by M K Dwyer
“What’s with you? Any why did you tell them your name was Erica?”
“Because it is. You know that, and I’m just happy, I guess. It’s been a while since I’ve felt this light.” She could’ve played off her change in attitude but knew that wouldn’t work with Joyce. She had a six sense about people and was more in tuned to others around her than most.
“Good for you, sweetie. I’m glad you can see the change in yourself. When I walked in here, I couldn’t believe my eyes. You were actually engaged in conversation, or dare I say, flirting, with a stranger. A gorgeous, strange man, at that. You could’ve knocked me over with a feather!”
Laughing, Nikki replied, “I wasn’t flirting, per say. Just bantering. He was cute. Can you blame me?”
“What about Will?”
“What about him?”
“This morning he was the one who put that smile on your face.”
“He still is. Jesus was fun to talk to, and he’s cute. But that’s it. I’m not attracted to him like I am to Will. He’s that super charming guy you have fun flirting with, but never date because you can’t tell if he genuinely means what he says or is just blowing smoke up your keister. Plus, I’ll probably never see him again.”
“Funny.”
“What?”
“You thought you would never see Will again either.”
Chapter Sixteen
Will
Will cooked dinner for the other guys on shift Monday night which meant someone else, anyone else, was on dish-duty. He didn’t mind cooking but would eat on paper plates for the rest of his life if it meant never having to do dishes. Especially since the firehouse didn’t have a dishwasher. As the cook, he got the better end of that deal, for sure.
Hoping to get a few minutes of privacy to call Nikki, he ducked outside and sat on a bench behind the fire station while he held the phone to his ear. He still wasn’t sure how to bring up being a father after her proclamation that she never wanted to be a stepmom. It’d been like a knife to his heart that the woman he was falling for was rejecting his son before she even knew he existed. Perhaps it would have been better to tell her from the beginning, but there was no going back. He knew he was putting the cart before the horse, they certainly weren’t ready to start talking marriage yet, but nonetheless, he had to come up with a way to convince her she’d be a great stepmom. She was so sweet and nurturing. He could see why she chose a career in teaching. She was probably a natural with kids and didn’t even realize it.
Just before the call went to voicemail, he heard the call connect, but still heard some more rustling before she got it to her ear. It must’ve been at the bottom of her giant purse again. Seemed like every time he called her, she had to dig it out to answer it.
“Hey you. What are you doing on this fiiiine evening?” She sounded tipsy.
“Hey, Sweetheart. I’m just taking a break at work to hear your voice. What are you up to?” He knew what she was up to. Girls night.
“Oh nothing. Just got home from drinks with Joyce.” Called it.
“You’re home. Good. If you were still out sounding like that, I’d call one of the guys to come get you.”
“Sounding like what?”
“You sound tipsy.” She started to protest, but he continued. “Don’t get me wrong. It’s adorable. But it worries me that I’m not there to protect you and make sure you get home safe.”
“Aww. That’s sweet—and a little controlling—but mostly sweet. Can something be sweet and controlling at the same time?”
Laughing at her inner monologue said aloud, he replied, “Not controlling. Do what you want. I just want to be there to catch you if you fall.”
“You are sweet. I knew I chose right picking you.”
“Picking me? Was someone else vying for your attention?”
“Not really. Just some guy at the bar, but I told him to take a hike.”
“Good girl. I’ll have to reward you when I see you next.”
“Oh yeah? What did you have in mind?”
Were they at the phone sex stage? Oh, fuck it. Who cares? He was going for it anyway, and she could just say no if she wanted to.
He looked around to make sure he was still alone outside. Hopefully he left the other guys enough dishes to keep them busy while he finished Nikki off. “Go lay naked on your bed, and I’ll give you a preview.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Damn right.”
“I’m here. Now what?”
“Grab your Magic Pickle. I’m going to make this fast, so we’re not interrupted.”
“I’m going to regret telling you about that, aren’t I?”
