Finally, For Me

by Burke, Roseanne

  His tongue gently entered my mouth, swirling with mine. I greedily accepted it, gripping his face in my hands. I felt bereft as he pulled away, moving his lips down my jaw line to my neck. He nipped and kissed my collarbone as his hands slowly slid down my wet naked body to my ass. His kisses were sweet and patient.

  I moaned softly as his mouth moved to my breasts, sucking and licking my nipples. My groin started to tingle as the blood flow to that area increased. I brought one hand up against the cool tile, trying to steady myself. His mouth slowly moved further south, his tongue lapping over the skin between my bellybutton and my sex, until it landed dead on to my most sensitive area. I cried out, unsure if I could handle any more attention there.

  I rolled my head back, the water beating down on my breasts. His tongue swirled and surrounded my clit, my soreness quickly transitioning to pleasure. I leaned my head into my hand up against the wall. Fuck, that felt amazing. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to support myself standing upright if I came again. I brought my other hand up to the other wall, trying to maintain my balance.

  His tongue moved masterfully in and over me, again and again until I couldn't take it anymore. My body exploded around him, tumbling over the edge into the most mind blowing orgasm. I crumpled into a ball, unable to stand upright or catch my breath.

  He slowly stood, bringing me up with him in his arms. My heart thudded in my chest. I leaned into him, relying on him. He kissed the top of my head as the water cascaded down around us.

  "Ben," I could barely whisper.

  "Yes baby?" He kissed my cheek repeatedly.

  "I love you so much."

  With those words, he crashed his lips to mine.

  ********

  Ben

  We had been on the road for almost two hours, but it seemed to have flown by in about five minutes. I loved the woman in my passenger seat, and I loved our conversation we were having.

  "Ok, our theme this time is secret behaviors. I'll go first," said Lacey, drumming her fingers on her thighs.

  "What does that mean?" I laughed, glancing over my shoulder to change lanes.

  She giggled. "Ok, for example, my secret behavior is eating things from a jar with a spoon. Like, I buy bagels when I buy Nutella only to make it seem more acceptable. I could probably just buy the Nutella without the bagels, but that would mean admitting what I do. I honestly eat three quarters of the jar with a spoon, without any bagel. Oh and I have definitely made cookie dough just to eat the dough, without any intention of baking." She bit her finger, grinning up at me.

  "That's not that bad!" I chuckled. I wasn't sure what I was expecting when she said secret behaviors. For some reason, my mind instantly went to her watching porn or something. "Let me think of a secret behavior of mine." I sat quietly, thinking of what to say. I didn't want to tell her anything gross or perverted. "Oh, I know. I guess mine is food related too. Literally, I have never used my dining room. If I have breakfast, I eat it standing up in the kitchen. And at dinner, I always eat in the living room." Boring, but true.

  "But it's such a gorgeous room!" she cried.

  I laughed. "I know, it seems like such a waste. We should use it more." I smiled, stealing a glance at her.

  "Yes, we should."

  We sat quietly for a few moments. Lacey stared out the window as I tried to keep my focus on driving. It was an easy silence. But my mind drifted back to the conversation I had with my father that morning:

  "Hello?" I asked, answering my phone.

  "Ben, it's dad. Listen, I don't think brunch would be a good idea this morning. Your mother is throwing a huge hissy fit, saying she's not prepared to meet your new girlfriend," he groaned. I could picture him loosening the collar of his shirt.

  I sat, dumbfounded. Seriously? She was acting like a child. I wanted to keep Lacey as far away from her as I could.

  "Wow. Fine." Those were the only words I could think to say.

  "I'm sorry, son. You know how she is. I'll talk to her, and maybe we can reschedule for next weekend."

  My blood started to boil. She had some fucking nerve.

  "Fine. If that's the way she wants to fucking be, then it's fine," I spat. I felt my hands clenching into fists.

  "I'll talk to her. Don't worry."

  "Alright, fine. We'll find another time, dad."

  I hung up, a knot twisting and gnawing in my stomach. I buried my head in my hands. I couldn't believe she was actually behaving this way. I needed to make up an excuse to tell Lacey; I wasn't prepared to share this insanity with her.

