by Natalie Ann
You Can Trust Him
“That was so much fun,” Chloe said, letting out a rare little giggle. “I’ve never gotten that much candy before.”
Kristen and she had just entered Landon’s house after an hour of trick or treating. “Where have you gone trick or treating before?” she asked, wanting to keep Chloe talking. Chloe had been in a much happier mood than they’d thought she’d be, knowing her mother’s birthday was tomorrow. She’d like to think Landon’s gift of the photos was a big help.
“Just around the apartments that we lived in. There were a lot of kids around, but not many people handed out candy. And those that did didn’t hand out much.”
“Well, you’ve got a bunch of loot there.”
“May I have a piece tonight?” Chloe asked.
“I think you can have two pieces. But then the rest should be put away. We can find a bowl to dump it in and you can see all the goodies.”
“I’ll share with Uncle Landon. He likes candy. I see him eating sweets a lot.”
“He does?” Kristen asked. She’d never seen that but thought it was cute Chloe was sharing a little secret about her uncle. Another good sign of things.
“Yes. He buys lots of cookies. I think he buys them for himself, but when we go grocery shopping he’s always asking what I like. Then we get home and he eats them all before I have more than two.”
Kristen grinned. Too adorable on both their parts. “Okay, well, let’s dump this candy out. Show me where the bowls are. Then you can change out of your costume.”
“I have to take a shower first,” Chloe said. “I take one at night.”
“Then you go do that and I’ll find a bowl. When you come down you can have a snack that includes your two pieces of candy.”
“Thank you, Kristen,” Chloe said, rushing out of the room.
Kristen went in search of a bowl, found one that was big enough, and dumped the candy out, leaving it on the kitchen counter.
She was sitting in the living room switching through the TV when Chloe came back downstairs trying to brush her long hair. It was damp, but with the help of the conditioner that Kristen had picked up for her not as tangled as it used to be.
“Do you need some help with your hair?” Kristen asked, motioning Chloe over. Her long brown locks fell to the middle of her back and were thin and straight.
“I’ve got it,” Chloe said, sitting down and pulling it in front of her to brush. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure, sweetie. You can ask me anything.”
“Will you cut my hair for me?”
“What?”
“My hair. It’s really long. My mom always cut it for me when it got this long. I didn’t want to ask Uncle Landon to do it. Sometimes he panics when I ask him things like that.”
“It’d be better if you just went and got a haircut from a hairdresser. Ask him to bring you to the mall for one. Do you just want it trimmed, or really cut off short?”
“I’ve never been to a hairdresser before,” Chloe said, frowning.
“Meaning your mother always cut your hair?”
“Yes. It cost money to go places and it was easier for my mom to just use the scissors at home. We’ve got scissors here. You don’t have to cut much.”
“You know what? I think I’d rather take you to get it cut. I’m not very good at those things and I don’t think your uncle is either.”
“But—”
“No buts, Chloe. I know he’s had to talk to you about money and I’m going to do it again. Money isn’t an issue now with your uncle. If he tells you it’s fine, then you can trust him. You can believe what he tells you.”
“I’ve got my own money he said. I don’t know why though.”
Kristen knew about the social security benefits that Chloe got for her mother now. “I think that money is for your future and your education. It’s not for haircuts. But if you want me to take you, I’ll gladly do it. Think of the fun it’d be. Just like when we bought all those hair accessories and the nail polish.”
“That was fun. If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure. Come on. Let’s get your snack and watch some TV before your uncle gets home from work. Bedtime is eight, right?”
“I can watch TV in bed for thirty minutes,” Chloe said.
“And we can watch some together out here too.” Once they both had a snack and were sitting on the couch, Kristen asked, “So I hear your birthday is in a few weeks. Do you know if you want a party or not?”
Chloe looked up quickly, some chocolate on the side of her lip from her Hershey bar. “I don’t want a party.”
“Have you had one before?” Kristen asked, knowing the answer though.
“No. It’s always just been my mom and me or some of her friends.”
“I’m sure Landon will want you to have a party if you want one.” She hoped that was the case and she wasn’t putting Landon on the spot. Either way, she’d give Chloe the party if Landon didn’t want to do it. Though she didn’t see that being the case.
“I don’t want one,” Chloe said quietly as she went back to her snack.
“How come? You’ve got friends here you can invite, right?”
“At school if you bring invitations in for a party then you have to bring one for everyone. I don’t want to do that because I don’t talk to everyone.”
Kristen nodded her head. “Are you afraid people won’t come?” she asked. Probably not the best question to ask, but there were times she felt like Chloe needed someone to be more direct with her about life in general.
“Yes. That wouldn’t be fun. I’d rather just celebrate with you and Uncle Landon. Could your mother come?”
Kristen smiled. “I think she’d love to celebrate your birthday with you. I know I would.”
“Will you stay here tonight?” Chloe asked her a few minutes later. This was probably the most Chloe had talked to her.
