by Jade West
I shook my head. “She’s just looking out for me, that’s all. She only got one side of it when I split up with Darren, she hardly knows him.” I squeezed her arm. “She’s just on team Jodie.”
“I’m just on team Jodie,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean I think Trent’s a total fucking tool.”
“You know Darren,” I said. “She doesn’t.”
“Not convinced,” Tonya said. “I think she’s acting sketchy, there’s something about her I don’t like.”
“You don’t like anyone,” I laughed. “You think everyone’s got an agenda.”
She winked. “Everyone has got an agenda, I just like to know what it is before I decide I want to bosom buddy it up with them. Lorraine’s cagey with hers. We don’t know shit about her, not even after all these years.”
I scoffed. “I do.”
She shrugged. “Do you? About her home life? Has she had a boyfriend? Got a boyfriend? Wants a boyfriend? Why did she get divorced? What’s she been doing since? Do you know any of this stuff?”
“She sees people,” I said. “Just casual. She doesn’t really talk about it.”
“Exactly,” she said. “Cagey.”
“Dating websites probably. She’s probably embarrassed.”
“Embarrassed or cagey,” she said.
I rolled my eyes. “You liked Lorraine last week. You invited her out.”
“She invited us out.” She did a twirl. “And she hadn’t launched an anti-Trent offensive off the cuff back then. Hadn’t said his kids would be better off rid of him.”
I groaned. “She just doesn’t like him, Tonya.”
“She doesn’t know him, like you said.”
“Seems I don’t either. I had no idea he was whoring himself out to the whole village, Tonya. How do you expect her to feel after that revelation?”
She shrugged. “Still, I think there’s something off with her.”
I kissed her cheek. “I love you, Tonya, I love how loyal you are, even to those people you half-think are douches.”
“He’s a good dad,” she said. “And he thinks a lot of you, too.”
I wish I was as convinced as she was.
I downed a glass of Bacardi and Coke and disappeared further into the crowd.
Fuck Darren Trent, tonight was all about the music.
Alright, so dancing wasn’t as easy as I remembered. I managed less than an hour before my feet were blistered and killing me. Bloody heels.
We sat in a booth, a fresh bottle of white in an ice bucket on our table, wetting ourselves as Lorraine recounted her weirdest ever customer stories. These always made me laugh, but the drink made them all the funnier.
I was giggling like an idiot when I felt my handbag vibrate. I pulled my phone out in a flash, hoping beyond hope it wasn’t Nanna.
It wasn’t, it was Darren.
My heart did a weird jump.
You alright? Club good?
I smiled. This was as conversational as it ever got from Darren.
Alright, thanks. Girls ok?
I held my phone under the table and turned my attention back to the conversation. They were both laughing too hard to notice. It vibrated again.
Girls are asleep. Just be careful out there.
I smiled. Be careful? I’m alright, Darren. I have Tonya and Lorraine with me.
I pressed send and took another swig of wine. Lorraine was well away, into the one with the woman who claimed one of the waiters had put poop in her stew.
Another message.
Just be careful. Don’t go home with any assholes, Jo.
I fired off a response. I wasn’t planning on it.
Another buzz. I’m sure you’ll be taking your pick. Just make sure it’s a good one.
I stared at the phone, wishing I could ask the Tonya and Lorraine what they thought. I couldn’t. They’d probably come to blows.
My reply took some typing with clumsy fingers. You’re telling me to go fuck a stranger, but just make sure they’re nice? Shall I get a copy of their current CV, take some references?
I waited for it. No. That’s not it. Forget it.
I’d pissed him off. The wine made me giggle. Sorry. I’m being silly. Wine.
Have fun, he replied.
My fingers kept typing. I’m not going to be fucking any strangers, Darren. I’m not going to be going home with anyone.
Your business, he said. Just be careful.
I was flummoxed. Why bring it up then?
It took a few minutes to get a reply to that one. Just bothered.
