He didn’t know anymore. She’d done tied him up in knots with this dating other people thing. It had gone on long enough, he figured.
“Excuse me.”
“Where are you going?”
“I need to talk to someone. I’ll be back.”
“Wha—” The girl sputtered next to him as he slid out of the booth and headed toward Callie.
When he got close he heard her laugh again. The sound went right through him, curling his toes in his boots only to center in his balls seconds later. “I need to talk to you.”
“Oh hey, Jeremiah. I didn’t realize you were here,” she said as the guy next to her stood behind her, kissing her exposed neck.
“Can we talk?”
“Um.” She giggled when the guy licked her ear. “I’m kind of busy.”
“I see that.”
“Maybe later?”
“Now.” He grabbed her hand, dragging her across the bar to a dark corner.
“What the hell? I thought we had this manhandling thing taken care of. I mean really.” She jerked her hand out of his grasp. “The caveman behavior isn’t becoming of you. I thought you were more sophisticated than this.”
“What are you doing?”
“I’m not doing anything.”
“You’re letting some guy climb all over you.”
She threw up her hands before settling them on her hips as she gave him a glare. “What do you care? Remember, ‘let’s date other people,’ you said. That’s what I’m doing, dating other people.”
“He’s treating you like a whore.”
“I’m not a whore, Jeremiah.”
“I didn’t say you were.” He paced a few steps away from her, and then back toward her. “How many guys have you been out with this week?”
“What difference does it make to you? You didn’t want to be exclusive, remember? Your words, not mine.”
“How many?”
“Six.”
“Six different men this week. How many have you slept with? And don’t lie to me, I’ll know. You aren’t a very good liar, Callie.”
She pressed her lips together, dropping her gaze to the floor. “None.”
“None?”
“None.”
“What is going on here then?”
Her head snapped back up. “I’m doing what you wanted, dating other guys. You are dating other women. I know. I saw you with Melissa at the table in the corner.”
“That’s her name?”
Her mouth fell open before snapping shut. “You don’t even know her name?”
“She probably told me, but I forgot.”
“You’re a jerk, you know that?”
“What?”
“Exactly what is your problem? You drag me over here away from my date, who by the way I do know his name. It’s Craig. We were having a good time, and yeah, I might let him have some tonight if it’s okay with you, but really I don’t give a damn if it is or not because we,” she moved her finger between the two of them, “are not a couple!”
“We should be.”
“You started this shit. I’m doing what you wanted so back off, Jeremiah. I’m done playing your games. You don’t want me. I get it. Well, other guys do, so I’m going with that.”
She spun on her booted heel and headed back toward where her date stood leaning against the pool table waiting for her. If I was her guy, I would have decked whoever dragged her away from me. “Well, guess what? You aren’t her guy.”
He glanced back at the table where he’d left the girl he had a date with tonight. What was her name? Oh yeah, Melissa. The table stood empty. Maybe she went to the bathroom. He walked over and took his seat as he waited to see if she came back. Nope. He saw her talking to some other guy halfway across the room. Oh well.
His beer had grown warm, but he didn’t care, he needed the alcohol. He signaled for the waitress to bring him another. Maybe he’d go home with someone tonight. Ah, who the hell was he kidding? He tried that on a few occasions in the last several weeks without success. The one woman he wanted was dating other guys at his request. The beer went down his throat with a sour aftertaste. Warm beer sucked.
“Here you go, Jeremiah.”
“Thanks, uh…”
“Allison.”
“Allison. Thank you.” He looked her up one side and down the other with an appreciative eye. “How late do you work tonight?”
“Midnight.”
“Wanna go home with me?”
“Are you asking me to sleep with you?”
“Yeah.”
She pulled back her hand and slapped him hard across the cheek. “I’m not a slut. The least you could do is buy me dinner before fucking me.” She dumped the beer in his lap. “I’ll find you another waitress.”
“Well, shit.” He stood up as beer soaked through his jeans. “Damn it to hell!” Several people around him laughed while he fished the keys to his truck out of his pocket and headed for the door. “Screw it. I’m going home.”
“Hey, Jeremiah!” Peyton motioned him to the bar. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Just a little wet and not the good kind.”
“I see that. I’ll have Dan talk to the waitress.”
“No biggie. My fault. I approached her all wrong.”
“Seems you’ve had a problem with that a lot lately.”
“Yeah, I guess so.” He glanced down at the front of his wet jeans. “I’ll see you later.”
“Be careful.”
“I will.”
He pushed out the doors and walked to his truck. Tonight would be a long, lonely night because the woman he wanted was laying it on pretty thick with some other guy in the bar right now.
When he slid behind the wheel of his vehicle, he stopped for a moment to watch the front doors. He could go back in there and demand she come home with him, but no, he couldn’t do something so caveman-like. Well he could, and he had, but it wouldn’t get him anywhere with her now. She’d already made things pretty clear.
