Right Amount of Wrong: A Standalone Romance

by Bijou Hunter

  “Not yet. Go away,” I text to my sister.

  Heidi must have been ready with her response because it comes seconds after I hit send.

  “She likes you for saving her. See if she likes you for being you. Take her the fuck home!!!”

  “Leave me the fuck alone!!!”

  Heidi goes silent for nearly a minute and then types what I don’t want to see.

  “Mom and Dad are coming home. Good luck explaining your crazy stalker bullshit.”

  I imagine my sister snickering at how I’m in big trouble for doing what needed to be done.

  What Heidi doesn’t understand is that Vidalia would never have given me a chance. Worse still, she never would have given her heart a chance. All those years thinking something ugly about love, she’s boxed herself into a life alone.

  So my method to win her over is crazy, but it fucking worked, and I’m a man who believes in results.

  I win. Vidalia wins. Everyone fucking wins. What is the damn problem?

  Except if I was so certain about my certainty I would fess up to Vidalia. Or at least bring her home and roll the dice on if she’d still want me.

  Despite having a solid relationship with my mom, sister, and other girls back in Ellsberg, I’ve never been good with women. I can do the friendship deal with the fairer sex, but romance makes me uneasy. I might be warier about trusting than Vidalia, though I don’t have her good reasons.

  So, I don’t tell Vidalia the truth, and I won’t take her home until my parents are ready to show up. I’ll keep this woman with me for as long as possible because I don’t trust what’ll happen once she climbs off my Harley and returns to her life.

  “You know what I think?” I say after we retreat into the house to avoid the mosquitos nipping at us.

  Vidalia looks back at me over her shoulder and smiles in the loveliest way. Without a doubt, I love this girl, and I know she could love me, but getting from point A to point B is where I keep getting hung up.

  “We ought to get a place together,” I say before sticking my head into the fridge to keep from seeing her reaction.

  “Sure. Which side of Pema are you thinking?”

  Surprised by her casual response, I turn to find Vidalia staring at me like I’m a mental patient.

  “You and I click,” I explain, “and we don’t click with other people. What would you call this if it isn't fate? If it’s fate, why waste time doing the dating dance when we already know how things end?”

  Vidalia doesn’t immediately shoot down my logic. She considers what I’m saying, which gives me hope.

  “Let’s say I agree, and we get a place. Then what?”

  “What do you want to happen afterward?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Yeah, I bet you do.”

  A defiant Vidalia crosses her arms and narrows her gaze. “What do you want to happen afterward?”

  “I don’t need a piece of paper to prove you’re mine, but I’ll give you anything you want.”

  “So you’re thinking marriage after three days spent together?” she asks, stepping away.

  Rather than telling her how I’ve been thinking about marrying her freckled ass since she waltzed out of the bar, I say, “I want you. No one else. Not now or ever. If you want me to take you on a bunch of dates before I say this stuff, fine, but I’m thinking it now.”

  The fact Vidalia hasn’t blown me off completely gives me hope. We share something special, and she hasn’t known those kinds of feeling before. Long ago, she embraced the idea that she’d have to settle. Now, I’m asking her to think bigger.

  “What if we do this and it doesn’t work out? You can just go on with your life like no big deal, but where will I be?”

  “Where are you now?”

  Vidalia narrows her pale blue eyes again and lifts her lovely upper lip. Realizing this is her pissed face, I wish it didn’t make me hard, but my lonely dick refuses to obey.

  “Are you saying my life is so crappy that I should be happy that a stranger wants to make it better?”

  “Yes.”

  Vidalia balks at that one word, but I won’t lie. Not again. Not when I don’t need to because Vidalia knows I’m not wrong.

  “And if I say no?”

  “I’ll wait for you to say yes, but I don’t know why you’d say no. You said Champagne will pop in a few months, and you’ll share a room with three kids. You can’t afford an apartment on your own, and your family won’t co-sign for a car loan. The bus doesn’t even go many places in Pema. You’re frigging stuck in a life below you. You deserve more. No, you deserve everything. I might not be able to give you everything since I’m just a guy, but I do have some money to play with. I could afford a house.”

