Seven

by Susan Renee

  “Yeah Seven. I’m great.” I smile warmly at her as I basically lift her up the steps. I can still smell her perfume as she leans into me. It’s intoxicating. When we reach the top of the steps Savannah pulls her keys out of her purse. I watch as she tries to put the key in the door to her apartment and can’t. It’s humorous and endearing all at the same time. She’s a cute drunk.

  “Son of a bitch, it won’t go in,” she says loudly before giggling and exclaiming, “That’s what he said.” I shake my head laughing at her as I gently take her key chain out of her hand.

  “That was your car key Seven. Here, let me help you.” I find the correct key on the ring and quickly unlock the door, but not before the door next to her apartment opens. A petite woman who looks to be in her late sixties, dressed in a zipped up bathrobe and fluffy pink slippers stands in the door. She doesn’t look at all pleased with what she sees in the hallway.

  “What’s going on out here?” she asks.

  “Oh, hi Patty,” Savannah leans back and waves to her like the two of them are across the room from each other. “Sorry. I was just having trouble with my door. It’s okay now. Bryant got it for me. You can go back to your Golden Girls. Sorry to bother you.”

  Patty sneers at the both of us before running her eyes up and down my entire body.

  Is this old lady checking me out?

  Eat your heart out lady.

  I nod politely to her before wrapping a hand back around Savannah and lead her inside. “Good night ma’am.”

  Once we’re finally behind closed doors Savannah announces, “I gotta pee. Make yourself at home, Bryant.”

  While she’s in the bathroom I take a minute to get us each a glass of water. The bottle of Advil is still on her kitchen counter where I had left it the last time I was here, so I shake a few out for Savannah. Hopefully I can help her morning be a little more bearable. At least her head won’t be in a toilet.

  Savannah comes back down the hallway carrying her denim jacket and the boots she had on tonight. She throws her boots on the floor in the hall closet and hangs up her jacket. She’s now dressed only in her strapless purple dress, walking quietly to where I am in the kitchen in her bare feet.

  Even tired and drunk she looks amazing.

  I hand her the glass of water I poured for her along with the Advil which she takes immediately. “Thank you,” she says.

  “You’re welcome; that should help come morning,” I wink at her.

  I watch her drink her water as she watches me. She blinks her eyes and all I see are the longest, softest eyelashes I’ve ever seen. I can feel the knot in my throat as I try to swallow. I don’t know what she’s thinking about but she’s studying me silently.

  “Will you dance with me?” she asks softly.

  Her question almost catches me by surprise. “Dance with you? You mean now?”

  “Yeah. Right here. Right now.” Her eyes are seductive yet…pleading.

  I look around the room for a radio or CD player but don’t see one.

  I shrug my shoulders slightly and nod. “Of course I’ll dance with you. Do you…want some music?” I ask.

  Who needs music?

  Savannah pulls her phone out of the pocket of her dress and slowly slides her thumb up the screen a few times. When she stops, she lays her phone down on the counter. Music starts to play as she steps closer to me. I don’t know the song and I don’t care. I’ll take any excuse I can to hold her in my arms.

  I take her hands in mine, holding them both near my shoulder so I can wrap my arm around her waist and pull her close to me. She looks up at me and smiles contently. We sway back and forth to the rhythm of the music before I slowly lead her in small circles around her kitchen floor. I don’t usually pay attention to sappy music but with this girl in my arms and my heart starting to attach itself to her I can’t help but hear the words of Lady Antebellum and wonder if this is what she’s really feeling or if it’s just the first slow song she came to. Maybe it’s her favorite song. I have a lot to learn.

  Seems like I was walking in the wrong direction…

  Not scared of love but scared of life alone…

  It must be time to move on now…

  Without the fear of how it might end...

  There’s no way she randomly chose this song.

