by J. S. Cooper
“So, are you going to tell me?” I asked him as I settled into his body and lifted my leg over his.
“What do you want to know?”
“Why do you not like to sleep over and why do you never have long-term relationships?” I stared up into his eyes and ran my hand along his stomach, reaching down to play with his cock as we lay there. His breath caught and he stared at me for a few seconds and then smiled.
Chapter 11
Jeff
Betsy’s naked body was pressed against mine and her leg was resting on the side of my cock, and I wasn’t sure how much longer I could lie in this position and not take her. I shifted to the side, so that her leg fell to the side of my body and thought about how to answer her question.
“So?” She gazed at me curiously, and I stared at her lips, wanting to kiss her again. I could still taste her, and I wanted to reach down and see if she was still wet, but I knew that that would be a bad idea.
“So, I guess they’re both related,” I said as I stared at her open expression. I wanted to be as honest with her as possible, but I also didn’t want her to hate me or think I was insensitive.
“Oh?”
“You know my parents …” My voice drifted off, and I waited for her to nod her understanding.
“Yeah. What about them?”
“They’re miserable together,” I said finally, looking away from her eyes and staring at the wall. “Every single night they argue and scream and shout at each other. My dad calls my mom fat and ugly, my mom calls him an asshole with a small dick, and then he drinks and tells her he wishes he never met her, and she cries herself to sleep. Some nights he’ll go in the bedroom and they’ll have loud sex, and other nights he leaves the house and doesn’t come back until morning.”
“No.” She looked shocked. “I always thought they were so happy together.”
“Nah.” I shook my head. “They hate each other.”
“Why don’t they get a divorce?”
“Religious reasons. They’re Catholic. They will never get divorced.”
“So that’s why you don’t date?” She pursed her lips. “Because your parents have a sucky marriage?”
“Not just because of that.” I shook my head. “I just also never met anyone I’d like to spend a lot of time with.”
“You mean outside of the bedroom?”
“Not just that.” I shook my head. “I think intimacy is overrated. That’s part of the reason why I don’t like spending the night with women, and I sure don’t have them over to my place.”
“What, never?”
I laughed at the look on her face. “You’re shocked because you most probably love to cuddle after sex. That’s something couples do. When you’re just casually seeing someone, you don’t have to pretend to care about cuddling and opening up to each other.”
“So you just hit it and quit it.”
“That sounds crude.” I frowned. “I don’t use women.”
“I’m not saying that you do …” She paused and touched my shoulder. “I guess I just don’t understand why you don’t like intimacy.”
“I don’t think many men like intimacy that much,” I said honestly. “Most of us love sex but want our own space after that.”
“Not true. Jules told me that Nolan loves to cuddle and kiss her.” She stared at me. “And from what I can tell, he craves being around her even more than she craves being around him sometimes, and that’s saying a lot because Jules is obsessed with Nolan.”
“I guess maybe because they’re in love, it’s different,” I said with a shrug. “I don’t know.”
“Have you ever been in love?” she asked me, her lips parted slightly as she gazed at me. Her hair framed her face in such a way that she looked like an angel and I couldn’t answer for a few moments.
“No. No, I haven’t,” I said honestly. I had never been in love. I didn’t really believe in love. I thought it was a man-made concept to make people spend money and commit to a lifetime of unhappiness. What was love, really? Shouting and arguing constantly and living a life full of angst and anxiety, just because? Maybe for some people it was an excuse to allow themselves to enjoy sex without feeling guilty. I didn’t have any hang-ups about sex. I enjoyed it. I had it, and I moved on.
“What are you thinking?” she asked me softly, tracing her fingers along my biceps.
“I’m thinking how sexy you are.” I stared at her and smiled. “I’m thinking that you’re one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever met in my life.”
“Really?” she whispered. She grinned at me then yawned.
“Really,” I said and kissed her on the forehead. “Sleep, dear Betsy, you’re tired.”
