CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Carrie
Over the next weeks, I spent more time with Thatcher.
It wasn’t just our dates while friends and family watched Theo.
We sat beside each other at Theo’s baseball games now, too.
Before, I’d waved at him but sat with a couple of the moms from the team.
A couple of times, I’d even jumped into his arms as we celebrated Theo getting a good hit or making a nice play.
I noticed all of the eyes watching us, and I knew our closeness had probably been spread all over town.
That thought was confirmed when Melinda plunked her lunch bag down on the table she, Sadie, and I sat at in the teacher’s lounge. We were there for a summer work session day a couple of weeks before pre-planning began for the new school year which started in August.
“Why did I have to hear about you and Thatcher getting cozy at Theo’s baseball games from Edna freaking Myles?”
Sadie smirked. “That’s nothing. I heard from Lydia Funkendweller that Thatcher is over at Carrie’s house all the time. That’s a direct quote, by the way. She said it with extreme emphasis.”
I made a face. “God. If they’re telling y’all, that means it’s everywhere.”
“I would be offended except you’re right,” Melinda bit into her pasta salad with relish. “The gossip goes through the middle-aged group first, heads to the elderly group, then finally trickles down to the younger generations.”
“It’s because a lot of them are retired and don’t have as much to do.
They’re bored and get their entertainment from watching everyone all the time,” Sadie said.
“I know this first-hand. Mom got binoculars last week because she thinks the new neighbor across the street is a serial killer.” She rolled her eyes.
I paused before taking a bite of my sandwich. “Is he?”
“It’s a she, and I don’t know. I mean, I don’t think so.” She thought for a minute. “But every time they interview the neighbors of serial killers they always say they were the nicest people.”
“You’re getting off track,” Melinda said. She pointed at me. “Talk. Are you getting back together with Thatcher or what?”
“I don’t know. Part of me wants to, but I don’t want to get Theo’s hopes up for nothing. And I don’t ever want to go through a divorce again. That time in my life was… horrendous.” A shiver went down my spine just thinking about it.
“That man has been saying he’s sorry for almost six years,” Melinda pointed out. “Seven if you count the time before your divorce and before Theo was born.”
“He’s put you and Theo first that whole time, too,” Sadie said gently.
She knew I’d been made to feel like Thatcher’s second choice.
She also knew what it was like to be cheated on.
Her husband, Harrison, had cheated on her when they were in college.
It had taken years for them to get back together.
It had also taken years for any of us to forgive him for what he’d done.
But maybe if we’d all reached that point with Harrison, the same could happen for Thatcher.
“Right now, we’re just taking things slowly. I’m spending time with him outside of our co-parenting meet-ups and drop-offs. We’ve gone on a few dates, I’ve had him over for dinner, we’ve gone kayaking.” I shrugged. “Things like that.”
“Have you fucked him yet?” Melinda asked.
Sadie almost spit out her water.
“Jesus,” I whispered looking at the older group of teachers sitting at a different table. “Don’t let them hear you!” Most of them had taught us when we were in high school, and I never wanted them to know I cursed or had sex. It was too strange.
Melinda rolled her eyes. “Seriously? You know they cuss more than we do, right?”
“Don’t ruin my image of them. I just finished my first year. I need to ease into thinking of them as real people, not just my former teachers. I still can’t call them by their first names. The two of you have had years to get used to it.”
“Answer the question,” Sadie hissed. “You’re avoiding it.”
“No. I haven’t. I’ve kissed him, but that’s it. I’m… scared.” There. I’d said it. The truth was out there.
“What are you scared of, honey?” Melinda said, her voice a bit gentler.
“That I’ll fall for him, and he’ll let me down again.”
“Can you get past it?” Sadie asked with knowing eyes.
“I’m just not sure.”
“I wasn’t, either, with Harrison. But then it just sort of happened. After that, things moved really fast. Before I knew it, we were a couple again and I was even more in love with him than I’d been the first time around.”
I nodded, eating some chips and realizing our lunch time was almost over. “Will y’all be at the party this weekend?” Theo was turning six.
“Of course,” Melinda said.
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Sadie smiled at me.
