Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
JENSEN
I walk swiftly into the bedroom, where my suitcase is sprawled open, and quietly sift through it for clothes.
“Come back to bed,” Alley murmurs across the room, startling me.
I turn toward her, hand gripping the towel at my waist, and do a quick once-over of her body beneath the white sheet. It’s pulled up over her tits, but just barely. She stretches with a yawn, arms overhead, and the sheet slips down just enough for a nipple to peek out.
Shiiit. I’d love nothing more than to climb back into bed and have her for breakfast.
“Can’t,” I say, turning back to the suitcase. I grab what I need and drop the towel.
“You’re not gonna turn around? Let me say good morning to Clark?”
I chuckle and turn around, giving her a full view of my cock before stepping into my boxer briefs.
A gorgeous smile spreads across her lips. “There he is. God, I missed him.” Her brows furrow. “Are you leaving? It’s Saturday.”
“Yeah. I’m headed to an AA meeting. There’s one at seven that I’ve been going to the past few weeks. Then I’ve got a call with my sponsor at nine.”
“I’ll come with, if you want?”
“This one’s not an open meeting. But I appreciate that.” I walk over to the bed and lean down, brushing a kiss across her lips.
“Oh my God,” she says, laughing. “How’d that morning breath taste?”
“Just like I remember.” I flash her a grin, and for a second, I forget we’re at Matt’s place. Forget we’re not in New York. Or in our own home. That we just slept together for the first time in over six months. It just feels like a normal Saturday morning.
A calm settles in my chest. It’s steady and grounding. Maybe we’re gonna be okay. “You can stay and sleep. Wait for me… I’d love to take you to breakfast when I’m done.”
She sits up, bringing the sheet with her, and I try not to look disappointed. Damn. I wanted to see her tits.
“No, no,” she says quickly. “I’ll get up and out of your hair.” She pulls the sheet up tighter. “I don’t want to mess with your routine.”
Fuck. She’s uncomfortable.
I know Alley. Really well.
I don’t think she regrets last night, but… I can’t quite read where her head’s at right now. Normally, she’d flash me her tits and crack a joke about needing her vibrator since I’m leaving.
Maybe she just doesn’t know where we go from here or how to act. Or maybe I’m overthinking it and everything’s fine.
“You know I’m a creature of habit,” I say. “But you’re not in the way. I like you being here. I like knowing you’re here waiting for me.”
She smiles. “I don’t have any of my things. I’ll go home and get ready for breakfast while you’re gone.”
Home. The word lands like a punch to the kidneys.
She means Leo and Vivian’s place.
Her real home is in New York.
I move quickly, stepping into my pants and tugging a shirt over my head. Her eyes follow me as I cross the room, grabbing my watch and phone.
I check the time. Shit. If I don’t leave in two minutes, I’ll be late.
I glance back at her, sheets still pulled up over her like she’s a one-night stand or something.
And I fucking hate it.
Yeah. That’s not happening.
I catch her gaze and grin. Tossing my phone aside, I take a few strides toward the bed and tackle her, wrapping myself around her as she falls back. The sheet slips from her hands.
“Jensen,” she laughs, and I crash my mouth into hers, letting her know she’s still the most beautiful fucking woman in the world. That she’s desirable and turns me on, morning breath and all.
“Mmm. You taste good, baby.” I trail kisses down her jaw to her neck, one hand cradling her head, the other cupping her cheek.
“Stop!” she groans. “This is so unfair. You’ve brushed your teeth and showered and look all hot, and I’m gross and grog—”
I cut her off, tongue slipping in, teasing and toying with hers. She softens beneath me, slowly giving up her insecurities. Her arms wrap around my neck.
I break the kiss. “How many times have I told you not to talk about my wife like that?”
Before she can answer, I’m kissing her again. Her fingers skim my neckline as she pulls me closer.
I draw back, eyes fixed on her smile, that damn dimple making me want to forget every obligation I have for the rest of the year. “I have to go.”
“Okay.”
I don’t move. Can’t. Her smile has me frozen in place. I press my mouth to her neck, then drag my tongue down to her collarbone.
She arches into me. God, I love knowing she still wants me.
“You make it so hard to leave,” I murmur low against her skin, my hand palming her breast. She rolls her hips against mine and fuck, now I’m hard as a rock.
It takes every ounce of willpower, but I finally tear myself from her.
Choosing an AA meeting over fucking your wife? If that’s not commitment to sobriety, I don’t know what is.
“I’ll pick you up from Leo’s at 9:30,” I say, standing. “And then we’re having a serious discussion about your home.”
I step out of my AA meeting and onto the streets of Chicago. It’s cold as shit, but the sun’s out, which makes it bearable. I’ve got some time to kill before my weekly check-in with Rob, my sponsor.
I wander into a coffee shop on the corner, order a drip, and slide into a seat by the window. The place smells like fresh beans and burnt toast, and it’s filled with quiet conversations.
I pop my AirPods in and call Matt. The phone rings three times before he answers.
“Hey, man. What’s up?” His voice is thick with sleep, and I glance at my watch. It’s 8:30 a.m., which means 9:30 in New York. Not exactly early, but not late either.
