by Kat Addams
“I did. And he didn’t say a word. Just backed up and left. I never saw him again. But Mom had another loser days later. I know I’m making my mom out to be terrible. She wasn’t. She went through phases where she tried to be a good mom. Making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, buying us new shoes, or taking us to the park down the street. But those phases didn’t last. She always got sucked into relationships with men who didn’t deserve her. They dragged her down to her level. So, I was basically the woman of the house.”
“I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine the responsibility you had at a young age. I can’t relate to living in poverty. But I didn’t have much, and my mom was also not present. She ran away and left me with my dad before I could even remember it. A single dad raised me, and I guess I followed in his footsteps. I didn’t get to go to college or do a lot of the things the other kids did, like sports. We couldn’t afford those things. But I didn’t go hungry.
“Still, I try to give Maisy everything I didn’t have. That’s why I’m working two jobs. Hopefully, one day, I can open my own bar, things will slow down, and she will understand why her daddy worked so hard. It’s just tough at this age. She doesn’t understand. All she understands is that Daddy is busy.”
“I see. You’re pulled in a lot of directions, but I think you’ll get your bar. You have the focus and the drive. Maybe not the energy. I might be able to help with that. As I said, it takes a village. Plus, I like Maisy.”
“What are you saying?” I sat up on my elbow, my face inches from hers.
“That I can give you a break sometimes. Let me take her to the park or something. Lord knows I know what it feels like not to have a mom. Not saying I’m going to be a mother to her.” She shook her head fast. “I’m saying, I can help. But when you open that bar, you’d better heavy-hand those drinks again, and this time, they’d better be free.”
I laughed, playfully bopping her nose with my fingertip before lying back down. She smiled, nestling in my arms and resting her head on my chest. We lay in a sweaty heap, tangled in the crisp sheets. The speaker in the room crooned out bluesy tunes, lulling me off to dreamland.
“I can’t have people coming and going out of Maisy’s life. I worry about that. Her getting her heart broken.”
And me too, I thought.
“I understand that too. I’m not going to hurt that little girl.” She yawned.
Or me?
I pulled her into me tighter.
“Betty?”
“Hmm?” she moaned.
Her breathing slowed and steadied. I knew she was almost asleep, but I had to know.
“What do you want? I told you what I want. My dream. But what about you? You only told me you don’t want to live in poverty again. What do you want in your future?”
Her shoulder tensed under my fingertips.
“I don’t know. I just really don’t know.”
She let out a breath, squeezing her arm around my chest. I felt her heartbeat quicken against my side. I didn’t respond because I didn’t know what to say. All I could do was kiss her forehead and let myself enjoy the moment.
“Think I can get a kiss first before you go?” I reached out, grabbing her arm and pulling her to me.
She pushed her soft lips into mine and sighed. “Keep kissing me like that, and I’m not going to get outta this truck.”
“Good,” I said, leaning into her and biting her lip.
“Terrance! As much as I want a quickie, I want you to get your little girl more. She’s waiting for you! I don’t want to be the bad guy, and she thinks that I’m keeping you from her. It can’t start like that.” She bobbed her head, bouncing her curls into her face.
“What’s that mean, start out like that? What are we starting?” I smirked, brushing the hair from her face and nibbling her bottom lip.
She still tasted like the coffee we’d bought in the airport when we loaded up on extra caffeine. I wanted to lick her and see just how high she could get me. The blood pulsing through my veins wasn’t from the espresso. Only Betty could make me feel how I felt, which was like the luckiest man alive.
“Don’t start. You know what I mean.” She grabbed her bag and scooted out the truck door, slamming it shut behind her.
“No, I don’t. But you can explain it next time. I’ll call ya. I want to see that sweet ass of yours again. And again. And maybe again,” I called out.
She walked toward her front door and lifted her skirt up, showing me her ass and laughing.
“That’s one out of what? Three you said? Let’s see how well you behave before you get the next one,” she yelled back before opening her front door and disappearing inside.
