, so why bother? Only now, he did have a guest and he realized the bed looked like it belonged in a college dorm room.

  But Delilah didn’t seem to care. She turned and began stripping him. When he tried to help, she smacked his hand away and gave him a wicked little grin. She pulled his shirt up and he had to bend a little so she could yank it over his head.

  “I was wondering when I was going to find this.”

  He glanced down at the tattoo lying across his right pectoral muscle.

  “I never thought you’d have stars,” she murmured.

  “It’s the Alaskan flag,” he answered. “The bear, the dipper, and shining high the great North Star with its steady light. O’er land and sea, a beacon bright. Alaska’s flag to Alaskans dear. The simple flag of a last frontier.”

  She grinned at him. “Cool poem.”

  He shrugged. “Part of the state song.”

  She leaned over and kissed each star, giving a flick over his nipple as she moved past it. The feel of her tongue against his sensitive skin had his belly tightening as he envisioned where else her tongue could tease.

  She continued undressing him, her finger slowly sliding along the stretch of skin where his jeans hugged his waist. Delilah tugged and pulled until his pants fell into a heap on the floor, and when he was naked, she fell to her knees.

  She stared at him in wonder, especially at the thick cock proudly standing at attention. She reached for it, rubbing the bulging vein that disappeared under the mushroom head where a drop of white fluid dripped from the hole.

  Caleb moaned and reached for Delilah’s head, guiding her to the velvety shaft. She happily complied, slipping her mouth around the large head, tracing each curve with her tongue. Easing her mouth over then down, going slowly. She held onto Caleb’s hips as she started her momentum, allowing Caleb’s cock to go further, deeper as her throat muscles relaxed. Little by little, she increased the tempo, speeding up, her right hand moving to Caleb’s heavy sack and squeezing it, playing with it, rolling the balls through the thin skin. He gave a heavy gasp, his hips twitched under the restraint he was holding onto.

  “Oh, good Lord,” he grunted. “I can’t hold on.”

  He tried to move her off his cock, but she didn’t want to go. She looked up at him, catching his gaze. Her hand continued to pump his shaft.

  “Come in my mouth,” she ordered.

  “Are you sure?”

  She nodded. “I want to drink you up.”

  She returned her mouth and sucked him back in. Her tongue swirled up, French kissing the slit in his dick.

  “Fuck! Fuck!”

  With one more slide of her mouth, Caleb exploded, shouting out a set of unintelligible sounds. Delilah sucked him down, milking him with her tongue until he collapsed onto the bed, utterly sated.

  He dragged her to his side and wrapped his arms around her.

  They didn’t say a word.

  Later, he watched her leave him, and he wondered if a summer fling had been a smart idea.

  Chapter Eight

  His muscles screamed in protest the next morning so he sent her a quick text that he couldn’t jog with her. But that didn’t stop him from sexting her all day. As he typed a text message to her on his phone, he realized that he’d never texted such dirty, lascivious thoughts before. What he wanted to do to her, with her, and her hot answers managed to drive his libido into overdrive.

  He made plans to meet her after her shift ended for something unexpected and romantic and ignored Jake’s pointed look as he asked for his car once again. Something inside him acknowledged Jake’s concern and recognized the fact that this behavior he exhibited with Delilah was new.

  Then there was her job. For the most part he tried to forget what she did for a living, trying to equate what she did with what Jake did. Exotic dancing was just a way to earn money and in no way defined who she was as a person. Did he like strange men got to see her ass wiggle and her tits bounce? Hell no. But did he act like a caveman and storm in to throw her over his shoulder? Well, no, he couldn’t do that. She wasn’t his. Not really. But that thought made him pause.

  He loved talking to her. He lov
ed spending time with her. He loved how she moved, how she tasted. He loved how she responded to his kiss and how she looked at him with a bit of wonder and disbelief.

  What the disbelief was about he didn’t know, and he hadn’t a clue on how to start that conversation. She tended to shut down whenever their talks strayed into something too personal. He knew as much about her now as he had that first night, and from that little tidbit only how shitty her childhood must have been.