What was it about her that made him want her so much? She wasn’t beautiful in a model sort of way. Her beauty came from within. She had a heart of gold. He’d seen it on a few occasions when she’d volunteered over Christmas to be Santa’s helper at the elementary school. The chance to observe her good deeds only came once in a while, but he knew she volunteered a lot at the nursing home in town too.
It took a lot to keep her dad’s shop running as well. She did that. She worked on cars when she didn’t have to. She had the brains to do anything she wanted with her life, but she chose to help her dad keep his garage open. That took guts, determination, and a soul of a woman, the kind of woman he’d like to get to know a whole lot better. How though? She wasn’t the pushover type. She didn’t go for his lines or his smooth words. She wanted something out of life. What did she really want from him?
She said she didn’t want a relationship. Neither did he, right?
He wasn’t so sure anymore. He wanted to be stable financially before he got serious with a girl and started a family. Did several million in the bank make him stable enough? His family needed to be there too, although they didn’t have as much as he did, they were doing pretty well.
He needed to talk to his parents. Maybe by letting them in on what he’d done with their money, it would make the whole thing seem less significant.
Maybe Mom and Dad will have some words of wisdom for me.
He nodded to himself, started his truck, and pulled out onto the road back to the ranch. A discussion seemed to be the right thing to do in a situation like this.
The ride home left him time to think about Callie. Maybe his mom could give him some insight to his situation with her as well. He didn’t know what to do anymore.
Several minutes later, the gates of Thunder Ridge Ranch came into view. The large double wrought iron gates were home and had been since he was born. His parents had bought the place when his older brothers were little. He loved living on the ranch, watching the s
un come up over the horizon from the front porch while he sipped hot coffee. Dreams of his future always plagued him though. He had plans, big plans, but the illusiveness of who would share those plans eluded him. Callie’s face seemed to be taking the place of those illusive dreams more and more.
The numbers came easy as did the money, but was it enough? Would it ever be enough?
He rubbed the fingers of his left hand. The numbness had returned much to his annoyance.
The lights of the main lodge came in to view as he pulled up into his parking spot in front of his cabin. His place only sat a few hundred yards from the big building housing the dining facilities of the ranch, the huge gathering hall with the pool table, dart boards, massive fireplace, and big leather couches. The comforting feelings of home always calmed his restless soul, well, most days. Today, he wasn’t so sure.
He turned the truck off, popped open the door then slammed it shut behind him before he headed up the cement walkway to his cabin. He needed to shower and change clothes before he talked to his parents. He glanced up at the inky black, cloudless sky, wondering what Callie was doing right now. I can’t think about her. It’ll drive me crazy.
Off in the distance he heard giggling children. The ghosts of the kids were out wandering the ranch tonight. He’d never thought about why they were trapped at Thunder Ridge before, but there had to be a story there somewhere. He opened the door to his cabin as the giggling faded into the night.
Darkness surrounded him. Not even a small light in his room to illuminate the black space. Just how he liked it. When the sun rose in the morning, it would drag him from his dreams like it did every day. He enjoyed the quiet time on the porch sipping coffee as the ranch came alive around him.
With two fingers on the lamp, he twisted the knob until the light came on. Scenes of the night with Callie came rushing back. She’d been there, teasing him, coaxing him, and loving him for a short time. He hadn’t been able to forget that night for more than a few moments since it happened. Her body cradling him as he drove her to heights of ecstasy, haunted him day and night. His cock stirred to life. This he didn’t need when he planned to talk to his parents about money, but it was there nonetheless.
After he stripped off his T-shirt, toed off his boots, and pulled down his jeans, he headed for the bathroom off to the back of his room. A nice hot shower would do him good even if he’d taken one this morning. Hot, sticky sweat clung to his body. The sour smell of beer crinkled his nose as he turned on the water in the shower.
Once he had it the right temperature, he dropped his boxers to step under the spray. The hot water cascaded down his chest, abdomen, and groin washing away the sweat of the day, not to mention the beer dumped in his lap earlier. He grabbed the shampoo from the shelf to wash his hair.
Thoughts traveled precariously to Callie on her knees in front of him like she’d been when she sucked his cock. Damn, I don’t need this right now. But he couldn’t shake the image this time so he let it take him. He grabbed the soap from the dish to scrub his body, letting his imagination run wild with the picture of Callie doing wonderful things to his cock using her mouth.
He wrapped his hand around his cock, stroking it up and down with a firm grip.
Her mouth wrapped around the head as she ran a fingernail around his balls. It felt like heaven and hell at the same time. She sucked lightly, drawing his balls up tight. Moaning deep in his throat, the warmth of her mouth scalded him with heat he could hardly stand to feel. When she licked the length of him, his body shuddered with need. As she went all the way down his length, pulling the entire thing into her mouth, he lost control of his desire, squirting cum down her throat in hot spurts.
A groan escaped him as he slumped against the cool tile wall of the shower, trying desperately to slow his heart rate as the water washed cum from his abdomen. Shivers rolled down his back and his legs trembled with weakness. It had been a long time since he’d had to jack off to get relief from his own desire. Another thing to chalk up to his need for Callie Lewis.