  Vidalia shakes her head. “If I say yes, I’m a gold digger. If I say no, I’m stupid for not jumping at my great opportunity.”

  “Screw that gold digger crap. I know you’re not like that. You know it too. Who else matters besides you and me?”

  Walking to the couch, she leans against the back of it and sighs. “Could we have a pet?”

  “We could adopt the entire shelter.”

  Shaking her head, she smiles. “We haven’t even had sex. What if it’s awful?”

  “You’ll teach me how to get better.”

  Vidalia laughs. “Right, because you’d totally be the problem.”

  I walk to where she still leans. Cupping her jaw, I smile. “I’m not looking for the sexual Olympics. I just want to be with you. Wherever you are, I want to be there. That might sound crazy, but it’s not. After the last few days, you know me.”

  After a minute, she admits, “I do know you.”

  While her words reassure me, her tone kills my smile. Vidalia studies my face while I cup hers. Whatever she’s thinking, she only turns away and sits on the couch. I join her, knowing I’m on edge in a way only her presence can calm. We settle into silence long before I think to turn on the TV and pretend to watch.

  16

  Vidalia

  ⊱✿ ✿⊰

  Gunnar is a lying son of a bitch. A big lying liar who lied to me over and over again. He looks me right in the eye without caring about his lies. I ought to smack his lying face so hard he can never lie again.

  But I don’t.

  Instead of raging at him for lying, I let him apply sunscreen to my face.

  Later when we go inside, Gunnar announces he has plans for the rest of our lives, and I don’t call him out on his bullshit. Well, I almost do. The words are right there on the tip of my tongue, but I never let them loose.

  What do I want?

  If I call out Gunnar on his bullshit, will that be the end of us? Should it be? Do I want to be with a man who would so effortlessly lie to my face?

  Yes, yes, I do want to be with Gunnar despite feeling like an idiot for not confronting him over his lies.

  We sit on the couch and stare at the TV for a long time before I end up excusing myself to go to the bathroom. Once alone, I sit on the toilet and think about the pictures I discovered on Gunnar’s phone while I searched his music earlier.

  The guy from the alley has a nice smile. Who’d think the bad guy would look so chummy with Gunnar? He’s even in a picture with a pregnant Heidi. Though the photos were taken awhile back, the guy is clearly a member of their club.

  Sure, it’s possible the guy turned against the club. But I know he didn’t. In my gut, I’ve always wondered about the timing of my walking into that alley at the exact moment for Gunnar to save me. I wanted to trust him and staying here is a vacation from my boring life.

  Nothing changes how Gunnar made me think I almost died. Or how he kept me here based on lies. Or how he now thinks the next step is for us to move in together. Gunnar wanted me and figured he could break the rules to make it happen.

  My tears startle me. I rarely cry. I’m not a sad person. I rarely get depressed. When things bother me, I shove them down deep inside me where bad thoughts go to die.

  N
ow I cry because I don’t know what to do about Gunnar. If I let him get away with lying, am I a doormat? If I call him out on lying and lose him, will I always regret not keeping my mouth shut? Why does this one choice feel like I’m deciding the fate of the rest of my life?

  Heidi warned me how he was spoiled. Maybe Gunnar really doesn’t know any better than to lie and cheat to get what he wants. Or maybe in his coddled thinking, he did me a favor by staging everything.

  I sob into a plush towel to muffle the sounds. My tears no longer have a thing to do with his lies. Instead, they pour out of me because I know I won’t call him out. I can’t take the chance of losing something so right. Future Vi insists I keep my mouth shut. She refuses to suffer the regrets caused by Present Vi’s pride.

  Washing my face, I see how red blotches fight with my freckles for dominance. There’s no hiding the fact that I’ve been crying.

  Perhaps, Gunnar will realize why I’m upset, but he won’t admit anything. He’s proven himself incapable of showing me what’s behind the curtain. He wants his lies, and I’ve decided to allow them to live on. We both get what we want. Everyone is happy. My pride be damned.

  I find the living room empty and hear Gunnar on the back porch listening to music. After a trip to the fridge to get a wine cooler, I join him on the bench.

