16. Chapter 16
After we had our first sexual encounter—sober—that was all we wanted to do.
Lizzie and I boned everywhere. All the time. Her dorm. My apartment. The laundry room in the basement of her dorm. The laundry room in the basement of my apartment building. In the historical section of the campus library … I think. Honestly, I’m not entirely sure if that counted. I’d have to Google the definition of intercourse to see if that one made the cut. But it was still hot.
One day we were in my truck at a job site in the back seat. Lizzie sat facing away from me, her fleshy hips in my hands as she bobbed her perfect ass up and down my length. My legs were wide, hers were closed, which made her feel even tighter on my cock. She held onto the handle on the side above the window. I remember thinking its purpose was to hang ironed shirts or some shit but instead they should advertise its use for this right fucking here because holy shit I was about to unload.
Reaching around and cupping her still-fully-covered tits over her Deftones T-shirt, I pulled her back against my front as I slowed my hips. I needed to feel her body move against mine. Her lungs expand. Her pulse throb. As she settled into me, she turned her head, and we claimed each other’s mouths. It”s messy, and breathy. I pulled her legs wide and adjusted us so her legs were resting on the outside of mine, so I could pull them further apart with my knees.
Without prompting, she reached down to where our groins were connected and felt me sliding in and out of her, and it was the most erotic thing I’d ever experienced.
With a groan, I panted, “You’re going to kill me, baby.”
She silenced me with more kissing. I trailed a hand down and started rubbing her most sensitive spot, our hands bumping into each other’s as we both felt our way around one another. The truck windows were foggy with steam, we were covered in sweat, and we were both bucking and grinding and grunting like zoo animals. Then I felt the telltale signs that she was close. Her drenched pussy started to clamp down, her breathing became erotic, and she whimpered.
God, I loved that I had become so in tune with her body.
“Let go so I can come, too,” I begged against her ear. “Please, baby.”
“Knox. God, I’m-oh shit—”
As I barreled my hips to drive my cock into her, she trembled. “Do it now, Lizzie,” I ground out through clenched teeth. “I’ve only got—”
And then she detonated, convulsing on top of me. And just in time because I came right after her. I was able to last long enough to let her ride out her orgasm on my groin before pulling out and tugging on my own dick as I released outside of her, since we were sans-condom, again. I didn’t even care that I was making a mess in my truck. I’d worry about it later. This felt too damn good.
Lizzie slid off me and immediately began tugging her shorts back on as I tucked myself back inside my pants and slid them up my hips. As she buttoned her shorts, I gave her a look through lazy eyes.
“You know, those damn shorts are what got us here in the first place,” I said, reaching over and intertwining our fingers.
“Yeah, well that damn tool belt of yours is what does me in every freaking time,” she said, running her thumb along my knuckles.
We sat side by side, looking at each other, catching our breath for a moment before she finally broke the silence. “You should probably get back to work.”
“Probably,” I said, giving her arm a tug so she slid toward me. I gripped her throat and kissed her one last time.
We kissed until, abruptly, Lizzie turned, opened the truck door and hopped down. I was right behind her and as I slammed the door, I heard a throat clear and looked up to see Jenny standing just outside.
“Sorry, to, uh …” She darted her eyes between Lizzie and I as she openly laughed. Holding up papers. “I just needed to get some paperwork signed, and Gino and Bram said they saw you headed to your truck and that I should hurry up before you left. But now I’m thinking they knew exactly what I was walking into.”
She wagged her eyebrows up and down, because that’s Jenny. I knew she didn’t think we needed to be embarrassed.
Lizzie stammered next to me. “Oh, we weren’t …”
Jenny bit her bottom lip to stifle a laugh, and I reached over to grab Lizzie around the waist and pull her to me. “Lyzbeth, this is Jenny. Jenny, this is my girlfriend, Lyzbeth.”
“Well, it’s nice to meet the woman who’s got this guy all thumbs these days,” Jenny said, extending a hand to Lizzie, who took it and, seeming to regain her composure, replied, “Is that so?”
I huffed. “Please.”
“Did you not drop that nail gun and almost permanently attach your brother to the floorboards yesterday?” Jenny asked, crossing her arms in front of her.
Lizzie giggled next to me, then looked at Jenny. “You don’t say?”
“It was greasy!” I defended. “Bram grabbed it after oiling the compressor and got it all slippery.”
“Mmmhmm,” Lizzie pursed her lips, looking at Jenny in conspiracy as I ran both hands through my hair before resting them on my hips.
“Hey, Jenny, you know how you can tell when Knox is flustered?” Lyzbeth asked, biting the side of her lip to suppress a laugh.
“When he runs his hands through his hair and then stands with his hands on his hips,” Jenny answered, and all three of us stood in silence for a moment before the two of them erupted in laughter.
“Fuck this!” I spat out, and pulled Lizzie back into me for an inappropriate kiss, then released her with a swat on her ass. “Get the hell out of here so I can get back to work, woman!”
