Chapter 22 Mazzie
Mazzie
I tiptoed into Kaylee’s room at the Armstrongs where a nightlight glowed from the outlet below the window. She was fast asleep, curled up on the queen bed, covers at her feet.
I batted away the emotions clogging my throat.
I’d seen my sister happy but not like she was at the Armstrongs.
In the three weeks we’d been here, she was thriving like I’d never seen her before.
The situation we were in was bittersweet.
We didn’t want to see our mother in jail, but the accident had led us here.
A beautiful home, a loving family, and all the necessities Kaylee needed to grow and thrive.
I pulled up the sheet and covered her then kissed her on the head. “I love you, lil’ sis.”
I was overwhelmed with gratitude to the Armstrongs for opening not only their home but their hearts to us. Mrs. Armstrong had met with my mom’s lawyer yesterday and signed the papers to foster Kaylee. No matter what lay ahead, I knew with certainty that Kaylee was in safe and loving hands.
I had to keep pinching myself, incredulous at how seamlessly everything was aligning for us. Yet a part of me couldn’t let go of my mom’s plight. But I couldn’t keep wasting my energy on the what-ifs concerning her case. I had a life that needed my attention with school, my job, and now, Lucas.
And Lucas? Christ, I didn’t even know where to begin with him.
He was becoming more than the man I was in love with.
He was becoming my beacon in the dark of night.
The moment my mind wandered into murky waters, I thought of him.
His reassuring smile. The way he looked at me with such intensity it made my heart skip a beat.
The warmth of his touch. The electricity of his kiss.
Hell, everything about him was a lifeline pulling me back from the edge.
As I closed Kaylee’s door gently, I thought of the day at my mom’s house.
Saying I love you to a man had been as scary as the depths of hell and euphoric, like I was floating in space.
I still wasn’t sure I’d recovered. Nor did I want to.
I’d been smiling more than ever. Bailey brought up that very thing when she picked me up at the country club. “You’re glowing, chica .”
I carried my gooey feelings with me to my room, passing Bailey’s room on the way. She was in the kitchen, grabbing bottled water for us.
I flipped the switch adjacent to the door inside my room, and the lamp on the bedside table glowed. I kicked off my shoes and tossed my purse on the chair. As I pulled my phone from my back pocket of my black slacks, my gaze landed on the pile of mail on the dresser.
I’d been so busy that I hadn’t paid the electric bill. I grabbed the stack of envelopes, mostly junk mail, crawled on the bed, and sifted through the envelopes and advertisements.
Bailey’s voice filtered in from the hall. “I just got home. I had to pick up Mazzie. It’s late, Erik. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Yeah, I’ll let her know.” I detected irritation in her tone.
She breezed in with two bottles of water and set mine down on the nightstand. “Lucas wanted to make sure you got his text.” She crawled on the bed and opened her water.
“He wants me to have dinner with his mom tomorrow night. Not sure I’m ready for a thousand questions or to be studied like a lab project.”
“You should go. Get the interrogation out of the way.” She laughed. “My mom knows Priscilla from charity events. She’s nice. Just be yourself, and she’ll fall in love with you like Lucas did. Like me when we first met. Remember freshman year in the cafeteria?”
“I’ll never forget that. You were telling some guy to fuck off in the middle of the cafeteria.”
She giggled. “Because he thought he could play with my hair, and I didn’t even know the fucker. Anyway, you spit out your drink as you walked by. All over dickhead’s khaki pants. I loved it.”
We dropped into a fit of giggles.
I segmented each envelope into a junk pile and a must-read pile. “Not to change the subject, but are you and Erik okay? You sounded moody with him.”
She busied herself fixing the junk mail into a neat stack. “I think I’m ready for a break from him.”
I halted midway of placing a marketing card on the junk stack. “Did something happen?”
“Not really. The sex is fantastic. But I don’t want to be tied down. You know I like to play the field. I have another year of college, and I don’t want to be with only one guy.”
That was my bestie. She liked to sample the dessert menu, so to speak.
“Are you going to tell him?”
“He knows we’re not exclusive, but I think he wants to be.” She tucked her legs underneath her. “Enough about me. What’s with the mail?”
I slouched. “I’m looking for the electric bill.”
She picked up the letter from Dr. Vasquez. “Is Dr. Vasquez your ob-gyn? Or is she your mom’s?”
My brow knitted. “No, Dr. Mitchell is our doctor. Why?”
She waved the envelope. “I think my mom told me recently that Dr. Vasquez was merging practices and moving her offices in with another doctor.”
“Huh. Let’s see.” I opened the envelope and read its contents. “You’re kind of right.” I placed my fingers against my mouth as I read. “Dr. Mitchell sold her practice to Dr. Vasquez.” As I reached the third paragraph, the blood in my veins froze.
“What is it?” Bails asked.
“If my memory serves me correctly, I got the birth control implant in June or July after my junior year in high school.”
“That means you’re three or four months past the three-year mark,” she said, her green eyes fixed on me. “But you’re on Nexplanon like me. Studies have shown that it can last longer than three years.”
“Dr. Mitchell said the same thing. So I should be fine.” I gnawed on my thumbnail.
“According to this letter, this is the second notice they sent out. And it indicates that I’m approaching four months past due.
I never got the first notice unless my mom did and threw it out, thinking it was junk.
They also tried to call the number on file, which is my old number. Thanks to Josh.”
“Chica, don’t panic. Just make an appointment as soon as possible.”
I placed the letter on the nightstand. “I’ll call Dr. Vasquez’s office on Monday first thing.”
“Wait, why are you worried? Is Lucas not using a condom?”
“He did the first time but not since,” I said.
