Repair Me

by Jennifer Foor

  “What’s the matter, darlin’? Doesn’t it feel good to you?”

  Tears started to fall down her pretty cheeks. “I’m sorry. I just thought I was never going to see you again.”

  I stopped messing around with her tender parts and wrapped my arms around her back, kissing away the tears on each side of her face. “That ain’t a reason to cry. You should be happy. I know I am.”

  She smiled. “I am happy. When we met I was running from the pain of what Mack did to me. When you left me at the motel, I felt more alone than I ever had before. It was like Mack didn’t even matter anymore. All I wanted to do was find you.”

  I felt terrible for leaving her there, but worse because I’d slept with Ash. “I didn’t know how much I wanted you until you weren’t there anymore. I know we were just strangers, but I shouldn’t have done you like that. I should have been able to say goodbye to you, or admit that I wanted to see you again. Instead, I fucked this up and made you hate me.”

  We had stopped moving and were sitting there, with me still inside of her. The mood had changed in a matter of seconds and the topic needed to be worked out before we could go forward.

  She placed her hand on my cheek and I leaned over to kiss it. “I didn’t hate you, Ford. Don’t you get it? I wanted you for myself. I felt like I wasn’t good enough.”

  That made me laugh. “Darlin’, you’re the best I’ve ever had.”

  She smiled and blushed at my compliment, then leaned in and kissed me slowly. It was packed full of emotion and I was done trying to pretend that having feelings for her was a bad thing. I wanted to care about this girl and call her mine.

  We kissed, our bodies coming to a laying position. Sky still straddled my body, but our chests were pressed together. When she started moving again, it was slow and more intense. Our hands were entwined together and our eyes fixed on one another. Our powerful connection was giving us new highs that neither of us wanted to come down from. We didn’t hold back and when we climaxed, we did it together, while our lips and tongues connected as well.

  I’d promised her that we’d stay up all night talking, but we ended up falling asleep right after we finished. We’d drained all of our energy and neither of us wanted to admit what was really happening between us, yet I think we both knew the truth. I could see myself falling hard for Sky and I could only hope that she was going to do the same with me. God knows I didn’t deserve her, but while I had her, I wasn’t going to let anything come in between us again.

  Chapter 17

  Skylar

  Waking up in Ford’s arms was like being in Heaven. The smell of him reminded me that it hadn’t been a dream. We lay in bed the whole morning talking and learning about each other. When our stomachs started growling, we got up and dressed so that both of us could go out to get something to eat. He said his aunt owned the diner and that she made the best pancakes that I would ever have in my life. Since we’d skipped dinner, I didn’t care what I was eating as long as it took the pain in my stomach away.

  While driving, he pulled me over to sit next to him, holding my hand the whole way. I leaned my head on him and appreciated how close he wanted me to be. When we got inside, Ford walked around the counter and kissed the familiar older woman. He smiled and led her over to where I stood. “Sky, this is my aunt. Everyone calls her Viv.”

  I smiled and looked at the lady, who was eyeing me up and down. She pointed at me. “I remember you. My nephew brought you here a while back and paid for your meal. Then he left that night without sayin’ goodbye.”

  I felt so uncomfortable.

  He grabbed her shoulders. “Stop teasin’ her. She thinks you’re serious.”

  The lady finally smiled and winked at me. “I’m just kiddin’ with ya sugar. Any friend of Ford’s is a friend of mine. Are you two here for breakfast? Joe made the bacon crispy, just how you like it.”

  Ford turned and waved to the guy that was cooking. “What’s up?”

  “What’s up, cuz? Who’s that pretty piece of honey?”

  “Someone you can’t have!” Ford said sarcastically.

  I waved to the guy, before being carted to a table. “I take it that’s another cousin of yours? How many do you have?”

  “A few.” He handed me a menu and looked around, before his aunt brought us two coffees and a cup of milk.

  “Would you like anything else to drink, hun?”

  I shook my head. “No thank you.”

