21 Days

by Bethany Lopez

  “Okay,” I replied, breaking eye contact and laying my head back down. When his fingers resumed stroking my hair, I almost purred. I felt totally content. “What if I put myself out there, and the guy still doesn’t want me?” I asked, voicing my fears.

  “First of all, that guy would be a total jackass. Second of all, if it’s what you want, you have to go for it, no matter the consequences. Kind of like you did with your job, Red. When you first started out, you would meet up with us totally pissed because the older people in your office weren’t taking you seriously. They thought you were too young, and too rich, to ever put your heart and soul into real estate the way that they did. But what did you do? You proved them wrong. Now you’re on your way to opening your own agency, and you’ve accomplished things they never thought possible. You wanted it, you knew you could do it, so you achieved it. You can do anything, and have anyone that you want, Red. You just need to believe in yourself. I do,” TJ said, kissing the top of my head as his words flew over me like a soft caress.

  “Thank you,” I said as my eyes began to fill. “That’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

  “Is that what you’re thinking?” he prodded. “That you’re ready to pursue a more serious relationship?”

  “Gosh, TJ, I want to, but you know what my parents were like. They had a farce of a marriage during my childhood, and then hated each other through my teenage years. My mom gave up, and my dad was never around … That didn’t exactly make me eager to jump head first into a relationship, you know? I know Cal’s parents are amazing, but they seem like the exception, not the rule.”

  “Yeah, I get that,” TJ replied. “Neither of us had great role models when it came to parents.”

  I kept quiet, hoping that he would open up a bit about his parents, who he’d always kept pretty quiet about.

  “But look at Shelly and Cal,” TJ said quickly. I tried to swallow my disappointment at the fact that he hadn’t said anything further about his parents.

  “Yeah, but Cal really hurt Shelly. Devastated her, in fact,” I argued. “Don’t get me wrong, I love Cal, and I love Shelly, and I’m totally on board with her taking him back and everything, but I was there … I saw how badly she was hurt by him. And if Cal can cheat, Cal, who has loved Shelly since they were sixteen … How can I ever trust a man not to do the same to me.”

  TJ’s arms came up around me and held me close.

  “That was a crazy situation, Sash, a once-in-a-lifetime screw-up. Not all men cheat. You can’t go through life waiting for the other shoe to drop, Red. You’re going to have to live on faith and trust, if you ever want to have a relationship that lasts.”

  I snuggled deeper into TJ’s warmth and grinned. “When did you become such an expert?”

  I felt TJ’s deep chuckle all the way down to my toes.

  “I don’t know shit, Red. Everything I learned about relationships, I learned from watching Sons of Anarchy.”

  I giggled at his words, then let myself drift off to sleep, happy to be in the arms of someone I trusted.

  Chapter 15 – TJ

  I started to drift out of sleep when the first stroke of her hot wet tongue ran along the length of my very hard and happy cock. When her mouth surrounded me and her hand lowered to cup my balls, the fog of sleep began to clear, and a new kind of fog settled in. I opened my eyes to see her red hair splayed out over my body, and her head bobbing up and down as she gave me the best wake-up call of my life. My entire body tingled and I reveled in every lick, suck, and nibble. When she brought her other hand down to stroke the base of my dick, I felt a pull deep in my belly and knew I was about to come, so I tapped her lightly on the back of the head to give her the option to move out of the way. I was thrilled when Sasha began to suck harder. I fisted one hand in her hair and the other one in the cool sheets next to me, and closed my eyes so that I could enjoy every second of my release.

  I felt Sasha rub her body along mine as she moved up next to me, and I pulled her close to cradle her against me. “Good morning,” I whispered huskily, totally content and sated.

  “Morning,” she responded as she nuzzled my neck. I let my hand wander down her silky skin and paused at her bottom to squeeze and pull her closer to me. She rocked against my thigh and I knew she was turned on and needy from giving me head.

  “You hot, baby?” I asked softly, my body stirring as I became aware of her tight body, clad only in her underwear, rubbing against me.

