Keep Me

by Faith Andrews

  I swiped my hand across the edge of the log-cabin inspired furniture and snarled at the residue left on my hand. “Shit! Sorry, Mom. Never again.”

  And I meant it. Letting my old man neglect this place—never again would another summer go by without keeping the house the way she would’ve wanted it. Fresh and clean and full of life. A radio always blaring, a frozen drink in the blender, and something cooking on the grill. Shit! The grill! I hoped nothing had crawled up into that thing and died. A manly man I liked to think I was, but when it came to raccoons and rodents… well, I couldn’t promise I wouldn’t scream like a girl if I had to fight one off.

  For the next three hours I cleaned my ass off, pissed that Riley wasn’t here to help. It wasn’t like I didn’t know what I was doing, but I just hated the idea of someone walking in on me wearing a pair of yellow scrub gloves bent over the toilet. I hired someone to do this shit for me back home. Jezebel wouldn’t mind coming up here for the day. It might’ve been worth it to pay her double time for this, but just add that to the list of things I should’ve done… like pick up more beer and bring an up-to-date radio, with an iPod dock. I was stuck listening to the hick station because popping in Mom’s old Bob Dylan CDs would have just been too… painful.

  Suddenly, it all seemed like too much to deal with. I was starting to get why Dad didn’t want to be up here—everything was a reminder of Mom. The curtains that hung from the window in the kitchen, the little ducks on the borders, prompting an image of Mom washing and ironing them at the start of every summer. The tiny tear in the country-plaid sofa that we told her ‘got there on accident,’ when in fact it was my sneaky obsession with Dad’s Swiss Army knife that ruined the fabric. The ratty old comforters on the twin beds in the bedroom Riley and I shared growing up. Mom and Riley picked them out together. Riley was into the whole decorating thing even as a kid and she convinced my mother that the yellow and blue toile was something I wouldn’t mind. But I did… I always had and now that Riley wasn’t here to object, that shit was gone. Finally.

  In fact, a lot of it had to go. It needed an upheaval, a total makeover, and my mind was already picturing the parties this place was capable of housing with the right amount of atmosphere.

  I punched in a quick text to Riley, letting her know her services would be needed. To my shock and surprise, instead of fighting me and giving me a million annoying reasons why we should keep the house chock full of Mom’s touches, she willingly agreed to get the ball rolling as soon as I came back.

  I grabbed another beer from the fridge and plopped down on the couch with my iPad open to an electronics site. First things first—the place needed a television from this century and a new state of the art, sound system. If I ordered the stuff this weekend and had it shipped ASAP, I could have Beck and maybe Trey come by and help me set things up next weekend. Modernizing would be easy enough and then we’d be back in business. I intended on getting good use out of this place that was once such a retreat for our family. Only now, rather than being a quiet escape from the rowdiness of the city, I planned to bring the city right up here to the country. I couldn’t wait to host the first shindig of the year.

  With the online order for all my new gadgets and gismos placed, I opened up Facebook to start spreading the word about the summer party of the year—the Grayson Lake House Fourth of July Bash. Things would be perfect by then. I had over a month to work my magic. I scrubbed over the bristly hair at my chin, plotting. “This is going to be the shit!”

  “What’s going to be the shit?”

  Startled by a strange albeit fucking sweet-as-honey voice, I jumped up, gaping at the door.

  The raven-haired, skimpy shorts wearing beauty leaned against the door jamb as if she hadn’t just invited herself in. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to just barge in, but this place has been vacant for years. I saw the windows open and the truck in the driveway and decided to be… nosy.”

  A girl that fine could be nosy any damn time she wanted to, but I couldn’t help myself from playing with her. “Nosy? I’d call this trespassing, honey. You could’ve walked in on me doing… any number of things.”

  She arched an eyebrow and leaned her curvy, denim-clad ass against the front door. “Oh yeah? What kind of things?”

  Nah! This girl wasn’t sweet at all. I could tell by the way she was eye-fucking me and twirling her gum around her finger that she was sinfully devious. My type of girl. “Things… so many different… things.” Placing the beer down on the tree stump coffee table, I wiped my hands on my jeans and walked over to the beautiful stranger. “I’m Marcus,” I extended my hand. “You are?”