  Ford poured half the milk into his coffee and added some sugar. He took a sip and then sat his cup down. “You met Shayne already. He has a sister, named Peyton and a brother Parker. They’re twins and they’re eighteen. My aunt and uncle have their hands full when it comes to them. Shayne was eight or nine when they were born, so he really isn’t that close to either of them. That’s all the cousins that I have on my mom’s side of the family.” He motioned his head toward the kitchen. “Joey is my aunt’s son. He’s the same age as me and we went to school together since kindergarten. I played football and he played soccer. I played baseball and he played lacrosse. My first car was a Ford, his was a Chevy.”

  I put my hands up for him to stop. “Okay, I think I get what you’re saying. Obviously, you are pretty opposite.”

  “I keep to myself, when it comes to my family.”

  I stirred the cream and sugar up in my coffee and took a sip. “Has it always been like that?”

  “No.” He played with the rim of his cup. “After Harley passed away.”

  I felt stupid for asking, but Ford reached across the table and smiled. “I’m sorry.” I said quietly.

  “It’s not your fault. Besides, I want you to know.”

  We were caught off guard when two plates stacked high with pancakes and bacon were put on the table. His aunt walked over to the counter and grabbed the bottle of syrup, then brought it back to our table. “Enjoy.”

  I look at the gargantuan pile of hot cakes and didn’t know where to start. “Ford, I can’t eat all these.”

  He’d already started shoving some in his mouth. “Just taste them before you make any quick decisions.”

  I grabbed a knife and started buttering each of the pancakes, then , one at a time, I put syrup on each one. Ford was shoving bite after bite into his mouth. When I still hadn’t taken a bite, he put down his fork and grabbed mine. He loaded a giant bite on it before shoving it towards my mouth. I opened it, feeling like he was going to force-feed me if I didn’t.

  He was right. They tasted fantastic. I savored the taste with every single chew. “They’re delicious.”

  He smiled and grabbed his fork again. “There’s only one thing that tastes better.”

  “What’s that?” I took a sip of my coffee.

  “You!”

  Coffee went flying out of my nose and I began to choke. I couldn’t believe he’d just said that. Ford was laughing so hard, I thought we were both going to be choking. “Don’t say that where other people can hear.”

  He kept laughing. “I can’t believe you’re actin’ all shy. It ain’t like there’s a lot of people in here.”

  “I don’t want your aunt hearing. She’ll think I’m a slut.”

  He laughed again. “She ain’t goin’ to think that. There’s a lot of slutty girls in this town, and my aunt knows every one of them.”

  “From working here?” I wondered if everyone hung out at this place.

  “From one of her sons bringin’ a different one of them home every night. Jamey is a male whore.”

  “I thought you said her son is Joey?” I was confused.

  “They’re brothers. Jamey just turned twenty-one. He thinks the world revolves around him.” He shook his head. “Wouldn’t you rather hear about my first kiss and whether I prefer ranch or blue cheese?”

  I sat my fork down and looked right at Ford. “I want to know everything.”

  He raised his eyebrow. “That’s goin’ to take some time.” He turned when the door opened and watched whoever walked in. Since
I didn’t know anyone in town, I didn’t bother looking.

  I folded my hands on the table. “It sounds like a lot of dates.”

  Before Ford could reply, someone was standing over our table.

  Ashley stood there, leaning on the edge. “Seriously?”

  Ford looked from me to his ex. “Not the time, Ash.”

  I thought back to the day where she’d chased me away and made me feel like Ford had been using me. “No, it’s fine. You should join us. Ford was just telling me all about his family. We came here so I could taste his aunt’s pancakes. I realize that it’s almost noon, but we didn’t get much sleep last night, right babe?” Ford was in shock and, to be honest, I couldn’t believe that I’d just done something so vicious. I’d never fought with a girl, or even defended myself to this sort of extent.

  Ashley looked devastated. She made some sound and walked away from the table, without speaking.

  Ford wiped his mouth on a napkin and finished off his coffee. “You probably shouldn’t have done that, darlin’.”

  “She deserved it.”