Bothered I might fuck someone or bothered they might be an asshole? Shit. I can’t believe I actually sent that.
I tried to focus on the conversation. Tonya was talking fish and chip shop horror stories now.
I could hardly bring myself to look at the next message. What do you think?
I don’t know what I think, I said.
A buzz almost straight back. Makes fucking two of us, Jo.
My heart was thumping. Wine made me brave. If I fucked another man tonight would it bother you? Yes or no?
His reply made me want to pull my hair out. Would you want it to?
I was done with this. I fired off one final message before I shoved my phone back in my bag. I don’t have time for this, Darren. I’ll catch you later. x
A kiss. I added a kiss.
Oh well, fuck it.
I downed my wine and dragged the others back to the dance floor. Those blisters would just have to go fuck themselves.
I was so ready to go home. Sober enough to feel the pain in my heels, drunk enough to limp on regardless, I was sick to death of Lorraine pointing out every hot young guy who was after some and nudging me to go make a slut of myself.
I’m no slut.
Even if I did bang five men at once last weekend.
I didn’t admit to that, of course.
Go get them yourself! I’d insisted, but she’d laughed me off.
Tonya kept shooting me looks, but said nothing. Maybe she thought Lorraine was alright again now they’d bonded some over food and beverage stories.
I let out a sigh of relief as we piled into a taxi.
“Allensmore first,” I said to the driver. “Then onto Pontrilas.”
“No, no,” Lorraine said from the backseat. “I’ll come to Pontrilas, too, get out at Allensmore on the way back.”
I pulled a face at her between the seats. “Why?”
She sighed. “I think I might have left the cafe unlocked. The door around the back. My bad.”
Tonya laughed. “I think it’ll probably either be robbed by now, or safe until morning.”
“I’ll just check anyway,” Lorraine insisted. “Wouldn’t be able to sleep otherwise.”
I shrugged. “Pontrilas then, please,” I said.
We made drunken small talk all the way back and the village was upon us in no time. I began directions to mine as we passed Trent’s yard, telling the driver to drive on through the village and up the hill the other side. I rooted in my bag for my keys, and that’s when I noticed my phone flashing.
One message. Darren.
I clicked Open.
Yes, it would bother me if you fucked another man tonight. It would bother me a lot.
My heart leapt, legs all wobbly in the footwell.
We pulled into the village, passing the shop and then the cafe.
Then Trent’s.
The light was still on. I could see the glow through the living room curtains.
“Stop here,” I said, my thumping heart making me feel dizzy. “I’ll walk the rest.”
The driver looked at me. “Here?”
I nodded. “Just here.” I pointed to the pull-in by the fish and chip shop. He stopped next to Darren’s truck.
Lorraine leaned forward and I shoved a tenner into her hand. “My share,” I said.
“What are you doing?” she said. “We’ll take you home.”
Tonya laughed, patted her shoulder. “I t
hink this is where she wants to be.”
I watched Lorraine figure out what was going down. I felt strangely guilty.
“Oh,” she said. “I see.”
I opened the door, gave a load of goodnights.
“Don’t do this, Jodie,” Lorraine said. “It’s a mistake.”
Tonya unclipped her seatbelt, clambered forwards enough to pull the passenger door closed. It left me out in the cold. I smiled as she flashed me a smile. “Go!” she mouthed.
I watched the car pull away with a grin.
Shit.
Oh shit.
What the hell was I doing?
My throat was dry and my legs were all wimpy and useless as I clacked along the pavement up to Trent’s.
He was already outside. Standing at the top of the stairs looking down on me.
I gripped hold of the railing, trying to think what the hell I should say.
He took a few steps down. “I saw the taxi,” he said. He was smoking, of course he was smoking.
“I was…” I began. “I just… your message… I got it in the car…”
A few more steps down, and I could smell his cigarette. I could smell him.
I could feel his stare, even in the shadows, feel those eyes right on mine. “What are you doing here, Jo?”
I sighed. “I’ve had a little wine. I got your message.”
