Dark Corners

by A. m Madden

  David

  I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the Whitneys’ beach cottage was anything but a cottage. It was well past dark when we pulled up in the Jeep I’d rented for the week. A perfectly manicured lawn was split in half by a weathered cobblestone driveway. The landscape lighting on either side lit it up like an airport runway. It ended in a perfect circle in front of the house.

  The way it stretched from left to right made it too formal for a beach house. Balconies dotting the second floor, a wraparound porch complete with enough patio furniture to furnish a normal-sized home, and a tennis court made it impossible not to gawk.

  Unbelievable.

  Maygen was very quiet as she led me up onto the porch and into the house. She flipped on lights as we went along, before saying, “You can drop our bags here for now.”

  Although the outside of the house was very traditional in feel, the inside was stark and modern. Everything was white or glass—the furniture, kitchen cabinets, granite, and even the floor. The color came from the artwork, pillows, and knickknacks that decorated the rooms.

  I walked over to the glass wall that separated the house from the deck. The moonlight danced on the water of an infinity pool, and beyond it was a stretch of private beach. The pool was uncovered, even now, in late winter. “Is the pool heated?” I asked.

  “Yes. Dad likes to use it all year round. He comes here often, and on the weekends he can’t get away from work, he has a housekeeper and a gardener keeping things running.”

  The sound of her voice and the look on her face concerned me. Wordlessly, I walked back to where she remained standing in the foyer and pulled her into my arms. “Baby, you’re tired. It’s been a long day for you.”

  “I’m not tired,” she argued.

  Her perfect pink lips parted as she watched me watching her.

  She leaned up on her toes and reached for my face, pulling me down to kiss me. It started slow, and soft. I meant to pull away, but the feel of her tongue dragging along my lips caused my brain to malfunction.

  The kiss became everything we’d denied ourselves since she broke up with me—an explosion of lips, and tongue, and groping. Still wearing our coats, I quickly worked her buttons trying to get to skin. I needed to feel her. It had been way too long, and my willpower was fading. Her hand skimmed my body before coming to rest against the denim that covered my cock. She squeezed just enough to drive me insane.

  A guttural moan escaped from my throat. I wanted to strip her down and fuck her hard against the glass wall. But I also felt tortured, a tiny voice in the back of my mind reminding me to slow down. It nagged as to why we were there, instantly stopping my fingers from moving to the next button.

  “What’s wrong?” Her clear blue eyes looked into mine questioningly.

  “You should be resting.” My fingers resumed slowly unbuttoning her coat, but my reasons for removing it suddenly changed. Her eyes followed the motion of my hands pushing it off her shoulders. I could feel her eyes on my back when I stepped away to put it on the couch before removing my own.

  Without turning to face her, I subtly shifted my cock behind my zipper to garner some relief. “Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat before you lie down?”

  “Yes. You. I want to eat you.”

  “Maygen.”

  “What, David?” I could hear the clicking of her heels as she stalked toward me. I turned to see a feisty petite blonde standing toe to toe with me, her blue eyes blazing with tenacity. “Don’t baby me. I feel fine.”

  “I’m not babying you.”

  “Yes, you are. I’m not tired, I’m not hungry, and I’m not depressed. I’m horny. My body is pulsing from horniness…not heroin, not fear, or trauma…horniness!”

  Her anger was turning me the fuck on even more than the kiss did, causing my rock-hard cock to jerk uncomfortably in my jeans. She wasn’t helping my predicament. I rarely saw this side of Maygen, and it was fucking hot as hell.

  I had to stifle a laugh when she folded her arms threateningly. Not only was she hot as fuck; she was adorable.

  “What are you smirking at?”

  The need to tease her forced me to raise a brow and ask, “You’re horny, huh?”

  “Yes.”

  “What should we do about it?”

  “We can sit here and argue, or we can get naked and see what happens.”

