Mr. Fixit

by Lauren Landish

  I give her a little jostle and she lightly slaps at my chest, and with a big sigh, we snuggle. Cassie nestles against my chest, sighing happily. “I’m gonna call for my rematch someday though. The Tickle Belt is defended under the twenty-four/seven rule, you know.”

  “I know,” I joke, kissing the top of her head. “I’m looking forward to it.”

  “So, uh . . . now what? I’m your girlfriend for now, but what about—” Cassie asks, her worries only momentarily sidetracked by our tickle fight. I interrupt her before she can finish with a big kiss that shuts her up like a switch has been thrown.

  “Cassie, you’re my everything for as long as you want to be. Remember, I didn’t run on you.”

  “What about that time I came by the house and you were acting all weird on me?”

  I shrug. “Okay, point taken. But Cassie, I was trying to figure out what was happening. I mean, it wasn’t long before that when we both said this was just a fuck buddy arrangement, and I realized the night I stayed here the last time that I was falling for you, and it scared the shit out of me, especially when I thought it was only on my side.”

  Cassie sighs. “This is all sorts of fucked up, you know that?”

  I nod and turn to look her in the eyes. “Look, we’ve both got some issues, but I’m willing to trust that you won’t stomp my heart if you’re willing to trust that I’m not swimming away at the first available opportunity. I love you, Cass.”

  “I love you too,” she says as she stretches up to meet my lips in a soft kiss, pulling back after a moment. “Deal. No swimming, no stomping,” she says, pointing first at me, then at herself. “Now that’s settled, what about the house?” Cassie asks. “I mean, you said you gave your house to Oliver as part of the payment for 614 Douglas.”

  “What about it?” I ask. “Cassie, I gave you the keys. It’s yours. Sure, there’s a part of me that’s hoping that I can just move my stuff in with you. If not, I’ll pay rent to Oli on my house until I can find another place. My address isn’t important. You are. I don’t mean to jump ahead of things, but I’ve been thinking long-term with us. Who knows? One day, maybe have a family and a dog. The whole fantasy . . . if that’s what you want. It’s what I’ve always wanted.”

  Cassie doesn’t say anything for a moment, and I start feeling nervous until she gives me a smirk, biting her lip. “So, what are you doing tomorrow?”

  I give her a look, my heart hammering in my chest. What I said, everything I did—there was always the chance to back out. Now there isn’t, and Wendy Reinhardt’s ghost tugs at me for a half second before I shove it away. This is Cassie, and I love her with all my heart. There’s no reason to hold back. “Uh, tomorrow? Nothing, I guess. Why?”

  “Well you said one day. How about we start tomorrow? We can move our things in and it’ll be our house. Our home. I want that fantasy too, house, family, dog, all of it. With you.”

  “I think I can add it to my to-do list. Sounds like a plan. Gotta put my truck to work somehow.” Instead of tickles, I attack her with kisses. She screams all the same, but this time, she’s fighting to get closer to me.

  Epilogue

  Cassie

  It’s been six months to the day since we moved into our house. It still gives me chills to think of it that way. Our house. The house we tore apart, rebuilt, and created together. Somewhere in there, as we fixed the house, we fixed each other.

  Sure, we’ve both had times when our issues have given us challenges. He understood, though, and in a move that might have taken a few extra hours and quite a few people by surprise, Caleb took me on a few visits to Ms. Steele’s friends who wanted to fix him up with their daughters. We even developed an ‘assistant costume’ for me, a sports bra, a low-cut tank top, and coveralls that showed off all of my curves for any who didn’t get the message by my merely showing up on their doorstep.

  Actually, it led to one of our funniest incidents when the daughter, rather than getting the message that Caleb was unavailable, decided to hit on me. We both had a laugh after that, along with a night filled with passionate lovemaking where we got to use some of my toy collection in ways that we hadn’t tried before. Exhausting, but fun, and I’m glad we skipped our Sunday run that morning.

  Today, we’re celebrating our half-anniversary the same way we do every night, swinging in the porch swing as the sun sets. It’ll be too cold to keep it up soon, but for now, we just wrap up in a blanket in each other’s arms and then head inside to warm up when it gets to be too cold. Caleb’s taken care of it, of course, and we’ve got enough logs split and stacked to keep the brand new woodburning stove in the living room going every night we want.

