Dinner’s going to be late.
“Fuckin’ shit, Em,” Jordan complains as we enter my living room. “I hope you brought six of those fuckers because we’re starvin’.”
I drop four pizzas on the counter in my rundown kitchen as Jordan and Cody climb off my leather couch to eat. Jordan kisses Emily’s forehead as he passes her before giving me a look I was expecting. It’s a warning. Telling me I’ve crossed a line I don’t get to come back from and if I fuck up, he’ll put a bullet in my head. I nod my understanding.
When we were moving Cody out, I filled Jordan in. I gave him as many details on my past as I could. He didn’t seem surprised. I wondered if Devlin had told him already, but I know he didn’t. Jordan has ties to a life that you don’t forget no matter how far you move away from it. He gets me.
The only thing he asked was if I was serious about Emily. I told him I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life. He nodded, shook out a cigarette and offered me one. His way of giving me his blessing.
I took it and loved every fucking drag I inhaled. The blessing felt almost as good. When I caught Emily eye fucking me, I almost blew my load in my pants. With nicotine and lust vibrating through me it’s a wonder I was able to stop myself from crashing the car when she started with the blowjob question.
She worked her magic with that question though. I was pissed about the money. I don’t have the patience to have those petty arguments. But Emily doesn’t deserve my intolerance. I needed to make her understand and pinning her against the door because my dick couldn’t wait another second to be near her was better than having a fight.
I’ll remember that in the future with my woman.
I’m standing in my kitchen, my hip leaning against the cracked Formica counter as Emily opens and closes shitty MDF cabinets. There’s no judgment on her face as she finally locates paper plates and plastic cups.
She loads up pizza for Cody and Jordan who are settled at the kitchen table I built. It’s one of the nicest pieces of furniture in my home. Solid red oak with simple lines, gleaming below the ugliest pendant light known to man. Jesus, I need to remodel.
“Cody, I brought Coke. Is that okay?” Emily asks, placing his plate in front of him before smoothing a hand over his buzzed head.
“Yeah. Thanks,” he grunts.
This kid is more like me than I give him credit for.
“Beer,” Jordan requests around a mouth of food.
I continue to watch as Emily serves and dotes. She makes me a plate and grabs my hand, leading me to the free spot at the head of the table. Her sweet lips kiss my cheek before she leaves the table again.
She starts banging around, digging through every drawer and cabinet. I know she hasn’t eaten because I haven’t let her out of my sight since we left her bed. I don’t know if I ever will.
“Emily,” I growl.
“Yeah?” she responds happily, not affected by my rough edge.
“Eat,” I grunt.
“Just starting cookies.”
“Emily.”
It’s a warning. A stern one.
I look over at Jordan to see him smirking around the bottle of beer he’s chugging. Cody has his eyes glued to his plate, no expression on his face. When I glance back into the kitchen, I find Emily scowling at me with her hands on her round hips that I’ll be gripping with force tonight.
“I see that smirk on your mouth, Jordan Monroe,” she huffs. “I’ll eat, Garrett. I’m baking cookies right now. If you let me get to it and stop grunting and growling at me, I’ll get it done faster.”
“I thought sex was supposed to make chicks happy,” Jordan goads.
“I thought food made you shut up.”
He starts snickering at his friend as he shoves another slice in his mouth. I’m not laughing. She needs to eat. She’ll need her strength. I level her with a stare that lets her know just that and she rolls her eyes at me before grabbing a slice, shoving a dramatic bite into her mouth.
There’s a knock at the door as Emily goes back to baking. I have no idea how she’s going to bake in my kitchen because I seriously doubt there’s anything in there she needs. She seems confident as she moves though.
I stalk to the door and peer out the window in the middle, finding Hunter’s smug face smiling back at me. I yank the door open and he pushes past me without concern. Pain in the ass.
“Pizza!” he shouts excitedly.
“Are you hungry, sweetheart?” Emily coos at him as I shut the door.