“I wanted to ask you more questions.” She yawned again, her eyes flickering.
“You can ask me more questions tomorrow.” I watched as she closed her eyes fully and settled into my arms.
“Night, Jeff,” she said softly and within seconds she was fast asleep. I watched her sleeping and realized I enjoyed the warmth of her body curled up next to me. I sniffed her hair and realized that it smelled like honeysuckle. It was a warm, sweet smell, and I breathed her in. I felt myself yawning, and I realized that I didn’t want to leave. Normally, when I was in bed with a woman, the only thing on my mind was how soon I could make my departure. I didn’t want to be anywhere but here right now, with Betsy. She felt so small and delicate in my arms, and I didn’t even care that my balls were aching from need for her. I closed my eyes and tried to ignore the thoughts running through my head. I’d lied before when she asked me if I’d ever been in love. How could I possibly tell her the truth? How could I tell her that I didn’t crave intimacy with other women because the only woman who truly made me feel alive was her? I didn’t dare tell her that. Not now and not ever. I could never give her what she wanted. I could never give her my heart for a lifetime. I could never give her a real relationship.
The incessant ringing of my phone woke me up. Betsy was still fast asleep in my arms. I lifted her up gently and placed her on the other side of the bed before reaching down and grabbing my phone from the pocket of my pants. I groaned when I saw Nolan’s name on the screen.
“Wassup?” I said into the phone as I answered, trying to sound as innocent as possible.
“Hey, I need you to drop by Betsy’s place and see if she’s okay.” Nolan sounded worried. “Jules and I dropped by the cupcake store on the way to the paper this morning, and it’s closed.”
“Oh?” I muttered and cursed inwardly as I noticed the time. How had we both slept so late? “She’s not there?”
“No.” He sighed. “This is so unlike her. I would drop by myself, but Jules and I have a meeting with Malcolm about coverage for the Bachelor Auction.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “I can go over there right now and make sure she’s okay.”
“Call me as soon as you get there, okay?”
“Who’s that?” Betsy’s eyes opened and she gave me a lazy smile. I quickly put my finger on her lips and she frowned.
“What did you say, Jeff?” Nolan sounded confused.
“Nothing.”
“Are you with someone?”
“No, why would you ask that?”
“Sounded like a feminine voice.”
“Yeah, right.” I chuckled. “Look I gotta go, I’ll let you know if I find Betsy at home.”
“Okay, and if you do, tell her to buy a new alarm clock or something.”
“Will do,” I said and quickly hung up. “You’re late for work,” I said as Betsy reached up to pull me down for a kiss. “Did you hear me?”
“Yeah.” She shrugged. “The people of Canyon Beach will live one day without some cupcakes and coffee.”
“Nolan called me to figure out what happened.”
“Jeff to the rescue.” She stretched, and I tried not to look down at her breasts as the sheet rode down. She sat up then and pulled the sheet up to her neck and smiled at me demurely. “I’m sur
prised you’re still here.”
“Why?” I sat up as well. I didn’t bother pulling the sheet up to cover my body, and I grinned as her eyes fell to my cock.
“After what you said yesterday.” She shrugged. “I thought you wouldn’t want to spend the night.”
“What? And miss your cute little snores?”
“I don’t snore.” She hit me on the shoulder.
“You do.” I grabbed her hands and pulled her to me. “You snore like a cute little pig.”
“Are you calling me a pig?”
“Would I ever?”
“Jefferson Evian.”
“Betsy-Lou Montgomery,” I replied, and we both started laughing. “I’m late for work.”
“Do you have to go in?”
“Why, do you have something better planned?” I reached down and pulled a flyaway hair from in front of her eyes and pushed it behind her ear. I grinned down at her lasciviously, and she licked her lips quickly.
“Well, perhaps,” she said with a small smile and then she groaned. “Shit, I need to call Nanna. She was going to come over to the shop today with an accountant to go over the books.”
“Everything okay?” I asked, noticing the look of worry on her face.
