CHAPTER FIVE
brADLY
I nibble on Octavia’s shoulder as I ease into her pussy. Her moan is a mixture of pleasure and the pain my dick is causing on her sore flesh. Gripping her hips, I hold her down as I feed her my entire length.
“Mum, the feel of you,” I moan.
I won’t lie. I’m tired as hell. I am sure my red eyes are proof of that. However, my desire to bury myself in this woman is the energy I need to…Shit, I’ve lost my train of thought. When I start pumping my hips, I can’t concentrate on nothing else. Slow, steady…deep and practiced are my strokes. Lifting my weight off of Octavia’s back, my knees sink into her couch. Raising her leg, she leans over the arm of the couch which gives me the perfect angle to reach further into her pussy. We both respond with loud grunts. Releasing her hips, my arm snakes around her to pull her back to my chest. I grind, whine, and buck, switching up my rhythm to fuck her hard. My reward is the same as all the times before; her crying out, her pussy gushing nectar to soak my nuts.
Our eyes meet in the mirror on the wall to watch our fuck show on the couch. My hand finds her breast to squeeze her nipple.
“God, I can fuck you all day,” I growl. I pause as my hand travels down the front of her body to her pussy. Opening her pussy lips, I encircle her clit with my fingertip as I shift to hit her G-spot. “Are you a squirter?”
“Shit, Bradly…don’t do th-“
“MOM!!”
Our wide, scared eyes lock in the mirror once again. Octavia elbows me in the ribs, sending me to the ground.
“Are you sure…maybe I should come inside,” we hear the woman at the door.
“No need. She’s probably still upstairs sleeping,” Nova replies.
“What the fuck are we-“
“Go,” I grunt as I yank Octavia to her feet. A hard shove gets her moving.
“But, what are you gonna-“
“Not be found with my dick out,” I promise. “Go!” I order.
Not looking back, she takes off for the stairs just as the door slams shut. Franticly, I force my brain to work. Tugging on my pants, I drop to the floor, wrestle putting on my shirt, and do the first thing that comes to my mind.
“39, 40, 41-“
“What happen, what are you doing here?”
Not pausing between my pushups, I fake surprise seeing Nova standing in the archway of the living room.
“I have to stay fit,” I answer.
“Santa!” she exclaims as she runs into the room to stand over me.
Jumping to my feet, I have to keep her talking to not notice the clothes scattered around the room.
“Good morning. I came by last night to discuss your gifts with your mother. She was so lonely,” I drop into a whisper. “I hope it was okay to stay to keep her company.”
“Oh, yeah,” she beams on a deep eye roll. “She gets that way whenever I do a sleep over. So, what did she say about the list? I-“
“Who are you talking t- Nova? How did you get home?”
We both jump at the sound of Octavia’s voice. Now dressed in a onesie, she ties the belt of her robe around her waist.
“I asked her mom to bring me home.”
Opening her arms, Nova runs to give her mom a hug.
“Ah, you missed me,” coos Octavia.
“Nah, I got tired of Carla’s bossy butt. It’s not even her sleep over but she wants to tell everybody what to do,” Nova grumbles. She steals a glimpse my way as she pulls her into the hallway. “Listen, I wasn’t going to ask, but since you’re half way there, please try being extra nice. It’ll go a long way…if you get me,” she finishes on a wink.
“Are you trying to pimp me out for-“
“I’m not saying that…but if you want to…” Nova trails off while tossing up her hands and backing away from her mom. “So, I’m going upstairs,” she says loud for me to hear, “I’m going up stairs to sleep. Um, you two have fun,” she beams.
As soon as she’s out of sight, Octavia demeanor changes to reveal her relief.
“I swear I almost died,”
“Oh, you went instantly dry and my dick lost all life,” I tease.
“What did you do?” she questions under her breath.
“What the hell could I do? I did the first thing that came to my mind.”
“But pushups?”
“Well, I ain’t a magic man and I ain’t made of glass. It worked.”
We both flop down on the couch.
“Listen, how she sees you is important…and I don’t want to do anything to tarnish that. If what happened,” shit, I’m getting flustered. “If you want me to back off, I understand…but I’m hoping you won’t tell me-“
Placing her hand on my arm, I stop talking.
“We’re having fun, no pressure, no worries,” she remarks.
Nodding, I lick my lips. I have to be happy with that. At least she’s not showing me the door.
“Come on,” I say as I reach for my socks.