“I don’t think so,” she said. “I’ve got to go to work tomorrow and you’ve got school. Landon has to be to work.” Chloe dropped her head down again and got quiet. “Why do you want me to stay?”
“I just thought maybe we could have breakfast tomorrow together.”
Kristen often made breakfast for the three of them when she spent the night. Now she wondered if Chloe just wanted some kind of normal tomorrow morning when it would most likely be a difficult day.
“You know what? I’ll see what Landon says. If he’s okay with it, I think I can stay the night. What do you want for breakfast in the morning?”
“Can we have French toast?”
“I think that sounds perfect.”
Only Nice
Landon let himself in the front door and saw Kristen curled up on the couch with her feet under her legs. “Hey. Thanks for staying until I got home. Sorry I’m later than I thought I’d be,” he said, walking over to lean down and give her a kiss.
“Never a problem. I think Chloe is still up if you want to go say goodnight to her.”
He looked at his watch and saw it was a few minutes shy of eight thirty. “Yeah, I’ll go up there quick and check on her. If you aren’t in a hurry to leave maybe you can fill me in on the night.”
“I’ll be here,” she said.
He walked upstairs and pushed Chloe’s door open a crack, saw her turn and look his way. “Did you have fun tonight trick or treating?” he asked.
“Yes. We got a lot of candy. It’s in the kitchen. I told Kristen I’d share it with you.”
“Thanks,” he said, smiling. “How many pieces did you eat tonight?”
He leaned on the doorframe when she sat up. Her hair was in a braid and he was thinking Kristen did that. Chloe had on pink pajamas that they’d bought a few weeks ago with kittens chasing each other on them.
“Only two. I asked to have one, but Kristen said I could have two. Was that okay?”
“Of course. When I was your age I probably snuck double that just walking around the neighborhood, then I’d come home and ea
t even more. That’s part of being a kid at Halloween.”
Chloe giggled and the sound warmed his heart in more ways than he thought possible. “I asked Kristen to stay tonight. Is that okay? She said it was up to you.”
“If she wants to stay that is fine with me. Why did you ask?”
“I like it when she’s here in the morning.”
He liked it too, but didn’t want to put any pressure on his and Kristen’s relationship. And now he was wondering if he should make sure Chloe didn’t get too attached either. He’d never worried about that before, but there was more than just him to consider at this point.
“It is great when she cooks us breakfast,” he said, trying to keep it as light as possible.
“I asked her for French toast,” Chloe said. He could see her grin by the light of her TV.
“That happens to be one of my favorites.” He pushed off the doorway and said, “Sleep good. I’ll see you in the morning.”
He walked out and down the hall to his room to grab a change of clothes and figured he’d take a quick shower hoping that Kristen would be staying the night.
When he came downstairs ten minutes later she was still where he left her on the couch watching some comedy.
“Sorry I was so long. I talked to Chloe for a few minutes and then took a shower. You’re staying, right?” he asked, grinning at her. “Chloe told me she asked you.”
“She did. I told her it was up to you. My guess is she wasn’t taking a chance you’d say no and maybe played us both to get her way.”
He walked over and sat next to her. “Isn’t that what kids do? Play each parent to get their way?”
“They do. It’s completely normal for her to do that and I’m kind of glad to see it.”
“Me too. So tell me how tonight went. She told me she asked for one piece of candy and you told her she could have two. Hell, I would have had half the bag gone by the time I went to bed.”
“I’ve done that,” she said, “but I didn’t want to say that and have you deal with a bellyache either.”
“I appreciate that.”
“It was a good night. She said she had a lot of fun. It was more candy than she’d ever gotten before, which sort of made me sad to hear. She really didn’t have much, did she?”
“No,” he said, his voice short.
He was trying to wipe out those images of the small dirty apartment. Well, dirty wasn’t a good description. It was clean enough, not really cluttered since there weren’t many possessions in it, but the place was old. The walls were filthy, the kitchen counters, though they were wiped down, had permanent stains on them. Even the bathroom had holes in the walls and rust in the sink and tub.
“I asked her what kind of party she wanted for her birthday.”
“Oh, God, I’ve got to do a girl’s birthday party?” he said, cringing.
“No,” she said, patting his hand. “She didn’t want one. She said she never had one before and I get the feeling she is afraid no one would show up. She told me she just wanted it to be the three of us and my mother. I hope it was okay for me to bring it up to her.”
“It was fine. Good, actually, as I would have waited to the last minute and then stressed myself out wondering if I was doing the right thing by letting her just have it be the three of us.”
“You’re doing everything right, Landon,” she told him.
“So you’ve said a few times.”
“One more thing,” she said and he felt like the hammer was going to drop on his bare feet.
“What?”
“She wanted me to cut her hair tonight.”
“Chloe wants a haircut? Why not tell me that?”
“No, she asked me to cut it. She said her mother always did and it’s longer than she normally has it. She was afraid to ask you to cut it because she said you get a panicked look in your eye at times.”
He laughed. “I would have if she asked me. But I’ll take her to get it done.”
