Pretty Venom

by Ella Fields

Smiling, I pulled my hand away from his. “I didn’t realize I was frowning. Mom would have a shit-fit.”

  “Probably. Especially if she heard you say ‘shit-fit.’” He grinned, bopping me on the nose. “Too much time with Pippa will corrupt you.”

  “Corrupt?” I teased, turning my eyes up to his.

  His own eyes thinned. “I like that word on your lips.”

  “You like many things on my lips,” I shot back.

  He licked his lush bottom lip, stepping closer to me. “Don’t tease unless—”

  Looking at his white shirt, molded to his chest, I cut him off. “Your shirt’s on backward.”

  I left the room to the sound of his laughter, his footfalls sounding behind me as he stopped me in the hall with a hand on my wrist. “Help me put it on right. Please?”

  I watched him remove the sling, tossing it to the floor. “I’m sure you can do it yourself.”

  When he just stood there waiting, I rolled my eyes and lifted the shirt off him, carefully pulling it over his casted arm last.

  He bent his knees, pushing his head through the hole and patiently waiting for me to move it over his injured arm before putting his other arm through the sleeve. “It’s already broken; you can’t do much worse with a little T-shirt prodding,” he jested.

  “Shut up.”

  Chuckling, he looped his uninjured arm around my waist, and my mouth hung open as he whispered, “Did you know that even though you probably won’t ever forgive me, I’m still a fucking fool for you, and I love you?”

  “Callum,” I warned, my hands pressing against his hard pecs.

  His mouth took mine, lips pushing mine open for his tongue to enter.

  My gasp was swallowed, my hands moving to his face, holding it to mine like at any moment, he’d tear it away. He tasted like Lucky Charms, and mint, and him. All him. The him I’d been longing for, craving, and begging for. It was right before me for the taking.

  And I took, my tongue sweeping inside his mouth, and my teeth catching his lips. Sucking, exploring, desperate for more.

  At the sound of his ringing phone, I tore my mouth away, stumbling back into the wall.

  He reached for me, hunger lurking in his stare and emanating from every divine inch of him, but I shook my head, trying to un-fog it. “You should get that.”

  “Mouse,” he called after me, following me to the kitchen where I grabbed my things.

  “It’s fine,” I said, my voice all nerves as I refused to look at him. “I’ve got one more final tomorrow, and I really need to study.”

  His voice trailed after me as I hightailed it out the doors, smacking the button on the elevator. “You can’t run from this, from me.”

  The memory of his mouth, his tongue, his teeth, him, had me feeling too many things to capture into one single entity. Joy warred with fear. Doubts tried to squash relief.

  How could getting the one thing you’d wanted for so damn long leave you feeling so unsure?

  Maybe I wasn’t unsure of him. For all his faults, I knew. I felt it when he said he loved me. I’d known it all along, even if he’d done his best to show me otherwise.

  It all began and ended with me.

  Pippa cursed out in the hall, and I shoved my notes aside at the sight of her in my bedroom doorway. She’d only just gotten home a half an hour ago and ran straight past my open door, locking herself in the bathroom to shower. “I’m so sorry, I forgot to tell you that my…”

  “Pippa,” a voice boomed at the same time a knock did on the apartment door. “Open up, we have keys.”

  “Your mom is here,” I finished for her.

  Pippa winced, quickly tying her long brown hair up into a high ponytail as she jogged on the spot. “Yes, and I overslept at Toby’s place. I’ve barely had time to pack.”

  “Need a hand?” I asked as the sound of the door unlocking reached us.

  “No, but maybe a distraction?” Her lip was pinched between her teeth, green eyes full of desperation. “Just five minutes. I don’t need her asking embarrassing questions about my suddenly unorganized life.”

  Laughing a little nervously, I got up from my bed. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  “Thanks so much. You’re the best and I owe you,” she said in a mumbled rush as she sped away and locked herself in her room.

  I quickly checked my hair, then righted my cardigan as I stepped out into the hall.

