After The Break

by Andrea Joan

  “Despite my lack of experience in this whole dating thing, I do believe you are supposed to let your date win. I’ve also heard it’s bad form to gloat in front of said date.” I hop off my barstool, taking a quick sip of my beer before making my way over to where he leans arrogantly against the pinball machine. I link my fingers through his belt loops, using them to pull myself closer. I don’t even bother looking around to see if anyone is staring or taking pictures because not one person here seems to care what is going on around them, all too invested in their games. My guess is Liam planned it that way, and that kind of forethought, that ability to know what I need and be able to provide, well, that makes me fall a little more in like with him.

  “Baby, I lose to no one. Not even a date as fuckable as you.” He grasps my hips, pulling me closer to him, so close I can actually feel him start to get hard. “Gotta tell you, Sky,” Liam buries his nose in my hair, his lips grazing my ear, causing a shiver to roll through me, “as much as I love those little dresses you wear, the way these jeans hug your ass is magical.” He pulls the lobe of my ear into his warm, wet mouth, a move I’m learning is his favorite, and one that’s becoming my favorite as well.

  “How did you even find this place, Liam?” I ask after he releases my ear. I pull away just a little before I let my hormones dictate my next move and maul him like a sex-starved teenager. “I’ve lived in L.A. pretty much my whole life and I’ve been to Venice Beach a gazillion times, but I never even knew this existed.”

  Seriously, it’s like some kind of secret vintage arcade hidden in a mythical alleyway right on Venice Boulevard.

  “My brother Trevor actually heard about it from some Venice local the last time we came to L.A. for one of my amateur fights. He was always obsessed with videogames, and not the new Grand Theft Halo whatever bullshit. Trev liked the vintage games.” Liam isn’t even looking at me as he talks about his brother, and his eyes drift off as if they are literally in the memory, recalling and immersing in every detail. I stand as still as possible fearing if I move an inch he’ll shut down and deny me this small peek into his life I so crave. “Fucking kicked my ass at Street Fighter every time, which is ironic seeing as I could kick his pansy ass in the ring.”

  “In the ring? He boxed too?”

  “Trev? No, not like me. He helped train me with dad though, sparred with me, sat in my corner every fucking fight.”

  It’s right on the tip of my tongue. I want to ask so badly what happened to his brother, to ask him about the other names inked right next to Trevor’s, but I know it’s not the time. A part of me hurts each time he refers to his brother in the past tense. I know what that’s like; even though I may not have been as close to my mother, even though most the memories I have of her are tainted with her sickness, there are times I still miss her. Times when the good memories slip through and make it harder to deal with the reality that she’s gone and has now become past tense.

  “Was Trevor the older or younger brother?”

  “Older.” The waitress chooses this moment to bring us the burgers we ordered, setting them down on our table, and I see the second Liam decides to take that interruption as his way out.

  “Can I get you two anything else? Another pitcher of beer?”

  “That’d be great,” Liam says, throwing his arm around my shoulders and leading me over to our small table, where he pulls my high barstool out so I can sit, before he takes the chair next to me.

  “By two years.”

  “What?”

  “Trevor. He was older by two years.” Liam reaches over for the pitcher and begins refilling my glass and I can’t help but smile at the fact I was wrong as he continues to talk about his brother. “Why are you smiling like that?”

  “I’m just imagining how pleasant it must have been for Shayla growing up with two older brothers, especially if Trevor was anything like you,” I tell him, not wanting to divulge the true reason behind my smile.

  “What do you mean?” he asks, popping a fry into his mouth. “Of course it was pleasant. Shay fucking worships us. She adores the hell out of me.”

  “Oh, come on. Two older brothers, who I can only assume were protective as hell and also happen to box, not to mention an intimidating father. Her dating life probably makes my barely existent one look exciting.”

  “You think my father is intimidating?”

