by Hughes, Maya
Her sweatshirt and T-shirt were tangled with my coat still half on her. I peeled all the layers off until she was completely bared to me, slowly and methodically checking her over even though I knew the paramedic had already done it.
“Do you want to get cleaned up so you can sleep better?”
“Can you come with me?”
“Of course.” I picked her up from the bed and walked her into the bathroom. She rested her head against my shoulders, her hand braced on my arm. I never wanted her to leave the safety of my embrace again.
“Let’s get you in the shower to get all the smoke off you.”
She nodded. “Then can I have a bath?”
“Anything you need.” I cupped my hand to her cheek.
“Will you get in with me?”
Even inside my apartment, there was fear in her eyes, the kind of haunted look I couldn’t have turned away from even if I’d wanted to. I set her down and turned on the water.
Without another word, I kicked off my shoes, shoved down my jeans and shorts, and then whipped my shirt up over my head. I turned on the water for the bathtub to let it fill. Taking her hand, I walked her into the shower, running it over her body and hair. The water beaded on her skin and soaked into her hair. When all the sooty streaks on her skin were gone, I let her out of the shower.
She slipped into the warm water of the tub without waiting for it to fill completely. I grabbed us a couple towels and a washcloth, setting them beside the tub. The tension in my shoulders eased as she closed her eyes and laid her arms along the ledge.
I ran back to my room and grabbed a T-shirt from my drawer for her, then darted back into the bathroom.
She had her knees pulled up to her chest, and her head rested on top of them. Sitting on the edge, I slid in behind her. The water rose along the sides, and she turned it off when it threatened to crest over the edge.
When she sat back down, it was directly on top of my lap. The erection I’d been trying to keep at bay was now nestled between the soft globes of her ass.
“Sorry, just pay him no attention and he’ll go away.” I took the washcloth and rubbed soap on it before running it over her back.
“Maybe I don’t want him to go away.” She braced her hands on the side of the tub and lifted herself to angle my dick straight for her opening. Even in the swirling water of the tub, I could feel her wetness coating my head.
I wrapped my arm around her waist. “Liv, you’re tired, and you’ve been through a lot tonight.”
“I know. I could’ve died.” Her voice cracked.
Tugging her close to me, I wrapped both arms around her, but she had other ideas. When I moved, she shifted her hips and sank down onto me. She clenched around me, and I groaned. The electric ecstasy of being inside her again nearly snapped my control.
Bear-hugging her against my chest, I nipped at her shoulder and squeezed tighter when her ass was fully seated on my lap, her tight, velvety hold sending blissful shudders throughout my body.
“We skipped a few steps.” I ran my teeth along the curve of her neck.
“There’ll be plenty of time to make up for that. But right now, I need you.” She stared at me over her shoulders.
As if I could deny her anything. Lifting her, I drove my cock harder into her. My arms were braced across her chest, and she held on. I dropped one of my hands into the water and ran my fingers along her clit.
“I knew you had it in you to improvise.” Her laughter bounced off the walls of the tiled bathroom. Water sloshed over the edge of the tub as our fevered motions increased.
“I’m not going to miss a single opportunity to make you come.” I pinched her clit, and she hissed. Her legs shot forward, and her pussy clamped around my driving cock. I bit back a curse and kept up my rhythm. Her fingers dug into my forearm, but I kept going, determined to shove the bad memories from her mind.
“Ford!” she screamed and shook against me. The brutal grip on my dick nearly pushed me over the edge. I drew out her pleasure but left her sensitive clit alone. Teasing and pinching, I rolled her nipples between my fingers as she shuddered in my arms.
My fingers ran over her stomach, stroking her as I slipped into a more leisurely pace, changing the angles of my thrusts. Her head dropped onto my shoulder, and she shook as a slow, steady orgasm coursed through her.
As she reached another peak, I let myself go and squeezed her tighter against me, pumping into her. Her soft pants bounced off the tile walls.
