Braxton

by Shayne Ford

  “Why would I do that?”

  “I don’t know... Fear comes to mind,” he says, his smile barely concealing his sadness.

  I wrap my fingers around his neck and pull him to me. His lips press mine as he slowly eases himself back in me.

  “Ah...” I moan as he slides in all the way.

  He gives me slow thrusts, his hand caressing my face, his fingertips brushing my lips.

  “What about him?” I ask.

  “That he’ll do something stupid.”

  I study him for a moment trying to read more in his gaze, and then I arch against him as he rubs a deep, sensitive spot inside me.

  “This feels so good...” I mutter.

  His eyes are soft and loving, his smile tinged with melancholy.

  “How will this end?” I finally ask, and a shadow hovers over his eyes.

  He shrugs.

  “I don’t think about it. I know it could end any moment. I just don’t want to spend time thinking about it.”

  I run my fingers over his flushed cheek.

  “What about a guess?”

  He stills in me.

  “One of us will probably shatter the trust,” he says, and my heart skips a beat.“ I don’t think any of us want that, but that’s what can happen. You wanted a guess... ” he murmurs and starts moving again.

  “As long as we are into this together... I don’t want other women,” I say.

  A playful smile rolls on his lips.

  “There aren’t other women.”

  “I’m talking about him,” I say, and he gives me a full mouth grin.

  “That doesn’t mean it doesn’t apply to you too,” I say, smiling.

  “Shit.”

  He buries his face in my shoulder to hide his laughter, and then he flicks his head up.

  “And I thought...”

  “Shut up, Parker. I don’t want to hear any of that.”

  “Women are fun,” he says, giving me a cocky smile.

  I weave my fingers in his hair and pull.

  “It fucking hurts,” he says, chuckling and rolls his hips, slamming into me.

  “I’m pretty sure you’ve had enough women, so stop complaining.”

  “Yeah... I have,” he says, his body flexing on top of mine, his expression shifting, his eyes sparkling with arousal. “That’s why I love what I have now,” he says, serious, his thrusts coming deeper, plucking the air out of my lungs, pulling me down with him, wrapping me in the blaze of his untamed heart.

  VIOLET

  Drifting out of sleep, I stretch my arm and my leg craving the coolness of the sheets.

  A soft, warm breath disperses over my shoulder.

  I flip my eyes open. The breeze blows over my face, softly puffing the drapes. The birds cry on the beach, looking for food. Melted candles sit on the windowsills, the empty bottle and glasses, abandoned on the coffee table. The water runs in the shower.

  His arm rests on my waist, his palm flat on my stomach. I slide my hand on top of his, and a groan gets buried in the back of my hair.

  “Braxton?”

  “Violet?” he murmurs, half asleep, his voice husky.

  “You’re hard,” I say, stating the obvious.

  “Mmm-hmm.”

  His fingers slide to my cleft.

  “And you’re wet,” he mumbles in my hair.

  I move my hips, my butt sweeping his erection.

  “And now you’re teasing me,” he says, positioning himself between my legs and slowly sliding into my pool of wetness.

  “Oh, baby... Can’t get better than that,” he says with his morning voice.

  He sways his hips, and I tilt my head back. His lips trace my neck, his teeth grazing my skin.

  “You never disappoint, Violet. You know?”

  The voice rolls in my ears as the need for him quickens between my legs. I start moving with him, and he starts fucking me, his breaths coming faster and hotter against my back.

  “What better way to wake up?” he murmurs, tightening his grip on me, his morning hardness stretching me.

  Our fingers clasp together as I quickly scale up with him.

  “I fucking love you Violet... as much as I love him,“ he rumbles in the heat of the moment, and I shudder in his arms while he thrusts hard and fast and comes.

  A wave of heat breaks over us, warm fluid dripping between us.

  I turn to him.

  His fair complexion is flushed, his blue gaze sparkling in the morning light. Threading his fingers through his hair, he sweeps a few bangs away from his stunning eyes.

  He pulls a towel from nearby, rolls it around his waist and crashes by my side. Pulling the sheet up to my chest, I sink my head into the pillow, and bring my fingers to his face, summoning him to me.

