by Eden Rose
I rub my hand down his coarse hair and he shakes me off. “No, ice cream.”
The little shit stomps his foot and looks at me as if he’s telling me something that will change the world. “Fine, buddy, we will get ice cream.”
I take him to the ice cream place around the corner from our house and then afterwards we eat it outside. “Look- bird!” He points his chubby finger towards a bird that is flying by and then squawks too. “I’m a bird!”
The funny thing about Michigan is the weather constantly changing. One minute there’s snow and then the next it’s hotter than hell outside.
For the first time in a few days, I laugh along with him. “Yes, you are. Are you ready to go home?” I have only ate half of my ice cream but I’m not hungry anyways. I know I should be focusing on being with Lucas, but I keep thinking about Keeley. I have a feeling that they are going to let her out of the hospital soon and it’s killing me that she’s going home with him.
“No, play outside!” He says and swallows his ice cream hole. “Owwwwie,” he cries and rubs his forehead.
The little sneak should know better than to do something like that. “Come on, man, you know you can’t do that.”
He rubs his tummy and then looks at me. “I don’t feel so good.”
No shit. “Well, let’s go home and cuddle on the couch. We can watch basketball.”
“No! Football!” He shakes his head from side to side and I roll my eyes.
“Give it a rest, little man. You won’t play football. We are a basketball family!” I say teasingly and shake my head. Before he can argue, I throw my cone away and then pick him up. Once he’s in my arms, we walk towards the car.
“Unca Wywy, when can I get a brudder or sissster?”
Uh… “Um, you want one?”
He nods his head and then lays his forehead in the crook of my neck. “Yeah. Like you and mommy.”
“I don’t know, man, I don’t know.”
The truth is, I don’t know if he would ever have a brother or sister. At least not one full blooded or anything. Ruth has been keeping everything hush- hush from me about her relationship with Jerry, but I’m wanting to know the truth. Did she know that he was married all along?
The night before I broke things off with Keeley, we had a long talk. We discussed how she started seeing Jerry and everything. She also filled me in how the money was taken. It wasn’t just Jerry taking it, Ruth had been as well.
I drove us to Kruse with one thing in mind, I wanted answers. I didn’t care about the fact that she is crying or is trying to get one over me. I’m pretty sure that she knows that I wouldn’t kick her and Luke out. Don’t get me wrong, I’m almost to that point, but this is my sister we are talking about and my nephew.
Ruth didn’t say much, I didn’t want to engage any conversation with her, but I knew she was hurting about something.
By the time that we got to Kruse, I was itching for answers. Much more than that, I was itching for Keeley to be back in my arms. It’s only been a matter of hours, but I miss her so much.
“Two, please,” I say to the hostess who is eying me up and down. Ruth coughs and then looks to the side while kicking me in the shins. Sure, the hostess is cute and everything, but I wouldn’t mess up what I have going with Keeley.
The brunette hostess with the big tits, squeezes her arms against her chest to make them stick out even more and I can’t help but shake my head in disgust. I’m not interested in her. She’s one of those girls that is trying to bag a rich guy so she doesn’t have to work.
Not going to happen.
“Right this way, Mr. Thorne,” she purred and led us through the dining room.
My favorite part about this restaurant is their steaks. I don’t know what they put on it or season it with, but it’s delicious. Plus, I like the atmosphere.
After we are seated, Ruth sits across from me and doesn’t meet my eyes. “What’s going on? You wanted to talk. We are here to talk.”
She sighs and then looks at me through her eyelashes. “Well, I figured you had questions about Jerry.”
“Yeah.”
“Let me ask you- did you know about us before?”
“Thank you for dining with us today. My name is Amanda and I will be taking care of you tonight. May I start you off with something to drink? We have-”
I look up at the young server and then say: “Vodka tonic.” She looks at Ruth who doesn’t say anything but holds up another finger to signify that she wants one too.
I watch the server’s cute ass as she walks away from our table and then feel a kick in my shin. “What?” I blurt out and glare at her.
“You are such a whore.”
I chuckle and then look seriously at her. “I want to know how you got together with Jerry. And before you lie to me, I just want to let you know that I have way of validating everything you say.”
Ruth clears her throat and thanks the cute waitress as she drops off our drinks and takes our orders. I order the steak and Ruth orders some ridiculously expensive dinner that I bet she won’t like.
Oh well. At least I’m getting answers.
“I met Jerry a few years ago at a bar in LA. He said that he was separated from his wife because she was a whore or something. No, actually he said she was crazy. He found some medication in her closet that is used to treat crazy disorder.”
Keeley’s words echo in my mind: I come from crazy.
I have heard of mental illness being hereditary, I wonder if hers is as well. Even if that were the case, it doesn’t make me love her any less. We all have our quirks. I would just hope that she trusts me enough to share that with me.
“And?”
She blushes and then looks down before looking back at me. “We went to his hotel room and hooked up immediately. It was hot and fun. He kicked me out right after we had sex. Three months later, I found out I was pregnant and then tried to find him.”
