18. Nolan
Chapter 18
Nolan
SEPTEMBER
A fter a long ass shift, I walk into my house to find my sister on the couch with a box sitting in front of her. Seeing her tears, I’m filled with the urge to hunt down her useless ex and beat the shit out of him for hurting her.
Both girls are gone since it’s that time of year again and school is back in full swing. To prepare Mollie for kindergarten and give the two of us a much-needed break, I enrolled her in pre-k.
As she reaches for the box, a tear escapes her eye, falling onto the lid. “Wanna help me burn these?”
“Burn what exactly?” I reach inside and find all the rsvp response cards. Her wedding was supposed to happen this weekend. She finally got everything canceled with no help from the prick. “Sure.”
“I figured I should wait until the official firefighter showed up before I torched them. Rylee wanted to help, but that didn’t seem like the brightest idea. We’d probably have burned down the building and I just can’t deal with one more crisis at the moment.” Cora picks up the box and walks around me, heading for the backyard.
I toss my bag on the floor and follow her. “Smart idea. No reason to put a bunch of other people out of their homes because you two thought a bonfire was an indoor Olympic event.”
My joke makes my sister chuckle as she drops the box on the brick patio. She walks over to my charcoal grill and removes the lid.
Nothing cooks meat like a charcoal grill. I don’t care what anyone else says.
It’s heavy, but that doesn’t stop her from dragging it out from under the overhang. While she’s doing that, I open the wooden box next to the house where I keep everything I need to light it up.
After she has it in a clear and safe spot, Cora stomps over to the box she carried outside and grabs a photo first. She glares at it and huffs. “God, I really hate you. You are a mother ducking coward, and I hope everything goes wrong with this new adventure you ran off to. May you get a horrible STD that causes your dick to fall off while oozing green puss.”
“Don’t hold back, sis. Maybe a voodoo doll would be a great way to get your anger out.” Lifting the bag of charcoal, I scatter a handful across the grill. “After we burn these, we should make some burgers. I’m pretty sure I have hamburger in the fridge.”
“I like that idea. Both of them, actually. And if I had a voodoo doll, I’d probably toss it on the flames to watch it burn, while praying all his hopes and dreams go up in flames.” Several more photos are added to the burning charcoal, followed by a liberal, almost excessive squirt of lighter fluid. Way more than necessary, but I don’t stop her. This is her way of purging all traces of him from her life, and if it aids her in the healing process, I’ll be right by her side.
However, I’m smart enough to understand what will happen when she lights a match and tosses it on the fumes. Which is why I don’t hand them to her until I turn on the water and unravel the hose. Once it’s in my hand, I toss them to her.
“Are you worried I’ll burn your house down?” She casts a sideways glance at the garden hose, a subtle smirk curving her lips.
With a shake of my head, I spray a generous amount of water around the grill, saturating the dry grass. “Nope. Just don’t want you to catch the grass or yourself on fire. Cause as soon as you toss a match on that, it’s gonna light the fumes. So do it quick and don’t stand too close.”
Cora raises one eyebrow as she takes a step back. With a flick of her wrist, she strikes a match, tosses it and the tiny flame catches the lighter fluid inside the grill with a whoosh, long before the match itself lands.
“Dammit! I wanted to be here when you did that. I told you I was on my way.” Rylee’s voice booms from the side of my house where the gate is. “I had a whole ritual planned. Even ordered this crazy doll on Amazon and was going to let him be the fire starter.”
It’s not a voodoo doll, but it’s some plush doll that looks similar to the asshole who stood my sister up. “Where the hell did you find that?”
Rylee shrugs and waves the damn thing in the air. “You’d be surprised what you can find when you type in things you can burn to get over a small dick man who has worms for brains.” With narrow eyes, she leans in, rising onto her toes as she approaches. “Is that a hickey on your neck?”
The bite mark, given to me four days ago, has gradually faded. There’s another one on my left peck that hasn’t faded as much. I’ve considered visiting a tattoo shop and getting it permanently inked there. Just thinking about how it happened brings a surge of life back to my dick.
My sister joins her friend. “Turn your head. How did I not notice that? That’s not new.” She snaps her fingers twice and points at me. “That’s why Susanne is so up in your business right now. That explains Kellie’s worried mumbling about her grandma ruining everything. Explain.”
“I thought we were burning asshole’s shit?” I reach inside the box, grab a handful of rsvp cards, and pass them to her.
“Don’t change the subject.” Cora swats at my hand and places hers on her hips. “Explain.”
Walking around her, I toss the cards in one at a time, while I give her the briefest of all explanations. “It’s not a big deal. Bethany and I had a date. Susanne did what she always does. That’s it.”
“Hold up!” Rylee emits a high-pitched shriek. “You fucked Bethany? Your neighbor? The neighbor across the street who put a snowman blowup in her yard immediately after Halloween, done in response to your complaint about her putting up Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving and leaving them up to piss you off? Your sexy neighbor who wears those wraparound skirts and tight tank tops with no bra when working outside in her yard on sweltering summer days? Her? The psychologist?”
Tossing the rest of the cards in the flames, I turn and glare at Rylee. “How do you know all that?”
“Who do you think gave her the idea for the snowman?” My sister’s best friend snickers when I grunt. “Oh, come on. You make it so easy to rile you up. I like her. She seems like a lot of fun. I’m actually enrolled in one of her classes this semester.”