  "Favorite ball park food. And go," said Lacey, pulling me out of my preoccupation.

  I smiled. "Definitely the overpriced shitty beer."

  She burst out laughing. "Yes! That, and big soft pretzels. I'm definitely going to have to get one of those today."

  "Ok, a pretzel it is." I would give her whatever she wanted.

  Traffic began to thicken as we got closer. We were quiet the rest of the drive, the GPS spouting off mispronounced directions every half minute as we neared the ball park.

  I smoothly pulled into a space, an excitement hung in the air. I looked over at her; she looked adorable in a gray fleece jacket and jeans. Her hair was up in a messy bun, making me think of the time I first saw her. She could definitely pull off the sexy dressed down look.

  "Ready?" I asked.

  She grinned back at me. "Ready."

  We exited the car, the sun peering down from the crystal clear sky. I couldn't wait to enjoy the beautiful day with her.

  Chapter 18

  Lacey

  We shuffled sideways towards our seats, our hands full of beer and pretzels.

  "I think this is us right here," said Ben, squinting down at our tickets.

  We sat down in the hard chairs, trying to get situated. The stadium buzzed as the players were warming up and people were filling the seats. We were just a few rows back from the field on the third base side. I stole a sideways glance at Ben. This was the first time I had ever seen him in a baseball cap; he looked absolutely adorable. I enjoyed seeing him relax and let his hair down so to speak. Especially after how tense he had been on the phone this morning.

  I took a bite of my pretzel. "Mmmm, now this hits the spot."

  Ben looked down at me, dramatically picking up his beer and taking a gulp. "Ah, overpriced shitty beer. Nothing better than that."

  I laughed, taking a drink of my own.

  After all the announcements and national anthem, the game started. Ben was really into it. It was kind of cute, watching him get pissed off. "Are you fucking kidding me? That was a strike!"

  Personally, I found baseball to be a little dull. I had always been a football girl. Whenever I went to games during college, it was more about being with my friends and drinking than watching the actual game. But today's company definitely made going to the game worth it.

  Unfortunately, it was a total slaughter from the very beginning. By the time the eighth inning rolled around, the Twins were losing nine to one. People were flocking to the exits.

  I glanced up at Ben; he had a brooding look in his eye. Even when he was angry, he was so damn sexy.

  "Lacey!"

  I thought I had heard my name, but it must have been a mistake, I thought.

  "Lacey, is that you?" I heard a voice call again. I looked at Ben, confused. He had a befuddled look on his face.

  "You heard it too?" I asked, turning to my right, then my left.

  "Back here, Lace!"

  I turned myself completely around, meeting eyes with my friend Mike, sitting three rows back. My jaw dropped open. "Oh my gosh, hey!" I cried, waving like a lunatic. His roommates, Jared and Bret, sat next to him. A smile flashed across his freckled face.

  I turned to Ben. "Those guys were my neighbors last year!" I said excitedly. I had never anticipated running into anyone I knew here.

  "Oh, ok, cool," he smiled.

  I rotated back around. "How's it going?" I called.

  "Good.
We just moved down here once the seats started emptying," Bret explained.

  "Yeah, I thought I recognized that rat's nest of a bun in your hair," joked Mike.

  "Ha ha, very funny."

  I turned slightly toward Ben. I felt a little awkward, introducing them to a new guy after I had been with Mark the whole time they knew me.

  "This is my boyfriend, Ben," I said, gesturing toward him. "These are, or were, my neighbors, Mike, Jared, and Bret."

  "Nice to meet you guys," Ben said smoothly, giving them a slight wave.

  The guys all nodded. "You too man. Hey, we were gonna go stop by Mahoney's after this for a few drinks, if you guys want to join us," called Jared. He pulled absent-mindedly on the strings of his red sweatshirt. I saw a twinkle in his eye, indicating he was surprised to see me with someone new.

  I shrugged my shoulders. "Thanks for the invite, but we've got to head back after this."

