In This Life
Page 23
I bucked against him and he said, “Fuck,” and pushed my hair aside, sucking at my neck while his hands worked to roll a condom on. Meanwhile I throbbed so hard a faint breeze across my clit would probably send me into oblivion. I needed to come so badly I was about to reach down and deal with the problem myself.
But that wasn’t necessary. Nash nudged my legs father apart, found the right angle and drove himself in deep. He was instinctive the way he knew when to slow down and when to pound without apology. He was teaching me that not all orgasms were created equal. The powerful spasms I experienced with him had little in common with the sweet waves of pleasure I’d known before. No wonder why I had no willpower where Nash was concerned.
The pace of his thrusts became faster, frenetic, our bodies pulsing together in sin and sweat. I felt him come with a groan and a shudder and a smile of victory spread across my face. It was still there when we separated and started gathering our clothes.
“You look amused,” he remarked, sliding his boxers on first.
I hooked my bra. “I like having the power to send the great Nash Ryan over the edge.”
He eyed me. “I didn’t know I was great.”
“My vagina thinks so.”
He laughed. “You crack me up, Kat.”
“Why?”
Nash pulled his shirt over his head. “You’re all things at once. Prim and dirty and careful and careless.”
That summed me up better than he knew. “Just trying to keep you guessing, Nash.”
“I’m not complaining. It’s a hot combination.”
I pulled on my skirt and watched him zip his fly. He caught me looking and his expression changed. “You sure all this is okay with you? Seriously, I appreciate everything you’ve done. I like you and I’d hate to think I’m messing you up in any way.”
I picked up my blouse. The top button was gone, plucked away by Nash’s fingers and tossed somewhere unseen. But I buttoned the rest and tucked the shirt into my skirt.
“I’m pretty sure the only thing that’s been messed up so far is my hair.” I made a show of smoothing my unruly curls into place.
Nash finished getting his clothes in order and leaned against the counter in exactly the same position he’d been in when I got here. “You still want to have this meeting?”
“Of course.” I picked up the bag that doubled as a purse and laptop carrier and opened the computer on the counter beside him. “Let’s take a look at the inventory reports and go from there.”
The reopening of the store went much better than I thought. Half the town showed up and everyone who set foot in the place bought something, even if it was just a pack of gum. Kat was right about the support from the locals.
I stuck around for the whole day, shaking hands and greeting people who’d come down with their families to let me know they were glad this place was back in business. Even people I’d gone to high school with showed up, including a few former flames who’d cursed me back in the day for one reason or another. But all of them had known my dad and if their memories of me were less than wonderful they weren’t holding grudges anymore. Normally I wasn’t the social butterfly sort but it felt good to be a part of this, part of something positive.
A few people anxiously asked, “How’s the baby? How’s Colin?” and I assured them the baby was fine, that he wasn’t here because after a recent illness I didn’t think it was smart to expose him to a lot of people. They’d nodded approvingly at the answer and I felt like I’d done the right thing.
All the time my eyes kept searching newcomers for Kathleen. She’d already mentioned she’d be running around to meetings and whatever all day but I looked for her just the same.
Even though it would have been an inconvenient time to pop a boner the way I did whenever she walked in the room.
I’d really intended our first hot night to be a one time thing, a lapse of judgment instigated by the emotional roller coaster I’d been riding lately. But working out my inner demons with the help of Kat’s sexy body brought me a sense of calm. I just hoped she was telling the truth when she said she wasn’t looking for more than a friend with benefits. With all the obligations I was juggling that was all I could offer her.
Kathleen never did drop by but Kevin Reston made an appearance. Since I’d arrived back to town he was always friendly enough, maybe for Jane’s sake, maybe for my father’s, but I got the impression he didn’t know what to make of me. I understood. After some district cutbacks, he used to volunteer to help coach the Hawk Valley High football team and once he broke up a brawl between me and Travis Hanson, the school quarterback. Kevin earned a black eye and a busted nose for his efforts.
“You just missed Jane,” I told him. “She was here a little while ago.”
He nodded. “I know. We met for coffee down the street.”
“Did she order you to stop by?”