  “Skylar. Nice to meet you, Marcus.”

  Skylar. Hmm, that name would be fun to say while… yeah, but so would Tessa. I’d give anything to growl out her name during a round of… okay, why was I thinking of Tessa in this moment when there was a willing and interested girl right in front of me. “Well, Skylar, why don’t you come on in? The place is a mess, but I have cold beer and…”

  “You had me at ‘come in,’ Marcus. I don’t need the beer, just came to see you.”

  Did I know this girl? What did she mean she came to see me?

  She must’ve sensed my confusion because next she answered my question without me having to ask it. “My parents are friends with Kyle’s parents, from down the road.”

  Blank stare. The name Kyle registered only a faint hint of familiarity.

  “Kyle Crow. Your neighbor. The guy you supposedly spent Friday nights camping out and roasting marshmallows with when you were a kid?”

  Oh! That Kyle! We hadn’t hung out since we were fourteen. So many friends—and girls—had come and gone since our innocent marshmallow-roasting, ghost-story-telling days that it was hard to even put a face to the name. “So, Kyle Crow remembers me?”

  She nodded, making herself comfortable on the couch, covering up the tiny little tear without even noticing it.

  “And what exactly did Kyle have to say about me, huh?”

  She crossed her legs, making the cut-off, frayed shorts ride up even higher, revealing smooth, shiny legs. It took everything in me not to reach out and touch.

  “When we first bought the house—two summers ago—he told me that an underwear model from New York City owned this house. I Googled you and then waited all summer for you to show up. You never did. Guess this is my lucky year.”

  Lucky? Damn! This girl was killing me. “I’d say I’m the lucky one. Now… how about that beer?”

  “I’m not interested in your beer, Marcus.” The light hazel hue of her eyes changed to a deep, dark, seductive emerald in a matter of seconds.

  “Oh, no? And what is it you’re interested in, hun?” I knew what she wanted, but I kinda wanted to hear her say it.

  “Shut the blinds. My parents are right next door. What I’m interested in is hidden underneath those hot, tight underwear you model on all those billboards and commercials. I’ve been dying to wrap my hands around that big cock of yours. You packing for appearance or is it all yours?”

  Wow! Right. To. The. Point. My dick twitched in response to her words, to the idea of her milking me until I came all over those fucking toile sheets. “All mine, baby.”

  Watching her eyes brighten and her pink smile spread wide, I couldn’t even try to repel what she was giving off. Leaning down, I took her chin in my hand and crashed my lips to hers, rough and determined. She opened up for me, allowing my tongue entrance into her naughty little mouth.

  “Blinds, Marcus,” she whispered against my hungry mouth.

  “Fuck the blinds. No one will see us in the bedroom.” I seriously couldn’t wait to destroy those sheets.

  I pulled her by the hands, off the couch, throwing her over my shoulder.

  She let out a girly squeal and a giggle in the same breath, tugging at my t-shirt. I felt her fingers trail along the ink at the base of my back. “I can’t wait to lick all those delicious tattoos.”

  All I could do was growl as I sped
up the pace, arriving in the bedroom and throwing her down on the bed with a bounce. She giggled again as her hands worked their way inside the front of my shirt. I pulled it over my head and then went to unzip my jeans.

  “Uh, uh. Allow me. I’ve had this visual…”

  She popped up to a sitting position, removing her sparkly tank top and revealing perky, bronze tits. No bra. No tan lines. Just smooth, glistening, sun-kissed skin as far as the eye could see. Her perfect, rose-colored nipples beaded to a delicious point and my mouth ached to devour them. I leaned down, ready to taste, but she grabbed a fistful of my hair, stopping me.

  “I’m hungry too. And I’ve been waiting a long time… me first, City.”

  City? Was that my new nickname? Fuck, she could call me whatever she wanted.

  Small but determined hands with shimmery blue fingernails reached down and undid the rest of my zipper, yanking my pants down to my ankles. I stepped out of the crumpled denim at my feet and closed my eyes as her soft hands played with the thick waistband of my boxer briefs before sliding them down over my ass.