  “Yeah,” she responded throatily, “What are you gonna do about it?”

  I flipped her beneath me swiftly, covering her body with mine, then leaned in to rub my nose along the length of her neck, pausing every inch to nuzzle, nip, and lick her, as I made my way to her lips.

  When I was a breath away from her lips I paused and asked, “What do you want me to do about it, Red?”

  I watched her eyes darken and gently ran my tongue along the seam of her mouth.

  “Suck my nipples …” no sooner were the words out of her mouth before I relieved her of her bra and lowered my head to suck her greedily. Her tits were fucking perfection, and I made sure to take my time paying homage to each of them as she moaned and writhed beneath me. It took no time at all for my body to recover, and I knew I was not letting Sasha out of this bed without burying myself inside of her.

  She put her hand in my hair and ran her fingers through it softly, stopping and tugging it roughly. I liked that, a lot, so I brought my lips up to kiss her below the eye and whispered, “Harder.”

  Sasha complied and pulled my hair harder, eliciting a deep groan from my lips. I ran my mouth over her, trying to taste every inch, pausing at her belly to lick along her panty line. The sounds coming from her, combined with her taste on my lips, the smell of her sweet skin, and her hand pulling at my hair were about to make me lose my mind. She must have been feeling the same way, because she reached down and ran her smooth fingers along my length. I trailed my fingers down her belly and tugged on her panties. The angle made it hard to reach, so I rolled over a bit, and she brought her hands down to help me out. Once they were off, she scrambled up and pulled me to her, so we were both kneeling on the bed, our bodies touching from the waist up.

  The first embrace of our naked bodies together caused both of us to snap. Our hands and mouths roamed everywhere they could reach, and I was so totally consumed in Sasha that I wanted to stay in this moment forever. Bodies burning, minds free, as we just allowed ourselves to be guided by sensation.

  Sasha broke away to pull open her nightstand drawer, pulling out a condom and rushing back to me without bothering to shut it again. She opened the wrapper and threw it toward the nightstand, then proceeded to roll it onto my cock, turning and dropping to all fours in front of me. I stroked my dick as I took in the scene before me, and grinned when Sasha threw her red mane over her shoulder to look back at me.

  “Fuck me, TJ,” she said on a groan as I ran my hand lovingly over her ass.

  I slapped her slightly then squeezed and said, “God, you’re fucking awesome.”

  I positioned myself behind her, rubbing my fingers along her to make sure she was ready, then eased in, inch by inch, moaning when I couldn’t get any deeper. I began to pull out and thrust in, running my hands along Sasha’s back and then reaching around to cup her breasts and pinch her nipples tightly.

  “Right there,” she yelled out, grabbing one of my hands and guiding it down stroke her. I complied, moving my other hand to her hip so that I could gain some support as I began to thrust into her, deeper and harder. She reared up a bit, the new angle ensuring my dick was hitting the spot she wanted, and I tried to hold back before I lost all control.

  “You almost there, baby?” I asked, half crazed with the need to come. She nodded and leaned back enough for my lips to stroke her, once, twice, then opened her mouth in a silent cry as she began to clench and spasm around me. I bit down on her shoulder, then brought my other hand to her hip and rammed into her as I milked the
rest of her orgasm and reached for my own. When I finally came, I swear I saw stars before collapsing on the bed next to Sasha. We were both panting, breathing heavily, and grinning wildly, when we turned to look at each other.

  “Shit!” she said with a laugh.

  “Right?” I responded, throwing my arm over my eyes. I needed a minute to catch my breath.

  I felt Sasha’s lips meet mine briefly before she said, “I have to get ready for work.”

  I barely managed a grunt and must have dozed off, because I woke to her kissing me again, but this time she was fully dressed in one of her killer suits.

  “You leaving already?” I asked groggily.

  “Yeah, I’ve got an appointment.” I looked at her and noticed her eyes roaming. That’s when I remembered I was naked.

  I shot a grin at her and asked, “You sure you can’t be late?”