“Probably.” He chuckled. “Just do as you’re told.” Mock-sternness in his voice.
“Yes, sir.”
“Good girl.”
“I’m ready.”
“Show me.”
“What?!”
“Take a picture. You can leave your face out of the picture, but I want to see your body lying on your bed all ready for me.”
She went quiet like she was thinking it over.
“You don’t have to if this is crossing a hard line for you, but I promise I’ll delete it right after I look at it. Do you trust me?”
“Yes.” No hesitation. That was good for the ego.
“Come on baby. Show me the goods.”
“You’re a goof.” She was laughing. A good sign. “Fine.”
He heard some shuffling around. Then she came back on the phone, and said, “I sent you a couple. Tell me how you like them.”
His phone dinged so he opened her message. In the first picture, she was grabbing one of her breasts and biting her lip. Very sexy. His hardening cock twitched at the erotic display. He flipped to the second picture and nearly creamed his own pants. Instead of a still image, it was a short video of her inserting the dildo.
“You little minx. You skipped ahead. Is it still in?”
“Yes.”
“Is the vibrator on?”
“Yes.”
“Bad girl. Take it out. Then put me on speaker and set the phone down. You’re going to need both hands.”
She moaned a little into the phone as she removed it.
“Touch it to your clit and grab your breast.” He gave her a minute or so to enjoy that. “Now insert just the tip and pump a few times. Pinch your nipple.” Another minute passed by. “Now bring it back to your clit.”
He kept up that rhythm, each time letting her insert it a little more until it was fully sheathed in her as she pumped it in and out, in and out.
“Now put it on your clit.” She groaned, and her groan turned into a little growl. “Are you frustrated with me, baby?”
“I was so close,” she whined.
“I know baby. Stick with me. We’re almost there. One more time. Insert your Magic Pickle. Pump it for me.” He could tell each time it hit her sweet spot. She moaned a little with each thrust, making him impossibly hard. He might have to stay outside long after the phone call to wait for his dick to stand down. “Now while you’re pumping pinch your clit for me and come, baby.”
Her little moan turned into a louder, longer moan until she started cursing, “Funk. Ship. Bark. Will!!”
Chuckling, he asked, “You okay, baby?”
“Abso-freaking-lutely. I’m so relaxed, I could pass out right here.”
That made him laugh harder. He loved her alternative swear words. “You get some rest, baby. I’m working a double today and tomorrow, so I’ll call you again tomorrow night.”
“Sounds heavenly.” She sounded like she was already halfway to dreamland.
“Night, Sweetheart.”
“Night.”
He hung up the phone and sighed. He’d meant to have a real conversation with her, even tell her about Joe if he could muster the courage but changed his mind when he realized she’d been drinking. Then she mentioned the other guy at the bar, and he took the opportunity to remind her how good they were together. He wished he’d
been at the bar with her to put the guy in his place. Perhaps he was a controlling Neanderthal. After all, she did handle things just fine on her own as far as he could tell. Moving forward, he would make sure they were on the same page about their relationship. He was all in to see how long their journey lasted, whether it was just another month or a lifetime, but he needed to know she was right there with him.
Once he knew where she stood, he would tell her about Joe, and pray his biggest fear, that she would just walk away right then, wouldn’t come true. He’d reached the point where losing her would be like ripping a portion of his heart out. Maybe she wouldn’t go back to her ex-husband after what he put her through, but there was no guarantee that she would stay with Will either.
Nikki & Will talked again Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights. Will kept the conversations light, and quickly changed the subject when their talks turned more serious. He still didn’t know how to broach the subject of Joe with Nikki. He needed to tread lightly so she didn’t outright reject them both, but he also needed to say something soon. If she found out some other way, she would feel betrayed, and he felt sleazy hiding one of the most important parts of himself from her. Joe wasn’t some dirty secret, he was his most precious treasure.
