With that, Jean left the room, leaving Laurie staring at her friend’s back. Knowing her mom’s adolescent reasoning for keeping his name a secret, she wondered what purpose her mom had for sharing once she was an adult. Shaking her head, trying to remove the tangled thoughts crowding in, she stood and headed home. Time for another chat, Emma.
*
Laurie and Carol stood in her room looking into her closet once again. Now that she had a steady paycheck, Laurie had been able to purchase more clothes, but she was still clueless as to what to wear to meet Rob’s parents.
“Augghhhh,” she cried out, flopping down on her bed. “What do you wear to meet the parents of your boyfriend? I have no idea how to do this!”
Carol laughed, both at Laurie’s indecision over clothes and hearing Rob being called her boyfriend. She knew Tom’s player ways had ceased once they began dating, and she was sure that Rob would be the same. Tom had been doubtful that Rob would ever settle down, but she kept telling him that when the right woman came along, Rob would realize what he wanted and how to get it.
“No idea how to dress or no idea how to be Rob’s girlfriend?”
“Both.” Laurie, still lying back on the bed, raised her head up to look at her friend. “It’s happened several times, you know?”
Carol, with a questioning gaze, sat down next to Laurie on the bed. “What’s happened, honey?”
Laurie stared at the ceiling, feeling tears starting to slide down her face. Taking a deep breath, she explained, “Running into some of his old fuck buddies.”
“Oh, Laurie. I am so sorry.” Carol paused for a moment, lost in thought. “The same thing happened a time or so with me, but at least most of Tom’s old conquests were out of town, so I didn’t have to be constantly reminded.”
Laurie lay still, wiping at the tears before sitting up. “I know Rob feels horrible when it happens. I even tell myself that it will eventually stop. Oh, I don’t know,” she said with exasperation as she shook her head.
“You want to tell me about them?”
Laurie barked out a noise of frustration, ruefully shaking her head again. Sighing in resignation, she looked up at Carol’s sympathetic face and agreed. “Last week we were coming out of his mom’s bakery, laughing at something she had said. God, Carol, I felt so happy at that moment. His arm was wrapped around me, and everything just felt so…right. So…real. Then two women came out of a shop, took one look at Rob and walked over as though I wasn’t even there. One tried to press her boobs right onto his arm, and the other was placing her hand on his chest before he could pull us back. You want to know what happened next?”
Carol, almost afraid to agree, feeling nauseous, just nodded her head.
“They asked if he wanted to do a threesome again! Again! Jesus, that means he did it before!”
“What did Rob say?”
Taking a cleansing breath, Laurie admitted, “He was angry. Embarrassed. Upset. Afraid I was upset. He jerked back from them, saying that he was with me now.” Hanging her head, she continued the torrid story. “One of them just said that I was welcome to join.”
“Oh god, honey, I am so sorry,” Carol said as she placed her arm around Laurie.
“Of course, Rob was beyond furious at that time. He called them a few choice names, told them to get away from him and said that he had better never hear of them speaking to me again. Then he literally pulled me down the street away from them.” She paused again, collecting her thoughts. “It was awkward as hell. He didn’t know what to say. I didn’t either. I mean what do you say to that? ‘Gee honey, are you sure you don’t want a foursome fuck tonight?’ I finally told him to take me home – the day was ruined, after all. He was afraid I would walk away from him.”
Looking back into Carol’s face, she continued, “I thought about it. I found myself wondering if I could be the girlfriend of a reformed player. I feel as though whenever we are out somewhere, I am constantly on guard. When a girl walks near us, I feel sick to my stomach wondering if she is coming over to start something. There have been a couple of other times like that, but that was definitely the worst.”
Squeezing her friend’s shoulder, Carol replied. “Laurie, you’re the only one who can decide if Rob is what you want. If he’s worth the fight. If he’s worth the trouble.”
Laurie, eyes flashing, said, “Oh, I know he is worth everything. He is so much more than what those skanks see. He is so much more than what everyone sees. Hell, he is so much more than what he even sees in himself!”