  She brought her eyes up to mine and grinned. “Tempting, but I really do have to get going.” She leaned down for one last kiss, then turned and headed toward the door. She stopped and turned, “Oh, yeah … I’ll be late tonight. I’ve got dinner with my dad.”

  At her grimace I got up off of the bed and walked over to her. I ran my hand along her face, stopping to cup her cheek. I looked her in her eyes and said, “Don’t let that asshole get to you. Treat it as if it’s a business dinner. Smile and get through it, and you’ll be fine.”

  Sasha nodded once, “Okay. You doing anything tonight?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m meeting Scott and Cal this afternoon, that may turn into dinner or a beer or something, but I should be here when you get back, if you need to unload.”

  “Thanks,” she said with a smile, and I leaned over to taste her lips once more before letting her go, chuckling when she squeezed my naked ass and walked off with a wink.

  A few hours later I was knocking on Scott’s door after spending the late morning and early afternoon with Brock on a job. It wasn’t often that I saw him at the site, but we were painting the house of one of his friends, so he wanted to be in on the action. I’d left him after the job to come and meet the guys, and he was going to pick up flowers and get ready for his date with Gaby. He’d seemed pretty excited about it, and as I stood waiting for Scott to answer, I wondered how things were going to play out for everyone. It seemed to me that Scott still harbored feelings for Gaby, and Brock was definitely into her, but I had no idea where she stood on either of them.

  I was saved from my rambling thoughts when the door opened and I was greeted by Victoria’s scowling face. I gave her my sexiest grin and a wink and said, “Hey, Vicky.”

  “It’s Victoria,” she replied haughtily. So I chuckled, just to piss her off even more.

  “Is Scott here?” I asked, ignoring her correction.

  “Scott, TJ’s here!” Victoria yelled behind her as she walked passed me to leave.

  “See ya!” I yelled out, chuckling genuinely when she ignored me and kept walking.

  What a bitch.

  I walked in and shut the door behind me as Scott and Cal walked out of the kitchen.

  “She was in a pleasant mood,” I said with a grin at Cal.

  Scott handed me a beer and ran his hand through his hair, “I don’t want to talk about it … Let’s just forget about women for the night and discuss business. That’s at least something I can understand.”

  I shot another look at Cal, eyebrow raised, but he just shrugged and sat down on the couch.

  “Business?” I asked, a little confused. They’d mentioned wanting to talk for a couple weeks now, but I had no idea what aspect of business they would want to discuss with me. I was a man who worked with my hands, I did not have a head for business. “What type of business?”

  Scott indicated that Cal should talk, so I took a swig of my beer and turned to focus on whatever Cal had to say.

  “Alright …” Cal clapped his hands together once and grinned as he got ready to talk. “I’ve been talking to Scott for a while about starting a business. A shop. I’ve talked to Brock about how he got started, some pros and cons, that kind of thing, and I’ve talked to Shelly about whether or not I should go for it, or if I should just look for another job like the one we just lost. I’ve written lists, talked to the bank, and have basically thought of nothing else for the last month, and now I’ve decided to do it … I’m going to open a shop.”

  I let everything he was saying seep in, but I was surprised, and a little hurt, that this was the first time I’d heard about this. Cal was one of my best friends; hell, we’d worked together for the past six or so years, and it sounded like he’d talked to everyone about it except me. What the fuck.

  “Okay,” I said neutrally, pissed as hell, but not wanting to ruin what was obviously an exciting moment for Cal. “Um, have you found a place?”

  Scott was watching me closely, and Cal looked somewhat confused by my reaction, but answered, “Yeah. I found a great spot right on the outside of town by the freeway. It’s a prime location, with a little land around it, so it will be perfect for what I have in mind.”

  “What’s that?” I asked, trying to be enthused, but my reaction was clouded by hurt. I should’ve been used to being let down by people, but Cal had never let me down before, so the sting was sharp and deep. Did he not trust me? Did he think I would be jealous of his dreams? Or did he think I wasn’t smart enough to be in on the plan?

  “Are you okay?” Cal asked puzzled. “I thought you’d be more excited.”

