“Would you like to go to the festival with me?”
Her eyebrow shot up. “Like a date?”
“Yeah, like a date.”
“Oh. Sure.”
“Great. Should I pick you up from CeeCee’s?”
“How about I meet you here?”
He nodded, leaned over and kissed her soundly on the mouth. So much for the morning breath. And then he was gone, leaving her in his big bed. She listened to him exit his house and heard the very faint drone of his truck engine as he drove away. She closed her eyes and promptly fell back to sleep.
When she woke up again, it was a decent hour. She couldn’t imagine a job where she had to get up at the butt crack of dawn every day. She rose and took a shower and when she headed out of Sky’s house, it was about nine-thirty.
Kevin’s micro truck was in CeeCee’s driveway and when she walked inside, it was to see him in standing in a very short flowery robe with bunny slippers on his feet. He was standing over a pan, frying bacon.
“So I see you managed to get into her pants,” Alannah commented dryly.
“Cat is out of the bag now, I suppose,” he said with a grin.
CeeCee floated into the room, wearing Kevin’s t-shirt from the day before. It cemented, without a doubt, what happened between them.
“Friends with benefits,” CeeCee said breezily. “Just like you and Sky.”
Alannah’s face must have said a mouthful because CeeCee’s eyes went wide and her mouth pursed.
“Not like you and Sky,” she surmised.
Alannah sighed and grabbed a cup of coffee before sitting down. She was trying her best to ignore Kevin’s silly wardrobe but her eyes couldn’t help but drift over to him a time or two.
“Are you…falling in love?” CeeCee asked, her head cocked to the side.
“Of course not. It’s only been three days.”
“Well, technically it’s been twenty years,” Kevin said as he sat a plate of bacon on the table.
“Twenty-four,” CeeCee added. “They went to Kindergarten together.”
“Oh yeah,” Kevin said as he grabbed a piece of crunchy bacon. “Mrs. Baldwin’s class, right?”
It took Alannah a moment to think that far back. “How did you remember that?”
He pointed to his forehead. “Like a steel trap.”
“Which gets rusty when my birthday comes around,” CeeCee remarked.
“Hey, what do you call a boomerang that doesn’t work?” he asked, ignoring her.
“I don’t know,” Alannah said.
“A stick. Funny, eh?”
He began to laugh at his own joke.
“That’s not the adjective I would’ve used,” Alannah murmured, but she smiled anyway. The joke may have not been funny but Kevin’s amusement was. She waved a finger back and forth between them. “What happens when you guys call it quits?”
“Why would we call it quits?” CeeCee asked, looking stupefied.
“Because everything ends,” Alannah said, and even she could hear the bitterness in her voice. “We’re all one big ball of failure.”
“Wow, pessimistic much?” Kevin asked, right before he devoured a piece of bacon.
“Listen,” CeeCee said. “If Kevin or I decide that’s it, I hope we’re mature enough to remain friends. We’ve dated people that didn’t get us, didn’t understand our dynamics and it was a disaster. So we figured, why not see if what we have can go the distance.”
“And if it can’t, won’t it be painful to watch each other with someone else?”
“Maybe,” she answered with a shrug. “But the uncertainty of the future doesn’t make me not want to try. What about you and Sky?”
“I don’t know what Sky and I are,” Alannah muttered. “I shouldn’t have come back here.”
“Why do you say that?” Kevin asked.
But Alannah didn’t answer. She only shook her head, not wanting to go into the reasons why she knew she was going to be heartbroken again. Sky was showing her a side of herself she never really knew she had, or craved, and where was she supposed to go from there? It wasn’t like she knew that lifestyle back in LA.
“Alannah, do you want to go back to LA?” CeeCee asked, as if reading her mind. Damn, that was spooky.
“My whole life is back in LA,” Alannah said.
“That wasn’t what I asked. Why not stay in Dexter? We could use a high-end decorator. I mean, look at me. I still have plastic roses on the porch table. They used to be red but now they’re butt-ugly grey.”