“Are you drunk?”
I sighed again. “A little bit.”
Another step and I could feel the heat from him. He flicked his cigarette away. “The girls are asleep. If you come up… we’ll have to be quiet…”
I nodded. “Yes, yes. I know.”
“Is that what you want? To come up?”
I laughed, this whole thing was so fucking stupid. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. “Do you want me to come up?” I swung myself on the railings, let myself laugh.
I stopped laughing when he grabbed me, his palms on my cheeks like they’d been so many times. His thumbs were rough on my cheekbones, his palms pressed tight. I put my hand on his, took a breath. A drunken breath.
And then he kissed me.
He kissed me so hard I toppled back into the chip shop wall, and he pinned me there. His body pressed to mine, his mouth so hot and so fucking needy. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he took my weight.
“My feet,” I hissed. I smiled, giggled. Stared into his eyes so close to mine. “They’re sore. I can hardly walk in these shoes.”
“Righto,” he said. He lifted me out of them, and the heels went toppling onto the tarmac.
Thank fuck for that.
He turned his back to me and crouched. I giggled harder as I leapt up and wrapped my arms around his neck.
“I’m heavy,” I whispered. “Too heavy for a piggyback.”
“Nah,” he said. “You’re not.”
I laughed as he scooped down low for my shoes, trying to smother my amusement as he climbed the stairs to his front door. He made light work of it.
It felt so good to be carried by Darren Trent.
He dropped me at the top and pressed his lips to mine. “Quiet,” he said. “The girls…”
I nodded.
We went inside, and I held my breath all the way to his bedroom.
I felt so young. Tipsy drunk with messy hair and sore feet, that same intoxicating thrum of nerves I’d always had when Darren looked at me the way he was looking at me now. I tried to keep my steps light, tiptoeing through the strewn clothes over his bedroom floor. He hadn’t been expecting me this time and it showed. But I liked that. I liked all of it. The crumpled sheets on his bed, the messy pillows, still misshapen from the last time he’d slept. I sat on the edge of the mattress, ran a hand idly along the place I knew he’d been sleeping the night before.
I knew exactly how he slept – it was emblazoned into my memory for all time. I could picture him like it was yesterday. Lying on his front, his head on the side facing my direction, one arm under him, bunching up the pillow. The other would be over me, once upon a time. I missed that, the warmth of his arm over me through the night, knowing he was there, knowing he would always be there.
But I’d been wrong.
Darren pulled the bedroom door closed so slowly, eased the door handle up until the latch clicked. He placed my shoes on the floor and I pushed some of the dirty mugs on his bedside table aside to clear space for my handbag. I shrugged my coat from my shoulders as he stared, his eyes like white heat on my skin, giving me prickles. My legs were crossed, and my foot tapped in the air, nervous.
Shit, I was so fucking nervous. Third time in and the nerves were worse than ever.
Because I’m not a client, not tonight. Because this isn’t a job for him. Because this is just about us.
He was still staring, looking at me like he’d never seen me before. His jaw was tight, his eyes not letting up, taking in every little thing and I knew it. I smoothed my hair and attempted a smile, but he didn’t smile back.
He took a step towards the bed and lifted his shirt over his head. He tossed it in a ball towards the laundry basket and loosened his belt. His cock was hard when he dropped his jeans, springing free from his boxers as he pulled those down too.
Yes. Oh, yes.
The corner of his mouth curved into a half-grin. He ran his fingers across day-old stubble and closed the distance between us. He stood before me, his belly level with my face, and I took a breath, kept my eyes on his as my fingers wrapped around his cock and gripped him tight.
He thrust his hips, moving against my hand, his dick so close to my mouth that it was the most natural thing in the world to take the head of him between my lips. His hand landed on the back of my head, his fingers curling in my hair and holding me tight.
I sucked him deep and he hissed out a breath, tipped his head back and closed his eyes. I cupped his balls just like I used to do, ran my thumb across the wiry hair I knew so well. Just a little bit of pressure, just how he liked it, and his grip on my hair tightened, his hips thrusting harder.