  “Cal,” Scott cut in, his eyes still on my face. “Maybe you should explain yourself better. I have a feeling TJ’s wondering why he’s been cut out of the loop on this.”

  Scott had always been the most perceptive of the group, which always made me wonder why he couldn’t see through Victoria’s bullshit … Maybe he didn’t want to.

  “Oh, shit. I’m sorry. I just got so excited to finally tell you, that I should’ve explained that,” Cal said earnestly. “I want to open a body shop, with the focus being on restoration, and I want you to be my partner.”

  I felt my stomach drop and I had to put my beer on the table so I wouldn’t drop it.

  “Me?”

  “Fuck yeah, you,” Cal said with a laugh. “You’re the best, TJ, you know that. Shit, you had more people request you by name than any other gear head at the shop. You kick ass with restoration, and nobody loves the job like you do.”

  “I don’t know, Cal, I could see you wanting me to work for you, but with you, as your partner … I don’t really think I’m cut out for that.” I felt nerves starting to course through me, and I had to fight the urge to bolt.

  “Work for me?” Cal asked, confusion all over his face. “No … Look, we can do this. Like I said, I’ve talked to Brock, and the bank, plus Scott and Sasha have both expressed interest in being silent partners and helping us with startup costs.”

  “Sasha? She’s in on this?” I asked, the nerves turning to anger once again.

  “What? No, I mean, Shelly mentioned it to her the other day, and she offered to help. She wants to be a part of it, but that’s as in on it as she is,” Cal explained.

  Unable to fight the urge, I stood up and shook my head apologetically. “Look, I’ve gotta go.”

  “What?” Cal asked, standing and holding his hand out as if he wanted to stop me. “No, look, I don’t know if I’m not explaining this right, or what, but you’re taking this the wrong way. I wasn’t trying to cut you out, I just wanted to have everything planned out and ready, so that when I told you, you couldn’t say no.”

  I hated disappointing my friends. I hated the moments when the old feelings of worthlessness came back and took over completely. I hated the fact that I felt betrayed by the only people in my life that I’d ever felt I could count on.

  “Sorry, man, I can’t do this now,” I tried to explain, before turning and walking out.

  Chapter 16 – Sasha

  I was emotionally drained from dinner with my father and all I wanted to d
o was get out of my clothes, slide in to be with TJ, and forget about everything except the way he made my body feel ... I mean, damn, we’d barely scratched the surface of our sexual relationship and the guy had me turned out. But when I opened the door to see TJ sitting in the darkened living room with a glass of amber liquid in his hand, I forgot about my miserable evening.

  I shut the door quietly, set my things on the small table by the door, and walked over to kneel in front of him. I placed my hands on his knees, and my heart lurched when I looked into his eyes.

  “TJ,” I prompted softly.

  His eyes flickered to mine, then shifted back to the glass, which he brought to his lips.

  “How was your night?” he asked dully.

  “Miserable,” I replied. “How was yours?”

  He shrugged and curled his lip, as if he were attempting to smile, but just couldn’t bring himself to do it. TJ leaned forward, bringing his face close to mine, and asked softly, “Did you know that Cal was opening his own business, with you and Scott as backers?”

  I suddenly felt defensive, even though I wasn’t completely sure why. “Shelly mentioned something to me the other day about Cal wanting to open his own shop, and I said that I’d like to help. She said he was going to talk to you and Scott about it, but that’s the last I heard. Why?”

  “Why? That’s a good question … Why? Why would my best friend be opening his own business and I’m the last one to hear about it? Why does he consult with Brock and Scott about opening a body shop, but leaves me out of it? Am I that fucking stupid? That fucking useless, that none of my friends thought to include me? And then … When the place has been picked out, and you and Scott have offered up your money, then Cal says that he wants me to be his partner?”

  “TJ, of course he wants you to be his partner. You aren’t stupid or useless, and there’s no way that Cal thinks you are. You guys have been working together for years, he wouldn’t leave you out of something like this,” I said, trying to ease the pain and anger that was pouring out of him.