Annette’s eyes light up. “I love that place! Look.” She pushes back her hair to show off golden heart earrings. “John got me these from there.”
“Oh, those are great!”
We start talking jewelry and it takes the guys all of ten seconds to zone out and start up their own conversation. Annette and I move on to clothes and the best places in town to go thrift shopping. She tells me about her job teaching elementary school and shares stories about the funniest things kids have done in her classes.
“They accidentally call me ‘Mom’ a lot.” She purses her lips in a smile.
“Oh my God, that’s adorable.”
“Third graders can be merciless, though. Any time a kid says, “Mommy, can I go to the bathroom?”, the other kids give it to him hard. I’m powerless to stop it.”
“I’m sure you do a great job,” I assure her. “You seem like an excellent teacher.”
With everyone finished with supper, I clear the table and set the dishes in the sink. Hunter gets everyone a second round of beers. Annette runs downstairs to loot the board game cabinet. She comes back with Cards Against Humanity. We open it up and play away.
Hours pass. I finish up the last of my beer and catch sight of the clock. “What? How is it eleven?”
John stretches his arms high above his head. “Time flies if you’re having fun. And if you’re eating well.” He grins appreciatively at me. “Thanks again, Katelynn.”
“It’s no problem,” I tell him with a shrug. “I wanted to do something nice for y’all. Hunter and Jake have been really helpful.”
Since I’m not sure how much they’ve told John about what’s been going on, I leave it at that.
Annette stands up. “I hate to leave, but it’s a weeknight and I’ve already stayed out long past my bedtime. John, babe, you ready?”
She rubs his shoulder while she passes by him. John covers up a yawn and follows her to the door. We all say goodnight and the two of them take the stairs down to the main house.
I go for the sink but Hunter cuts me off. “No, you don’t. You slaved away in the kitchen. You’re not doing the dishes too.”
“You’re not either,” I protest.
He picks up a dishtowel and flicks it at me. It hits the side of my hip with a snap.
“Hey!”
“Oops. Didn’t mean to do that.”
“Yeah, right.”
He winks. “It’s true. I was aiming for your ass. Now get it out of here or else I’ll spank it for real.”
I turn and give him the full view as I walk for the table. I can at least clear the place mats. Jake gets to me without me touching anything, though. He wraps his arms around me from behind and presses his face into my neck.
I close my eyes and relax against his firm chest. Muscles and hard planes push back against me. For the dozenth time since meeting Hunter and Jake, the world melts away.
It’s nothing but them and me.
25
Jake
I bury my nose in the loose waves of Katelynn’s hair. It smells like Vanilla from her body wash. Staying behind her, I pull her shirt from her pants and walk her forward to the couch. She rolls her head against my shoulder. Running water and the clinking of dishes fills the room. I can tell from the banging that Hunter’s hustling through the dishes as fast as he can.
“I should go home,” Katelynn murmurs.
“You’re staying here.”
I turn her around and give her a kiss. She breaks her lips from mine and tilts her face up to look in my eyes. “I guess there’s no point in arguing.”
“You got that right.”
I unbutton the shirt and push it over her shoulders. Her boobs wait for me, full and round under her bra. I cup the mounds and roll them up and around. Katelynn closes her eyes and bites her lip in pleasure. My dick surges with need and my chest swells. Every time Katelynn’s around breathing becomes harder. It’s like my lungs are already full of something else and don’t have any room left for air.
Kissing the top of her cleavage, I undo her pants and push them down. Katelynn steps out of them and kicks them away.
Taking her waist, I guide her around to the front of the couch and sit her down on the cushions. The running water dies and Hunter appears behind the couch. He wipes his hands on his pants and looks down at Katelynn. Resting his hands on her shoulders, he leans over to give her an upside-down kiss. She tilts her face to meet his and arches her back, languidly stretching out her gorgeous body. I take hold of her panties and pull them down her silky thighs. With her pussy free and bare, I shove my face between her legs. Her familiar musky scent meets me.
I flick my tongue out and taste her hot bead. She wiggles anxiously against me, but I take my time. Slowly, I lick and suck at her most tender spot. Katelynn runs her fingers through my hair and takes them down to my shoulders.
Her breathing intensifies, inhales and exhales coming out nearly on top of each other. I spread her pussy lips and dart my tongue into her opening. Pushing my hands underneath her thighs, I lift her butt against my mouth.
Katelynn’s fingernails pierce my scalp. Her legs shake and her heels dig into my back. I give her one more long lick and set her down on the cushion.
I lean back up and roll my neck to get out the kinks. Hunter has undone Katelynn’s bra. It lays next to her on the couch while he twists her breasts from behind her.
Katelynn stares at me with a look of longing.
“What?” I demand.
Her lower lip sticks out.
“You have to say it,” I tell her.
“Say what you want,” Hunter adds.
Katelynn’s cheeks color. “I want…”
Hunter grins. “Now’s not the time to be embarrassed.”
I look deep into Katelynn’s eyes and dare her to go for it.
“I want you to touch me,” she whispers.
Her words make me rock hard. My dick throbs painfully in my pants but I ignore it. It’ll get its chance soon.