  Without breaking eye contact, her fingers popped open the button on my jeans and then slowly dragged the zipper down. The anger in her eyes turned to determination. One perfectly arched brow lifted challengingly as she reached into my briefs and found my cock.

  “This is unlike you,” I admitted. “What happened to you?”

  She didn’t respond, but instead pumped me slowly, making it hard to channel my breathing in a normal way. With each drag over my throbbing flesh, I panted embarrassingly like a fucking dog.

  “Baby…um.” I tried to remember what I was going to say. Crap, if she continued I was going to come.

  “Yes?”

  Through hooded eyes I watched her lower to her knees before guiding me into her mouth. Her tongue circled my tip and my next word was a long, drawn-out “Fuuuuck.”

  Without conscious thought I pushed forward, wanting more of my length to be engulfed in her hot mouth. She accepted me, and began moving over me back and forth in a punishing way.

  Not wanting our first time since getting back together to be standing in the foyer of her house as I pathetically came in her mouth was what caused me to pull away and lift her into my arms.

  “Okay, you win.” Victory revealed itself in her stunning smile. “Where am I going, Maygen?”

  “Upstairs, third door on the left.”

  With my cock hanging out of my opened jeans, I carried her at lightning speed toward her bedroom.

  —

  Maygen and I spent most of the night rediscovering each other. She wanted to continue what she’d been doing before I stopped her, but instead I stripped her down, laid her in the middle of her big comfy bed, and kissed every inch of her. The sight of her fingers gripping the plush duvet cover as I slowly licked her pussy, her moans as I sucked on her clit, and the way she moved against my mouth as she rode out her orgasm were worth the wait of every agonizing day I’d been without her.

  I gave her a few minutes to calm, building her back up with strokes and caresses over her heated skin. When she gripped my face desperately to kiss my mouth was when I finally sank into her. The feel of her warmth surrounding me almost ended things too quickly. It took every fiber of my being to slow it down. I concentrated on her face, stared at her lips, held her head in my hands as we slowly made love.

  Perfection…From start to finish, everything that occurred between the first time she cried out my name to the last was absolute perfection.

  “I’m such a fucking hypocrite,” I said, as we lay quietly wrapped in each other’s arms.

  “Why?”

  “I was supposed to refrain, and allow you time to heal. It took me all of ten minutes after getting here to cave in to your charms.”

  “It should have happened at five minutes,” she quipped.

  We then made love again, took a shower and made love again, came back to bed and made love again. I lost count, but waking beside her that morning after the little sleep we had was the best fucking start to any day of my life.

  In a weird role reversal of sorts, it was Maygen who clutched me in her sleep while having a nightmare. Not wanting to take any chances, I’d taken the prazosin Dr. Mathews prescribed. Instead of a nightmare, what woke me were sounds of Maygen’s mumbling, her body jerking beside me. I held her tight, calmly calling her name until she came out of it. The incident made me feel guilty that she really wasn’t handling things well yet. It would take time.

  Once she fully woke, I asked her how she felt. She said the best way for her to move on and forget was to live and be happy. I made her happy. We would both have our moments fighting the demons that refused to leave o
ur subconscious, but otherwise together we could tell them to fuck off and leave us alone. By loving each other, communicating with each other, they wouldn’t stand a chance.

  She made a pretty compelling case. I wanted to believe she was right, and time would tell. Today was a new day, and each day would be a new adventure for us. As long as we faced them together we’d be okay.

  Maygen busied herself in the kitchen making us breakfast. We had both worked up an appetite after the hours of extracurricular activities we engaged in last night as well as the heart-to-heart chats.

  I stood sipping my coffee, staring out the glass wall. During the day I could now see a living space of sorts settled around the pool. One corner housed an outdoor kitchen complete with a fire pit. Plush outdoor furniture dotted the deck, with a hot tub set in the corner.

  Fuck, I could live there with her forever. I’d never leave, and spend the rest of my life seeking refuge in that home with Maygen…preferably a naked Maygen.