  I slowly slide my hand up her back until my hand is touching the skin of her upper back and shoulder. I glide my fingers across her back, lightly causing goosebumps to rise up on her soft skin. She sinks into me, leaning her head on my chest right at the crook of my shoulder; she fits there perfectly. I could hold her like this all night, but as the song ends Savannah looks up at me again, her eyes searching mine. For what, I don’t know. Permission maybe? Perhaps she’s trying to decide if she’s brave enough to do what her body says she wants to do. Before I can even consider that thought, her hand is on the back of my neck and her lips are on mine.

  Like long-distance lovers finally reunited, I feel the adrenaline of arousal shoot through me to my core when she kisses me. It’s anything but delicate. Her lips are strong against mine as she takes what she’s hungry for, taking over all of my senses. Her tongue, swirling with mine, tastes of bourbon and cranberries. Her body leaning against mine…shit, I haven’t felt something this good against my body in a long time. Her skin is silky smooth, but the tension in her body as she presses herself into me gives her desire away. She works her lips against mine, and I feel the warmth of her palm when she places her hand on my cheek. My stubble is not a deterrent for her. I wrap my arms around her thin frame, squeezing her tighter against me. The give and the take of her kiss has my mind running wild.

  I want this girl.

  And I’m pretty sure she wants me.

  When I hear the gentle moan of desire escape from the back of her throat I can’t stop myself. My hands make their way to her waist, enjoying the feel of her curves along the way. Fervently, I lift her body and turn us both around until she’s seated on the kitchen counter. Immediately she wraps her legs around me as I stand in between her thighs.

  Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I’m standing in between her thighs.

  How does a guy get this lucky?

  Music is still coming from her phone on the counter but I’ll be damned if I’m even listening to it. Whatever it is, it’s slower in tempo which only fuels the flames between us.

  My lips leave hers as she slowly rolls her head to the side, granting me access to her neck. Like an animal pouncing on his prey my lips are on her without a moment’s hesitation. I carefully brush her neck with my tongue before sampling the same spot lightly with my teeth. Savannah gasps before releasing a satisfied moan, making my dick scream for attention.

  And it’s right there…

  Between her thighs…

  Blocked by my damn jeans…

  Her hands hastily make their way to the hemline of my t-shirt. She tugs at it fiercely until I help her pull it up and over my head.

  Dear God, this is happening.

  “Bryant...” I hear her whisper as I continue my trail of kisses across her neckline. She folds into me, hugging my head and holding me against her chest. I take that as my cue that it’s time to move her. I kiss her chest lightly right at the top of her dress while moving my hands slowly up her legs. I’m about to go where I’ve never gone before with her and fuck if I’m not enjoying every minute of it. My hands glide underneath her dress as they slide eagerly up her thighs. I’m trying so hard to slow down and take it all in but this girl is hungry and I want to be the one she feeds on.

  “Hold on to me, Baby, I’ve got you,” I tell her. She wraps her arms around my neck as I lift her and turn to walk down the hallway toward her bedroom. She continues to rake her fingers through my hair as I carry her, causing a desire-filled moan to escape me. She gives me her best cat-ate-the-canary grin before tugging my hair slightly.

  Fuck me…she just pulled my hair.

  I stumble back a step when her lips smack into mine. My breath hitches
but I meet her challenge head-on, pushing my tongue into her mouth, pulling it back and grazing her bottom lip with my teeth. When we enter her bedroom, I sit on the edge of her bed, her body now straddling my own. Time slows down. We slow down. Our kiss slows until it ends. When I finally open my eyes she’s watching me, gazing at my chest as it rises up and down with each breath. Her hands glide up and down my upper body and all I can do is close my eyes and take in the heady feeling. I realize I’m panting but, it’s the best feeling in the world to have her hands touching me like this, like she’s memorizing the feel of me. It’s like she can fucking see me…see all the way into my soul and for a minute, that scares the shit out of me.

  What am I doing?

  My eyes move with hers as they roam up and down my body with her hands. When her gaze finally reaches mine she takes my hands in hers and moves them up her body until she’s holding my hands on her chest. I’ve wanted to go there since this all started but I’m trying as hard as I can to be a gentleman with Savannah. I need her to know that I’m not the guy she thought I was.

  “Touch me, Bryant,” she says.