  Ben reached for my hand. "We can go if you want," he said earnestly.

  "What? What about work tomorrow?" I asked. The game wasn't even over and it was almost six p.m. If we went out for a few drinks, then had to drive all the way home, we wouldn't make it until midnight. As much as I would love to see my friends, I didn't want him to suffer tomorrow.

  He smiled, shrugging. "I haven't taken a day off since I started there. I work eleven, even twelve hour days. I can take a personal day."

  I started grinning ear to ear. I was thrilled to be able to go out with my friends again, as well as really introduce them to Ben. I wanted them to see how much better I was doing now, to be honest. "Are you sure?"

  He brushed his thumb over my knuckles. "Yes, absolutely."

  I turned back to face the guys. "Alright, change in plans. We'll go!"

  "Sweet," said Mike. "We'll see you then."

  I twisted back around to finish watching the game, excitement bubbling through me. I reached up and kissed Ben on the cheek. "Thank you," I said, smiling. "Should we get a hotel then?"

  "Already on it," he responded, lifting up his phone. Of course he was. "We're booked at the Millennium. An executive suite."

  I grabbed the phone, scrolling through the pictures. It looked gorgeous. I eyed the king sized bed, imagining what we would be doing on it later. "Executive suite, ooh la la," I laughed.

  He chuckled, wrapping his arm around me. I settled in, enjoying his warmth as we watched the last batter hit a ground ball, and get thrown out at first.

  "Well, what a great game," he smirked.

  "I had a good time," I said teasingly, brushing my nose with his.

  "I did too, despite the loss." He kissed my lips sweetly. "Well, shall we get going then?"

  "Sure." We climbed out of our seats and headed toward the exit. I couldn't contain my grin thinking about the night ahead of us. I was ecstatic to visit with my old friends, but even more so to spend the night in a hotel with Ben. My lower muscles clenched at the thought. He grabbed my hand, leading me to the car.

  ********

  Ben

  "Alright, now where to?" I asked, pulling out into traffic.

  "It's actually not far at all. Just take a right on Ontario, coming up here. Just follow that down and it will be on the right," Lacey directed.

  I smiled, watching her bounce excitedly in her seat. I knew how hard it had been for her, moving so far away from her family and friends. I wanted to give her the opportunity to see them. Plus, the possibility of finding out a little more about her was a nice bonus.

  I saw the drab wooden sign up ahead. I pulled closer, but there were no open spots in front of the bar.

  "If you turn right up here, there should be parking in the back," she explained, answering my unspoken question. I grinned. I was excited to see her in her element.

  I pulled around and found a spot in the poorly lit parking lot. I grabbed her hand as we walked around the corner back to the front of the building. It didn't seem like a bad neighborhood, but I didn't want to take any chances.

  She reached her other hand up, wrapping it on the inside of my elbow. "So Mike is the one with the reddish hair, Jared's the blonde, and Bret has the dark hair."

  "Ok, Mike, Jared and Bret. Mike, Jared and Bret," I repeated. I personally didn't really care what their names were, but I wanted to make the effort for her. I was more looking forward to what we'd be doing the rest of the night, back at the hotel.

  I pulled open the solid wood door, revealing kind of a dingy, dark, hole in the wall, for lack of a better term. There were people playing pool in one corner, and darts in another. Ironic "intellectual types" gathered at the sticky wood tables that were scattered haphazardly throughout the room. So this was the type of college bar Lacey hung out at, I thought. Interesting. I wasn't sure what I had expected.

  Lacey looked up at me, her eyes big and bright. "I know it seems a little shady, but it has the best pizza in town and great beer specials." She bit her lip, starting to blush. Oh, so that's why. I had never known what it was like to be a poor college student.

  I ran my thumb over her cheek. "Hey, it's great," I said softly. I was lying. This place was a shithole. But I was fucking crazy about her, and just wanted her to be happy. "And you know I love a good pizza."

  She beamed up at me, seemingly relieved. We made our way to where her friends had already gotten a table. "Hey guys!" she said excitedly, giving each of them a small hug. I felt a slight tug of jealousy, but quickly brushed it away. I pulled back her chair for her, then mine. I discreetly wiped my hand on my jeans.