  He shook his head. “Ash is someone you don’t want to piss off. You may have just started a war.”

  I didn’t care. She wasn’t going to scare me away from Ford.

  Not again!

  Ford

  It was just my luck to run into Ashley my first morning that I had Sky back. Of course she would still come into the diner for breakfast. I knew what her motives were. She thought she was going to run into me, since I ate there almost every Saturday. Unfortunately for her, I wasn’t dining alone.

  What started as a great morning, turned into something that worried me. When Ashley wasn’t the center of attention, she could be vicious.

  “I’ll be right back.” Sky stood up from the table, so I stood up, too.

  “Where are you goin’?” I was in a panic, feeling like she was going to dive right into another altercation with the ex.

  She reached over the table and touched my arm. “Chill, Ford. I have to use the bathroom.”

  I sat back down and looked around the diner, not able to spot Ash standing up anywhere. Figuring that everything would be all right, I finished up my breakfast and stole a piece of Sky’s untouched bacon. My aunt saw me and shook her head.

  When I heard loud yelling coming from the direction of the ladies room, I knew what was happening. My aunt went running at the same time as I did.

  Two grown women were down on the floor. Each had a hand full of hair and were swinging at one another. Sky’s skirt was jacked up higher than it should have been while Ash’s shirt was ripped at the neck. Knowing that my aunt wouldn’t be able to handle Ash, I went over and grabbed her, pulling her off of Sky. My aunt crouched down and offered a hand to her, while I held a very angry Ash against the wall.

  “I’m not havin’ this shit in my establishment, you got it?” Aunt Viv was pointing at Ash and she wasn’t happy about it.

  “She started it!” Ash pointed at Sky.

  “She wouldn’t shut her mouth!” I couldn’t believe that Sky was still defending herself.

  My aunt looked right at me. “Ford, go on and get your girlfriend home.”

  Aside from a couple dirty looks the confrontation was over, courtesy of my aunt. She’d probably say I owed her some kind of project at her house, but I didn’t care. The fight could have gotten uglier than it already was.

  Shortly after that, we left the diner and headed back to my place. We were both tired and I wanted to get a shower.

  I didn’t want to argue with Sky, especially about Ash, but she needed to know what she was capable of. It wasn’t fair that Sky had to deal with her. We weren’t together when I met Sky. I owed her no explanation.

  I pulled over a little ways down the road and leaned over, grabbing Sky’s hand. “I guess you hate the diner?”

  “I thought breakfast was perfect. Sure, I had a little set back, but I’m not going to let it ruin our time together. This is too important to me, Ford.”

  I kissed her hand. “I know what you mean. For what it’s worth, though, I’m sorry.”

  She squeezed my hand. “Obviously, Ashley thinks you’re amazing, otherwise she wouldn’t be fighting to keep us apart. She told me that you told her you loved her a couple days ago.”

  “I never said that! I swear!”

  She smiled. “If you loved her then you wouldn’t be with me. I knew she was lying. That’s why I went after her. I’ve sat back and watched other girls fawning over my boyfriend. After a while, I guess he decided that he wanted to see what they had to offer. It changed me. I feel like if I want something then I have to be willing to fight for it.”

  I let go of her hand and tucked her hair behind her ear. “You don’t have to fight for me, darlin’, because I don’t plan on goin’ anywhere. You’re too great to let go of again.”

  “Good answer.”

  Leave it to my dad to get up in my business. He saw us pull up and must have wondered who the girl in the fancy car was. When he realized who it was, I think he was at a loss for words. “I didn’t think I’d see you here again.”

  Sky walked toward my dad and looked back at me. “I guess I had a good reason to come back.”

  He looked her up and down and I immediately felt protective of her, thinking back to him eyeing her up on the side of the road. “Sky’s spendin’ the weekend with me, so I won’t be able to go fishin’ like you wanted.”

  She turned around and looked at me wide-eyed. “I love fishing! Can we all go?”

  My dad chuckled. “If you’d rather go fishin’ than be alone with my son, I wonder if I didn’t teach him enough of my moves.” He started swaying his body around.

