by Nella Tyler
“I probably should have been more up front about asking,” she said, glancing down. “But even—even if I trust you on this…why would you want to be with me?”
“What do you mean?” I frowned at her. “Why wouldn’t I want to be with you? You’re beautiful and smart and sweet and funny and just…amazing.”
“I’m not smart,” Nicole said, tugging her face free of my hand and shaking her head. “I’m an idiot. I’ve only just barely been able to keep my grades afloat this first year.” Tears welled up in her eyes. “You deserve a woman who’s like…who has a degree, and who can make you proud.”
“You do make me proud,” I told her.
“But I’m—I’m doing better this semester, but I don’t know how I’m going to make it through the rest of the way. I don’t even know what I can study. I’m useless.” She started to cry, and I stood up, quickly moving to the other side of the table, taking the bench next to her.
“This is about more than just the grades, isn’t it?” Nicole sniffled.
“The—the guy you saw at the party. Dillon.” Her breath hitched in her throat, and I took her hand in mine, giving it a squeeze. “You know he was my ex, but you don’t know…”
“How did it end between you?” I remembered that Nicole had said something about never being good enough for him—something about Dillon being an asshole who criticized her constantly.
“I wanted to be a cosmetologist,” Nicole said slowly. “The only thing I’ve ever really like to do is hair and makeup, thinks like that.” She smiled sadly. “But Dillon had me convinced that I was going to be wasting my time—that it was trashy, and low rent, and just…” she shook her head. “He told me that if I didn’t go to college and get a degree I was just going to end up some knocked up welfare queen, and that he would never stand for it.”
“If you wanted to do cosmetology, why didn’t you go back to that when you left him?” Nicole blinked, looking confused for a moment.
“At first it was because I still thought he might be right,” she explained slowly. “But then…I’d gotten in here, and I thought that I at least…should try…” she shook her head, looking sadder than ever. “But now I just think I’m too stupid for anything. I’d probably fail cosmetology school, too.”
“I think you should try,” I told her, leaning in to kiss her on the forehead. “If it’s what you love to do—and you definitely have talent for it,” I tousled her hair, “then you should do that. And I’ll help you.” I kissed Nicole’s forehead again, and then her cheek, and then her lips.
“How could you help me?” I grinned and shrugged.
“There’s a cosmetology school near my home town—from what I understand, it’s pretty great,” I told her. “I could help you with the transfer process.” She gave my hand a squeeze.
“You really don’t think that it’s stupid?” I shook my head.
“I think you’ve got a gift, and you should do something that makes you happy.” I smiled and kissed Nicole once more, wrapping my arms around her waist and holding her close. “And I think if you’re going to a cosmetology school near my home town, it’ll be a lot easier for us to keep seeing each other.” Nicole chuckled.
“You’ve just got an answer for everything, don’t you?” I kissed along the column of her throat, thinking about how good it would be to come home to Nicole at the end of the day, how much I wanted her as part of my daily life.
“It’ll be great, just you wait and see,” I told her. “I’ll set everything up the way we want it to be.”
Epilogue
Six Months Later
I smiled to myself as I parked my beat-up old car in my assigned spot at the apartment complex and turned the key in the ignition to shut it down. I felt a little tired—but I was happier than I had been in months, maybe years. I had just finished my first day of cosmetology classes and even though I knew it would get tougher, I also knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be, doing what I should have been doing all along.
Ty had been true to his word, helping me with my application and transfer to Premier Beauty & Salon Cosmetology School. It was about twenty minutes outside of his hometown, and when I’d gotten my acceptance, Ty had even helped me move into an apartment—one that we agreed to share—in town, so I wouldn’t have to commute.
I wasn’t really able to pay much in the way of rent, but Ty was more than capable of paying for both of us, at least until I was on my feet and working as a hair dresser and stylist. Ty had been even better than he promised; he’d helped me with my application, he’d prepared me for my interviews, and he had even gone with me to talk to my parents about my choice.