Carol smiling, “So is he worth the trouble?”
Realizing what her friend had done, Laurie laughed. “Yeah, he is worth the trouble. I know he is true to me. And I know eventually the skanks will all fade away.” Then with a smirk, she added, “To hell, preferably!”
Laughing in agreement, Carol turned back to the closet, rummaging through Laurie’s clothes again. Carol had some perfect clothes, but she was much too slim to be able to share them with Laurie.
“Go casual, but classy,” Carol advised. “Bernie and Mac are down-to-earth people, and you don’t want to appear stuffy. But since you are being introduced as Rob’s girlfriend then you also want the classic look.” She pulled out dark jeans, a hunter green sweater with a modest V neck, and Laurie’s black boots.
Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, and realizing that she was running late, she jumped into her clothes and had Carol do her makeup. Standing with their arms around each other, the two women looked into the mirror. Carol’s blonde beauty gave her an angel like quality, almost otherworldly. She was slim, with a delicate look about her that belied the strength underneath.
Slightly shorter than Carol, Laurie knew she looked much more like Emma and her mom. Petite, but with the curves she knew Rob liked, her flawless face was framed by her dark hair that hung down her back.
Their eyes meeting in the mirror, they laughed just as the doorbell rang. Opening the door together, they looked up at two of the most handsome men in Fairfield. Tom’s Nordic-god looks had Carol’s eyes sparkling. Laurie’s pulse was racing just looking into Rob’s Celtic appearance with his black hair and blue eyes.
The men were equally entranced by the vision in front of them. Tom’s protectiveness came to the forefront whenever he looked into Carol’s angel eyes, and Rob was always stunned that his beautiful Laurie wanted him, faults and all.
Both couples headed out into the night, promising a double date soon. With that, Rob escorted Laurie to his parents’ house. He noticed that she was unusually quiet. Chancing a glance over at her profile, he could see she appeared tense.
“What’s up, babe?” he asked.
Exasperated, she looked over at him. “Can you always tell what is going on with me?”
Chuckling, he replied, “Laurie, first I don’t want you to hide shit from me. No matter how little you think it is, I wanna know. Second, babe, if you haven’t figured it out by now, I make it my business to keep a pulse on you. That’s what bein’ with me includes. Me knowin’ you. Me watchin’ out for you. Me takin’ care of you.”
His words moved over her, wrapping around her as tightly as his arms when they lay in bed at night. Smiling to herself, she almost forgot that he had asked a question.
“Babe,” he asked gently. “What’s goin’ on in that pretty head of yours?”
“I’m nervous about meeting your parents.”
“Laurie, honey you’ve had coffee at my mom’s shop a dozen times, and you met my dad at the school fire. What’s to be nervous about?”
“Rob, that was different. At the coffee shop, your mom just sees me as another customer, and your dad just saw me as someone you rescued. What if they don’t like me for your girlfriend? What if I don’t meet their expectations?”
He pulled over to the side of the road, putting the truck into park. Pushing his seat all the way back, he gently pulled her over the console of this truck and placed her in his lap, wrapping his arms around her.
“Babe, I’m g
onna tell you like it is. Don’t like bringin’ up past shit, but it’s the only way to make you feel better. Fairfield isn’t a huge town, and it was no secret even to my parents how my reputation was gained.”
Laurie could feel herself stiffen at the reminder of his past. His arms tightened around her again.
“Eyes on me, Laurie,” he gently commanded. She raised her eyes to his, relaxing at what she saw there. His blue eyes held nothing but concern.
“My parents despaired of me ever meetin’ someone that could love me for me and give me a chance at a future like the one they had. And it wasn’t until recently that I pulled my head outta my ass and realized how my behavior reflected on them.” Shaking his head at his own folly, he continued. “Mom met you months ago and was bowled over. She couldn’t say enough about how pretty and nice you were. I never told you that I spoke to my parents about you before we ever went out on that first date. So they knew you were special. They knew I was fallin’. And they are over the fuckin’ moon about it. So babe, you’ve got nothin’ to worry about. They already love you and approve of you. You got nothin’ to fear.”
