6. Abby
CHAPTER 6
Abby
B artlett looks at me like I completely ruined the mood, and I probably did.
“Say something,” I groan. “Anything.”
I’m sitting in this man’s lap, this perfect specimen of a human being, telling him I’m not good enough to be with him.
After he’s just offered me more than meaningless sex. What woman says no to that? Especially after he licked my pussy up and down until I literally came all over his face. And now I’m telling him no, actually I don’t want your huge cock to fill my pussy until I orgasm all over you, even though I know that instead of being ghosted, I can count on you to call me the next day.
Smart move, Abby.
“I feel like you’re trying to sabotage this before it’s even started,” he tells me.
“Wow, so you can see through my bullshit real fast,” I say, dropping my face in my hands and rolling out of his lap. I stand on his wool rug, looking around for a robe to cover my naked body. I feel exposed, vulnerable, and stupid all at the same time.
He gets out of bed and hands me a flannel bathrobe that’s hanging on the back of his door. “Here,” he says, “put this on.”
He pulls on a pair of gray sweats, which, okay, he looks freaking incredible in. His cock is still hard and he looks like my horniest dreams ever.
“How about we have a drink,” he says. “I think the orgasm is messing with your mind.”
“Ha ha,” I say dryly. Though maybe he’s onto something. He gave me a mind-blowing orgasm and I immediately tried to run away. Am I scared to feel that good more than once?
“Do you like chamomile or peppermint tea better?”
“Chamomile,” I tell him. “And can I tell you how charming I find it that you’re offering me tea instead of whiskey or vodka?”
“I’m not gonna get you drunk before I get you back in bed.”
“Oh, so you’re planning on getting me back in bed tonight?”
“Yeah,” he says, wrapping his arms around me, lifting me up and carrying me into the kitchen. He sets me down on the counter and then he kisses me. Hard.
I open up. “Maybe I was trying to push you away before you had a chance to break my heart or something.”
“Wow, so you think I’m heartbreak material?”
I bite my bottom lip. “You want me to be honest?”
“Brutally.” Bartlett sets the tea kettle on his stove and finds two ceramic mugs, placing tea bags in them.
“I think you’re the epitome of heartbreak material. I wasn't lying when I said all those nice things about you. You are handsome and kind and wonderful in ways I’ve never experienced before. Your family is lovely and your home is beautiful and–” Bartlett presses his lips to mine, kissing me hard, taking my breath away.
I wrap my arms around his neck, laughing against his mouth. “I guess that’s one way to shut me up.”
“That wasn’t what I was trying to do. I just wanted to kiss you because fuck, I don’t think I’ve ever had a woman say such nice things about me.”
“I guess after I said all those things I immediately wondered why exactly I was pushing you away…” I laugh, shaking my head.
Bartlett’s hungry eyes run over my body as the robe falls off my shoulder, exposing most of my breasts.
“I don’t have to go anywhere,” Bartlett tells me. “I’m right here, Abby. If you want to go back to the bedroom, I can turn off the kettle. Screw the tea and you can screw me instead.”
This man really turns me on. His humor, his lack of pretense, the way he makes me feel like I don’t have to look for the other shoe to drop. Even though I just met him, I feel like if I were going to fall, he’d catch me. Hijinx barks as he wanders into the kitchen. “I guess he woke up from his evening nap.”
“You think he’s hungry? We still have that bag of dog food from the hardware store.”
We fill up a bowl for Hijinx, and after we let him out to go potty in the yard and bring him back inside, he snuggles up by the fireplace. Even though there isn’t a fire blazing, he seems to realize that’s the perfect place for a dog to sleep.
And with that, Bartlett takes my hand in his and leads me back to the bedroom.
This time I don’t push him away; I don’t let my insecurities about what might come next force me to miss out on what comes now. Because right now the bathrobe goes on the floor and his sweats are discarded.
What comes now is Bartlett running his hands all over my naked body as I begin to stroke his length up and down, up and down.