“Not really.” She shook her head and sighed. “We’re not doing as well as I’d hoped. We’re not making a profit at all.”
“What?” I frowned. “But your cupcakes are amazing.”
“Yeah, I guess,” she mumbled and a wave of sadness crossed her face. “Not amazing enough, I suppose.”
“You should head into work,” I said as she reached over to grab her phone. “If you have a meeting with Nanna and an accountant, that’s important. We can hang out some other time.” I jumped out of the bed and started to put my clothes back on. “I’ll text Nolan now and tell him you overslept and that you’ll be opening up the store soon.” I stared at the bed and noticed that Betsy was staring at her phone screen with her mouth slightly ajar and I frowned.
“Earth to Betsy? What’s going on?”
“Sorry what?” She looked up at me with wide non-blinking eyes and I walked over to her side of the bed.
“What’s going on, Betsy?”
“I just got a text from Jules. She just left a meeting with Malcolm. Old Man Campbell is going to sponsor the Bachelorette Auction and say that my store is a co-sponsor. He’s going to buy ads in some papers out of town to drive more people to the auction.”
“Hmm.” I felt my stomach rumbling. “That means more people bidding on you girls?” And your kisses, I thought to myself.
“Yeah, but it also means more business for the cupcake store, too.” She grinned suddenly, her eyes wide. “I can’t believe it. Why would he do this?”
“No idea,” I said. Of course, that was a lie. I was pretty sure that I knew exactly why Old Man Campbell had sponsored the auction, and that reason was none other than that wannabe surfer, Nick. I knew that I was going to have to pay him a visit, but unlike in high school, this time I wasn’t going to be so nice about it.
Chapter 12
Betsy
Ten thousand dollars.
Ten thousand frigging dollars. That’s how much money I had lost in the last six months. I knew Nanna was just as shocked as I was. I’d known I was losing money each month, but I hadn’t realized it amounted to ten grand. I had no idea what I was going to do. The stress of the situation erased even my night with Jeff from my brain.
All right, that’s a bit of a lie. Nothing could ever erase the passion of last night from my mind. I could still feel his tongue on me. In fact, I grew wet just thinking about him. Unfortunately, I knew that nothing was going to come from that situation, and I had bigger things to worry about right now.
“Betsy, get that frown off of your pretty little face.” Nanna smiled at me. “It’ll be okay, you’ll see.”
“Nanna, I feel so bad about you losing your money.”
“My dear child, we haven’t lost anything yet. Don’t despair. Everyone loves your cupcakes.”
“Apparently, everyone isn’t enough to keep us in business, though.” I sniffled, and she gave me a stern look.
“My darling, I think it’s time that I imparted a little knowledge.” Nanna took her glasses off and peered into my eyes. I wondered if she was getting ready to tell me the secrets of life that I didn’t yet know. Or maybe she was going to tell me that she’d always known I was going to fail but had wanted to support me anyway. That was Nanna’s way. She was always so sweet and kind.
“Hit me with it,” I said, and she frowned.
“Hit me with it?”
“I’ve been spending too much time with Nolan and Jeff.” Of course, I couldn’t tell her what sort of fun I’d been spending with Jeff.
“Oh, I see.” She nodded. “I’m so glad that Jeff and Nolan have remained friends all of these years. They are good for each other.”
“Yeah, they’re like two peas in the same pod.” I rolled my eyes. “I thought they’d both be bachelors forever, but it looks like it will just be Jeff now that Nolan and Jules have found love.”
“Jules and Nolan were made for each other.” She smiled contentedly. “I’ve always known it. Now we just need to find you a man who will love and support you.”
“Is that the knowledge you wanted to impart, Nanna? You want to help me find Mr. Right?”
“Oh, no.” She laughed. “I think Mr. Right will be a knocking soon enough.” She gave me a wink, and I wondered why she had that self-satisfied look on her face.
“So then what?”
“A wise man once said that businesses are like banks. You don’t give anything away for free unless it nets you a long-time customer.”
