by Tammy Coons
“This is delicious,” Stella cooed. Corbin placed a bite in her mouth.
“Oh my God, Ryder.” She covered her mouth as she spoke.
“You like?” He wiggled his eyebrows at them.
“They are so good, what did you put in them?” Corbin pointed to her plate.
“It’s a secret.” He gave her a wink.
“I proclaim that you are now the chef at the apartment. When we get back I am taking you grocery shopping.” Stella shoveled in more eggs. Ryder laughed.
“I think you missed your calling, Ryder.” Corbin returned his flirty wink.
“Cooking is one of my passions. I thought about becoming a Chef, but music won out.”
“From what I’ve seen, you combine the two very well.” Corbin maintained eye contact with him.
“Thanks.” Ryder shot her a sideways smile.
“Feel free to use me as a taste tester,” Stella said through a mouthful of food.
“What’s all the ruckus?” Mike asked. He entered the kitchen wearing only skin tight boxers, his cowboy hat and boots.
“You are a sexy beast.” Ryder catcalled and gave him some whistles.
“You know it, rock star,” Mike began wiggling his hips.
“Oh Christ,” Stella laughed. Corbin and Ryder joined in.
“There’s some eggs left if you want them,” Ryder offered.
“You have to try them.” Stella scooped up some on her fork then walked to Mike. He chewed and nodded.
“Those are awesome.”
“Ryder made them.”
“Well I knew definitely it wasn’t you, darlin’,” Mike said with a smile on his face. Stella’s jaw dropped. Mike pulled her up against him and kissed her. Corbin looked to Ryder who gave her a small smile. Corbin finished her food then checked her phone for the time. It was 8:00 a.m.
“I’m going to have to leave soon.”
“What’s the hurry?” Mike asked in between kissing Stella.
“I need to go check up on my Mom.” Corbin stood and began rinsing off her dishes.
“Take my van. I think Mike and I are going to hang here for awhile. The keys are in it.”
“Ok.” Corbin turned to see the two had disappeared.
Ryder joined her at the sink and leaned into her.
“I am leaving with you. There is no way in hell I am sticking around for the rodeo that is about to take place.” Corbin burst out laughing and Ryder joined in.
RYDER UNLOCKED THE door and once inside, he handed Corbin her bag.
“Thanks.” When she reached for it he grabbed her hand.
“You’re welcome.” He rubbed his thumb over her hand. They share a moment of silence then he pulled her against him. He kissed her hard, his tongue seeking hers. They dropped their bags to the floor. Corbin wrapped her arms around his neck. He grabbed her ass and lifted her up. She in turn wrapped her legs around him. She grinded herself against him and was making those tiny little moans that drove him crazy. He carried her to the couch and without losing contact he lay down on top of her. He returned her grinding with his own. He knew she was primed and ready to go, as was he.
“Ryder…” she panted.
“Hmmm…” he mumbled as he kissed and nibbled at her neck.
“I have to go. And we don’t have any….Oh god that feels good.” He felt her fingers grasp his hair.
“Grrr…” He growled then slumped on top of her. He slid off of her and stood. She seemed to be gathering her senses. Her legs were still open and her mouth was wet from his. He held out his hand and helped her stand.
“Your glasses are smudged,” he joked.
“Imagine that.” Corbin removed them and began wiping them on her shirt. Ryder shoved his hands in his pockets in a vain attempt to keep his hands to himself. He willed his engorged dick to go down. Hearing a door open Ryder glanced in the direction. He did a double take as a huge hulking black man exited Alex’s bedroom and Alex followed behind
“Holy shit,” Ryder blurted. Alex stopped in her tracks and her eyes went wide.
“Moses?” Ryder heard Corbin ask.
Ryder looked from Moses to Alex, trying to put two and two together. Alex covered her eyes.
“Corbin, Ryder.” Moses gave them each a nod then swept Alex in his arms. He kissed her and when he pulled away Alex swayed a little. Moses leaned into her and whispered something that made Alex giggle and blush. Moses then walked to Ryder and held out this hand. Ryder reached out apprehensively and shook it. Then Moses turned and gave a wave to Corbin and continued out the door.