Alannah had to agree with that assessment. She shook her head. “No, I can’t stay in Dexter.”
“Why not?” Kevin asked.
“Because…because this is the one place I swore I’d never end up,” she told him. “If I came back I’d be just like my mother.”
CeeCee’s eyebrows shot up. “Honey, you’re about as different from your mother as you can be. Can’t you see that? You’re nothing like her.”
Alannah got up from the table and dumped the rest of her coffee. She didn’t want to reflect on any more old memories. Her friends simply didn’t understand. While she was washing her mug, she heard someone leave the kitchen. She had assumed it was Kevin, but when she turned around, she saw him still there, watching her with dark and solemn eyes, which was very un-Kevin-like.
“I was in love once,” he told her, out of the blue. “I went to vet school in Texas and I studied large animals before transitioning into small animals. For a while I worked on a ranch and the owner’s daughter used to assist me. She had a passion for the animals like I did. She was beautiful and smart and man, I fell for her hook, line, and sinker.”
“What happened?” she whispered, her heart already aching because she knew this story didn’t have a happy ending.
“She died,” he said, his tone matter-of-fact. Only the tightening of his lips told her how he was still affected. “She was riding and a stampede broke out. Her horse was green and she was thrown.”
“Oh, Kevin. I’m so sorry.”
He shrugged, and it was more than obvious that he was acting cavalier to a memory that still haunted him. “Life happens, Alannah, to all of us. I had a broken heart but I came back to those that loved me, back to the people I care about. Cee kept me going. I don’t know how I would’ve made it through without her.”
“So what you feel for her is gratitude?”
“No.” He shook his head. “There’s not a day that goes by, that girl I lost doesn’t cross my mind in some way or another. But with Cee I’m able to push aside that pain and be happy.”
“Aren’t you afraid…” and here was the real crux of the matter. “Aren’t you afraid the next time will end just as badly?”
There. It was out. She’d finally vocalized her own fear. If she were to allow herself to fall in love with Sky, all she could see for their future was a goodbye. But Kevin smiled and shook his head.
“It takes a leap of faith and a whole lotta kisses.”
****
Alannah pushed all the questions and doubts aside as she drove up to Sky’s house. She had spent the rest of the day driving around Dexter and reacquainting herself with the small Missouri town she’d grown up in. At the high school she’d remembered going to all the football and basketball games, part of the cheering section for the home team. It’d been just an excuse to escape her home and her sarcastic, often drunk, mother. It was no wonder her father had split before she was born. She couldn’t wait to leave either.
There was no way to step back and examine what her feelings toward Sky had been back then. He’d been her best friend, her confidant, and yes, he’d been a fantasy she was too scared to reach for. She hadn’t let herself scrutinize her feelings for him too closely, because if she felt more than friendship then maybe…maybe she wouldn’t have wanted to leave.
And back then she’d needed to leave.
Perhaps she hadn’t made the best decisions after that. She’d gone to design school, had met Bryce Burns and h
ad believed he was the perfect ending to changing her mother’s fate. Boy, had she been wrong.
And now this “thing” she had going on with Sky––she didn’t know what the hell to call it. Sure, friends with benefits, but…holy heck, how could a woman like being tied up and blindfolded so much? Perhaps she needed to go back and read all those BDSM books she’d turned away from.
Sky greeted her with a hug and delicious kiss that almost melted her panties right off. Seriously, if they had gold medals for kissing he’d blow the doors off everyone else. They talked pleasantries about their day and Alannah made sure to keep him talking since she really didn’t want to share what had been on her mind. He’d driven them to the festival and they’d eaten greasy cheeseburgers and funnel cakes for dinner. She was going to need to go back on her diet once she got back home. She’d lost ten pounds and she really didn’t want to gain it back. Her weight was part of her failure, an albatross around her neck.
They finally arrived at the hayride area and the tractor that pulled the hay-lined flatbed was idling as it waited for the last few people to get on board. The driver handed Sky a blanket and he climbed in first before leaning over to help her in. He shook out the blanket near the back against a pile of loose straw, making a sort of comfy cove for them.