  Pippa’s mom was taking off her shoes, and when she looked up, recognition smacked into me. “You must be Pippa’s roommate. I’m Terry.” She hurried over, then paused, peering up at me curiously. “Do I know you from somewhere?”

  “Uh.”

  “Fucking hell,” came from the door, as Bruce, the dog Pippa and I rescued, raced through, his leash dragging behind him. Who I guessed was Pippa’s dad heaved out a breath in the doorway, scowling as he came for the dog, who’d stopped in front of me. Bruce sniffed my legs and nudged them with his wet nose before moving farther into the apartment to explore.

  “I’m glad he seems to be doing well,” I said, at a loss for what to say as Pippa’s mom scuttled after Bruce, grabbing his leash and pulling him back with her.

  “Well is one way to put it,” Pippa’s dad said, holding his hand out. “I’m Mitch. You must be Renee.”

  “Hi. Yes, I am.” I let him shake my hand gently in his warm grip. “I was there the day Pippa found this guy.” I peered down at Bruce, who was sitting against Terry’s leg, looking rather chastised as she frowned down at him, muttering to him about his behavior.

  “Where is she?”

  “In the bathroom. I’m sure she’ll be out in a moment. Drink?” I asked, gesturing down the hall. They followed me into the living area. “It’s a bit of a trek, isn’t it? The drive here from Willowmina.”

  “Only a few hours,” Mitch said, falling into the couch and grabbing the TV remote.

  “Mitch,” Terry snapped.

  He looked up at her. “What? The game is on.”

  Terry rolled her eyes, joining me in the kitchen as I put the kettle on. “We’re out of coffee, but we have tea.”

  “College life,” Terry mused, washing her hands at the sink. “And we’re fine, thanks dear. We stopped for a bite at the most darling little café outside of town.” Drying her hands, she hung up the towel and leveled her curious eyes on me. “I swear I know … oh!” Her hand went to her chest as a smile hitched her lips high into her cheeks. “Yes, I took your picture. Oh, my goodness.”

  Shit. I looked down at the tea bag I was dunking into my mug. The kettle clicked, and I poured some water in. “A picture?” I asked as though I wasn’t sure what she was talking about.

  “Don’t give me that baloney. You got married. I took your picture on the steps outside Reverend Sander’s church.”

  I could feel the blood drain from my face, Pippa’s voice barely reaching my ears as she left her room and greeted Bruce with loud enthusiasm.

  I turned to Terry. “I’m not …”

  She stepped closer, grabbing my cheeks. “I could never forget that gown. This hair, or those eyes. A living dream, that’s what you looked like.” She dropped her hands. “Pippa! You didn’t tell me your friend was married.”

  “What?” Mitch all but yelled.

  “Oh, for Christ’s sake,” Pippa said.

  Terry flapped her hands, and I stood in the entryway of the kitchen, not sure what to do. “Settle down, honestly. And you should’ve seen this girl’s gown. I swear, if you marry that boy, Pippa, you’re getting one just like it.”

  Mitch scowled at Terry, but she ignored him.

  Pippa glanced over at me, a brow raised. “What the hell is she talking about?”

  My cheeks puffed as I blew out a large breath. “Let me finish making my tea and I’ll explain.”

  Terry clapped her hands, dropping to the couch next to Mitch.

  Pippa came into the kitchen, watching me stir milk into my tea. “You don’t need to tell them.”

  “
She was there,” I said, then laughed. “Which is crazy. But it was definitely your mom who took our wedding pictures.”

  Pippa nudged me gently, smiling as she joined her parents.

  Terry used her hands to talk, almost smacking Mitch in the face half a million times as she described my dress, Callum’s tuxedo, and how she thought I might’ve been pregnant.

  “No baby then?” She surveyed the apartment with vigor.

  “No,” I said, almost choking on my tea. “Um, it’s a long story.”

  “What other story do two people really need other than being in love?” Pippa said, scratching Bruce behind his ear, his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. “She doesn’t need another reason just because she was eighteen.”

  Mitch looked like he disagreed but bobbed his head side to side. “I guess.”

  “Anyway, the weather was beautiful. Wasn’t it spring?”

