Cakewalk: A Calhoon Small Town Romantic Comedy

by Ivy Summers

  Fuck, I didn’t care. I grabbed his hair and pulled him toward me, his tongue intermingling with mine as my pussy clenched around his final thrusts. I could feel the force of him, the throbbing as he released himself inside me, and all I could hope was that he had stocked some weapons-grade condoms, because good fucking God.

  He pulled away, his eyes half closed, panting hard. He slipped out of me and turned us so that I was draped over his body now. Somehow he found his breath to ask, “Are you all right?”

  “Don’t be stupid,” was my panted reply against his chest. I looked up momentarily. “God, Griffin, you’re amazing.”

  He couldn’t even manage a cocky smirk, he was so exhausted. So we just laid there for a while, and the silence didn’t even feel awkward to me. There was no room for awkwardness now that we’d been so fully exposed to each other.

  After some time, he whispered, “I feel like the other shoe’s going to drop soon enough, but I don’t care if it destroys me. Having you like this is worth everything.”

  “Don’t get all existential and defeatist on me, you bastard.”

  His chest shook with a gentle laugh. “I guess I’ve just learned not to take things for granted. Come on, let’s wash up.”

  He lifted me up himself and carried me to the bathroom, where he turned on the warm shower and gave every inch of my body attention, exploring me in ways nobody ever had before. At first my instinct was to cover up my intimate parts with my hands and arms, but he gently pried me apart until I grew relaxed under his attentive eyes.

  The way he looked at me, it made me feel like I was some sort of goddess. Not that I would ever have thought of myself in that way, but his eyes showed nothing but adoration—hell, it almost felt like I was worshipped. And his hands… His every touch sent tingles through me as he started at my neck and slowly made his way down, cupping my breasts before going further south. I closed my eyes and my head went back as he rubbed between my legs, then down my thighs until he knelt at my feet. He kissed the top of each one, then stood, his worshipping complete.

  Now it was my turn. I hesitated, never having really touched someone like this before, but I found it in me to lather up the soap and start with his shoulders, scrubbing the tattoos, following their patterns down his muscular arms, pausing once to pet Mittens with a grin before turning my attention to his chest.

  I couldn’t believe such a beautiful creature was before me, like a wild stallion I’d coaxed into letting me pet him. I lowered down to his abs, to the trail that led to his cock. I held it briefly, this time with no intent beyond tending to it, before I moved around to his back and scrubbed him further, all just a pretense to memorize the curves and crevices of his muscles as if I’d never see them again.

  The water started running a bit cold, and he turned to me. “We should finish up.”

  I rinsed first, then stepped out as he finished, drying myself thoroughly in a soft towel. I padded back into the living room and searched for my clothes, finding them strewn about in the oddest of places. After finding my shirt on a lampshade, I slipped my clothes on quickly, then grabbed his, bringing them back to him in the bathroom where he was drying off.

  “Maybe this isn’t so casual,” he mused as he took his clothes from me. “Or is it just me?”

  I watched him put on his briefs, and he was halfway through putting on his pants when I said, “It’s not just you.”

  He kept his eyes down as he zipped up and buttoned his pants. “Maybe you shouldn’t keep working for me then.”

  “Why not?”

  “There’s no reason you can’t just be a consultant. I’d be one of your clients, but you can take on more. Do your own thing, run your own firm. Then you’d no longer have to worry about anyone judging you for dating your boss.”

  “So we’re dating? Officially?” Please say yes.

  “If that’s what you want to call this. I’m just as clueless as you are, Jade. All my relationships before you were just flings, even the last one that I thought was something else. But I don’t want this to be that. Not if you feel the same way I do.”

  I crossed my arms and looked away. Shit. Last time I fell hard for anybody, it made me see good in my ex that was never really there. But something told me this wasn’t the same. I had learned from my last experience, and Griffin had been upfront with me from the start. He even let me see the damn bookkeeping and tax returns.

  “If you break my heart,” I started, “I’ll figuratively raze you and your enterprise to the ground. And I’ll have a lot of backup on my side with pitchforks and torches.”

  “I don’t plan on hurting you. And you already know what the foreseeable difficulties are going to be. You’re fully informed of all my baggage, so it’s up to you.”

  “Okay.” I let out a deep breath, realizing I had been holding it in as he replied to my threat.

  “Just…” Griffin paused. “I’m not proposing to you or anything. This is just dating, and we’re still getting to know each other, and who knows—it could all fall apart over something stupid. Maybe it turns out we hate each other’s favorite bands, or maybe one of us snores, or maybe—”

  “I know. We’re just graduating from friends-with-benefits to dating. It’s still tentative. I’m just saying that, however it shakes out, don’t screw me over.”

  “I wouldn’t in a million years. I’d be a damned fool.”

  I smiled. There was nothing but earnestness behind his eyes. And really, all that anger I had at the idea of getting screwed over again, like with my last cheating ex, was nothing compared to how mad I was at all the people who had screwed Griffin over. A disinterested mother, a downright evil father, not a friend among them who sent him so much as a letter in jail. And I had yet to see any good reason for anyone to have treated him that way.