Smiling, she cupped his face in her small hands, bringing her lips in for a gentle kiss. The kiss began to build as their tongues mated, and she sucked on his lips. Pulling back, he groaned. “Oh girl, we gotta stop. I don’t want to have a hard-on walkin’ into my mom’s kitchen.”
Giggling, she went over to her side of the truck, and he headed them back down the road. Rob’s parents had moved to just outside of town when he was in college. Their house was a large refinished farm house with a small barn in the back yard that they had transformed into a big rec room. The weather had gotten colder, and when they exited the truck, Mac threw open the front door ushering them inside. As soon as Laurie crossed the threshold, Mac grabbed her in a bear hug, picking her up off the floor.
Rob slapped his on the back, growling, “Dad, let her go. You’re going to break her!” Laurie laughed as Mac set her gently on the ground.
“Ah, Laurie, darlin’, seeing you with Rob is a sight for sore eyes! Good to have you here.”
Bernie came walking in from the kitchen, with her typical apron around her waist. Pulling Laurie into a gentle although just as heartfelt hug, Laurie felt accepted. “Make yourself at home. I’ll bring out some appetizers in just a minute.”
As Rob escorted Laurie into the large comfortable family room, she noticed pictures on the fireplace mantle. Walking over, she saw several pictures of three boys at various ages from about five years old to mid-twenties.
“Oh my goodness, this is you, Tom, and Jake! You all were so cute!” Laurie exclaimed.
Rob laughed in embarrassment. “Yeah,” he answered.
Mac spoke up then. “Those three were inseparable. We all lived on the same street when the boys were little, so they were friends from preschool. Played football together in high school and college. Quite the athletes, all three. Tom and Jake went on to the police academy, and Rob came home to follow his old man here with the fire department.”
“Dad, I hardly think Laurie wants a dissertation on the three of us.”
Laughing, she admonished Rob. “It’s fine, Mr. MacDonald. I love seeing these three cuties.” She wandered down the mantle looking at the other pictures. These were all of the MacDonald clan. Mac lovingly looking down at his wife and children. Rob with Suzy when she was a baby.
Rob watched her carefully and saw the exact second that a wistful look passed over her face. Knowing that she had become more sensitive about her family, he stood behind her wrapping his arms around her. Looking over her shoulder up at him, she smiled.
Right then, Bernie came in with the appetizers followed by Suzy, Rob’s much younger sister. Suzy was a beauty at only sixteen, with the same coloring as Rob. Her glossy dark hair and sparkling blue eyes would surely turn the heads of the boys at her school. Laurie quickly found out that she was a sophomore in high school, had straight A’s, and was interested in a boy named Brad Evans.
Rob rolled his eyes. “Not happenin’, Suzy.”
Suzy huffed, and Laurie could sense an argument brewing between the siblings. She looked quizzically at Rob.
Suzy looked at Laurie asking, “Did you have an older brother? ‘Cause sometimes they suck! He tries to tell me I can’t date until I’m twenty!”
Laurie couldn’t help but laugh at Rob, thinking he was going to keep Suzy from dating. She loved the banter among the family, wishing more than once that she had known that.
The conversation flowed, and she found herself completely relaxed and accepted by the MacDonald family. After dinner, she and Bernie cleaned up the kitchen. Looking directly into Laurie’s eyes, Bernie said “Sweetie, I have to say how glad I am that you are with Rob. He came months ago to tell us of this amazing girl he met, and I knew that night he had met someone special. Mac and I could not be happier.”
Family. Belonging. Friends. Love. As they drove back to his apartment, she realized how glad she was to have moved to Fairfield.
“Rob, can I ask you a question,” she asked hesitantly.
“Babe, you don’t have to ask if you can ask. Just ask.”
“I was just thinking about Emma.”
“You miss her, don’t you?”
