“Couldn’t just leave me there?” I asked. “And Iz, stop fucking hitting me. You’re the only person that I let get away with that shit. You’re always poking me with those bony-ass fingers.”
“It’s time to eat. Mama’s been calling for everyone to come to the table.” She rolled her eyes at me before walking away.
“I’m coming, Ma.” I adjusted my dick in my jeans. My mind had become a little too engrossed in my fantasy, and the relief I needed would have to wait. I climbed off the couch and slid my hand in my pocket, looking for the phone that vibrated against my dick.
Suzy: I love your idea of or what.
Based on her message, I could tell I wasn’t the only one thinking about our time on the beach.
“Iz, what the hell do you call the what, where, when, why, and how in English?”
She looked at me confused as I sat down at the table. “Trying to impress the teacher?” She giggled.
“Just answer the question, please.” I sighed and stared at her, placing the phone on the table.
“What teacher?” Ma asked.
“Iz, what’s it called? Throw me a bone.”
“Interrogatives.” My sister rolled her eyes before turning to face our mother. “He’s schtuppin’ a teacher, Ma.”
“Isabella! That’s not appropriate at the dinner table.” My mom set the lasagna on the table. “I want details, Joseph.” Ma winked at me.
Me: Wait until you feel the rest of my interrogatives.
I placed the phone on the table and looked around the room. Everyone had their eyes glued on me instead of the meal, as they usually were. “What?”
“You’re smiling as you type—who is she, Joseph?” Ma said as she dished out the first steaming slice of heaven to my father.
“Just a woman, Ma.” I held up my plate as I waited to be served. My mother was traditional in many ways, refusing to let us serve ourselves. She was the one to dish out the food and to sit last.
She held the lasagna over my plate. “I’ve never seen you like this. You want your piece, baby? You hungry?”
“Hell yes.” I licked my lips and moved my plate closer to the piece hovering just out of reach.
“Then you’re going to tell me about her, yes? No information means no food.” She held the slice of lasagna to her nose and inhaled it. “Mm, it would be a shame for you to miss out on this meal.”
I sighed. Women—the root of the evil in this world. If pussy wasn’t so fucking perfect I’d swear off them for eternity.
“Fine, Ma. I’ll tell you about her after we eat. Can I please have a piece now?”
“Sure, baby. You can help me wash the dishes and tell me all about her.”
Fuck. “You’re an asshole, Iz.” Throwing me under the bus with Dean? Still seeing him?
“Bella, you better not still be seeing that man. He’s nothing but trouble,” my mother said.
Iz glared at me across the table. Served her little gossipy ass right for airing my shit at the dinner table.
The conversation turned to sports and football, as it always did on Sunday. My grilling was soon forgotten as my brothers and Dad stuffed their faces and rubbed their stomachs. I finished my lasagna, wiping my plate clean with a piece of garlic bread, before picking up my phone again.
Suzy: WTF. I teach math—no clue what an interrogative is. Hello—I don’t get your angle.
Me: At the end of my linear path I have a point for you.
Did that make sense or did I just make a complete ass of myself? Fuck. This girl had me all fucked up. My parents always wanted their children to “settle down” and make babies, but I’d always been more interested in perfecting my skills and not wanting to get tied down, at least not after Joni. We didn’t marry young and follow their path in life, and I thought my parents were secretly proud of us for waiting. They were happily married and have been for over forty years—they tied the knot right out of high school. Times were different.
Suzy: Oooh, you know just the right things to say to a girl.
Me: Tuesday night = (dinner) + my linear path + your diameter
“Joey, grab your plate. We have a date with a sink and some dishes,” Ma said from behind me. I looked up at her and saw her smiling and reading over my shoulder. Fuck.
Suzy: No can do—grad classes. I’ll take a rain check.
I turned off my screen and placed it in my pocket. Nothing was secret or sacred in this fucking house.
