Chapter 20
Clarabella
“Oh, I know, when you started dating my best friend and would taunt me.” I stare at him.
“I never taunted you,” he says. “I thought you hated me.”
“What?” I respond, shocked. “How can you say that?” I watch him as he shakes his head, and his hand falls from my face. He takes the same hand and puts it around my shoulders.
“She told me so,” he says, and I look at him, shocked. That fucking bitch, is going through my head.
“Okay. One, she knew I had a crush on you. I told her.” I hold up my hand. “And two, I stopped talking to you because my crush was becoming deeper than I wanted it to, especially since you were banging my roommate.”
It’s his turn now to move away from me. “I never banged her.” He holds up his hand, and I’m shocked to say the least.
“She told me,” I mumble.
“Well, this is awkward,” he says. “One, we dated for two months, and well, it was weird.” My eyebrows press together. “She was all touchy-feely when you were there, and then it was like a switch went off when you weren’t.”
I laugh. “And this is why I’m not friends with her anymore.” I shake my head. The minute she started dating Luke, I started distancing myself from her. Who dates the guy your roommate likes? Oh, I know, a bitch. One you don’t need.
“So that’s why you hated me?” he asks, and I roll my eyes.
“I didn’t hate you,” I say, ignoring his laughter. “I just didn’t like you.” I drink the cold coffee. “Much.”
“You literally stopped all communication with me, and when you saw me again four years later, you refused to even talk to me.” His arm pulls me closer to him. I don’t say anything, and neither does he. I just rest my head on his shoulder. When I woke up this morning, I got out of bed as quietly as I could. I thought he would wake up again and tell me it was a mistake, so I got myself ready for it. Plus, my head was spinning with everything that happened yesterday.
“Clarabella,” he says as he kisses my head. “We should maybe talk a bit about last night.” Here we go, my head says, expecting him to say something I don’t want to hear, but he doesn’t. “We didn’t use protection.”
“I have an IUD.” I turn in his arms to look at him. His arm falls from my shoulders, but he holds my hip. “And I’m clean. I got tested.” He looks down at me. “It was for insurance. Edward and I always used protection.”
“I’ve been with one person besides you, and I wore protection,” he says, and I hate the way my stomach goes tight. I was engaged, my head tells me. “What do you want to do?” he asks, and I look at him.
“About life?”
He laughs. “No, about today. Do you want to go back home?” My head starts to shake before he even finishes.
“Would it be okay if we stayed the weekend?” I ask, and he just smirks.
“There is no Wi-Fi or television. What will we do to pass the time?” He winks at me. “I mean, I can think of a couple of things.”
I can’t help but throw my head back and laugh out loud, the sound echoing in the middle of the trees. I stand beside him, and he looks up at me. His hair still has the spots that my fingers were pulling last night. “I think it’s best if you show me.” I tilt my head to the side.
He stands up, wrapping his arm around my waist to pick me up. “I like that idea better than mine,” he says, walking back into the cabin where he spreads me on the counter and eats his breakfast.
`*`
“I can’t believe that you didn’t bring any other clothes,” I gripe, putting on his boxers and a black T-shirt. “If we get pulled over, or we have a flat tire, they are going to think you kidnapped me.”
He looks over at me, laughing. “Not with those shoes.” He smirks as I slip my feet into my wedding shoes. “Fuck,” he swears, and I look over at him. “Should have made you wear the shoes last night.”
I don’t even bother answering him. Instead, I just roll my eyes and head toward the truck. “We literally can’t even stop and get out of the car.” I look down at my exposed legs.
“I can.” He closes the door to the cabin behind him and walks out with his dumb backpack in one hand and my wedding dress in the other. “I have enough gas to get home.” I watch him walk down the steps toward the truck. He’s always been hot, but now with the scruff on his face a touch longer, he looks even hotter. This whole weekend has been somewhat of a blur. There was a lot of sex, but then there were times that he just let me be. He let me sit in the silence of the cabin as I gathered my thoughts. He places my wedding dress down in the back seat gently before getting into the front. “You good?” He looks over at me, and I just nod my head. He did that a lot this weekend when he saw me sitting outside and just reflecting. I would go outside when he was in the shower or when he was cooking, and he let me have the time to reflect. He never once intruded, even during morning coffee when he would come outside and sit with me. He would wait for me to say something.