“Be more specific. What do you want?” Hunter demands. He takes his hands off her tits and rests them on the back of the couch.
Her voice comes out louder. “I want Jake to touch my pussy.”
“Good girl,” Hunter murmurs.
“Real good,” I agree.
Hunter grasps her tits again. This time it’s with a rougher touch. He tugs at the base of them and works his way to the nipples.
Taking the perky, pink circles between his fingers, he twists and pulls. Katelynn’s face contorts. She looks like she’s in pain, but the frantic moaning coming from her mouth says another story.
I run the pad of my finger over her clit and down. Her opening pulses and sucks against my touch. I insert one finger inside and press it against her roof. Katelynn’s jaw drops and her hips thrust against me.
I slide in two more fingers. Her tightness stretches around them and sucks away. Taking my free hand, I rub her clit. Hunter takes one hand off her tits to unzip his pants. His dick hangs over the back of the couch and slides along Katelynn’s shoulder. She reaches up and wraps one hand around it.
Hunter guides her hand and shows her how to stroke him right. She gets the hang of it right away and he goes back to her tits.
I edge my fourth finger inside of Katelynn. She jerks and cries out in pain. I don’t back off, though. I massage her clit and fuck her with my hand.
“You like it,” I tell her.
Her pupils shrink and grow. Her face is flushed and her lips red. She nods.
Her words puncture the air in between her sharp breaths. “I… love… it.”
I’m going crazy, consumed by a kind of desire I’ve never had. It’s a second skin stretched tight across me. Each inch of my body is on fire for Katelynn. I want to meld myself against her, to seal our bodies together forever. I drive my fingers faster into her. Her butt lifts off the cushion and her hand flies along Hunter’s dick. Liquid spews from her center. Katelynn cries out as she shakes against my hands. Her
tremors travel down my arm, through my torso, and into my dick.
Pulling my hand out of her, I stand and shuck my clothes. Katelynn pants as she gathers her breath. Hunter turns her face and pushes his dick between her lips. Without skipping a beat, she takes him in and messily sucks away.
Fully naked, I press my knees against the cushion in between Katelynn’s legs. I steady myself with one hand on the back of the couch behind her shoulder and brace my other palm on the pillow next to us.
My dick slides right into Katelynn. Her tight muscles wrap around it and hold it secure. I grit my teeth and seal my eyes shut. Each time I touch Katelynn, it’s better. If I’m not careful, I’ll burst in two seconds. Taking a deep breath, I gather my self-control. I open my eyes and pump into her, using all my strength to pleasure her pussy until we wreck her.
Hunter holds Katelynn’s head still and thrusts into her mouth. She moans around his width. Her nails curl into the couch cushions at her side. The smack of skin on skin and the sucking of Katelynn’s lips grows. They’re music to my ears, the perfect soundtrack to taking Katelynn’s tight body.
Katelynn’s muffled cries get louder. I pummel into her, going as fast as I can. She screams and comes against me. Her muscles milk my dick and more liquid spews out of her.
Pleasure spirals inside of me, growing from my center and reaching into my head and toes. I let loose. My orgasm rips through me. I’m blown to pieces by an intensity that takes me apart and puts me back together like a new person.
And it’s all because of this one girl.
Pulling out of Katelynn, I burst onto her stomach.
Katelynn reaches up and strokes Hunter’s dick while she deep throats it. He plants both hands on the back of her head and drives her mouth further onto his length. With a deep yell, he releases his cum into her throat.
Katelynn pulls her lips from his dick with a smack. I roll and hit the cushion next to her. Her legs drop and her head falls against the back of the couch.
“Christ,” Hunter says. “Hot damn.”
Katelynn and I can’t answer. We’re too busy gathering our breaths. I get onto shaking legs and retrieve a towel from the bathroom. Getting back to Katelynn, I take my time cleaning all the wet spots off of her.
She smiles up at me. “Thanks.”
“What kind of gentleman would I be if I didn’t at least get you a towel?”
From the armchair, Hunter shakes his head and grins in amusement.
I toss the towel on the floor and pull Katelynn to my chest. My back hits the couch with a soft thud. I stretch my legs out and lock Katelynn in the crook of my arm. Her breaths wash across my chest and her heart pounds against my side. A deep peace floats over me.
“I should still go home,” she sleepily murmurs.
My heart tightens. Katelynn can’t leave. She’s already where she belongs, right here with Hunter and me.
“How are we going to have our way with you if you’re all the way over there?” I ask.
“Good point,” she giggles.
I stroke her hair and close my eyes. With her pressed against my side, warm and soft, everything is right.
26
Katelynn
I’m on pins and needles all day at work. Will comes in and gives me a wave, but then avoids me the rest of the day. It’s easy, since he’s employed in the factory and I’m in the offices.
Brad comes in late again. His eye is swelling and he still has a limp, but it’s less than it was yesterday. He, too, keeps to himself. He closes the door to his office and basically stays there all day.
Their behaviors seem to suggest neither one of them has gotten very far in solving this whole bookie issue.
I don’t know if the two of them have even talked to each other.