  “Please. You don’t? He was frightening as hell when he was talking you down in the bar, then telling those assholes to leave. I was ready to apologize to him and I didn’t even do anything. You are very much your father’s son in that department,” I say before taking a huge bite of my bacon burger. Normally I would be much more ladylike when I’m eating for fear of a less than desirable picture popping up in the tabloids, but Liam really did choose the perfect place for this date. No one seems to care who I am, and the arcade is hidden far enough away from the crowded boulevard.

  “Do I intimidate you, Sky?” he asks, eyeing me above his glass before taking another drink of his beer.

  “No.”

  “No? And why not?” A devilish smirk crosses his lips, almost like a silent dare.

  “Because I don’t find you frightening. I’m not scared of you.”

  I’ve always believed that if you want to truly get to know someone, you figure out more about them in their silences. Those small moments when the conversation seems to cease and the person you are talking to reflects a lifetime of emotion in just their facial responses. The silence with Liam is a puzzle of reactions, from his furrowed brow to his hard gaze to a now blank stare; I just want to be able to put the pieces together.

  “You know the more you keep telling me that, the less I believe you.”

  “Well, I could kick your ass in a game of Street Fighter if that will help ease your worry,” I tease, tapping him with my foot under the table.

  “As much as I would love to see you move your whole body around like a monkey having fucking seizures when trying to control your player, we need to finish eating. Need to get to the second part of the date.”

  A flush creeps across my cheeks and my mouth drops open. He did not just say that. “I so do not look like that.”

  “Yeah, you do, baby. You do realize that you only have to move your hands when playing pinball, right? The ball doesn’t move in the same direction as your entire body.”

  “Shut up, jerk. It’s my first time playing pinball. Cut me some slack,” I pout, shoving another french fry in my mouth, resisting the urge to chuck it at his smirking face. “What is the second part of this date, by the way? I’m assuming it has something to do with the fact that you borrowed Noah’s Range Rover.”

  I don’t even bother asking him what it is; Liam’s made it pretty clear he was telling me nothing this morning, even after I tried to bribe him with sex on the kitchen counter. Which we ended up having anyway, because, well, because I’m clearly a slut for Liam O’Connor.

  “That it does, Sexy Skylar,” he winks, throwing back the rest of his beer before setting the glass back down on the table. If I wasn’t so involved with finishing my amazing burger, I probably would have noticed that Liam’s attention was no longer on me and rather trained on the window behind me that faces the street. “That and the fact it’s less recognizable than your cars and comes equipped with tinted windows. Figured it would be harder for you to be spotted. Give us more privacy from those blood suckers.”

  The way he says those has me jumping to attention. Liam’s eyes are narrowed and he’s pointing right behind me. When I turn to look, sure enough, there are two paparazzi standing outside the arcade window snapping pictures. Of our date.

  Great. I bet they got an epic shot of me shoving this burger in my face.

  “Told you it would be difficult going on a date with me.” I shrug.

  He reaches into his wallet and throws some cash down on the table. “Time to go.” He grabs my elbow, lifting me from my chair.

  “I really wish you would stop paying for all t
he meals,” I huff, grabbing my purse off the chair next to me.

  “It’s a date, Skylar, so I’m paying. Now stop being difficult so we can get the fuck out of here before the parasites multiply.” When he starts pulling me toward the back door that leads to the alley, I plant my feet because there is something I want to do before we leave. It’s crazy and reckless and will probably come with a shit ton of consequences, but I don’t care.

  “Wait.”

  “Sky, we need to get out of here.”

  “I know. But kiss me first.”

  “What?” he asks, his brows furrowing as he quickly glances around the arcade, probably trying to gauge if we have more of an audience than just outside. But quite frankly, I don’t care.

  “Just—“I don’t even finish the sentence. I stand on the tips of my toes so I can wrap my hands around his neck and crush my lips to his. Liam’s trepidation lasts about two seconds before he takes total control, throwing his arms around my hips and pulling me into him until my feet lift slightly off the ground. His tongue plays and caresses mine until we are both practically out of breath. Then before he stops the kiss entirely, he pulls my lower lip in with his teeth, biting it, sucking it, a move that has me squeezing my thighs together in order to calm the ache I now have for his cock. The moan that slips from my mouth when he finally releases me is nothing short of embarrassing.