My eyes go wide as I look at my lying sister. She has lied to me for so long, how much more has she lied about? And why? I wouldn’t have judged her or anything.
“Why didn’t you just tell me in the first place? Ruth, you know I would have supported you. Why lie to me?”
“I called Jerry’s phone and his wife answered after I found out I was pregnant. She sounded beautiful and smart. I didn’t know how to ask for her husband so I hung up. That night, I got back together with Jose and convinced him that I was pregnant from earlier.”
Her manipulating ways are becoming worse and worse. I can’t believe that she’s this fucked up. “You mean to tell me, that night when you came home all bruised up and I went looking for Jose- that was all a lie?”
I remember that night like it happened yesterday. She came home telling me that Jose had beat the shit out of her because he found out she was pregnant. I didn’t realize it then, but it didn’t sound like the type of thing he would do. He was excited about the fact that he was dating the sister of a professional basketball player. I know he liked it.
“He did the math and found out that he couldn’t have been the father. When he confronted me about it, I told him he was trippin’. He got so mad at me that he punched me in the chin.”
Not for one second, not one second, do I believe that she is telling me the truth. “And then? Then, you came home and told me that you were pregnant and Jose was beating you. You were trying to get me in trouble. That is what you keep trying to do. You keep thinking it’s okay for me to clean up your messes that you keep making. What the fuck is wrong with you? I could have been arrested for what I did! You are such a fucking bitch!” I’m not yelling at her, but the people at the next table are looking over at us and I give them a look that tells them where to go.
Because after that night that she told me that, I called Jose over and handled business. I shot him twice in the head for beating up my sister.
***
Three months later
I look up at the sky and then push myself to run harder and f
aster. My testosterone is going fucking crazy because I haven’t had sex in a long time, but it is what it is.
I can’t bring myself to fuck anyone after Keeley. No one is her and it’s driving me crazy. I miss her so much and she’s all I can fucking see. I’ve tried to pick up girls in the bars but none of them got me hard. Not even a little hard. It was terrible and embarrassing.
As I pick up my pace, I run past a black SUV outside of one of my neighbors. I know that it is not their car because they are in Florida right now. Imagine that, people are actually snow birds and all of that shit. Where I grew up, you were lucky to have a house during the winter and now people have two or more houses.
It’s just one of those things that are hard for me to understand when I’m used to living in the ghetto and not having much. There were nights that we went hungry and had to turn our clothes inside out to keep from itching. On those days and nights, it was the worst. Ruth would whine and cry about how uncomfortable she was and there was not a damn thing I could do about it.
I turn the corner again and see this vehicle driving by and the reflection of a woman. My heart stops in my chest at the possibility of it being Keeley. I haven’t seen her since that day at the hospital and I fucking miss her so bad.
Right after I found out that she got out of the hospital, I stopped by their practice and she wasn’t there. Jerry was in his office smoozing with some other person but I couldn’t find Keeley.
I fucking miss her.
Almost as if there was a beacon, I looked up and saw the window of the vehicle roll down. The air knocked out of my lungs as I saw her face manifest. She looked beautiful with her high cheek bones and narrowed face. Her hair was big and curly almost as if she had spent a lot of time at the salon.
“Keeley?” I whisper and run up towards the car but as soon as I got close enough, she drove off.
Feeling like a psychotic person, I jogged faster to get home. How could I just imagine her? It was almost as if she were a mirage or something.
Chapter 4
Keeley
Three months prior
“I don’t see why you can’t go home today,” the nurse says as she hands me a cup of water. I don’t want water. I want to get out of here so I can purge Wyatt from my system.
I had been in the hospital for a week to work on getting my kidneys back in order and everything. Needless to say, I’m tired of watching television and reading these stupid romance books.
We get it, he’s rich and she’s poor. They fuck. There is not one loveable thing about him but yet you love him. You love his penis, you dumb bitch.
See, I have gone insane. I’m arguing with myself over fictional characters. It’s gotten bad.
Olivia and Shana have come and gone already today, I wanted them to sneak me in a milkshake or something. Jerry had meant it when he said things were going to change. And they have.
I don’t agree with all of these changes, but I don’t know what else to do. He’s got me on a string and he’s playing me like a puppeteer plays with their puppets. I can’t believe some of the shit.
However, I do have a plan that I will execute.
The nurse then hands me the “call” button and strolls out of the room. Jerry walks in with his suitcase and he’s wearing his tie still from work. I don’t miss the way he checks out the slutty nurse nor do I miss him shaking his head. That head shake reminds me of someone trying to get an idea out of their head. Like shaking your head is going to get rid of an idea.
“When we go home, Keeley, I want to talk to you about your practice.”
I shake my head and then mute the television. I don’t really care about Real Housewives or whatever this is. But then I see the title. Real Housewives of Basketball or something like that.
The stab of Wyatt not being here and seeing his profession, is enough to make me want to cry.
“What are you talking about?” I ask him.
He sits on the bed and places his hand on my knee. To anyone else, this would be comforting, but to me, I know the truth. This is his way of telling who’s boss and it’s not me. “Well, the thing is, I think you should concentrate more on other things. Like going off your birth control and getting pregnant.”
