Facing Reality

by Sarah Cole

  So here I am cleaning Flynn’s house like a crazy woman as Emma takes her afternoon nap. My phone rings on the coffee table, and I scramble to answer before it wakes Emma up.

  “Hello?” I answer without looking at who is calling.

  “Hey, Clara? It’s Maggie Buxley; is it a good time, or are you busy?” she asks.

  “Hey, Maggie!” I say cheerfully. “No, you’re fine. Just doing some cleaning.”

  “Oh, I know how that is. I feel like this stuff never ends! Listen, tomorrow night, there’s a really fun cover band playing at The Pickle in town, and I was wondering if you and Flynn would want to come with Lucas and me? Lucas’s mom was going to watch the boys, and she would love to watch Emma too- Flynn knows Lorna.”

  I really like Maggie, and Lucas of course is a really stand-up guy from what I can tell. I’d love to do that, but Landon and Emily will be here tomorrow afternoon. I know that they aren’t stuck up celebrities, but sometimes it’s hard to go out. If they get recognized, it would only shine a spotlight on me. Luckily, Emily and Landon are a little lesser known since they are just dancers and don’t normally receive a lot of media attention outside the show.

  “That sounds like fun, but I have a couple friends from back home that will be arriving tomorrow. Maybe next time?” I say.

  “Oh, well, I mean I understand if you want to spend some time with them, but they are more than welcome to join!”

  “Really?”

  “Of course! The more, the merrier! Talk to Flynn, and let me know. We planned on heading over about six and we can all ride together.” She says eagerly, and her enthusiasm is contagious as I find myself smiling.

  I hear Emma start to cry through the monitor, “Ok, will do! Emma’s up, so I gotta run.”

  “Alright! Bye, Clara!”

  “I’ll call you back when I know. Bye!” I hang up the phone and jog up the stairs.

  ***

  Emma’s nap was only about thirty minutes, when it’s usually a few hours, and she woke up extremely fussy and irritable. She finally took a bottle from me, but then she almost immediately threw it all up on me. I’ve been spit up on plenty of times by that sweet baby, but this was literally a whole bottle projected back on me, and let’s just say formula doesn’t exactly smell the best. I finally get her back to sleep for the rest of her nap in her crib, and I turn on her sound machine and tiptoe out the door and down stairs to the laundry room.

  I pull off my t-shirt and shorts, only to see I’m soaked all the way through my underwear and bra too. I make quick work of pulling those off and tossing everything in the sink for a quick rinse before throwing them into the washer with the other clothes that are already in there waiting for a cycle. I hear a noise behind me and startle as I turn, and see Flynn in the doorway.

  His eyes are locked on my body, staring at me like I’m his next meal and I realize I just put all of my clothing in the washer. Somehow instead of feeling embarrassment at my state of undress, all I feel is turned on and in need. My eyes fall to the prominent bulge in his pants, and I feel a rush of warmth heat my body knowing that is for me.

  “What are you doing home?” I breathe. I sound as needy as I feel, and I see his muscles tense almost as if to restrain himself although I’m questioning why at this point.

  FLYNN:

  Four minutes ago…

  The stupid lumber yard didn’t submit my company’s order when I placed it. So, now I have an entire subdivision project that is on hold because we have no lumber to build with unless we want to order from a different place at a higher cost. This means the rebuild and repair of Clara’s home is also on hold. On top of that, there are severe weather warnings out for this afternoon so my guys can’t finish roofing on two other projects or work outside, so I basically just had to call Irene and have her notify the foremen that they could just go ahead and send everyone home until Monday when we should have all of our materials in.

  Thankfully it’s Friday, and I can just ignore work for a couple days and relax with my girls. I know Clara is excited for her friends to visit, and I’m happy about it, but I can’t lie and say a part of me isn’t just a bit nervous about the types of people they will be. She speaks highly of them, so they will get the benefit of the doubt. I just don’t want to see my girl get burned – she’s so damn innocent and naïve sometimes it’s almost crazy. You’d think coming from where she did, she’d be tough skinned and hardened to feelings, but it’s the opposite. It’s like she feels more because of that, and it is one of the countless reasons I love her and find her utterly fascinating.

  The house is quiet, and I know its Emma’s naptime so, I’m quiet as I set my keys and wallet on the counter and take off my work boots. From the looks of the place, Clara’s been cleaning again, and it’s spotless so I can’t screw it up. Check that off as another reason she’s the best fucking thing that has happened to me. She takes damn good care of us.

  I hear a rustling sound coming from the laundry room and figuring it’s Clara I go to greet her, but instead of her doing laundry, I find her peeling off her clothes and like any man, I cannot peel my eyes away from her.

