She rolled her eyes at me. “Men. You’re all pigs.”
“But you love me for it.”
She tried to hide the smile, but the way her eyebrow was raising told me she was failing miserably. “Fine, I love you for it, but I still think it’s wrong to have sex when our son is in our house.”
“Well, I’ll let you tell him when we’ll be having sex so that he can stay away during those times.”
“And when do I get a copy of this schedule?”
“Oh, you don’t need one. Just assume that any time we’re home, I’m going to be balls deep inside you.” I stepped back, sliding out of her and watching my cum drip down her legs. “That’s fucking beautiful.”
“Like I said, men are pigs.”
✯✯✯✯✯
“Oh, thank God!” Axel said as he plopped down on the couch later that night. “I wasn’t sure if you two would be done when I got back and I was running out of things to do.”
“That’s going to change as of tomorrow.” I handed him some papers and crossed my arms as I stood in front of him and watched him look them over.
“I don’t understand. What is this?”
“That’s your training schedule. Since you’ve been homeschooled, I figure there’s no need to put you in school now. I hired a tutor for you. You’ll be waking up at five every morning for swim practice. That goes for three hours. Then you’ll have a short break to eat again, and you’re gonna need it. Then you’ll be tutored for four hours every day and after that you’ll go to train in the gym with Knight. You’ll get a dinner break and you’ll train some more. Your day ends at seven o’clock and you’ll come back to do your homework.”
Ali and I watched him as he studied the schedule. I was worried that he was having second thoughts, but then he looked up at me in question. “Are you sure this is enough training to get me into BUDs?”
“We’ll start with that, kid. We’ll adjust the schedule as needed, but this should set you on the right path.”
“Are you okay with this, Mom?”
“Is this what you want?” Ali asked him.
“Yeah.”
“You’re sure? You don’t want to go to college or a technical school?”
“Not a chance. This is what I want.”
“Then, I guess you’d better get to bed early tonight. You have an early start to your day tomorrow. I’ll have breakfast ready at four-thirty.”
A faint smile touched his lips and he nodded, heading downstairs for the night. He had chosen to make the basement his own space and now that we had a plan in place, I thought that was for the best. He was going to be pushed to the limit before he even entered the military and there would be times that he really needed some room to breathe.
“This is gonna be hard on him, Ali. I just want you to know that if he really wants this, we’re gonna push him hard.”
“Good,” she said smugly. “I’d expect nothing less from you.”
Damn, I got lucky with this woman. How the hell she never blamed me for leaving and somehow still came back to me the way she did, I’ll never know. But I was fucking grateful every day that she was mine again.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Alison and Chris
I FUMBLED WITH my jewelry for the tenth time. I was so nervous about tonight. We were all getting together at a pub in town and I was going to be meeting a bunch of new people. I already knew that I got along great with Lillian, Lucy, Claire, Maggie, and Cara, but all these other people? What if they didn’t think that much of me?
Chris walked up behind me, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me close. “Would you relax? It’s going to be fine. Everyone’s going to love you.”
“It’s just been…well, I’ve never actually had a night out with friends before. I don’t know how this works.”
He spun me around to face him and smiled sweetly at me. “It works like this, we go to the bar, have a few drinks, talk with our friends. If you want me to stick by your side the whole night, I will. If you want to leave early, we will. It’s not a big deal.”
“I know. I’m just letting my mind get carried away.”
“What are you so worried about?”
“That they’re going to judge me. That they’ll think I’m some kind of weirdo.”
“Well, let’s put it this way. We’re all humans and we all have our own issues. Cara has anxiety issues and I don’t even know if she’ll be there tonight. Lillian is…well, let’s just say she gets a little creative when she drinks. You already know that Claire is a little out there. Lucy, you have to watch out for her having sex someplace that you’ll see. Maggie might decide to blow something up. I don’t know if you know this, but Vanessa is kind of like a sister to me. I was on her protection detail and I became close with her. Believe me, she has her own set of issues. And that’s just the women I know. There are going to be a bunch of other women there that I don’t know all that well. I’m sure you’ll find all sorts of women that will be even more fucked up than you are in their own way. We all have our own issues that we hide from everyone. No one is going to know about yours unless you choose to tell them.”
