41. Chase
FORTY-ONE
CHASE
Goldi’s fucking dad, man. I shouldn’t be surprised we had to pick him up from the county detention center, but I am. I assumed Eli would take his father’s issues seriously. Goldi let me know that wasn’t the case. Maybe this will be the wake-up call Eli needs because things are not okay here. He left Goldi with a hell of a burden on her shoulders, one she didn’t ask for, and that she shouldn’t have to carry alone.
Goldi’s pissed. She didn’t say the words, but I got the gist when she didn’t even attempt a conversation with her dad. Not that he tried to talk to her. I’ve noticed he never does. My stomach burns when I think about it because I’m sad she has to experience how addiction steals people’s love.
Craig struggles to walk himself to the front door. My arm goes around his waist, his around my shoulders. We’ve already learned the steps to this dance; it’s one we practice often. All the while, Goldi’s gearing up for battle. I see it in the rigidness of her features and the way she stomps through the door.
Eli and his fiancée are sitting on the living room couch, watching TV.
He shoots to his feet when he sees her. “What are you doing here?”
She walks right up to him and shoves his shoulders. He stumbles back, his legs hitting the furniture.
“What the hell, Lee?”
“When are you gonna get it, huh?” she bites out. “I thought you bein’ back would make you see, get you to realize how bad things are, but here you are…sittin’ pretty with your girl while Daddy’s runnin’ around town makin’ a fool of himself.”
“I’m not his babysitter. Pops is a grown man.”
I scoff. I can’t help it. This dude is being so fucking blind.
“Do you know where we just came from, Eli?” Goldi asks.
I’m still standing in the doorway, Mr. Carson in my arms. He shifts, his weight sinking into me. I move forward, setting him in his recliner, and as soon as I do, he hunches over, passed out. Sarah gasps when she notices the state of him, and Eli moves his gaze from Goldi over to me and his shit-faced father.
His mouth parts and he lifts a heavy brow. “What happened?”
Goldi huffs. “What do you think happened, Eli? The same thing that always happens. If Daddy doesn’t have a babysitter, he gets behind the wheel, drunk as a skunk, and ends up at his favorite bar. Only his favorite bar has banned him ’cause he always causes a scene.”
Eli cringes. “Lee, I didn’t know…”
“I’ve told you a thousand times!” she cries, throwing her arms in the air. “Begged you a hundred more. You don’t listen , Eli. You don’t wanna hear it.”
Eli looks over at his dad, the grief settling heavy in his eyes. “I didn’t think it was this bad,” he whispers. “Pops said he was meeting up with his buddies. He said you just like to hover, like to control things ever since Ma die—since Ma’s been gone.”
Goldi shakes her head, exhaustion blanketing her features. “The only buddies Daddy has are Jim, Jack, and Johnny, the liquor not the people. Oh, and the cops that picked him up and booked him tonight.”
Eli’s eyes grow big. “He was arrested?”
Tears well in Goldi’s eyes, and it makes my stomach churn. I’d do anything to take this pain for her. I wish I could. I’m used to it—lived with it all my life, more wouldn’t hurt me. But I know this is something that will dig deep in her soul and settle in, something she’ll always carry.
I can’t spare her from that. All I can do is help her navigate through the heartbreak.
“You gotta open your eyes. Daddy ain’t the hero you’ve always seen him as. I just need a minute,” she says, brushing past us into the kitchen.
The air is quiet but heavy. Eli collapses onto the couch. Sarah scoots closer, running her hand up and down his back as he leans forward with his head in his hands.
Eli looks up. “Thanks, man, for going with her.”
I bite my tongue. There’s a lot I want to say. Mainly, I want to ask where the hell he was and what the fuck he was thinking.
“Do you think she’s overreacting a little?” He’s looking at Sarah, so I assume his question is aimed toward her.
I blow out a breath, my small amount of restraint disappearing with his question. “You know, you may not want to hear it, but fuck it. Ignoring the problem won’t make it go away, Eli. It won’t make it stop. It’ll just continue to spiral out of control, and then one day…one day, you’ll wake up and wonder what the hell you were thinking. You’ll wonder how you could have been so goddamn blind.”
I pause to breathe through the sudden pain in my chest. “Trust me, when that day comes? The regret will rot you from the fucking inside. Because you’ll know—you’ll know that you didn’t do everything in your power to save them when you had the chance. You didn’t do anything .” I shake my head. “I hope to God you wake up before then.”
Eli blinks at me. I don’t know if he heard a word I said, but I don’t stick around to find out. I leave the room to find Goldi. She’s coming out of the bathroom, her eyes puffy but her face clear.
She smiles when she sees me. “Ready to get outta here?”