“Not in the least.” It’s the first time I answer him anything but yes. My fingers tap on the middle console where my phone is charging. I have no doubt that once it gets a signal, it’ll be going off like fireworks on the Fourth of July. “But you have to face the music at some point.”
He slips his hand in mine as he starts the drive home. We don’t say anything, and I know right away when we get a signal. The pings are every single second. “Well, that was nice.” I slip my hand out of his and grab the phone, not sure what is going to be waiting for me. I see that I’ve missed more notifications that I don’t even want to read at this point. So instead, I just send a text to the family chat.
Me: On my way home. Should be there in two hours.
I power down the phone and place it back in the cupholder. The closer that we get to home, the more my stomach sinks. At one point, I open the window because I feel like I’m going to throw up. I lean my head against the door and close my eyes as the wind blows on my face.
When the truck stops, I open my eyes to see that I’m parked in my driveway. “You have arrived at your destination,” Luke quips. “Your destination is on the right.” He tries to make a joke about it, and I even laugh before turning to see my sisters pull in behind us. “And here comes the cavalry.” I look over at him and wonder what he’s thinking. I also know that with my sisters here, we aren’t going to be able to talk freely.
“Well, well, well,” Presley goads, getting out of her car and slamming the door. “Look at what the cat dragged in.”
“I’ll get your stuff,” Luke says quietly from his side of the truck.
I pull the door handle open and step out. My sisters both look at me. “What the hell are you wearing?” Shelby shrieks.
“It’s the only thing he had.” I point over to Luke.
“Are you wearing anything under that T-shirt?” Presley folds her arms over her chest, her eyebrows going up.
“Boxers,” I admit. Their mouths hang open, and I throw up my hands. “These are the only clothes he had.” I look over at Luke as he carries my wedding dress over his shoulder.
“I was only going away for the weekend.” He tries to defend himself, but nothing he says will make this okay.
“And you brought no clothes?” Shelby asks, shocked.
“That’s what I said.” I walk toward my house, looking around to see if any of my neighbors are out. We got home just before lunch on a Monday, so it’s no surprise that most of them are at work.
“I wasn’t planning on going out.” Luke shakes his head and walks behind me.
“I’m sorry,” Presley says, not moving. “I just can’t wrap my head around the fact that you went away without packing clothes.” She puts her hand to her head. “Like what if you had an accident and shit yourself.” Luke looks at her like she has two heads.
“That’s what I said.” I look over at them when I put the code to the door in, and it doesn’t open.
“Oh, we changed the code,” Shelby shares. “We thought that Edward would come and camp out.” She gives me the new code, and I put it in. The minute I walk in, I cough at the smell.
“What the hell is that smell?” I look around, seeing if maybe something is on fire. I wave my hand in front of my nose.
“Mom came by yesterday and saged the house.” Presley laughs. “To take out the bad juju. She wanted to torch the bed, but we stopped her. You’re welcome.”
“Well, that might be my cue to leave,” Luke says, looking at me. I want to say something to him, but my sisters are right there. “Where do you want the dress?”
“Just throw it on the couch,” I reply, pointing over to the living room off the entrance. He walks over and places it on the couch gently. “Thank you,” I mumble to him as he walks back to the door.
“Ladies.” Luke nods at them and then looks back for a second before walking to his truck. My sisters look at him and then back at me
“I’m going to change.” I avoid them. “And when I come back, you can fill me in on everything.”
“I’ll get some coffee going,” Shelby states.
“Coffee!” Presley gasps. “We’re discussing her doomed wedding. Cut her some slack.”
“Fine,” Shelby says, and I ignore them while I walk to the bedroom, stopping and then turning on the step.
“Um,” I start to say, not sure how to ask if Edward came to collect his things.
“Gone,” Presley says. “Threw everything in a black garbage bag and dropped it off on the hood of his car.” I just nod, then turn to go change. I put on a pair of yoga pants and go back downstairs. I’m not ready to take Luke’s shirt off yet.
