“Not really. But I know you have about a thousand times.”
“I can’t help it. It’s an addiction really. But it’s so good.”
“Whatever you say, Joes.”
“It’s on Netflix. I’m on season three, but we can start at the beginning so you can truly appreciate all that is Chandler Bing. Or should I say Miss Chanandler Bong.” I start laughing so hard I make myself cough. I drink some water and finally settle down; all the while Travis is looking at me like I just grew a second head. “Was that just a deal-breaker?”
He just shakes his head while he hits play on the pilot episode. “Not a chance, crazy. Now come snuggle with me.” He lifts his arm up and I snuggle – and fit perfectly I might add – into his side.
I fall asleep on and off as my fever breaks, and I’m feeling better. And when I hear or feel the rumble of Trav’s laughter next to me during some of my favorite parts of the show, I feel my heart fall for him more and more.
I wake up and the TV still on; looking at the clock, I see it’s 3:46 am. I get up and use the bathroom before turning off the TV and getting back in bed. Looking at Travis sleeping like this, he seems so young, but I know what’s behind those closed eyes. I brush aside the hair that’s fallen over his eye and place a whisper of a kiss on his cheek. “Please don’t break my heart, Travis.” I curl into his side and am almost back asleep when I hear his whispered response. “I won’t break yours if you don’t break mine.”
Chapter Seven
Travis
Waking up next to Josie is about the best thing ever. Not able to keep my hands off her, I lightly trace my fingertips up her leg, over her sexy, full hip, and up her ribs, crossing over to run them under her breast. I hear a little hum come from those luscious lips and feel myself get even harder from tracing her curves.
This woman, damn I want her, but I don’t want to push too far or too fast with her. Trying my luck, I stretch my hand over her stomach where her thin shirt has ridden up, lightly rubbing my way up until I feel the soft skin under her tits. When she hums again, I feel like I’m about to explode. Scooting closer so my body and rock-hard cock are pressed against her, I run my nose up the side of her neck, stopping with a kiss on her cheek. My thumb stroking under her tit, I take a leap when I move it up to graze her hard nipple. I get another hum in praise, making me smile against her neck as I trail kisses along it and up to her jaw.
“Morning, pretty girl. You feeling better?”
“So much better.”
“Is this too much?” I ask, continuing to kiss her.
“How do you always make me feel so good?”
“Like this?” I ask. Chancing it, I rub my thumb over her nipple again and lightly squeeze her full breast the perfect size to fill my big hand. Fuck, she’s perfect everywhere. Josie moans, sending the sound and feel of it straight to my dick.
“Travis, I want to touch you, but I’m afraid. I don’t know if I’m ready to do everything yet. I’m still scared.” Her voice sounds small, yet husky and sex-laden as she pours out her fears. If I was more of an asshole or was only in this for the piece of ass, I’d push her right now, knowing that she’s so turned on. But I won’t push. At least not with her.
Pulling her back, I roll partially on top of her until she’s looking at me. “Joes, it’s not a secret that I want you,” I say, rubbing my cock against her to prove my point, “but I’m not going to push you. If you say stop, we stop. If you say go, I say hell yes. But I’m not going to pressure you or anything. You set the pace, OK?” She gives me a small nod as her eyes fill with tears. Leaning down, I place a soft kiss on her lips, then another at the corner of each of her eyes as the tears spill out.
“Travis?”
“What is it, pretty girl? Oh shit, are you OK? Do you still feel sick?”
Her smile is like the sun, and when her hand runs through my hair and she pulls me closer to her, it’s like finding gold at the end of a fucking rainbow when our lips meet. She pulls away slightly, our breaths mixing, our lips still slightly touching when she whispers, “I’m more than OK with you. You make everything perfect, Travis.”
JOSIE
My head is swirling, my heart is beating out of my chest and my sex is throbbing from the feel of Travis. He’s so much and not enough at the same time. I know we need to take things slow, but right now I want nothing more than to strip off the thin layers of clothes that separate us from joining together and get lost in him even more.
