by Golden Angel
“Sure,” Michael said. “I’m in.”
Jake shrugged. Might as well. “Me too.”
******
When Jake disappeared with Justin and Michael, Sharon was finally able to relax a little more. She’d felt his gaze on her all night and it had made it really hard to pretend she was just there as Lexie’s friend. Especially because she swore she felt judgment. She might be just a teensy bit sensitive to that kind of thing, she reminded herself.
He might just be watching her because she was fucking hot and he couldn’t keep his eyes off of her.
More likely it was some combination of both.
“So, you don’t miss California?” Wendy asked. She’d been enjoying hearing about some of Sharon and Kate’s adventures on the West Coast – and so had Ellie. Poor Ellie had been a little overwhelmed by Wendy’s super friendly questioning, so Sharon had stepped in to deflect since she’d happened to be standing there when the conversation had started. Actually, concentrating on making sure Ellie was comfortable had helped Sharon too. It had helped distract her from wondering what kind of impression she was making on Jake’s mom.
“On days like today when it’s freaking freezing...?” Sharon waggled her head back and forth, making a face. Both Ellie and Wendy laughed. “Sometimes I miss the weather, but that’s it. Mostly it’s nice having all four seasons. I’m still holding out for some snow. It’s been so long since I’ve seen snow. I’m dying to make some snow angels. Snowmen. Maybe start a snowball fight. And it’s a proven fact that hot chocolate tastes better after being out in the snow.”
“Sitting by the fire afterward feels better too,” Wendy agreed, smiling nostalgically. “I can’t tell you how many times our kids would go out and play in the snow and then huddle by the fireplace when they came back inside. It was their favorite activity.” She chuckled. “Of course, the fact that I always brought them hot chocolate and warm cookies while they were doing that probably didn’t hurt.”
That did sound pretty amazing and Sharon felt a little ache in her ribs as she pictured it. Wendy seemed like the kind of mom that had always done little things to take care of her kids and make them happy. It sounded like a scene out of a storybook, the kind of thing she’d always imagined when she was a kid but had never experienced.
She’d had to sneak out to play in the snow and then was usually punished for doing so on returning. The only acceptable snow activity for her growing up had been skiing, and only when she and her parents visited a lodge that was specifically dedicated to that. Usually because they were doing some kind of networking or there was an event happening. Sharon was a good skier – her parents hadn’t wasted any expense on buying her lessons the first few times they’d gone – but it hadn’t been as warm and fun as what Wendy was describing.
For the most part she’d hung out with the other people her age who were also at the Lodge and had a good time. It hadn’t all been bad. But she couldn’t stop the sharp stab of envy as she pictured what it had been like for Jake, Lexie, and Patrick. Because she didn’t doubt for a moment that Patrick was included in that little scenario; she’d heard enough stories of how he’d basically spent all his time with Jake growing up to know that.
A few minutes later one of Wendy’s friends came over to ask her something and she excused herself from the conversation. Ellie said she was going to see what was going on downstairs – they could hear voices and laughter coming from the basement door, which was open – but Sharon found herself drifting to the hallway and front room.
On the way in she’d noticed the photos up in both spaces but hadn’t stopped to look at them. Now that she was on her own she found herself drawn to them, especially after hearing some of Wendy’s stories about Jake and Lexie’s childhood.
This house - this family - was like something out of a sitcom, Sharon mused as she looked over the photos. The kind of family she’d watched on television but hadn’t really thought existed. She wasn’t surprised to see that Patrick was in most of the photos as well. From what she understood, his parents were nice but not very involved. They hadn’t even come tonight, although she didn’t know why. Just that they’d been busy.
If this had been her engagement party her parents would have shown up out of social obligation, but they wouldn’t have had fun in this environment. Actually, they wouldn’t have really known what to do with themselves. There was no networking going on, just genuine human conversation.
Would be kind of fun to see them trying to fit in though.
The photos down the hallway were all formal portraits from school or team sports (apparently Jake had played baseball in high school) but the ones in the front room were more interesting. Lots of photos of family gatherings and of Lexie, Jake, and Patrick as kids. There were a lot of candids and photos where it was obvious someone had just called their names to get them to look at the camera before taking it. The contrast to the very few, very formal photos Sharon’s parents had up in their house, which tended to feature fake smiles and stiff poses, was stark. She pushed those thoughts away though, they only made her feel melancholy.
Sharon bent down to see a photo of a teenage Jake and Patrick at Christmas, both of them showing off swords that they’d been given as gifts, and she had to grin. Everyone knew that Jake had accidentally given Patrick the scar on his face, but it was still something to see the actual photographic evidence of the weapon. Both of them were pretty cute, grinning at the camera as they stood in fighting stances.
“What are you doing?” Jake’s deep voice startled her, and she jumped up straight in the air, squeaking slightly, before spinning around to face him. He was leaning against the wide doorway of the room, hands in his pockets, and she had no idea how long he’d been standing there watching her.
“You scared the crap out of me,” she accused, scowling at him. Her hands came down on her hips. “What are you doing sneaking around?”