  "So, how's life after school?" asked the redhead. Mike, right?

  Lacey grabbed a pitcher and poured us both a glass of beer. "It's good! I really like my job and my place. And obviously there are a few other changes in my life," she smiled at me, taking a drink.

  I returned her grin, bringing my glass to my mouth. Yum, more shitty beer.

  "Yeah, I see that. Now I'm sorry, but you're going to have to answer some questions," said the blonde, a shit-eating grin on his face.

  I shifted, putting my arm around Lacey. She smiled up at me, her eyes reading "I'm so sorry."

  "Fire away," I said. I could handle it.

  "Name and occupation," the blonde said. This was Bret? No, Jared.

  "Ben, and lawyer."

  They all nodded, glancing at each other.

  "And how long have you guys been dating?"

  I looked down at Lacey. "How long now? A couple weeks I suppose."

  She smiled, nodding.

  "And your intentions for our girl?" asked Bret.

  I took a big swig of my beer, setting down my glass. She's my girl now, I thought. "I just want to make her happy."

  Lacey's cheeks flushed.

  "Aw, there it is. She's blushing!" laughed Mike, pointing at her.

  She tried to cover her face with her hand, her smile reaching her entire face.

  "Ok, Ben. You're in." Jared raised his glass in the air, the others following suit.

  I smiled, bringing my glass up to meet the others. They seemed nice enough.

  "Ok, ok, enough about me! How are you guys?" cried Lacey, wiping her lips with her thumb.

  I sat back, taking in the scene. They all chatted, getting caught up on what had happened over the past five months since Lacey graduated. She was so content; her face lit up when she spoke. Her energy was infectious.

  I noticed the glasses were all close to empty, so I went up to the bar and ordered a couple more pitchers for the table. Coors Light, blech.

  "Hey, thanks man," smiled Mike, holding up his glass.

  "Yeah, thanks babe." Lacey reached up to me, rubbing her fingers over my chin, forcing my lips to hers. I kissed her chastely, not wanting to put on a show in front of her friends. But I could tell her kiss was hungrier, wanting more. She pulled away; her eyes had a dark desire in them. Later, my love.

  I cleared my throat. "So, how about you tell me some stories about Lacey in college," I said, taking a drink. I winked at her.

  "Be nice!" she c
ried, pointing at the other three.

  Bret rubbed his hands together, grinning. "Stories, oh we've got some stories."

  "Yeah, what should we go with?" smiled Mike.

  I suddenly had a twinge of anxiety. What if I heard something I didn't want to hear?

  Lacey would have told me if she had hooked up with any of these guys, right?

  "Oh come on! I was not that bad and you know it!" Their interactions all seemed innocent. I could tell Lacey was entering the "delightfully tipsy" zone.

  "Remember the time we piled snow in front of your front door?" laughed Jared.

  "Oh my god, yes! I had to climb out my window to get to class, you assholes!" she giggled.

  I laughed, picturing her shoving her bag through first, then climbing out one leg at a time, cursing. I'm sure she had definitely cursed.

  "Ha, that was awesome!" Mike chuckled. "I remember the first time we tried communicating with you by stomping on the floor."

  "Yeah, we all three jumped up and down and a few seconds later, we heard bang, bang bang!"

  Lacey burst into a fit of giggles. "Yes, with my broom!"

  I smiled and continued drinking my beer. These were definitely some "you had to be there" stories, but I truly enjoyed seeing her so happy and relaxed.

  "Or how about the time I first met you. You had already met Mike and Jared, and you came up after drinking a few too many apple martinis and watching, what was it?"

  "The Ring!" she cried. "I don't know what possessed me to watch it by myself. I hate scary movies."

  Good to know, no scary movies.

  "Yeah, and I was thinking, who is this chick, pounding on our door?"

  Lacey pouted jokingly. "Yeah, not a great first impression. But you were very hospitable, thank you." I watched her chug the rest of her glass. At least she's not doing shots, I thought.