  “Summer,” I said, my mind cartwheeling back, feeling the sun heating my arms outside on the church steps. But it was no match for what I felt as I stared into my future. At that moment and every one after, he was the sun, and I was the moon cursed to follow.

  A curse I’d have accepted until my dying breath without protest.

  I sipped my tea, blinking at the coasters on the coffee table.

  “And he’s here too then, I assume?” Terry asked, standing from the couch as Mitch turned off the TV and stretched his arms over his head.

  “He is, yes.” I placed my tea down and followed them to the door.

  “Why do you not live with him?”

  “Ter,” Mitch groaned at the same time Pippa cursed.

  Terry shrugged. “Just curious is all.”

  Smiling thinly, I said the first and only thing that might make sense. “We like our independence, especially while we’re trying to study.”

  Terry’s mouth popped open, then she winked. “Gotcha. Okay, well, it was lovely to meet you. Merry Christmas.” She grabbed my shoulders, pressing a loud kiss to my cheek.

  “Same to you.” I waved at Mitch as he took Bruce from Pippa, who went to grab her bags. “Have a safe trip,” I said, giving Bruce a quick pat and pulling my hand back quick as lightning when he went to slobber on it.

  “I’m so fucking sorry,” Pippa said, hauling a duffel bag to the door as her parents disappeared. “But hey, how is he?”

  “Callum? He’s fine,” I said, looking at the ground.

  “Renee.”

  “Hmm?” I pinched my lips between my teeth, looking anywhere but at Pippa’s face.

  “Okay, what happened?”

  My head reared back, and Pippa laughed.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Oh, my God. Shut up and tell me. I need to go, but I’ll stand here until you do.”

  Leaning into the wall, I picked at my cuticles. “He’s … I don’t know, trying?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  I lifted my head. “And it’s, well, I don’t know what I should do.”

  Pippa grabbed my arms, stilling my fidgeting hands. “This is what you wanted, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Take what you want.”

  Such simple words. “But he’s done so much. I’ve done so much. There’s too much to try to move past, and what if we can’t do that?” I knew I was rambling yet couldn’t stop myself.

  Pippa’s hands dropped as she picked up her bag. “All you can do is take a chance. Some people deserve to stay in the past, and others flat-out refuse to. I should know.” She smirked. “It’s up to you where you go from here.”

  “Wouldn’t it be nice,” she mused when I just stared at the opposite wall, “to be as untouchable as we wished we were.” Her voice lowered, eyes gentling as I met her gaze. “You’re allowed to make yourself vulnerable again. Especially for the right people.”

  I stood in the hall long after the door had closed behind her, her words echoing through the narrow space.

  Padding back down the hall, I reheated my tea and went to my room, where I sat on my bed and pulled up a google search, looking for Hilda’s email.

  Trying to dry myself awkwardly with the towel, I almost jumped when I heard something slam inside the bedroom. Covering my manhood with it, I ran into the room and halted on the carpet.

  Water dripped from my hair onto my cheeks as I saw Renee packing one of the duffels I kept stored in the spare room.

  It was open on the bed, and she was dumping shirt after shirt, socks, jeans, and briefs into it before finally lifting her head. “Oh, hey.”

  “Hey indeed.” I looked down at the towel covering my dick, then asked, “Care to tell me what you’re doing?”

  “No need to cover yourself,” she said, moving into the closet and coming back with a black wool sweater. The one I usually donned at family dinners to appease my mother. “I’ve seen it all before, and if I have it my way”—a twinkle lit her eyes as she smiled up at me beneath those weapons she called lashes—“I’ll be seeing it whenever I want.”

  I dropped the towel, words failing me. “Again, what’s going on?”

  “You’re a little slow this morning. I’m taking you home with me for Christmas.”

  “You are?”

  She marched over to me, grabbing the towel and gesturing for me to lower my head. I did, and she ran it through my wet hair. “You’ve still got suds in it.”

  “Still adjusting to this one-handed shit.”

  She pulled it away, patting it over my chest and arms then slowly moving down my body, pausing when she caught sight of the tiny R tattooed on my thigh. My heart throbbed. The plush material and her face so close to my cock had it rising, almost poking her in the cheek.