  Maybe he was different five years ago, but he was something new now. Someone I’d defend tooth and nail.

  We spent the rest of the evening just sitting on the sofa, drinking another beer or two, and talking about me working for myself. He told me he’d hook me up with his remote assistant to set up all the forms and filings to get my own consultant business going. It’d be a simple thing at first, just a sole proprietorship, with me acting as a contractor to whomever I wanted to work for. Then it could grow from there.

  He’d be my first client, and though he didn’t have the best reputation yet, his business was once under the fold of a Fortune 500 corporation, so that’d look pretty damn good on any reference. I’d have to prove myself, of course. I’d have to help him overcome the various obstacles to completing the oceanfront development, but after that, I’d have a pretty good track record and could expand from there.

  We’d be two independent businesses, and anything we got up to in our free time would be well outside of any criticisms about him taking advantage of his position, or anything like that. My biggest worry now was the association his name carried due to him sharing it with his father, and the fall Griffin was forced to take.

  But I had plans for that.

  Chapter 16

  Griffin

  Jade did things to me. She made me forget all the cynicism I had carefully cultivated during my years of solitude. I had told myself back then that though I was partially to blame for the superficiality of my past relationships, I’d be careful in the future. I’d put in the effort, but the trust would have to be hard-earned. That was what I had told myself.

  But Jade had my trust before I knew it. The same way she defended the town, the same way she defended her sister and even her ex-friend, she defended me. Once I had her convinced, she had become my biggest advocate, and I’d be damned if I ever did anything to make her regret it.

  By the following Friday, Ariana had Jade’s business all set up officially, with a payroll, business account at the local bank, retirement account, and everything else she might need. Maybe a bit overkill at this stage, but Ariana was a wizard at the types of things that put me straight to sleep.

  Jade
ditched the rental car, getting a loan for her own company car. I wasn’t surprised it was yet another generic sedan, this time of the Toyota variety. She even gave me a dozen business cards one day, just in case I wanted to recommend her to anyone. I had run out of them as soon as I made a trip back to Atlanta to sort out a few things with a few of my construction clients.

  Things were slow-moving on many fronts—any real cooperation from the town utilities and local supplies vendors was to be earned at tonight’s town hall meeting—but I’d broken ground on the new construction of the road leading into the development, at least.

  Jade met up with me at my apartment around 4:30 that afternoon, planning to brief me and make sure I was prepared for the hardball questions we were expecting.

  I opened the door and stepped aside, taking a moment to admire her attire. She glanced down at her clothes. “All from Madison’s boutique. It doesn’t hurt to kiss ass every once in a while, and she’s going to be there, so… I think she’ll endeavor to make us look good if I’m showcasing her fashion line.”

  “Smart.” I went to put a hand on the silky fabric that hugged her hip, only for her to swipe it away.

  “I’m still on the clock,” she said with a wink. “No touching.”

  “Aw, and here I thought you were accompanying me out of support.”

  Jade wagged a finger at me. “Get your head in the game, Griff. Because I can assure you, we’ve got some busybodies champing at the bit to make you look bad tonight.”

  I pulled at my tie. “Duly noted.”

  We then sat down on my sofa—that sofa, which had now become entirely associated in my mind with the little deed we did a week ago—and we went over the expected questions and my answers. I also had a little presentation I wanted to give regarding the cleanup project, though I’d been in enough meetings before to not have to rehearse it.

  After about thirty minutes of prepping, we stood, ready for whatever awaited us at the town hall.

  The meeting was held in a small beige conference room within the town hall building. Folded chairs lined the floor, but there had been such a crowd that there weren’t nearly enough seats, and half of those in attendance had to stand in the back. Jade tightened her grip on her purse when she saw the crowd within. “This is a bit more than usual,” she whispered in my ear. “By… By a lot.”

  I guess word had gotten around that I’d be showing up for a public whipping.

  The seats in the front were reserved for those who had time allotted on stage, so Jade and I had some place to sit. I glanced down the row to see Betty, Killian, Courtney, and a few others I didn’t recognize.

  Animal control had the first segment of the meeting, and the town hall organizer introduced him, saying, “Officer Carter has a very special announcement tonight.” He stepped aside and Officer Carter jogged up to the stage.

  On the podium sat a covered cage, which Officer Carter motioned at proudly. “Yes, citizens of Calhoon,” he began dramatically. “The pest inside this cage is exactly who you think it is.”

  I raised an eyebrow at the cheers that erupted when the animal control officer dramatically lifted the blanket off the cage to reveal a one-eyed raccoon. It was as if the home team won the Super Bowl. Even Jade let out a gasp and clapped a few times.

  This was evidently Officer Carter’s time to shine, and he didn’t let it go to waste, giving a speech as if he had just won the presidency. “Patches has plagued this town for far too long. No more will he knock over our pink flamingos, no more will he grab our pies cooling off on the windowsill, no more will he wreak havoc in our home gardens. By noon tomorrow, Patches will be no more.”

  The crowd's reaction this time was a little more mixed. It didn’t seem like everyone was delighted by the thought of the cute little guy being executed.