“I’m not cooking.”
“No, we have a tree to buy. You need to get ready.” At her frown, I slow my dressing. “You agreed,” I remind her.
“No, the gummy and the booze agreed,” she reveals.
“Wow,” I sing, mocking hurt and shock. “You holding out, huh? Don’t care,” I shrug.
Octavia sinks further into the chair as the creases in her brow deepens.
“That’s not a good idea,” she grumbles, shaking her head. “Jumping the fence is one thing. We start hanging out like that and people are going to talk,” she warns.
Blinking, “And?”
Giving me a stuck on stupid expression, I cut her off before she can voice her objections.
“My ass, my back, my ass crack, whomever can pick which to lick,” I respond. “Now,” I state while helping her to her feet. “I’m not going back to my house. What we’re going to do is go down to the tree lot. We’re going to buy the biggest goddamn tree, bring it back to sit right over there…then you’re going to dust off your old balls, and we’re going to have a great time decorating,” I list off.
“No need to be rude,” she mumbles. “I’m just trying to-“
“Tell a grown man who he should and shouldn’t be seen with because people that don’t mean shit to him might talk?”
“I get it,” she chuckles.
“I’m ready!!” yells Nova from wherever she had been eavesdropping.
OCTAVIA
The wind wasn’t the only thing cutting to the bone. Yeah, it went just as I knew it would. There are four tree farms in town. It didn’t matter which one we would have gone to. There was no way the news that Bradly and I pulled up together wasn’t going to be reported. Now, I had already worked out a good story that I’m sure would have been accepted. It was along the lines of me and Nova mentioning to him about shopping for a tree and we invited him for the ride. You know, being nice to our neighbor. Although a few people raised their eyebrow, my story wasn’t too far fetched. The problem was Bradly.
The man was too damn friendly. He teased me openly. He was too laid back when it came to Nova. He gave off the vibe of being too comfortable. He stood too close. His words were too warm and at times downright flirtatious. Me giving him a stern stare and a hard pinch with a demand to cut it out went in one ear and out the other.
“Pick the damn tree and let’s go,” I growl.
“Well, Nova and I will, once we find the perfect tree.”
I roll my eyes. “And what was wrong with the five we checked out?”
“They didn’t speak to me,” pausing, “Did you hear them speaking?”
“No, they didn’t say a thing,” Nova chimes in.
“That’s because trees don’t talk,” I scoff.
“Oh, lighten up,” teases Bradly as he comes behind me to pull me back onto his body.
Out of the corner of my eye, I catch the other customers watching us and I moan mentally.
“You’re missing out on this,” he whispers.
Catching his meaning, I glance over at Nova. Eyes big and bright, she weaves between the trees. At everything, she points and Ohhs. Looking over her shoulder back at me, she laughs. Isn’t this what I wanted? Isn’t this what I wished I could experience with her? Even though I could still feel the stares of others, I won’t be the bitch that looks a gift horse in the mouth.
“I don’t know. I’m hearing something coming from the tree over there,” I say, finally getting in on the fun.
“Oh, really? Which one?” inquires Bradly as he takes my hand for me to lead the way.
“This one,” I announce.
“Whoa!!” Nova and Bradly exclaim while taking in the full Douglas Fern.
“What do you think? Is it worthy to be this year’s tree?” he questions Nova.
Getting serious, she tests the branches, smell the leaves and gives the bark a hard kick.
“Well,” she says in thought. “It holds up,” she replies while making a full circle around the tree. “Shh,” she orders with her finger to her lips.
The three of us lean in with our ears perked up to listen.
“Hear that?” she asks, excited.
“Yeah,” I nod.
“This is it,” she sings loudly. “You’re coming home with us, tree,” she responds as she pats the green leaves.
“How are we going to get it home?” I wonder.
“Bend over and I’ll show you,” teases Bradly, quoting a line from Christmas Vacation. “I’ll pay.”
Pulling the tag from the tree, he disappears. And that’s when the chicken heads come to pluck. It didn’t take the Ugly Betties long either. My attempts to overlook their presence as Nova and I check out the Christmas Village constructed on the lot for photos didn’t work for long.
“That would make for a perfect family greeting card.”
I plaster a fake smile on my face.
“But they’re missing their plus one,” sneers one woman.
“Honey, he isn’t taking no parts of this,” the other woman frowns as she motions with her hands towards me and Nova. “Don’t start telling those rumors.”