“What wise man said that?” I asked.
“Confucius.” She grinned, and I laughed.
“Uh-huh, point taken, Nanna. I’ll stop giving away so many cupcakes.”
“It’s very sweet and generous of you, dear, but this is a business, after all. And though I’m sure all of your friends, all of the elderly, all of the police force, all the school kids, and many others are grateful, it is time to start charging them. I was speaking to Nolan, and he suggested that maybe you have a customer rewards card. Buy ten, get one free or something similar. You can figure out the details, but frankly, it sounds like a wonderful idea to me.”
“Yes.” I nodded. “That’s a good idea. I wonder why Nolan never mentioned it to me.”
“I think he was going to bring it up to you, but he got sidetracked.”
“Sidetracked?”
“He was asking me if he could have my engagement ring. The one my mother passed down to me.”
“No frigging way!” My jaw dropped and my eyes bulged at her happy smile. Of course, I’d known that Nolan would eventually propose, but I had no idea that it was going to be this soon. My best friend was going to be getting married, and here I was still single, crushing on a guy who had no interest in me, other than messing around.
“Isn’t it exciting? Of course, I said yes. Jules is so wonderful. Imagine your best friend becoming your sister.”
“Yeah.” I smiled a little sadly. “That’s really cool.”
“Don’t be upset, my dear. I have plenty of jewelry for you as well.”
“Oh, I don’t mind about that,” I assured her. “You’re already too generous with me, Nanna.”
“Then what’s the problem?” She took her hand in mine. “Are you sad you’re losing your best friend to love?” She gazed into my eyes thoughtfully. “Now you know, I’m just an old lady, but I do think that the love of your life is just around the corner as well.”
“You think so?”
At that moment, the door to the store opened. We both looked over and there stood Nick Campbell, a huge grin on his face as he made his way to the counter.
“Betsy Montgomery, how are you this morning?” he said. “Morning, ma’am.” He smiled and nodded at Nanna.
“Good, thanks. How are you?” I blushed
under his intense gaze. It felt strange to me that he was showing so much interest in me. I hadn’t seen the guy in years, but as soon as he’d seen me on the beach, he’d acted like we were long-lost friends.
“Great. I came to try one of your amazing cupcakes.” He stopped at the counter. “Or maybe two.”
“Or maybe three,” Nanna said.
Nick laughed and held his hand out. “Hi, I’m Nick, Nick Campbell.”
“Ah, yes.” She nodded and shook his hand. “I’m Betsy’s grandma and business partner.” She gave me a look as if to say, I told you, and I just smiled at her. “So is your wife back in town as well, Nick?”
“Oh, I’m not married.” He gave a boyish glance at me. “But maybe one day.”
“Ah.” Nanna gave me another look, and I shook my head at her slightly. I was praying to God that she wasn’t going to ask him to take me on a date. And it was then that the door to the store opened again. I looked up and saw Jeff, standing there in his uniform with narrowed eyes. “Oh good afternoon, Jeff,” Nanna said as he strode toward the counter, a frown on his face.
“Good morning, Nanna,” he replied. He looked at me and then at Nick. “I mean, good afternoon.”
“Long day?” Nanna asked him with a smile and he just nodded.
“You could say that.” His voice was taut.
“I was just telling Nick here that he and Betsy should go on a date as they’re both single.” Nanna issued a wide smile. “Would be such a nice time for both of them, don’t you agree, Jeff?” I froze at her words. This was more embarrassing than I’d ever thought possible.
“Date?” He looked at me and then at Nick. “Oh, I don’t think so.” He shook his head. “Betsy needs a man who’s local, plus she needs to focus on her business right now.”
“Oh, but I’m a local boy now.” Nick smirked. “I just closed on a loan with the bank. I’m starting my own surf shop and will be selling boards and giving classes.” He smiled at me. “I’d love to take you out to ride some waves someday.”
“Oh, that sounds cool. I’m not a good surfer though.”