I smiled at his attempt to make me feel better and kissed him on the lips. He was still the same sweet man that I knew from when we were kids. The only difference was that he didn’t like anyone to see that side of him now. His eyes were always harder around other people, like he had to keep up a persona.
“Are you sure it’s alright to leave Axel here by himself?”
“He’s a good kid,” Chris said with a lazy grin. “He’ll be fine. Besides, I’m sure he’ll enjoy the freedom for a few hours.”
I took a deep breath and headed out with Chris. To say that my nerves were on edge was an understatement, but I did my best to stay calm as we walked into the bar. Claire ran up to me immediately, her face shining bright as she wrapped me up in a hug. I could smell the alcohol on her already.
“I’m so glad you’re here. We’re going to have so much fun tonight.”
I glanced at Chris and he mouthed Do you want me to stay? I shook my head, confident that with Claire by my side, I could weather anything.
“So, the last time I was here, I was trying to figure out how to pick up a man and Hunter was trying to give me pointers. Let’s just say that didn’t work out so well for me and I ended up insulting a few people.”
“You seem pretty loose tonight,” I said with a smile.
“Yeah, well, put a few drinks in me and I’m not quite as socially awkward as normal. But I make no guarantees that I won’t embarrass you at some point tonight.”
She dragged me over to a few tables where women were scattered all around. She started the introductions and I was so confused by the end that they all started laughing. There were just too many women to keep track of.
“So, do you guys normally all get together for birthdays?” I asked Claire.
“No, but with all that’s happened this year, Sebastian wanted to gather all of Maggie’s friends for her birthday. It’s really very sweet. Did you see the cake he got her?”
I shook my head and followed the direction of her hand. There was a huge three tier cake on a table in front of the window.
“Wow. That’s amazing.”
“Yeah, Sebastian and Maggie have had it bad for each other since they first met.”
“I got a chance to talk with Maggie when we were hiding out. She’s pretty fierce. I haven’t seen them. Shouldn’t they be here if this is their party?”
“Knowing Maggie, she’s probably following a story and Sebastian is trying to drag her back here.”
Lucy made her way over to me and pulled me off to the side. “Alison, can I ask a huge favor?” Lillian and Sarah were deep in conversation, so I didn’t feel bad about walking away.
“Of course.”
“Hunter’s been kind of a possessive asshole since all this shit went down. I want to teach him a lesson.”
She bit her lip and grinned at me. Whatever she
wanted made me very nervous.
“Um, I’m not sure that’s a great idea.”
“Please, please. It’ll be fun. I promise.”
I looked into her pleading eyes and found that I couldn’t say no to her. She was one of my first friends and I really wanted to have some fun with her.
“You tell me what you want first and I’ll think about it.”
“Okay,” she said excitedly. “I want you to ask the bartender to send Hunter a new drink every time his is empty. Ask him to tell Hunter that it’s from Gabe.”
“From Gabe? But then he’d think-” I shook my head as I laughed. “Why don’t you do it?”
“Because if he sees me talking to the bartender, he’ll figure out that I’m the one doing it. Pretty please with sugar on top and a cherry in the middle?” She stuck out her bottom lip as she begged me. I had to admit, it sounded kind of fun.
“Do you have a running tab?”
“Yes!” She fist pumped and then grabbed me for a tight hug. I walked over to the bar and very discreetly put in my request to the bartender. He didn’t like the idea at first, but when I explained that it was a practical joke, he was all on board. I watched as he grabbed a beer, popped the top, and headed over to Hunter at the other end of the bar. When Hunter’s head whipped around and he saw Gabe, he glared at him. Gabe met his eyes and gave him a chin lift, which only seemed to piss Hunter off even more.