  Getting out of my car, I hurry toward the house, Caleb already waiting for me on the porch, blanket at the ready and a cup of cocoa waiting for me. I give him a quick kiss and run inside, changing hurriedly so I don’t miss it. Dashing back out, he holds the blanket open for me, and I snuggle in next to his body, enjoying the heat he gives off as I try to warm up. As we sit, me curled up with my legs beside me and his arm wrapped around my shoulders so that I can rest my head on his chest to hear his heartbeat, he uses one toe to swing us slowly as the sun drops just below the horizon. Once the sun’s disappeared and the sky is a single blaze of gold and red, he finally speaks. “So how was your day?” he asks.

  “Good,” I reply, nestling against him. “We got your old house rented out, by the way. A pair of students from the university. Oh, and that reminds me. He had a question for me today. What would you say about you and me partnering together on another renovation? I had my eye on a tri-plex.”

  Caleb raises an eyebrow. “Going into business for yourself?”

  “No, I’ll be partnering with Oli. You know I don’t have the money to do it all myself. Yet.”

  “Well, that sounds good. But I had another idea,” Caleb says. I smile and look up at him. He’s holding up a ring, and my mouth drops open as I pop up onto my knees. “Really? Caleb? Oh, my God . . . yes!”

  Caleb laughs, pushing my scrabbling hands away. “Cass, I haven’t asked you anything yet. You mind if I do that bit traditionally?”

  I try to calm down, really I do, but I’m buzzing with electricity inside as he takes my hand. Shrugging off the blanket, he gets off the porch swing and gets down on a knee. He clears his throat, and when he speaks, his voice is quavery, loaded with emotion and thick with feeling. “Cass, I love you so much. I didn’t think I would ever take a chance on love again, but with you, I don’t have a choice. I love you so much that I have to be with you. Cass, will you be my forever fuck buddy?”

  The tears that have been pouring from my eyes stop in an instant and I push on his chest a little bit. “Hey, you’d better get serious before I take my biggest dildo to your ass!”

  Caleb laughs, and even I have to crack a smile. Face it, that’s just us. We’re not going to have a typical marriage because we sure as hell haven’t had a typical relationship. “Just kidding. Cass, will you do me the honor of marrying me? Will you be my wife and raise a family in this house with me?”

  He slides the ring onto my finger, and I climb out of the swing, nodding happily. Jumping into his arms, I yell, “Now that’s more like it! Yes, Caleb. Yes!”

  He swings me around in his arms, twirling on the porch for a moment before setting me down and looking in my eyes.

  “So . . .” he says, giving me a little smile. “What now?”

  “Hmm . . . well, I can think of one thing,” I tease, wrapping my arms around him. “I want to make love with my fiancé.”

  Caleb picks me up, this time cradling me in his arms and heading for the door. “You said when I put a ring on it, I’d get to do this,” he says, and I’m touched that he remembered my little throwaway joke.

  My heart swells as Caleb carries me through our front door and up the stairs, his strong arms not faltering as he lays me down on our bed. Stepping back, he gives me space to take off my clothes as he strips as well, standing at the side of t
he bed. His body is glorious. ‘Domestic’ life certainly hasn’t dulled the sharp definition of his muscles one little bit, but it’s the fire in his eyes that capture me as he looks me over.

  Caleb swallows and grins. “I’m looking at my future, and it’s the most beautiful thing I could have ever imagined.”

  I’m dumbstruck as Caleb climbs into bed next to me, his hand resting on my arm. Slowly, his fingers trace up and down my skin as we look into each other’s eyes. I reach out, exploring the feeling of his skin, tracing the new tattoo he got last month, a rose wrapped around interlocked Cs along his left ribs. “You never told me why you put it here.”

  “My modeling career, of course,” Caleb jokes, his hand traveling down to start stroking my breast in feather-light strokes. My nipple grows hard and pebbly, and he hums softly. “Actually, it’s because when we snuggle, that’s where you press against me. So even when you’re not by my side . . . you’re by my side.”

  I lean forward and kiss him softly, our lips and tongues caressing and melting against each other until my heart is racing and I feel something pressing against my thigh. Reaching down, I find Caleb’s almost fully hard cock and grasp it, smiling against his lips. “I’m that good a kisser, huh?”