He grinned. “Yeah.”
“Well, I’m glad you did.”
Kevin cleared his throat. “You know, I was also thinking we could go out and grab a beer tonight. Your dad and I used to meet up at Sheen’s the first Friday of every month.”
I didn’t drink much these days. But I knew Kevin had been my dad’s friend for many years and felt his loss acutely. Plus I was sure this invitation had been extended to make Jane happy and anyone who tried this hard to make my gentle aunt happy deserved to be met halfway.
“I’d have to find a sitter for Colin,” I said. “He’s with your mom today.”
Kevin waved a hand. “And you know she would love to watch him for a few hours longer. There’s nothing my mom would rather be doing than taking care of babies.”
It was true that Nancy Reston had insisted over and over that anytime I needed a sitter I should keep her at the top of the list. Accepting favors from kind people was still a new concept to me.
“All right,” I said. “I’ll give her a call and if she’s cool with watching him you got yourself a beer buddy.”
Kevin flashed a grin. “Meet you at Sheen’s around eight.”
“You got it.” I swiped a Hawk Valley Happiness mug off a nearby shelf. “And have one of these on the house.”
Kevin accepted the ceramic cup. “Thanks. Can never have too many.”
Nancy Reston actually sounded delighted when I called to ask if she could keep Colin until around nine p.m. She told me to take as much time as I wanted. I ended the call feeling a little guilty. Imposing on Nancy and Kathleen and whoever else offered to help wasn’t a permanent solution. I’d have to make a regular daycare schedule if I was going to manage the store the way my father had. It was also going to be impossible to juggle two careers plus child rearing. I’d already put the word out to my clients that I was no longer accepting new work.
“You need to put in more hours at the store. Someday the place will be yours, Nash.”
“Oh fuck that. I’d rather cut off my right hand than hang around here and be a washed up Hawk Valley lifer.”
Memories are funny things. They can hibernate deep for a decade and then hit you like a punch in the gut, a long forgotten nugget that flashes through your mind out of nowhere and leaves you wondering if it was real.
“Excuse me,” said a voice. It belonged to a small silver-haired woman who was covered in some silky shawl thing that looked expensive. “Who can help me with buying that painting over there?”
But that wasn’t necessary. Nash nudged my legs father apart, found the right angle and drove himself in deep. He was instinctive the way he knew when to slow down and when to pound without apology. He was teaching me that not all orgasms were created equal. The powerful spasms I experienced with him had little in common with the sweet waves of pleasure I’d known before. No wonder why I had no willpower where Nash was concerned.
The pace of his thrusts became faster, frenetic, our bodies pulsing together in sin and sweat. I felt him come with a groan and a shudder and a smile of victory spread across my face. It was still there when we separated and started gathering our clothes.
“You look amused,” he remarked, sliding his boxers on first.
I hooked my bra. “I like having the power to send the great Nash Ryan over the edge.”
He eyed me. “I didn’t know I was great.”
“My vagina thinks so.”
He laughed. “You crack me up, Kat.”
“Why?”
Nash pulled his shirt over his head. “You’re all things at once. Prim and dirty and careful and careless.”
That summed me up better than he knew. “Just trying to keep you guessing, Nash.”
“I’m not complaining. It’s a hot combination.”
I pulled on my skirt and watched him zip his fly. He caught me looking and his expression changed. “You sure all this is okay with you? Seriously, I appreciate everything you’ve done. I like you and I’d hate to think I’m messing you up in any way.”
I picked up my blouse. The top button was gone, plucked away by Nash’s fingers and tossed somewhere unseen. But I buttoned the rest and tucked the shirt into my skirt.
“I’m pretty sure the only thing that’s been messed up so far is my hair.” I made a show of smoothing my unruly curls into place.
Nash finished getting his clothes in order and leaned against the counter in exactly the same position he’d been in when I got here. “You still want to have this meeting?”
“Of course.” I picked up the bag that doubled as a purse and laptop carrier and opened the computer on the counter beside him. “Let’s take a look at the inventory reports and go from there.”