  “Is it true what you just said?”

  He clasps his fingers at the back of his head and glances away, his eyes training on the ocean.

  “Yeah... it fucking is,” he admits, somewhat frustrated.

  He shifts his gaze to me.

  I slide my hand up his chest and lean to him. His eyes light up.

  “I don’t just fuck, Braxton. I’ve never been anywhere close to what we’re doing right now, but to me, this is not only bedding two guys.”

  “I know,” he mutters, his eyes softening.

  “Don’t make me regret it.”

  He smiles, yet sadness brushes his eyes. He brings his lips to mine and sweeps me into a gentle kiss slowly peeling the sheet off me. Smoothly he rolls me to my back, and slides on top of me, his knee nudging my legs open, his lips and tongue deepening the kiss.

  I moan softly under him when a noise comes from the other room.

  The sound of creaking wood and then a closing door.

  Our lips tear apart, and he rolls back to my side just as the bedroom door swings wide open, and Sonia Parker fills the doorway.

  The water stops running in the bathroom, and I cease to breathe.

  Remotely, I register the outside noise fading away as if the earth stood still. Blame it on shock and denial, but I find time to make a note of her aquatic themed shift dress–– alternating cream and navy stripes, sleeveless cut, a narrow belt clasped with a golden metallic buckle and a matching golden brooch pinned on the round neckline.

  Perfect silence fills the room as her eyes widen in shock.

  Slowly, I follow the perfectly manicured hand going to her mouth as she swallows her revelation, her gaze swinging between Braxton and me.

  “Sonia?”

  Braxton speaks first, his voice incredibly calm and self-assured, considering the circumstances. The air smells like sweat and sex, the room bearing the signs of a died out party, the mattress bearing the imprint of Jagger’s body, rumpled sheets sitting at my side.

  Her eyes go over all the details, putting everything together with the precision of a Swiss watchmaker.

  Maybe, somehow she links me only to Braxton, yet I highly doubt it. Not that we’re not linked. Another creaky sound comes from behind her, and just when I thought this couldn't go down in history as the worst day of my life, David Parker looms behind her, his eyes falling straight on me.

  By now, I’m sure I left my body.

  Smoother than his wife, he swiftly scans the room, getting the gist of it and so much more, judging by the barely stifled smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

  “Honey?”

  David grabs his wife’s hand who’s grappling with stupor when the bathroom’s door pushes open, and a shirtless Jagger enters the room, wearing only a towel wrapped around his waist.

  Thank God for that. It could’ve been so much worse.

  I flick my head to Jagger, his smile swiftly swallowed by blazing anger as he takes in the scene.

  “What the fuck is going on?” he bursts out.

  Smoothly, David pulls his wife out of the room and closes the door. We look at each other, perplexed. I’m the first one who plugs back into reality.

  “I have to go,” I say, jumping of
f the bed, my voice frayed as tears trickle down my face.

  “Violet?”

  Jagger catches me as I dash to the bathroom, and locks his arms around me.

  “What happened?”

  “Nothing happened,” I say, sobbing as if the world just came to an end.

  “Did she say something?”

  I shake my head. He whips his head to Braxton.

  “No, she didn’t,” he says, calm.

  “Calm down,” Jagger says. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

  “Oh, yes it does. You don’t understand. You should’ve seen the way she looked at me. She’ll not stop until she makes sure I’m gone.”

  Without another word, I dart into the bathroom.

  16

  JAGGER

  Fury runs in my veins. I fumble for my phone and turn it on.

  “What the fuck? They weren’t supposed to come back until next week.”

  I spin around and face him.

  “What happened, Braxton?” I ask as I snatch a T-shirt from a chair and shrug it on.

  He pulls up to his feet, runs the towel over his dick and slips into his jeans. I throw him a T-shirt.

  “We just... fucked,” he says softly and after a pause as if he was pondering over the word, “and your mom showed up.”

  “Did she catch you?”

  “She didn’t need to. She just looked around. It’s not hard. We might as well have a neon billboard on the wall.”