With a sigh, I step down from the decorated tiny home.
“No need for the bitch patrol. We’re just neighbors hanging out,” I reply.
“Nova!”
Jumping back to give me space, the women switch from being Mean Girls back into the cheerful, flirtatious, giddy pack of wolves they really are. They make room for Bradly to walk a beeline to me and Nova. Not giving them a second glance or acknowledging the women’s airy greet, he picks Nova up.
“I asked about the toy train in front. They are selling them,” he reports.
“What? Really? Can we have one, please?” she begs, turning her pleading hands and big eyes on me.
“Please, mama,” adds Bradly.
Opening my mouth to speak, what Bradly says next causes my eyes to bulge.
“Oh, your Mom loves it when I beg, so she’ll say yes,” he comments jokily to Nova.
My baby laughs, not getting what he said, but the women hanging on his every word damn sure do. Smoothly, he snakes his arm around my waist to force my frozen legs to get moving.
“I’m thinking we’ll stop by Target or somewhere to get more decorations before going home to start decorating. Then we’ll figure out what’s for dinner later,” he goes on loud enough for not only the women shooting daggers at me to hear, but also others shopping on the Christmas tree lot.
I work my mouth as I try to find the words…any words while Nova cheers and agrees with his plan. By the time the tree is strapped to the top of my roof, and we’ve driven to Target, I’ve recovered my wits enough to talk.
“You ready?”
Stealing a glimpse of Nova’s eager face in the rear-view mirror, my eyes dart over to Bradly sitting next to me.
“You’re really enjoying this?”
Unclicking his seat belt, he shifts in the seat to give me his full attention.
“I apologize if I’m muscling in on what you and Nova had planned or your family traditions…but yes, I am. You were right. It is hard. It’s hard sitting in my house with the reminder of all the things my Mom wanted and asked for…simple things that I really could have done, but I was too focused on other things and fame. Things like this ….to just slow the fuck down and enjoy. I have spent so much time…wasted it really being in places with people that I really didn’t want to be instead of doing what I wanted. So, trust me. If I wasn’t having fun, I wouldn’t be here.”
“So, I shouldn’t question it?”
“It wouldn’t make sense,” he nods. “And you shouldn’t miss it because you’re so worried about other shi…things,” he corrects.
“In that case,” I remark as I open my door. “Let’s get it.”
Fuck’em. That’s the switch I flipped while we stroll into Target. Why the hell should I miss out or snatch the fun away that Nova is having just because people are talking. I’m not stealing anything from anyone. I didn’t sucker this man into spying on me. I didn’t ‘chase him. He’s here of his own free will. Hell, I didn’t’ even know who the hell he was for days…weeks. Nah, I deserve a bit of fun, too.
Our antics while in the store causes other shoppers to watch and even laugh. From the Star Wars sword fights, to the mock basketball game, to the bouncy ball race down the aisles, we have a blast. I make sure to keep my mouth shut as Bradly with Nova’s encouragement buys too many ornaments and decorations. Picking up pizza on the way back to the house, I go into the kitchen to bake a fresh batch of sugar cookies. I’m kept in constant laughter as I listen to Nova and Bradly draw out a map of how and where to place the tree and the Christmas décor. Once that is figured out, I’m kept entertained with the outrageous, comical back and forth the two have when it comes time to bringing in the massive tree.
I stand back and celebrate their blood, sweat, and alligator tears once the tree is finally in the stand. Satisfied, the three of us take a break to sit at the feet of the majestic Douglas Fern to eat our pizza, cookies, and hot chocolate before cranking up the Christmas tunes to get to work.
“I hope you are enjoying this. Santa won’t be able to spend this much time in the future. How does it feel?”
My question coming so randomly causes them both to glance over at me. I can feel Bradly’s gaze boring into the side of my head, but it’s Nova’s eyes that I’m pinning with my gaze. Am I pushing this whole ‘Santa’ thing? No, but I know she understands the message within my words. It’s a warning for her not to get used to this or him. I’m flattered that Bradly chose us to spend his time with to shake his holiday blues, but that’s just it. Once the Christmas lights are clicked off and everything is packed up for another year, reality comes flooding back in. I don’t want Nova getting lost in the jokes and the magic.
“I feel like a god,” she shouts. “I hold the joy of all the kids in the palm of my hand,” she acts out.
Laughing, I shake my head as I get back to work. I know he’s still watching me, willing me to steal a glimpse, but I won’t.