“I had to cook tonight, which means I didn’t fuckin’ eat. I’m starvin’.”
He flops down in the chair next to Cody and they bump fists as Emily slides a plate in front of Hunter. She rubs his messy dark hair the same way she did Cody’s. Hunter smiles broadly at her and then wiggles his eyebrows. Serious pain in the ass.
“How come you’re not eatin’?” Hunter asks, devouring a slice in two bites as I retake my seat.
“I’m eating while I bake cookies.”
“What kinda cookies?”
“Peanut butter chocolate chip. You boys aren’t allergic to peanuts are you?” she asks concerned.
“No,” Cody answers for the two because Hunter’s mouth is completely full and I’m guessing that’s the only time he’s quiet unless he’s asleep.
“Should’ve asked earlier,” she says to herself.
She hasn’t taken another bite of pizza. I shouldn’t get this annoyed, but I am. I love that she’s giving and caring, but not at the expense of her own wellbeing.
“Are you guys dressing up for Halloween?” she asks as she mixes ingredients in a giant bowl I’ve never seen with a tablespoon.
“There’s a party at the Donovan place next weekend. I’m goin’ as a penis,” Hunter answers honestly.
“Oh,” Emily says, her mouth circling around the word. “That’s interesting.”
Jordan starts laughing along with Hunter. Cody and I remain stoic.
“I think Cody should go as a condom,” Hunter continues.
“Safe sex is important,” Jordan pipes in.
Emily’s cheeks flame at that statement and I move. By the time I get to her, she’s got her head down, plopping balls of dough on a makeshift cookie tray she created out of layers of tin foil.
“Almost done?” I whisper into her ear.
She nods, flicking panicked eyes to mine. We didn’t talk about not using a condom. I’m certain I’m clean and that she is too. But she probably doesn’t want the felon’s baby.
“You wanna talk about this here or in private?”
“Later,” she says quietly.
That wasn’t an option.
I yank the spoon and bowl out of her hands before picking her up over my shoulder. She squeals and flails until I order, “Be still.”
“We’ll be right back,” I inform the room as I stalk toward the narrow staircase in the living room.
“Remember!” Jordan shouts. “Safe sex!”
Emily goes limp and sighs at that announcement while their collective laughter gets quieter the further I move us away.
I push my door open and close it, flipping the lock before I settle Emily on her feet. She pushes her hair out of her face that I requested she leave down before we left her place. She’s in a plush cream sweater and black leggings. No make-up. Fucking sexy.
Emily takes in my room with shock on her face. It’s the only thing I’ve redone in the house. I combined the three bedrooms that were on this floor to make a massive master suite. After prison, there was no way I was living in a tiny bedroom ever again.
It’s sparsely decorated, meaning the light grey walls are barren. I made all the furniture in the room, including the monstrous bed Emily’s currently staring at. I carved intricate posts that reach almost all the way to the ten-foot ceiling along with the head and footboards. I used a leaf and vine pattern, climbing and crawling over the ebony like it would in its natural form. The plain charcoal bed linens allow the bed to be the centerpiece.
>
“It’s gorgeous,” Emily says tenderly, reaching out to stroke a post.
“I didn’t use a condom,” I reply. Not my finest conversation transition.
“I know.” Her head jerks in my direction with a confused look on her face.
“And you’re worried about it,” I prod her along.
“Huh?” she asks, truly perplexed.
“Huh?”
“What?”
“You’re not?”
“I’m lost here, Garrett. I thought we were up here to talk about Cody having sex.”
I can’t help the bark of laughter that rattles out of my throat.
“Why would you think that?”
“Because the boys were talking about penises and condoms.”
“Normal for teenagers,” I point out.
“His mother just died. Cody needs to feel loved. He could end up with some girl that’s just looking for a good time. Then his heart’ll get broken. And then Jenna and I’ll have to track her down. I won’t do anything mean, but Jenna’s got a temper and she could end up pummeling some poor girl. Then Caleb will get involved and that’ll cause more trouble because he’s protective of Jenna.
