by Scott, S. L.
“He’s also a damn good surfer,” I add unabashedly.
“Yes, I can’t keep him out of the water. I have to have my eyes on him at all times or he’ll slip out to boogie board.”
Leaning back, I feel at home, relaxing into the comfortable conversation. “I got both Duke and Kai custom boards this past summer. It’s incredible watching them shred the waves.”
My parents are looking between us amused by how we finish each other’s thoughts. Tapping Mallory’s arm, my mom says, “I’m so glad to see you both so happy. It’s obvious our grandkids are gifted and take after both of their wonderful parents. Tell me about Reef. I can’t believe he’s almost four. We are due for a visit. Now that Hugh is retired it will be easier to spend time out there.”
Mallory sips her wine, so I start, “Reef is just like his mother. He loves books and is competitive and feisty, strong-willed, so clever, and so damn cute.”
“Thank you for emailing,” my Mom says, “all of the photos and this new Skyping business is fun.”
“Yes, I’m thankful for modern technology. I can see them growing and changing so much every time we see them online.” My dad then asks the awkward question we forgot to prepare an answer for, “Do you want to have any more kids or are you done at three?”
“I think we’re done,” I say just as Mallory says, “Yes, more is good.”
We look at each other surprised. Okay, so maybe we don’t always finish each other’s sentences the same. My gut tells me to speak up and remind her of the reality of the situation. “Every time we have another is you taking a risk.” I know my parents are listening. How can they not be? They’re only two feet if that away from us. But I need to say this.
Mallory lowers her voice to match my tone. “I have easy pregnancies, babe. You know that. You’ve seen it.”
“Yes, you do, but the births aren’t.”
“I think you’re blowing this out of proportion. It only happened one time.”
“You fucking died that day—”
“Evan,” my dad cautions.
I turn to glare at him. “Dad, you’re not a doctor. You didn’t almost lose your wife right in front of you while holding your newborn.”
Mallory’s hand soothes over my forearm. “But I didn’t die. See? I’m right here,” she says, raising her hands up as if to prove her point. “I’m alive and well.”
She knows me too well. Her voice is just a whisper, just for me. “Evan, you heard the doctor. It was a freak of nature type thing, unexplainable, and they never really lost me. I was just unconscious for a minute. I was always alive and with you.”
Her soulful eyes pierce my soul and I feel the wetness forming in my eyes. “I don’t want to take the risk.”
She nods, understanding my point. Shit, I wish this hadn’t happened in front of my parents. When I look back up, I see their sympathetic smiles already in place. When my eyes meet my dad’s, he says, “We’re sorry for touching on a raw subject like that, but Mallory’s right. The doctors have given the go-ahead on the last two pregnancies. I know it scared you, but she’s safe. She’s here and you have three beautiful children. ”
“No, it’s alright, Hugh,” Mallory says, flexing her fingers, trying to loosen the tight grip that I didn’t realize I had on her. “We hadn’t talked about another child in a while. Time keeps slipping away from us—”
“From all of us, dear. How about dessert?” my mom asks, trying to lighten the mood.
“I’d like the crème brulee,” Mallory adds, helping to change the topic.
We spend the next hour finishing off another bottle of wine and our desserts. After our goodbyes, we let my parents take the first cab and wait for another. Mallory is tucked under my arm, her arms wrapped around my middle. We’re freezing and yet our insides are warm from the wine, a great meal, and happiness.
“I’m so cold,” she says, looking up at me.
I kiss the top of her head as the wind whips around us. Finally a taxi pulls up and we hop in. I give the driver the address, then sit back with my girl. Her right hand is running the length of my thigh and I feel the beginnings of my cock stirring to life. Her hand slides to the inside of my leg, and I warn, “Be careful.”
“Or what?” she sits up, whispering into my ear before she gently sucks on my earlobe.
“Or I’m going to take advantage of your innocence.”
She laughs. “Is that a threat or a promise, Dr. Ashford?”
“Both.”
“Big talker.”
“I’ll show you big, but it’s not going to be my talking.”
“That’s hot, Evan.”
I give her the old smirk. I know it still works on her.
Her hand wanders, teasing me.
Mallory is practically purring when she pulls me by the tie down the hall. Using the door to support her back, her fingers fondle the waist of my pants as she leans forward to rub against me. I can tell the red wine has kicked in. She gets so fucking horny when she’s drunk too. “I want you so bad.”
“How bad?” I chuckle as I unlock the door.
She stumbles backward into the room when the door opens, but I catch her.
With a smile, she says, “I want your cock inside of my pussy right now. That’s how bad, pretty boy.”
I shoot an eyebrow up at her. “Pretty boy, huh?”
She taps my chin as she tries to balance in her high-as-fuck heels. “Oh, don’t you play dumb, Evan Ashford. You know what you do to the ladies, so don’t even play innocent.”
I grab her by the waist to steady her, enjoying the show she’s putting on tonight. “I don’t care about other ladies, only what I do to you. Tell me.” I press my lips to her neck and start sucking lightly between kisses. “Tell me what I do to you, Baby.”