  “You’re angry,” he says.

  “I thought you said you knew me.”

  “Then you’re sad.”

  “It’s been a strange few days.”

  “Okay.”

  I gulp the wine cooler and glance at him. Gunnar looks so huge next to me with his shoulders wider than I remember. Did my crying cause me to shrink?

  “I’m saying yes to sex,” I say, exhaling slowly. “Later when I’m drunk, and I want to ride you like a steer, you’ll let me because you know I’m saying yes right now when I’m sober. You’ll understand that I’m nervous about my first time and the booze will help make me brave. Do you understand?”

  Scratching at his head, Gunnar frowns. “Why does it have to be now when you’re clearly upset?”

  “Because I don’t know how long I’ll remain at the house and I don’t know what’ll exactly happen after I leave. Heidi said your parents are coming home, and we don’t have much time. Why waste it?”

  “We can wait.”

  “Don’t tell me no,” I mutter, giving him a dirty look. “Not after your issues bled into my life and upended everything.”

  “So, I can’t tell you how I feel? I have to do what you want?”

  “Yes, you do because this won’t be your first time, and we both know you want me. This isn’t a big deal for you, but it’s a big deal for me, so I’m in charge of choosing. You’re in charge of making us feel good since I won’t know what to do.”

  I chug more of the wine cooler, enjoying the burn as it slides down my throat. “Oh, and don’t yank my hair. I have a low tolerance for that. I once yelled at my nephew for doing it. I don’t want to claw out your eyes on instinct.”

  Gunnar fights a smile. “I’ll be careful. Anything else?”

  “If you don’t have a condom, you better get one. Or more than one. I don’t know how those things work, and I never cared enough to ask before. Don’t tell me now, though, because I’m nervous and listening to a sex ed course will freak me out. Just get what you need because I’ve never taken birth control, and I’m not ready to get pregnant.”

  Taking my hand in his, Gunnar sighs. “The first time I saw you, I didn’t think you could be as beautiful as my eyes were telling me. Like I thought it was the lighting in the bar, but then you came over to talk to me, and I realized your pale skin and freckles were just as perfect close up. After that night, I still thought my mind was playing tricks on me. How could a woman make me feel like a silly bitch? Even with your hairnet at Walmart, you had me as nervous as a schoolboy.”

  “Of course, I did,” I say, blushing behind my hair. “I’d tell you that I thought you were beautiful too, but I think we both know I wouldn’t be downing this wine cooler so quickly if you weren’t the best-looking boy I’ve ever seen. A lesser being wouldn’t have me in such a hurry.”

  Gunnar’s smile makes me think he might really be as nervous as I am. I share his grin and rest my head against his strong arm. The alcohol is already numbing me to the earlier ugly feelings. Lies mean nothing once my brain goes fuzzy and my libido kicks into gear.

  17

  Ogre

  ⊱✿ ✿⊰

  I’ve never heard of the songs Vidalia dances to on the back porch. They’re the oldest of oldies, but she jumps around, wiggling her ass to them as if they’re the hottest hits. I sit on the bench and enjoy the view of Vidalia unleashed of her sober mind.

  “Do you think calling her ‘Runaround Sue’ means she’s a slut?” Vidalia asks, shaking her butt at me.

  “I have no idea, but my blood hasn’t been in my brain for a long time.”

  Giggling, Vidalia rubs my head and nuzzles my face in her chest. I wrap my arms around her, but she won’t stay still. Back to dancing to a new song, she swings her arms in the air and bobs her head to the beat.

  I won’t shed too many tears if she wears herself out long before we end up in the bedroom. Vidalia is rushing us into sex while I just want to live together and get married. If anything, I’m the rational one between us.

  “I’m going to ride you all night,” she says, wiggling her ass to a Beach Boys song. “I promise to keep my knees away from your balls.”

  Laughing at the memory of hurting her mother’s perv boyfriend, Vidalia shakes her hair loose. When her gaze focuses on me, I frown because she looks too devious to be safe.

  “How much do you want to see these?” she says, glancing down at her tits. “Would you dance for a chance to touch them?”

