Old Habits

by Tabatha Kiss

  Everything aches and burns but I don’t want it to end. I instantly miss his fingers as he slides them out of me and nearly shed a tear as he leaves one last kiss on my mound before leaning back and wiping his mouth.

  I push up onto my elbows as he guides my dress down to rest on my thighs. “Such a gentleman.”

  “Oh, I’ve always been gentle,” he says.

  I smile. “A little too gentle sometimes, if I recall.”

  He crawls closer. “You never complained before.”

  “Not complaining now, either... but if we’re going to start talking penalties...” I kiss his forehead and he grins, “then things might get a little rough.”

  “One step at a time,” he says, settling beside me. “But I’m listening…”

  He kisses my neck, sending more shocks down my spine. I reach for his zipper and slide it open while his breath quickens against my skin. My tongue salivates, delightfully thirsty for him as I wrap my fingers around his hardness.

  “Oh, Jovie…” He chuckles. I stroke him slowly and he sighs, barely able to contain the groan in the back of his throat. “Fuck.”

  I smile and kiss his neck, feeling his fingers digging into my skin as I travel downward. He shifts up, allowing for me to slide his jeans down. I take hold of his cock and admire it for a moment, letting my head fill with nostalgic memories, before taking his tip between my lips.

  “Oh, fuck…” he says again, laughing harder as I suck the precum from his tip.

  He reacts to every tap and lick of my tongue. Even the rough edge of my teeth brings him pleasure. I watch him move beneath me, feeling the tight twist of his grip on the back of my head as he pulls me closer and sends his cock further back into my throat. I moan to vibrate his shaft and his hips jerk and he inhales a sharp breath. I let the slick and warm sensations dazzle my tongue and I bob my head until I hear him groan my name.

  “Jovie…” he grunts. “Just like that.”

  I feel up his body, touching his pecs and abs and he laughs, his eyes fluttering with lust. He takes hold of one of my hands and squeezes tight, signaling an impending climax. I keep steady, waiting for his sweetness to splash my tongue any second now.

  Will moans one more time and I feel it burst. I let it spread along my taste buds. It tickles my throat on the way down. There’s so much of it, I take it in two gulps before I slide him from my numb lips.

  I sit back and touch my smiling mouth with my fingertips.

  “What?” he asks, craning his neck to look at me.

  “Nothing,” I say, enjoying his lingering taste. “I forgot how sweet you were.”

  He grins. “Come here…”

  The doorbells rings and I freeze an inch away from his kiss.

  “Uh-oh,” I mutter.

  Will shifts forward as I fall to the side. “Wait here.” He smirks at me. “Don’t get up.”

  “Any idea who it is?”

  “No…”

  There’s a pounding on the door, growing louder and we both pause to stare at each other.

  He furrows his brow. “Okay, maybe you should get up.”

  “Oh, I agree.”

  I point to my underwear on the floor as he slides into a pair of lounge pants. “Would you kindly?” Will grabs them and hands them to me. “Thank you.”

  He stops to kiss me one more time before heading into the living room. “Be right back,” he says.

  I stand up and push my dress down to my knees. “Should I sneak out the back?”

  “Not yet. Just keep quiet.”

  I smile and nod. “Okay.”

  Will walks away and I linger behind in the bedroom, holding my breath to stay silent as he unlocks the door.

  “I’ve been calling you all morning, Will. Where is your phone?”

  I cringe. It’s Sara.

  Chapter 19

  Will

  I plant myself between my sister and my living room, trying to look as casual as possible. Andy stands beside her with his backpack strapped on his shoulders and a wide grin on his face.

  “Hi, Uncle Will!”

  “Hey, buddy,” I say. “What’s going on?”

  Sara gawks at me. “I asked you to watch him, remember? I have to meet with the P-A-R-T-Y committee to finish arrangements for his B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y in the S-Q-U-A-R-E today.”