  He grins at me and kisses down my neck, sucking and licking until he reaches my right nipple. I groan as he takes it into his mouth, sucking and licking until it’s so intense I’m seeing stars. His hands stroke my back all the way from my shoulders to my ass, adding to the pleasure and making my pussy ache, wanting him inside me. Rolling him over, I straddle his waist, my pussy rubbing over the hard muscles of his stomach as Caleb’s mouth feasts on my nipples. “God, I wish I were taller.”

  Caleb chuckles, knowing what I’m talking about. He’s so tall, there’s no way I can have both of my breasts sucked on and be filled with his cock. He pulls back, kissing up to my lips. “Cassie, you’re perfect just as you are. I get to take my time pleasuring you from head to toe for the rest of our lives.”

  I look into his eyes, stroking his face as I rub myself back and forth over his skin, my clit electrified by the stroke of his hair over the sensitive bud. Caleb strokes back, kissing my lips and taking my breath away as I roll my hips faster and faster, my wetness smearing all over his skin and adding to the slippery sticky wonderfulness of it all. “Caleb . . . oh, God, baby.”

  “Any time you want, my love,” he whispers, reaching down and squeezing my ass. I groan, squirming in delight as I feel him dip lower, his finger teasing my asshole until I relax and he slips inside me. I gasp, kissing him hard as Caleb slides his finger in and out of my ass while I grind my clit against him, fire building inside me until I have to push back, rolling off him.

  “No . . . no, not this time,” I gasp, immediately missing the feeling of his finger probing my ass. “Babe, this time, I want to come together.”

  Caleb nods, then smiles. “How do you want it?”

  I get up on the edge of the bed, bending over and grabbing the blanket and grinning.

  Caleb climbs behind me, running an appreciative hand along my spine before reaching up and grabbing my ponytail, tugging gently as I feel his cock slide between my pussy lips, not entering me yet but coating himself. I moan. I love feeling his strength and when he takes control because of how tender he is as he does it. “We get to do this forever,” Caleb rumbles as he strokes his cock between my lips again and again. “I love you.”

  “I love you,” I whisper. Caleb adjusts his hips just a little, and this time, his cock slides into me. I’m so wet that there’s no tightness, just the amazing feeling of being filled by the man I love and the extra electric knowledge that there’s nothing separating us. I look up at my hands, where my engagement ring twinkles in the light from the bedside lamp as Caleb starts stroking in and out of me. Each thrust of his cock is thrilling as he takes his time, bringing me to the edge time and time again before pausing, his cock throbbing inside me but not pushing us over into climax.

  My body’s shaking, the diamond on my ring twinkling as I flex and squeeze my hands, trying to hold on for what feels like the hundredth time Caleb’s paused, grinding deep inside me while I back away from the edge. But I love it, the diamond hypnotizing me while I push back, squeezing Caleb and gasping. I feel his thumb rub over my ass, and I relax, knowing that whatever’s going to happen, it’s going to be the last climb.

  “Fuu . . .” I groan as Caleb slips his thumb inside me as he pulls his cock back, pausing before stroking deep into me again. There’s more power, less restraint this time, and I look over my shoulder, seeing the passion in his eyes. I’m enraptured as Caleb’s hips slap into my ass, my body overwhelmed by the sensations as I give myself totally to Caleb and he gives himself totally to me. My pussy and ass squeeze around him, and Caleb shivers, smiling through the sweat glistening on his face and chest. We’re both soaked, and he looks like something otherworldly as he speeds up, his balls slapping against my clit with every pounding stroke. I’m washed away on the wave of sensations flooding my body, and I bury my face in the blanket, closing my eyes. I can’t take any more, except that it’s Caleb, and I love him and—

  My orgasm explodes through me, white-hot and lightning fast, seizing me in its powerful grip and not letting go. My heart, my lungs, everything stops as I’m rocked by the intensity, stars exploding behind my closed eyelids. I feel an instant of fear that I can’t survive it, it’s too powerful, I’m going to die . . . and then my ears catch the dim sound of Caleb’s powerful roar as he comes too. The heat, glorious and completing, fills my body, and I realize that he’s truly filling me, his seed granting me life again. My body shakes. I’m pushed even higher, but I feel totally safe and secure as Caleb’s body collapses against mine.