His tongue swipes along my bottom lip, and it’s like a reflex when mine reaches to meet him, inviting him in. Our mouths crash, our tongues tangle and our lips fuse perfectly together as our kiss escalates and deepens. It’s the kind of kiss that you feel from the top of your head to the tip of your toes. The kind that has you exchanging breath like you’re sharing your soul. The kind of kiss that is erotic yet sensual, frantic yet slow, lust yet love. This is the kind of kiss you never want to stop and weep at the thought of the end. This kiss is us.
Breathing heavy, hearts racing, bodies panting, we slowly stop. “That was incredible,” I whisper, my eyes still closed, afraid to open them.
“That was epically earth-shattering.” Travis places one last soft kiss on my sensitive lips before rolling onto his back, pulling me with him to lie on his chest.
With my cheek resting there, I can feel his thundering heart beneath me. A smile crawls across my face as I listen contentedly until both of our hearts and breathing even out.
We didn’t even have sex, and I already feel so tied and intimately close to Travis. I can’t help but want this and so much more.
“Do you know when I knew for sure that I loved you?”
I shift so I can look at him. “You love me?”
The smile he gives me is the sweetest, sexiest smile as he reaches out and pulls me up to kiss me again. “If you didn’t already know that I’m in so deep with you, then I’ve done a shitty job of showing you.”
“Tell me,” I say as I lie back down, putting my head on his shoulder. His fingers curl into my hair and play with it as he starts talking, telling me about a day that had been one of the worst days of my life. Or had been until now…
TRAVIS
I had stayed at your house the night before and was getting ready for school. I had football practice after, and you were in the kitchen making sure all of us ate breakfast and had everything we needed for school and work: us kids our homework and lunches, Adam his briefcase with whatever he was working on and coffee. I remember thinking I could only hope to marry a woman one day that took care of me and our family the way you did. Adam was short with you though that morning, and it pissed me off. Here he had a beautiful wife taking care of him, and he was treating you like shit. He left, and I remember giving the door my finger.
When it was time for Ollie and me to leave for school, you handed each of us a lunch. It wasn’t the first time you’d packed a lunch for me, but it still shocked me every time because it was so foreign to me. You hugged Ollie and told him you loved him. Then, you turned to me and hugged me. You whispered in my ear that you packed me an extra sandwich for after school because you knew how hungry I got and winked at me before I turned to the door.
School was just another day. Nothing different from the last, except when I got to the locker room to change for practice. I was in my corner changing, and the guys were being assholes, as usual. I typically ignored them, but I heard one of the senior guys say your name. My head snapped up to listen. They were talking about how hot a MILF you were and that they would bone you. I don’t even remember walking over to them. The next thing I remember was being pulled off the fuckwad by coach. I had broken his nose from the multiple punches I’d thrown at him for disrespecting you.
“Don’t ever talk about her like that! In fact, don’t ever say her name again!” I yelled at him as coach was holding me back from beating him some more.
I got suspended from playing in three games. And I didn’t even care.
I left school, not being all
owed to stay for practice and headed back to your house.
I walked in and all I heard was you sniffling on the couch. I remember thinking maybe you were sick, almost like yesterday. But when I saw you, I knew something bad had happened. Your eyes were red and puffy, and your face was soaked with tears as you lay there curled up on the couch. I crouched down next to you and asked what was wrong, what happened.
You said, “He left me, Travis. I wasn’t enough.”
Those words, I swear, crushed me just as much as you. I couldn’t believe anyone could make you feel that you weren’t enough. To me, even then, you were everything. You were a mom, a friend, and I realized at that moment I wanted you to be more. I realized that I would literally do anything to make you happy. To make you feel loved and wanted and enough. I wanted you. All of you. Always.
I sat on the couch and pulled you into me and let you cry as much as you needed as I held you. I never wanted to let you go.