“Do you feel like you have any symptoms that the implant isn’t working anymore, like spotting or irregular bleeding? Those could indicate that the implant is losing its effectiveness.”
“Nothing. I feel normal.”
“Then don’t worry.” She hopped off the bed. “By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask you about Josh. Has he found you on campus?”
“No signs of him, and I’m not worried about him either.” I really wished everyone would stop asking about Josh.
“Maybe he wants to apologize to you for grabbing your arm. How many times has he done something to piss you off and then groveled to you? Anyway, I’m tired. See you in the morning.” She blew me a kiss on her way out, closing the door behind her.
I briefly eyed the letter from Dr. Vasquez then searched the internet for information on Nexplanon.
I really shouldn’t be obsessing, but I needed to put my mind at ease.
Several sites outlined a few reasons the implant could fail, but the only category I fell into was timing-related with the caveat that as hormone levels declined, symptoms could include irregular bleeding or spotting.
Since I’d had the implant, I hadn’t had a period.
However, Bailey had spotting with hers. She always grumbled about how jealous she was that the implant had shut down my period.
Nevertheless, two sites I found mentioned cases where the implant lasted up to four years.
I couldn’t panic nor could I take any action until Monday morning, so I threw the junk mail into the trash and placed the important stack on my dresser.
Then I stripped down to my panties, grabbed my phone, and crawled into bed.
It was late, but I wanted to hear Lucas’s voice and see his handsome face before I fell asleep.
Plus, I owed him an answer about dinner with his mother.
So I took a chance and tapped on the video icon above his name and adjusted the pillows against the headboard.
When he came into view, my night was complete. He grinned so big my skin tingled.
“Hey, you,” I said. “Sorry I haven’t texted you back. Work was busy.”
His eyes widened. “Whoa. Are you ready for me, Midnight?”
“Always, but I don’t wear anything to bed but my panties. Unless I’m with you then nothing.”
“Ever have phone sex?” he asked.
“Can’t say I have. But I wanted to hear your voice.”
“Want to?” He waggled his eyebrows.
My door was closed, and everyone was asleep. “Why not?”
He put the phone down, and I heard rustling then he returned stark naked, panning the camera up and down his muscled body.
Giggling, I squeezed my thighs together. “That was quick, and oh, my.”
“When it comes to you, I’m always hard.” He crawled onto his bed. “Your turn. Let me see that pussy.”
I scooted out of my panties before sweeping the phone over my body.
He growled. “Maybe you should come over.”
Nibbling on my bottom lip, I played with a nipple. “This is more fun.”
“You continue to surprise me.” He held the camera so it showed his erection, and my breath caught.
“Tell me what you want.” His voice was low.
The sight of his strong hand wrapped around himself, moving in deliberate strokes, had me playing with myself.
“I want to watch you.” I shifted on the pillows. “And I want you to watch me.”
I adjusted the phone so he could see my fingers on my clit.
“God, Mazzie.” He groaned in that husky register that did sinful things to my body.
“I wish I had my mouth on your cock,” I whispered. “Would you like that?”
“Tell me how you would suck me off,” he commanded, the tempo of his strokes picking up.
“First, I would take you deep then scrape my teeth along the soft skin while I played with your balls.”
His moan had me pushing my finger inside my channel.
“I want to taste you so badly.” His rhythm increased. “I want to feel you come against my tongue, hear those little sounds you make when you’re close.”
I moaned softly, my back arching as I imagined his mouth on me and his hands gripping my thighs.
“Midnight, you take my breath away.”
“Show me your face, Lucas. I need to see you.”
His eyes were heavy with lust as he licked his lips. “Play with those pretty tits.”
I wet my fingers and did as he liked.
“That’s it.” The pace of his breathing increased. “Now, show me how wet you are.”
I adjusted the phone, angling it down as I spread my legs. The cool air against my heat made me shiver. “Like this?” My finger was circling my clit.
He pushed out a low growl. “Exactly like that.”
“Tell me what you would do if you were here.” I ran my tongue along my bottom lip.
“I would start by kissing my way down to your perfect tits, suck on those nipples until you’re squirming.”
My back arched involuntarily as I pinched my nipple. “And then?”
His breathing grew heavier. “I would taste you, nice and slow. Hold your thighs apart while you try to grind against my face.”
“I want your cock in my mouth,” I squeaked out. “I want to take you deep then suck you off.”
“Motherfucker, babe. I’m close.” His hand slowed. “I want this to last.”
I giggled. “Imagine my tongue running over your balls.”
“Holy fuck,” he belted out.
I moaned softly, my fingers moving faster as all the dirty talk had me reaching that feeling that took me over the edge.
“Are you close?” Lucas asked, his own movements becoming more urgent.
“Yes.” The tension coiled tighter.
“Come with me, Midnight.”
The sound of my nickname and his heavy breathing along with the sight of him had me flying into outer space.
His hand stilled on the upward stroke as he gained his release, grunting.
Several moments passed as we came back down to reality.
“Give me a second,” he said then disappeared.
I lay there, my muscles loose, my heart happy, and I was ready for sleep.
“That was fantastic,” he said, his face flushed. “Have I told you today that I love you?”
“In a text, but I want to hear it.” I snuggled under the covers.
“Love you, Midnight. So freaking much that I can’t breathe sometimes.”
“The feeling is mutual, Hellion.”
Several seconds of silence passed before he asked, “Have you decided on dinner with my mom?”
I yawned. “I’ll go.”
“Thank you. You’re going to love her,” Lucas said, excitement evident in his tone.
I was an expert at handling my mom, but dealing with someone else’s mother? I wasn’t so confident.