Will to Love

by Miranda P. Charles

  "Baby..." he said again, swallowing hard and still looking down her chest.

  "Yes?"

  "I think my parents would have the shock of their lives when they see you in that dress," he croaked. Then, unable to help himself, he slowly ran a knuckle over the exposed swell of her breast.

  Clarise's breath hitched and her skin tingled where Will touched her. A car drove past, breaking the spell. They were out on the street! Fortunately, no one was around at the moment apart from some passing cars.

  "Oh, this was just for you, honey. Now that I've greeted you, I can make myself look more modest," she explained as she tugged the zipper up to cover herself. "Did you like that?" she couldn't help whispering to him impishly.

  Will's eyes darkened and a sensuous smile touched his lips. "So you mean this zipper can go all the way up and...all the way down?" he asked lasciviously.

  "Yes, all the way down," she answered seductively.

  He licked his lips. "I'm sure my parents wouldn't mind if we get there an hour late."

  Clarise chuckled even as she felt herself go wet. Oh, she was tempted to take him up on that offer, but she'd prefer delayed gratification. She didn't want Will's parents to have a bad first impression of her if they turned up late.

  "No, I think we have to go there now, honey. And my arm is getting tired from carrying this tiramisu."

  It was only then that Will noticed the dish Clarise was holding up with one arm. He got too distracted by the sight of her delectable breasts.

  "Sorry, my sweet," he said as he took the dish from her. Then he bent down to capture her mouth. "Let's go," he said after a passionate but all too brief kiss that left Clarise wanting more.

  ~~

  "My parents like you," Will declared as they walked back to his car hand-in-hand.

  Clarise smiled, pleased. "Maybe it was the tiramisu." Will's dad ate almost half of it and was obviously disappointed that there wouldn't be any leftovers for him tomorrow. He asked Clarise to make it again the next time they came to visit.

  Will laughed. "You have to make another one for me, baby. I didn't have enough. Dad was just too greedy."

  She peered at him. "Did you really like it that much?" It was very important to her that Will liked it.

  "Are you kidding me? Who wouldn't like it? If I wasn't so pleased to see my dad eat so much, I would have fought him for the half he ate."

  Clarise beamed at him.

  Will's parents fussed over her all night. And she certainly liked them, too. They seemed to be nice, genuine people. It was obvious they were very glad that Will brought a girl home. It reminded her of how her mum fussed over Daniel when she introduced him to her parents.

  She wondered if Will had ever taken a girlfriend home before. She imagined he had. After all, he was thirty-two. It occurred to her they both didn't know anything about each other's past relationships. She'd ask him about that later.

  She looked at her man as he opened the car door for her. Tonight, she saw the attentive, loving son. His care and concern for his parents were obvious and it humbled her to witness it. Her heart swelled with love for him. They stood beside the car, looking at each other. She gave him a tender kiss, and simply because she couldn't stop herself, she whispered, "I love you, Will."

  Will's heart thudded joyfully and his face broke into a blinding smile. He cupped her face and touched her forehead with his. "I love you, too, Clarise." He gathered her in his arms and gave her a sweet, lingering kiss.

  Will's parents watched the tender scene from their window. They didn't hear the words that were spoken but they didn't have to. They looked at each other and grinned. They were happy for their son. They were desperate for him to be happy. He deserved it.

  ~~

  "Baby, now that we're on our way home, I think you can pull your zipper down a bit again," Will said in a low voice as they drove back to Clarise's place.

  "Oh, you mean down to here?" Clarise pulled her zipper a little bit further down than where she had it when she greeted him earlier.

  Will glanced at her and saw how far down she was unzipped. "Fuck me," he mumbled. His cock started to jerk up.

  "I would love to, honey. When we get home."

  With those words, his cock got hard. "Baby!" he said, half growling, half-laughing. "You're so damn arousing. I'm driving here."

  Clarise looked at his crotch and saw the evidence of his arousal. She decided it wasn't altogether safe to be playing seductress in the car while he was driving and pulled her zipper back up.

  "Hey, I didn't say to zip yourself back up," Will protested.

  "Not until we get home, baby. As you pointed out, you're driving."

  "Maybe you can touch me a little bit." He grabbed her hand and placed it on his upper thigh, very close to his erection.

  "Will!" She pulled her hand away.

  "No? Well, maybe I can touch you a little bit." He placed his hand on her knee and slowly moved it up her thigh.

  She swatted his hand away playfully. "Will, pay attention to the road, please."

  "Okay, okay," he conceded with a grin. "But don't forget your promise."

  "What promise?"

  "The one you made earlier. That you'll fuck me when we get home," he said with a wicked, salacious grin.

  Wetness pooled in between Clarise's thighs. "As many times as you want, baby. I can't wait," she responded huskily.

  "Clarise," he groaned. "Damn, woman. Maybe I can pull over somewhere dark and we can do it in the car."

