by Tory Baker
That causes Wren and me to laugh. “Come on, we’ll go meet the rest of the Kelly’s.”
We’re walking down the hall when Sean steps out of the room. Last weekend, he was starting shit left and right. Today, he’s looking like he’s pissed off at the world.
“Hey, you okay?” I ask. My hand is now locked in Wren’s.
“Hey, yeah. Well, at least I hope so. I may need some help this week. I might even need Wren’s. I know we haven’t formally met, but you’d be doing me a solid if you don’t mind talking to Grace.” This is news to me. Who the hell knew Sean was talking to someone, let alone needed help?
“Sure, it won’t be until Wednesday or Thursday though,” she offers.
“Perfect.” Sean hugs her and then walks away.
“That was weird,” I tell Wren. I cock my eyebrow.
“Maybe, maybe not. You did say you two talk a lot. Maybe his girl needs someone more on her level.”
“Could be.” We end up in the kitchen. Dad must have been replaced by Cillian. He and Mom are at the stove. Sean is talking to Dad, probably about the bar. I haven’t been in there as much lately, mainly because Bennet is out of town and he usually helps with my overflow. This time, I’m trying to keep up with my clients and his.
“Hey, Ma, Dad, Bran. I’d like you to meet Wren.” I nod at my brothers, Sean and Cillian having already met Wren. Mom bustles around kissing my check before coming up to Wren, holding her by her arms and saying, “It’s so good to meet you. My boy has talked my ear off about you. I’m Moira.” She brings Wren in for a hug. Dad is now standing up, waiting for his turn.
“It’s so nice to meet you. Sorry I couldn’t make it last week. We brought dessert. I hope you don’t mind?”
“Dessert is always welcome in this house. I’m Aiden.” Dad holds his hand out for Wren, shaking it.
“Shew, I was worried with Cillian being a chef and Moira’s amazing food that I might have overstepped. Your Chicken Divan is so good.” Wren blushes as she rambles.
“That’s one of Trick’s favorites. I’m shocked he shared it with you,” Sean pipes up.
“Your time is coming, just you wait,” I mutter under my breath.
“What did you say?” Ma asks.
“Oh, nothing. Sean met a girl,” I cough under my breath.
“Dick,” he responds.
“Come on, dinner’s ready,” Cillian says, wrapping this shit up so as to not start a fight. Sean and I are the closest ones in age. It’s probably why we bitch at each other the most too. Hell, all of us can act like a bunch of pricks. I’m not sure how our parents still have enough hair with all the pulling of it raising us Kelly boys.
The stories I’m sure she’ll tell Wren today will probably have her in stitches of laughter and me embarrassed like no other. It’ll be worth it though, for her to relax, laugh, and get her mind off school for a while, at least for today. Come tomorrow, I know she’ll be a bundle of nerves until she gets her test results back in.
We all sit down, eat dinner, have Wren’s amazing fucking brownies that are warm and melt-in-your-mouth amazing. Nothing compares to the taste of her pussy, but these brownies are definitely coming in second place.
My hand is on Wren’s leg, slowly moving up to her thigh. I want my hand on her skin, and it’s been too fucking long. She leans into me and whispers, “Payback’s a you know what. Something tells me you won’t want a hard-on when you meet my father.” She looks down at my hand. Thankfully, the tablecloth prevents anyone else sitting at the table from seeing what I’m doing. No one knows where my hand is, but the breath that escapes Wren’s mouth when she sees my worn and tattooed hand on her fair skin, the way I’m cupping her thigh, I know what it’s doing to her. I bet if my fingers moved up a few inches, I could feel just how wet for me she is.
I lick my lips before responding, “It’s a long car drive. I’m sure we can think of something for you to take care of before we get there.” I turn my attention back to Sean, who’s sitting across the table from us. He’s asking if I have a couple of hours tomorrow to help him load up equipment. One of his foremen is off, and he could use the help. I let him know I’ll be up early and will head to his place as soon as Wren is off to school. All of us talking about nothing and everything is how we spend our afternoon until dusk is finally settling and I see Wren is trying to hide her yawning.