“Okay.” I slap my hands together. “Tell me what I missed.” I sit down on the couch as my sisters come to sit with me. One’s holding three shot glasses, and the other one is holding a bottle of scotch. I’m surprised that I don’t even take one shot while they fill me in. People were shocked to say the least. My mother was furious, Edward was calling them nonstop, and his parents threatened to sue us if the deposits were not returned. It was a nightmare, and the more and more they spoke about it, the worse my headache became. The phone in my lap beeped a couple of times, and I avoided looking at it because I thought it was Edward or my mother.
“Are you going to be okay to come to work?” Shelby asks quietly after they stop talking for ten minutes. “You don’t have to because you were already scheduled off.”
“What am I going to do, sit at home and wallow?” I shake my head, putting it back down on the couch.
“Okay, so are we discussing what we are going to tell people?” Presley is the one to ask.
“I mean, we can always go with he didn’t satisfy you sexually.” Shelby winks at me.
“Or his dick was too small,” Presley adds. “Was his dick small?”
“His dick was fine,” I tell them, feeling numb. “I don’t know what I want to tell people.” I wipe away a tear that escapes. “I’m pissed because I’m not even sad. I’m just tired. I’m emotionally drained, yet I have to put a smile on my face and pretend that I’m the bad guy.”
“You are not the bad guy,” Shelby says.
“What the hell am I going to say? He cheated on me and had a child,” I say angrily.
“Well, it’s the truth.” Presley shrugs. “You aren’t lying.”
“I can’t do that to the child. If I say something, I’m a bitch, but if I don’t say something, I’m a selfish bitch for running out on my wedding day.” I look at both of them. “I need one of you to call Edward and tell him that if he doesn’t rein in his parents, I’m going to have no choice but to tell them the real reason I took off.”
“I’ll volunteer as tribute.” Presley holds up her hand as my phone beeps again, and I look down and see that it’s Luke.
“I know I should be the one to do it,” I admit, “but I’m just not ready to talk to him or see him yet. If I do see him, I won’t be able to hold myself together enough without wanting to physically assault him.” I get up now. “With that being said, I need a shower.”
“Oh my God, did he not have a shower?” Presley asks, putting a hand to her chest, and I laugh at her.
“He did,” I assure her, walking away but not turning around, just in case they can see in my eyes that we shared the water each and every time.
“Oh, Clarabella,” Presley says, and I look over at her. “We will be discussing this whole taking-off-with-Luke shit.”
“I don’t know what you mean. I walked out and had to escape. He was there.”
“Is that your story?” Shelby gets up, tilting her head to the side.
“That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.” I look at both of them, who share a look before they walk out the front door. I drag my ass up the stairs, going straight for the bathroom. I peel his shirt from my body and step into the shower.
When I get out, I slip on a pair of shorts and a matching tank top. My phone rings, and I see that it’s Luke. I look down at the phone, and I want to answer it, but I’m not going to lie, I’m scared of what he is going to tell me. The minute the phone rings, the phone pings, and I see it’s a text from Edward, so I turn my phone down on the counter. When a soft knock comes from the door, my whole body goes tense. I walk through the house, tippy-toeing to the front door. I look out the peephole and see Luke there, so I turn the lock and open the door. He’s wearing a white T-shirt with dark blue jeans. His hair looks like he just got out of the shower and ran his fingers through it. His scruff is untouched from this morning.
He stands there in the middle of the porch, and my heart goes to my throat. His blue eyes light up when he sees me. “Hi,” I mumble. “What are you doing here?”
“Figured you wouldn’t make yourself something to eat.” He holds up the brown takeout bag. “And then I brought this just in case.” He holds up a bottle of scotch, and I can’t help but laugh. “I called you,” he says, and I can tell he’s nervous. “But you didn’t answer me, and I don’t know why but I decided to just show up.”
“You took a hell of a gamble,” I reply, leaning on the doorjamb. I’m not even going to justify the way my heart is racing or the fact that I can’t help the smile on my face. I also am not justifying that this is exactly what I needed after today.
“I’m a gambling man.” He smirks at me, and my stomach fucking flutters. “May I enter?”