We’d been living together for about four months. After finals, I went back to my parents’ house while I waited to find out if Premier would admit me, and we made our plans together. Ty did his CPA exams, and got one of the top scores in the region—making him an absolute shoe-in to start at his father’s accounting firm. He wasn’t making the kind of salary his dad enjoyed, but he was making more than enough to support us for a while, especially since we’d managed to find a nice, cheap apartment to live in together.
I unlocked our front door and threw my car keys into the bowl on the table in the entryway, and headed for the kitchen. It was five-thirty; Ty would be home in about thirty minutes, and I’d gotten word from his parents that they wanted to come over for dinner as well. I was more than happy to have them.
I started to work on dinner, beef Stroganoff over egg noodles with peas and carrots on the side. It was simple and homey, but it was something I’d been making since I was a teenager and Ty loved it. There was something weirdly comforting about cooking for him, just like there was about doing laundry for him, or cleaning our little apartment together; it was soothing to do things for the man I loved, and to take care of a home that was partially my own—even if it was a small, one-bedroom apartment.
I had just gotten the sauce finished and set it to simmer, when I heard the door open. “Welcome home, babe!” I didn’t turn, but I could picture Ty in my mind, kicking off his shoes and putting his keys in the bowl with mine, taking off the blazer he’d put on that morning, and striding into the kitchen. His arms wrapped around me from behind, and I smiled as he nuzzled against the nape of my neck.
“God, it’s good to see you, Nicki-love,” he murmured. His chest rose and fell against my back as he sighed. “How was your first day?”
“Amazing,” I told him, turning around to face him. “It was exactly the way I’d hoped it would be.”
“So no second thoughts?” I shook my head. “That’s what I was hoping to hear.” Ty leaned in closer and kissed me on the lips, holding my body tightly against his.
After a long moment he broke away, his bright eyes warm as he looked down at me. “What are we having for dinner? It smells delicious.”
“Beef stroganoff, egg noodles, and peas and carrots,” I told him. “Also—your parents are coming over for dinner. Your mom called me this afternoon to ask if I would mind if she imposed on us. Apparently they’re renovating the kitchen and she’s getting tired of eating out all the time.”
“When are they supposed to be coming by?” Ty’s hands wandered over my body slowly, teasing me, trailing along my curves. I could see the glint in his eyes and feel the heat simmering in his skin.
“Seven o’clock,” I told him. Ty glanced at the clock on the stove.
“Then we have just enough time to have a little alone-time, and then clean up before they get here,” he said, smiling slowly. “That is, if you’re in the mood for that.”
I giggled. Ty and I had become excellent at quickies since we’d moved in together—he was absolutely insatiable and I found myself getting turned on more and more quickly, loving the sex more and more. Ty slipped his hands up underneath my t-shirt, skimming the sensitive skin just underneath where my bra ended, and he kissed me again hungrily, pulling me away from the stove.
I stopped him long enough to set the pot o
f sauce to simmer, and then we both hurried toward the bedroom together. Ty grabbed me by the waist and lifted me up, throwing me onto the bed and then covering my body with his own. I giggled, reaching out and fumbling with the buttons on his dress shirt, squirming as Ty tugged my t-shirt up to expose my belly and then my breasts.
One by one our clothes fell away, tossed across the room or fallen to the floor. I felt myself getting hotter and hotter, wetter and wetter by the moment, as Ty’s mouth trailed along the column of my throat and moved down to my breasts. His hand slipped up between my legs and I moaned out as he began to touch me, stroking and rubbing, finding my clit by feel.
I squirmed and writhed, kissing and nibbling along Ty’s throat, letting my hands wander all over his body as we both became more and more turned on by the moment. I found Ty’s cock, hard and hot, by touch, and began to stroke him in time with his touches, rubbing my thumb against the tip.