“What?” Ryder shook his head. Total confusion had set in. He looked at Alex, not knowing what to say.
“Oh my God, Alex,” Corbin squealed. He watched Alex’s face turn full on red.
“What she said.” Ryder jutted his thumb at Corbin. Alex shifted from one foot to another, her eyes staying on the floor.
“Stop staring at me,” Alex groaned. She tugged at her t-shirt. Corbin uttered a giggle. “Come on guys, grow up!” Alex turned and went back into her bedroom, slamming the door shut behind her. Ryder looked to Corbin who was still giggling.
“Who was that?” He pointed to the door.
“Moses, they work at Rebel’s together.” Ryder nodded then shook his head.
“What the fuck?” He rubbed his forehead.
“I know, I didn’t see that coming either,” Corbin laughed. “I gotta go.” She grabbed her keys, gave him a kiss on his cheek, then whispered in his ear, “Go easy on her, ok?” She opened the door and shut it.
Ryder stood alone in the living room and ran a hand through his hair. He walked to Alex’s door and knocked. She cracked it open.
“If you are going to lecture me, I don’t want to hear it.”
“Practice what you preach.” Alex rolled her eyes, then swung her door open wide. He stopped in the doorway and leaned against it.
“You can come in and sit you know.” Alex huffed and crossed her arms.
“Hell no, I am not getting anywhere close to that bed.” Ryder suppressed a laugh. She picked up a pillow and chucked it at him. He moved out of the way as it zipped by him. “That smelled funky.” He plugged his nose.
“Fuck you.” Alex flipped him off. Ryder cleared his throat.
“Is he good to you?”
“He has a name, and yes.” She looked to the floor. Ryder nodded.
“I’ve never seen that side of you before, it kinda blew my mind.” He watched as Alex smiled.
“Blows me away too.” She nodded and laughed.
“It’s good to see you happy.” Ryder picked at the door way.
“Ahhh…” Alex stood and began walking towards him, her arms outstretched. “Give me a hug.”
“Hell no, you have sex funk all over you.” He took off running through the apartment, Alex chased him and laughed. He dodged and weaved her advances until she finally tackled him to the ground. She rubbed her hands on his face.
“Yuck,” he said between laughter. She was laughing so hard tears were rolling down her face. She wiped her eyes and looked at him.
“I love you, dork.” Her face was serious.
“Yeah, I know, me too.” She helped him up from the floor, and he hugged her tighter than he had ever done before.
CORBIN WALKED DOWN the hall to where her Mom was. The door was shut so she knocked.
“Just a minute,” Jan said from inside. Corbin turned and leaned against the wall.
“It’s about time you show up.” She looked up to see her brothers Chance and Clay walking towards her. She tucked her hair behind her ear.
“Hey guys.” She gave them a small wave.
Here comes the guilt trip.
They stopped in front of her. She fidgeted.
“How is Mom?”
“Well if would have been around this weekend, you would know.” Clay crossed his arms over his protruding belly. Chance smirked.
Assholes.
The room door opened and Jan peeked out. “Come o
n in. Sorry, I was in the middle of bathing her.”
Corbin started in but her brothers pushed her out of the way.
“Seriously…” Corbin grumbled. She entered the room and looked to her Mom. She was sleeping soundly. Chance and Clay sat on either side of her, so Corbin pulled up a chair at the foot of the bed.
“How is she?” Corbin looked to Jan.
“She is doing well. She rested peacefully all weekend.” Jan gave her a pat on the shoulder.
“That’s good to hear.” Corbin nodded then reached up and rubbed her Mom’s leg. She watched as her Mom’s chest rose and fell. “Is she supposed to be breathing that slow?” Panic filled her.
“She just had a dose of her meds so she is really relaxed.” Jan leaned over her Mom and placed a stethoscope on her chest. She listened for a few minutes. “Her lungs are working fine, and her heart rate is good too.” Jan scribbled on a chart. Corbin let out a huge breath.
“It’s good to see you got some rest this weekend too, Corbin.” Jan gave her a wink then started putting her stuff in her bag.