I shake my head. “Jerry, you know that’s not a good idea.” I don’t bother telling him that there is no way that I would have a baby with him because I don’t trust him. Look at all of the shit he has done.
“That’s just it. We need to work on that. I know you are worried about your mom.”
It’s my turn to have an internal struggle. “What about my mother?” I had never told him about all of the things she has done. When we got together, I told him that she was dead, I didn’t talk to the rest of the family. I know that he is with me primarily for my family connections, though.
He places his index finger over my lips and then pushes harder than normal. “I know all about the fact that she’s in a hospital for the criminally insane. How would she feel that her own daughter has told everyone that she’s dead?”
“You have got to be kidding me! Jerry, you would honestly let that woman know where I am? Do you not have a heart? Or is your heart that small that you just don’t care? I honestly don’t believe you.” My heart is hammering in my chest and I feel my adrenaline pumping through my veins.
The beeping of the heart monitor machine starts blaring and a nurse runs into the room immediately. “Mrs. Johnson. What’s the matter? Sir, you will have to leave if we can’t control her heart rate.”
Jerry nods his head and then looks at me adoringly. Only I know that he doesn’t mean it. He’s trying to fool the nurse into thinking that he cares about me. “I’m sorry. We were just having a discussion about how to keep her blood pressure down and how work wouldn’t be a good idea.”
The perfect doting husband. Yeah, right. There is nothing perfect about this line of bullshit.
***
Three months later
The sound of the knocking door is what woke me up from my afternoon nap. I couldn’t help but cringe as I heard whoever was on the other side of the door knocking harder. Who is so insistent?
Gingerly, I get off of the couch and walk towards my door. I don’t bother checking to see who it is since it’s probably the delivery man so when I open it…
I’m wanting my new purse to come in the mail. I paid extra for it to come over night and I’m getting very impatient. I saw it online and I had to have it right now and it’s taking too damn long.
I’m shocked to say that I’m wrong. It’s not the delivery man.
A flash of white teeth and the scent of fresh linen and manly hotness hit my senses before I can react. He smells clean and delicious while waking up all of my dormant senses.
Wyatt holds me at arm's length and looks at my body as he does. I can feel his eyes penetrating my skin and I feel naked. His fingers bite into my flesh as he does, he lightly shakes me.
“Cupcake, what’s happened to you?”
I shake my head to show him that I’m not interested in talking about that right now. Actually, talking is the last thing that I want to do. I want to soak up his attention and bathe in it. It has been such a long time since I have felt as desirable as I do right now with him and I’m not going to let it go to waste.
“I don’t want to talk about that right now,” I say through terse lips because my teeth are chattering from nerves. This is the first time that we have been face to face in over three months and I have no idea what to do with myself.
Let me rephrase that. I know what I want to do but I don’t know what I can do.
“It’s been so long since I have had you in my arms and I’m not going to let these minutes tick on by. We have shit to talk about but right now, I don’t care,” he says with flourish.
My lips open to say something equally profound, but I’m suddenly shut up with his persistent lips on mine. I welcome them eagerly and slide my tongue out to lick the crack of his lips. As I do so, his own tongue sl
ides out and we massage each other gently. His hands are gliding up and down my back and I can’t help but tingle from it.
“My god, baby, I have missed you so much,” he murmurs against my lips and I’m dragging him with me inside my house.
“Let’s go to my office,” I say to him against his mouth and lead the way through the corridor to my office. Once we are inside, I lose all of my cool. I take my hands from his waist and rip his tee in half and the fabric hangs from his shoulders. I then place my questing fingers on his belt buckle and undo the buckle to free him.
For the past few months, every time that Jerry and I had sex, I have thought about the time that Wyatt and I made love. Needless to say, I’m eager to make love to Wyatt. I slide his pants down his hips and past his thighs as I drop to my knees.
Wyatt places his hands in my hair and sifts through the strands to gain control. “I can’t tell you how many times I have wanted your mouth on my cock. How many times I have wanted you, Keeley. It’s unbelievable. These months have been horrible, I have missed you so much, cupcake.”
That special feeling that I have when I’m with Wyatt, floods through my body and I want to keep it. There is no way that I can give up this feeling that I am feeling at this moment. It’s true though, I have missed being with him. I can’t tell you how many times I have fingered myself while thinking of him. How many times that I have been with Jerry and all I could think about was Wyatt. He’s one of a kind and…
Fuck.
When I free him, his hard dick juts out of his briefs and points towards me. The rumors are true and he’s fucking huge. His dick makes Jerry’s look like a tootsie roll. My pussy squeezes involuntarily at the thought of being filled by Wyatt. I can’t help but moan slightly when he pinches my nipple.
I look up at him through hooded eyes and he shakes his head at me. I wink and he says: “It’s all for you. No one has touched me since you. No one will ever touch me. This is for you and only you. I don’t want you thinking about anything else when I sink into your body again and claim you as mine. I know you want it.”