“Everybody bring your plates in the kitchen. Come on. Clear off the table,” Ma said. The room filled with grumbles, but we all knew the drill. Thirty years later we didn’t need to be told what our roles were in this family. My father was the figurehead, my mother told everyone what to do, and we did as told without giving lip.
Ma waited for me by the sink as I set my plate on the counter. “Did you find someone?” She was beaming.
“I just met her, Ma,” I shooed her to the side so I could start tackling the dishes.
She threw the dishrag over her shoulder and eyed me. “Baby, the heart knows what the heart wants. Your sister told me you’ve been acting differently. It’s written all over your face. Sometimes fate steps in and throws you off the course we’ve set in life.”
“Don’t go crocheting baby blankets yet, Ma.”
She placed her hand on my shoulder as I scrubbed and avoided eye contact. “Joseph, I know the man you are. I know you’re guarded with your heart after Joni, but you have to open again sometime. You need to find someone to trust in life. Is this girl worthy of that trust? Is she worth the risk?”
“Ma, I barely know the chick.”
“Tsk, tsk. Someone doth protest too much.” She kissed my cheek, ruffling my hair. That shit made me crazy, but with my hands full of soap I had no other option but to let her do as she wished.
“I can see you’re not going to stop. She seems like a good person. She’s different, Ma. She seems genuine, but I’m not rushing into anything.”
“What about her? Is she madly in love with my baby boy?”
“Ma.” I should hate her calling me her baby boy, but my mother could call me anything in the world. I adored the woman. “She isn’t jumping on the Joey train. I don’t think she really wants to see me.”
“What? Why not?” She leaned against the counter, crossing her arms. “You’re perfect.”
“That’s ’cause I’m your kid. I’m hardly perfect, Ma.” I cleaned the last dish and placed it in the rack to dry. “You don’t really know everything about me, no matter what you think.”
“I know more than you think, sweetheart. Iz has loose lips, you know.” I could beat my little sister’s ass. I’m sure she doesn’t tell my ma about all her love affairs. “I know you’re quite the ladies’ man. I’m not judging you, Joey. You never bring any girls around, but I know you.”
Fucking Iz. “When and if I find the one, Ma, you’ll be the first to know.” I kissed her cheek, and her radiant smile lit up the room. “Suzy sees me as a tattoo artist that rides a motorcycle and hangs out in shithole bars. I don’t exactly rank up there on her boyfriend material checklist.”
“I kinda like this girl already.” She giggled. I loved hearing the sound of her laughter. “She doesn’t know everything about you and our family?” She raised her eyebrow.
“No, I don’t tell anyone about us, Ma.”
“Checklists are made to be changed. She needs to know the Joey I do. Are you going to ask her out? Makes her yours?”
“That’s what I was trying to do at the table, but she has class.”
“Ah, a smart girl too. Joey, don’t ask a girl out through text message. That’s what’s wrong with you kids today. She needs to hear your voice when you ask. Texting is too impersonal, and I’ll never understand it. Call the girl.”
“I will. I’ll call her later. Happy?”
My ma wrapped her arms around me and said, “Very.”
Broken Rules
Suzy
I couldn’t get him out of my m
ind, and it had been less than twenty-four hours since he dropped me off with a soul-stealing kiss. His cocky smile, his muscles, the way he touched me stayed with me long after he left. No one had made me want to break a rule more than he did. No matter how hard I tried to concentrate on my lesson plans for the upcoming quarter, my mind drifted to him.
Trying to quiet my brain, I flipped on Catfish as I crawled in bed. It had been my guilty pleasure since this show began. I loved watching the train wrecks and the broken hearts of those that thought they fell in love with someone, only to find out that they weren’t who they pretended to be.
I used to tease Sophia and Kayden, my old roommates, mercilessly about how different their little tryst in New Orleans could’ve turned out. Their situation was different; they had mutual friends and had checked each other out, so they felt it was a sure thing.