I shut my speakers off and rode in silence as I thought back on our conversations from the night before. The way she had sighed and told me she didn’t know what she wanted made me slightly uneasy. If she became involved with Maisy and me and decided it wasn’t what she wanted, she’d be a flight risk, which is precisely what I’d said I didn’t want.
I gripped my steering wheel, going over possible scenarios of our relationship in my head. There was no doubt about it. When I’d told her I loved her, I’d meant it. I wouldn’t tell her that because it was far too soon, and that would definitely make her a flight risk. But no one in my life had ever asked about my hopes and dreams. I’d never talked to a woman for hours all night. No one had sparked a light in me or held my attention.
Sure, I’d had great girlfriends and great sex. But nothing compared to Betty. She understood me, and I was pretty sure I understood her too. But I was a package deal, and given that Betty was unsure of what she wanted, I was taking a risk, even entertaining the idea that she might fall in love with me too.
I let out a loud groan and turned my music back up, giving up on love for the moment. I had the leading lady in my life waiting on me at my dad’s place.
The week after my Memphis trip flashed by in a blur.
I’d only seen Betty once, Thursday, and that was when she parked The Pink Taco Truck outside of Scarlett Herb earlier in the evening. Both of us were too busy to sneak away for nooky, but she did let me feel her up behind the truck when no one was looking. I spent the rest of my evening pouring cocktails and wondering if she’d still be parked outside when I got off work. She wasn’t.
I’d crawled into bed, defeated and a little upset that she couldn’t wait on me. Then again, I hadn’t asked her to, and it wasn’t like we were a thing—yet. I knew I’d have to tell her how I felt sooner or later. She seemed like the type of woman who didn’t like to beat around the bush. She was always straightforward with me and everyone I saw her with. I needed to tell her how I felt, but first, I needed to plan an outing together with Maisy and me. I needed to see how Betty would react in certain situations, and then, maybe then, I could feel comfortable enough to tell her without her leaving.
I rubbed my eyes and checked the time on my phone. It was just before dawn—and two minutes before my alarm would buzz. I was supposed to meet Jay for a late morning run. My dad had offered to stay over and watch Maisy so that I could get some time to myself. Lately, since working at The Steamy Clam, I’d not had as much time to work out. Gym time used to be my me time. But juggling two jobs and being a single dad drained me. I missed that endorphin high of a good ass-kicking.
When Jay had asked me to join him on his run, I’d immediately reached out to my dad. He not only agreed before I finished my sentence, but he also told me that I should make it a regular thing.
My morning wood bounced in my gray sweatpants as I rolled out of bed and stretched. I’d purposely dressed in my workout gear because getting up before dawn wasn’t my thing. I needed a solid six hours of sleep, and last night, I’d been up well past midnight, tossing and turning and finally rubbing one out to lull myself into dreams of Betty. I shuffled my feet toward my bathroom and readied myself before making coffee and quietly sneaking out the door. The last thing I wanted to do was wake Maisy up. She had fall break this week, and her
excitement over the previous days had worn me out.
I drove to Jay and Rox’s house, sliding on my shades as the sun made its way up and over the horizon. The coffee I’d poured touched my soul with the first sip, giving me a moan that could rival the moans I’d let Betty strangle out of me.
Betty …
I rubbed a palm over my tired face. No matter what I did, I couldn’t get thoughts of her out of my brain. Betty this and Betty that. She was everywhere. Yesterday, I had seen a poodle with those same tight curls she’d worn weeks ago, and I’d felt a jiggle in my pants. Over a fucking poodle! Not fucking a poodle. A fucking poodle.
Damn it, what is wrong with me?
Love on the brain. That’s what.
I wasn’t functioning properly, and I couldn’t shake the feeling. I wanted to shout it from the rooftops that I loved that woman. But common sense told me to keep my mouth shut.
But what if she wants to tell me she loves me and doesn’t? And I don’t tell her? Then, we’ll both never know, and we’ll die as old farts, never knowing we loved each other.