  “She’s caught us with women before,” I mutter, trying to mitigate the feeling building up in my chest.

  He rubs his eyes.

  “It was women... Jagger. This is Violet. Your dad knows what’s going on and I’m sure you’re mom has figured it out too. Violet’s right. Sonia will want her out of the picture.”

  I clench my teeth.

  “It’s not her fucking business,” I growl.

  He looks at me with cold eyes.

  “It’s self-preservation really. Nobody wants this kind of thing snowballing. It reflects poorly on them. It’s one thing to bring a nice piece of ass home, double team her, and forget about her, and quite the other to be in love with a woman you share...”

  A few moments of silence tick by as we both absorb the meaning of his words.

  The bathroom door opens, and Violet paces in, fully clothed.

  “How can I get out without facing them?” she asks, her eyes darting desperately between Braxton and me.

  I glance at him.

  “I’ll show you,” he says. “Call me, if you need me to pick you up,” he tosses at me.

  Violet’s lips meet mine for a rushed kiss, her eyes panicked.

  “We’ll talk,” I murmur, mainly for myself as she slips out the patio door following Braxton around the house.

  I head to the living room.

  The place is empty, the wind softly blowing the draperies as if nothing has ever happened. I stroll to the kitchen and pour myself a cup of coffee.

  “I’m here,” my dad’s voice rings out on the terrace.

  I step out. He holds my eyes as I sink into the second armchair.

  “They’re gone?” he asks.

  I nod.

  “Where’s mom?”

  “Market. You didn’t check your phone, did you?”

  “Nope. I thought you’d come back next week.”

  His eyes linger on me as I take a sip of coffee. I swing my gaze to the ocean.

  “What did she say?” I ask after a few moments, gazing at him.

  The corner of his lips turns up with a smile. I wish I could be as calm as he is.

  “She’s stupefied.”

  He finally lets out a soft chuckle before we both break out into laughter, mine a bit nervous, though.

  “She knows?” I ask.

  “She probably does. No word was spared to call out your friend. ‘Slut’ was the kindest of all. ”

  My jaw clenches.

  His smile withers away.

  “Look, I know this woman means a lot to you...” he says with a serious voice. “And I know Braxton does too... And if you ask me, it’s a tricky path you walk on, but I trust you know what you’re doing. You’re smart and strong and gutsy... You must know there’s risk involved. Your mom would’ve found out sooner or later. She’s suspected it since she’d seen her with the two of you at Jessica’s wedding. She can’t stop you seeing her, but she’ll do everything she can to make it hard for you and her, so hard that giving up on Violet would feel like a blessing.“

  He tilts the cup to his lips.

  “You should warn Braxton as well. I would be surprised if she hasn’t already talked to Doug and Shirley. I really can’t blame you, Jagger,” he says. “When women like Violet are involved, things tend to get really messy.”

  VIOLET

  We’ve been driving in silence for the last hour or so.

  “Are you okay?”

  I nod.

  Running my fingers beneath my eyes, I wipe my tears, my gaze rooted outside the window. Braxton’s fingers brush my hand.

  “Hey,” he calls me softly, and the gentleness in his voice spurs, even more, sadness.

  “Look at me, baby.”

  I turn my eyes to him. Gripping the steering wheel with one hand, he cups my face with the other, his eyes darting between the road and me.

  He smiles softly.

  “It’s not the end of the world,” he says.

  I shake my head slowly. He has no idea. This is the end. One way or another. I can’t face Jagger’s mother... Ever. Or Braxton’s parents. This is not what people do. They don’t love each other three ways. They don’t fuck their brains out. I can’t even blame it on my ignorance. I may have less experience than them, but I was the one who gave it a go. Jagger’s mom is gonna hate me all the way into the next life. And I doubt Braxton’s parents will be able to stomach me either.

  I look away.

  “You were probably right...” I say, sniffing. “These were the best days of our lives. It just happens that they came to an end for a different reason than you thought...” I brush off my tears. “You were afraid I'd take him from you when in fact things are so much simpler than that. Life and other people will take him away from you and me...”