Alannah sat first and Sky followed, pulling her into his arms as he rested back and made himself comfortable. She snuggled into the V between his legs. There were several other couples with them but spaced far enough apart that she didn’t feel uncomfortable.
“Howdy, Sheriff,” said a male passenger who was getting on. “How’s it going?”
“Going good,” Sky replied with a smile. “Enjoying the festival?”
“Always.” He nodded toward Alannah. “How do, miss.”
“Hello,” Alannah murmured.
“Great night for a hayride,” the man continued. “Yep, yep, yep. Good to see you out and about instead of always toting that badge. Good to relax.”
“Yes, sir, it is,” Sky agreed.
Alannah saw the man eyeing another passenger.
“Well, lookie there,” he said gleefully. “It’s Emma Train. I’ll let you two get back to schmoozing. I’m going over to see if the widow Train will be schmooze-y with me.”
Without another word he made his way carefully over to the woman he’d been eyeballing, an elderly woman sitting all alone.
Sky laughed softly. “He’s a character. I think he tries to schmooze every widow in Dexter.”
“He’s one of those old people you just shake your head to,” she murmured.
“And then you pray you don’t turn into one yourself.”
The tractor began rumbling along, pulling the flatbed, and the lights of the festival were soon left behind as the tractor settled into the familiar ride through the woods.
“How long has it been since you’ve been on a hayride?” he asked her in a soft tone.
“Mm, years. Not many hayrides offered in LA.”
“God, this brings back memories.”
“Yeah,” she said with a giggle. “But this time we’re not egging houses.”
Sky groaned. “You know, I arrest kids for the same shit I used to do.”
“Doesn’t that make you feel old?” she asked. “Back then that was considered cool.”
“Now it’s considered a misdemeanor.”
“I bet most of what we did were misdemeanors. Hey, remember the haunted house we all went to investigate back off Old Thompson Lane?”
“The condemned house? Oh brother, when Cee fell through that rotted floor I almost had a heart attack. I was picturing us all in solitary confinement or something.”
“Grounded forever. Not a telephone in sight. How horrible our teenage years would’ve been.”
Sky nodded in agreement. “Luckily, she has a really thick head.”
“And that Kevin was there to break her fall when she fell on him.”
They both grinned at the memory.
The tractor pulled to a stop at the McCrinny Farmhouse, which had been transformed into a crafts mecca that boasted everything from hand-carved back scratchers to birdhouses. If it could be made from wood, it was there. Sky jumped from the wagon first and held up his arms for Alannah. She pulled up the blanket and dropped it to the ground before reaching for Sky’s arms. Slowly, he led her slide down his body until her feet touched the ground. She nervously wet her lips. He watched her tongue before he took a deep breath and stepped back. Oh wow, did she just crack his stoic armor? The knowledge that she might have some power over him sent tingles to all her girly parts. Sky picked up the blanket, shook it out, and folded it. He stuck it under his armpit before grabbing her hand and leading her away from the brightly lit farmhouse.
“Where’re we going?”
“The barn,” he said.
“Why? There aren’t any crafts there.”
“Exactly. It’s private.”
They reached the barn and Sky threw open the door, immediately pushing Alannah up against a nearby wall. His body was big and hard against her softer curves, his hard cock pressing against her belly, and she practically melted in a puddle of goo. The blanket fell to the ground but she didn’t care. All she was conscious of was Sky’s mouth pressed against her cheek as he ran his lips very close to hers.
“All I’ve thought about today is you,” he murmured, his breathing hot against her skin, making her blood burn even hotter. “I’ve thought about what I’ve wanted to do to you. How I’ve wanted to kiss you. I want to eat you up, fuck you until you scream my name. I had to…I want to…”
His sentence was cut off as he crushed his mouth to hers and kissed her with a fervor that just about blew her socks off. All it took was one swipe with his tongue and her mouth opened, letting him inside. He took possession and didn’t let up until they both had to breathe.