  I watch as she pulls the t-shirt over her head, her back muscles flexing with her movements, and then she moves to her shorts, shimmying them over her gloriously long legs leaving her in just a sports bra and some cotton panties. She’s sending my dick into meltdown mode and she’s not even trying. Her curves have filled out more since she’s moved here and isn’t overworking or starving herself, and the softening of her body has me wanting to sink my teeth into every fucking inch. Knowing she’s a virgin hasn’t made it any easier; it’s been hard holding back for me, but I don’t want to rush her, and I want her to be sure. But damn it this … there’s no walking away from this. I’m at the end of my sanity as she looks down at herself and then peels the last scraps of soiled fabric from her body and throws them in the sink. I watch her like a predator stalking its prey as she rinses out her clothes and then bends down beside her to load the clothes into the washer, her pretty little ass and pink petals peeking out, taunting me.

  A possessive growl rumbles low in my throat and she turns with startled eyes that spark with a different kind of heat when she spots me standing here watching her. Her eyes drop to my crotch and I watch as her nipples harden instinctively.

  Right now…

  “What are you doing home?” She asks, and every word from her mouth sounds like it has been drenched in lust.

  I have to clench every muscle in my body to keep myself from unzipping myself right here and taking her up against the wall.

  “We didn’t get some materials we needed and the weather is supposed to take a turn after bit, so I thought I’d just call it an early Friday and come home and relax with my girls.” I say, but my voice sounds different even to my ears, deeper – heated.

  She takes a cautious step towards me, her perky breasts moving with her.

  “Angel…” I caution, and she takes another step with more confidence this time.

  “What?” she quirks an eyebrow.

  “You better think about how far you’re willing to go, because if you take one more step, I’m taking that tight little ass upstairs and I’ll fuck you until you’re screaming my name and you know who you belong to.” I growl, and I have no idea why I just said that to her, but I’m so glad I did because she closes the distance between us in three steps and presses her smooth body up against mine.

  My restraint snaps, and I haul her body up by grabbing either side of backside and she wraps her legs around my waist as our mouths find each other. She grinds her bare, wet center into me as I back out of the room and make a bee line for the stairs. She breaks our kiss, breathing heavily and whispers, “I smell like Emma’s spit up. Let me hop in the shower real quick.”

  “Not a fuckin’ chance, angel.” I say into her neck, giving her a little bite and she groans as I feel for the handrail on the stairs. I hope it leaves a mark, letting everyone know that she belongs to
me.

  I take the steps three at a time, carrying her down the hall to our bedroom, where she unwraps her legs and slides down my body. When her feet hit the floor, she immediately reaches for my belt, dropping to her knees and I peel off my shirt, discarding it on the hardwood floor behind me. She unfastens my jeans and pulls them down along with my underwear, exposing me completely. She shifts forward to take me into her mouth, but I know I won’t last a minute if she does that. I lean forward, and wrap an arm around her slender waist to pull her up to the bed. I kick the pooled denim from my ankles and lay myself over her, lavishing every inch of bare skin I can get to with kisses. She lets out a soft mewling sound as I lick my way to her pussy, and find her dripping. I run my fingers through her wet folds.

  “Is this all for me, angel?” I ask, holding my wet fingers up to show her. She smiles a wicked smile.

  “Tell me.” I command. Again, I have no idea where this man comes from when I have her naked in front of me.

  “Yes. Holy shit, yes. Just touch me, Flynn. I need you inside me. Please.” She begs, and I swear to God I could come from her words alone. I don’t think any woman has ever undone me the way that Clara does.

  I feel myself smile at her uncharacteristically dirty mouth. Angel with a side of devil. I give her a lick, savoring her slightly sweet taste, before I push myself back on my knees and run my hard length along her opening.

  “Wait!” She says. “What about a condom?”

  Shit. I didn’t even think about it with her. She has no reason to have been on birth control of any kind, and I almost want to say screw it and forgo one because I can’t lie and say the thought of coming inside her and having her carry my child isn’t the best damn idea. I’d love nothing more than to plant my baby in this woman. I love Emma more than life and I want more. The thought of tying my angel to me in every fucking way makes me more turned on than I can handle, but instead of doing what I want and going in bare, I begrudgingly lean over to the bedside table and pull out a condom. I tear the package open and hastily roll it on as she watches me with longing.

  I nudge against her entrance, and lean forward and take her mouth.

  “I’m going to go slow, baby. Just tell me to stop, and I will. OK? It’s not going to feel great at first, but I promise I’ll make it better.” I say against her lips.

  “I know, Flynn. I may be a virgin, but I’m not oblivious.”

  I plant another kiss on her plump lips, then read down between us to guide myself into her, and I feel her begin to tense beneath me.

  “Angel, you’ve got to relax.” I soothe. I find her tight bundle of nerves and as I begin to rub her, I feel her relax and I push in a little further, meeting resistance. I lean forward again taking her mouth in a searing kiss as I thrust all the way in making her completely mine. I still as she breathes through the pain. Her fingers gripping the duvet so tightly that her knuckles are white.

  “You ok baby?” I kiss down her neck.

  “Yes, just keep going.” She moans and thrusts her hips into me.

  I pull out a fraction and push back in, savoring the look of ecstasy on here beautiful face. It’s all for me; only me.

  14

  CLARA:

  “Oh God! That’s so, so, so good.” I groan, and Flynn chuckles above me. I open my eyes to find him staring at me with a mixture of complete adoration and lust, and I know in this moment that this is what I have been waiting all this time for. For this feeling; for someone to look at me the way that Flynn is looking at me right now.

