by London Casey
“Wait a second,” I said. “You didn’t get Anna pregnant…”
“No. She called me in a panic so I got her a pregnancy test. I told her I would be there for her. Because I knew it was going to be a strain on you and Beth.”
“Even when she lost it…”
“Yeah. I went to the hospital with you all.”
“I was so angry at you. So was Aunt Beth.”
“I know,” Evan said. “But here’s the thing… would it have been worse to know Anna got knocked up by some random guy at some random party?”
I swallowed hard. “I don’t know.”
“I did everything I could until I had to leave, Dena. That’s the truth. After the accident, I just had to go. That was my limit. I’ve regretted leaving since the day I did. Because of you, Dena. Because of you.”
“You and Anna never…?”
“Never,” he said. “And I told you I didn’t know about the dress. If I did, I wouldn’t have gone with her. If I knew you did that for me, Dena, I would have sold everything I owned to give you the best night ever. That’s why I’m doing this, sweetheart. I missed out on your success and I want you to see how much more you have to give in this world. I’m sorry that Anna is gone. It hurts me too. But it doesn’t mask my love for you.”
I was crippled with shock. So everything Evan had been saying was true. My heart was still ripped into pieces. All the mean things Anna did to me growing up. Forever picking on me about my weight. Forever teasing me about never getting touched by a boy. Leaving me feeling worthless when I didn’t lose my virginity in the timeframe she wanted which led me to make a dumb decision that I’d never get back.
“You could have had me all along,” I whispered to Evan.
“I know that, Dena,” he said. “I didn’t get all along with you. So can I just have right now?”
He put his hand out for me to take.
My gosh did I love him. I never loved anyone else in my life. No person came close. I never even had a real boyfriend or a real relationship because of Evan. I had dates and second dates and things that lasted a couple months here and there. But nothing was like Evan.
I looked at his hand, then at him. “You did all that for her with nothing in return?”
“If there was a one percent chance that it would make your life easier, then it was worth it.”
“You did all that for her because of my aunt? Because of me?”
Evan nodded.
“You broke into my old bakery…”
“Yes,” Evan said. “You see who I am and what I have to give, Dena. I’m not the dream, I get that. But I can be the fantasy. I can make that fantasy a reality.”
I took his hand. “You are the dream, Evan. The dream come true.”
I didn’t know what the hell I was doing but I started to climb on the counter. My knees on the stainless steel, shuffling across toward him. It was the quickest way to get to him. It seemed weirdly romantic.
Evan ripped his hand from mine and pulled at me, grabbing at the back of my legs. My ass hit the counter with an echoing thud but then our bodies were touching.
He hovered over me, the look in his eyes, the one I used to fall asleep imagining.
“I love you, Dena,” he said.
“I love you right back, Evan,” I said.
He kissed me and it had the allure of a first kiss.
The way he kissed me though… the way his hands pulled at me… the way he pressed at me… the way his right hand teased around the front of my jeans…
It may not have been our first kiss, but it was going to be my first time fooling around right there in my failed business.
Chapter Forty-Three
(Breathless Echos)
NOW
(Evan)
My hands touched her bare skin, fingers digging into the small of her back, bringing her closer to me to feel my thickness. There was no stopping us once it started. That I fucking loved. No matter where we were or would be, when it was time, it was time. She started to grab the bottom of my shirt but I quickly took control. Before my shirt could hit the floor she was opening my jeans. Her jeans were already open, my fingertips had already grazed the sweet edges of her desire. Making my next move, I leaned toward her, my lips kissing at her chest. Her breasts filled out her bra in a way that made my heart threaten to quit. The fullness, the creamy skin pressing against the blue color, the edges with just enough lace to make me wonder if she purposely picked this bra out, hoping it would do this to me.
Whatever it was, it worked. I kissed along her chest, noisy and wet kisses, the sounds echoing through the business that Adena used to run. The dream she had and the dream that was taken. I understood that maybe it was a dick move to bring her here. This was a cruel reminder of what she used to have. But the tricky part about time was that while it went in only one direction - forward - that didn’t mean you couldn’t reach back every now and again and see what was left.
Adena reached back to my jeans, hooking her fingers into my empty belt loops, and she pulled. Wrestling with my jeans, wanting them down. It was nothing but my jeans separating myself from her touch and she quickly realized that, groaning as her hands touched my bare ass, then came around to touch my hardness.
I growled as I playfully bit at the top of her bra. My hands slid down to her ass and I lifted and pulled. She shot up off the stainless steel counter just enough so I could rip her jeans and panties down. I had her stripped down to her ankles, which was good enough for the moment. Her fingers touched along the top of my shaft, curling around my full tip, squeezing so that I hissed. I placed my hand on her inner thigh and ran my hand up her leg slowly as she slowly eased her hand down my cock, down to its base, trying to hold tight.
