Chapter 28
28
LINCOLN
L ast night was one of the worst nights that I’d had in a long time. From the snide comments my family members made about my relationship with Kylie to the fact that my mother was so brazenly going to tell Kylie all about my past. It’s like she is clueless as to what her actions did to me, growing up. She thinks my issues today are all because of my disability.
Little does she know, I’m fine with who I was back then. I’m fine with who I am today. What I’m not okay with is how embarrassed my parents were of me when I was struggling so much.
And I know Kylie sensed the hostility. She knows there’s a reason for it. I’m starting to realize why I never wanted a relationship before. The person all of a sudden wants to know everything about you. They insert themselves into situations that are none of their business. Some things are meant to stay in the past.
However, last night, she helped me in a way that I’d never had before. She was by my side throughout the event, just for support. I didn’t feel as alone with her next to me. Afterward, when she told me to use her to forget, I did. I forgot all about the turmoil raging within me and got lost in the moment with her. It settled me in a way that was shocking and terrifying.
I can’t get used to the idea that I will need her to help me get through those times in my life. It’s dangerous—the idea of me needing her. After my upbringing, I’ve set my life up to where I will never need anyone ever again. That is why I took out student loans instead of letting my parents pay for my college. That’s why, after I graduated, I wouldn’t use my father’s connections or work for him. My money, my success, my happiness can never be dependent on someone else.
My phone chimes in my pocket. I pull it out and check my notifications.
Kylie: Lunch today? Ben and his friends are going to go practice basketball in the park.
I sigh. Even now, the speed at which I want to reply yes is concerning. Why do I miss her? I just saw her less than ten hours ago. I should tell her I’m busy. All signs point to me feeling overwhelmed right now, but the part of me that misses her seems to win out.
Me: I’m free. Where do you want to go?
Kylie: Somewhere cheap so I can pay.
I find myself smiling at my phone.
Me: Well, that’s never going to happen. Even if we go somewhere cheap, I’m paying. So, you might as well just pick where you actually want to go.
She reluctantly agrees and tells me where to meet her.
I find her sitting at a table next to the front window when I walk into the restaurant. She smiles and waves. Her eyes travel the length of my body several times as I approach.
I take a seat opposite her.
“Hey.” I smile. “You checking me out already?”
She giggles softly. “I’ve just never seen you dressed so casually.”
I’m in a pair of black jogger pants, a gray hoodie, and a baseball cap. It’s Saturday. I don’t feel the need to dress like a prick when I’m not working. I like to be comfortable.
“Do you have a problem with my attire?” I raise an eyebrow.
“Not at all,” she replies. “It’s actually extremely sexy.”
“I aim to please, Miss Ricci,” I reply with a wink.
After we put in our drink and food order, I lean back in my seat. Even though I had her last night, I’m already wondering how I can get her back to my place after this. She’s just so effortlessly beautiful in her cream sweater, hair pulled into a messy bun, barely any makeup. My body craves her in a way that feels like it can never be satiated.
“I feel like this is new territory for you, having your weekends begin to open up,” I tell her as I sense she’s feeling a bit restless.
“Yeah.” She nods, seeming a bit down. “I’m not sure how to fill my time. I’m not used to having free time like this.”
“Are you busy after this?” I take a bite of my sandwich.
Her forehead creases. “No. He won’t be back until just before dinner.”
“I see.” I smile over my bite, then take a sip of my water to wash it down.
“Why? Do you have something in mind?”
My shoulders shake from my laughter. “I do. Right now, all I’m thinking about is how badly I want to get you in my bed.”
Her cheeks turn pink. “That would certainly fill my time.”
Next thing you know, we are both eating a little faster with the promise of pleasure to come after our lunch.
After I pay, we walk outside, and she looks around the street. “Is George coming?”
“Nah,” I tell her as I start walking in the direction of my penthouse. “I give him the weekends off if I don’t have any company events.”
“Huh,” she huffs out.
“What’s that for?”
“Nothing. I guess I just assumed most people with drivers require them all the time.”
“Well, that’s normally the case. I just know he has a wife, kids, and now a grandkid. I’m not trying to monopolize all of his time.”
“What do you do if you don’t feel like walking?”
I chuckle. “I drive myself, Kylie.”
We get back to my apartment, and I take her jacket to hang up in my closet. We kick off our shoes and walk hand in hand to my living room. We sit down on the couch, and she looks around quizzically.
“Your place is decorated so differently from your parents’. It’s so clean and minimal.”
My body tenses at the mention of my parents. “Yeah, they’re all about displaying their wealth. I much prefer subtlety.”
“How are you feeling after last night?” she asks. “I know it was really hard for you to be there.”
Escape—that’s what I want from the questions. It feels like an intrusion on my safe space. But she’s sitting in front of me with such compassion. Her beautiful green eyes are so easy to get lost in. They hypnotize me, promising to take me to new heights of pleasure that I’ve never experienced.
A war wages within me, desire and frustration tangling together in a knot that makes it impossible for me to know how to get out of it. She’s pushing again—pushing into wounds I have learned to ignore. And yet all I can think about is how close she is sitting to me. How the heat from her body warms my cold, icy heart.
“It’s not anything I like to talk about,” I reply as I scoot closer to her until our bodies are flush together. “I have other things on my mind that I’d much rather explore.”
She smiles, but I can see the hesitancy in it. “Like?”
I lean forward and bury my face into the crook of her neck and breathe in her scent. “Like how quickly I can make you come with my tongue before I shove my dick into you so hard that you forget where you are.”
Her moan solidifies that her brain has moved on from worrying about last night. I pull back, and the moment our lips touch, everything changes. It’s like her lips transport me to another world where I’m whole and complete. I can’t get enough. My hands find her cheeks, and I smooth my thumbs back and forth against her skin as I deepen the kiss.
By the time we come up for air, we are both out of breath.
“Lean back, baby,” I whisper. “Let me get a taste of your pussy.”
She listens to me and lets me pull off her jeans and panties. When she spreads her legs for me, just the sight of how wet she is makes my dick twitch with appreciation.
I spend the next hour losing myself in her. She’s the only thing that exists; she’s the only thing that matters. Not my name, my title, my bank account, my past. Just her.
There’s no parents’ disapproval—no begging for scraps of attention that I never received.
I shouldn’t need this. I shouldn’t need her. But I do. And the most dangerous part? I never want it to end.