  Immediately my dick stirs underneath her. I feel like a damn virgin, like this is the first time I’ve ever touched a pair of tits. Maybe if I just keep telling myself they’re just tits, I’ll be okay.

  But they’re Savannah’s tits.

  Fuck.

  I squeeze her breasts lightly as they rest in my hands. I can feel her hardened peaks underneath the material of her dress. Damn if I don’t want to explore this part of her body a little further.

  I can still be a gentleman.

  Slowly I pull the elastic top of her dress down over her chest and come face to face with an exquisite black lace strapless bra.

  Oh fuck.

  Black lace is my kryptonite.

  “On a scale of one to four, you’re Goddamn beautiful, Seven,” I tell her. She smiles in response as she pushes her chest forward slightly. I reach in front of me to touch them again and as I do, I lightly run my thumbs over her most sensitive peaks.

  “Oh my God, Bryant!” she cries out. Her breathing is hard and fast. Sitting astride me she grinds herself into me. Her body is speaking to me. I know what she wants. I can feel her warmth even through what I know are soft silk panties. It would take nothing to make this happen. A snap of a button, a tug of a zipper and a ripping of a small piece of material and I could be inside her, feeling the heaven I know she has underneath this purple dress.

  But this isn’t right.

  I can’t do this.

  Not to her.

  Not yet.

  “Savannah…” I whisper.

  “Yes, Bryant. Please.” She’s kissing me, my lips, my neck, my cheek, my forehead. Her hands are gliding smoothly through my hair and it feels so damn good.

  “Savannah…”

  “Touch me again, Bryant.”

  “No, Savannah, stop. We have to stop.”

  Enter sounds of screeching record here.

  I feel her body stop as she sits back and looks at me. “Are you okay? What’s wrong? Do you want to be on top?”

  I chuckle lightly only because there’s nothing I want more than to be on top…entering her…pushing myself into her again and again. I can feel the pulse just thinking about it. “Savannah, there’s nowhere I would rather be, believe me, but this isn’t right. We shouldn’t do this.” I shake my head slowly as I watch her face. I don’t want to let her down, disappoint her, but I don’t want to take advantage of her either. Especially if she’s still a bit inebriated.

  I can’t believe I’m cock-blocking my damn self.

  When did Bryant “the Giant” Wood become such a pussy?

  “What do you mean we shouldn’t do this? Did I do something wrong?”

  “NO! God…NO!” I say shaking my head faster now so that she understands this is in no way about her. I take her face in my hands and explain, “Baby, you did nothing wrong. In fact, you almost made me lose control way sooner than I want to, and believe me when I tell you, I want to, but…”

  “But…what?” She looks sad. Suddenly I’m praying that I’m doing the right thing here. Making the right call. I’m doing it for her. She has to realize that.

  “Savannah, we just spent our first full day together, and I had…the most…absofuckin’lutely fantastic day with you. I just don’t want you to feel rushed into anything. I don’t want to be that guy for you.”

  “What guy?” She shakes her head confused at what I’m trying to tell her.

  “The one-night-stand type of guy. That’s not me, or, it’s not who I want to be with you. I want to have two nights, and then ten nights, and then a hundred nights with you, Seven. When we’re ready I want to take my time with you. I want to give you everything you need and everything you deserve, but it doesn’t have to be tonight. I can wait.”

  “But it’s been so long…for both of us,” she says. “Isn’t this what you want?”

  I nod my head, my eyes hungry with desire. “Oh Savannah. Yes. I want you. I’ve wanted you for so long and believe me, it’s giving me the biggest case of blue balls a guy’s ever seen to stop what we’re doing right now…” She smiles sympathetically. “But if I laid you down and took what I wanted from you now I would be just like the douchebag you always thought I was and I’m not that guy. We’ll get there, I have no doubt about that, but it doesn’t have to be on our first official date.”