He shut the water off before he grabbed a towel from the rack to dry himself. With it wrapped around his hips, he headed over to put some clean clothes on so he could talk to his parents.
Letting out a long sigh, he shrugged on a clean pair of jeans. He really needed to get Callie out of his thoughts if he planned to do anything but fuck her. She’d taken up residence in his dreams now, driving him to distraction time and time again. Maybe if I fuck her a few more times, this insatiable need to have her pussy will leave me alone?
“Yeah, brilliant thought, genius. If it was that easy, I’d have done it already,” he said out loud while he pulled on a shirt, socks, and boots.
With a shake of his head to loosen the thoughts of the disturbing woman, he headed out to talk with his parents, hoping it would go well and they didn’t get too upset with him for keeping the finances of the ranch a secret.
The walk across the ranch yard didn’t take long. A few lights from the other cabins reflected off the cement walkway leading to the big house. Guests were settling in for the night, watching television, playing board games or doing family things. He wanted that someday.
He shrugged before he pushed open the side door leading into the massive dining room where they took their meals. The large living room sat to the left with the big, comfy leather couches in the front of the fireplace. He’d spent many a night in this room growing up, doing homework, wrestling with his brothers, or hanging out talking about girls. He smiled. The memories were good ones.
“Mom?” he called as he headed down the long hallway that led to his parents’ private quarters. “Dad?”
“Back here,” his dad answered from their small living area. “In the den.”
When he came around the corner, he saw his dad sitting in one of the recliners and his mom at the desk typing away on the computer. “Don’t you do enough work during the day, Mom? You shouldn’t be on the computer after you leave the office.”
“But I had one more reservation to look at. Then I’m done. I swear.”
His dad raised an eyebrow as he shook his head. “She’ll be there for another hour at least, doing one thing or another.”
“I need you to take a break for a minute, Mom. I need to talk to you two about something.”
“Okay.” She shut down the computer screen and turned her chair around. “Have a seat, Jeremiah.”
He wiped his sweaty palms on the thighs of his jeans as he took a chair, turning it around so he could straddle it.
“What’s up, son?” his dad asked.
“I have something to tell you.” He glanced up at the ceiling before facing his parents again. “I’ve been investing for the ranch.”
“Investing?” Nina asked.
“Yes. Stocks, bonds, oil. Those kinds of things.”
“We trust you to do what is best for the ranch, Jeremiah. That’s why you are in charge of the finances.”
He blew out the breath he wasn’t aware he’d been holding until then.
“Exactly what are you saying?”
“There is enough money in the ranch account for you to close down and retire if you wanted to.”
“Just how much are we talking about?” James tapped his foot on the floor, a sure sign of concentration on his part.
“There is five million in the ranch account.”
“Five million?” Nina’s shocked face almost made him laugh. What would she say when she found out how much he’d amassed in his own account?
“You said five million, Jeremiah?” His father stopped tapping.
“Yes.”
“You’ve invested enough of our money to make five million for the ranch and you think we’d be mad? My God, son, that’s fantastic!” James jumped to his feet and dragged Jeremiah to his feet for a hug. He slapped him on the back with a laugh. “You’ve done well, son.”
“I shouldn’t tell you how much I have in my own account.”
“More than what is in ours
?” his mother asked, surprise written in her eyes.
“Yes. My account has double that amount.”
“Why the hell are you still working for us then? Not that I want to lose you as our financial person especially knowing you’ve managed to make us rich, but you could do so much with your own. Your future is secure.”
“I know, but I don’t know if it’s enough.”
“Why not?” Nina dabbed at her eyes as a lone tear trickled down her face.
Why was she crying? He hoped she was happy for all of them, but he couldn’t be sure. Nina didn’t cry much. He could remember a handful of times during his entire life. “What’s wrong, Mom?”
Sobs shook her shoulders. “I’m so happy. I worry about this place from month to month. You’ve taken a huge load off our shoulders, Jeremiah. You have no idea how relieved I am.” She wiped at her face. “Now back to why you don’t think you have enough money.”
“I think I do, but then I want so many things to be perfect before I worry about taking on a wife and kids. You know?”
“Is there someone specific you are thinking about marrying?”
“No, but I think about it a lot. When I find the right girl, I want to be able to provide for her and our children for the rest of their lives.” He held up his hand when his mother went to say something else. “Not that I had a bad childhood. You and Dad provided for us more than we ever wanted, but I want my kids to be able to go to college and not have to pay for it. I want to be able to help them start a business if they want to. I want my wife to not have to work if she doesn’t want to. That kind of stuff is important to me.”
“Son, if you’ve found someone you want to marry, what you are holding out for won’t be so important.”
“I don’t think so, Mom.” He wiped his hands on his jeans again.
“Is there something else?”
“I feel kind of stupid.”
“Why?”
“You know I took Callie Lewis out.”
“Yes. I trust you had a good time?”
“Well, not so much. She tried acting all weird. Like some of the other girls I’d been out with. It wasn’t right. I told her she needed to be herself. We spent the evening watching movies and eating popcorn.”
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