Then the saddest and most beautiful thing happened. You cried yourself to sleep in my arms.
Your alarm went off a little while later, letting you know that you needed to get Tatum from school. You looked up at me, kissed my cheek and hugged me. You said, “Thank you, Travis. Sometimes even I need to be held.”
Then you got up, picked up Tatum, came home and made dinner. You even let me still stay and eat with you. You’ve always shown me nothing but love and kindness. I left after dinner and went home to give you guys time to do what you needed.
But, Josie, the damnedest thing about that night was that after that, I never saw you wallow or fall apart again. Maybe you were really good at hiding it from everyone, maybe not, but to me, that showed how strong you were. I already knew you were tough as shit, but seeing you pick up and get on with life was amazing to watch. You never faltered. You basically gave that dickhead the biggest ‘fuck you’, and I found it to be the sexiest thing.
I think I knew I had real feelings for you when I punched that jerk in the locker room. My heart created a place for you when you cried and let me hold you. My love for you grew each day after, watching you still care for and love your kids – and me – the way you always did and more.
But I knew I was flat out madly in love with you a month later. It was my first game back after being suspended. That morning, you had packed a lunch for me to take to school, again. You whispered that you gave me an extra sandwich, again. But you did something special that day. In with my second sandwich, you wrote a note and it said, “Trav, I’m so proud of you. Play an amazing game and smile more, because the world deserves to see it. Love, Josie PS Don’t tell Ollie; I don’t write him notes with his sandwiches anymore. ;)”
Then, at game time when we ran out onto the field, you were sitting in your usual seats with Tatum, and you were clapping and cheering. But when our eyes met, you gave me a silly face so I’d smile. And I did. But my smile that night was only for you. I only wanted to give my smiles to you. You’ve always been the only one that truly deserved them.
Later, after the game, I hugged you, like I always did, and you said, “You guys won the game, but your smile won me.” I knew you didn’t mean it how I wanted you to, but it was enough that I knew I loved you.
I pause before going on. “I was in love with you. I still am in love with you three years later. All I’ve ever wanted was to be able to get to this point where I could have you. Show you and try my hardest to convince you that we can have a life together. That I’ll take care of you and to me, you’ll always be more than enough. Always. Look, Josie, I know I’ve made a lot of mistakes and there’s plenty of immature shit I’ve done in the past three years, but I assure you that my feelings are and always have been real. I hope you know that. I hope you believe me when I tell you that.”
Wow, that was a lot to tell her. I can only hope, from the quiet and stillness of her, that she: 1. Isn’t asleep. 2. Believes everything I just said and feels a fraction for me of what I feel for her. And 3. I didn’t just scare her.
I hear her sniffle, and I’m not sure whether that’s a good or bad thing until I feel her turn her head and place a simple kiss on my chest and squeeze my middle.
“Say something, Joes. I have to know what you’re thinking.”
“Travis, I don’t know what to say. There’s so much and not enough.”
I pull her chin so she’s looking at me when I say, “It’s always enough with you.”
There’s a fresh wave of tears threatening to spill out when she moves to straddle me. “I think I always knew deep down there was something more with you. You’ve always been special to me. Lord knows I can’t say no to you, never have been able to.” I chuckle at the truth in that. “But I didn’t know what to make of it. I was afraid to let myself think of you as anything other than Ollie’s friend because it didn’t seem right. But after you told me how you felt, and especially knowing what you just told me, how can I not follow my heart? In all fairness, I don’t think I’m as far into the love pool as you, but I’m definitely getting there.”
“Thank fuck…” I say, but it all comes out in a whoosh of breath. “I was afraid I was being the world’s biggest douche.”
“Definitely not a douche.”
“Good to know.”
“Where do we go from here?”
“Wanna have sex?” I joke, but when she bites her lip and nods, I get instantly hard. I’m sure she can feel it since she’s sitting on me.
“I really, really do, but I still think we should wait. Do you hate me now?”