After a few moments that felt like an eternity, Ty shifted against my body, rocking his hips against mine. “Fifteen minutes—think we can do it?”
“Oh totally,” I said breathlessly. “Twice, at least.” Ty chuckled and thrust into me all at once, beginning to move inside of me right away, his hips pressed against mine, our bodies falling into a rhythm together that neither of us could resist.
I wrapped my legs around his waist and pushed my hips down to meet his thrusts, the tension and heat building up inside of my body in a matter of minutes. I kissed Ty everywhere my lips could reach, touched him everywhere my hands could find. It always felt so good, so right whenever we had sex—and this time was no different from any of the other times.
I felt the tension mounting like a knot somewhere deep down between my hips, and every thrust from Ty made it more intense, until I was moaning helplessly, grabbing at Ty’s head, at his shoulders, trembling with the need to finally get off.
All at once, the tension snapped, and wave after wave of pleasure washed through my body. Ty kept going, thrusting hard and fast, and as the last spasms jolted through me I realized he was taking my challenge—he was going to see if he could make me come twice in fifteen minutes.
He slowed for a few moments, and then we were at it again, touching each other everywhere, kissing and tasting and exploring each other’s bodies. I felt the tension mounting in my body once more, and I tried to hold back, tried to make Ty come—but before I knew it, I was moaning out once more, shivering and trembling as I hit my second climax in less than fifteen minutes.
I felt Ty’s body tense against mine, and then he was coming too, moaning against my neck and shoulder, shuddering against me. We fell together onto the bed, panting and gasping for breath, and I felt myself smiling in breathless pleasure.
“We have maybe ten minutes,” I said, as my breathing finally began to slow. “Five minutes to catch our breath, and then we clean up—and then I really do have to finish up dinner before your parents get here.” Ty chuckled.
“You can handle it,” he told me. He kissed me lazily on the lips. “I’ll help you.”
I nodded and told myself not to fall asleep as I recovered from the climaxes Ty had given me.
I didn’t know what the future would hold, but I knew that I was with the man I loved, and that everything would work out—one way or another. We were living the life we wanted, both of us, and I knew that while there was a big difference in our dreams, we could live our dreams together.
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Steamed
The Complete Series
By Nella Tyler
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2015 Nella Tyler
Steamed #1
Chapter One
I picked at my salad wishing that I had ordered more food, maybe not just more food but different food in general. If I was honest with myself I wasn't even sure if that would cut it. The destination had been a poor choice and I only had my friend Sarah to blame. I should have been the one to choose our restaurant destination, as I knew all the hot spots to find delicious food in town. But Sarah already knew how nuts I could be when it came to food so I tried to let her pick sometimes too. Though in this case, the food was a real head-shaker.
“Ugh! This is terrible. Why did you ever talk me into coming here?” I wanted to spit the salad out. How can you mess up a salad? In this case it just wasn't very inventive and by the looks of it, not very fresh either. The lettuce was limp and pathetic looking and the tomatoes were overripe. It really made me want to cry right there at the table. In case you haven't noticed I am very passionate about food.
Sarah snorted, “What's wrong? It's not that bad.” She looked into her bowl of soup as if she was checking to make sure her statement was correct. I loved Sarah, she was one of my best friends and she often made situations we were in that much more comical.
“It's terrible. My shitake tofu wontons almost made me gag. It's not that hard to make that appetizer. I could make it in my sleep.” Mushrooms happened to be one of my favorite foods and when someone messed it up it made me fiery.
“You're something else.” Sarah said shaking her head.
“I love food Sarah, good food. I'm willing to pay good money for it. But I don't think it's too much to ask to have a good meal. I'm scared to think what my turkey confit sandwich will be like. If it comes here soggy I just might die. Honestly, I’ll die right here at the table. Are you prepared for that? My body, although light, will not be easy to get rid of.”
Sarah laughed, “You are always like this Gemma; you're truly a food snob. It's embarrassing going out with you sometimes.” She said laughing. “You can be a real food-hater.”