At five o’clock my mom comes and picks me up. The only thing I told her in my text was that my car was in the shop ‘getting something done’. Hunter and Jake offered to give me a ride, but I knew my family would be home tonight. With everything happening, it feels like weeks since I’ve seen them all.
Mom chatters all the way home. She tells me about how she ran into her old friend Karen at the pool today, how she picked up sweet potatoes because she knows I like them better than regular potatoes, and how Noreen is all riled up because she ‘just has’ to go to that particular camp.
“It’s because that boy she likes is going,” Mom says. “By the time next summer comes around she won’t even like him anymore.”
I shrug. “She’s fifteen, Mom.”
My mother purses her lips. “Oh, I know. I remember being fifteen. I remember being twenty-one too.” She gives me a purposeful look.
I turn my face away. I highly doubt my straight-laced mother spent her early twenties evading kidnappers and getting sandwiched between two hot auto mechanics.
And that’s just been my last week of life.
At least my mom’s casual talk calms me down. She doesn’t mention anything about the men who came to our front door. Riding home with her makes everything feel normal again.
Until we actually get home.
“You have some explaining to do,” my dad says the second he sets eyes on me.
Noreen and Sam look up from the dining room table, where my sister is doing her homework and my brother is reading a book. Mom stops next to me. I feel her gaze searing a hole in the side of my head.
“What’s going on?” I casually ask.
Dad folds his arms. “Who were those men who came to the house the other night? Don’t feed me any bullshit, Katelynn.”
I drop my purse on a chair and slump down in the seat next to it. I could lie, but what’s the use? My family is involved now—maybe just as much as I am.
“I only saw them once,” I tell my father. “Two days ago. I went to pick up Brad’s car from an auto shop and these two men pulled up...”
My dad cuts through my sentence. “In what kind of car?”
“A black SUV.”
“That’s the car they had!” Sam says. “The men who came here had a black SUV.”
Dad’s jaw ticks. “Go on.”
“Will took me to the auto shop from work. On the way there, he said he thought someone was following us, but I looked back and no one was there. I figured he imagined it.”
“It was the men in the SUV?”
“It must have been.”
“And what happened at the auto shop? With these men?”
“They told me that Will and Brad have been avoiding them, and...” I look over at my siblings. Their eyes are glued to my face and they seem to be holding their breaths. “They were going to have to take me for a ride. Then the guys who work at the auto shop came out and scared them away.”
Dad’s eyes are steely. “Did you get the license plate?”
“Jared—he’s one of the auto guys, did. But the guys at the shop said it was probably a fake plate.”
“Is that all? Anything else?”
I suck on the inside of my cheek. There’s a lot more I could tell my family, but I’m not sure revealing everything is the best move.
“Katelynn,” Mom gently says. She moves my purse and sits next to me. Her eyes are big and afraid. I look past her and find my sister wearing the same expression. Seeing them this way makes me feel like I’m going to throw up.
“Brad and I switched cars that day because he had to go to a meeting. He brought mine back the next morning and its windshield had been broken in.”
“Shit,” Sam says under his breath.
“Sam,” my mother uncharacteristically snaps. She turns to him. “You and Noreen go upstairs. Now.”
My siblings follow her order, though they drag their feet out of the dining room.
They probably don’t go all way upstairs. Likely they’re hanging around by the landing, hoping to eavesdrop.
“What did your boss tell you about the windshield?” Dad asks.
“Just that some guys broke it. They also beat him up a bit.”
I inwardly c
ringe over my lie. I wish I could tell my parents everything, but I can’t let them know about Bennie Whispers. Talking about him means revealing Will and Brad’s illegal gambling.
And I can’t do that. No matter that their actions have gotten me to where I am now. They’re still good men deep down. I won’t betray them. They might be digging their own graves, but that doesn’t mean I need to grab a shovel and help.
“We’re going to the police,” Dad says. “And you’re filing a report.”
I nod. Because I revealed the part about the attempted kidnapping, I expected as much.
“Now,” Dad says.
“Dinner can wait,” Mom agrees. “You two go. I’ll keep the meatloaf warm.”
I pick my purse back up and head for my dad’s truck. He’s quiet the walk across the front yard.
“You could have told us,” he says once we’re in the truck.
“I didn’t want to bother you. I figured it would all be over soon.”
“Katelynn, this is something we need to be worrying about. From now on, you need to tell us about what’s going on in your life. Especially if it concerns everyone in the family, which in this case it does.”
“All right,” I whisper.
I wish I knew for sure that I could keep such a promise.
At the police station, we have to sit in hard, plastic chairs and wait to file a report. I stare at my shoes and check my phone every two minutes. Hunter and Jake haven’t gotten in touch since a text at lunch asking if everything was normal at work. Because of everything that’s happened, being apart from them makes me feel off-balance.
I’m empty.
Which is extra strange, because I thought I was whole without them. I think. It’s hard to know for sure. I can’t imagine going through life again without their touch.
I tell the police everything I told my parents, nothing more and nothing less. My palms sweat while I sit in the chair and shoot out my story for an officer to write down. Keeping information from my parents is one thing. Keeping information from the police is a different game entirely.
“What shop is your car at?” the officer asks me.
Ex-Con Times Two Page 11