The reopening of the store went much better than I thought. Half the town showed up and everyone who set foot in the place bought something, even if it was just a pack of gum. Kat was right about the support from the locals.
I stuck around for the whole day, shaking hands and greeting people who’d come down with their families to let me know they were glad this place was back in business. Even people I’d gone to high school with showed up, including a few former flames who’d cursed me back in the day for one reason or another. But all of them had known my dad and if their memories of me were less than wonderful they weren’t holding grudges anymore. Normally I wasn’t the social butterfly sort but it felt good to be a part of this, part of something positive.
A few people anxiously asked, “How’s the baby? How’s Colin?” and I assured them the baby was fine, that he wasn’t here because after a recent illness I didn’t think it was smart to expose him to a lot of people. They’d nodded approvingly at the answer and I felt like I’d done the right thing.
All the time my eyes kept searching newcomers for Kathleen. She’d already mentioned she’d be running around to meetings and whatever all day but I looked for her just the same.
Even though it would have been an inconvenient time to pop a boner the way I did whenever she walked in the room.
I’d really intended our first hot night to be a one time thing, a lapse of judgment instigated by the emotional roller coaster I’d been riding lately. But working out my inner demons with the help of Kat’s sexy body brought me a sense of calm. I just hoped she was telling the truth when she said she wasn’t looking for more than a friend with benefits. With all the obligations I was juggling that was all I could offer her.
Kathleen never did drop by but Kevin Reston made an appearance. Since I’d arrived back to town he was always friendly enough, maybe for Jane’s sake, maybe for my father’s, but I got the impression he didn’t know what to make of me. I understood. After some district cutbacks, he used to volunteer to help coach the Hawk Valley High football team and once he broke up a brawl between me and Travis Hanson, the school quarterback. Kevin earned a black eye and a busted nose for his efforts.
“You just missed Jane,” I told him. “She was here a little while ago.”
He nodded. “I know. We met for coffee down the street.”
“Did she order you to stop by?”
He grinned. “Yeah.”
“Well, I’m glad you did.”
Kevin cleared his throat. “You know, I was also thinking we could go out and grab a beer tonight. Your dad and I used to meet up at Sheen’s the first Friday of every month.”
I didn’t drink much these days. But I knew Kevin had been my dad’s friend for many years and felt his loss acutely. Plus I was sure this invitation had been extended to make Jane happy and anyone who tried this hard to make my gentle aunt happy deserved to be met halfway.
“I’d have to find a sitter for Colin,” I said. “He’s with your mom today.”
Kevin waved a hand. “And you know she would love to watch him for a few hours longer. There’s nothing my mom would rather be doing than taking care of babies.”
It was true that Nancy Reston had insisted over and over that anytime I needed a sitter I should keep her at the top of the list. Accepting favors from kind people was still a new concept to me.
“All right,” I said. “I’ll give her a call and if she’s cool with watching him you got yourself a beer buddy.”
Kevin flashed a grin. “Meet you at Sheen’s around eight.”
“You got it.” I swiped a Hawk Valley Happiness mug off a nearby shelf. “And have one of these on the house.”
Kevin accepted the ceramic cup. “Thanks. Can never have too many.”
Nancy Reston actually sounded delighted when I called to ask if she could keep Colin until around nine p.m. She told me to take as much time as I wanted. I ended the call feeling a little guilty. Imposing on Nancy and Kathleen and whoever else offered to help wasn’t a permanent solution. I’d have to make a regular daycare schedule if I was going to manage the store the way my father had. It was also going to be impossible to juggle two careers plus child rearing. I’d already put the word out to my clients that I was no longer accepting new work.
“You need to put in more hours at the store. Someday the place will be yours, Nash.”
“Oh fuck that. I’d rather cut off my right hand than hang around here and be a washed up Hawk Valley lifer.”
Memories are funny things. They can hibernate deep for a decade and then hit you like a punch in the gut, a long forgotten nugget that flashes through your mind out of nowhere and leaves you wondering if it was real.
“Excuse me,” said a voice. It belonged to a small silver-haired woman who was covered in some silky shawl thing that looked expensive. “Who can help me with buying that painting over there?”