“I’ll always be here for you. Don’t ever think I’d be better off without you.” I hugged her against me, wishing I was looking into her eyes.
She nodded. Her damp hair rubbed against my chest.
I grabbed the cloth and soap again. Her eyelids fluttered as I washed her up. I helped her out of the tub, careful of the water spilled all over the floor, and toweled her off. Sliding the T-shirt over her head, I let my fingers skim over her skin. I took her hand and got her into my bed, exactly where she belonged.
* * *
I’d never been happier the season was over. We stayed in bed for a solid two days. Jack begrudgingly supplied us with burgers from Fish’s, and I dug out my laptop and set it up in the bedroom so we could watch movies. Take-out boxes littered the floor around my bed. The first night, she’d woken with nightmares, and I’d taken the long, leisurely route to banishing those thoughts from her mind with panting, soul-shattering orgasms.
She nibbled on her bottom lip, sitting cross-legged on the center of my bed. I lay back with my head propped up on my arms behind my head. My gaze tracked every parting of her lips as she tried to get her thoughts together. The gears were turning in her head.
“I’m not going to med school,” she blurted out.
Keeping my expression neutral, I sat up. “Why not? Grant said you’d made up your mind.”
“I had. I’d started looking up application deadlines, even finished a few online the night of…you know.” She picked at the blankets beneath her.
“What changed between then and now?”
She looked at me. “The fire. I was so sure going down that path was the safest. It was what was expected of me. It was the path I needed to take to prove to myself that I could do it, and when I was choking on the smoke and crawling out of my apartment with the whole world on fire around me, do you know what went through my head?”
“Run?”
She smiled and lobbed a pillow at my head. “Well, after that. It was you. It was you and Colm, Heath, Declan, Mak, Kara, Emmett, Avery, Sylvia—” Her throat tightened. “Grant. It was that I wouldn’t be able to dance again if something happened to me. I wouldn’t get to touch you again, and I wouldn’t get to make margaritas for everyone or kick your ass at Scrabble. That’s what’s most important to me. That’s what I need to cherish, not run away from by burying myself in my books for the next seven years and never having enough time for anyone. I always wanted to be like my parents, but I don’t want that anymore. They weren’t ever there for me and Colm, not like they should’ve been. Trying to live up to some ideal they had in their minds is insane. I don’t want that.”
“Good.” I covered the back of her hand with mine. “You’d be an amazing doctor, but that’s not who you were meant to be.”
“Now I just have to figure out how to tell Colm.” She flopped back on the bed, sending her hair flying across my bed in a golden cascade.
“We can do it together.” I threaded my fingers through hers and tugged her across my lap. “Then you can teach me a few moves, and maybe I’ll join in on your next class. I can be your assistant.”
She threw her head back. “I thought you hated people staring at you.”
“For you, I’d make that sacrifice.” I sat up and peppered her face with kisses. Her laughter was the most beautiful thing in the world, and I’d spend the rest of my life making sure she did it every day.
I jumped out of bed and fished out some sweatpants for her. After cinching them at the waist and rolling up
the legs about ten times, they were serviceable. I needed to get her some clothes, not that I didn’t love watching her walk around my apartment in my clothes—or better yet, in nothing.
Standing side by side in the kitchen, we made breakfast. Music blared from my phone, and we danced as we cooked sausages and eggs. Toast popped up out of the toaster, and she took over buttering duty.
We sat at the table, both eating with one hand, staring out the window and watching the clouds part, revealing a beautiful blue sky. Sitting in separate chairs after being in bed almost constantly felt too far apart. She rubbed her thumb over the back of my hand. I wanted this for the next seventy years. She drained the last of her juice; then I lifted her plate and stuck it in the dishwasher. Liv’s phone went off on the counter. She picked it up and crunched on the last piece of bacon.
My phone pinged with each incoming message to the group chat someone must have set up. I scrolled to the top of the chain.