  I cringed. “You’re goin’ to make her lose her breakfast. Quit that shit!” I put my arm around Sky. “You ain’t got nothin’ on me, old man. Besides, I’m pretty sure she’s happy, aren’t you?”

  She leaned her head into my chest. “Of course.”

  He looked from me to Sky. “So are we goin’ or not?”

  Sky answered for us. “Yes. We’d love to go.”

  “Don’t forget your mother comes home next weekend. Do you plan on bringin’ this pretty lady to the party?”

  Sky looked up at me. I’d tried to avoid the subject, since I wasn’t planning on going. “Is it really necessary that I welcome her back?”

  “You’re damn right it is. She needs us.”

  “I don’t trust her and I think it’s stupid to assume she’s changed. In my opinion, the woman should be locked up for at least five years, before any of us should trust her again. She left us!”

  “She made mistakes!”

  “She abandoned her family. God knows what she’s done for all these years. “ I was irate thinking about it. How could he be so stupid when it came to her?

  “She will always be my wife and your mother. Time isn’t going to change that.”

  I pointed my finger in his face. “Mark my word. When she rips out your heart again, I don’t want to hear your shit, old man.”

  I grabbed Sky and we walked back to my place before he could say anything else about it. I didn’t just want to avoid talking about my mom, I wanted to avoid seeing her and talking to her. Nothing she could say would make things okay between us. She’d destroyed me and now I had more reason than ever to hate her.

  Sky waited to speak until we were back inside. “Ford, I think it’s sweet that your dad still cares for her.”

  “Please don’t do that!”

  She sat down on the bed. “Do what? If you want to know me, you’re going to have to know that I’m going to give you my opinion.”

  I leaned into her, kissing the top of her head. “I appreciate your opinion, but you don’t know what it was like. She left us. She just walked out. We needed her.”

  We were so close and I could tell she was searching for what to say next. I kissed her on the top of the head again and stood back up straight. I’d made it to the bathroom and started taking off my
clothes before she followed me inside. “I don’t have anything to wear.” She looked down at her little skirt and tight shirt she was wearing. “I can’t fish in this.”

  I leaned against the wall and turned off the water. After putting a pair of shorts back on, I grabbed her hand. “Come with me.”

  As I pulled her out of the apartment, she kept asking where we were going, but I refused to answer her. Walking in bare feet across the gravel and hard grass was pretty painful. It helped me focus with what I was about to do. When we got into my dad’s place, I led her upstairs, still saying nothing. At the back of the hallway, we stopped at the door. I put my hand on the doorknob and closed my eyes as I opened it.

  Sky let go of my hand when she realized where I had taken her. She backed up and wouldn’t enter the room. “Ford.”

  “We don’t come in here much. I reckon my dad does when nobody’s around. When she first passed away, my aunt came in and cleaned everything, since neither of us could do it.”

  I sat down on Harley’s bed and looked around. There were still pictures of us everywhere. I could feel the lump forming in my throat as I watched Sky taking in the room. She walked over to her vanity table and looked at some of the pictures.

  Of course, Ash was also in most of them. “They were really close, huh?”

  “Yeah.”

  She walked over to the bed and crouched down in front of me. “I can’t wear your sister’s clothes.”

  I brushed my hand over her cheek. “They’re just sitting in here collectin’ dust. A couple outfits won’t hurt. She was close to your size, so I’m sure you can find plenty. Help yourself.”

  She looked into my eyes that were burning. “Are you sure?”

  I nodded. “Yes. I can’t have my girl smellin’ like shit.”

  She smacked my leg. “I can’t believe you said that!”

  I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her down on the bed with me. My fingers maneuvered over her sides, tickling her. She began screaming and trying to wiggle herself away.

  Then the door to my sister’s room busted open. I saw my father standing there wide eyed. “What do you think you’re doin’?”

  Sky sat up and then I followed. “Calm down, Dad. We were just gettin’ Sky somethin’ to fish in. It ain’t no big deal.”