12. Walt
WALT
“Night, Bethany!” I call to our last customer, our first regular customer, as she leaves the bar for the third night in a row. “Get home safe and get yourself a good divorce lawyer.”
“Thanks, Walt! I’m gonna call that James & James law office in the morning.
I hear they’re the best in town.” She throws a wave over her shoulder, her head held high as she walks down the sidewalk.
Part of me wants to keep her chatting as my stomach clenches tighter than a bar towel being wrung out in the sink.
If she doesn’t leave, we won’t be here alone. But also, god, do I want to be alone with him.
I peek over my shoulder, watching him saunter off toward the backroom. What if I don’t know what I’m doing? What if I’m not what he’s expecting? What if he decides he doesn’t want me?
I pause, staring at the lock. Turning this means facing everything I’ve been afraid of. It means turning a small risk into a big one. I hesitate, my fingers ready as sweat already beads on my forehead. Can I really do this?
“Bethany finally head out?” The smooth, steady voice reverberates as he returns, the sound washing over me like the breeze off the lake in the summer, and with one swift motion, I twist the lock.
I can do this.
“Yeah.” I glance to the bar where Johnny’s wiping down, noticing the way his muscles flex as he runs the cloth across the wooden surface. The way his brows are low across his face, so intently focused on making everything as good as new for the morning.
I wonder if he could do those same things to me.
Every step toward the bar serves as a reminder of the decision I made. The decision I needed to make, a decision that feels right, but I’m still so damn scared. Then I remember the feeling I get when I kiss him, and I feel like he could help me not be so scared.
“Well, boss, another hell of a day.”
“Yeah.”
“You want me to sweep up tonight? Usually you’re half done by now.”
“No.”
He drops the towel as he turns to face me. “That’s a lot of one-word answers. Everything okay?”
“Yep.”
He cocks his head with a smirk. “Alright then, out with it.”
My breath catches. “Out with what?”
“Whatever’s on your mind. Every night you pick up the broom, sweep the floor, then come back here and close out the register. Now you’re being plain weird, dragging your feet, staring at me and giving me one-word answers. So,”—he leans against the bar—“what’s on your mind?”
I swallow hard. “I don’t want to clean up the bar right now.”
Johnny raises a brow. “Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.” He stands up fully, tilting his head to the other side. “What would you like to do instead?”
“I want to go upstairs.”
His eyes flare. “Anything else?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, what else then?”
“I want you to come with me.”
He purses his lips as the dimples on his cheek grow deeper with each tiny movement. “Okay then. Let’s go.”
We walk toward the backroom where a door leads to the staircase, my pulse racing with each step. I open it and gesture for him to head up first. I pop back out and turn off the lights, making sure the door is locked, then race to catch up.
“Nice place.” He walks around taking in the space as I close the door behind us. “Better than what I got across town.”
“Thanks.” I rub my hand across the back of my neck. “It was a nice selling point on the bar. Someday I’d like to own a house, but for now, this is a great place to be.”
“I agree.” He spins around to face me, his eyes locked in on mine. “This is a great place to be.”
I don’t think he’s talking about the apartment anymore.
“You, um…”—my voice cracks as I try to form some semblance of a sentence—“you want to sit on the sofa?”
“No.”
He closes the distance, pushing my back flush against the door, his hands on either side of my head. “Listen. We need to discuss a couple things before we do this.”
“Okay,” I breathe. “Whatever you want.”
He huffs a quiet laugh. “Whatever I want, huh?”
My face heats. “I mean…within reason.”
“I know you’re nervous. Scared even. From someone who’s done this before, I know it can all be a little intimidating. So, I wanna make this crystal clear. You say the word stop, we stop. Okay?”
“Okay.”
My skin prickles as he drags a hand down my arm. “We’re gonna take things slow—as slow as you need.”
I nod as my stomach coils thinking about him taking things nice and slow with me. And me taking a slow, steady inventory of every inch of him.
“Last thing.” He leans in, his words a whisper in my ear. “Downstairs in that bar? You’re the boss. But up here?” He nips the edge of my earlobe, sending a chill up my spine. “Up here, I run the show. Got it?”
“Yes.” My voice and my body shake at the thought of him taking charge.
“Good.” He pulls back, his gaze catching mine as my chin trembles. “Hey,”—he places his palm on my flushed cheek—“I got you.”
His lips find mine and, once more, I’m lost to everything in the world except him.