I pulled into Jay’s drive and finished my coffee, hoping the caffeine would wake up my dumb brain. My eyes snapped to Betty’s house next door. I knew she was an early riser. She had to wake early to prep The Pink Taco Truck.
“She’ll be up shortly, mate. Her blinds will open, and then you’ll know,” Jay said, making his way toward me and opening my door.
“Thanks,” I said, hopping out of my truck. “I wondered but figured I’d wake her if I texted. Not sure she would want to see me at the last minute anyway.”
“I’d certainly try. See if her blinds are open when we get back. I’m sure she’d love to see you.” Jay motioned for me to follow him.
“Really? What makes you say that? Did Rox say anything?” I bounced. I couldn’t hide the pep in my step.
“The girls mostly keep their secrets to themselves. But I do know that Betty had a blast with you in Memphis.”
We stepped onto a running trail beside Betty’s house that led into woods. I’d never been to this park before, but I knew several other runners from Scarlett Herb had recently begun claiming it as their jogging spot after Jay introduced them to it.
If I were a runner, I would have too. The thick canopy of colored leaves almost entirely shielded out the sun. Only filtered light shone through, illuminating a fairy-tale-like forest. I wondered if Betty ever came out here. By the looks of her well-manicured lawn and flowerbeds, I doubted she had time to work out. I’d seen the crap she ate. Tacos, tequila, more tacos, more tequila. She had either been incredibly blessed with good genetics or she worked out in whatever time she could find. I guessed the former. Her family had all looked like they didn’t age past thirty.
“You okay back there?” Jay called.
His feet hit the trail in front of me while I lazily followed behind, taking in my surroundings.
“Yeah, yeah. You don’t have to wait up. I’m just admiring the beauty.”
And thinking of the booty …
Jay slowed to a stop, letting me catch up. “And?”
“And?” I scraped the bottom of my shoes on the dirt, kicking a pebble to the side of the path.
“And … what’s on your mind? Besides Betty.”
“Nothing. Just Betty,” I sighed. “Oh, and the fact that I love her and can’t tell her yet because before I make that commitment, I need to make sure she’s the right fit for Maisy and me. And then she might not love me anyway, so I don’t know why my mind is going in circles. And then I’m trying to slow my schedule down at the club. And then—” I droned.
“Stop,” he said, holding up his hands. “Did you just say you love her?”
“Yeah.” I shrugged my shoulders to my ears before letting them fall, defeated. “I love Betty.”
“Congratulations, mate! That’s wonderful news!” He clapped me on the back, beaming.
“Is it? She’s a lot to handle. And what if she doesn’t feel remotely the same way?” I rubbed the back of my neck, which had tensed into a hard knot.
“You have to take risks. I don’t think she’ll turn you down. I’ve seen her face light up when she speaks to Rox about you. I think you’re good. But you should tell her now. Why wait? We never know what tomorrow might bring.” He began walking on the path again, picking up his pace and motioning for me to join him. “Come on.”
“But you don’t think it’s too early? That I might scare her away?” I said between breaths.
“When you love someone, you love someone. You don’t choose a time frame. There are no rules. Besides, you two have known each other for a while. You’ve been friends. Now, you just feel a little something more. And you’re not in the friend zone anymore, so I say, go for it.”
“Okay. You’re right. It’s so stupid of me to wait. I’ll do it. Maybe when we get back, if she’s up.” I dug my heels into the ground, pushing myself off faster. Seeing Betty was all the motivation I needed to blow through this early workout.
Nine
Betty
My doorbell rang as soon as I finished the last sip of coffee.
Damn it, Rox. Always running out of creamer.
I tightened my wool robe around me and shuffled my feet across the cold floor. Coming back from the stifling Memphis heat to the cooler mountain air of Outer Forks had been a cruel shock to my system. Before too long, it would begin snowing, and I wasn’t cut out for that type of weather. At the first hint of a snowflake, I hibernated.
The doorbell rang again.
“Damn! I’m coming!” I shouted, grabbing the creamer from the fridge and heading toward the front door. “Here, bitch. I bought this one just for you.” I opened the door and shoved the creamer in Terrance’s face. “Oh!”