I kiss his chest, running my hand over his muscles, his ladder of abs. He is pure man. He is made out of God's green earth and being with him makes me feel alive in a way I haven’t before. I know I haven’t been a caged bird, but I felt trapped all my life.
I walked a tightrope and not just figuratively. I’ve been doing exactly as I was told for 21 years, performing not just for my parents but for everyone who came to our shows. None of it was because I asked for it. I was a product and I never wanted to be.
I want this. I want Bartlett. Now.
I give in to the moment as he lays me down on the bed, massaging my breasts until my nipples are hard and my pussy is wet.
He tells me I’m beautiful and I believe him because he is not a liar. He is a man of his word. He’s one of those rare men who isn’t trying. He just is.
“God, I love touching you,” he tells me, his hot breath on my ear, his scruffy beard scratching my neck, making me feel deliriously happy and simply satisfied.
He’s on top of me then, my legs wrapping around his body as his cock begins to enter me nice and slow.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he whispers.
I close my eyes, gasping as he begins to fill me up slowly, inch by inch. It hurts. He’s big and I’m tight, but I don’t want this to stop. I don’t want to ever stop feeling the way I feel right now.
Blissed out, beautiful, and meant to be.
“I don’t want this night to end,” I confess as we move as one, our fingers laced, his eyes locked on mine. My pussy drips and his cock fills me in a way I’ve never been filled before.
“Don’t close your eyes; stay awake with me all night,” he says. “We’ll watch the sunrise.”
“Don’t you work tomorrow?” I ask with a gasp as he thrusts deeper into me, making me his in a whole new way.
“Sure I work tomorrow, but we’re supposed to be here now, aren’t we?”
“Right,” I tell him. “We are. And the here and now? It’s pretty damn perfect.”
I wake up in a daze. Bartlett's arms wrapped around me tight, Hijinx in the center of the bed.
“I don’t think I’ve slept that soundly in years,” Bartlett tells me, stretching out in his king-size bed. He’s bare-naked, and even though we said we weren’t going to fall asleep, I think after we made love three times we both couldn’t resist the temptation to cozy up in one another’s arms and close our eyes.
And I’m glad now because the idea of a day without sleep was terrifying. I don’t exactly want this man I just met to see me at my very worst.
We get ready for the day quickly – showers that lead to another round of sex – which, okay, I guess shower sex is just as fun as sex in his giant bed.
Then we’re in his truck again, Hijinx on a leash at my feet. We park behind his hardware store in his designated spot in the alley.
“I’ll walk you over to the police station,” he says, “so you can get your wallet.” Just then a flatbed truck comes through asking for Hammer Home’s owner.
“That would be me,” Bartlett says. “How can I help you?”
“I have a delivery, you able to take it now?” the man asks.
“Give me a sec.” Bartlett turns to me. “You mind hanging tight and we can go to the police station after I wrap this up?”
“I can get there, Bartlett. It’s literally one block down Cozy Court, isn’t it?”
Bartlett nods. “Yep, it's right next to the Home Cookin’. It’s a diner across the street. Are you sure you’re good?”
“Don’t forget I have my guard dog.” We both look down at Hijinx, who is sniffing the ground blindly.
I begin my walk down to the police department, taking in the town of Home early in the morning. Across the street, the owner of Home Made Bakery and Café is setting out tables and I can smell the coffee and espresso drinks.
Next to the bakery is Nested Home, the decor shop. There are flowers on display in the window along with beautiful candles and home decorations. It looks like the perfect place to buy a gift.
I cross Restful Road and pass the diner Bartlett mentioned. The booths are filled with plates of bacon and eggs and hash browns. Bartlett and I had oatmeal before we left his cabin so I’m not hungry, but I can imagine stopping there for a meal in the near future.
At the police department, I open the front doors and am greeted by a friendly officer at the front desk. Her badge says Darla. “How can I help you?” she asks.
“I’m looking for Officer Graham Rough? He has my wallet. He told me to stop in today to pick it up.”