  Killian of the local haberdashery raised a hand, and Officer Carter pointed at him. He stood and asked, “How exactly will you be disposing of Patches?”

  Officer Carter crossed his arms and said, “The usual way. Euthanasia.”

  The town hall was suddenly quiet. Jade let out a sad “aww” and a few others shifted uncomfortably. Patches sat on his fat rump and pawed at the top of the cage, making little chittering sounds as he did. For a moment, I swear he looked at me, and his markings made it look like his eyebrows were pinched up in worry.

  I knew how he felt. Prison was no picnic.

  Betty from the general store stood without raising her hand, apparently not one to need permission to have her say on any subject. “Can’t you just release him into the woods? It doesn’t look like he has rabies or anything.”

  Officer Carter crossed his arms. “No. Better to be sure he’s not coming back. I would have to transport him well outside the town limits to find a good place to release him, which is out of my jurisdiction, anyway.”

  Betty frowned and asked, “There’s no other way?”

  “I like permanent solutions, ma’am. We’ve wasted enough of our resources on Patches-related incidents alone. His reign ends today.”

  “But…” Betty began, then shut her mouth and lowered back into her seat, defeated.

  “If that will be all…” Officer Carter concluded, seeming to want to end his time on stage now that the cheers had subsided.

  I stood. “The land my company has purchased has an extensive pest problem itself. I’ve made plans to hire a trapper to have them captured and released elsewhere. I already have permission from the state to release any animals I capture into the national forest twenty miles out. I can do the same for Patches.”

  Officer Carter crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. “What, you gonna drive all that way yourself?”

  “I’ll have it taken care of,” I said, though I really hadn’t planned on making a commitment to a raccoon of all things tonight.

  “You know what? Fine. He can be your problem. But I’ll be sending you the bill if he comes back here and I gotta catch him again.”

  I nodded and took my seat. Officer Carter shrugged and picked up the cage, setting Patches down alongside a wall by the refreshments. Jade glanced up at me and said, “That was nice of you. Patches is kind of a legend around here.”

  “He looked at me with that beady little eye and I couldn’t stand the thought of him going out like that.”

  “Maybe Betty will be a little nicer to you now.”

  I laughed. Not that I cared too much about getting on Betty’s good side after what she had said to me. But now it was time for my presentation. I’d figure out what the hell I was going to do with my new raccoon later.

  The town hall organizer stepped up to the podium and said, “Our next speaker will be giving a presentation regarding his proposal for a cleanup of the ocean front property, then he’ll be taking questions about the planned Marketplace Square development. Please welcome Griffin Reed of Griffin Enterprises.”

  Jade clapped as I stood, but besides her and a few others, the applause was deafeningly quiet.

  I had expected that, at least.

  Up on stage, I grabbed the mic off the podium and opted to stroll back and forth, making eye contact with various attendees as I began, “Good evening, Calhoon. I’m Griffin Reed, and I’m developing the ocean front property about two miles west of Main Street. The land has been a concern for the town ever since it was discovered that much of the soil was polluted by the old paper mill. It’s been years since that discovery, and after a reevaluation, it appears that the land can be habitable once more with some minor treatment. About a third of the land can even be reforested as soon as next year. And that’s what I plan to do.”

  I motioned at Patches, who was scratching his rump. “I believe Patches is just one of the many animals who’ve been displaced since the land was cleared of its trees many years ago. With my plan to reforest part of the land, I believe the pest situation will resolve itself, and we may even no longer be plagued with that odd smell every morning from the old paper mill waste.”

  That elicited a fe
w oohs and ahhs, as if many Calhoonians thought that was something they’d have to live with for the rest of their lives.

  “I would like to start a cleanup volunteer program for the litter and dumped materials that have piled up in our unofficial landfill, and for every hour volunteered, I will plant a tree in our new forest. The program will be a great volunteer work opportunity for high school students, and for anyone else who’d like to join in on cleaning up Calhoon. I will also be donating money to fund the renovation of the wharf, and a few other areas around town that have been neglected in this difficult era in Calhoon history. And I hope that with these efforts, we’ll pave a new era in which everybody can prosper.”

  I motioned for Jade to come up and join me, as we had planned for her to help during the questions and answers portion of my time. She stepped up, the image of beauty and confidence, and received a little applause from those who knew her—even her sister, who I worried might have seen her as a turncoat.

  “Now,” I began, “We would love to answer any questions and address any concerns you might have.”

  Betty stood and spoke without a moment’s hesitation. “How can we trust you after what you pulled in Atlanta? You are a proven criminal.”

  At least half the room started murmuring, and quite a few people looked confused. I knew I’d have to provide the context to what she was asking, as much as it pained me to go over that entire mess again.

  I began, “You’re referring to the charges against me regarding tax fraud. I was a young man, twenty-three at the time, far in over my head and unaware of exactly what I was doing. I know all you can do is take my word for it, but from the bottom of my heart, I didn’t act out of malice or with any intent to deceive anyone or defraud the government. I’ve done my time, I served every single day of my five-year sentence, and have paid all that was owed.”