“Drinks on me!” Lucy said to the women at our table. Lucy placed an order for shots with the bartender and a few minutes later, we were sucking down drinks and laughing hysterically at Lillian’s British accent.
“So, is he a poof?” Lillian whisper-hissed to Lucy.
“I don’t know, but it’s fun fucking with Hunter.”
“Don’t you think Hunter might be a little cheesed off when he finds out you were taking the piss?”
“Taking the what?” I asked in confusion.
“It’s from my British slang dictionary. It means to mock someone.”
A woman came stumbling up to the table that I had met, but I couldn’t remember her name. She was a blonde with wavy hair and her clothes were rather disheveled.
“Having fun, Harper?” Sarah smirked.
“Oh my gosh. Jack just pulled me into the bathroom and fucked me against the wall. It was so hot.”
My face went slack as I stared at her. Anger rose up inside me. That asshole. He had just basically promised me the world and the second he sees a hot piece of ass, he’s off fucking around. “Jack?”
“Yeah. It was so hot. It’s been a while since we’ve done anything like that.”
I stumbled from my seat, my chest heaving in fury. I glanced around the bar, sneering when I saw Chris stepping from the hallway that led to the bathrooms with a grin on his face. I couldn’t believe that I had fallen for all his lies.
“Listen,” I said, spinning around and planting my hands on my hips. I may have been a pushover before, but I wouldn’t live one more second of my life like that. “You keep your hands off him. He’s my man and if you touch him again, I’ll scratch your fucking eyes out.”
“What? Jack. My Jack,” she stuttered.
“No, my Jack.”
“That man,” she pointed over to where Chris was talking to a man with dirty blonde hair. “Jack.”
“Yes, that man. I have a kid with him. Keep your fucking hands off.”
“How old is your kid?” she asked in shock.
“Sixteen.”
She shook her head, not sure what to make of what I was saying. “No, that’s not…I would have known. I have kids with him.”
“Well, it looks like he’s been making a lot of promises all around. Just stay away from him.”
Her eyes turned feral and she charged at me instantly. I sidestepped her and shoved her into another table. Beer went flying and she was instantly covered.
“Alison, what the hell is going on?” Lucy asked, looking at me like I’d lost my goddamn mind.
“She’s fucking Chris.”
“No,” Lucy said in shock.
“I just asked her. She even pointed him out.”
A hard body hit mine and we went crashing into another table. She shoved me onto the top of the table. Beer soaked my shirt and nacho cheese landed in my hair.
“You slut! He’s mine, so stay away from him.”
I kicked her off me, aware that most everyone in the bar was staring at us now. Chris and the blonde man were charging over to us. Harper grabbed onto my hair and spun me around, but I fisted her shirt, taking her down with me as we both crashed into the birthday cake that was on the table for Maggie.
Chris and the blonde guy stood in front of us, looking down at us with angry expressions. I looked at Harper out of the corner of my eye and scowled.
“What’s going on here, Harper?”
“I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?” Harper sneered at the man.
“I’m not the one spilling beer all over and landing in cake.”
“I’m not the one fucking other men,” she shouted.
All the men looked at Jack and discretely took a step back. I was confused. What was she talking about?”
“I’m not fucking anyone else,” he shouted.
“Really? Because she tells me that she has a kid with you that’s sixteen years old!”
“What?” I gasped. “No. I don’t even know that man.”
“You said Jack,” she huffed as she turned to me.
“Yeah, Jack.” I pointed to Chris and laughter filled the air. Harper and I looked around in confusion.
“That’s not Jack. That’s Chris,” she laughed.
“I know his name is Chris, but people call him Jack. For Jack Daniels.”
I glared up nervously at Chris, but he was smirking down at me and “Jack” had his head thrown back in laughter.