  “You want to give this another try, right?” she asked.

  Without pause, I said, “Fuck yes, I do.”

  She stood and removed the bags from my casted arm. “Well, stop asking questions and let’s get you dressed. The roads are going to be busy heading out of town.”

  I stared down at my stiff cock, groaning when I saw her smirking. “You don’t get these lips or any part of me near that until you’ve earned it. Now move it.”

  Blinking rapidly, I licked my lips, trying to catch up with all that was happening right now. My heart was beating double time, and my brain couldn’t keep up.

  “I love you,” I said when she came back over, holding out a pair of briefs for me to step into.

  “I know.”

  I didn’t ask why she didn’t say it. Renee was stubborn, but if she didn’t love me in some capacity, then she wouldn’t be here.

  She evaded my every advance to get my lips on hers, flitting around the apartment with purpose to collect the pain medication, my bag, and then checked that all the switches were off.

  Out on the street, her Rover was parked by the curb, and I took my bag from her as she struggled to lift it into the trunk.

  She huffed but stepped back as I pushed it inside next to her bags, then shut the door. Before she could move away, I caged her against the car, fixing my lips to hers like I’d been desperate to since she walked out of the apartment two days ago.

  “You have me,” I told her, my lips moving over her cheek, her head tilting back. “You only from here on out. I swear.”

  Her bottom lip shook as she blinked, a tear sliding over her cheek. I kissed it, threading my hand through her hair to devour her mouth.

  “Looks like someone is feeling better,” Toby’s voice came from behind me.

  Renee squeaked, and I tore my lips away, glancing over my shoulder to see him standing with his hands in his jean pockets, his lips twitching.

  Pecking Renee on the forehead, I stepped up onto the sidewalk and gave him a half hug due to the arm. “I’m fine.”

  “You look it,” he said, waggling his brows.

  Renee laughed, and Toby flicked her a wave that she returned before getting into the car and starting it.

  “I’ve gotta say, I don’t know if there’d be a guy who’d look as happy as you do,
knowing he can’t play ball until next season.”

  “Other things matter more.”

  He kicked at some leaves. “They sure do. Heading home?”

  I nodded, feeling a foreign sense of relief washing over me at the word. “I am. When are you leaving?”

  “Tonight,” he said. “I have an appointment I can’t miss, then I’m out of here.”

  “To Pippa’s?”

  Toby shook his head. “Heading home to see my dad first, and we’ll go see her and her family the day after Christmas.”

  “Thanks for the delivery, by the way.”

  Toby shrugged, checking the time on his phone before sliding it into his pocket. “Shit, I’m gonna be late. Don’t mention it. I’ll see you next year.”

  With a laugh, I called out goodbye as he jogged down the sidewalk. I watched him go a minute, then looked around the street. The quiet that had settled over Gray Springs, over me, had the smile staying on my face as I climbed into the car. Where my wife was waiting for me with a smile of her own.

  The fire roared in the hearth, Valery and my mother chatting quietly as they sipped champagne. My dad and Damon entered the room, placing their glasses of whiskey down on the table and removing their jackets.

  Renee’s leg bounced, and I stilled it with a hand on her thigh. A tight smile was offered to me when I glanced down at her. It was fair that she was nervous, considering our past two Christmases together hadn’t exactly been all that great. But she’d soon see that was where they’d stay. In the past.

  My mom handed tiny little gift bags to Renee and me, and we opened them to find a set of keys. “What?” Renee said, dragging her eyes away from the keys to my mother, who looked at Valery with a secretive smile.

  Valery snickered, winking at us. “For your own place. Seeing as you’ll both be married soon, you can’t continue spending summers or visits here. You’ll want your own space.”

  My father piped in, “It’s just a three-bedroom ranch home down the road, so don’t get too excited.”

  “Too excited?” Renee asked, laughter spewing from her. “This is …” She blinked down at the keys, shaking her head.

  “Fantastic. Thank you,” I said for her, nodding at my parents and smiling at hers.