  I answer by standing up and awkwardly shaking my ass to the beat of the song. My dick is so hard that I’d slither on the floor if Vidalia wanted. I’ll do whatever I need to do to make her want me half as much as I want her.

  Vidalia responds with a huge smile. She takes my hands and plops them on her tits.

  “I’m a woman of my word,” she says, wrapping her arms around my neck and tugging me down for a kiss.

  My hungry lips suck at hers while my fingers slide over her tits, searching for her nipples under the fabric. They harden on command, growing as stiff as my throbbing erection. I pluck them rhythmically until Vidalia moans into my mouth and reaches between her legs. My left hand follows hers to the hot spot between her legs. I pop the button and tug down the zipper, so I can slide my fingers to where her heat beckons. Vidalia sucks hard on my tongue and opens her legs wider so my fingers can slip between her wet folds.

  My thumb and index finger roll her nipple at the same rhythm as my other fingers stroke her hot flesh. Her clit hardens, and I imagine it between my lips. The thought of sucking her pink flesh makes my dick harden until my jeans feel like a torture device.

  Pulling my hand from her shorts, I suck the fingers clean and then take her hand.

  “We need to go inside,” I mumble, through gritted teeth.

  “Will you make me come?”

  My dick reacts to her breathless question by begging for freedom. I’m not in the bedroom before I have my erection in my hand. I turn to Vidalia who takes in the sight of me stroking my leaking cock.

  “Wow. Will that even fit?”

  “Do you want to find out?”

  Eyes locked on my cock as I kick off my jeans, Vidalia nods. Her shirt comes off, leaving a simple cotton bra between my fingers and her hard nubs.

  “Take off your shorts,” I moan as she yanks down her bra to reveal plump pink nipples begging for my tongue.

  Vidalia spins around once and somehow ends up bare-ass naked by the end of her turn. She jumps onto the bed and bounces on her knees.

  Nearly ripping off my shirt in a rush to get it off, I kiss Vidalia and cup her soft tit. She breaks off the kiss and looks down at where my cock drips pre-cum. Two o
f her fingers swipe a drop of the liquid and caress it between her legs.

  “You’re going to make me come,” I groan and wrap an arm around her waist. Adjusting her back on the bed, I watch her tits bounce with the motion. Even desperate to sink my cock into her waiting pussy, I need to taste the nipples that waited so patiently for my attention.

  Vidalia cries out in pure, animalistic pleasure when my lips suck her right nipple into my mouth. Licking the hard flesh, I stroke my cock faster. No way can I hold out for her, but that only means I can explore more before taking her cherry.

  My tongue and lips brush over one nipple and then the other. I bathe her in affection much like her pussy bathes my curious fingers. I’m close to coming, but something holds me back. Guilt at the situation we’re in or needing Vidalia to find pleasure first.

  Her body breaks out in goose bumps, and her voice is frantic. Vidalia lifts her hips, searching for the extra stimuli to make her tumble into her first orgasm.

  I think of her swollen clit waiting to be tasted. Sliding down to my knees, I spread her lips and find the pinkest petal. Shiny with her juices, the nub begs for my lips. My lips gently cover the flesh before I flick it with my tongue.

  Vidalia’s hips buck, and a moan erupts from her parted lips. I latch onto the clit and suck to see how she’ll react. Gripping the sheet, she cries out my name and her pussy convulses against my hungry lips.

  Her sweet flavor and the ragged sound of her crying out from an orgasm give me permission to jizz harder than I have in my life. The pained pleasure becoming too much, I nearly pass out while devouring her pussy. Vidalia keeps whimpering, and her body strains against the raw bliss.

  Time falls away after my dick is spent. Tongue deep inside her, I lap up her virgin juices until I hear her call my name again. My face drenched, I stand and climb over her. Vidalia wraps her arms around me and kisses my wet lips.

  “That’s the taste of the woman I love,” I tell her.

  Vidalia lifts her hips, wanting my cock inside her. She doesn’t need to say the words. The way she licks her juices from my face proves to me that she’s lost in carnal joy.