“Oh come on, you're telling me that you just loved your meal, and that you would come back to this dump?”
“I'm not saying that…it did leave something to be desired. But not every restaurant has gourmet-quality food. Do you remember the stuff we used to eat in college? How did you end up being such a foodie?”
I did remember what we used to eat in college and it was sort of tragic. Ninety percent of the time it was macaroni and cheese - from a box no less! We’d gorge ourselves on greasy pizza and leftover French fries. It was surprising that I wasn't grossly overweight considering the garbage we used to put in our bodies, but that was a different time. We were poor college students working our way through an education. We had to eat that crap then, but now there was no excuse for it.
“The day that I realized that my hard-earned dollars should go towards quality, that's when. I'm not a snob; I just have high standards when it comes to food. How is that so wrong? How can you not have higher standards? This stuff is terrible.”
“It's not wrong Gemma. It's just funny to see you this way. You shouldn't worry about food so much. It's not the end of the world; we just won't come back here is all.”
The waiter brought our entrees and Sarah waited in anticipation to see what I was going to do. I knew deep down she often worried that I was going to lose my shit on a waiter for bringing me low quality food. Worse than that, she feared that I would ask to speak to the chef, because then things would really be on. She worried about these things because I have asked to speak to a chef more than once and it usually ended in tears-for the chef. A good shaming will make for a better chef in my opinion.
I looked down at my sandwich hoping for the best. “Okay, it doesn't look bad, I'm sure it's fine. Yours looks good too.”
“Don't start pretending now that you aren't fearful of your food. I will still go out with you for lunch.” She looked at me with narrowed eyes.
I grinned, “Okay great, because this looks awful.”
Sarah started laughing as my phone ding
ed with a message coming in. I looked down at my phone and noticed it was a message from my brother Jared. My brother and I were very close. He was genuinely a good guy, one of the best I knew actually.
“Geez, something is wrong with Jared.”
“What? What do you mean, what's going on?” Sarah asked.
“I have no idea but he seems distressed about something.”
I sent back a message to Jared before taking a bite of my sandwich. I hoped he would give me some more information.
I cringed. Chewing on the sandwich, I set the rest down and vowed not to finish it. The bottom bun was soggy. They had waited too long to bring the food in; they must not be able to handle a busy lunch crowd. Chic restaurant my ass, what was wrong with the chef? Someone should have a meeting with the guy.
Another message from Jared dinged in and I wiped my hands on the napkin in my lap before checking it out. My brother was not doing well and I wanted to see him to determine what was up with him, if anything. I couldn't imagine what could have him feeling so distressed but I had to find out. I set my napkin on the table and grabbed my purse.
“Sarah, I'm sorry. I have to go. I need to go see Jared; something’s wrong.”
She waved me off. “Sure. No problem. Keep me posted about what's going on.”
“Yep, will do. See you later.”
I smiled at her as I headed out of the restaurant.
Chapter Two
I drove a little too fast across town, but I was worried sick about my brother. I kept my eye peeled for cops however; I wasn't a fan of spending money on speeding tickets. Talk about throwing your money away.
I couldn't imagine what got Jared so upset and yet he was flustered about something. My brother wasn't the type of guy to get all heated over nothing. I had rarely seen him bent out of shape about anything. I needed to find out what was wrong with him. Aside from chatting with my friend, I wasn't too distressed that I missed out on lunch; the food at that place had been devastating. Jared’s messages were actually taking me to a great restaurant; I had eaten there many times and was never disappointed. The chefs that worked there were some of the best in the city; it was a privilege to eat their food. They knew exactly what they were doing and were right on point when it came to blending flavors and spices perfectly. That's what a real restaurant should offer you. The restaurant had a great atmosphere with food to die for and some great cocktails on the menu. I hated shelling out money for food that was sub-par; I didn't care how hilarious my friends thought I was. I would only eat the best.