“I don’t know.” I fold my arms over my chest. “Depends on what’s in the bag.” I point at the paper bag. “And if it will taste just as good reheated?” He takes two steps in, kicking the door closed behind him before turning me and pushing me against the door.
“Hi,” he says right before his mouth finds mine. His tongue slides into my mouth, and my hands roam over his chest. He lets go of my lips to ask, “Where can I put these?”
“Kitchen.” I point over to the kitchen, and he walks over to put the bag and the scotch on the counter. “Let me show you around,” I suggest, knowing in my head there is only one place I want to show him, and that’s my bedroom. I walk to him, grabbing his hand and turning to walk up the stairs, wiggling my hips a bit more than I should. “This is my bedroom,” I say and feel him behind me, holding my hips in his hands. He bends his head and attacks my neck. My hand comes up to his head.
I turn my head, watching him kiss my neck. “You have a nice bedroom.” He turns me around to face him. My hand grips the bottom of his shirt, and I pull it over his head. His hands go to the spaghetti straps of my tank top, peeling them down my arms. My tits spring free as he bends to take a nipple in his mouth. I close my eyes as he backs me up against my dresser, only stopping when my ass hits it. He picks me up, placing my ass on my dresser. My whole body is on fire from his touch even though he barely touched me.
“I missed you today.” His face is buried in my neck before he moves his hands down, peeling my shorts off me. His hand around my waist picks me up, placing my bare ass back down on the cool dresser. “It’s crazy, right?” he says, getting to his knees and coming face-to-face with my pussy. He sucks my clit into his mouth, and my back falls against the wall as I put one foot on the dresser and the other on his shoulder. “It’s fucking crazy,” he quizzes, and at this point, with his tongue on me, I can’t even focus on anything else. “You are so wet for me,” he says, licking up his fingers, and my hand grabs his hair, wanting to keep him right there. “All day.” He slides his two fingers inside me as he sucks my clit. His fingers move so fast, and I can’t help but moan. “I can’t get enough of you.” His eyes look up at me as his tongue flicks my clit. “I can’t wait,” he admits, standing and kissing me. I taste myself on him as my hands go to the button of his jeans. “Put me in you,” he says when his cock springs free after I push down his pants and boxers. “I need to be inside you.”
“I need you inside me, too,” I agree, gripping his cock in my hand and jerking him twice before rubbing it up and down my slit.
“Fuck,” he hisses out when the head of his cock slides into me. “I was going to go slow with you.”
“Later.” He stops to look at me. “Round two can be slow.”
“Is that so?” he asks, sliding inside me just a touch more. “And how is round one going to be?” He licks his thumb and rubs my clit, and I swear I’m going to cry out in ecstasy. “You like that?” He does the circle again. “I can feel you squeeze me.” All I can do is nod because I’m afraid I’ll cry out if he doesn’t start to move.
“Luke.” I pant out his name in a whisper.
“Yeah, baby?” He looks into my eyes.
“More.” That’s the only thing I can say, and he looks down at his cock halfway in me.
“Tell me,” he says, and I bite my lower lip, trying to control myself.
“I just need you to slam into me and make me come,” I reply, trying to move my hips.
“You going to watch?” He looks down at his cock as he slides into me some more. His cock is now half buried. “Your pussy is so tight.” My eyes fixate on the way he’s slowly sliding into me until he's buried all the way in. We both moan as he pulls all the way out until the tip of his cock slides out, and then this time, he slams right into me.
“Like that?” he asks as he repeats the move over and over again. My hand moves to the middle of my legs as I start to play with my clit. “You are almost there,” he says. The sound of skin slapping is now filling the room louder than the two of us panting. “You get so fucking tight,” he grits between clenched teeth. “I can barely pull out.” I can’t look away from his cock, and when I know I’m coming, I finally close my eyes and yell his name. “Fuck, one more before I come,” he orders, pounding into me over and over again as I come. He grabs my nipple in his mouth, biting down on it and making me come again. I wish I could close my legs to stop him from moving. “I’m there,” he says.
“My mouth,” I say, pushing him off me as I push off the dresser and fall to my knees. I take his cock into my mouth just as he comes right down my throat.