  Self-consciousness setting in, Savannah starts to pull up the top of her dress, but I immediately grab her wrists. “No, Seven. Please don’t feel like you have to cover yourself. You’re…” I shake my head, studying every detail of her black lace bra. “You’re stunning, and I enjoy looking at you, and I enjoy touching you. Don’t feel like you ever have to cover up with me. I’ll never hurt you. I promise you that.”

  She looks at me silently for what feels like minutes. Quietly she slides backwards off of my lap. “I’ll be right back,” she says.

  “Okay.” I’m not sure what’s happening now but I watch as she walks back down the hallway toward the kitchen. I hear movement but can’t see what’s happening. When she walks back into the room, she’s wearing nothing but my black t-shirt.

  Have mercy.

  She walks over to me and grabs my hand. “Do you have to go home tonight, Bryant? Is someone at home with Ivy?”

  “No. She’s with Samantha’s parents this weekend. It’s my weekend off,” I tell her.

  “Good.”

  She walks to the side of her bed and pulls down the covers. “Will you hold me?”

  Is she serious?

  She’s asking me to spend the night?

  Is this a trick?

  “There’s nothing I would rather do, Savannah. Are you really okay with that?”

  “Please Bryant. Please don’t make me beg. I don’t want to be lonely anymore.” Her expression is filled with something I can’t quite read but nevertheless I understand; sadness mixed with need. We’re both adults. We’ve both experienced a loss that has changed our lives and finally, after all this time, she’s back in my life. I’m here with her and she’s asking me to hold her as she falls asleep…something I wanted to do weeks ago when I watched her sleeping on her couch and carried her back here to this bed.

  I kick my shoes off and walk to the opposite side of her bed. She watches me as I unbutton my jeans, pull down the zipper and slide my pants off. She tries to hide her smile but can’t as I stand beside her bed in nothing but my navy boxer briefs. “I’m sorry I can’t wear a shirt to bed, but it looks a hell of a lot better on you anyway.”

  “I figured if I wore it to bed you couldn’t say no to staying here with me tonight.”

  I release a breath in slight defeat.

  She was afraid I would say no.

  “Savannah, I don’t ever want to say no to you. I just want to make sure I’m doing right by you. Whatever this is between us, I don’t want to let it go. I won’t be able to let it go. You should remember that.” />
  “Point made,” she says resolutely. “Now get in here and keep me warm.”

  I slide into the bed laying on my left side so I can see her. She turns her body and backs up into me so that the swell of her ass is snuggled right up next to the part of me that doesn’t seem to know when to calm the fuck down.

  This could be a rough night.

  Carefully I slide my left arm underneath her neck and my right arm over her hip, and pull her into me as tightly as I can. This feeling is foreign to me. Completely new, overwhelming, yet peaceful all at the same time. I’m not a snuggler. I never have been. I’ve always been that one-night stand guy. ‘Fuck’em and chuck’em’ as my friends would always say. Have my way and never stay…but not with this girl. Holding her in my arms like this, my body wrapped around hers, protecting her, this is what heaven must feel like. Her breathing evens out as she falls into a peaceful sleep. Lightly I kiss the back of her head before closing my eyes and dreaming about the two most important women in my life.

  Chapter 21

  Savannah

  Today’s the day. I’m meeting Ivy today for the very first time and I have to admit, I’m nervous. Normally I wouldn’t be bothered except two things run through my mind constantly. One, she’s roughly the same age Peyton would’ve been and that’s harder on my heart than I want to admit to anyone. Two, what if she plain old just doesn’t like me? It’s been a few years since I’ve spent any length of time with young children. Since Peyton’s passing I haven’t wanted to put myself in the environment where I would have to interact with young kids, especially young girls, but today is the day.

  It’s been a three weeks since my first official date with Bryant and although we’re moving a little slower than I had expected, it’s been nice. We’ve met up for lunch a few times during the work week and he’s taken me on a few more dates when he can get someone to watch Ivy. We’ve met up a few times to take a walk around the park and he’s driven me home from work a few times. I very much respect the decision to not involve Ivy right away. Who knows where this thing between Bryant and me is going. I certainly wouldn’t want to hurt Ivy, or myself, by either of us getting too attached too early.