  He grabs my arm. I glance at him.

  “Please don’t say that.”

  “It’s the truth. There are things you can’t change, and it’s not something you can really fight. You can’t change someone’s mind. Sonia is not different from my mom.”

  His hand fans over my cheek, his thumb sweeping off tears.

  We lock eyes.

  “You were afraid of the wrong things...” I say, my voice whispery, trailing off.

  He pulls off the highway and minutes later we stop in front of my house. He grabs my bag before we climb out of the car. The street is quiet, the afternoon slowly setting in.

  I push the door open and invite him in.

  “You can leave it there,” I say pointing at an armchair.

  I turn my back to him and glance out the window. Jagger’s house is locked, the shades pulled down. I’ll need to start looking for a different place. I can no longer live here. A rustle makes me turn around. Standing in the middle of the room, he’s watching me.

  I brush another tear, averting my eyes.

  “Do you want something to drink?” I ask him.

  He clicks his tongue.

  “Are you hungry?” I ask realizing that we both skipped two meals.

  He leans against the counter and digs his hands into his pockets, studying me in silence.

  “No.”

  “Make yourself comfortable. If you can wait a few minutes... I have to take a shower,” I say.

  “Sure.”

  I enter the bathroom and peel off my clothing. More tears come to my eyes as I realize I still have Braxton’s scent on me. And then the whole thing replays in my mind, stirring more desperation in me.

  I walk into the stream of water and start sobbing.

  A few mome
nts pass by before I hear the door opening, and then I feel him right behind me. His fingers trail my waist, his arm looping around me as he pulls me into his naked body.

  A shudder falls through me.

  “Don’t cry, Violet...” he says and turns off the shower.

  He spins me around and frames my face with his hands.

  “It’s not over, baby. And it will not be over until we say so. ”

  I cuff his wrists and start shaking my head.

  “It’s not up to us. I don’t think it ever was. You don’t know how these things work...”

  He shakes his head.

  “It’s done, Violet. We can’t turn back time. Your family knows it or suspects it, and now Jagger’s mom and dad. I’m pretty sure by now, my family knows it too.” I look into his eyes. He pauses for a moment. “There’s nothing we can do about it, but that doesn’t mean this is the end of us.”

  I shake my head in disbelief.

  “How can you be so blind, Braxton?”

  “I’m not, baby.”

  “I can’t live like that. I’ve lived in a prison before. I know how it is. I don’t want to trade one for another. I don’t want to look over my shoulder from now on, and feel their wrath.”

  He rolls his fingers over my face.

  “My parents will get over it, and Jagger’s father doesn’t care. So, it’s mainly Sonia, but even so, I don’t think you’ve honestly expected her to be your ally. Even if I weren't part of the story, she would’ve never gotten warm and fuzzy with you. She doesn’t like your kind of woman, and it has nothing to do with you. She’s just that sort of person.” He pauses and looks at me. “Am I right?’

  “Probably...”

  “Good.”

  “But that doesn’t change much. I can’t see him anymore... or you,” I say, the realization putting holes in my stomach.

  A dark shadow covers his eyes. He takes a long breath, his fingers brushing my face absently.

  “Let me teach you something... It’s something my dad told me when I was growing up. You can’t take a path to one place and expect to arrive in another. It doesn’t work that way. You said you wanted something different, and he gave you that... and so much more,” he says, smiling. “You said you didn’t want anything conventional or traditional, that you were looking for freedom. He gave you freedom. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here, holding you in my arms. You wanted all that, and fuck me, if it’s not the best thing he could’ve given you, and now at the first setback, you’d like something different. You’d like things to be warm and fuzzy or perhaps you’d like some dating of sorts that follows the norms. I know it’s hard, but this thing was never meant to be regular stuff...” His lips come to my face, his hand sliding down my body. “You know exactly what this is, Violet...” he mutters in my ear and goosebumps drape over my shoulder. “Same way I know, and he knows it too. The only thing is, on top of that, we care for each other...” he says, his hand slowly moving between my thighs, his knuckles brushing, his fingers parting my folds. Tingles roll down my legs as I slowly part them.