“Alright, it’s time for us to hit the road. Wren has class in the morning and a midterm to ace.” I help her up from her seat beside me. We make our way through the family telling them goodbye. My mom has Wren and me promising to come back on Sunday. As if either of us would say no, but we may have to take a raincheck one weekend to go see Wren’s dad. She understands, reluctantly. Dad has to tell her to share like she once told us boys. It causes us all to laugh and break up mom’s mood.
We’re in the car when Wren turns to me. My hand is on her leg, much like it was during dinner, wanting my skin on hers, when she says, “I really love your family. They’re great.”
“Thanks, baby. I think they love you more than me,” I joke.
I turn my head to look into her eyes while we’re stopped at a red light. She’s rolling her eyes at my nonsense. This girl already knows me to the marrow of my bones, and I fucking love it.
12
Wren
I’m scrambling out of Trick’s bed the next morning having this sinking feeling I’ll not only be late to school but also flunk my exams and be shit out of luck. I untangle myself, practically falling trying to get to the bathroom, when I look at the alarm clock Trick keeps on what he now calls my side of the bed. One day, while we were on FaceTime, he saw my old alarm clock. It’s vintage, or that’s what I like to call it. Actually, it was my mom’s. I remembered so many times as a kid when she would wind it up and use it as her alarm clock. Dad gave it to me when I was leaving for college. He knew it would give me that slice of home I’d need when homesickness kicked in.
Now I have a similar one here. I glance at it and breathe a sigh of relief. That’s when I notice Trick isn’t in bed. Last night, we took a shower together. Nothing sexual happened. We were both tired from going and doing all day. Trick wasn’t having us wearing clothes to bed—he wanted our skin touching with nothing between us. Now, here I am standing beside the bed, wrapped in the sheets I took with me when I stumbled out of bed, and Trick is gone. I’m beginning to realize this is what he misses when I’m not here on those nights he’s working late and I’m studying at my apartment, and I am not liking it.
I drop the sheet, grab a discarded shirt of his, and look for him. Surely, he didn’t leave to go help Sean this early in the morning. I veer off to the bathroom, do my morning ritual, and then pad out to the living room.
“Trick,” I call out to the open floor plan. I really do love his place. It’s minimalistic with his vibe everywhere. There are even a few drawings he has blown up and on canvas that he did himself. The tones are neutrals with pops of green here and there that represent his family.
I hear the doorknob rattle, spin around, and Trick walks through the door. He’s carrying a bag and what looks like to-go cups of coffee.
“Wren, baby.” He gives me that same tone when he’s inside me, and I whimper with need.
“Trick, I thought you might have been with Sean?” I question him, both of us walking to one another.
“Nah, I’m not leaving until you are.” He places the food and drinks on the counter.
The good morning kiss he’s planting on my lips has me rubbing my thighs together. His piercing on my tongue, the way he makes love to me with his mouth, he picks me up. My legs wrap around his waist, and Trick’s hands glide up the outside of my thighs until he reaches the globes of my ass. That’s when he notices I’m bare beneath his shirt.
“Fuck, I love when you wear my clothes.” His fingers find my center.
“Please,” I beg, not caring that I have anything else going on. Trick’s eyes leave mine, looking at the clock on the stove, and th
en he makes a decision. Probably the best one since he said no sex last night, not even oral. Let me tell you, I think I pouted more than a two-year-old. No matter what I tried, my leg over his, my hand wrapped around his length, not even sitting on his lap. Trick said no and that I needed sleep more than anything for today. I guess now he’s going to give me what I’ve been begging for, plus it took me forever to fall asleep last night. So, I’m going out on a limb in thinking his plan did not work for the better.
“Yeah, I’ll give my girl what she needs.” He spreads his feet further apart while I cling to his body, and two fingers glide inside me from behind. My body is aching and needy for him, any part of him I can have.
“Yes.” He doesn’t even have to build me up. I swear the minute he wrapped me in his arms and his lips landed on mine, my body craved his.