  “I love you.” I say quietly. An odd expression passes over his face briefly before it is gone again and his eyes light.

  He runs a tanned hand along my cheek as he studies my face, stilling inside me.

  “I love you too, angel.” He kisses me softly.

  “Flynn?”

  “What baby?”

  “You promised me a fucking.” I say, and I cannot believe those words just came from my lips. From the look on his face, I’m positive he didn’t expect that either.

  He smiles his delicious smile as he picks up the pace, “Yes, ma’am.”

  He deliciously slides into me using deep strokes that hit me perfectly, causing this building sensation unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.

  “Oh, my God, Clara.” He says my name like it’s a religious experience. “You are perfection. Like you were made to fit me – only me.” his movements quicken, becoming more punishing and the heat in my body spreads like wild fire, almost like someone is pouring warm water over me in delicious waves. The tingling starts low and deep in my belly before intensifying, crashing over me and drowning me in waves of fiery pleasure.

  “Oh, holy shit. Holy shit!” I hear myself chanting, and before my orgasm even begins to die, Flynn’s thrusts become somewhat erratic before, he reaches down between us to stroke me and the tension quickly builds again as I feel him stiffen and swell inside of me, sending me over the edge again as he finds his own release with my name moaned like a prayer on his lips.

  “Holy shit is right, angel.” He murmurs into the sweaty skin on my neck, planting a kiss afterward. He lets his bodyweight rest on me for a moment, and it feels good. He’s heavy, but it feels safe underneath him, but all too soon he rolls off of me and to the bed beside me as he pulls off the condom, tying it and grabbing a tissue to wrap in in until he can throw it away later.

  He pulls me to him, positioning me so I’m wrapped around his body as he lovingly strokes my hair and bare skin.

  “Is it always like that?” I ask, placing a kiss to his bare chest over one of the dozen or so scars that litter his muscled chest and abdomen.

  “No...no, it’s not baby. That was…everything.”

  “That’s one way of putting it.” I smile.

  “That wasn’t just sex, Clara. Sex can happen between any two people that have the urge. What we just experienced was beyond that. Deeper. That’s what happens when two people love each other and set the world on fire.”

  “It was making love.” I supply.

  I feel him nod against the pillow.

  “That was life altering.” He says. “I never knew it could be that good either, angel.”

  A swelling of pride blooms in my chest that I was able to give him something that no other woman has before me.

  ***

  “Maggie called me earlier.” I mention as I rinse some vegetables for dinner. The lightning and thunder flash and rumble as rain pelts the kitchen window.

  “Oh yeah?” Flynn asks from the floor where he’s lying with Emma as she plays with her baby gym.

  “Yeah, she and Lucas are going to see some band play at the Pickle tomorrow night. She invited the two of us and Emily and Landon too.”

  “That sounds like fun, but what about little angel, here?” he asks, tickling Emma’s round tummy, causing her to gurgle with glee. He rolls her to her belly for tummy time as she looks around for her toys.

  “She said that Lucas’s mom, Lorna?” I ask, trying to remember her name, and Flynn nods, “was going to watch Brady and Peyton and offered to watch Emma for a few hours too.” I walk to where they are one the floor and stand over them.

  “It’s up to you, babe. It will be our first date outside of this house without Emma.” He smiles up at me, before standing up and leaving Emma to play.

  “I think we should go. I really like Maggie and Lucas, and I think this town is quiet enough that Emily and Landon won’t cause too much of a stir. Plus, I think it might be good to have some adult time.” I say.

  “Then we’ll go. They’re good people.”

  I reach up on tip toes to plant a kiss to his cheek, and he catches me around the waist squeezing my ass with his large hands. “That seems to be a common theme around here.” I say.

  “It does. I’ve been around the world, but I’d never want to call anywhere else home. Home is here…with you and Emma Jean.”

  FLYNN:

  It’s odd having to share Clara. I’ve gotten so used to
living in this little bubble with her and Emma, and it’s all I need in life – my two girls, but I know that Clara might crave more out of life. I will admit that I like Emily and Landon. I was uncomfortable at first with the fact that Clara was friends with a guy, until of course I caught him checking me out when I answered the door. I quickly realized his intentions were pure and friendship is the only intent with my girl. I was skeptical at first, though - just knowing they’re from Clara’s old life, but then again, I should know her better than to think she’d invite shallow, petty people into her new life. They seem to be genuinely nice people, and they are obsessed with my daughter. Well, I’m not sure what there is not to love, but I might be just a little bit biased.

  “Ya’ll do realize we have to leave in about forty minutes if we don’t want to be late, right?” I ask at the group that has been camped out on the living room rug for the past three hours with Emma.

  “Oh, wow! I didn’t realize we’d been chatting that long!” Clara says, standing up and scooping Emma up in her arms, giving her kisses, before handing her off to me. I swear that the site of her with my baby will never get old for me.

  Landon and Emily get up and tell us they will meet us at the bar in a little bit so they can go get changed.