20. Jack
20
JACK
" Y ou've got to be kidding me, though. Howard, this isn't okay." I was fuming mad, so much so that I could've torn my hair out. "She can't just demand sole custody with no visitation and move out of state." I paced the expensive rug in his office and refused to be comforted.
What Dana was doing was outrageous. This was something she'd been planning for weeks or even months. I knew it. It was why she kept yelling at me for the slightest things and insisting she was going to sue. I never thought it would come to this because I didn't realize what she had going on behind the scenes. And after Leah told me she didn't like her mother's "friends", this was not going to happen. Not on my watch.
"Jack, please sit down." Howard's crinkled forehead didn't even convince me to calm down, but I did sit. This wasn't his fault, and I shouldn't be shouting in his office. "Now look, the judge has to sign off on this. What he's going to see is that you've had an agreement in place. He'll see she's living off your alimony and child support. He'll see how Dana wants to rip your child away from you to go to an environment that isn’t as stable as what she has here."
"Fuck's sake," I grumbled.
"And," Howard continued calmly, "he'll see that you're an amazing father with a steady income stream. You have a solid foundation. Leah has friends here, and family. And Dana wants to take her away from all of that. All you need to do is continue to provide that stable, steady environment, and there is no way the judge will side in favor of Dana."
My chest was so tight I thought I might be having a heart attack, but I trusted Howard. He'd been my lawyer since the divorce and he'd been with me through every custody hearing. He had never steered me wrong, even when we both knew it wasn't going to go in my favor. He'd been honest then and I knew he was being honest now.
"I need some air," I told him, standing. "I'll call you tomorrow.”
"Don't do anything rash, Jack. Just interact with her the same way you always would. Don't talk about this without me present!" Howard's words followed me into the hall, and I stomped all the way to my car.
If Dana thought she could swoop in here and steal my daughter away forever, she had another thing coming. I wasn't going down without a fight, but that fight was going to take everything out of me. And right now, I didn’t want to be alone with my brain obsessing about it.
Before I left work, I'd told Sophia I might not want company this evening, knowing Howard had called me in for this appointment. I knew how bad they could go and figured I'd be too moody. Well, I was so moody, I knew I needed her. I sent her a quick text before I started my car to meet me at my house in fifteen minutes, then I drove like a bat out of hell. Rage didn't begin to describe what I felt.
At home, I had barely gotten to the door when Sophia's small black sedan pulled into the drive. The EV was so silent I didn't hear it until the door shut, and I turned over my shoulder to see her walking up the path. She wore a cute little skirt and a sweater, though as fall was approaching, I knew her legs were probably cold. She looked beautiful and inviting, and I wanted to devour her and forget my frustration.
"Hey," she called softly and touched my arm as I slid the key in the lock. "You feeling okay? You look upset."
I sighed and pushed the door open, and she followed me into the dark room. I didn't even bother reaching for the light switch. I shut the door and turned to pin her against the wall with a hot kiss that took her breath away.
"Jack?" she gasped when I relented and let her breathe. "What's gotten into you?"
"I need you, Soph, so bad." I felt like a wild animal that was going feral with anger and lust, and all I knew was the only time I had felt anchored in the past several months was when I was with her intimately.
"Of course," she said in compassion, but I knew she was confused.
There was no romance or tenderness, no patience or sensuality. I tore her clothes off as I groped her and smothered her further in kisses. She picked up on the heat of it and returned the gestures by clawing at me frantically and heaving for breath.
When I backed her against the kitchen island and she was pinned there naked, she braced herself on my shoulders with both arms and I lifted her by the backs of her thighs before guiding my solid-as-a-rock dick into her warmth.
"Mmm," she moaned, clenching around me as I started to pump in and out of her. She kissed me harder too, whimpering and whining as I pushed her body to the edge of pleasure.
"My God, this day," I grunted, feeling her slickness coat my length. She was it, the manacle that tethered me in place, the gravity that rooted me in hope for my future. "Fuck, you feel so good."
"Jack," she whimpered, and I pressed a thumb between her thighs on her tender spot. It drove her wild, making her body tip over into orgasm. She spasmed and jolted, and the way her pussy gripped me so tightly pushed me over the edge.
I hated to stop her enjoyment, but I had to pull out. My hand shot to my dick and I pointed it down, blowing all over the front of the cabinet door. My cum ran down the light gray paint, and I felt the tension in my body dumping out of me with the waves of endorphins.
"Whoa," she sighed, and I rubbed the end of my dick to wipe the last trace off my head, knowing I'd have a mess to wash up in a bit. Then she grabbed my wrist and brought my hand to her mouth where she sucked the few drops of my cum off my thumb. "Yummy." Sophia grinned, and I leaned into her, claiming her mouth in another heated kiss.
"So, what's got you so worked up?" she asked when I pulled my mouth away from hers and wrapped my arms around her. Still seated on my counter, she seemed distant, like something was bothering her too, but I had to get this off my chest.
"Dana's suing for sole custody. She's requested to move my daughter out of state with her. I can't let that happen, Soph. I know if the board finds out we're messing around, I'll be fired. That's the last thing I need right now. I have to continue to provide a very stable environment." Cupping her cheek, I brushed my thumb over her cheekbone and she frowned.
"So, what are you saying?" Her lip pouted out, and I knew something was bothering her. I knew what she said the other day, but that was before all of this blew up. If we were going to make this happen, it had to be done the right way. I couldn’t lose my job now.
"I'm saying, I have to go to HR. It's the right thing. I'm not saying this to hurt you or pressure you. It's not an ultimatum. My daughter is just too important to me to mess this up." My heart broke knowing how much she needed my protection to keep her parents off her back, and I felt powerless.
"Alright, if it's that important to you, then I’ll do it. Just please give me a few days to think about how I'll tell my parents. Because I have to tell them before we go to HR. It's the right way for me to handle it." She forced a smile, and when I opened my mouth to thank her and ask what was wrong, she pushed on my shoulders.
"Now, I was only halfway done when you so rudely stopped fucking me." She smirked and spread her legs. "Let's finish that up, shall we?"
I sank to my knees, and my lips found her pussy soaked and tender. It wasn't how I expected her to respond, but we'd have more conversations later. Of that I was certain.