  She lingered in his thoughts throughout the day. When he wasn’t with her, he thought about when he would be, so what the hell did that mean? As he sat in his beach chair staring out the huge windows in the living room, he couldn’t help but compare Delilah to Claire. If he was so attracted to Delilah, what did that mean about his marriage to Claire? How can a man go from being so in love with one woman to being so consumed by another? What would have happened if he’d met Delilah while still with Claire?

  Of course, the chances of that happening were probably nil to none. If Claire hadn’t died, he never would have signed up for a mail order bride, so he never would have met Thea. He never would have taken a vacation to Malibu, so he never would’ve met Jake and Jake’s tree. He’d never been asked to go to that party where he laid eyes on Delilah. They never would’ve crossed paths.

  That thought made him feel…sad. Scared. A bit restless. Realizing that he may never have met Delilah brought an ache to his chest that had him hesitating because what the hell did that mean? He’d only known her for four days. That was way too early to form an opinion about his feelings for her.

  Feelings? Holy hell, when did I develop feelings for her?

  Caleb rose from his chair and began to pace, his hand running along the back of his neck as he tried to sort out the complicated emotions pouring through him. He’d had a perfect marriage, a perfect wife. He knew the difference between love and lust. Didn’t he? True, he didn’t sleep around. For him sex meant nothing without caring and affection. He’d never been one of those guys who fucked just to fuck.

  If he’d met Delilah first, would he have been a different man? Maybe, but maybe the answer was exactly how life was meant to happen. Claire had been his wife, his world, but she’d died. As much as he’d felt that his guts had been ripped out through his nostrils during the year after her death, he knew Claire would never have wanted him to live his life alone. She would’ve been the first person to tell him to go after what he wanted.

  Every day he wanted her a little more.

  A small voice in the back of his mind told him that he was in for more heartache, but he tried very hard to ignore that unsolicited warning.

  ****

  That night he had another first for her. Kite flying at night. He’d found a park not too far from where she worked and took her there, surprising her by showing her the plastic kite designed with large butterfly wings he’d found at the dollar store.

  Letting ladies go first, Delilah unwound the strings and took off running. The kite climbed a little as the cool night air caught it, lifting it upwards. She ran around, yanking on the strings, trying to keep it upright. A few seconds later it came crashing straight down to the ground. They laughed and she tried again. Caleb couldn’t help but notice how beautiful she looked running around carefree.

  Eventually, the police came and shown a spotlight on them, informing them that the park was closed. Reluctantly, he bundled her close to him, wrapped the strings around the kite and headed toward her car. Even though he wished the date could have gone longer, Delilah had a wide smile on her face, and that was all that mattered.

  ****

  On Friday he once again took an Uber to her gym and ran next to her on the treadmill. Even though they didn’t talk much, he enjoyed being next to her. After their cool down, she walked him to the locker rooms.

  “Listen,” she murmured. “I hate to run but I have somewhere I have to be at two o’clock. I can run you home though.”

  “Is this somewhere I can go with you?”

  Her browed furrowed a little. “You would be very bored for two hours.”

  As he studied her, he realized that this was something she didn’t want to share with him. Her eyes had gone a little flat and her guard went up. It transported him to their first night together, when they’d gone to Denny’s and she’d been strung tighter than a guitar string.

  Just then her phone rang, and she dug it out of her pocket, glancing at the number.

  “Hold on,” she muttered. “It’s the Pony.”

  She turned away to take the call. And before his eyes, she became a whole different person.

  “What?” she barked into the phone using a voice he didn’t recognize. “Oh, hell no. Tell that skank tweeker bitch had she come to me with this first I might have considered, but no, Moe, she went to you first. And it ain’t like that in the back. Got it? No, you listen to me. My tits been dancing at that club longer than any others, so I got seniority. So no. If she needs time off to recover from her latest binge then find another girl.”