  I turned to look at her and said, “So, I didn’t get to tell you last night, but this place is amazing.”

  She came up beside me, slipping under my arm and wrapping her arms around my torso. “It’s okay.”

  Her nonchalant attitude had me looking down at her upturned face. “Okay? Baby, this place is incredible.”

  “I used to be embarrassed of it when I was younger.”

  “Why?”

  “Long story.”

  Turning until we were chest to chest, I buried my hands under her hair and rested them on her neck. “I have time.”

  She seemed reluctant to tell me, but I waited her out. We planned to stay the week, and while there I planned to break down each and every wall that I still hid behind. Getting to know her better was one way to do so.

  The more she opened up, the easier it would be for me to. Fuck, I’d already told this woman more than I told my own therapist. But, continuing these new patterns would be necessary. The urge to hide was a natural one that required constant reminding on my part.

  Being here alone was not only for her to rest and recuperate after the ordeal she endured, but even more so for us to get to know each other better without distractions.

  She turned her head to stare out at the beach, a faraway look on her face. When she brought her gaze back to mine she said, “My parents bought the place when I was five. One day, we went into town for ice cream. We walked over to a park to sit and enjoy it. While there, a few children were running around the playground. I watched them, longing to be included. My mom took my cone, and said to go say hi and see if they’d let me play. They did. I met my best friend that day. Her name was Tori. She was the opposite of me in every way, but we got along so well. From that day on Tori and I spent so much time together every summer. Her family was native to the area and ran a small lobster roll place on the main drag. Every year when we came back, Tori and I picked right up where we left off. During the off-season, we’d write letters to each other and talk on the phone. Our friendship helped me come back after my mom died. I really didn’t want to since so much of her was in every part of this house. Mom loved it here.

  “The year I turned fifteen, we met twin brothers who were vacationing here for the summer. My dad said I could invite them over to swim and hang out. They seemed nice, but once here they were crass and rude. Those boys made me feel self-conscious of our wealth for the first time in my life. At home in the city, my friends were all just like us.

  “Tori must have really liked them because she was quick to join in on their mocking. The three of them ganged up on me, calling me rich little princess. When emotions got the best of me they laughed and asked if I was going to call my daddy. I could still see the mean expression on Tori’s face. That day she was so different than the girl who had become my best friend.”

  I imagined a younger Maygen, probably so full of life and not much different than she was now, being bullied by those three fucktards.

  At my silence she said, “Eh, just typical teenage crap.”

  She was much more affected than she let on, because all these years later I could still see the hurt in her eyes.

  “What happened to Tori?”

  “I never spoke to any of them again.”

  “I’ll beat them up if you want. Do you happen to know their Social Security numbers? Can you help with a composite sketch of the asshole twins?” She giggled adorably. I kissed her nose before saying, “I’m sorry they did that to you.”

  “It was a great life lesson. Plus, it caused me to want independence from my father, which of course led to years of issues between us. The next year, I gave my father a hard time because I didn’t want to come spend the entire summer here. It was a huge wake-up call. My dad relented, and I spent the summer I turned sixteen helping out at a soup kitchen in New York City. After that we compromised, and I was able to spend a few weeks at home in the city and a few weeks here instead of the entire summer.”

  “You’re amazing,” I said. She went to speak, but I kissed her before she could. My guess was she’d either deny my compliment or make an excuse for just how un-amazing she was.

  True to form she said, “Stop it. Ready to eat?”

  “Yes, but I have something I want to ask you first.”

  “Okay.”

  The conversation I’d planned to have at some point during our stay suddenly took a strange turn in my mind. She eyed me suspiciously, fighting a grin when I smiled widely. Keeping our eyes locked in a heated gaze, I took her hands in mine and dropped to one knee.

  “Uh,” she gasped, watching me wide-eyed.