I nod, gripping her hand. “You all right?”
She sighs, grasping my fingers tight. “Yeah, I’m all right. Just ready to leave.”
I lead her out the front door and to my truck. I’m ready to get her home and take her mind off the heaviness. We were off to such a good start before her dad interrupted our night. I swear I can still taste her on my lips.
We’re pulling up to a stoplight when I see Goldi unbuckle her seatbelt from the corner of my eye. She gives me a wicked smile as she leans over the console and trails kisses up my neck. A shiver races down my spine.
Her hand creeps over my chest, and I smirk. “What are you doing?”
“You promised me dessert.” Her bottom lip gets fat as she looks up at me.
I’m already half-hard and her words stiffen my cock until it’s trying to burst through my jeans. Maybe the right thing to do is to tell her she doesn’t have to do this. Tell her to wait. She just went through an emotional moment with her family, and I don’t want her to regret anything that happens, but on the other hand, if she wants an escape, there’s nowhere I’d rather her find it than with me. So I lift my hips to give her better access.
She brushes her fingertips along the waistband of my jeans as the light turns green. Every touch sends a tingle through my body, making it difficult to concentrate on steering. The clank of my buckle and the sound of my zipper has me biting my cheek with anticipation. I can’t see what she’s doing since my eyes are on the road, but fuck me , can I feel it.
She reaches inside my pants, her palm rubbing against the bulge that’s growing by the second. Goldi wastes no time, wrapping her fingers around my length. The coldness of her skin is a shock to my system, and my cock jumps in her hand.
We pull up to another stoplight, cars surrounding us even though it’s well past nine at night. Fire sparks in my veins and the rest of my blood rushes to my groin. Goldi hums in approval and I glance down as her head lowers, licking my tip like it’s a fucking ice cream cone.
I suck in a breath and fist her hair, pulling it away from her face so I can watch how gorgeous she looks as she swallows me. I glance back at the light. Stay red. Stay red. Stay red.
It turns green. I accelerate, trying to think about anything other than how fucking hot it is to have my dick in Goldi’s mouth while I drive. She’s so damn greedy for me, and I’m pretty sure being in public gets her off.
It turns me the fuck on.
She’s teasing, licking up one side and down the other, swirling her tongue around the head. I’m about to go wild from how bad I want to shove myself deep inside her. Her mouth. Her pussy. Fuck, I don’t care as long as it happens.
I bite my lip as she sucks me down to the base, gagging slightly around me, and I grip her hair tighter. I throb against her tongue as she slips back up my length, and then drops back down again, deep-throating me. I grit my teeth so I don’t come.
“Goddamn, baby.” My hand tightens in her hair. She hums, fucking hums, around the base of my dick, and I thrust to see if I can get just a little bit deeper. She swallows and my foot jerks on the gas pedal.
She lifts her head, flattening her tongue as she slides back up, exposing me to the cool air. I take my eyes off the road to look at her. Spit connects her bottom lip to my shaft, saliva coating the length and making it glossy. Damn. She’s filthy and I love it.
I grow harder, my balls tightening as I watch her dive back down and work up a rhythm. She starts slow, but by the time we’re turning onto my street, she’s got a fast pace, bobbing her head and working me so fucking good. I lift my hips over and over—completely blissed out.
I want to fuck her. So bad. I need her to stop. If she doesn’t, I’m going to come down her throat, and I’d rather be balls deep in her pussy for that. But I can’t form the words. The promise of pleasure steals my ability to do anything.
Her mouth pops off me and I moan in protest.
“Give it to me,” she rasps, swallowing me again before sliding back up and off. “Come in my mouth.”
And then she deep-throats me one more time. She isn’t using her hands, but she doesn’t need to because nobody has ever been able to take me as deep as she does.
Her words, coupled with the sight of her cheeks hollowing as she sucks, is all it takes.
My cock jerks and throbs, shooting into her mouth. The fear of veering us off the road makes my blood pump and heightens the sensation. I grip the steering wheel tight with one hand, my other still tangled in her hair. Her tongue massages the underside of my shaft, milking me for every drop.
She releases me, tucking me back into my jeans and leaving a kiss on top of the fabric, and then sits back, her eyes sparkling. Somehow, I’ve made it to my driveway.
“ Jesus , Goldi.” My chest is heaving, my brain trying to crawl out of the fog.
She wipes the corner of her lip, sucking her thumb into her mouth and winking. “Yum.”
My cock twitches.
How the fuck did I think I could live without her?
She jumps out of the truck, sashaying that sweet ass all the way up to my front door. I hurry to meet her there, sweeping her into my arms. She squeals, locking her hands around my neck and laughing.
I smile down at her. “You are in so much trouble.”