“I want you,” I moan out loud, taking one of my hands from around the nape of his neck and traveling it the length of his chest, down to his torso, pulling his shirt up along the way. When my hand meets his rock-hard abs, it pulls me under. The orgasm that was on the edge now has me soaring, and with only two of his fingers working me.
My hands scratch at his stomach trying to gain purchase when I come, leaving marks along the way.
“That was for you. Next time, you can take me in your mouth, or I’ll fuck you up against the wall of windows, let people see who you belong to while I take you from behind.” Trick places me on my feet, and what he does next almost destroys me. Those two fingers of his that were just inside me, he’s now licking them, tasting me off of them, and it’s enough to make me want to sink to my knees, returning the pleasure he just gave me.
“Holy shit.” His hand on my hip is firm, letting me have a few moments to regain use of my legs.
“This shit is not fair, you know. Last night, there was no coming. Today it’s only me allowed to come. You keep this up, and I will have no problem telling you next time.” I cross my arms over my chest. It does nothing except raise the shirt I’m wearing, giving Trick more of a glimpse of my legs and displaying my breasts more.
“Pretty sure you’d never say no to me, but we can test that theory next time.” He kisses me softly before saying, “Go shower. I’ll plate up our food. We’ll eat, then I’ll drop you off at class.”
“Thank you. I can take the bus if you need to meet Sean though?” I offer.
“Nope, he’s not even up yet. Lazy bag of bones is sleeping in.”
“I wonder if someone has something to do with that.” I wiggle my eyebrows, causing Trick to snort.
“Don’t be cute right now. You need to get ready and eat. Being cute is going to get you fucked, Wren.” His husky tone does nothing for the ache that’s building up.
This time, I’m the one scurrying away because if I don’t, I’ll be the one begging for more, missing my class, and I do not want to fail. I have hopes and dreams, and Trick supports them more than I thought anyone ever could.
13
Trick
Two Weeks Later
It’s a cause for a fucking celebration. Sure, it’s a Monday night, but this was when we could get everyone together. My girl passed her fucking midterms. Not only that, she’s been at my place more than hers lately, and I feel that’s a cause for a celebration.
We walk into Kelly’s. All of my brothers are here, our parents, and there’s a surprise guest that Wren has no fucking idea about. That was not an easy task to complete either. Mr. Taylor was more than apprehensive when I called him one day out of the blue asking if he’d make the trip to Boston. As soon as I told him what it was for, his voice lit up, and he asked the name and the date. Wren’s eyes haven’t clocked him yet, but mine have.
He’s not hard to miss when Kelly’s is still closed to the public. Opening will be happening in an hour, but Ma was able to get Cillian to get a cake from work. Sean is here, though the glances he’s giving Grace, I have no doubt this is the girl who has my brother in knots. Bran is in the corner nursing a beer. He’s off for the day, but I have a feeling he’ll end up at Sins and Ink with a certain tattoo artist.
“Did you do this?” Wren turns into me, her hand grasping my hip. I step into her, wanting her to know how much I care about her.
“Hell yes, I did. I’m proud as fuck of my woman. Think it was our studying ways.” I give her a wink with a smile. My time is running out, and I know her dad will be coming for his daughter any moment now.
“Possibly?” She’s definitely not picking up what I’m putting down.
“I have one more surprise for you. Are you ready for it?”
“With you? I’m ready for anything,” Wren replies.
“That’s fucking right.” I kiss her forehead and spin her around to where her dad is standing. Ready and waiting.
“Dad?” she questions, her voice quivering. If I could see her right now, I know tears are more than likely streaming down her cheeks.
“Princess,” he murmurs before hugging her. I know their relationship was rocky before she started college—he was still grieving the loss of his wife while looking at her spitting image. I’m not sure I would be strong enough to withstand that amount of pain he’s gone through. Wren took it in stride. Instead of floundering in depression, she kicked ass and is still taking names.
When they break apart, Wren says, “Dad, I’d like you to meet Trick. Trick, meet my dad.” We shake hands, already semi-understanding one another from our phone call and from what Wren has told me. They’ve talked several times over the past couple of weeks. She even sent him a picture of her tattoo and the close-up of what I incorporated inside it.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” I shake his hand.