“Great! Mom and Dad are keeping Theo tonight so Thatcher and I can decorate.”
Melinda and Sadie gave each other a look.
“What?”
“This might be the perfect time to see if you two are still good together,” Melinda winked at me. “If you get my meaning.”
I did. Anxiety shot through me. I was still unsure if I was ready to take that step with him.
***
“Oh. My. God.” I lay like a starfish in the grass. My backyard had been transformed, and I was exhausted.
Thatcher plopped down next to me. “This was a lot.”
“Yeah.” Every year I would tell myself that the next year I wouldn’t do a huge theme party for Theo’s birthday. And every year I would forget how much work they were and plan one anyway.
This year’s theme was Candy Land after the classic board game.
Streamers were strung through the lower branches of the trees.
Thatcher and I had painted a giant Candy Land board in the grass.
The ‘game board’ ended at a large inflatable castle bounce house that would be King Candy’s Castle.
I had been working for weeks on some of the decorations, and I was absolutely worn out.
But it looked perfect. There were signs pointing to Licorice Lagoon, which was a mildly creepy swamp area with inflatable crocodiles and fog machines that would be turned on during the party.
I grinned thinking of Theo’s face when he would see it in the morning.
“What are you smiling about? I don’t think I have the energy left to smile,” Thatcher groaned, turning his head to look at me. We were still laying in the grass.
“I was just thinking of Theo and all of his friends enjoying everything at the party tomorrow.”
He smiled, too. “You’re a good mom, you know that?”
“Thanks. You’re a good dad.”
He propped himself up on his elbows. “You always do these huge parties. I love your ideas, and I know Theo does, too.”
I propped up, too, surveying the yard. “I know that he’s only little for a short time.
There will come a day when all he wants is to have friends over to play video games or go to one of those big party places where they play laser tag and a million other things in the same building. I want to enjoy this now.”
As I was talking, a sound caught my attention. “Oh, damn. Some of the streamers already fell. I thought I had tied them up good enough.”
We both jumped up at the same time, and I bumped into him. I felt myself falling, and I put my hands out to catch myself. Suddenly, his strong arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me up against him. My back landed against his chest.
It was as if everything around us stopped.
The only sounds I was aware of were the blood rushing through my ears, his heartbeat, and the sound of his breathing.
His arms didn’t loosen. Instead, his hands dropped to my hips and pulled me flush against him.
I closed my eyes as I felt his hardness against me.
“I don’t want to let you go,” he said in a low, raspy voice.
Need pulled low in my abdomen and heat rushed through me. My knees went weak with desire. I turned in his arms and put my arms around his neck, surprising him. “Then don’t.”
He gave a low moan and then crushed his lips to mine, giving me hard, desperate kisses that spoke of years of deprivation. I kissed him back just as hard and jumped up, wrapping my legs around his waist. His hands immediately went to my ass. “You feel so damn good,” he said.
“Shut up and kiss me,” I insisted, nipping at his bottom lip then sucking on his tongue.
He walked me into the house and pushed me against the first wall he came to.
“Oh God,” I cried as he dipped his head and sucked a hard nipple through the layers of my shirt and bra.
They were thin, and I felt the heat, the suction, and the pull that seemed to connect to my core.
It felt fantastic, and I let my head rest against the wall.
He moved between my breasts, working me into a frenzy until I needed more. His cock was long, thick, and hard as a steel pipe. I moved against it, causing him to hiss.
“Fuck, baby.”
I moved up and down until his hands came to my waist to stop me.
“What are you doing?” I gasped out.
His eyes locked with mine. “Carrie, if we do much more of this it’s going to be hard to stop. I… I want to make sure you’re okay with this. That you want this.”
“I want it,” I said impatiently, trying to grind against him. He held me still, though.
“I don’t want you to regret this. And if I have you like this, I’m going to want it to mean something. You’re not just a good fuck to me, Carrie. You never were. You’re perfect. You’re special. And I want to be with you.”
I was still breathing heavily as I looked at him.
We were staring into each other’s eyes, and the moment was intense.
I felt as if we were on the edge of something huge.
If I tipped over one way, I’d be choosing him…
possibly forever. And if I tipped the other way, it might be a sign that our time together should be over. That we should both move on.