  “These look even hotter in person. And… you’re even bigger than those pictures let on.”

  Before I could think of a reply her mouth was working me as my eyes rolled to the back of my head. Holy shit! Her lips encased me, sucking hard as she slid up and down my length. Instinctively I grabbed a chunk of her hair, guiding her head as she moved. Watching her bob, on her knees, sucking me off was so fucking hot, but her long dark hair fell over her face, hiding her skillful mouth. I swept the silky strands and tucked them behind her ear so I could watch her pink lips move up my cock and stop at the tip. Looking up at me through hooded lids, she squeezed me with her hand and licked the circumference of the soft head.

  “Damn, baby, you’re good.”

  “I’m just getting started, City. You got somewhere to be?”

  Even if I did, it wouldn’t have mattered. I was happy to be at this girl’s mercy for the rest of the day if this was what it would entail. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Good. No going, only coming.”

  The little joke made me grin. “Lots of coming, darlin’. Lots and lots.”

  Her fiery gaze left mine again and I felt her delicate hand become anything but as she cupped my balls and continued to glide her slick tongue all over my throbbing flesh. I felt the back of her throat and steadied myself, holding back. I wasn’t quite ready to explode just yet.

  I grabbed a good mass of her long locks, jerking her head back. Looking her right in her dark, fuck-me eyes, I smirked. “I can’t be the only one coming today. This city boy wants to show you what he’s made of. Make it worth the wait.”

  Her eyes said it all, her face flushed with excitement. She sat back up on the edge of the bed and I pushed her down onto the mattress with one nudge at her bare shoulder. “You seemed concerned about your parents seeing. You okay with them hearing you scream while I fuck the shit out of you?”

  Her eyes closed tight as she sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, biting down. “I’ll try to be a good girl.”

  I hovered over her, nibbling the delicious skin over her collarbone while I unbuttoned her shorts with one hand. “Don’t you dare. There’ll be no behaving, Skylar.”

  She moaned in my ear and without any remorse, I took it as an invitation to continue what she came here to let me do. She grabbed my hair and pulled my face to hers, devouring me with her mouth, our tongues tangling together violently.

  As our kiss deepened my mind wandered again. Back to something I couldn’t have. I imagined my lips, my tongue, my hands roaming Tessa’s body. She would be nothing like Skylar—she’d be better. It would mean something. Not like all the times before, not even like this time.

  Skylar broke me of my daydream when she asked, “Condom?”

  Shit! Did I even have one? I was usually prepared for something like this, but Tessa had me totally off my game. My head wasn’t where it should be. What. The. Fuck?

  “Don’t worry, City. I got you covered.” She leaned down, her bouncing tits swaying against my lips, and reached to grab her shorts. I don’t know how she managed to fit even that in those tight fuckers, but she somehow produced a foil wrapper from the confines of those tiny pockets.

  I erased all thoughts of Tessa, and went with what my other head was so clearly telling me to do. “Wow, thought of everything. Good girl.”

  “Far from it, baby,” she smirked as she rolled the latex over my cock.

  I slipped back into the role I was used to playing and gripped her hips roughly, hissing as she eased onto me. With each inch that crept inside her hot depths, my mind went numb. “Shit, Skylar. Go faster.”

  Flesh, sweat, heat—her big breasts bounced as I bucked into her, feeling that tightening in my core. She was licking her lips, her hand fisting tousled hair, fingers playing with her own hardened nipple. The vision should have caused my cock to twitch; but the trouble was, I wasn’t seeing Skylar.

  “Fuck!” I growled, needing it to be over. With one more drive, I lifted my weight off the mattress and thrust into her with enough force to break her in two.

  “Fuck yeah, City! Ohhhh!” Her cries trailed off as I pumped my release into her, thanking the dear Lord for the condom that prevented it from seeping out into the unknown of this stranger’s womb. Didn’t need that. I didn’t even know the damn girl, and I had no intentions of getting to know her outside of this room.

  When we were done, she found her tank top and pulled it over her head. Part of me wanted her to stay so that maybe I could fuck Tessa out of my mind, but the other part of me was actually happy it was over.