“Are you Abby? Oh, you poor thing.” Darla stands, walking over to me. “I heard all about what happened yesterday. I cannot believe that is how you were welcomed to Home!”
“The day got better from there,” I tell her. “I met the Rough family and they invited me to Sunday dinner, so that made up for it all.”
Darla laughs. “Oh yeah? Dinner with the Roughs will do that. Annie and Red are sweethearts. Although the boys in that family are the biggest group of bachelors this town has ever met. Though the Rowdy boys over in Burly, well, they might even be less tameable than their cousins.”
“There are more boys in that family?” I ask her.
“Yes, and they’re all as handsome as the last.” Darla smiles then walks back to her desk and grabs a key. “Graham isn’t in until later this afternoon but I know where your wallet is. Let me grab it for you. I’ll be right back.”
A few minutes later I’m leaving the police station and headed toward the Home Run sports store, which apparently also serves as an electronics shop. I would never have thought that but Darla explained it to me.
I turn on Restful Road and take a right onto Snug Street and enter the sports store, with Hijinx on his leash.
“Hey,” I ask the grey-haired man at the register. “I was wondering if you sell any phone chargers? I’m missing mine.” I hand him my device.
“Sure thing,” he says. “Though your phone is pretty old. I didn’t even know people your age used flip phones anymore,” he says with a laugh.
“Do you have a replacement charger?”
“Give me a minute. Let me look in a bin in the back.”
I browse the sporting goods equipment and smile when I see the leotards and ballet slippers in one corner. It makes me wonder if there is a dance studio in town. I was never a dancer but am a gymnast at heart. I wasn’t formally trained but I can do all sorts of tumbling and gymnastics. It’s what I did under the big tent with my parents. I did more than tightrope walk, though that was my specialty.
The owner calls me over and tells me I’m in luck. “Found a charger, I have it plugged in right now. Want to leave it charging for a few minutes?”
“Yes, I feel lost without being able to listen to my messages.”
He tells me his name is Harold and that I don’t look familiar.
“I’m Abby and just came to Home yesterday on the train.”
“Well, if you are looking for a car, my nephew Dale works at the mechanic shop in town, and you can tell him I sent you. He’s an honest one.”
“Good to know,” I say. Harold tells me a little more about Home, and after twenty minutes of chitchat, my phone has 30% battery life.
“It’s enough to get me going. And I think my dog needs to stretch his legs.”
After I pay for the charger, he says, “Come again if you need any electronic or sporting good help.”
“Actually, I was wondering if there is a dance or a gymnastics studio in town?”
“Nope, not since Miss Daisy moved to Seattle. Shame, isn’t it? I still have all those leotards from when she used to teach dance.”
I thank him again before heading outside. When I get into the cold winter air, I wrap my scarf around me again and kneel in front of Hijinx, offering him a doggie treat from my pocket. “Here you go, good boy,” I tell him, giving him a kiss on his nose as he hungrily takes the dog treat.
Standing, I begin walking around the corner toward Tender Trail, where there is a bustling bike and walking path that several people are out enjoying. Again, it is hard not to feel like a fish out of water – like a girl who doesn’t belong.
Everyone here is so damn perfect. I look down at my scuffy boots and my worn blue jeans, tugging on Hijinx’s leash, leading him down the trail. “Come on, boy.” I open my phone as I walk, pressing a button to listen to my voicemails.
The first one has me stopping in my tracks.
“Abby, we know where you’re headed,” my father’s voice slices through the winter day, sending a chill through my body. “We’re coming for you. Don’t think you can run away; we are your family.”
I delete the message, listening to the next one. “Abs, not sure why you think running from me is an option,” Ricky says. “I love you. You belong with me. We’re coming to get you. It won’t be long now.”
Panicked tears fill my eyes, and fear winds its way through my belly.
Then someone comes up behind me, hand on my shoulder.
I spin, shouting, “Don’t touch me!”