I pinch my brows together. How could she ever think that? “Never. I could never hate you.”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course. You can ask me anything.” She swallows, and I see the nerves rise in her. “Hey, it’s OK. You don’t have to be nervous with me. It’s you and me from here on out.”
“Alright… here it goes. I can’t believe I’m asking you this,” she says, looking up at the ceiling. “How many girls have you been with?” Ok. That was not was I was expecting her to ask. “I mean, I’ve heard you boys talk at the house, and I know you’ve dated some. Gosh, I sound ridiculous. Forget I asked. It doesn’t matter. I’m an idiot.”
She’s flustered and turning red with embarrassment, and I should put her out of her misery, but she’s so adorable like this. I grab her hands in mine and kiss her fingers to calm her down. “It’s not a big deal. I’ll tell you if you want to know.” I raise a brow asking if she really does want the answer, receiving a shy nod. “I’ve had sex with three girls. Do you want to know about other stuff, too?”
“No! Sorry, no, that’s OK.”
“So, what about you, little lady. How many snakes did you let in your garden?”
“Ew! Don’t say it like that!” she laughs, but at least I broke her out of her nerves.
“Well?”
“One.”
“That’s it? I mean I know that you had Ollie young and were with him for a long time… But after? No one?” Biting her lip again, she shakes her head no. “Well, shit.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“No! Not at all. I’m just surprised.”
“Why? It’s not like I’m actress quality or anything.”
“Josie. You are gorgeous.” She scrunches up her nose. “Whether you believe it or not doesn’t matter; it’s the truth. You are.”
“I guess I’ll take your word for it.”
“You can take my word for it now. But soon, I’m going to show you just how beautiful you are.” That blush of hers creeps back up, but this time it’s a whole new kind of embarrassment.
“I haven’t been with a man in over four years.”
“So even at the end, you didn’t…” She shakes her head so I don’t have to finish my question.
“Fuck. You’re practically a virgin, Joes.” She laughs loud and hard until tears are falling down her cheeks.
“You do remember that I’ve had two kids, right? Travis, I lost my virginity almost twenty yea
rs ago. My boobs sag, I have stretch marks from being pregnant and my hips are wide enough to birth a small elephant. But if you want to pretend I’m a beautiful virgin, we can do that.”
“OK, first, I know you have two kids. One is my best friend, and if you hadn’t lost your virginity when you did, he wouldn’t be here, and neither would I. Second, your boobs don’t sag… that much.” That earns me a rightful smack. “I could tell you more honestly if you let me see them is all I’m saying. Stretch marks? Pfft. And your hips? Don’t even get me started on your curves. It’s my favorite thing about you. I love that you are curvy and soft where women are supposed to be. I find it so sexy. And you, Josie Duncan, are about the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Thank you,” she says before bending down and kissing me. “For everything.”
“You’re welcome.”
“How about some breakfast and a Friends marathon today? Do you mind if we just hang out and bum around? It’s usually what I do when the kids are gone.” She blushes again, and it might be my new favorite thing about Josie. I never knew her to be a blusher, but now that I know she is, I’m going to have so much fun seeing how many ways I can make it happen.
Snaking my hands in her hair and pulling her down for another kiss, I say, “I think that sounds like the most perfect day, weekend, life with you, ever. I do have to go to the garage later this afternoon, but we can bum around until I need to leave.”
After we finally crawl out of bed, I jump in the shower before I head downstairs. I’m greeted with the smell of frying bacon and fresh coffee as I watch Josie with new eyes. Damn this woman. If she only knew what she did to me. I walk up behind her and wrap my arms around her middle, resting my chin on her shoulder to watch as she flips pancakes. It’s stupid how much I can’t keep my hands off of her. I’m in trouble once Ollie and Tate come home. She turns her head with a smile and kisses me before turning back to her task. I run my hands down her sides and over her hips before I walk over to pour us some coffee.
Always Series Box Set Page 7