On Friday, while driving from San Diego to Yuma, Will called Nikki during her lunch period. It was one of the few windows of time when she could pick up the phone at work, but she answered the phone sounding perturbed.
Chapter Seventeen
Nikki
“Hey beautiful. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Don’t worry about it. Just work stuff. What’s up with you? I don’t normally hear from you in the middle of the day.”
“I’m going to be pretty busy this weekend, so I wanted to make sure I talked to you today before I met up with my friends.”
“Right. Your ‘Guys Weekend’ at Ocotillo Wells. Too bad I’m not a guy; I could come too.”
“You like to ride ATV’s, baby?”
“It’s been years, but yeah. My little brothers got me into it. I watched them a lot growing up, and that’s all they ever wanted to do.” She chuckled at the memories. She really needed to call them and catch up. They were both freshmen at her alma mater in Berkeley.
“They sound like fun. I’d love to meet them one day.” Swoon! “So, what’s going on at work? Do you want to talk about it? I’ve been told I’m a great listener.” She smiled because she was the one who told him that.
“It really is nothing. One of the coaches asked me on a date this morning.” Silence. “Are you still there?” She pulled the phone away from her ear to read the screen. It didn’t say the call had dropped.
“I’m here. Just not happy to hear that.” He let off a small laugh that sounded forced.
“I turned him down, obviously, but apparently the jerk just broke up with one of the fourth-grade teachers a couple days ago. Even if I weren’t with you, I’m not one to date my co-workers.” They hadn’t really had the relationship talk, but she assumed they were exclusive. He seemed like a one-woman-at-a-time kind of guy. She could only hope she wasn’t wrong. “Anyway, now her and her ‘mean girl’ minions are messing with me. We might be adults, but some people never left high school.”
“That’s terrible. As much as I hate it, you can’t help who hits on you or asks you out. Have you tried to talk to her?”
“I need to. Her class goes to lunch before mine, so I usually see her in the teacher lounge for a few minutes before she picks up her class from the cafeteria. When I got here today though, she’d already left, and my lunch is mysteriously missing from the refrigerator too.”
“She took your lunch? What a twat waffle.”
She chuckled. “Thank you for being offended on my behalf, but it could be a coincidence. Not that I believe in coincidences half the time, but lunches disappear from the community fridge sometimes. I have some cans of soup stashed in my classroom, just in case. It’s not a huge deal, just juvenile if it was her. I’ll try to talk to her after school.”
“I wish I could bring you lunch, but I’m already halfway out of San Diego. Do you want me to call one of the guys to bring you something?”
“No. Thank you baby. That won’t be necessary. I’ll manage. You keep offering your roommates to do things for me, but I’ve never met them. Why would they help me out?”
“As a favor to me. We have each other’s backs. Hell, even if you asked them directly, they’d help you because they know what you mean to me.”
That declaration left her speechless. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone offered to do something for her with no strings attached. Joyce maybe, but not before they’d even met.
“You still there?”
“Yeah. Just taking in what you said.”
“Well, don’t over think it. That’s just how Marines are.”
“All right, babe. You guys have fun this weekend. I have to go back to my office and grab that soup while I still have time to eat a bite.”
“Okay. I’ll talk to you later then. Bye, baby.”
“Bye.”
She hung up with him and smiled. He didn’t say anything to her comment about them being together. That could mean a lot of things, but she was choosing to believe it meant he was fine with that description. She needed that positivity in her day.
Chapter Eighteen
Will
Will hung up with Nikki, but still couldn’t get her off his mind. Hearing her say she’d turned down the coach because they were together was the best news he’d had all week. As much as he loved seeing his son, he had to fight every urge in his body not to turn around, walk into that school, and show everyone who she belonged to. He was becoming more and more a Neanderthal where she was concerned. It was a good thing she’d never told him exactly which elementary school she taught for.
After a few hours of driving, he parked in front of an elementary school in a different state and waited for his son to bust out the doors and barrel up to his truck as he did every time Will picked him up.
