CHAPTER TWELVE
S TEFANIE
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T APPING MY FOOT AGAINST the floor, I waited for him to answer my question. Would you hide for me? I couldn’t let my daughter see him. I was in a hurry, and he was taking way too long to answer.
“Julian,” I pressed.
“You want me to hide, huh?” he mused.
“Yes. Please.” And hurry the hell up with it.
“What do I get if I hide?” he asked.
“Whatever you want,” I told him, gaze darting to the hallway as the doorbell rang again.
He took a deep breath and released it slowly. “Okay. I’ll do it this time and this time only,” he told me.
I only needed him to do it once. There wouldn’t be another time.
“Thank you. Come on.” I grabbed his hand, but he pulled it back.
“Go get dressed. I’m following behind you.”
“O-okay.” I rose and ran to the bedroom, looking over my shoulder only once to see if he was following.
I found him sipping from his mug, his jaw set, body tense. I knew this was an awkward situation. And I was probably acting like a fool. But my daughter had never caught me with a guy before. I couldn’t have that happen now.
The doorbell rang again. If I didn’t answer soon, she’d start calling my name. Then, the neighbors would come out to see what the commotion was. And Julian would be forced to do a walk of shame.
Ugh! I didn’t have time for any of that. In the bedroom, I found a pair of leggings and a T-shirt in my luggage. I slid the robe off and pulled the shirt on. I was just about to grab my leggings when my phone rang.
It had to be India. I rushed over to the phone. No . It was Ronnie. I snatched the phone from the nightstand and answered.
“Hello,” I whispered loudly.
“Bitch, your daughter is texting my phone asking if I’m at the Airbnb with you and asking if that’s my car outside. That’s that young stud’s car out there, isn’t it?”
Ignoring his question, I asked, “Did you respond to her?”
“Of course not. She’s my mini-bestie, but you’re my grown bestie, so I called you to see how you want to handle this.”
“Thank you, Ronnie.” I sighed, massaging my forehead.
“Don’t thank me with words. I want tea. Not the kind you drink. The kind you speak. That can wait, though. Your daughter is at your front door, and she’s not alone.”
“She’s not alone?”
“Nope. Her friends are with her. She’s there for free breakfast.”
“She said all of that in a text?”
“Oh, no. When she called you and you didn’t answer, she called me and left a voicemail, and then she texted me.”
I pulled the phone away from my ear and checked my missed calls. While I’d been in the kitchen flirting with Julian, my daughter had called me three times. I’d never felt this type of guilt before. What if it had been something important? What if she’d been in danger?
“She did call me,” I muttered. “I didn’t even hear the phone ring. I was... busy.” More guilt washed over me.
“As you should be,” Ronnie told me. “She ditched you for her friends. You ditched her for dick. You’re even now.”
“That’s not how motherhood works.”
“Which is why it’s a good thing I can’t be a mother because I always have to get my lick back.”
“Focus, Ronnie.”
“I am focused. I know you, and you’re probably feeling guilty.”
“Hell yeah, I am. She could’ve been in danger while I was playing Stella and getting my groove back.”
“If she were in danger, she would’ve called me, and I would’ve actually answered and helped her out. It takes a village, and you have one. India is fine. Don’t you dare feel guilty for enjoying yourself!”
He didn’t understand. He couldn’t. I couldn’t control this guilt. The doorbell rang again.
“What am I supposed to do?” I whispered. “I can’t let her see Julian.”
“Ignore her. That’s what I’m doing.”
“I can’t ignore my child.”
“She’s not in danger. She just doesn’t want to spend her money on food.”
“What if she wants to spend time with her mom, Ronnie?”
“I guarantee you they are there for food.”
“They?” I squeaked. “Oh, right. You said she’s not alone.”
“Yeah. She brought her little friends with her.”
What? My gaze jerked to my bedroom door.
“Her roommate is with her,” Ronnie informed me. “Along with another girl.”
I opened my mouth, but no sound emerged. Julian’s sister was here. Would she recognize his car? This was going from bad to worse.
“Since you’re not good at lying to your daughter, I’ll do it for you. You owe me. I’ll put some casino noises on in the background and call her to tell her that you’re playing blackjack and can’t answer. I’ll tell her you’re on a roll, and we don’t need to interrupt your luck.”
“Oh... okay,” I whispered. “That sounds plausible. But why the casino?”