  I blink through the mess of letters. “That’s today?”

  “Yes — a fact I could have reminded you of last night but you hung up on me. Did you even read my texts?”

  “Sorry,” I say, stepping to the side. “Come on in, Andy.”

  Sara releases his hand and he rushes in while she scans over my shoulder. “Did you have company?”

  I glance behind me at the empty pizza boxes and beer cans. “No, just a rough night,” I say quickly.

  She squints. “Yeah, I heard about your little date with Jovie. It didn’t go so well, did it? Not that I’m surprised…”

  “No, it did not.”

  “Well, you’re better off without her.”

  I ignore it. “When are you picking him back up?”

  “A few hours...” She lowers to a whisper. “The party is at noon. Be there by eleven-thirty, please.”

  “Cool.” I nod.

  “Who are you?”

  I spin around, hearing Andy’s voice in the hallway and my chest tightens. “Hey, Andy, buddy… come on back in here…”

  Sara brushes past me and I exhale as she charges through my living room to catch up with him. I close the door and follow them as Sara crosses her arms in disappointment.

  “Hey, Jovie,” she says through her teeth.

  “Hello, Sara.”

  Jovie lets out a soft chuckle from my bedroom doorway. She’s fully-clothed, thankfully, but there’s not a damn thing to be said to convince my sister that was always the case.

  “Who are you?” Andy asks her again.

  “Oh, I’m just…” she gestures at me, “I’m just an old friend of your uncle’s.”

  I nudge his shoulder. “You remember Jovie, right?” I ask him. “The nice lady from the toy store?”

  Jovie nods. “That, too. You might not recognize me without the very flattering red smock.”

  Sara glares at me. “And what is she doing here?”

  I go blank but awkward moments were always Jovie’s forte.

  “I dropped by on my way to work,” she says, raising her hand to hold up a CD from my shelf. “I loaned him this years ago and he never gave it back.”

  I follow her lead. “Well, you didn’t exactly leave a forwarding address, Jove.”

  “Uh-huh,” she says, stepping forward. “Anyway, I guess our stuff is square now.”

  “I guess so,” I say, furrowing my brow.

  She passes by us. “Bye.”

  “Bye.”

  Sara stares her down, barely blinking until the front door opens and closes again. Once it does, her eyes shift in my direction like armed missiles preparing to strike. “Andy, go back to the living room, please,” she says to him.

  He obeys her and jogs off to plant himself in front of my television.

  I take a deep breath in preparation as Sara’s eyes flash red.

  “She dropped by to claim a CD?” she asks.

  “Yeah,” I answer.

  “Oh, please. Even she’s not too broke to own an iPod. What was she really doing here?”

  I shake my head. “Nothing you haven’t already made up your mind about.”

  She lets out an annoyed grunt. “Well, don’t let her drop by while Andy’s here. I don’t want her around my son.”

  “That’s fine.”

  “That’s fine?”

  “You’re the parent, aren’t you?”

  Her brow arches. “And you should stay away from her, too.”

  “Sara, you’re Andy’s parent. Not mine,” I argue, keeping an even tone. “You have every right to say how you want your son to be raised and to tell me what not to expose him to while he’s under my care, but that’s w
here the line is. You don’t get to tell me what to do or who to spend my time with.”

  She adjusts her purse strap higher up her shoulder. “I can hear her tone in your voice already,” she says, turning away. “She’s not dropping by the party today, is she?”

  “She’s working. So, no.”

  “Good.” She walks away, pausing over her son to kiss his head on the way to the door. “Andy, have fun. I’ll be back in a few hours.”

  “Okay, Mommy.”

  The door slams behind her. Andy stands up and peeks out the window and I join him to watch as she climbs into her car.

  “Is she mad?” he asks me.

  “A little.” I nod. “Not at you, though. She’s mad at me, so don’t worry about it.”

  “Why?” He stares up at me. “What did you do?”