Our tongues collide, and I can’t hide the groan that escapes as he runs his hand down my chest, tugging on my shirt as I do the same to his.
Our kiss only breaks to remove the fabric from between us, our shirts forgotten as we stumble our way through the apartment.
My legs press back against the bed as his firm grip settles on the waist of my jeans, my entire body shuddering in response.
He works to unbuckle my belt, unzipping my pants, placing slow kisses on my chest as he goes.
I reach forward to undo his, both of us stepping out of our pants, me stepping out of my comfort zone.
Funny how walking an unknown path makes me feel more comfortable than I ever have.
Both of us stand in our briefs as he rakes his gaze down my body, goosebumps spread across my skin once his hand finds a resting spot on my chest.
“Lie back,” he commands with a gentle push, and dammit if I don’t obey in an instant.
The way his hand presses against my skin is a soothing balm for every want, every desire, every need I’ve kept hidden for so long.
I scoot myself up to rest my head on the pillow.
He climbs to straddle me, his hardness firmly pressed against mine.
“Fuck,” I pant, my hips bucking against his.
“You okay, boss?”
“I thought you were the boss in here?”
“Oh…I am.” His grin is wicked, sharp, and full of heated promise. “But I still like the nickname.”
I huff out a laugh. “Well, what should I call you?”
“What can you call me?” He trails his hand down my chest as he hums to himself, palming my rock-hard cock. I gasp, nearly coming undone by the slightest bit of his touch. “You can call me when you’re ready to come.”
“Holy shit.”
He repositions himself between my legs, peppering kisses down my chest as he goes.
I prop myself up enough to see, refusing to miss a moment of this.
He places his mouth on the thin layer of white fabric covering me.
God, why is this so damn sexy? He pulls the elastic down, and my dick springs free.
I lift my hips to help him shimmy them off and toss them away.
“You’re fucking perfect,” he growls. “You’re going to be so good for me, aren’t you?”
“Jesus, fuck. Yes.” I groan, and I can’t tell if it’s at his praise or the feeling of him licking the bead of pre-cum from me. Both are euphoric, and I’m having a fucking hard time controlling myself. “Johnny, I…I may not last long.”
He looks up through his long lashes. “I’ll take you for as long as I can have you.”
He takes my cock in his mouth, licking along every vein, every ridge, every inch. It’s like he’s burst through the door to a closet that’s been filled to the brim with everything I’ve kept locked away, and with one flick of his tongue it all comes crashing out.
My back arches as his mouth finds a steady rhythm.
The hum he lets out in response nearly sends me over the edge.
I shiver, feeling his teeth graze my skin as he moves up and down my shaft.
It’s messy. It’s wet. And after years of only my hand, it’s exceeding every expectation I’ve ever held onto.
The ones where I never imagined this could happen.
A spark ignites deep in my gut like a box of matches that got too close to a flame.
All my life I’ve felt like if I could only get one match to ignite, it would help.
And now that I’ve seen the whole damn box can go up in flames, I don’t want it to ever go back to the way things were.
My hand clenches the sheets, desperate to hold on to this as long as I can—to hold on to him as long as I can.
Every muscle in my stomach tenses as he cups my balls.
And, as if that wasn’t good enough, his finger hits a spot directly behind them just before the tight ring of muscle begging for his attention, pressing into a place I didn’t know existed.
A tightness hits me like a tidal wave, and I cry out as I’ve never done before.
“Johnny!” I gasp. “I’m…shit…I’m close.”
Pulling back, he grips my cock, stroking with the perfect amount of speed and pressure, as if he’s done this for me a thousand times.
A guttural moan escapes me, and I can’t contain myself any longer.
My hips thrust on instinct as my release spills out, marking his chest and dripping down his hand as he flashes me a smirk, proud of what he’s done.
The entire world spins, my dick still twitching in his palm.
A shiver runs up my spine as I flop my head back against the pillow, fighting to catch my breath.
“You alive up there, boss?”
I let out the deep breath I’ve been holding as I come down from a high I didn’t think was possible. “Not sure yet,” I pant. “I guess I’m talking, so I must be alive, but not sure for how much longer. That was…it was…”
He kisses his way up my stomach. “Felt pretty damn good, didn’t it?”
I laugh. “More than good.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed that.” The mattress dips as he makes his way up to kiss me, soft and gentle, my lips aching for more. “So…you wanna give it a try?”