Joe didn’t have the same pep in his step though, and Will could tell something was wrong. He climbed in the truck and Will pulled away from the curb.
“Hey, son. How was school? Get into any good trouble lately?”
“Hey, Dad.”
“Want to talk about it?”
Joe looked out the window away from Will as he answered. “Not really.”
“Okay. Just answer this for me. Is it home or school?” If it was home, they could talk it over that weekend and discuss it with Theresa when they got back. But if it was school, he could turn around, go back to the school and try to catch his teacher before she left.
“Home.”
“All right, son. I’ll give you some time, but whatever it is, we are going to talk about it.”
Joe turned his head to back Will and smiled. “Okay, Dad. Thanks.”
They drove in silence most of the way to Ocotillo Wells. Will thought he knew what the trouble at home was, the boyfriend, but he would let Joe bring it up on his own time. Sometimes a man just needed a moment to compose his thoughts.
The moment Will pulled up to the campgrounds though, Joe’s face lit up. Adam, Jesus and War got there early to start setting up their campsite. Parked off to the side were the rented ATV’s and dirt bikes they would be riding, and the guys were building the tents. They’d discussed renting an RV for the weekend, but decided the tents felt more like real camping. Plus, Will was excited to teach Joe how to setup their tent.
After Will and Joe joined in to help, the campsite was set up in no time, and they had about two hours before dinner to go on a quick ride. Will and Joe climbed on one of the ATV’s, War took another, and Jesus and Adam chose dirt bikes.
They took to the trails, but after only an hour and a half, collectively decided that the hamburgers they planned to eat for dinner were calling their names louder than the trails.
Will took point at the grill like he would all weekend while the
other guys got the buns, condiments and chips ready. It was shaping up to be a great weekend, but his mind still wandered to a certain blue-eyed brunette he’d left behind in the city. Next time he came out to Ocotillo Wells, he fully intended to bring Nikki, especially after learning she liked to ride 4-wheelers. He could just imagine her, him and Joe riding the trails together. Damn, I’m hopeless. He smiled and shook his head at himself.
“Are the burgers putting on a show? What are you smiling at?” Jesus was at the table next to the grill getting the cheese slices ready for the burger patties that were almost done.
“Nah, man. Just laughing at myself.”
“Thinking about your girl?”
“How’d you know?”
“You get this goofy look on your face when she’s on your mind. You think she’s the next Mrs. Braun?”
He was quiet for a minute. Logic said it was too early to think such things, but he’d thought about it anyway. “I don’t know man. Maybe.”
“Bullshit. You do know. But I get you. It’s a little too early to proclaim your intentions from the rooftops.”
“Anyone ever tell you how intuitive you are?”
“Yeah.” Jesus chuckled. “One of the perils of being a tattoo artist is people like to chat while you’re working on them. I hear all kinds of things. You pick up on things too, like the way someone looks when they’re smitten.”
“Smitten?” Will smirked at Jesus.
“Yeah. Smitten. Laugh at my word choice. I don’t care. You can deny it if you want, but I know the truth.” Jesus winked at Will and walked away to help War setup the logs for a fire. It was a warm day, but the nights would be cold enough for the fire. Bonus, Will brought ingredients for s’mores. They were for Joe, but he was excited about them too.
He thought about what Jesus said for a moment and wondered if he was transparent to other people as well. He couldn’t deny he was smitten, but he wasn’t ready to shout anything “from the rooftops”.
After dinner, Will brought out the graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows. The guys seemed just as excited as he was about the s’mores. Everyone dived in and polished off every graham cracker crumb, individual marshmallow, and sliver of chocolate in no time flat. As they sat around the camp fire in companionable silence, and Joe dozed in his camping chair, he knew he was exactly where he was meant to be. With these guys, with Joe, and with Nikki… maybe not all in the one house though. He’d tell Nikki about Joe, and everything would work out. He just knew it would. Probably. Maybe.