On paper, Kayden and Sophia didn’t work—it wasn’t a match made in heaven—but their love was undeniable. It was electric. Sophia followed her heart, and his pull was inescapable for her. She fell for him hook, line, and sinker. I never understood it until I got to know Kayden. He wasn’t anything like I thought—his heart was pure, but his path in life had been different than mine. I’d never believe Sophia would find a guy without a college education and a criminal record to fall in love with, but they were the happiest couple I knew, and I wanted that kind of love.
My checklist had been realistic in theory, but City had me questioning my method and requirements. I’d dated men that fit on paper, but the chemistry lacked. City was just so City. I was approaching the end of my twenties, sitting in bed, eating bonbons, and watching Catfish alone.
I am happy, aren’t I?
My phone began to move across my nightstand. I popped the last morsel of chocolaty goodness in my mouth. “Herlo?”
“Hey, Suzette.” The vibration of his voice through the phone made my heart skip a beat as I swallowed the chocolate slowly. Damn, why did I have to eat that last piece before I answered? Herlo? I sounded like I had a speech problem.
“Oh, hey. How are you?” I grabbed the water on my nightstand and washed down the last bit of candy.
“I’m well, sugar. Whatcha doin’?” I heard rustling in the background. Were those his sheets? Was he naked?
“Just watching television, and I’m about to go to sleep, you?” I wiped the chocolate from my lips and licked my finger. These little bitches were so damn tasty.
“I just crawled in bed. What are you wearing?” he asked in a smooth timbre.
OMG, he didn’t just ask me that. I looked down. I had my ratty go-to clothes for when I lounged around the house. “Um, a tank top and flannel pajama pants.”
I could hear him laughing. “Really?”
“Yeah, why? What are you wearing?” Please don’t say you’re naked.
“Nothing, sugar.” Damn it all to hell. “You still there?”
“Yeah.” I knew he could hear the change in my tone, as it came out all breathy and quiet.
“When can I see you again?” he asked.
“I don’t know, City.” I wanted, God how I wanted to scream now, but I needed to think about him—us.
“Don’t deny you want me, Suzy. I can hear it in your voice. You’re thinking of my cock inside you and your lips on mine.”
My breath hitched as the images played like a movie in my mind. “I won’t deny it, but that doesn’t make it right,” I said, moving down in the sheets and turning off the television.
“I’m not asking you to be my girlfriend, Suzette. I remember you having an earth-shattering time yesterday. I can still hear the sound you made when I made you come against my fingers.” A small moan escaped his lips.
My heart ached when he said he didn’t want me to be his girlfriend. What the hell? Stay on course—do not waiver from the list.
“It was the sexiest fucking sound I’ve ever heard, sugar. The way your eyes rolled back and your body rocked into my hand. Fuck.”
I squeaked. OMG, lemme die. “City.”
“The taste of you on my tongue after. Fucking perfect. I’m rock hard thinking about you.”
“You are?” I whispered.
“Rock fucking hard.” His breathing changed like it had when he fucked me. I could never forget the sounds the man made when he came. “Friday night, Suzy. No excuses this time.”
“Okay. Friday.”
“Good. I’ll be thinking about that sweet pussy all week, sugar. Sweet dreams.” His words were drawn out and his tone was sexy as hell.
“Night,” I whispered back before the phone went quiet and his harsh breath disappeared. Listening to the man turned me on, and I wanted to run to his house and have sex with him, but I didn’t. Reaching into my nightstand, I grabbed my trusty battery-operated boyfriend of the last five years and thought of City as I climaxed. The orgasm didn’t compare to the one I’d had under his deft fingers. He fucking ruined one of my simple pleasures.
***
Fuck Monday mornings. I never wanted to get out of bed. I pulled in the school parking lot five minutes late before throwing my bags down in my classroom, and I headed to the copier to be prepped for class that started in ten minutes. Damn. I hated being rushed.
I tapped my finger against the copy machine as it slowly churned out each piece of paper. People walked in and out of the teacher work area with quick hellos and “happy Mondays.”
“What are you grinning about? It’s Monday and you never smile, bitch,” Sophia said behind me.
“I wasn’t smiling.” I turned around to see her grinning like a loon that had just escaped the funny farm.