“And then when the girl gets a new boyfriend, Cody’ll feel awful and I’ll have to bake him a cake every day to make him feel better. But that’s not healthy, so I’ll have to find healthy substitutes. That’s not easy, Garrett. I like desserts to be the real deal. So then what do I do? I can’t give him carrots and celery to make him feel better. No one feels better with a vegetable platter,” she finishes with a huff, blowing a piece of hair from her face.
I laugh so hard tears form in the back of my eyes and Emily follows right along with me. We laugh until we’re both breathing hard and swiping our cheeks. This feels so good it hurts. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed this hard in my life.
I wrap Emily in a tight hug and she snuggles into my chest as we both try to calm down.
“Sugar, Cody’s gonna be fine,” I assure her.
“Are you gonna have the sex talk with him?” she mumbles into my chest.
“Fuck no,” I scoff.
She turns a scowl up at me and I kiss her nose. She’s fucking cute when she’s mad.
“I guess I could do it,” she grumbles.
“He doesn’t need the sex talk. He’s sixteen. He knows.”
She rolls her big gold-flecked greens at me. And mutters something I don’t quite catch.
“What was that?”
“I’ll put condoms in his room,” she retorts.
I snort, but don’t disagree.
“Should I put some in your room too?” she asks quietly.
Now we get down to it.
I tip her chin up and lean down to kiss her mouth softly.
“That’s up to you, Sugar.”
“Why? We’re both in this. We should decide together.”
“Okay.”
I wait for her to decide and then I’ll agree with whatever she says.
“Have you been with a lot of women besides Sarah?” she asks meekly.
“No,” I growl instantly. “You’re the first woman I’ve touched since I got out. Nine fuckin’ years, Emily.”
“Oh.”
“Oh,” I grunt, squeezing her a little tighter.
“It hasn’t been that long for me.”
“Fuck, can we not talk about you fuckin’ other men? I don’t need that shit in my head.”
She laughs long and hard at that.
I don’t.
“One other man and I don’t think you can call Billy Rutherford a man.”
“Huh?” I’m the one confused now.
“I was thirteen when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer the first time. Sixteen when it came back. Twenty when it reared its ugly head again. I didn’t have a lot of time to do normal stuff. I wanted to be with my mother. Boys didn’t matter. Billy was my boyfriend my senior year. Mom was healthy and we thought she’d beat it for good. We broke up when he went to college out of state. I started culinary school in Kansas City to stay close to home. I was focused on school and didn’t really date. When Mom got the last positive test, I knew. It had spread and she wouldn’t beat it. She didn’t.”
She brushes a lone tear from her cheek and I kiss the trail it left.
“I’m sorry, Sugar,” I whisper against her skin.
“Thank you.”
My brain does some quick math and I realize her having sex her senior year would put her at over a decade of no sex.
“He came to the funeral,” she answers my unasked question.
I nod my understanding, completely done talking about any other man touching her. I take her mouth in a possessive kiss. I touch every surface of her mouth, tangling and massaging. I swallow her moans and rumble with desire as she presses her body against mine. Then I nibble my way down her jaw and up to her ear before giving the lobe a tug with my teeth.
“I’m on birth control,” she says in her husky, sex voice.
“Thank fuck,” I groan, thrusting my dick into her stomach.
“I’ve gotta finish the cookies,” she hisses as I palm her tit and tweak her hard nipple.
Fucking cookies.
I growl and release her with a pat of her ass, letting her know she needs to get moving.
“I’m lookin’ forward to that bed, Garrett,” she purrs as she saunters away.
I hit her with a look that says You better get your ass outta this room before I tie to you my bed and never let you go.
She giggles and scurries away from me.
She gets me.
I pull my makeshift tray of cookies out of Garrett’s thirty-year-old oven and set them to cool on one of the racks I removed before baking. I’m pretty good at improvising.