Yes. Oh fuck yes.
I loved to see him like this. Loved to see the bliss on his face as I ran my tongue along the underside of his shaft, the way his eyes closed that little bit tighter as I swirled my tongue around the head of him. I’d so missed this.
He swallowed, and arched his back. I wrapped my arms around his thighs, stroked my fingers up his legs until I gripped his ass, and he had free movement. Another hand in my hair and he was moving forward for a deeper angle.
Oh fuck.
He pushed in deep, slowly, inching his dick to the back of my throat as I stared up at him with wide eyes. I squeezed his ass and pulled him closer, relaxed my throat to let him in. A bit of a splutter and my nose was to his belly, the wiry hair at the base of him tickling my chin.
“Fuck,” he breathed. “Oh fuck, Jodie.”
He still smelled of oil and sweat. He smelled of him, too. He smelled perfect.
He pulled out and I sucked in a breath, eyes watering almost as much as my mouth. He thumbed up the spit from my chin and smiled, then came in for seconds. This time he was rougher – thrusting right from his thighs, a strong grip under my jaw to keep the position right.
I felt so taken. So secured.
I felt amazing.
I blinked and my watery eyes spilled over. I smiled around his cock and he smiled back, brushed my cheek with this thumb.
Sweeping thrusts, his cock thumping the back of my throat until my cheeks billowed and my mouth made low gurgles. I felt his ass clench, his thighs, too, his movements more urgent, his breath quickening.
I stared up at him and encouraged his thrusts, kept my hands tight on his ass and my mouth wide. I wanted this, wanted him to peak, wanted him to unload all over my tongue and let me swallow him down like a hungry little bitch, but he stopped without warning and pulled his dick from my mouth.
He pushed me backwards until I flopped onto the bed, and dropped to his knees on the floor between my legs. His palms were
rough against my calves, warm against my goose-pimpled skin. Calloused fingers climbed up my thighs, hitched my dress to my hips and tugged down my tiny little knickers. He took my feet in his hands and kneaded the soles until I squirmed. It was bliss.
I gripped the bedsheets as he worked, his touch magic on sore toes. I gasped as his lips landed on my ankle and grazed their way up. I was too squirmy to stay still by the time he reached my knee, and my the time he reached my thigh I was a breathless wreck, legs lolling apart in desperation for the touch of his mouth against my pussy.
He paused, his breath on my wet pussy lips, and I couldn’t look, I was already too far gone. I reached for him, my hands on his head, his hair spiking my palms as I urged him closer. He pushed one leg up onto the bed and hitched the other over his shoulder, and I was spread wide, exposed so totally that the nerves in my belly spluttered and fizzed.
Oh God.
When his mouth clamped onto my pussy it clamped hard, his tongue hungry and horny as he sought out my clit with hard, flat strokes. He eased my dress up further and rested his hand on my belly, his thumb moving back and forth across my flabbiest parts like they were beautiful. He made me feel beautiful.
I rested my head to the side and smiled, let myself rock into him, grinding my pussy against his mouth as he licked at me. I expected him to fuck me with his fingers, but he didn’t, just kept on working that magic with his tongue until my clit was pulsing and wired, my movements becoming jerky as my breath grew ragged.
I’m going to…
I gripped his hair and bucked, letting out a single solitary groan before I caught myself. The girls. I bit my lip and thrashed, arching my back as he sent me over the edge, lapping at my pussy like a hungry fucking dog. Fuck! An explosion of white behind my eyes and my ears started ringing with the strain of silence. I grabbed for one of the pillows and brought it to my face, biting down on it and shuddering out my orgasm as he flicked that heavenly tongue.
He didn’t stop until I was long spent – a mushy, limp bag of limbs flopped uselessly on his bed.
He didn’t waste any time. His body was so warm, his chest so hard against mine as he pressed his full weight onto me. Oh God I wanted to take him.