  “Maygen Whitney, I love you more than anything in this fucking world. I want you by my side from this day forward.” The shock that she felt was evident on her beautiful face. Taking a deep breath, I reached in my pocket and brought out my offering. Holding it in my clutched hand, I stared into her eyes and asked, “Will you do me the honor of being my…girlfriend? Will you date me?”

  A mixture of giddiness and relief caused her to release a short laugh. “Oh my God. You scared me. Of course I will date you, David Cavello.”

  I opened my palm, revealing my dogtags. “Please take these. You’ll always have me with you, but more importantly they’ll be in good hands, just as my heart is. You hold my heart, my past, my long list of problems, and my future. You hold it all, Maygen. By taking my tags, you hold every part of me.”

  She bent and kissed me firmly on the lips. “I accept every part of you, David. Good, bad, dark, scary, stubborn…every damn part of you. I love you.”

  “Stubborn?”

  “Yes, stubborn. I love all of you.”

  “Me, too. And for the record, you’re the stubborn one.”

  With a smile I placed the tags around her neck before standing and lifting her in my arms. As I carried her toward the bedroom, she kissed my neck and said, “Are we skipping breakfast? Is my boyfriend about to make love to me?”

  “Your boyfriend is going to do a hell of a lot more than that.”

  Epilogue

  David

  MAY

  “Baby, we’re going to be late.”

  I paced her apartment, waiting for her to emerge. If we walked in at the same time as Nick, my sister would murder me. Angela had decided to throw her husband a surprise thirty-second birthday party. Who does that? My sister does. Her reasoning: They were apart when he turned thirty. She went all out, hired a DJ and rented out my parents’ restaurant for the night…at a huge discounted rate, of course. Her last head count was more than a hundred people. I didn’t know they knew that many people.

  “Two more minutes!” Maygen called out from her bedroom.

  She said that ten minutes ago. It wasn’t like her to fuss over her appearance. Besides, she looked perfect without even trying. I could only guess meeting my parents had her out of sorts.

  It had been five months since the day Maygen and I met, but we only officially started dating two months ago. Things had been great between us. We just fit. It
was so strange to have someone in my life that got me in every way, and not like my family got me. Maygen understood what made me tick, what made me angry, frustrated. She just knew how to deal with me, calm me. She even knew before I did how to deflect a situation that could trigger my PTSD. It was fucking bizarre.

  She’d been to many of my therapy sessions with me. I busted Dr. Mathews’s balls that she deserved his fee. Of course, I kid: The man has helped me in so many ways. His sessions along with Maygen’s calming effects have managed my issues—without drugs. I say “managed” because I’d have them for the rest of my life. Sure, the dreams continued, and the panic attacks as well. They were often short-lived and not as harrowing as they once were. I could now clear my mind quicker and move on, especially if it happened when she was with me.

  Thank God Maygen’s traumatic event really hadn’t affected her. At my insistence she began seeing a therapist as well. So far she hadn’t shown any signs of PTSD. She did have an occasional nightmare, but otherwise emotionally all seemed fine. The scar on her cheek was an ugly reminder, but one day soon it would become a faint line with the help of a plastic surgeon. She felt the events of that day were but a horrible memory that she refused to let define the rest of her life.

  They finally received the results of Reed and Garrett’s paternity test. Reed was indeed Garrett’s son. While they waited for confirmation, their relationship became closer than ever. They each leaned on the other for support. The news was celebrated at Garrett’s place with Reed and Phoebe and Maygen and myself. The elation on Garrett’s face couldn’t have been more obvious. My girl’s beatitude was just as perceptible as her father’s.

  That night, Garrett presented us with a week’s vacation in Hawaii. We would all be going next month, before Phoebe got too big to travel due to her pregnancy.

  No fucking way would I have considered vacationing with them a few months ago. And now I was actually looking forward to doing so. Since first meeting Garrett, the changes in him had been profound, especially toward me. The three of us got along nicely, and all agreed Maygen was our glue.