“Oh, you were, sister. What happened?” Sophia always looked so put together and breathtaking.
“I have so much to tell you. I’ll come see you during my planning period.”
“By the look on your face I’d think you got laid this weekend. I’m not talking about a boring bullshit fucking either. You got fucked,” she whispered in my face. I felt my face flush. “You did, don’t lie, and I want every last detail.”
The homeroom warning bell blared, and I started to panic, grabbing my papers in a crazy heap. “I’ll be up third period. I’m going to be late, Sophia. I gotta run, babe.”
“I’ll hunt your ass down if you don’t show up,” Sophia said as I reached the door.
“I’ll be there, whore. Shut it.”
***
Sophia shut the door to her office. “Tell me, and I mean all of it.”
Sitting on the comfy old couch in her office, I rested my head against the wall. “What do you want to know?”
“Don’t play coy with me. You know more about my sex life than anyone else in the world. I want all the information, starting with who and when.”
Sophia sat at her desk and rested her head on her hand. “I met him Friday night.”
“Friday night? I don’t remember you meeting someone,” she said, her eyes looking upward as she replayed our time at the martini bar.
“After I left you. My car crapped out and this drop-dead gorgeous man stopped to help me.”
“Helped you out of your panties too, I presume?” She giggled and slapped the desk.
“Eventually.” I laughed. “I called you, but you didn’t answer. I went with him on his bike to call a tow, and ended up having a drink or two.”
“Bike? Like the ones the drunks ride around here with the electric motors, or are we talking smokin’ hot Harley action?”
“Smokin’ hot.”
“His name?”
“City, but it’s a nickname. When we left he asked where I wanted to go, and I told him I wanted him to take me to his house. I’d had too much to drink, because you know that just isn’t me.”
“Whatever. You’re dying to be naughty but those uptight pricks you date are missionary men. Bleh. Keep talking,” she commanded.
“Pushy wench, aren’t you? When he undresses, girl…” I sighed. “Oh. My. God. His body is covered in tattoos, his nipples are pierced, and he,
and he…” I covered my mouth and tried to hide my grin.
“Breathe, Suzy. He what?”
“His penis was pierced too.” I swallowed, remembering how it looked.
“Oh, now I’m enthralled. So your ass breaks down, is rescued by a sexy-ass biker with tats and piercings, and…”
“I slept with him. More than once. I stayed the night, and he had me before breakfast too.”
“Have you talked to him since?”
“Yes, we went on a date Saturday night, and he wants to take me out again on Friday.”
“I know that look. What’s the problem?”
“He’s just not…isn’t what I’m looking for.” I frowned.
“Suzy, baby, listen to me. Do you like this man?”
“Yes.”
“As you would say, did he make your body tingle and make you scream?”
“Yes, more times than I can count.”
“Do you want to see him again?”
“I do, but—”
“Fuck buts, girl.”
“He’s a tattoo artist and lives in an old house. He just doesn’t fit my checklist. He’s a biker, Sophia. What could we possibly have in common?”
“You and your damn lists. If I had a list I wouldn’t have Kayden and Jett. I can’t imagine my life without them. We can’t always control everything in life; sometimes life jumps up and smacks us in the face.”
“I know, Soph. He scares me,” I whispered.
“Has he hurt you?” She stood and walked toward me with her eyebrows drawn together and her mouth set in a hard line.
“No. I mean, I’m scared I could fall for him. I’ve never been with anyone like him, and I want to see him again. I’ve never had that spark, and with him it’s like lightning.”
Sophia sat down next to me and grabbed my face. “You listen to me, Suzy. You’re young and have your whole life ahead of you. If you want to be with him, then do it. Stop trying to fit everyone in your mold. Rules are made to be broken. Give the guy a chance, babe. He’s not asking you to marry him, is he?”
“No, he said he’s not asking me to be his girlfriend either.”
Steam and Ink: Two Novels of Ink Plus Two BONUS Short Stories Page 33