  “Well…” I lower to his level by leaning down with my hands on my knees. “You know the nice toy store lady?”

  “Yeah.”

  “She and I have a complicated history together and your mommy is a little scared that we might repeat it.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I didn’t handle the fallout well last time,” I explain. “You’re too young to remember this but when you first met me, I wasn’t doing so hot.”

  “Why?”

  “Because breaking up with Jovie was a mistake that I never quite got over.”

  “Why?”

  “Dude, you saw how pretty she is. Girls might be full of cooties to you now but give it a few years and you’ll probably have a Jovie or two under your belt. Trust me.”

  His head tilts. “Can we watch shark attack videos again?”

  I smile. “You’re pretty hardcore for a four-year-old, you know that, buddy?”

  Andy nods.

  Chapter 20

  Jovie

  I pretend to wipe down the windows as I stare out at the birthday party in the town square.

  The streamers and balloons were already hanging around by the time I got to work. Presents and cupcakes all stacked up on a table with a cooler full of tiny, individual cups of ice cream. Loud music, fun games, free prizes for all.

  And I wasn’t invited.

  Not that I ever expected to be invited to a birthday party for Sara Myers’ spawn but I’m fairly sure everyone else has passed by the toy store windows at least once with smiles and sprinkles on their mouths.

  My eyes land on Will and mine aren’t the only ones.

  He races across the grass at half speed with Andy and a dozen other children trailing behind him. He fakes a trip to his knees and they all dogpile on him, laughing and shrieking, while other women all over the place stare and swoon over him. A hard-working, educated man with that body and a fondness for children? I can practically hear their ovaries bursting from behind this glass.

  I’d feel jealous but he ate me out this morning and I performed some of my best work on him, so...

  Sorry, ladies. He’s a little taken at the moment.

  I abandon the window and wander back over to the cash register to sit down for a little bit. The entrance bell chimes behind me and a woman emerges with a cupcake sitting on a napkin in her palm and a warm smile on her motherly face.

  “Hello, Jovie.”

  I smile back. “Hey, Dr. Myers.”

  “Rachel,” she corrects me.

  I shrug. “It’s been a while. Just making sure…”

  “It’s always Rachel to the significant others of my children.”

  “Oh, we’re not—”

  “Jovie, I know my son. If you two really did part ways for good after your little town square spat last night then he wouldn’t be smiling like that today.”

  She points out the window behind her and my cheeks burn.

  “Okay…” I chuckle. “You got us.”

  “Don’t worry. I won’t say a word.” She halts across the counter from me. “How are your teeth?”

  I press my lips together. Somehow, I’d forgotten all about Rachel and Dave’s patented awkward greetings. “They’re fine,” I answer.

  “When was your last x-ray?” she asks.

  I try to think back far enough. “Uh…”

  “Oh, that’s not good.” She shakes her head. “Come and see me soon.”

  “I’ll have to check my schedule.”

  “So, you’re missing quite the party out there,” she says, pointing through the windows.

  “Well, someone has to hold down the fort in here in case all those wacky party-goers feel the sudden urge to buy oodles of toys all of a sudden.” I gesture around. “Also, I wasn’t invited, so…”

  She sets the cupcake down in front of me. “And that someone deserves a secret, stolen pastry for putting up with that bullshit.”

  “Thank you,” I say, admiring the perfect spiral of blue frosting on top. “Tell your grandson happy birthday for me.”

  She nods. “I will.”

  “He’s a cute one.”

  “He takes after his dad,” she says, lowering her voice. “Sara was never that cute.”

  My lips curl. “And thank you for that.”

  “You’re welcome.” She takes a deep breath while her eyes wander my face. “You, on the other hand, look more like your mother than ever and she was the most gorgeous woman I ever met in my life.”

  I pause as my smile fades. “Oh, wow.”

  “Wow, indeed.” She tilts her head. “Did I ever tell you about the time she and I started a book club?”