“Shit. Did I wake you?”
I hear a woman’s voice in the background, muffled. Matt mumbles something back to her.
“Yeah, but it’s all good. Needed to get up anyway.”
“Late night?” I ask.
He chuckles. “You could say that. Hold on.”
Here we go. He’s walking away from whoever he was with so he can tell me all about his wild night.
I hear a door slide open, then shut. The patio? It’s freezing.
“Just a sec... Turning on the heaters… Alright. You there?”
“Yeah.”
“Talk to me, Goose. How’d it go with Alley last night?”
“Wait. You’re not gonna tell me about your wild night first?”
“Not a big deal. Just a threesome. Ran into a girl I know. Her friend was hot too, so…”
Jesus. I can practically see him shrug through the phone. Had a threesome, like it’s nothing.
“Anyway, one thing led to another, and we were up pretty late.”
“Holy shit, dude. What is your life?”
“I don’t know. It’s not important. Tell me about Alley.”
I grin like a dumbass, watching people pass by on the sidewalk, still thinking about waking up to her naked.
“It was great. Took her to a comedy club. We laughed, had fun. Then we went up to your place to grab that package for Leo, and we started making out.” I take a sip of my coffee. “Long story short. We slept together.”
Matt lets out a whoop and laughs. “Hell yeah, man!”
“I know. It was great. And not just the sex, the whole night. Everything felt right.”
“That’s great.” He chuckles again. “Megan’s gonna lose her shit. So is she coming to the Berkshires, then?”
“I haven’t asked her yet. I will this morning. I’m picking her up in an hour for breakfast.”
“So, what else happened? What now?”
I fill him in on the rest of the night, what we said after, how it felt. All the shit I’ve been thinking about since I woke up.
Then he basically gives me a play-by-play of his night—in great detail—and my brain practically explodes.
He finally wraps up the story and says, “I ran into Jordan and her fiancé last night.”
Well, that explains everything.
He scoffs. “She acted like she barely knew who I was. Can you believe that? We’ve known each other since fucking kindergarten. She was my first girlfriend. First kiss. First fu—well, no, not the first, but the first one I actually remember. And it was awkward as hell.”
“This the doctor guy?”
“Yeah. Dr. Richard Fucking Douchebag. She’s so bad at dating.”
I let out a loud laugh. Yep. This is so Matt. He’s not a stranger to threesomes, but they only happen when he’s too drunk to think straight. And he always gets too drunk when something happens with Jordan.
“Ah, man. I’m sorry. You’ve really got to let her go, though. I know you’ve been friends forever, but she’s getting married. Just… be happy for her.”
“Cut the shit, bro. Do you hear yourself? Could you imagine if I said that to you about Alley after she left you? Just be happy for her? What the fuck?”
“Not the same. One, she’s my wife. Two, you claim not to love Jordan, even though we all know you’re full of shit. You either do, or you don’t. You can’t have it both ways.”
He goes quiet, then exhales loudly. “That’s enough introspection for a month.
I’m going back inside. Gonna have some morning sex.
I’m really happy for you, brother. Tell Al I said hi.
And you better get her to commit to the Berkshires or I wouldn’t want to be you when Megan finds out she’s not coming. ”
“I’m on it. And hey, don’t tell Megan about me and Alley. You know how she gets. I’ll tell her when I’m ready.”
“You know I wouldn’t do that. That’s your shit to tell.”
“Alright. Later, man.”
“Later.”
I end the call. Perfect timing. Ten minutes until I’m supposed to check in with Rob.
I send Alley a text while I wait, a smirk forming as I type.
Had to sit through an entire AA meeting thinking about you naked in my bed. Rude. Also… pretty sure everyone saw my boner. You owe me.
She responds immediately.
Alley
Wasn’t me who had to leave.
Also, not like me to put out on a first date.
I chuckle to myself. She’s always loved playing into the scenarios I come up with.
Glad you were willing to drop your standards for the night. I love when a girl puts out on the first date. You were hot. Pretty great in the sack too.
Alley
I’m sorry, pretty great? wtf.
Guess I need a refresher. You free in 30? Go for round two.
I’ll make it worth your time.
Alley
Ha. Idk… deciding if round one was good enough to go for round two.
Oh, shit.
She’s gonna play dirty. That’s my favorite. I’m grinning like a complete fool, sitting here, alone.
Don’t kid yourself, babe. They probably heard you come all the way back in New York.
Alley
That’s bold talk for a guy I gave a pity lay to.
Cute. But we both know you loved when I pinned your hips to the bed and spread your legs like the good girl you are. Then licked your pussy until you came all over my tongue. My fingers were dripping, baby. It was more than good for you.
Alley
You think that’s cute? Babe… I’m not even wearing panties right now. Might touch myself a little. You know, just to see if round one holds up in memory.
Fuck. My cock jerks and I shift, readjusting myself as discreetly as possible. I start to text her back, but notice the time. It’s 8:59.
Shit, babe. Just got me hard in the coffee shop. I have to call my sponsor. To be continued… and I will ruin you.