His hands moved from her shoulders, down her arms, to entangle her fingers with his own, and before she knew what was happening, he forced her arms above her head, pinned to the wall. She was helpless, at his mercy, his strength holding her in place. Oh, she had no doubt one word from her and he’d stop, but she didn’t want him to.
The darkness of the barn, combined with his grip, put her back into that place. The wonderful place where her brain stopped thinking and her body turned on. One knee thrust forward to slide between her legs, forcing her to straddle him. Her pussy now rested on his muscular thigh and the angle he kept her at had her sensitive little clit grinding down. It wouldn’t take long, just a few bumps and grunts and she knew she’d be coming hard.
“Please,” she whispered.
Sky moved from her mouth, down her neck, back up to her ear, taking the lobe between his teeth and biting ever so gently before sucking it into his mouth. His free hand traced over her body, down her chest to cup her breast. He teased her nipple through the thin material of her t-shirt and she arched her back for more.
“Oh yes,” she moaned. “Sky, please, I want…”
“I know what you want, baby.”
His hand attacked the button on her jeans, and then her zipper, and once they were undone he slipped inside, under her panties. He moved his leg to allow his fingers to play with her clit, rubbing the nub in a circular motion until her juices flowed freely. She was moaning and undulating, wanting more, wanting everything he could give her.
Then suddenly he pulled back, breaking contact, and she moaned her frustration, reaching for him. Sky bent and snapped out the blanket and then he grabbed her shoulders and laid her down.
“Take off your pants,” he ordered.
“W-What?”
Instead of answering, he unsnapped his own pants and shoved them down. His big cock sprung free and he fisted it. Although it was dark, a small sliver of light illuminated the area enough so she could watch as he used his pre-cum to grease his hands and jerk off with a slow up and down movement.
“Do as I say,” he commanded, and that voice was back, that low steely tone that brooked
no argument. “Take off your pants, Alannah.”
Without another thought, she did exactly that, wiggling her hips until the jeans were off. She waited for his next command, craving it with every fiber of her being.
“Touch yourself, Alannah. Take your finger and run it through your juices. Touch your clit.”
She moaned. Oh yes, yes, yes! Oh, good lord, him telling her what to do made this so much more naughty and so wicked.
“Watch me,” he said.
She opened her eyes and saw him masturbating.
“Push your finger into your pussy. How do you feel?”
“Oh…wet.”
“Finger-fuck your pussy, Alannah. Let me watch you while you watch me.”
“Oh, Sky,” she breathed and did as he asked. As one finger went in she arched her pelvis. When the second finger went in, she couldn’t help the whimper of desire. It felt so good. And there was her special spot, the one area that made her pulse thrum and her heart race. She wasn’t going to last. Not with him watching her. But, oh, she wanted to please him. She wanted to please him so much until it made him come.
“I want us to come together,” she said.
“Don’t worry, I’m almost there,” he assured her. “I’m so hard for you, baby.”
His hands jerked faster and her fingers pumped deeper. And…oh my god! Right there! She felt the whooshing up through her spine, flushing over her body, as her stomach clenched just as she screamed out his name.
“Sky!”
“Yes…Alannah!”
Her climax washed through her like lightning over the horizon, savage and electrifying. Dear lord, how could masturbation feel so good? She was the queen of the vibrator, used it every day, and there hadn’t been one time when it’d felt like this.
Sky hunched over, one fist resting on the wall as if holding himself up. She could hear him breathing hard and it sent a thrill through her knowing that she’d brought him such pleasure. After a minute he pushed himself up and tucked himself back into his pants. He looked down at her and the shadows prevented her from seeing his expression clearly, but she certainly felt his hot gaze traveling over her body. He bent and picked up her discarded jeans and panties. And then he held out his hand to her. She took it and let him help her up. He nuzzled his nose in her neck for a moment and she savored the feeling of him being near, of him touching her.
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