“I told her that too. She brought up money again.”
He felt the heat fill his face this time. “How many times do I have to talk to her about that?”
“I talked to her about it. I think she understands. It’s going to take time. It’s only been a few months and it’s hard to wipe away the only thing she knew. I told her I’d take her for a haircut this weekend if you’re okay with it.”
“Of course I am,” he said. “But maybe I should.”
“Why?” she asked.
“I was standing up there talking to her and realized that she’s getting really attached to you.”
She pushed away from him. “And you don’t want that?” Maybe her mom was right. Maybe she was looking for too much again and setting herself up to be hurt when she should just let things fall where they will.
“Stop,” he said, reaching for her. “I want you here. I want you here more than I feel I should voice. Then I worry you’ll think it’s not because of me but because of Chloe, and I struggle to get you to understand that too.”
“You’ve said it enough to me,” she said.
“And yet you are offended right now. Not my intention. I guess I’m more worried that Chloe will get attached and not understand if things don’t work out. We’ve both been in relationships before. I wonder how many Jennifer was in. How many people have come in and out of her life? I don’t know the answers to that. Am I making things worse or better for her?”
“If I didn’t know you truly care about her feelings, I’d be annoyed over this conversation.”
“Thanks, I think. I really am trying to put her first.”
“Which is why I think we just let it play out. She is used to me being here on the weekends only. I think we continue with it. Asking me to stay tonight probably had more to do with what tomorrow is than anything else. If it helps her get through, then it’s for the right reasons.”
“You’re right. You are. I know it. Are we okay? I didn’t hurt your feelings or anything by saying what I did?”
“No. You were being honest and that is what we should be doing anyway.”
“If we are being honest, then how about we go upstairs to bed?” he said, standing up and pulling her up with him.
“I think that’s a good idea.”
He grabbed the remote and shut the TV off, then went to lock the front door. “Let me just check the rest of the house if you want to go get ready for bed.”
She nodded and went upstairs while he walked through the house making sure everything was secure for the night all the while thinking that he was getting as used to this as Chloe was and maybe it wasn’t that smart.
All those thoughts vanished like pixie dust in the air when he walked into his room and saw her in bed with one of his shirts on. He’d already checked on Chloe, saw she was sleeping, and then shut her door. Now he shut his and locked it to give them some privacy.
“I was hoping you’d have nothing on at all,” he said, reaching for the shirt she was pulling over her head.
“I didn’t want to be naked in case Chloe got up and walked down the hall.”
“Probably a smart decision.” He pushed his sweatpants off that he’d put on after his shower along with his underwear and climbed into bed on top of her.
“Have I told you how nice of a body I think you’ve got?” she asked.
“Only nice? I’ve spent a lot of years working on my body and it’s only nice?”
“I think you are looking for compliments. Those have to be earned though,” she said, letting out a little laugh.
“I’ll earn them from you tonight,” he said, sliding down her body. He was trying to be quiet like they normally had to be, knowing they weren’t alone in the house.
Her back arched and she pulled his head down to her chest urging him to latch onto a pebbled nipple. He greedily pulled it into his mouth and sucked like there was nothing else on the face of this earth he wanted.
The scary part was, that was damn close to the truth.
He
r fingers were tugging his head to the other side, and he moved in that direction so he wouldn’t disappoint her.
His hand covered the breast he’d just abandoned while his mouth went to work on the other. Her hips were lifting and pressing against what was so blatantly standing to attention. There used to be a time in his life where one woman was just as good as the next, but since he met Kristen he realized how false that was.
“Landon,” she whispered.
“Yes,” he said, moving down her body.
“Yep, that is where I want you to go.”
He loved that she wasn’t shy to voice her wants and needs. His mouth settled over her little swollen nub of pleasure and tugged that into his mouth like he had her nipples. Soft and tender and so much sweeter than any candy he’d ever eaten.
He spread her legs wide, then lifted them up and put them on his shoulders, feasting like a bear out of hibernation. Like it was his last real meal before he was going off to war. Like he had to keep the memory of a woman in his mind for the cold nights when he’d be alone.
“That’s it,” she said. “You always know the right spot to go for.”
His lips moved down, his tongue going between her lower lips and tasting all the wetness he could. Then when it seemed there wasn’t anything left, he dipped his tongue inside of her for more.
Her legs were starting to shake on his shoulders, her hips rising up for him to take more of her and he couldn’t let her down.
One finger went inside of her, then another. Her muscles were squeezing and retreating and he was ready to send her to that place where he loved to meet her. The place they went to together not often enough.
With his fingers moving, his mouth nibbling, and her hips pumping up, she pulled the sheets hard enough that he shifted. His eyes glanced up and he saw her gripping them in a fist with one hand, her other hand was over her mouth.
Rather than send her over like he wanted, he eased off.
“What?” she asked.
He didn’t answer. Just grabbed a condom and put it on, then threaded their fingers together, pinning her hands over her head, his mouth covering hers, and slammed right inside of her.