I can feel Garrett’s eyes on me wherever I move. Jordan, Hunter and Cody are talking about some video game. Garrett hasn’t uttered a word. Though he did tip the edge of his gorgeous mouth at me when I finished a slice of pizza and drank a glass of water.
I didn’t make the connection until yesterday afternoon, but Garrett is a lot like my father. A lot. He was my hero as a little girl. I didn’t see him much in those first ten years of my life. But when I did, he was like a superhero to me. Watching him with my mom was the best. He was always touching her, holding her close. She lit up around him. Even when she was sick.
I guess it’s the reason I love watching the date table. That spark I witness reminds me of my parents. It’s a tingle I’m feeling for myself for the first time.
“Em,” Jordan’s voice pulls me from my thoughts.
“Yeah?”
“Don’t let that shit cool. We’ll eat ’em hot.”
I roll my eyes at him, but load up a paper plate and bring it over to the table. I try to walk away to clean up when Garrett tugs my waist, settling me on his lap.
“Did you get things squared away with your sister,” I ask Hunter as Garrett wraps an arm around my tummy causing it to flutter.
“Yeah,” he scoffs. “What’s wrong with chicks anyway? She told me she thought if everyone believed Cody slept with her, he actually would.”
He turns questioning big ebony eyes at me, begging for an explanation.
“It’s not just women that make those mistakes, sweetheart. People in general make foolish choices when they feel desperate. You felt desperate to avenge your sister this afternoon and were going to beat up your best friend to accomplish that. No one’s perfect. We have to see how people recover from their mistakes and try to make amends to truly see the fabric of the person they are,” I offer my opinion.
“You’re like a fairytale character,” Hunter huffs, shoving another cookie in his mouth.
“She’s got a rosy outlook on life, that’s for sure,” Jordan adds. “You should see her, man. When anyone else would get pissed, she smiles. I’ll be ready to go off on some idiot and she calms me down with a stupid joke. Her ex treats her like crap and she lets him off the hook. Not because she’s not hurt,
because she doesn’t want me to get in trouble for beatin’ his ass.”
“Looks like you didn’t listen,” Hunter points out the bruising on my best friend’s face that makes me feel like crap again.
“Fucker had it comin’. Stop it, Em,” Jordan growls at my guilty face.
“You really feel bad?” Hunter asks confusedly.
“He got hurt because of me. Of course I feel bad.”
“You can’t feel bad when someone who loves you protects you. That’s ridiculous.”
“Jordan did the right thing, Emily,” Cody adds in with a reassuring look in his deep green eyes.
“I know he did the right thing. But he’s all bruised up now. If I had dealt with Adam sooner, it wouldn’t have happened.”
“I should’ve kicked his ass years ago, Em. This shit isn’t on you and you fuckin’ know it. He treated you like shit. I thought he was a pussy afraid to commit. I didn’t know he was attempting to repopulate the planet. That’s on me.”
I don’t really want to have this conversation in front of teenagers. They shouldn’t have to hear this.
“I was the one in denial. It’s on me.”
“No,” Garrett growls. “That motherfucker did this shit. You have no responsibility in it. Jordan gave him the beating he deserved. Adam doesn’t think rules apply to him and now he’s learning they do. He doesn’t like it. I’ll make sure he obeys.”
“I like this dude,” Hunter says to Cody.
“Me too,” I say softly, leaning against Garrett’s shoulder as he presses a soft kiss to my neck.
“How come you didn’t beat Adam’s ass?” Hunter asks Garrett.
“I was in another room when he showed up. Lucky for him.”
“No shit,” Hunter scoffs.
“Did things go okay with your mom?” I ask, trying to change the subject.
“I guess so,” he grumbles as he glances at Cody, wordlessly conveying something. “Alyssa’s sleepin’ at a friend’s house. We got into it so it’s best she stays somewhere else after our fight. I figured I’d come keep you company,” he says with a suggestive eyebrow wiggle.
Mugs of Love Page 18