  "What? Not in the car!" she said laughingly.

  When they got to her apartment, her dress was completely unzipped in three seconds and was dropped to the floor as soon as the front door closed.

  Clarise fulfilled her promise to Will twice that night. The next day, Clarise arrived at work fifteen minutes later than she usually did. She made a promise to the man she loved after all and she gladly fulfilled it for the third time after they woke up. Will made sure fulfilling it was worth her while. He made her come a total of five times.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Karen made her way up the path leading to the front door of Bill and Ruth Matthews. Her unexpected phone call just a few minutes ago came as a big shock to them. Fortunately, they accepted her excuse that she was simply in the neighbourhood and wanted to see how they were. This was part of her plan. She knew how devoted towards his parents Will had become after their accident. She needed to be back on their good side if she was to be successful in winning him back.

  She rang the doorbell, feeling composed and confident. She wasn't very sure of herself earlier in the week when she went to Will's office. She expected him to refuse to see her and be cold towards her. But his demeanour was a surprise. While he didn't initially want to be 'friends again', something in him seemed to be accepting of her. She took that as a very good sign. They were together for more than four years, after all. She made a very big mistake when she broke up their engagement, and she intended to do everything in her power to fix what she had broken. As far as she was concerned, he wanted to marry her and she wanted to marry him. That they were still both single since they broke up was, in itself, another very good sign.

  Ruth opened the door with Bill behind her in his wheelchair. "Karen, hi. This is indeed a surprise," she said pleasantly as she opened the door wide to let her in. They had no idea why Karen was here. But whatever her reason, ingrained politeness meant they would welcome her in and hear what she had to say.

  "Hello, Ruth. Hi, Bill. It's good to see you again." Karen gave both of them a peck on the cheek. "I brought this for you." She handed them a bottle of wine that she knew they both liked.

  "Thank you. That's very thoughtful of you. Please have a seat. Would you care for a drink?"

  "Something cold would be great, thank you. Orange juice, perhaps?"

  Ruth nodded as she went to the kitchen, leaving Bill with Karen.

  "Bill," Karen said with a soft smile. "How are you?"

  "Good, thank you. And y
ou?"

  "I'm fine, thanks."

  Uncomfortable silenced descended as they waited for Ruth. Bill was ill at ease. He didn't have anything to say to Karen. This was the woman who walked out on his son because she resented the fact that he wanted to look after them after their accident. He wasn't angry at her anymore but he didn't want to have anything to do with her either.

  Even though Will was with Karen for a few years, both he and Ruth didn't really grow close to her. Karen didn't make a big effort to have a close relationship with them back then. He wondered why she was making an effort now.

  He exhaled a sigh of relief as Ruth came back with drinks for them all and sat down on the chair next to him.

  Karen took a deep breath before speaking. "You must be wondering why I'm here. Firstly, I just really want to see how both of you are doing." She looked at them questioningly.

  "Oh, we're both fine, thank you. Things were rough for a time there but we're over the hump. Things are very good now, aren't they, Bill?"

  "Yes, definitely," Bill agreed with his wife amiably.

  "That's good to know. The other thing was...I really wanted to apologise to you. When I broke up with Will, I know it must have affected you badly, too. I know how much you love your son and I'm really sorry I messed up everything back then."

  Ruth and Bill stared at her in astonishment. They had guessed her visit had something to do with Will but they never expected her to apologise to them.

  "I'm really hoping you'd forgive me for being so...selfish and demanding." She looked at them expectantly.

  "Oh, Karen. This is so unexpected," Ruth said, bewildered. "I don't really think you need to apologise to us."

  "I know that if there's anyone I need to apologise to, it's Will. I saw him earlier this week, and we've decided to be friends again. I really want to mend what I broke."

  Ruth and Bill looked at each other. What did this all mean?

  Karen saw the confused look in their faces. "I've been wanting to be friends again with Will for a long time now but just didn't have the guts to do it earlier. I was hoping I could be friends with you as well?"

  Bill had been quiet for the most part but it was him who answered next. "That's a good sentiment, Karen. But may I ask, and I mean this in a nice way, why do we need to be friends?"

  Karen laughed, remembering how Will also wondered why they needed to have anything to do with each other again. Like father, like son, she thought.

  "Will was a very important part of my life, Bill. That's not something I could easily discard or forget. And I'm back to referring people to his business. We've talked about that. In fact, a couple of his new clients are friends of mine. So I know our paths would cross often again in the future. I just wanted you guys to be comfortable with that too."

  Ruth nodded her head almost imperceptibly while Bill frowned a little.

  Ruth was now fully suspecting that Karen wanted Will back and that the purpose of her visit was to get them on her side. She wondered if she knew about Clarise. They only met Clarise two days ago but both she and Bill knew she was good for their son. And it was clear to them the two were in love. Should she let Karen know? Was it her place to do so? She wasn't sure.