  He presses me into the bed, lying on top of me and letting his cock stay inside me as we relax, the sweat cooling on my hyper-sensitive skin as the cool evening breeze trickles in from the open window. Caleb wraps his arms around me and rolls us so that my nipples are teased by the breeze, and I shiver at the sensation. “My God.”

  “You are amazing,” he murmurs, kissing my neck. “My love, my Cassie.”

  We lie there, our bodies still joined, and I smile, stroking my fingers over his forearm. “I love you too.” I feel a twitch between my legs. It seems Caleb’s recovered, and I laugh. “So, all I gotta say is I love you and—”

  Caleb’s cock twitches again, making us both laugh. “Guess so.”

  “Well, then,” I tease, pulling my legs up and giving him better access while we lie on our sides, “I love you, I love you, I love you.”

  The spring weather is just perfect as we gather in the backyard at Oli’s place. While we wanted to originally have our wedding in the backyard at 614 Douglas, the winter rains showed us that unless we wanted my wedding reception to turn into a Slip ‘n’ Slide, it was probably better to do it somewhere else. After rejecting a humorous suggestion from Mindy that we have the reception at her place, or better yet, the Grand Waterways hotel, Oliver came to the rescue and opened up his house.

  “Tell me that they’ve got a good DJ!” Ivy Jo, Mindy’s grandma and unofficial comedienne for the whole event, says as she comes out of the house. “If I have to put up with one more bad karaoke from Jake, I’ma take my cane and shove it—”

  “Grandma!” Mindy says, clapping hands over her son’s ears. “Young minds repeat everything, remember?”

  “Still . . . well, at least that damn yap bag isn’t here. How’d I get so lucky?”

  “I invited you because you were already going to be in town to see your great grandbabies and you’re a sweet lady who makes me laugh,” I tell her, coming out of the bedroom I’ve used to change into my reception dress. “What do you think?”

  “I think you look lovely,” Ivy Jo says seriously after another warning glare from her granddaughter. “But you won’t stop all of my fun, Mindy. You know that right? I don’t get out much these days, so I’m going to make the best of it.”

&n
bsp; “Don’t worry, Ivy Jo,” I reassure her. “Have all the fun you want.”

  I leave them behind, heading out into the living room where I see Emily, already changed and looking different than I’ve ever seen her before. Gone are the comfortable jeans and anime t-shirts, and instead, I see a beautiful young woman whom I’ve come to call my friend over the past few months as we’ve grown closer. It drives Caleb nuts, but it’s fun to have someone I can watch all of my reality shows with.

  “Hey,” she says, smiling shyly. “You looked stunning in your wedding dress. Too bad you changed.”

  “I didn’t want to get grass stains on it when I fall on my ass,” I claim, laughing softly. “It’s already been shrink-wrapped and environmentally sealed for when I have a daughter who needs it for her marriage.”

  Emily chuckles wistfully. “Yeah, well, it’d be nice to have that option.” Emily, whose dating life has been even more of a bad luck story than anything I could have imagined, wraps her arms around her stomach and sighs, looking out at the backyard. “Sorry, don’t mean to rain on your day.”

  I give her a side hug, smiling. “No rain at all. I’m glad you’re here and not having to babysit all the kids.”

  “Sorta helps that Oliver’s got a huge playset for the kids and Gavin loves playing with them too. Who knew a former pro football player would be such a great stay-at-home dad?”

  The reception starts, and I’m surprised again as, instead of a suit like he promised, Caleb comes out of the house in a tank top undershirt, his tool belt, and his body glistening with sweat. “Oh, my, what’s this?” Martha, who’s my maid of honor and who gave me away at the wedding, says. “Caleb, I thought you were going to take the day off!”

  “Decided to do a little more work,” Caleb says, and the music starts up. I can’t help but laugh as Caleb’s followed out of the house by the rest of the men in our “extended” family—Tony, Oli, Jake, and Gavin—who are all dressed as construction workers-slash-strippers. Martha herds me and my friends into the front five chairs as the boys give us all a lap dance to Work From Home, culminating in Caleb’s grinding on my lap to the point I’m tempted to cut the reception short and get right to the after party. He leans down, growling in my ear, “Apparently, this is some sort of tradition, according to Oliver. I can’t break tradition, now can I?” And I bite my lip as I run my hands up the outside of his jean-clad thighs to his hips, mindful of the audience surrounding us.