  “No.”

  “This was ages ago, obviously. Everyone was doing it. Oprah was doing it, so naturally, we started one, too. Every Wednesday morning, a few of us moms would get together at my house, shove you little kiddos in a playpen, and talk about whatever book was hot at the time over a box of wine.”

  I laugh. “Sounds like fun.”

  “It was while it lasted.” She smiles. “Joanne... well, she had different tastes than the other moms. They were more Mr. Darcy and she was more Mr. Grey, if you know what I mean.”

  “I might.”

  “Anyway, after a few months, things got a little rough for her and she started showing up less and less. Hank was no help at all so she would bring you over from time-to-time and I’d watch you while she went to her doctor appointments.”

  “I don’t remember that,” I say, thinking back.

  “You were still so tiny at the time,” she says. “Whenever she brought you over, Sara would throw little fits. She was so envious of you, even back then.”

  I roll my eyes. “Sounds about right.”

  “But William...” She smiles. “He’d plant himself on the floor next to you and he wouldn’t move again until Joanne came to pick you up. He adored you from the moment he first saw you.”

  I look out the window, quickly finding him in the crowd across the street. He stands tall with Andy balanced on his shoulders and a pointy party hat on his head, laughing and screaming along with the other kids.

  “To be honest,” Rachel continues, “it was a little disappointing when the two of you split up. I thought you were in it for the long haul.”

  “I figured you’d be among those who pegged me a bad influence on him.”

  She waves a hand. “It’s not like you two shared needles or went on killing sprees together.” Her brow arches. “Right?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Well, then, I don’t see anything wrong with a little harmless mischief now and again. You were just kids and you grew up eventually. No harm done.”

  I sigh. “I wish everyone else saw it that way.”

  “Listen, Clover might not be a big fan of second chances but I am... and with the way my son has been eying this place for the last hour, I think he is, too.”

  “You might be right about that.”

  She reaches out and lays her hand on mine. “Welcome home, honey.”

  I swallow the lump in my throat. “Thank you, Rachel.”

  She pats my hand and winks before stepping toward the door. “Oh,” she pau
ses in the doorway, “and Jovie...”

  “Yeah?”

  “If you break my son’s heart again, I will hunt you down and kill you myself. Got it?”

  I stand taller. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Bye, hun.” She grins and steps outside again.

  The uneasy feeling wears off quickly and I smile as my attentions lock through the window at Will across the street. His eyes shift in the direction of the toy store and he catches sight of his mother sneaking back over to join the party. He pauses with quiet panic in his eyes and I laugh to myself.

  ***

  The sun sets and the party packs it in.

  Mr. Trin said I could close up as soon as they do so I rush to lock the doors before any of them get the idea to do a little after-party shopping.

  It takes me about thirty minutes to do the closing paperwork and count down the cash register. One of these days, I’ll get that down to twenty, but I take my time to make sure I don’t make any mistakes.

  I flick off the lights and slide my jacket on over my tank top.

  The phone rings and I pause, silently debating over whether or not to answer it. I’d rather just ignore it and go home but the responsible thing wins out and I reach for it.

  “Trin’s Toys. This is Jovie.”

  “Count to thirty and then step outside.”

  I pause. “Will?”

  He hangs up.

  “Will?” I ask the silence.

  I drop the phone back onto its cradle and bolt for the windows to scan the street outside. Sara and several others still linger in the center of the square, chatting and picking up trash while kids sit around looking bored. I scan the crowd for Will but he’s not there. I suddenly remember that I’m supposed to be counting and I try to estimate how much time has passed since that phone call.

  I reach twenty-five and Marv’s tow truck crashes into another car at the other side of the square. My jaw drops as I step outside to get a closer look.

  Tucker hops out of the truck and screams at the man in the other car, drawing the attentions of every person left behind in the square.

  A red car rounds the corner and halts by the curb in front of me.

  “Jovie, get in.”