“My husband’s name is Jack,” Harper laughed. “That’s Jack. Jack, my husband, was the one that fucked me in the bathroom.” She slapped a hand over her mouth when she realized that she said that rather loud and everyone heard. A large glob of cake fell off the table and landed on my head with a plop.
I cringed and looked at her apologetically. “Oops?”
Maggie and Sebastian walked into the bar right then and I hung my head in embarrassment. I had destroyed his wife’s birthday cake and it was supposed to be so special for her.
“Don’t tell me you started a food fight without me.” I looked up and a huge grin was on her face and her hands were braced on her hips. She walked over with Sebastian to us, an evil look on her face and scooped up some of the cake. I was waiting for her to throw it at me, but then she winked and smeared it all over Sebastian’s face. I watched with my lips pulled between my teeth, trying not to laugh as Sebastian blinked slowly, trying to get the cake out of his eyes. He swiped the beer out of Chris’s hand and chugged it down. Maggie chuckled as Sebastian nodded.
“I’ll give you that one, Freckles, but only because it’s your birthday.”
She turned to Harper and me triumphantly, a sassy look on her face. My eyes widened as Sebastian scooped up a tier of the cake. I tried to warn her, but the shock of what was about to happen was too much to get the words out. She turned back to him and the whole tier of cake was shoved into her face.
He grinned at Chris and Jack. “Now this is what I call a party.” He turned and walked away, taking Chris’s beer with him.
Chris
“What the fuck?” Hunter said as he walked over to our table. “You guys have to help me out. Fucking Gabe has been sending me drinks all fucking night.”
“Why would Gabe send you drinks?” I asked.
“Man, ever since he saw me fucking Lucy, I just get this feeling around him. Like he’s looking for more with me.”
“I don’t know. I’ve never gotten that feeling from him,” I said disbelieving.
Hunter rolled his eyes at me and stiffened. “No offense, Chris, but it’s all in the muscles. You’re too lea
n.”
“Excuse me?”
“Look, I get that you’re fucking deadly and that look you get on your face could make someone drop dead in two point five seconds. But next to me, you’re a fucking string bean.”
I tried really fucking hard to keep the grin off my face, but it was difficult. “So, you think that Gabe is hitting on you because he wants your body?”
“Well, yeah. It’s fucking obvious, isn’t it?”
I kept my eyes trained on Hunter as Gabe walked up behind Hunter and rested his hand on Hunter’s shoulder. “Hey, man. Everything alright?”
Hunter flinched at Gabe’s touch and jerked back from him. “Fine. Everything’s totally cool.” His eyes flicked to mine in panic.
“You seem tense. You should get a neck massage or something.” Gabe lightly touched the back of Hunter’s neck, giving a light rub. “Dude, you have so much tension back here.”
Hunter stumbled back, spilling his beer down the front of his shirt.
“Sorry about that, man.” Gabe grinned and held up his hands in a back off gesture. “I’ll buy you a new beer. Didn’t mean to freak you out.”
He turned and headed for the bar as Hunter plopped down in his stool across from me. “What the fuck am I going to do? You saw the way he touched me, right? You don’t seriously think he wants something from me, do you? I mean, he knows I’m with Lucy.”
“Maybe he’s looking for a menage situation,” Ice shrugged.
“There’s no fucking way I’d do a menage with another dude. That’s fucking disgusting.”
“Hey, babe. Did I just hear you talking about a menage?” Lucy asked as she ran a hand along his shoulders. “Cuz that sounds kind of sexy to me.” I watched as Lucy bit Hunter’s earlobe and then winked over at me. She was totally fucking with him. “Chris? You game?”
I cleared my throat and shook my head. “Not me. I’m not into that. Hey, Gabe.” I gave him a nod as he approached. “Lucy might be looking for a little threesome action. How do you feel about that?”
Whiskey: A Reed Security Romance (Reed Security Series Book 7) Page 23