“Yeah, she’s out partying and Clay and I sat here all weekend,” Chance blurted. Clay snickered. Something snapped in Corbin. Her eyes narrowed.
“Nobody told you that you had to stay here.” She glared at them both.
“Someone had to be responsible. You were off doing who knows what with who knows who.” Clay threw his arms in the air.
“Hey guys...” Jan started. Corbin stood up so fast that she knocked over her chair. She walked to them and pointed her fingers at them.
“Oh hell no…you want to talk about who’s responsible? Well let’s see…hmmm…who took care of mom after dad died? ME! Who took care of mom after she got sick? ME! Who has been here every night for the past two weeks? ME! So fuck you both!” Corbin was so mad that tears flowed down her face and she was shaking everywhere. She stared at her brothers who just sat there, their mouths agape.
“This is bullshit.” Clay stood and stormed from the room. Chance shook his head then followed him out.
“Ahm…” Jan placed her hands on Corbin’s shoulders. Corbin turned into her and buried her face into her shoulder. She sobbed so hard that her sides hurt.
“I’m sorry Jan, I didn’t mean to explode like that.”
“Oh Hun, it’s ok, they have been driving me crazy all weekend.” Corbin laughed. “I think your mom enjoyed you telling them off.”
“Huh?” Corbin wiped her eyes.
“Look.” Jan pointed. Corbin turned around a caught a glimpse of a smile on her mom’s face. Fresh tears erupted.
“HAVE YOU BEEN helped?” a man behind the meat counter asked.
“Not yet,” Ryder glanced at the man’s nametag. “Steve.”
“Ok, what can I get you?”
“I need 4 Cornish game hens, 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts, 4 4oz filet mignon steaks, and 4 4oz salmon filets.” The butcher raised an eyebrow at him. Ryder gave him a nod then continued on to gather the rest of the ingredient he needed. He pulled the list Alex gave him from his pocket. The first things on the list were tampons and pads. At the end of each word she had placed a smiley face. Ryder chuckled then headed for that section. He found a box of heavy duty extra large tampons. He held them up next to his head and snapped a photo as he made a goofy face. He cued up Alex’s number and typed under the picture,
I figured you would need the extra large ones after the weekend you had.
He giggled aloud as he clicked send. He looked up from his phone and seen several people eyeing him.
“How you doin’?” He gave the group a wave and a wink. His phone went off.
You are such an ass.
Tee hee.
He added a winky face. He shoved his phone back into his pocket and continued down the aisle. He perused the selection of condoms. He caught the attention of an older woman who was looking him up and down as she walked by. He held up two boxes of them.
“Excuse me ma’am, do you prefer lubricated or ribbed?” The woman’s mouth dropped and her face turned a bright shade of red. Ryder laughed. He continued looking through the different varieties and finally settled on some fire and ice Trojans. He looked around and grabbed ten boxes of the three packs and dropped them in the cart. He also put a bottle of lube in the cart. He released a wicked laugh. He walked to the beer section and placed two twelve packs of Blue Moon in the cart. He made his way back to the meat counter and picked up his order. He went through his mental checklist to make sure he had gotten everything he needed for the meals he had planned. Once he was satisfied, he made his way to the checkout lanes. Seeing nothing but long lines he let out a sigh. He slowly made his way to the cashier.
“Did you find everything ok?” The cashier made eye contact with him and blushed.
“Yep.” He pulled his wallet out of his pocket. She began scanning stuff, her face turning redder as she started scanning the condoms and lube. Ryder leaned closer to her and checked out her nametag.
“Tiff, do you think those are enough condoms? And I wasn’t sure about the lube; ugh...I am so inexperienced when it comes to this kind of thing.” He tried to keep his face as innocent as possible.
Tiff almost dropped the produce she was holding. She cleared her throat.
“Can I get you anything else?” She bit her bottom lip and started twirling her hair.
“A carton of Marlboro Reds.” He popped some gum in his mouth. Tiff’s eyes went to his lips, she seemed to shudder. She hurried off to get his cigarettes then came back and totaled everything up.
“$257.86.”