The wildest part was the way we just stared at each other. She wore nothing but a bra. I had no shirt on, my jeans down to my ankles. Her legs hanging off the counter, her jeans and panties rolled up at her ankles.
But just staring into those eyes. Feeling the tension lifting. The love swirling between us. It was as though each second that passed by was a year we could forget about how much we missed out on each other.
With my other hand I touched her face. Adena quickly turned her head enough so she could kiss my thumb. I bucked my hips, letting her know that it was a dangerous move.
My fingers were within an inch of her sweet core. I felt the heat pulsating, tempting me to keep going.
“Dena,” I whispered. “There’s a ton of dumb romantic clichés I could say right now… but I’m not going to do that. I’m just going to tell you the truth. I fucking love you.”
“Evan, I lo…”
I brought my fingers to her body and thrust, entering her. She gasped and could no longer speak. Which was all part of my plan.
I had her right where I wanted her.
She used this place to make sweet treats to sell to people.
Well… Adena was now my sweet treat.
I sank my fingers as far as I could into her body, turning, gently easing out. Feeling her clenching at me, not wanting me to leave. As I curled my two fingers up, I pressed against her clit, making small circles which made her thrust against my touch. My hands grabbed her by the waist and I pushed her back a little.
Now I had to move fast.
I crouched a little and held her feet. I ripped off her shoes, which allowed me to do the same to her jeans and panties. As I stood back up, I stepped out of my jeans and picked up where I left off touching Adena. I climbed up on the counter, my knees thudding against the stainless steel counters. It made a thundering sound as Adena gasped in surprise.
She put a hand to my chest and her other hand somewhere else. Grabbing me, stroking me tip to hilt, thinking she could go faster and faster as I closed in on her. I slipped my right hand to the back of her head so it wouldn’t smash against the counter. Her hair was just inches away from the food she had baked me.
I reached down and grabbed her hand, peeling it away from my thickness. I gently
placed her hand to the counter as I lowered myself down to her. She welcomed me with her warm honey, coating each inch I offered her. Her hands grabbed at my ass as she put her head back, arching, thrusting her chest at me, groaning loud enough that it echoed through the kitchen.
I had one hand on the counter for balance and the other hand climbed up and down the side of her body, memorizing the feel, the heat, every inch and every curve. Her soft and slender shoulder. The swell of her breast in her bra. The touch of her sides, the perfect womanly curve at her hip. I brought my hand forward a little but there was no room for my hand. That’s where I was. Loving her body. Thrusting at her. Fucking her gently enough to feel every inch of my hardness that she made harder but rough enough that the counters tried scratching against the floor and that I had her pleasure in my possession.
Adena’s hands moved up my back as I moved faster. I lowered my mouth to her neck, the urge to ravage her like a vampire that hadn’t feasted in years. My teeth grazed her skin as I growled. I couldn’t get enough of her. I started to pump myself harder, faster, the word ‘gently’ falling from my vocabulary. Adena’s nails dug harder to my back as things got even hotter between us.
I kissed down to her bra and used the tip of my tongue to dart under her bra, making a single line across her left breast and then across her right breast. I turned my head and fought and won with her bra. My tongue flickered against her warm skin as I rolled over her nipple. She cried out and quickly buried her hands in my hair.
“Evan,” she groaned.
I groaned back as I kissed up her chest to the other side of her neck.
I pulled my hips back like the hammer of a gun. I slammed forward and felt her hips bucking against the counter. I paused for a moment and slowly inched my way out of her. Feeling her pulsing against me, her inner thighs trembling as my torturous move took her to the edge. When I exited her sweet core, I hovered there.
“Evan,” she breathed in and whispered. “I’m…”
She lifted her body to mine, showing me how badly she wanted me to finish her.
I stared down at her.
Adena.
Dena.
My Dena.
Finally mine. Everything about her mine.
I saw the look in her eyes as she stared back at me. Lifting her hips and working her perfect body to touch me. The way her slit touched and teased the tip of my cock. She was swollen and ready to explode. So was I.
But the look she gave me. A sense of relief and a sense of happiness. Knowing that what she thought about me and her sister wasn’t true.
I smirked a second before kissing her.
A quick peck with our lips and it turned into a wild and out kiss. The kiss so sloppy and noisy, her groans echoing in between kisses.
That’s when I lowered myself down again. Sinking into her. Her legs wrapping around my lower back. Gasping for air as she tried to put her head back but I wasn’t letting her get away. I wasn’t done kissing her. I wasn’t done having her. Even though my body was seconds away from being done.
The best part about forever… you were always just beginning - and always had time.
I leaned back on the counter to my elbows and took a deep breath. I put my head back and took a deep drag of my smoke.
“This is a non-smoking business, sir,” Adena said.
She was dressed, which was perhaps the tragedy of the night so far. Me, I was clothed minus my shirt.