Mak: Liv! We saw the news, are you okay?
Avery: Liv, where are you?
Kara: This happened 2 days ago and we’re just now finding out?!
Declan: Do you need anything?
Heath: Is this you trying to get out of your exams?
Liv: I’m fine, thanks for checking in on me.
Emmett: Where are you?
Kara: Are you safe?
Liv: I’m safe.
She paused and glanced over at me.
Liv: I’m staying with a friend.
Mak: Do you need clothes? Do you need to replace your textbooks? Email your professors?
Liv: All of that, but I can handle it.
Avery: At least let us take you to get some new clothes. *Hugs*
Emmett: Avery volunteering to shop. Hell yes, take my credit card!
Me: She can use mine
Heath: Welcome to the convo, sleeping beauty!
My lips pinched together.
Liv: Thank you for all the offers, but I know everyone is busy.
Mak: Don’t even try it. Hockey season is over. Tell us where you are and we’ll come get you.
Her head shot up, and her eyes got wide.
Liv: I can meet you in Rittenhouse Square.
Kara: In an hour?
Liv: Perfect!
I wrapped my arms around her from behind.
Liv: And can everyone please not tell Colm? He’ll only freak out and fly back here when there’s no reason for him to.
Everyone replied that they’d keep it to themselves.
“I was going to take you shopping.”
She laughed and pushed against me, no doubt feeling the insistent nudge of my cock against her back.
“I’d prefer to not get arrested for indecent exposure.”
Nibbling on her earlobe, I palmed her ass. “I’m incredibly discreet.”
Turning in my arms, she ran her hands along the sides of my face. “I have no doubt of that, but it will be good for me to see them. Maybe I’ll even pick up a couple surprises for you.” She winked.
* * *
I searched online for somewhere we could go once Liv’s semester ended, somewhere to take a break and reset, leave our phones at home and just be together.
My phone rang beside me. Sliding my finger across the screen, I lifted it to my ear.
“Have you seen Liv?”
“Hi, Colm. I have. She’s shopping with the girls right now.”
“Shopping? She doesn’t have enough clothes?”
I gritted my teeth. He didn’t know about the situation, and I’d promised Liv I wouldn’t tell him.
“She’s tagging along. A break will be good for her. She’s worked hard this semester.”
“But she can do better.”
“Why are you always on her case? It’s a nonstop barrage of expectations and never good enough with you. Give her some space.”
“What the hell makes you an authority on this? She’s my sister. I want what’s best for her.”
“You want what’s best for you. You want her to cut a piece of her heart out to fulfill this ideal vision you have in your head that doesn’t exist.” I shouldn’t have said it, but she’d been through a disaster and had almost died. She needed a break from his pressure before she broke.
“Is that what she’s telling you?”
“She doesn’t need to. Anyone who’s seen her dance knows how important it is to her.”
He scoffed. “That’s not a real career.”
“Maybe it can be. She’s a hell of a teacher, and she can do whatever she needs to for that to work.”
“She doesn’t teach. This is not up to you.”
“It’s not up to you either. It’s up to her, and she’d go through with med school just to please you.” Jumping up out of my chair, I threw my hand up in the air. “She’d put herself under soul-crushing pressure for something she doesn’t want. You should be happy she’s not going to med school because if she were, it would be halfway across the country to get away from you and your expectations. You’re trying to shove her into that little kid box and run her life, and what you’re doing is pushing her away.” My heavy breath filled the silence of the room.
He was quiet for a moment. “She’s not going to med school?”
I winced and squeezed my eyes shut. Fuck!
Dragging my hand through my hair, I collapsed into my chair. “Out of everything I just said, that’s what you focus on? You’re pushing her away and pushing her too hard.”
“I’ll see her when I land at the end of the week.” He ended the call, and I dropped my head. Add another point to the column of Ford fuckups.