“Because that’s one place her little behind can’t enter. So, she won’t show up there. I’m pretty sure she’s tracking your location. I’ll tell her you forgot your phone at home and that we caught an Uber because we planned to have some mimosas.”
“That sounds like us.”
“I know, right? We really should do this while you’re here.”
“Yeah. Yeah. We will. Money. Tell her you’ll send her some money to take her friends to breakfast. I’ll pay you back.”
“Pay me back by relaxing and enjoying your day with Mr. Young Stud. I’ll send her money for food. I’ll tell her you’ll call her as soon as we get back to your house later today. Does that sound like a plan, Stella?”
“It does. And don’t call me that. It only makes me feel guiltier.”
“Girl, forget all of that! I only got one question for you. Was the dick good?”
I smiled. “It had me seeing sounds,” I joked.
“That’s what the fuck I’m talking about. You deserved it. Now hang up so I can go lie to my godchild. I’ll text you when it’s done.”
“Okay, and thanks again, Ronnie.”
“You’re welcome. I really wish you wouldn’t put so much pressure on yourself to be perfect. The perfect career woman. The perfect mom. The perfect bestie. You are human. Perfection isn’t in our nature. Those who strive for it only end up depressed and still imperfect. Just be happy, girl. How many times do I have to tell you this?”
I wiped my eyes before the tears could fall. “I...”
I was now too choked up to speak. Ronnie had been telling me this for years, especially when my husband was alive. Yet, here I was, seventeen years later, still trying to be perfect in every aspect of my life. Because if I wasn’t perfect, then I was.... I swallowed, not wanting to think about that right now.
“I don’t want to kill the vibe, so I’ll stop lecturing you, Stef. But please don’t run that man off just because of India showing up. Enjoy yourself. And when you’re done having fun, return to the real world. But for right now, live out your fantasy, girl.”
I nodded and then remembered that he couldn’t see me. “I’ll try.”
“I’ll text you in a bit.”
“Alright. Bye, Ronnie,” I ended the call and wiped my eyes again.
India was safe. Hungry. But safe. I took a deep breath and released it slowly. The guilt was still there. It wouldn’t be going anywhere soon. The mere fact that I was sending my child away to enjoy time with a man felt wrong.
But she’s safe, I reminded myself. That only made more tears spring to my eyes. I blinked them back. My phone dinged. I glanced down at the screen and saw a message from Ronnie.
Ronnie: It’s done. She’s about to leave and go out to eat for breakfast. She says she wants some of the money you won at the casino to buy new clothes. And she wants to have a movie night and sleepover with you on Friday and Saturday night. You have the week to yourself. Enjoy it. Call me later, friend.
I reread the part about the sleepover and sighed. My sweet girl really did want to spend time with me. I couldn’t help but smile. The crisis was avoided. I was just waiting for my damn heart to stop racing.
I was acting like I was the teenager and she was the mom or something. Placing the phone back on the nightstand, I headed toward the front door, needing to see if India and her little breakfast club had left already.
As I passed the kitchen, Julian stepped out, still shirtless and unbothered, like he hadn’t just watched me spiral into a full-blown panic a few minutes ago.
“You stayed and ate your breakfast while I was having a panic attack, huh? Didn’t even try to hide, did you?” I asked, shooting him a glare as I kept walking.
He didn’t say a word. Luckily for him, I had more pressing things to worry about. I reached the front door, pressed the side panel button, and watched the outdoor camera feed come to life on the screen.
India and her friends were heading back to a cute little blue Jeep. I stood there, holding my breath until they pulled out of the parking space and drove off. Only then did I exhale and slide down against the door until my butt hit the floor. My bare butt . I’d forgotten to put on panties. Julian appeared in front of me and crouched low, eyes on mine.
“Do I still need to hide, Ms. Adams?” he asked.
This motherfucker got jokes.
Unable to help myself, I burst out laughing, shoulders shaking as the ridiculousness of what just went down hit me. Julian joined in, his deep laugh filling the air. I couldn’t believe I just acted like that in front of him.
More importantly, I couldn’t believe I’d just turned India away. Ugh! I was the worst. I dropped my face into my hands, embarrassed.
“I’m a horrible mother, aren’t I?”
He pulled my hands away from my face and held them. “You’re a great mother. And you deserve to enjoy your spring break. Both of those things can be true at the same time.”
“You think so?” I asked, needing to hear those words.
Sometimes, moms needed to hear that they were doing a good job. Sometimes, we needed to hear that it was okay to have a life outside of our children.