  Setting me back down on the ground, he gently tucks my hair behind my ears while I try and unscramble my brain. “What was that for?” he asks.

  I press my fingers to my tingling lips and attempt to hide the giant smile I know is trying to escape. I fail miserably. “Um…I…that was for the parasites. I just wanted everyone to know I’m yours. I guess there will be no disputing that now.”

  Moving his lips close to my ear he whispers, “If it wouldn’t make me want to kick the shit out of every guy in here after, I would bend you over that pinball machine and fuck you until all of Venice Beach heard you worshipping my cock like it’s your own personal deity.”

  A shiver runs through me. All I want to do is say amen and drive the hell home.

  “What are the odds the second part of this date is us at home, in my bed? Because right now I’m very tempted to get religious with you.”

  “Sorry, sweetheart. No such luck. Now let’s get the fuck out of here.”

  “I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE you brought me to a drive-in movie!” Sky is jumping up and down in the backseat of the Range Rover like I just took her to the fucking moon or something. Her rambunctious energy forces a smile from me and I throw my arm around her to pull her in closer. “And even got me cotton candy. I haven’t had cotton candy in years,” she says, peeling off another piece of the pink fluff and licking it off her fingers. I wish I could say that innocent action didn’t turn me on, but like Pinocchio’s nose my continuously growing cock would prove me a fucking liar. Snatching her around the waist, I pull her even closer to me in the backseat.

  “Now I know why you wanted to borrow Noah’s Range Rover,” she says, snuggling into my side like it’s second nature to her. And I easily accept her because doing so seems to be fucking first nature for me. Again I wait for the guilt I’m sure will hit me at any moment, but it still has yet to come. Almost as if it’s Ali herself giving me permission to move on.

  Knowing Ali, she would have too. When I was fucking my way through bar sluts—well really every kind of slut, no need to get bar specific—I heard Ali in my head all the time. Chastising me, berating me, telling me I was better than what I had become. Now, with Sky, there is just silence. Even when she’s tucked into my side as if she is a part of me, a missing limb reattaching itself, I never hear Ali.

  I have to believe it’s Ali’s blessing.

  I need it to be.

  “And why is that?” I ask, snatching the hand that is holding another piece of cotton candy, bringing it to my lips, and sucking the piece from her fingers. She looks up at me with desire in her eyes as a shiver takes over her body.

  “Because you’re hoping to get lucky with me in the backseat and you knew it would be easier here than in one of my cars.” She trails her finger from the inside of my mouth to my chin. “Although I do have to tell you, even though I’ve yet to see The Shining, I’m fairly confident this movie is not designed to get me in the mood, so your plan seems to have backfired” she says before playfully tapping my nose.

  I’m still shocked as shit that she’s yet to see The Shining. Especially because she’s such a fucking film fanatic. The second we drove in to the theater, she freaked out in that really adorable way of hers, yelling that she’d always wanted to see this movie and asking if I got that piece of information from Noah. To which I responded:

  “No fucking way. I have a dick. I don’t need to ask another guy where I should take my woman on a date.”

  She just rolled her eyes and giggled like I was joking.

  I wasn’t.

  “Baby, trust me, I would have no issue fucking you in either of your cars. When it comes to me getting my dick inside you, I can make any location work, and you should already know I’ll have no problem getting you in the mood. We could be watching Human Centipede and I’d still be able to get your pussy wet.”

  “That is morbid, and also, cocky much?”

  “Just confident.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Turning her body so she is facing me, a wicked little smirk adorning her gorgeous face, she speaks two words in a dare, words that make my dick hard: “Prove it.”

  I have her on her back, her small wrists trapped in my grip above her head, before she even has a chance to blink.