“It’s hard to explain. From the time I was about two years old, we shared a room. She was my aunt, my roommate, my pretend sister, my friend, then my guardian. We talk almost every day and well, I miss her. She works as a high school counselor, but I know she would love to change schools. It’s just, I’ve found a place where I belong, people that I love. When I came here, she told me that it was my time.” Looking into his eyes, she continued, “My time to get out on my own. My time to have my own place. My time to discover me. My time to fall in love.”
Entwining his fingers through hers, he encouraged her to open up more as they sat in the parking lot.
“I would like to ask her to try to get a job here. I’d like her to move to Fairfield, but I wanted to know what you thought.”
“Honored you want my opinion, Laurie, but you don’t need my approval to have Emma come here, whether to visit or live. What are you really thinkin’, babe?” he probed.
“Well… you and I are still kind of new. And I don’t want you to think that you’re not enough for me. Or that she would intrude into our lives.”
Rob placed his fingers on her lips to silence her fears. “Laurie, I’ve got my parents and sister and best friends in this town. You’re here by yourself. Finding your time as you say. But babe, I want you to have your family where they make you the happiest, and if that’s Emma movin’ here, then I am all for it.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, she wrapped her arm around his waist as they walked inside. Sliding her hand down on his firm ass, she gave it a squeeze as they crossed the threshold.
Rounding on her quickly, he picked her up and walked forward until her back hit the door and her breasts were pushed up against his chest. Up until now, their sex had been very active, but tame, only missionary and in the bed. Wanting to make sure she was comfortable, Rob had not attempted anything more adventurous. Leaning his head back to look into her eyes, he quickly asked, “You okay, babe?”
“Oh yeah,” was her response.
That was all the encouragement he needed. Slamming his lips onto hers, he kissed her hard and possessively. Nipping her lips, sucking her tongue into his mouth, slanting his head to get a deeper angle, his kiss owned her. Delving into her mouth, he explored every crevice as his tongue danced with hers.
She answered back with her tongue, stroke for stroke. Her fingers dug into his muscular biceps as she held on tightly, feeling as though she were drowning and he were her rescuer.
She felt her panties getting wet and couldn’t resist squirming desperately against his engorged cock pressing into his jeans. The need for the friction was overwhelming and she couldn’t think of anything else but wanting to have him pumping inside of her, satisfying that need.
&nbs
p; He lowered her onto the floor just long enough to unzip her jeans and pull them off her body. Without breaking the kiss, he picked her back up and continued to press her against the door. He held her easily with one hand on her ass, and the other hand pushed up her sweater. Jerking down the cups of her bra, to free her breasts, he sucked one nipple deeply into his mouth, swirling the swollen bud with his tongue.
Rubbing her aching core on his jean clad dick, she could feel him press into her. “Rob, I need more. Please,” she begged.
He moved to the other breast, giving it the same attention that he gave the first. He reached down and grasped her panties in his hand, tearing the fragile material and tossing them to the floor. He unzipped his pants freeing his enormous cock. “Need to get a condom, baby”.
“I’m on the pill to control my periods. I’m safe,” she answered.
He looked carefully in her eyes. “Babe, I’ve never gone without a condom, and I get tested for my job. I’m clean, I promise.”
She looked into his blue eyes, seeing honestly shining back. “I trust you Rob.” With those words, she gave him everything she had to give.
Hearing those words, he felt them wrap around his heart and into his very being. He’d had women give him many things over the years, but never their trust. Those precious words were the most important gift he had ever received. Cupping his hand on her cheek, he stared into the grey eyes that captured him the moment he first saw them, promising, “I’d never put you at risk, Laurie. Never.”
His lips barely grazed hers in a kiss so soft she wasn’t sure it was real. All she knew was that she needed him, body and soul.
Lowering his leg, he pushed his jeans to the floor along with his boxers. Fingering her folds, he found she was more than ready for him.
“You’re soaked, babe. You ready? Can you take it?”
Laurie's Time (The Fairfield Series) Page 10