“I thought you were a criminal justice major.”
Just like Cora, Rylee dove headfirst into the work world after graduating high school. She didn’t have a lot of options being raised in the foster care system. At eighteen, with high school still to complete, she came to live with us, having nowhere else to go. Her foster family kicked her out on her birthday, and Cora dragged her to our house. The idea of leaving her to fend for herself, destined for failure and a life on the streets, didn’t sit well with me. So, we made a deal. She would keep her part-time job at the grocery store to help pay for food and finish high school, and I allowed her to stay as long as she took it seriously. We had some bumps, but it worked out and she graduated with decent grades and a plan. Her job at the 9-1-1 call center allows her to earn her associate’s degree while working nights. She’s been steadily working toward a criminal justice degree from Georgia Southern University, utilizing financial aid and scholarships.
“It is. But I decided a minor in mental health would be helpful. You know my plan is to work with domestic violence victims and children of domestic violence. After working at the center and seeing how many of them have mental health issues, I thought it would be useful. Can’t hurt.” Rylee walks over to the box and starts moving things around. “I like her. She’ll be good for you. And since she’s older, you’ll avoid the young-woman drama. No games. She knows what she wants, how she wants it, without the melodrama someone our age would bring to the table.”
Cora takes a handful of cards and tosses them on the fire. “Maybe that’s what I need next time. An older man who already has his shit figured out and set in his ways. None of this I need to go live my life and not feel tied down . He’ll be done living the free life and ready to chill out.”
“How much older?” Rylee wrinkles her nose in disgust. “I mean, you could go for a sugar daddy, but then you’d have to fuck a wrinkly old dick. I’ve seen a few old man dicks, and they aren’t pretty. Unless you’re into that, then go you. Though, someone in their mid-to-late thirties would probably make a good candidate. But then again, that’s about the age most suffer a midlife crisis, so maybe not.”
“Guys suck!” Cora grumbles as she tosses more cards on the fire. “Maybe I’ll stay single. Or become a lesbian. You’re single, Rylee. Wanna test the waters with me?”
“Not all guys suck.” I point to myself. “I’m a guy. I don’t suck.”
“Good point, Nolan. You’re a rare breed.” A quick grin is followed by a shake of her head. “But your sister is right, most guys do. At least the ones I’ve been around lately. And not like they suck my clit. I swear most don’t even know where that this. It’s so sad.”
“Ain’t that the truth!” With a grunt, Cora lifts the box and dumps its entire contents onto the fire. “Men are selfish assholes who think with the fucking tiny brain between their legs. And that little thing only cares about one thing, blowing its load. And once that happens, they no longer have a damn brain. After I get back, I’m switching teams. No more sorry dicks.”
Rylee draws Cora in, tucking her securely against her side with a comforting arm. “It can’t be any worse, right? I mean, most lesbians use strap-ons that are huge and meant to ruin your pussy. I think I’d be down with that.”
The jokes kept coming, and I fight hard to contain my laughter, but that last one is too much—I double over, tears streaming down my face. “I swear, you two are crazy. Don’t switch teams unless that’s what you really want. Maybe date better men. Have a test you give them. Ask them up front where the fuck is my clit and demand a demonstration on how he stimulates it. If the guy runs, he ain’t for you. A real man would gladly show you he knows where it is and give you a sampling of how he’d rock your world.”
“Is that what you did with Bethany?” Rylee bats her eyes flirtatiously. “Is that how you got the hickey? She got excited and gave you a demonstration of her own?”
“I don’t kiss and tell.” My stomach growls and I rub it. “Are you staying for burgers?”
“Bet your ass I am.” Rylee leans into Cora. “You’re better off without him. I have faith there’s a man out there who’s fifty times better than limp dick. You still going on this trip?”
“Yep. I need time away. You could come with, you know. We could pretend to be honeymooning together.” Cora laughs at Rylee, who’s shaking her head no. “I’m not good enough for you, either?”
“It’s not that. You’re amazing. But I don’t think either of us would be happy. As much as we hate men, we love dick. So maybe you take a break from it for now and after you get back, we see what we can find.” Rylee releases Cora and runs for the house. “I need to pee.”
As soon as she’s gone, I walk up to my sister and step up behind her. “Rylee and I don’t always agree, but this time she’s right. Don’t you dare tell her I said that.”
“Mum’s the word.” Cora snickers as she pretends to toss a key away. “I’m glad you’re getting back out there again. So how did you get the hickey?”
“You really don’t wanna know. All I’ll say is that unlike the limp dicks you’ve dated, I know where the clit is.” I kiss the top of her head and turn around to go make the burgers.
I got it because I showcased my expertise in pleasuring her clit to the point where the only way she could stifle her noises was by biting me. And the reason I needed her to be quiet was because her boys returned early, and I was helping her clean up in the shower before going home to tuck the girls in bed. But that’s for me to know and not something I’d freely share with anyone else.
Cora makes a gagging noise. “I did not need to know that. Gross. I mean good for her, but yuck. Please never say anything like that ever again or I’ll have Rylee share a few?—”
“Scout’s honor.” I hold up three fingers. “Now let’s make lunch. I’m starving. The fire should be about perfect by the time we come back. While we eat, you can remind me what I need to know next week when you’re gone.”