  Tying her matted hair up in a messy bun, she bent down and nipped my lip. “Gotta go, City. My parents will be looking for me. We go to mass on Saturday nights.”

  Mass? Was this girl serious? She was going to church after that? Suddenly, and of no obvious reason, I felt my own need for a holy power or a confession. Skylar left my bedroom and saw herself out of the lake house, and for the rest of the night I let myself imagine what sex with someone other than a random nobody, would be like. Scratch that. The someone I had in mind was Tessa.

  TGIF! I was exhausted and run down from this draining, busy week and couldn’t wait to curl up with Luca and a good book and then spend the weekend in the park. Or, ohhh, maybe the zoo. I took out my phone to check the forecast. Clear skies and a high of seventy degrees. Perfect for…

  “Everyone call their spouses, mothers, kids, dogs… whoever it is that’s expecting you home.”

  The department groaned in unison. Really? Working late on a Friday night? I didn’t have much of a social life, but still.

  “We’re all going out tonight! On me!” Gary bellowed through the cubicles like a frat boy gone mad. He had to be kidding. This was almost worse than working late. He couldn’t just dictate how we spent our weekends and expect us to…

  I looked up from where my fingernails were nervously tapping my desk to find Gary all up in my grill. “And that means you, Tessa. Especially you. You’re one of the reasons we oughta be celebrating.” He shot back up and addressed the rest of my coworkers. “Hear that people? You should all be pounding the pavement like Tessa, our newest addition.” He was back down at eye level, his excitement searing right through me. I had to admit, it made me smile. A little. He’d been wound so tight all week, this was a welcome change. “Between you and Marcus… I feel like I’ve hit the jackpot. That boy is like the golden egg, or er, the golden chicken, whatever. But either way, my dear, he’s going to make you and me and this whole damn company very, very happy very, very soon.”

  I watched the middle-aged man nearly skip his way back to his office. If Gary had the ability to jump up and click his heels together in the air, I think he might have. Marcus was making him proud. For all his whining, bitching, and drama-queening on the last few sets, he was a major asset to this firm. Everyone, especially Gary, knew it.

  “Have a sitter for Luca man, pretty gir
l?”

  What was this, invade-Tessa’s-private-space day? “Where the hell did you come from?”

  Marcus chuckled, placing a calming hand on my arm. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. I was in the conference room and I heard some commotion so I wandered out to eavesdrop.”

  “Commotion about you, Mr. Wild West. Thanks to you and those pretty grey eyes, I need to find a sitter tonight.” Why was I noticing the color of his eyes? And worse… pointing it out to him? He didn’t need to know that they made me melt, made me think things I shouldn’t be thinking of my friend’s little brother.

  Trying to shake my sudden hot flash, I swept Marcus’s lingering hand off my trembling arm and shot up. “We should call Riley to join us. She needs a night out.”

  “That she does, but alas she’s at that pillow convention or something.”

  Pillow convention? Riley would hate that he wasn’t taking her flourishing career as seriously as he should. “I forgot. That sucks. I’m not too friendly with these people. I could’ve used a familiar face.”

  With wide eyes, the smartass cleared his throat, dramatically. “Uh, hell-o! What am I? This face isn’t familiar enough for you?”

  Familiar it was indeed. Gorgeous it was, too. Being around him outside of work made me nervous, giddy. I didn’t need him of all people to have that effect over me. “You know I didn’t mean it like that, it’s just that…”

  “Just nothing. I can be your wingman tonight, Tess. I won’t cramp your sexy style.”

  He was doing it again. The flirting that knocked the wind and all common sense out of me. “Wingman? I don’t need a wingman, Marcus. This is a business outing, there won’t be any hooking up or shot slinging. We have to keep it professional around Gary.”

  The laughter that roared out of him made the whole department turn around to see what was going on. “Yeah, okay, pretty girl. You have no idea what you’re in store for. Gary Schulster is a party animal and expects everyone around him to follow suit. Tonight will put your craziest college all-nighter to shame. Better make sure that sitter’s packing her PJs and toothbrush.”