******
Jake shrugged as Sharon glared up at him. The truth was, as soon as Ellie had come downstairs without her, he’d had the immediate impulse to go looking for her. Actually, he’d been fighting that impulse as soon as she’d been out of his sight, but he’d been winning the fight up until that point.
She wasn’t where he’d expected to find her though. The other rooms still had plenty of people milling in and out, and he’d seen his mom talking to her friend Connie, but this front room was empty. People were welcome in it, but for some reason hardly anyone ever used it, except at Christmas when his parents put up the tree.
Finding her looking at pictures instead of in the center of things...
Well, it was kind of throwing him a little. Especially after the revelation of Michael’s perspective on Sharon’s behavior earlier.
“I was just wondering where you were,” he said, tilting his head at her. “Usually you’re right in the middle of everything. It’s much quieter when you’re not. Seemed kind of weird.”
A month ago, he would have made that statement in a rather derogatory way. Tonight, he was more curious than anything else.
“I just wanted to see the pictures,” she said with a shrug, turning back to look at them, although she didn’t bend at the waist for a closer look, the way she had been before. Which was probably for the best, because, despite the tights, seeing her standing like that had been giving him all sorts of inappropriate ideas. “I’ll be back to get my share of attention when I’m done.”
Annoyance twinged through him at the matter-of-fact way she said it. Then again, he’d accused her of being an attention whore in the past, much more bluntly and less politely than he just had. It wasn’t like she was unaware of his thoughts about that.
“Why do you need more attention?” he asked, trying to sound casual, but even he could hear the edge to his voice.
Straightening up, Sharon turned to face him again, crossing her arms defensively over her chest. “Here’s a question – why does it bother you so much?”
Jake opened his mouth... closed i
t. He didn’t really know why it bothered him when it came right down to it. Just that he didn’t understand it and it grated on him that she constantly seemed to need so much of it.
“What’s wrong with liking attention?” She dropped her arms, stepping towards him, her voice rising a little as she demanded an answer. “If you see me taking it away from someone who would be getting the attention at the time, yeah I could see how that would be annoying. But I try not to do that, and I think I mostly succeed. Have I been taking attention Lexie and Patrick should be getting tonight? Or anyone else?”
Her dark eyes were hot with pent-up annoyance that went back far before New Year’s Eve as she came closer. A muscle worked in Jake’s jaw because he knew she had a point.
“No, you haven’t.”
About a foot away from him, she stopped, tossing her hands up in their air. “So, what’s wrong then? If it’s just that I like having lots of positive attention flowing towards me... Well that’s just one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard. And I’ve heard a lot of stupid things. Said some of them too.”
Snorting a laugh, Jake slid his hands out of his pockets and reached out for her. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion, her body stiffening slightly, as he pulled her towards him.
“You’re right,” he said. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why it bothers me, which means it’s pretty irrational for me to be bothered.”
“Damn right it is,” she muttered, although she relaxed slightly as his hands slid up her back. The sweater material of her dress was soft under his palms, and some of the thoughts he’d been having when he saw her bent over, looking at the photos, were returning.
“I might be a bit jealous,” he admitted, probing his emotions.
Sharon blinked at him in surprise. “Because you want more attention?”
“What? No... I mean, not in the way you’re thinking,” he said, shaking his head. “Being the center of attention usually makes my skin crawl, so I think I have trouble understanding why you like it so much. But also, I think I might be jealous of the attention you’re giving to everyone else. At least, that’s part of it right now.”
He’d never really deeply probed his feelings about the issue, to be honest, but what he was saying felt like it was right. Every time he’d come home in his fatigues, he and his fellow troops had gotten plenty of attention, but it hadn’t really been attention that was about them personally. While he appreciated it on one level, on another it had made him acutely uncomfortable.
People staring, people pointing, people applauding... and none of them had known what it was like. Some of the times he’d been fine, other times he’d wanted to run and hide from all the eyes. And he was lucky; he hadn’t been part of any missions gone bad. Most of his duties had been pretty routine. At one point he’d been assigned to be part of one of the teams instructing the military police in Afghanistan, but the program – which had had a one of the highest fatality rates in the country – had been discontinued a few weeks before his team had been deployed.
And Jake had been relieved. Which had made him feel like a coward. He would have gone, of course, but he hadn’t been looking forward to it. He’d hated telling his parents and glossing over how dangerous that particular assignment would be. Had dreaded counting off the days leading up to it.
So when the program had been discontinued and he’d been given leave instead, coming home and hearing the applause and gratitude from in the airport had made him feel like a fraud.
Then he’d gone to Stronghold and started getting reacquainted with everyone and met Sharon, who obviously thrived on attention. Courted it. Reveled in it.
He hadn’t exactly been friendly to her and she’d given back as good as she’d gotten... and he’d liked that. Being the focus of her attention hadn’t bothered him, and he’d kind of gotten off on constantly verbally sparring with her. Of course, holding her against him and not verbally sparring was nice too...
A little smile curved her lips and she tilted her head at him as she began to walk her fingers up his chest. “Oh? Well you have my attention now...”