“Likewise,” he responds. I give the two of them a few minutes alone, knowing they need time together, and make my way over to Sean, Cillian, and Bran. We all shoot the shit, talking about what we’ll be doing this coming week, if anyone needs help or if Kelly’s is understaffed for any reason. That’s when Sean pipes up, saying Ma brought on a new girl, and Grace is slowly but surely getting her feet wet. I hum my reply because I’m not a damn fool.
“You working tonight?” Sean asks.
“Nope, but Raven is.” I guess we Kelly boys sure know what we’re after. Speaking of… I wonder what Cillian has been up to.
“How have you been, Cil?” I ask.
“Fuck that, I am not answering jack shit. I know how this game goes. Bran is googly eyes for Raven. Sean can’t take his eyes off the new chick, and you, you’re ready to drag Wren down the aisle. I can see it plain as day. We’ll have a baby sister in no time.” With that, he marches off, leaving Bran, Sean, and me laughing our asses off. People in this town talk, no matter the size and what I’ve heard is our brother has his eyes on a certain boss’s daughter named Hazel.
“You guys want a beer?” Sean asks.
“Nah, I’m not drinking tonight. We’re on the bike. I’ll take a Coke though.” Grace could have come and taken our order, but I have a feeling she is running away from Sean every time she sees him glancing her way.
“It’s true, then, huh?” Bran questions.
“What?” I act dumb but know full well what he’s asking.
“Don’t play dumb. You think you’ll ask Wren to marry your surly ass,” he scoffs.
“Yeah, just not yet though. I want this semester to go easy for her. No added pressure. Damn woman is tough as nails and refuses any type of handouts.”
“Because that doesn’t sound familiar,” he pesters on. I shrug my shoulders, not admitting to my own faults, classic Kelly style.
“Whelp, I’m off. I’ll see you around.”
“Sounds good. I’m sure I’ll see you this week at Sins,” I give him a dose of his own medicine back.
I turn around in my seat, taking in the scenery around me. This place is like home to me. Many times after school, we’d all sit in a corner to work on our homework until it was time to head home for dinner and bed. Sometimes we’d be assholes to Ma and badger he
r to leave early to go play with the neighborhood kids. Other times, we’d beg to hang out here and help them. We were some wild hellions, that’s for sure. Not much has changed, well, the hellion part has, but Kelly’s? It’s exactly the same—the wood walls, the light fixtures, the signs. Everything is the same even if the outside world has changed.
“Hey, you.” Wren comes to stand in between my legs, a smile plastered on her face.
“Hi, beautiful.” My hands grasp her hips, bringing her closer, needing a taste of her lips.
“What had you so deep in thought?”
“Memories, this place, our future.” The sigh she lets out tells me everything I need to know.
“I like the sound of that.” She kisses me lightly. In a different place without our family surrounding us, I’d have deepened the kiss until the both of us were breathless and needing one another.
“Yeah, I do too. We have thirty minutes, then this place will be packed full of locals. I know your dad is in town for tonight. You two going to hang out while I’m at work?” I ask her, knowing full well it’s a Monday and she’ll stay at her apartment instead of with me. The weekends, we make it work even with our hectic schedules, but during the week it’s a whole other story. Plus, she always brings up a valid point, ‘Why not stay at an apartment I’m paying for? I at least need to use it some of the time.’ I let it go, but I know if I can convince her, she’ll be with me, forever.
“Yeah, then I’ll have him drop me off at my apartment. Will you call me when you get home?” she asks. This is the part that sucks, her in school, me working until one or two in the morning. I know it sucks balls right now. I just keep reminding myself that there are lots of breaks coming up, and summer will be here before we know it. Wren said she wasn’t taking a full schedule this time around. Apparently, last year really did her in.
“Always. You going to be okay at your apartment tonight?” I ask. This question has been stated more than once. Her roommates are shit, and Heather’s boyfriend is still on my radar from that one night. I’m not stupid. He wants something he can’t have. Wren has put him firmly in his place several times before I was around. Hell, she’s told Heather everything and still that chick stays with this Jake character.