  “Hey, I was really enjoying that cotton candy,” she pouts, eyeing the pink fluff that is now on the floor of the car.

  “Fuck the cotton candy. I warned you that if you teased me you better be ready for the consequences.”

  “So my punishment is the destruction of my sugary pink heaven? You bastard.”

  “You wish. No, your punishment is going to be much more fun. Tongue, fingers, or cock?”

  “What?” A whimper escapes Sky the second I grind myself into her.

  “Choose. Tongue, fingers, or cock.” I rock into her again, pulling the lobe of her ear into my mouth.

  “Jesus. Cock. Your cock.”

  “Tongue it is.”

  From the sound coming out of the speakers in the car, I can tell what part of the movie is playing. That creepy little kid is using his fucking freaky ass Tommy voice for the first time. Yeah, I managed to make it past the credits before I started mauling Skylar. Trust me, I should get an award for holding out through the previews. Even with the demon child’s weird voice, I would bet my left nut that as soon as I stick my hand down Sky’s panties, I’ll find her wet.

  Yep. My left nut is safe.

  “Oh god, Liam,” she murmurs the second my finger strokes her clit. “Please.”

  “Please what?” I ask, applying more pressure as I stroke her faster.

  “Please just fuck me.”

  I pull my fingers away and jerk her jeans off her body which I should get a fucking award for doing so smoothly seeing as I’m working with limited space here.

  “No fucking right now, sweetheart. Only my tongue.”

  “Why make me choose then?” she whines, a whine that turns into a moan the second I rip her panties away.

  “Well, it wouldn’t be much of a punishment if I gave you what you wanted, now would it?”

  She braces herself on her elbows, and I can tell she is about to open that sassy mouth of hers and give me hell, but before she gets a syllable out, my tongue is on her pussy.

  Her hips buck as a curse leaves her mouth. My thumb works her clit at the same time my tongue fucks her pussy. Her worshipping my name and praising me as god, while much appreciated, is starting to get too loud for a drive-in movie where anyone can hear her. I stop, pulling my face away.

  “What the hell, Liam?”

  I la
ugh while reaching behind my neck to pull my shirt over my head. “Don’t worry. I’m not finished. Here,” I throw my shirt at her and she catches it easily.

  “You stopped my orgasm to give me your shirt? This is just a whole new level of arrogance, even for you. Congratulations.”

  “Smartass,” I say, shaking my head. “Bite it.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “The shirt. Put it in your mouth and bite down. I’m about to make you scream, baby, and we don’t need everyone in this park hearing.”

  She eyes the shirt speculatively before grinning at me. “Mighty sure of yourself there, aren’t you, slugger?”

  I don’t even bother answering. I just lower my mouth above her clit and watch her stomach as it contracts quickly with just the whisper of my breath brushing across her skin. Right when I think she can’t stand it anymore, I lick.

  I lick, I suck, I nibble on her clit until she moans into the shirt and pulls my head further into her cunt.

  I devour her pussy with my mouth, my tongue, my teeth. Sky pants and grinds herself into my mouth with such abandon that I finally have to wrap my hands around her small waist just to get her to stay still.

  Between her taste and the sounds she’s making, my blood can’t help but pump fiercely through my veins, making a path right toward my dick, causing me to grind myself into the seat so I can feel some type of friction. The fingers wrapped around her left hipbone start to sneak under her ass, more and more, every time she lifts it slightly. Before I know it my thumb is right there seeking entrance, and once I’m able to catch some of her wetness with it, I push into her ass and she comes.

  Hard.

  “Liam!”

  My shirt has obviously fallen from her mouth seeing as she is screaming my name, and I can’t take it anymore. I pull my pants down far enough to free my cock, then I move up and slam into her. She starts to cry out louder so I slap my hand over her mouth while I continue to ride her. I’m about five seconds away from coming and I don’t even care that I’ve barely lasted a minute. Seeing Skylar get so worked up, feeling her come in my mouth while my thumb was in her ass, I can’t help myself.