The invitation in her voice was unmistakable.
It was his little sister’s and best friend’s engagement party.
His entire family was in the house.
Sneaking off to have sex with his fuck buddy would be incredibly crass.
None of the other women he’d ever dated would have dared hint at it.
They would have been appalled if he’d suggested it.
Ah... fuck it.
“I’ve got more photos upstairs in my old room,” he said.
Sharon’s smiled turned absolutely wicked and his cock responded immediately. Yeah, he definitely liked being the focus of her full attention.
“I would love to see them,” she said, leaning into him so that her breasts pressed against him, her head tilting back as if for a kiss.
His father’s laughter suddenly cut through the air, loud in the next room, and Jake pulled back, although he kept one arm around her waist so he could lead her to the stairs. Hell, he’d always had a fantasy about coming back to his parents’ house and having sex with one of his girlfriends in his high school bed... granted, in that fantasy the house had been empty, not full of other people, but the danger of getting caught was kind of adding to the excitement now running through him.
As they snuck up the stairs, Sharon kept one hand over her mouth to keep her giggles from echoing through the stairway, and Jake couldn’t stop grinning. Damn she was a bad influence. But he didn’t mind at all.
Chapter 11
Although some effort had been made to turn the room into a guest bedroom, there was still plenty of evidence to show that it was Jake’s old room. Despite Jake’s hands moving over her back down to her ass and his lips running down her neck, Sharon couldn’t help but be a little distracted looking around. The framed picture of a football player up on the wall was a holdover from when it was his room, and so was the shelf of trophies above the dresser.
The blue comforter on the bed was neutral enough that she wasn’t sure whether or not that had been his, same with the lamps and curtains.
“Sharon...” Jake’s hands squeezed her ass, his breath hot against her ear. “You’re not paying attention to me.”
His tone was light and teasing, and she tried to refocus herself. There would be time to look around the room later. Probably.
Either way, if they were going to have sex in his room during the party, it probably needed to be fast. They could only be missing for so long before someone would notice, especially since he was the best man and brother of the bride and she was a bridesmaid.
“Sorry,” she whispered, pulling his shirt from the waistband of his pants, giggling a little. She’d never done anything like this and she had a feeling she was trying to distract herself from how nervous she was. What if someone comes looking for us? What if Jake’s mom comes looking for us? Why is thinking about that as exciting as it is horrifying? “I’ll try to focus.”
“Why are you whispering?” He whispered back.
So that people couldn’t hear them, duh. But that was silly; of course no one could hear what they were saying. They were on a separate floor and Jake had closed the door behind them.
But she still felt like she should whisper.
“Because it feels weird being loud,” she finally responded, her voice a little louder than before but not much.
A chuckle rumbled through his chest as he moved them over to the bed, pulling up her dress as he went. "Well, you shouldn't be too loud."
She moaned, knowing his thoughts were exactly where hers were.
We could be caught.
Jake tugged her dress over her head, leaving her in her tights and bra. He bent her back, holding her up as his mouth moved over the lacy cups over her breasts. The fabric shifted against her hard nipples, stimulating the little buds and Sharon threaded her fingers into his dark hair, shuddering with the pleasure sweeping through her as she bit d
own on her lower lip to keep quiet.
When he reached her nipple, she couldn't help a small, low moan as the combination of his hot mouth and the itchy lace made her squirm. He sucked hard, and her fingers dug into his scalp.
"Jake..." His name came out as a breathy plea for more, and he groaned around his mouthful of flesh in response.
She squeaked as he pulled away from her breast, dragging his teeth over her nipple just hard enough to sting, before straightening up and spinning her around. Bent over the edge of the bed with her hands firmly planted on the mattress, Sharon peeked over her shoulder at him. The expression on his face was almost reverent as he rolled her tights down over her ass. He raised his eyebrows and met her gaze.
"A thong?" he asked, his voice low and amused.
"I wasn't going to go commando to meet your parents," she hissed back at him. There were a lot of things she didn't care about, but that had just been a little too much for her. She'd felt better wearing underwear, even if it was super sexy underwear.
Besides, the thong matched her bra.
Hooking his fingers into the straps, Jake yanked the thong down with her tights, crouching behind her so that she could no longer see his face. Sharon dropped her head to a more comfortable position, moaning as Jake's tongue slid through her already wet lips. He swirled it around her clit, making her whimper as she squirmed, her hips moving up and down in invitation.
His hands spread over the underside of her ass, cupping the cheeks and holding them apart to give him full access to all her most sensitive bits. She cried out in surprise as his tongue moved upwards to circle her anus.
"Oh you dirty fucker." She gasped out the words, her elbows buckling at the unexpected assault of sensation. With her upper body now supported by her forearms, her ass was left high in the air, like an offering.
Jake chuckled again. "No one's ever done that to you?"
"I just didn't expect you to do it," she retorted back. There was no way she was going to get into what other guys had or hadn't done with her. Especially since the answer to his question was that multiple guys had, and she assumed he wouldn't really want to hear that. She hadn't been expecting it from him though.