I looked at Adena and grinned. “Then kick me out, sweetheart.”
“I can’t. You’re my ride home.”
“Then I guess I win,” I said.
I took another drag and jumped off the counter. I had to hand it to Adena, she fucking made me feel weak. The second my feet hit the ground, I thought I was going to fall over. No woman ever came close to doing that to me. I dropped my smoke to the floor and stepped on it.
She closed in on me, her hands touching my stomach, inching up slowly to my chest and my shoulders.
“Evan… what are we doing?”
“Catching our breaths,” I whispered. “Then I’m going to throw you back on that fucking counter, Dena.”
She giggled and blushed. “No. I mean, us. This. You don’t live here. I don’t have a job.”
“So what?”
“It’s…”
I touched her face. “Sweetheart, none of that matters. Fuck all that.”
“Evan, that’s life. It’s kind of important.”
“I know.”
“How do you do it then? How do you just not… care?”
I smiled. “I care, Dena. But I’m not going to worry about it. Neither should you. You should finish cleaning up the house and then sit down and decide what you want. You could find a job anywhere and be great at it. You could reopen this place. I’ll help you. Or maybe we should just pack up some bags and start over.”
“Where?”
“Throw a dart at a map.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
I moved my arm around her and hugged her tight. “Here’s the thing, Dena. I survived without you all these years. So if I could live without you, then living with you is a hundred times easier. No matter what.”
I kissed the top of her head. And I held her in the soft glow of the lights that were strung up overhead. It was so quiet now. Just the two of us standing there. The soundtrack to the moment was our hearts beating. Still coming down from the racing high of what we did.
“Hey, wait a second,” Adena said.
She broke away from me.
“What’s wrong?”
“You asked me to make you all this,” she said. “You haven’t tried it.”
She grabbed the containers of cookies and brownies.
“Can’t wait,” I said. I grabbed for a cookie and bit into it. “Fuck. That’s the best cookie I’ve ever had.”
“You would have said that if they were store bought,” she said.
“That’s true,” I said. “But honestly, this is amazing.”
“Try the brownies,” she said.
I took one. They were so soft, almost like a sponge. And the top had chocolate everywhere.
I bit into the brownie and it was so moist, it made me think of Adena… her body… between her legs…
The top layer of chocolate crumbled and fell, hitting my chest.
“Oh, damn,” I said.
I went to reach for it and Adena swatted my hand away. “I’ll get it…”
She inched forward and put her lips to my chest. She opened her mouth and her warm tongue ran up and down, licking the chocolate away.
I sucked in a breath. “Very dangerous game, sweetheart. Very dangerous.”
“Shut up, Evan,” Adena whispered. “You’re getting your dessert. Now I want to get mine.”
Adena kissed my chest again. And again. She started to inch down and I groaned with an exhaling breath.
She didn’t stop kissing down either.
And there wasn’t a single complaint from me.
It was now just me and her… the only thing I’ve ever truly wanted in my life.
Chapter Forty-Four
(All These Dirty Secrets)
YEARS AGO
(Evan)
Anna wanted to hold my hand. We stood out back and it was right around two in the morning. She called me to say she had a bad nightmare and needed me. I had nowhere to sleep for the night (other than my car) so I was just walking around anyway.
There was an old swing near the back of the yard. The metal was rusted but surprisingly didn’t squeak when you sat on it. Anna sat down with a cigarette and took a deep drag, staring forward, her mind way off in the distance.
She put her hand out and gave me the cigarette. She didn’t take her hand away.
“What?” I asked.
“Come sit with me,” she said. “I want to hold your hand, Evan.”
“Right,” I said.
I sat down next to her on the old swing. I put my fingers to hers and we interlocked
our fingers tight. We had never really held hands like this before.
“Evan, do you feel anything right now?”
“What do you mean?”
“We’re holding hands. Do you like it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Are you in love with me?”
“What?” I looked at Anna. “What are you talking about?”
“We should be in love,” she said. “You and me. We’re always together.”
“I care… about you,” I said. And your sister. I don’t want you in trouble or her hurt. “What are you trying to get at here?”
“You know you’re like the coolest guy in school and stuff,” Anna said. “So I think we should just let people think what they want about us. You know? Whether we’re doing stuff or whatever. I really don’t care.”
“Okay,” I said. “So you want to lie to everyone.”
“So what?”
“You know you don’t need to lie about that stuff,” I said. “I mean, I try to make sure you stay out of trouble but you like trouble…”
“And other boys like when they think I’m with you,” she said. “They think it’s wrong when we… you know…”
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
I took my hand away and stood up.
“Don’t get mad,” Anna said. “It’s our secret, Evan. We have lots of dirty secrets already. Right?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Right.”
I looked to the house. I knew what my biggest secret was. The way I felt about Dena. The secret I had to keep. The secret that kept me up at night.