“When I told my parents that my sister wasn’t coming home and was spending the break with her friends instead, they were pissed at first,” Julian told me. “But once I told them I was staying in town in case she needed anything, they calmed down and decided to go to Florida and enjoy themselves. They haven’t called me once to check on their precious daughter.”
I chuckled. “So... the fact that I want to have some fun on my own doesn’t make me a bad mom?”
“Not even close. You’re a great mom. But you’ve been a very bad girl,” he told me, voice becoming deeper.
My eyes widened as he continued.
“You deserve a spanking for trying to hide me.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Me? A spanking? I’m too grown for that. But I do admit that I was kind of a jerk for telling you to hide. I’ll accept my punishment. But it can’t be a spanking.”
“The person who committed the crime doesn’t get to choose their punishment. And just so you know, you’re never too grown for a spanking,” he shot back, then lifted me off the floor like it was nothing.
I yelped, arms flying around his neck as he stood up with me in his arms.
“Julian, don’t drop me!”
“Woman, haven’t you figured it out yet?” His eyes locked on mine. “I’m never letting you go.”
I stared up at him, his words shocking me silent for a few seconds.
Once I found my voice again, I murmured, “You’ve got a way of saying things that’s... that’s confusing as hell. You really need to work on that.”
“I always say what I mean, Stefanie Adams. You just have a way of listening that causes you to miss out on what I say. You really need to work on that,” he told me as he carried me down the hall.
After entering the bedroom, he kicked the door shut and strode over to the bed, where he laid me down. Pushing my hair out of my face, I stared up at him, expecting him to climb on after me. Wrong.
Julian's voice dropped, rough and commanding, when he issued his order, “Take off your shirt.”
My pulse jumped. There was no hesitation in him, just control. I reached for the hem of my shirt and pulled it off slowly, tossing it to the floor beside the bed. I hated having clothes on the floor. But those rules didn’t apply during my spring break.
His eyes locked on my body, heat simmering in his stare. “Now, get on your knees and turn that ass my way.”
I hesitated. I’d never been spanked before. Would it hurt? I couldn’t imagine it feeling good. Was this a hard no for me?
“If I have to ask again, I’m going to double the spanking.”
He wasn’t the boss of me! Yet, I turned on the mattress, facing the headboard, and positioned myself just like he asked. So, it wasn’t a hard no. It was more of a soft maybe . We’d see how things went.
My knees dipped into the bedding, hands bracing against the mattress. I’d never been spanked before, and now here I was, naked and vulnerable, pulse fluttering like crazy with my ass in the air.
It felt both ridiculous and exhilarating. Behind me, I heard the sound of his zipper. I glanced over my shoulder just in time to see him stripping off his pants and boxers, revealing that thick cock I’d already grown addicted to. I swallowed hard.
He stepped up behind me, placing his palm over the curve of my ass. “You shouldn’t have tried to hide me,” he murmured.
Before I could respond, the first slap landed, sharp, loud, and startling. My hips jerked. Heat bloomed where his hand struck, and I gasped at the sting. He didn’t even give me a chance to process what just happened.
The second slap followed, just as hard. Tears stung my eyes. Not because I was in pain, necessarily. More from the shock of it all. He soothed the burn with a slow rub, his fingers trailing over my heated skin.
“I could watch your ass jiggle all day,” he muttered.
My pussy clenched. Why? I had no idea. Maybe she was jealous of my ass. He smacked my ass again without warning. But this time, instead of thinking about the pain, I focused on the flutter of my pussy.
Was I really getting aroused by this? Another smack followed, causing my ass to jiggle in a way that seduced even me. My eyes drifted shut, my back arching, my ass craving more. As Julian's firm hand connected with my bare skin again, a sharp sting radiated through me, eliciting a gasp before I could suppress it.
The unexpected combination of pain and pleasure sent a jolt straight to my core, awakening sensations I hadn't anticipated. Each smack left a lingering heat, intensifying the growing ache between my thighs. I found myself arching into his touch, craving more of the sweet torment he was administering.
“Ms. Adams,” his deep voice filled the air. “Are you enjoying your punishment a bit too much?”
I bit my lip and held my body still, not wanting him to know that I was enjoying his spanking. How the hell was I enjoying this? Was it truly the spanking, or was it Julian? Did my body enjoy any and everything this man did to me?
If so, what the hell was I going to do when we parted ways?