I studied his handsome face. It was the face I’d loved, then I’d hated, then I’d come to love again. I put my hands on either side of his face. “I want this. I want you.”
A beautiful smile broke over his face. “Yeah?”
I nodded.
He looked slightly suspicious. “And you know this means we’re giving things another try, right? That it’s not just for tonight?”
“Yes, Thatch,” I moaned, laughing. “Now take me to the fucking bedroom.”
“Your wish is my command.”
I shivered. “I love commands,” I whispered, my lips almost on his.
He got a wicked grin on his face. “Oh, I remember, baby.” He kissed me as he walked me back to my bedroom. We bumped against a couple of walls on the way, but it didn’t slow us down. When we finally got there, he tossed me on the bed.
“Now be a good girl and take off all your clothes.”
He stripped off his clothes while I worked on mine. When I got down to my bra and underwear, he stopped me.
“I want to look at you,” he said in a low voice. He stared at me hungrily and his hand wrapped around his cock, stroking it hard a couple of times.
I moved restlessly, staring at it.
“You want this?”
I nodded, stripping off my panties.
“You’re going to have to wait a minute.” He pulled me to the edge of the bed, spreading my legs as he got to his knees. He rested my thighs on his shoulders and started kissing and licking me.
I cried out, leaning back.
“God, I’ve missed this pussy.” He licked and sucked and teased until I was a wet, writhing mess.
I was so desperate to come as he worked me to the edge and then backed off a few times, that I was trying to ride his face.
He put his hand on my abdomen and pushed me back. “I’m not finished yet, baby.”
I quivered beneath his mouth as he entered me with his tongue several times, his eyes looking up at me to see my reaction. I was almost sobbing with need when he grinned, licked his lips, and sucked my clit into his mouth, flicking it fast with the tip of his tongue.
I screamed as I came harder than I’d come in a long, long time. “My God.” My hands went to his head, holding him there as he continued to suckle, making the orgasm last and last. When I was finished, I laid back on the bed, sated and breathless.
“Get on your hands and knees,” he commanded. He walked to my side table and opened the top drawer. He pulled out a condom, but also my favorite dildo. “You’ve been naughty, huh?”
“You know how much I love sex,” I reminded him with a grin.
He held it up to his cock, and I realized the two were close to the same size. “I think you’ve just been missing my dick.”
I bit my lip and nodded, causing him to drop the dildo back in the drawer and hurry back to me. I heard him put the condom on, and the anticipation of having him moving inside me was making me shake. “Hurry,” I begged.
He smacked my ass, causing me to yelp. Then he grabbed my hips and thrust inside me to the hilt with a long, deep groan. “Fuck, you feel like heaven.”
I cried out, throwing my head back and adjusting myself on his length. He stayed like that for long enough that I started moving, trying to fuck myself with his cock. He smacked my ass again, but I didn’t care. I kept moving.
He chuckled and held me still. Then he started slowly thrusting into me, pulling all the way out and pushing fully back inside me again and again.
“Hurry,” I pleaded.
“You’ll take what I give you.”
He kept his speed the same, moving in that slow, hypnotic rhythm until I was panting. It took longer to get me there, but I could tell when I came it was going to make me see stars. “I’m going to come,” I cried out, then screamed with pleasure as I went over the edge.
“Fuck, baby, you’re squeezing me so hard.” He pounded into me, extending my orgasm. Then he went still as he came with a yell. He thrust a couple of more times before pulling out and collapsing beside me on the bed.
“That was… amazing,” he said.
I nodded, not yet able to speak.
We lay like that, recovering, for several minutes.
“Get ready,” he warned me with a wicked smile. “I’m going to want to do that all night. And I’m almost ready for round two.”
I pulled his head to mine for a deep, passionate kiss before letting go and looking in his eyes. “I’m not complaining.” I said, and as we started up again, I couldn’t help but love the familiarity. The way we knew each other’s bodies and what we liked.
Much later, as we finally passed out, ready for sleep, I let him pull me against him and hold me as we drifted off. My last thought as I settled against him and his arms wrapped around me was that it felt like coming home.