I had the next couple of hours to go over it in my head. The front door swung open, and I berated myself as I took a deep breath. Liv came back from shopping with a few bags filled to the top, and I dropped the oven mitts at the distress on her face.
She set the bags down and backed away from them like they were filled with live snakes. “They said it was payback for all the makeovers I’ve done for them over the years.” She picked at her thumb. “I kept saying I didn’t need this much. I told them I’ll get new credit cards from the bank. I can replace all my stuff myself…”
A rainbow of colors and fabrics spilled out of the bags.
“They’re worried and wanted to do something nice for you. You’ve been through a lot. They want to spoil you.” I wrapped my arm around her and skimmed my fingers along her collarbone. “I want to spoil you.”
32
Liv
The final triumphant music drifted from the laptop, and the scene cut to black. Names scrolled up the blank screen. The Wet Bandits had always freaked me out when I was little, but watching it now, Kevin McCallister pretty much committed attempted murder at least fifteen times in that movie. Ford made fun of me for still watching through the credits. These people had contributed to the movie, so the least I could do was watch their names run across the screen.
“I can’t believe you don’t have a TV in your bedroom,” I shouted, scrolling my finger across the trackpad on his computer.
“My living room is literally three steps from my bedroom,” he called out over the bedroom wall that stopped ten feet up.
“But you don’t have a bed in your living room.”
“I’m not putting a TV in the bedroom.” The microwave beeped. Buttery, salty goodness floated through the air into the lofted bedroom. The sounds of Ford banging around in the kitchen filtered in as well.
Laid out in the middle of the bed, I scrolled through the list of movies to find another one. Movies and binging tv shows had helped keep me distracted, not to mention Ford’s own distraction techniques.
I’d been on a strict communications embargo since the fire. Everything seemed so much louder and more chaotic since that night. I needed to be tucked away in a cocoon. The calls from Colm were getting to be too much. I sent him a text.
Me: I love you, I’m dealing with some stuff right now, and I need you to trust me that it will all be okay.
&
nbsp; Lying to him had never come naturally; therefore there was only one solution. I turned off my phone. Ha! And he thought I wasn’t a good problem solver. He’d be in town at the end of the week, and I could sit him down then to talk it all over in person. Actually, maybe that wasn’t such a good idea.
Maybe I could send a carrier pigeon and have it deliver a note from me while he was at the airport in LA. Being locked inside a metal tube for eight hours was bound to help him cool down. Nowhere to run. Or I’d suck it up and have the conversation, get him to understand how much forging my new path meant.
The neck of Ford’s oversize T-shirt—well, oversize on me—hung down over my shoulder. Ford bathed my neck in kisses, raining them down over me and setting my skin aflame. He slid the bowl of popcorn onto the table beside the bed and closed the laptop. “What are you thinking about?”
I turned my head and he captured my lips never missing a beat. How had I gone weeks without this? “You,” I whispered against his mouth.
“You’re going to have a hard time getting rid of me now.”
My stomach flipped. I didn’t ever want to be rid of him. It wasn’t just the way he spoke to my body; it was the life he breathed into my soul. There was a part of me that came alive whenever he looked deep into my eyes.
Unhooking my bra, which I’d only had on for about twenty minutes, he made a disapproving sound and pulled it from around my body. His fingers dipped under the soft jersey cotton, and he shoved the shirt up to my neck. My skin broke out in goose bumps as the cool air rushed over my breasts. He lowered his lips to my nipple, sucking it into his mouth and teasing it with his teeth.
I gasped and ran my hands along his back. My pussy throbbed, clenching and calling out for attention. I ran my hands through his hair, tightening my grip with each nip. He switched sides, rolling my nipple between his teeth and swirling his tongue around my taut peak.
Lifting more of his weight, he sank lower, dropping down my body until his fingers toyed with the waistband of the sweatpants I still wore even though I had my own now. Like the pants and underwear weren’t even there, he had them both down and off me in no time, tossing them over his shoulder.