  She disconnected the call, but she didn’t turn around. Caleb studied the rigid set of her shoulders and replayed her end of the conversation back through his mind. He’d never heard her talk like that before. The words had been crude, her accent roughened out as if she were on the street. Even her posture had bowed like she was getting ready to battle.

  Delilah turned with a bright smile as she slipped her phone back into her pocket. Once again, she was the poised, self-sufficient woman he’d come to know over the past few days. He raised a brow and waited.

  She waved her hand. “Just a work issue. What were we talking about?”

  He stared at her for a moment. Was this really how she wanted to play this off? “Anything wrong? You sounded…different.”

  She shook her head a bit too quickly. “I’m fine. Everything is absolutely a okay. Oh, I know! I offered to run you home.”

  “I can take an Uber,” he offered.

  “No, really, its fine, Caleb. Come on.”

  She marched off to her little car, leaving him little choice except to follow her. The entire ride to Malibu she kept up this inane chatter about nonsensical things like how warm the day was and how much traffic was on the PCH, leaving him to wonder where in the hell his Delilah had gone.

  Chapter Nine

  What the hell was she thinking? She should have canceled with Caleb but the desire to see him overrode her common sense. The time would be tight and somehow, she didn’t think through what excuse to use when she had to leave for her class. They’d been spending the days together as well as the dates he took her on after her shift.

  The damn phone call from Moe, the Pony’s manager, had been unfortunate. She hadn’t meant to show that side of her personality, but how could she explain to Caleb that fighting with her co-workers was the norm? Her job required a certain level of toughness where she had to transform herself into a hardened bitch. Otherwise, people would walk all over her.

  I’ll be damned to be a weak girl again.

  Still, she saw the confusion on Caleb’s face, but she hadn’t a clue on what to say to him. How could she tell him that she learned crudeness on the knee of her mother? Or that her first word as a child had been tits? These weren’t normal behaviors and Caleb was a good ‘ole boy raised in a caring and loving home. Delilah bet his mother never taught him how to suck cock because she thought it was funny.

  After she dropped him back at his home with a hasty good-bye tossed out the window, she hustled her way to Santa Monica Community College. She parked and ran across the campus, barely sliding into her seat before the door closed and the teacher began the presentation. This was her last prep class. She was scheduled to take her GED test the following Friday. Caleb swam into her head again, but she forcibly pushed him aside. She needed to pay attention. She’d worked too hard to screw this up now.

  She opened her workbook and clicked her pen, ready to get down to business.

  ****

  She walked outside
fifteen minutes after her shift ended. Caleb paced by his borrowed car, and when he saw her, he hurried over to grab her hand and dragged her back to the passenger side. He opened the door for her and gestured to quickly get in.

  “Where’s the fire?”

  “Five blocks away.”

  “Excuse me?”

  He threw her a wicked little smile. “A surprise, babe. I told you I’d surprise you.”

  She’d been slightly nervous to come out tonight. She kept waiting for him to make a comment about her behavior, but he never did. In fact, it was like earlier hadn’t ever happened and for that she was glad. She didn’t want to invite him into any more aspects of her life. If he got too deep, she had a feeling he could break her heart and that was an absolute no-no. There wasn’t room for a man like Caleb, one who spoke pretty words and seduced her with just a look. Besides, he was too good to be sullied by her twisted, fucked up past.

  He drove quickly down the streets and turned into a bowling alley.

  “Caleb, this place is closed.”

  “Yep. I asked the manager if I could pay for an extra hour so I can bring you and he agreed.”

  “He did?”

  “Mm. I am a very charming man, didn’t you know?”

  “Yeah, I’ve experienced that charm firsthand,” she replied a little tartly. “I still can’t figure out how you managed to get me to go out with you that first night. Or the second. Or the third—”

  Caleb laughed before jumping out of the car to open her door. He held his hand to help her out and she had to admit, she was getting used to his chivalry. But she was afraid to hear how much this little date cost Caleb.

  A man held the door open for them, a smile on his face. One lane was lit, waiting for them so they hurried and put on the shoes. A pink ball waited for her. She picked it up and tested its weight.