She exhales a deep breath and moans her pleasure as I start to lick and nibble her soft, sweet skin. “I…” She stops. “It’s too much.” Her eyes are half-mast, but focused. “More action, less talking.”
“Okay, my love. Meet me in the bedroom. I want you naked and on the bed. Alright?”
She nods, not arguing.
Right when she’s about to disappear into the room, I add my stipulation. “Hey Mallory?” She stops and looks back over her shoulder. “Leave the shoes on.”
She smiles that fucking mischievous smile, one of the many reasons that drew me to her in the first place, then quietly retreats into the bedroom.
I retrieve two glasses of water from the kitchen and some Advil. Hopefully she won’t have much of a hangover if she’s takes these tonight. I stand in the living room and impatiently count to ten to give her enough time to undress before I enter the room. When I do, all I can manage to say is, “Holy fuck.”
She’s stretched across the bed on her stomach. Her legs are bent and her ankles crossed in the air, showing me the cherry red soles of her shoes. She watches as I set the ibuprofen and water down on the nightstand and reach for my belt.
Mallory rolls onto her side, propping up on her elbow, and watches me undo my belt, then my button, and finally my zipper as I slowly slide it down. I kick off my shoes and let my pants drop.
As I step out of them, I work my socks off.
“You’re a naughty boy going commando at a dinner with your parents.” Her voice is seductive, the words drawn out.
“I don’t want to think about my parents right now. But I do want to think about fucking my wife until she screams my name.”
My shirt gets tossed aside as she teases, “What would your wife think about what you’re about to do with me?”
The left side of my mouth slides up, and I wink. “You’re about to find out.”
The way her body is presented before me makes me possessive and crazy. I hate the way other men eye-fuck her. She doesn’t realize the effect she has on them. It’s insane. I’m insane for her. I gently bite her ass. I can’t help it. I feel her slap me on the head. We laugh though. Sex is always amazing with her, but it’s damn fun too.
/> “Now roll over. I need to feel these shoes hitting the back of my head as I take you.”
93
Mallory
“Slow down, Kate. I can’t run in these shoes.”
She stops with her hands on her hips and taps her foot. “Mallory, we’re on New York time now, not Hawaiian. We can’t be late because they squeezed you in.”
“Fine, but these aren’t exactly flip flops I’m running in.”
“Welcome to my world,” she says, pulling the door open.
Two hours later, we’re sitting in an ultra-chic, ultra-modern café down in the Meatpacking district. I laugh to myself at that name. I’m sure Evan has gotten a kick out of that name many times too when he lived here.
“You look great, Mallory. You working out?”
“I try to run a few miles every day. Life is good.”
“Liam said that Reef’s gotten big.”
I sip my white wine and smile, thinking of my kids. “Yes, I think he’s going to be the biggest of them all one day. He’s so tall already.” I take a bite of my salad and chew, then add, “I think Caroline should model. She’s so pretty and tall herself.”
Kate glances around the restaurant before leaning forward as if she’s going to share a secret. “She’s such a girlie-girl. She’s so into clothes and shoes and makeup and boys. Liam’s freaking out over her obsession with boys. She’s only ten for God’s sake.” She stabs some lettuce with her fork. “I think I need to get her out of the city soon, maybe to Hawaii for an extended vacation this summer.”
“Why? What’s going on?”
“I don’t want her to grow up being some superficial shell of herself, doing mindless things like shopping all day or hanging out at the country club, or whatever. I want her to use her brain. She’s an intelligent girl.” She lowers her voice even more. “I caught her pretending to be dumb when she was hanging out with her friends last week. I think it’s just to fit in, but they’re not worth her time if they don’t like her how she is.”
I nod in understanding. Kate could model even though she’s in her mid-thirties if she wanted to. But she runs Ashford Holdings now. She’s branched out in the last two years and raised the stock value to an impressive high. Her parents couldn’t be prouder. Murphy works there, overseeing the smaller Pacific/West Coast division, which sends him our way a couple of times a year.
“Being smart and pretty didn’t work against you. Maybe you’re worrying too early,” I throw that out there just as a thought.
“I never got sidetracked from my goals. Kids today are so different from us. They want everything handed to them.” She sets her fork down with a clang. “Well, I’m not gonna do it. I had to work my ass off to get where I am, and she will too.”
“Sounds like a healthy dose of reality is about to come Caroline’s way.”
She laughs. “Liam thinks I’m too hard on her.”
“You’ll find a balance. It’s tough raising kids sometimes.”
“You make it look easy with three.”
That makes me smile. “It’s not, but I love being at home with them. I’ll be honest though. It was hard to give up my job running the Literacy Program. I loved it, but I love these kids and Evan more, so it was easy to know the right path for me. I still volunteer in the library’s teaching facility once a week and have a small group of students that I’m teaching to read.”
“See? Amazing! I never had a doubt you were the one for my brother, the one that would make him happy.” She sits back and relaxes as if she’s stuffed off half her salad. “He deserved happiness in his life, and suddenly there you were, as if delivered right to him when he needed you most.”
* * *
“Sunny recruited Zach and Murphy to build the bonfire. We have to bring the booze and Kate is bringing the food.” I shout from the bathroom while shaving my legs in the tub.