Ryder slid his debit card and typed in his pin and then Tiff handed him the receipt.
“Have a nice day,” she cooed.
“You too.” He gave her another wink.
“I’ll help you out with these, sir,” a pimply face kid said.
“If you must.” Ryder waved his hand in the air then led the carry out to his car. He popped the trunk and helped place his items in.
“Have a good one.” Ryder shut the trunk.
“You too, sir.”
Ryder slid into the driver’s seat, started the car and popped in some Jackyl. He slipped on his sunglasses rolled down the windows and cranked the music. As he stopped at the red lights, he turned to the people next to him and sang the words to the songs. Some people sang along and others just shook their heads at him. When Dirty Little Mind began, his brain exploded with thoughts of Corbin. He couldn’t wait to get her alone again. He clicked his tongue at the thought.
CORBIN OPENED THE door and walked into the apartment. Alex and Stella’s voices resonated. They were sitting on the couch giggling.
“What’s up?” Corbin asked. She sat her purse and keys down.
“Come here, look at this.” Alex waved her over, holding her phone in her hand. Corbin joined them on the couch and looked to Alex’s phone. A picture of Ryder holding a box of tampons and making a stupid face came up.
“What the hell?” Corbin laughed.
“He’s such a dork,” Alex laughed along.
“How’s your mom?” Stella asked while texting.
“Doing ok.” Corbin pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
“That’s good.” Stella kept her eyes on her phone.
“Did you have fun this weekend?” Alex asked. Stella snorted.
“Yeah, it was good.” Corbin hid a smile behind her knees.
“Ha!” Stella laughed.
“Am I missing something?” Alex looked from Stella back to her.
“Is she, Corbin?” Stella giggled.
Corbin shrugged. She watched as the color drained from Alex’s face, her eyes grew wide.
“Oh my God, you and Ryder hooked up?”
“From the naughty little sex sounds I heard coming from the bedroom, several times.” Stella giggled.
“Stella!” Corbin felt herself blush.
“Whoa…slow down. I need time to process all of this.” Alex stood and began
pacing.
“Yeah, I understand needing time to process stuff, especially after seeing you and Moses walk out of your bedroom together this morning. And seeing that kiss he planted on you.” Corbin smirked.
“What!” Stella exclaimed and lept off the couch dropping her phone to the floor. Alex covered her face with her hands.
“How did he not crush you?” Corbin laughed.
“I told you so!” Stella pointed a finger at Alex and began to do some sort of what Corbin assumed, was a victory dance.
Alex dropped her hands from her face.
“It’s not a big deal guys.” She plopped back onto the couch.
“Oh come on, Alex.” Stella grabbed Alex’s hand and pulled her from the couch. “Live a little!” Stella shook her boobs at Alex and then started to dance again. Alex laughed and joined in with her. Corbin sat on the couch laughing along.
“I could use a little help, ladies!” Ryder’s voice rang out above their laughter. Alex stopped and saluted him.
“Yes, sir,” Stella blurted.
Corbin looked to where he stood holding two twelve packs of Blue Moon. She found her flip flops and slid them on, then sauntered down the stairs. Ryder’s trunk was packed with grocery bags.
“Whoa,” Stella blurted.
“When you release Ryder in a grocery store it’s like us girls at the mall,” Alex quipped.
“No kidding.”Corbin shook her head. They grabbed all of the bags each carrying at least 5 on each arm. As they started up, Ryder started down.
“Could you be a darling and get the trunk?” Alex asked him. The three girls laughed together. Ryder raised an eyebrow and shook his head then continued down the stairs.
They made quick work of putting the items away. They followed Ryder’s orders as he told them where to put stuff.
“Hey where do these go?” Stella snorted. She held up a box of condoms and some lube. Corbin looked to Ryder and felt a blush rush over her. He hurried over to Stella and tried to grab them from her. Stella took the bag and kept pulling out more and more boxes.
“Jesus Christ, Ryder,” Alex blurted and then covered her mouth. Ryder got a hold of the bag and chucked it into the bathroom. He looked to Corbin, he seemed to be blushing too. He ran a hand threw his hair and shrugged.