“Uh, thanks? I actually take my coffee black, but it’s the thought that counts, right?” Terrance grabbed the creamer from my hand.
I snatched it back. “This ain’t for you. I thought you were Rox! What are you doing here anyway? Couldn’t get enough?” I asked, taking in his white T-shirt and gray sweatpants that perfectly outlined what he was packing down below. I looked to the left and the right, checking for neighbors before reaching out to grab him by the dick and pulling him inside. I couldn’t help myself.
“Wow. Okay. Wait. Am I interrupting your shower?”
“No. Why do you think that?”
I threw both of my arms around him and bit his neck. He tasted salty. I remembered Rox mentioning something about Jay and Terrance running one morning.
“Because you’re in a shower cap,” he said, stepping back and rubbing where I’d sunk my teeth into him.
“This ain’t a shower cap! It’s a sleeping bonnet.” I recoiled back from him like he’d just aged me twenty years.
“Oh. Looks like a shower cap to me.” He shrugged.
“And that’s why you’re getting the punishment. Boy, don’t tease me. Don’t you know I’ll unleash on you?” I reached for my bonnet and threw it across the room, releasing my curls in one big bounce.
“Oh, gosh. Please do,” he breathed out, stepping into me. “I need to lie back and let someone else take control for a change. That someone being you.”
“Done. You know where we’re going. March.” I smacked his ass and pointed him to the stairs. I quickly grabbed my phone and followed behind him, sending a text to Rox, saying I’d be thirty minutes late.
Rox: Jay told me. Have fun. I’ll start prepping in the truck. If you hear a commotion in your driveway, it’s me.
Me: And if you hear a commotion coming from your old bedroom, it’s Terrance.
Rox: Got it.
“Where do you want me?” he asked, looking around at my sex contraptions.
“In the shower. Rinse off. I like my men fresh. Now, go on, through those doors. Towels are under the cabinet.” I nodded toward my bathroom door. “Don’t take too long. I’ve got to get to work.”
“Okay. Me too.”
As soon as he disappeared behind the
bathroom door, I ran downstairs into my bedroom. I’d had to get rid of Terrance for a minute, so I could shave my bush and change out of my granny panties I’d slipped on last night. I hadn’t expected company, let alone my boy toy standing on my front porch when I wore my wool robe and hair bonnet. I cringed, grabbing a razor and lathering up my bits before shaving myself smooth as quickly as I could.
I heard the faucet turn off upstairs, so I picked up a towel and wiped my taco clean before running back up the stairs and pausing, breathless, as if I’d been standing there, waiting on him the whole time.
He stepped out of the bathroom in a cloud of steam with nothing but one of my starched white towels wrapped around his waist.
“Took you long enough.” I smirked. “That’s one spanking right there.” I tried to hide my heavy breathing.
“Sorry. I wanted to make sure I was fresh.” He tilted his head and grinned, dropping the towel. His boyish dimples peeked through a stubbled five o’clock shadow.
Terrance balanced the perfect mixture of pure and edgy. I could barely conceal my excitement over finally coaxing his fine ass back into my dungeon.
I dropped my robe and turned toward my toy shelf, picking up a Fleshlight, a condom, and handcuffs before crawling on top of my bed. I felt his gaze on my back, burning hot as a furnace.
“Come here. To the edge of the bed,” I said, patting my comforter.
He nodded, obeying me.
Good boy.
I ran my finger along his chest, down to his cock, and straight up the shaft, watching it flex at my touch. I gripped the head of his dick in my palm, steadying it.
“Let’s do some drills.” I smiled, spitting on his cock while I looked up for his reaction. His eyes grew wide as I slid his cock into the Fleshlight and eased his hips at an angle. “That’s it. Fuck it. Gently. Slow.”
He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
“Nope.” I slapped his ass hard. “Watch me while you do it.”
He nodded, biting his lip and moving his cock in and out of my toy. His eyes never left mine again.