Evan peeks around the corner and smiles when he sees me. “What’s Sunny bringing?”
I wave my hand in the air. “You know Sunny, she’s doing what she does best, delegating.”
“Oh yes, that’s right,” he says, sarcastically. He walks over and sits on the vanity stool after moving it closer to the tub. He’s barefoot and wearing a very Hampton-y outfit of khaki cargo shorts and a green Polo shirt. Of course, because it’s him, the collar is popped up. Only Evan can pop a collar and get away with it. “We see them all the time in Hawaii, and here we are, in the Hamptons hanging out with them again. You’d think we’d all get sick of each other.”
“They’re our best friends. We can get sick of each other and still see each other all the time.”
He narrows his eyes at me. “That makes no sense.”
“Neither did we in the beginning, but here we are.”
“I think you love that you tamed the player.”
“I think you love remembering what a player you were before meeting me.”
“I might, but those memories don’t compare to the ones we’ve made.”
“Suck-up.”
“I was going for charming.”
“Try harder next time.”
“Mrs. Ashford, you’re a hard ass.”
“Speaking of hard asses, show me yours.”
“I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours.”
I toss the razor in the trash can and scoot onto my knees, flashing him my ass.
“You got room for me in that tub?”
“Always.”
He sits on the edge fully-clothed and kisses me gently on the lips. I feel melty inside. To my surprise, he gets up and strips down, stepping in with me. He cups my face amongst my squeals of surprise and kisses me before settling back and relaxing together.
* * *
“I’m not drinking that shit.”
“Fuck, Evan, it’s Jager. We can’t waste it,” Zach says, trying to shove the bottle in Evan’s face.
Evan laughs and hits it away. “I’m not eighteen, Zach. I can afford the good shit that doesn’t permanently damage my organs.”
“That shit, good shit, bad shit. Shit, it’s alcohol, E. Drink it, brah,” Murphy adds his two cents.
I stand up ready to intervene. I don’t mind my husband drinking, but he shouldn’t be hung over at the party tomorrow. “Guys,” I start, “we’ve still got a lot of beer. Let me get you one, Evan.”
“Thanks.”
“My pleasure,” I say, looking over my shoulder and waggling my eyebrows at him as I bend down and dig around in the cooler.
“Actually, the pleasure is all mine, hot stuff.”
“You’re ogling my ass, aren’t you?” I ask without turning back.
“Abso-fucking-lutely.”
I laugh until I hear Kate.
“Sttoooopp it! I don’t want to listen to your lovey-dovey sex-uendoes all night.” Kate who is already half a sheet to the wind says, pouting.
Murphy gets up from the where the boys are sitting and moves over to sit next to his wife on the other side of the bonfire. “You feeling left out, Pookie?”
She plops onto his lap and snuggles against him as he holds her. Looking so young and vulnerable in the moment, she’s different right now from the Fortune 500 CEO she is every other day. “I miss you all the time. We’ve been working too much lately,” she whispers.
Murphy kisses her on the forehead, and says, “Whenever you need me, I’ll be there. Okay? I promise.”
She smiles. “I should go to bed soon. I can’t be shit-faced for the party.”
Murphy stands up still holding her in his arms. “We’re heading back to the house. We shall see you tomorrow.”
“I told my parents we’d be back by midnight, so they can go to bed,” Zach says, looking over at Sunny. “The kids are a handful for people who don’t even take care of themselves.”
“Chefs, maids, butlers, drivers… yeah, when was that last time they even dressed themselves?” Sunny laughs loudest at her joke.
“We have a maid, sweetie,” he says, nudging her with his elbow.
“No, we have a cleaning lady who comes twice a month, which I have to admit, I’m thrilled to have.” Sunny drops her head down on Zach’s shoulder and rubs his stomach with her hand.
“This is the first time since Natalie was born a year ago that I’ve been away from her longer than a trip to the grocery store. Is it sad to say I’ve been thinking about the kids since we left?” Sunny asks, sitting upright.
“Yes!” We all say in unison.
I glance over at Evan. “But I totally understand. I’ve been thinking about the boys since I talked to them this morning.”
I feel Evan drape his arm over my shoulders. “They’re fine. Gail said she and Herb are doing fine and that the boys are being good.”
“Just seems like a lot to ask of her—”
“Trust me, Mallory, she loves this. If she can raise me and Kate, she can definitely handle our boys.”
“Good point.”
“Toast,” Zach says, tossing me another beer.
They all wait for me to open my can, then Zach says, “To living life in the slow lane and enjoying every minute of it.”
We spend another hour around the bonfire until we’re too cold to stay any longer.
94
Mallory
“Mallory, you look beautiful,” Claire says, hugging me gently. At least she didn’t give me those fake air kisses. She always gives me genuine hugs, which I’m grateful for.
“Thank you. So do you.”
“Herrera,” she replies, spinning to show me the full ensemble.
“Very beautiful.”
She takes me by the hand, and says, “I want to introduce you to one of our newest Directors. He’s from Colorado originally, just like you.”