As she took a few steps away, she called back, “Nice meeting you, Jenny!”
“Back at’cha!” Jenny immediately responded. “Let’s double sometime.”
Lizzie gave a thumbs up before making her way to her car. I waited for her to get in and drive away before turning to find Jenny staring at me. “What?”
Jenny gave me a wide smile. “Nice catch, Knox. I really like her.”
“Yeah? Me too,” I said, taking a few steps.
“Knox?” Jenny called from behind me, and I stopped, turning to look at her. She was holding up the paperwork. “I still need you to sign these.”
“Oh, shit!”
“Also, your fly is down.”
Cursing, I zipped my pants. Jenny chuckled, and I gave her a look before reaching my hand out for the papers.
“I was serious about us doubling,” Jenny said. “You guys and me and Greg. Does she, uh … Does she like to party?”
“No,” I answered quickly, as I glanced up from the orders I was signing. “And I don’t either, anymore. You know that.”
Jenny threw her hands up. “Jeez. OK. Was just asking.”
“And please don’t bring that shit up around her, OK? I mean,” I handed the papers back over to Jenny, “she knows about my past, but she doesn’t need to know every gritty detail, OK?”
“Got it,” Jenny said with a little bit of attitude.
Three days later, I was back on campus. The college job was nearly finished, but a few of us were assigned to do some finishing work. While there was less activity since the new semester hadn’t started yet, students were still using the library. Because Lizzie graduated in the spring, she wasn’t one of those students, and therefore I was less excited to be there.
I was headed toward my truck with my toolbox when I stopped short at the sight of Lyzbeth leaning against the tailgate with a shopping bag dangling from her fingertips. She was in jean shorts and flip-flops. Her feet were crossed at the ankles, her flip-flops loose on her feet. Her hair was down and swirled around her.
“Fancy seeing you here,” I said as I drank her in, and a smile spread across my face. When I was just a foot or so away from her, I bent down and dropped my toolbox on the ground, then when I reached her I took her face in both my hands and kissed her. As always, I felt the heat immediately. I intended it to be a friendly hello kiss, but it was quickly turning into an indecent public display of affection. Using every ounce of control, I pulled away and ran my hands down her neck, over her shoulders and down her arms until our hands joined.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“I just thought I’d bring you lunch.” She lifted our joined hands with the bag dangling. “Unless you already ate.”
“No,” I said quickly, giving her another quick kiss on the lips. “I’m starved, actually.”
Releasing one of her hands, I used the other to tug her away from the tailgate, then I pulled the handle and dropped it so we could sit on it. “This work for you?” I asked as I gestured to the back of the truck.
“Yep,” Lizzie said, hoisting her ass up and plopping herself down, legs dangling as she dug into the bag.
“I stopped at Wegmans and got you a sub. Ham and cheese OK? I couldn’t remember if you like mayo so there are those little squeezy packets in the bag here somewhere.”
“Perfect,” I said as I slid onto the tailgate beside her and accepted the wrapped sandwich. As I started to unravel it, Lizzie pulled out a plastic container and popped the lid open, revealing a small salad.
“That looks … unsatisfying,” I said as I tore into one of those mayonnaise packets and squeezed the contents onto one side of my open sandwich, before pressing it back together.
“Yeah, well, I’m trying to be less fat.”
I nearly choked, but before I could get a word in, Lizzie started stammering. “I’m stressed, Knox. I’m freaking stressed!”
“What?” I asked around a mouthful of food. “Why? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Nothing is wrong. Actually, things are great. I have this really great opportunity at work to interview someone. You know the woman who tried to kill her whole family by driving her car filled with her kids into the lake?”
I nodded as I watched her stab at a rogue cherry tomato in her salad.
“Well, I get to interview her tomorrow. It’s kind of a big deal, especially since I”m just an intern. She isn’t talking to many reporters, but she mentioned me by name. She said she liked the story I had about the arsonist, and she wanted me to interview her.”
I swallowed a huge bite that was nowhere near ready to go down so I could get a word in. “Lizzie, that’s awesome!” I said.
“It’s fucking stressful, Knox!” she replied.
She was panicking. I was getting to know this side of her, and as adorable as it was to see, I also understood how hard it was for her. Nodding, I wiped my hands and face on a napkin, leaving my sandwich resting on the paper wrapper in my lap.
“OK,” I said, rubbing my hands together. “So, how do we prepare? Do we need to come up with questions? Do a little background research? What’s our move?”
Lyzbeth froze for a moment, staring at me. “We? You want to help me?”
I stared back at her, dumbfounded. “The fuck kind of question is that? Of course, I want to help you.”
I can’t be certain, but I think her eyes may have glossed over before she quickly turned away. “OK. Great. Well, yeah, I need to come up with questions, but that’s the thing—I don’t want to just ask the same ‘Why did you do it?’ questions, you know? I want to get a different angle on this woman and what was going through her head.”