  "Karen," Ruth said softly, "whatever Will decides about his life is fine with us. So if he is happy with your business arrangement, then, of course, we don't have a problem with it."

  "That's great. Thank you, Ruth," Karen replied. "Of course, it's more of a friendly arrangement than a business arrangement. It's not like we have a contract or anything. By the way, does Will still come to visit you three times a week?"

  "Oh, no." Ruth chuckled. "Only once a week now, usually. He's very busy and we made it very clear to him he doesn't need to baby us."

  "What day does he come here? Maybe I'll come visit you again when he's here."

  Husband and wife looked at each other again. Ruth decided she needed to mention Clarise. It could be a disaster if Karen turned up when Clarise was here.

  "He usually comes every Wednesday nights, so he was here with Clarise last Wednesday."

  "Clarise?" Karen asked in surprise.

  "Yes, his new girlfriend. Did he not mention her to you when you saw him?"

  "Ah, no. The topic didn't come up."

  "She's a lovely girl. Very bright too. She writes for that popular magazine, Lifestyle by Design, I think it's called," Bill added with a big smile and pride in his voice. He wanted Karen to know they approved of Clarise. They really liked her.

  Karen's eyes widened. She was a subscriber of Lifestyle by Design and she followed Clarise's articles. "You mean, Clarise Carson?"

  "Yes, that's her."

  The dots connected in Karen's head. She knew from Chris and Gina that their friend Rick was getting married to Megan Carson, and that she was the younger sister of Clarise Carson. She composed herself, not wanting Ruth and Bill to see that she was rattled by the news that Will had a new girlfriend.

  "Oh, yes, I've heard about her. Will plays tennis with Rick who will be Clarise's brother-in-law," Karen said with a fake smile that looked genuine enough.

  Ruth and Bill both nodded.

  "Well, I better get going. Thank you for seeing me. I hope to see you both again in the near future." She gave Will's parents a kiss on their cheeks and left.

  ~~

  Karen mulled over the troubling news as she drove back to her office. Clarise must be a very new girlfriend. It was less than a month ago that Gina told her the story of Will not wanting to participate in Rick's matchmaking plans during his engagement party because he wasn't looking for a relationship.

  She was surprised that he had introduced her to his parents already. It took Will a whole year of them dating before he got around to introducing her to Bill and Ruth. A thought occurred to her. Maybe it was more for his parents' benefit that he has a new girlfriend. Why else would he be in such a hurry with the introductions?

  Karen formed another conclusion. Clarise must be some sort of a girlfriend of convenience. It just wasn't like Will to jump into this whole meet-the-parents thing so quickly, especially when barely a month ago, he was rejecting any form of relationship.

  Her initial worry about Will and Clarise's relationship lessened considerably with her newly-formed belief. But she knew she had to act fast before Clarise fully ensnared Will. And somehow, she needed to make this bitch Clarise see that between the two of them, she had more meaning in Will's life.

  Will is mine.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Megan and Rick arrived at her parents' place an hour early to help her parents prepare for their family lunch. Today wasn't a normal family lunch, it was almost a party. As Megan had requested, some of their friends were coming to help her put together her first charity fund-raising event.

  "Oh, this is fun, isn't it, kids?" her mum said.

  Megan and Rick laughed. "Sure is, mum," Megan responded. Her mum loved having people over at her place. She loved entertaining. There were having the lunch at the backyard again. It was another sunny, early-autumn day.

  "We need to put out four more chairs. Rick, we have some of those folding ones in the shed. Could you take them out, please, darling?"

  "Four? Do you mean two, mum?" The outdoor dining set already had eight and Rick counted there will be ten of them altogether.

  "No, four. There will be twelve of us in total."

  "Oh, who are the other two?" Megan inquired.

  "Well, I asked Faye to bring her boyfriend with her since we haven't met him yet." As Clarise's best friend, Faye was almost like a daughter to them just like Mary Jane, Megan's best friend, who was also bringing her husband with her.

  "And Clarise said she was bringing someone else. A guy."

  "A guy?" Megan asked in disbelief as Rick looked at his future mother-in-law in surprise.

  "I know. I didn't dare ask if he's a new boyfriend or not. We'll find out soon enough, I guess."

  "I hope this is not another 'pretend' boyfriend to
get out of my new matchmaking plan. Although I'm pretty sure she doesn't know anything about that."

  "You're still planning, darling? Well, good. Do you think she got wind of it and is making sure you don't go ahead with it?"

  Megan looked at Rick who shrugged at her. "Don't know, babe. You were with her last Sunday. Did you say anything about inviting Jared?"

  "No, definitely not. I knew if I mentioned Jared she might suspect something. And she didn't mention anything about a new boyfriend last Sunday either. Hmm. I'll definitely keep a close eye on her and this guy today. She wouldn't fool me this time."