“OK, makes sense.” I wondered where this was going.
Still pushing her salad around with her fork, Lizzie let out a breath. “I just feel like I’m going to screw it up. I’m so awkward and unpolished, and I just know any attempt I make to ask her tough questions is going to come with this terrible delivery. God, Knox, sometimes I wish I were a different type of person.”
“I don’t.” The words just fell out of my mouth as I picked my sandwich back up. “Not for one second. If you were a different person, I wouldn’t be sitting here on my tailgate having lunch with you, I can tell you that.”
Blushing, she pushed hair behind her ear, but it fell right back in her face, so I reached over and did it for her, my fingertips grazing her temple and following along her earlobe. “Just be you, Lizzie. Just have a conversation with the woman. You do that, and she’ll open right up, I guarantee it.”
She looked at me like she was unconvinced.
“Baby, you have a way of putting people at ease. Making them feel comfortable in their own skin. You are honest and empathetic and understanding, and people just want to talk to you. Go in there, and just start a conversation with the woman. Stuttering and all—”
“I don’t stutter!”
“You do a little bit,” I said, putting my hand up and measuring an inch with my pointer finger and thumb. “You do this thing where you start a sentence, and then you pause, and then finish your thought. It’s endearing! It’s genuine.”
Giving me the side-eye, Lizzie let out a sigh, then pushed her salad off her lap and onto the tailgate beside her before reaching over and grabbing my sandwich out of my hands and taking a giant bite. “Oh man,” she groaned around a mouthful. “This is so much tastier than that rabbit food.”
I laughed as I leaned back on my palms, watching her enjoy my lunch. “Finish it. I’m good.”
“I was planning to,” she mumbled as crumbs fell out of her mouth.
“Do you feel any better?” I asked.
Resting her hands still holding the quarter of a sandwich on her lap, Lizzie swallowed. “Yes, thank you,” she said, turning her head toward me. “But I’m still a little unsure about how I’m going to be able to see eye-to-eye with her. I mean, she tried to kill her kids for God’s sake.”
“Yeah, well, you’re not a psychopath so you can’t expect to totally understand her.”
“Jury’s still out on that one,” Lizzie mumbled under her breath without skipping a beat, while going in for another bite.
“There she is.” I barked out a laugh.
Sighing and crumpling up the sandwich wrapper, she nodded. “OK. I’ll give it a shot.” She leaned back on her palms, mimicking my posture.
“How’s everything else going at the paper?” I asked her.
“Good. Remember that new receptionist I told you about?”
“The one you said was certifiably insane and had a mouth like a sailor?”
“Dee,” Lyzbeth answered with a chuckle. “Yeah, that’s her. She’s actually really cool, and I think we could be friends. She’s … interesting.” She slid her hand over so it was touching mine. “How’s work for you?”
“Busy,” I answered truthfully, brushing my pinkie finger with hers. “Fucking busy as all hell, but that’s a good thing. At least for my dad.”
“That’s great, Knox.” My eyes found hers when she continued. “You know I think you’re super talented, right?”
Giving her a smile, I replied, “Right back at you.”
Lizzie let out a hard breath. “Well, I have to get going.” She hopped off the tailgate and brushed sawdust off the back of her ass, and I followed suit.
“Thanks for lunch,” I said as I pulled her into my arms. She nestled her face into the crook of my neck as she wrapped her arms around my middle, and I rested one hand on the back of her head, my other arm snaked around her shoulders. “You any less stressed?”
“Maybe a little,” she murmured into my neck.
“Good,” I said, turning my head to kiss her temple. “Can I come by later tonight to help you with those interview questions?”
“Yes, please.”
I grinned as she pulled away from me, our arms disentangling and palms sliding down one another’s shoulders, elbows, forearms, until our hands, then fingertips pulled apart. As she backed away, Lizzie put her fist to her ear, her thumb and pinky sticking out, and mouthed “call me.”
Grinning, I just shook my head. She turned and started to walk toward her car when I called her attention back to me. “Lizzie!”
She spun and looked my way. I stood with my hands on my hips and pierced her with a dead serious stare before I said, “You ever call yourself fat again, and I’ll put you over my knee and spank you.”
Her eyes widened, then softened.
“You got me?” I asked, letting her know I didn’t like her self-deprecating comment.
Looking down, then back up at me, Lizzie smiled. “Is that a threat or a promise?”
I darted toward her. “You calling my bluff?” I grabbed her from behind as she shrieked and squirmed out of my grip.
“Alright! Alright! I believe you!” she huffed as she smoothed her shirt and kept walking away. “Get back to work already. Geez.”
I ran my hands through my hair and watched Lizzie get into her car. When she waved to me through the open window, I put my fist to my ear, my thumb and pinky sticking out.
Call you later,I mouthed.
Yep, I was in trouble.